There are more than forty people in the centrist faction, gathered in an outer palace. The woman sitting in the center frowned and said, “We really can’t cultivate anymore. Not only can spiritual energy not naturally gather here, but even using spirit stones, we can’t create a spirit-gathering array. I suspect there’s some powerful formation beneath these Three Sacred Mountains.”

The sect leader’s faction, Grace Wood, was with her people in another place. She held a mirror, her brows tightly knit. “When I came, my father gave me this Lingxi Mirror. I intended to use it to contact him, but now… sigh, since we can’t reach the outside world, and we can’t get out either, I’m afraid we’ll have to think of a way with Grandmaster.”

“Senior Sister 霓笙, I think Grandmaster is a bit… a bit scary. I always feel like if I look at him one more time, I’ll be killed. Senior Sister, the one Grandmaster killed—who was that, really?”

Grace Wood waved her hand. “That’s not something we should be concerned about.”

Next door was the palace master’s faction, led by Lillian Clark with a dozen or so people. They were the smallest group, but all of them had high status—mostly from elders’ families, the palace master’s descendants, or the most outstanding daughters of their lineages. Gathered together, they too were discussing the person Grandmaster had killed.

“Although Grandmaster doesn’t seem easy to get along with, after all, he’s our Grandmaster, a senior of our Gengchen Immortal Palace. He wouldn’t attack us for no reason. The one he killed must have been some outsider with ill intentions, so I don’t think we need to be afraid.”

“That’s right, fortune favors the bold. I’m sure our families told us about these things before we came. We’re different from the others—we need to get close to Grandmaster before Grace Wood and her group, and win his favor! This concerns the very survival of our Gengchen Immortal Palace!”

They chatted among themselves, completely unaware that a giant black snake was silently crawling across the roof of the main hall. The ancestor, dressed in black, sat atop the snake, listening to every word they said.

“Just look at how bold these people are.” Daoist Cizang, Brian Carter, spoke with utter disgust and murderous intent, making the giant snake beneath him tremble slightly.

Brian Carter stood up, stepping steadily onto the snake’s head. “Go.”

The giant snake didn’t know where he wanted to go, so it just wandered aimlessly with him atop the rooftops. For many years, he had often done this—when awake, he would sit on the snake and let it roam freely among the countless empty palaces, day and night alike.

Nothing he did seemed to have any meaning, and his moods were unpredictable. Even after so many years together, the black snake was still often startled into shedding its skin by his sudden changes of expression.

“Hmm?”

The black snake crawled forward diligently, doing its best to be a self-driving mount. Suddenly, it heard its master hum through his nose and immediately stopped in its tracks. Brian Carter had spotted Evelyn Foster napping in the sun not far away.

While everyone else was tense and at a loss, how could she be hiding here, sunbathing and sleeping all by herself?

“Go over there.”

The black snake huffed and crawled quietly to the rooftop where Evelyn Foster was sleeping. The spot Evelyn Foster had chosen was excellent: first, there was a small platform for stargazing, perfect for placing a bed; second, the terrain was low and far from the central tower, so even if others were on nearby rooftops, it would be hard to spot her; and finally, the sunlight here was just right.

At this moment, Evelyn Foster was fast asleep. Brian Carter, sitting on the snake, came to her side and glanced at the sleep mask on her face, then reached out and lifted it to look at her.

“So this is the one with the biggest guts.”

He withdrew his hand, his gaze falling on Evelyn Foster’s stomach, a strange smile appearing on his face as he muttered to himself, “Even someone from the Demon Domain managed to sneak in. Do you think these useless people of Gengchen Immortal Palace let her in on purpose to provoke me, or are they really so incompetent that they didn’t notice at all?”

Actually, earlier, he had intended to kill this person. Such a disguise might fool others, but not him. But now, he suddenly didn’t feel like killing her anymore.

What the Demon Domain wanted to do to Gengchen Immortal Palace had nothing to do with him. He might even look forward to seeing the palace destroyed more than the demon cultivators themselves.

While Brian Carter was lost in thought, his hand unconsciously stroked the black snake’s scales. Then, with a little force, he dug out a piece of black scale.

The black snake: Whimper. Everything was fine, so why peel off my scales again?

Brian Carter peeled it off as he pleased, then found the scale ugly and tossed it away.

“Let’s go.”

The black snake hesitated, swishing its tail, and nudged its head toward a bamboo tube on the small table beside Evelyn Foster. Seeing this, Brian Carter picked up the bamboo tube.

He shook it, and clear liquid sloshed inside the emerald-green bamboo.

He sniffed it, then took a sip, immediately spitting it out in disgust. “What is this? Tastes awful.” He tossed the bamboo tube back onto the table.

The black snake carried him back to the central tower, reluctantly flicking its tongue. It liked that taste just now, but its master was a bastard, completely heartless, not even letting it have a sip.

Evelyn Foster slept until the sun was setting. When she woke up, she was still a bit dazed, thinking she was at home sleeping in during a holiday. She took off her slightly crooked sleep mask, looked at the surrounding buildings, the distant mountains, and the setting sun, and finally came to her senses.

Oh, right—she had transmigrated.