This was rather unexpected for him.
Before long, as the sun rose, sunlight streamed through the treetops, illuminating the resting spot of Xin Ci and the other two.
Xin Ci suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them. Vast waves of True Essence emanated from his body.
"Two-star King!"
The commotion of Xin Ci's breakthrough also startled Chu Ruoxuan, who was resting not far away.
At this moment, his eyes widened slightly, his heart filled with awe. "This fluctuation of True Essence is already comparable to a four-star King. It's hard to imagine such a massive amount of True Essence radiating from a two-star King!"
Despite successfully breaking through to a two-star King, Xin Ci still felt unsatisfied.
His current strength in the Central Continent was still like an ant.
It seemed he would have to wait until he reached Mingguang City to seek an opportunity for another breakthrough.
Xin Ci mused inwardly.
Soon, Dao Yuanming also woke up.
The three of them tidied themselves up and continued their journey towards Mingguang City.
Mingguang City could be considered one of the most powerful cities on the border of the Central Continent.
The reason was simple: the city's ruler was the Ming Emperor, known as the strongest Saint Emperor.
There were even rumors on the Central Continent that the Ming Emperor had once single-handedly confronted two one-star Great Emperors from the Pilgrimage True Domain, holding his own and forcing them to retreat.
Since then, Mingguang City had become the most formidable power on the outer fringes of the Pilgrimage True Domain.
Many Saint Emperor powerhouses flocked there, hoping to build a good relationship with the Ming Emperor and befriend this formidable individual.
Upon arriving at Mingguang City, Xin Ci and the other two found that high walls had been erected around the city, along with numerous formations and restrictions.
Layer upon layer of defensive formation shields enveloped Mingguang City.
Seeing this situation, Dao Yuanming's brow furrowed. He looked at Chu Ruoxuan and asked, "What's going on? I've only been away for a few months. What's the meaning of that old fellow Shen Wei setting up so many defensive formations for his city? Is there a Great Emperor attacking?"
"Reporting to Elder Dao, it's like this. During your absence, Senior Brother Yan Gu colluded with the Underworld God Clan in secret. Within just one month, Mingguang City was attacked by Underworld God creatures no less than ten times."
"Furthermore, these Underworld God creatures were controlled by a demon named Yuan Qing. This demon is exceptionally powerful, and even the Saint Emperors of Mingguang City could not capture him."
"In the end, it was only when Master emerged from seclusion that he repelled the demon and temporarily resolved the creature crisis."
Chu Ruoxuan truthfully explained the situation in Mingguang City to Dao Yuanming.
Both Dao Yuanming and Xin Ci revealed expressions of surprise upon hearing this.
Such a thing had happened in Mingguang City?
The origin of the demonic soul on Chu Ruoxuan's body now became clear.
Dao Yuanming's expression turned serious. "Can it be that even the forces of the Pilgrimage True Domain cannot suppress the Underworld God Clan? They have finally managed to infiltrate this place."
"Dean, I've always had a question about the Underworld God Clan," Xin Ci asked.
"Oh? What question?" Dao Yuanming looked at Xin Ci curiously.
Xin Ci voiced the question that had been bothering him for a long time. "Dean, I once heard a senior say that the Underworld God Clan was sealed in the Land of Dusk by the Eternal Great Emperor tens of thousands of years ago. Why are there still so many Underworld God creatures rampaging across the Eternal Continent?"
In fact, he had this question during the Eastern Continent Grand Competition.
Moreover, in the Nine Nether Realm, the Nine Nether Fox had mentioned that apart from the Nine Nether Realm, there should be no other Underworld God Clan on the Eternal Continent.
If the Nine Nether Fox hadn't lied to him back then, where did these Underworld God Clan and creatures come from now?
"It's understandable that you didn't know the situation when you were in the Eastern Continent," Dao Yuanming sighed and then slowly explained, "Do you know that the Pilgrimage True Domain is the central region of the Central Continent? The so-called Four Great Families and Five Great Holy Lands are all in this Pilgrimage True Domain. In other words, the Pilgrimage True Domain is the most powerful place in the Central Continent."
"And the Land of Dusk is within the Pilgrimage True Domain. However, five years ago, a human traitor from Xuan Kong Mountain, one of the Five Great Holy Lands, actually broke a gap in the seal of the Land of Dusk, allowing a large number of Underworld God Clan members below the Saint Emperor realm to escape. Furthermore, this human traitor somehow learned a method to make those Underworld God Clan members obey him!"
Xuan Kong Mountain!
Human traitor!
Upon hearing this, Xin Ci's eyes widened abruptly!
These two keywords unequivocally pointed to Xuan Qi as the traitor!
If Xuan Qi could control those Underworld God Clan members, it would explain why he was able to send a large number of Underworld God creatures through the star gate rift during the Eastern Continent Grand Competition.
Dao Yuanming continued, "That human traitor seems to be named Xuan Qi. It is said that after the Five Great Holy Lands of the Pilgrimage True Domain learned that he had damaged the seal, they joined forces with countless Saint Emperors to hunt him down. However, they failed in their attempt and many Saint Emperors perished."
"What was most heinous about Xuan Qi was that he once slaughtered an entire city of people and refined their corpses into Underworld God creatures."
"It can be said that the name Xuan Qi is now infamous throughout the Central Continent! Many factions consider him a demon and their sworn enemy."
"So that's how it is."
Xin Ci was deeply shocked by everything he heard.
Xuan Qi's actions were indeed heinous.
The demonic act of slaughtering a city made him deserving of being called a human traitor.
Mu Qingling, within the spiritual space, also found Xuan Qi's deeds incredible.
Because that person did not exist in the original novel at all, and all of Xuan Qi's actions were unpredictable to her.
Thinking back now, perhaps she had not succeeded in killing Xuan Qi in the Nine Nether Realm back then!
This demon was still alive!
"Elder Dao, Senior Brother Xin, regarding Xuan Qi's matters, let's discuss them another time. It's more important to enter the city now," Chu Ruoxuan suggested.
Xin Ci and Dao Yuanming nodded, and the three walked towards Mingguang City.
The defensive formations outside Mingguang City were numerous. Even with the formation token given by the Ming Emperor, Chu Ruoxuan spent a considerable amount of time to open a gap in the formations, allowing the three to enter the city smoothly.
Compared to the solemn and heavy atmosphere outside, Mingguang City was bustling with activity. Various stalls displayed an impressive array of goods, and pedestrians filled the streets. Warriors above the King realm were abundant.
Despite having been attacked by Underworld God creatures several times, the people of Mingguang City were still able to maintain a peaceful way of life, and the city's order was not disrupted.
This showed how profound the sense of security the Ming Emperor provided them.
Walking down the street, Xin Ci looked up and noticed a colossal pagoda within Mingguang City that was particularly striking.
The pagoda soared into the clouds, entirely white jade in color, with two golden dragons coiled around its exterior, exuding an air of majesty.
Even from a distance, Xin Ci could feel the soul-stirring pressure emanating from the two golden dragons.
Such powerful soul pressure suggested that these two golden dragons were likely the guardian dragon souls of the white pagoda.
Xin Ci could vaguely guess that this was probably the Sacred Dragon Pagoda that Dean Dao Yuanming had mentioned.