Seeing their pavilion master appear in person, the thugs blocking Fang Chang and Gu Yue instantly stepped aside, not daring to say another word.
"Little brother Fang Qi, and this one is...?" Zhu Jing raised a brow as she pointed at Gu Yue beside Fang Chang. Zhu Zhu beside her was also eyeing them warily.
"And who are they?" On Gu Yue's side, she clearly sensed the unusual relationship between Fang Chang and the two women. She stared at him as though interrogating a criminal.
"Uh... well." Faced with this situation, Fang Chang didn't know how to respond and hurriedly tried to change the subject.
"Master Zhu Jing, have you found anything unusual within the palace?"
Noticing Fang Chang trying to divert the topic, both Gu Yue and Zhu Zhu grew impatient.
"Who are they? Don't change the subject."
"Who is she?"
…
Fang Chang gave a sheepish smile and first pointed at Zhu Zhu. "This is a young lady from the Spider Clan I met during my investigations in the lower realm through a clone."
Then he gestured to Gu Yue. "And this is… uh… one of the principal wives of my clan."
His answer clearly failed to satisfy either woman. Both stared at him with unfriendly expressions, looking like they'd make him pay if he said another wrong word.
Fortunately, Zhu Jing, standing to the side, was quick to read the mood. Sensing Fang Chang's predicament, she stepped in to defuse the situation.
"If you're asking about something unusual, there is a place that fits that description."
Hearing this, Gu Yue immediately turned her attention. "Where? Take us there right away."
Seeing that Gu Yue was no longer pursuing the previous matter, Zhu Zhu timidly retreated behind Zhu Jing—but her resentful gaze kept drifting to Fang Chang from time to time.
"This place is the underground palace beneath the Sun Moon Imperial City," Zhu Jing explained. "By now, the city has more or less been carved up by the various factions."
"Since our Pearl Sea Pavilion was originally based in Sun Moon City, and with my recent breakthrough to the rank of Ultimate Douluo thanks to little brother Fang Qi's help, we naturally secured the best section of the palace."
She referred to the large central area beneath their feet, where most of the valuable items were located.
What she didn't mention was the more important reason: many factions stronger than hers were afraid of being hunted down by Fang Chang and had already gone into hiding.
Her Pearl Sea Pavilion, having no such fear, could even flaunt its power under his name.
"Three days ago, my people discovered a passage leading underground beneath the main palace," she continued.
"But over these few days, no matter what we tried, we couldn't open the entrance to the underground palace. Even I, as an Ultimate Douluo, failed."
"We suspect this underground palace might not have been built by humans at all. It could very well be tied to powers beyond humanity."
After all, as an Ultimate Douluo, her strength was undoubtedly among the very top in the Douluo plane. Yet even she couldn't open the door, which naturally raised suspicions about the strength of those who built it.
Hearing this, both Fang Chang and Gu Yue grew even more interested in the underground palace.
"Take us there at once," Gu Yue said impatiently, and Fang Chang also looked eager.
"Then follow me." Zhu Jing didn't waste words. She led them around the main hall of the imperial palace, heading toward a hidden area behind it.
The place appeared to be a small shrine dedicated to a deity. Compared to the grand halls with thousands of square meters, this shrine was significantly smaller.
Once Fang Chang and the others entered, it was already crowded with just a dozen people.
At the front of the shrine was originally a large statue of a female deity, but it had already been wrecked beyond recognition by wandering soul masters who had gotten here earlier.
Still, traces remained—enough to see it had depicted a woman holding an ancient tree.
"It's her!" Gu Yue nearly jumped in excitement. Without her divine artifact, she, the Goddess of Life, had felt unworthy of the title.
Especially when most of the other God Kings had ties with Fang Chang—it had made her position even more awkward.
Now, finally having the chance to reclaim the Tree of Life, how could she not be overjoyed?
Zhu Jing continued leading the group. Behind the broken statue, a narrow opening barely wide enough for one person came into view.
"This was probably discovered by accident when those wandering soul masters tried to pry something loose," she said, pointing at the opening. "Let's go down."
She jumped in first, her practiced movements suggesting she'd done this several times before.
As she descended, a long and deep tunnel appeared before them, lit by dim flames recently placed by someone.
Zhu Jing, clearly familiar with the way, led the group through the corridor into a wider area.
Though underground, the walls here emitted a soft white glow, illuminating the place as brightly as daylight.
The walls bore signs of attempted excavation—likely by those wandering soul masters—but they'd failed to pry them loose.
"This must be it," Fang Chang said, sensing the fluctuations from the walls.
The divine power still lingering on the walls was likely what kept them glowing.
At the far end of the chamber stood a massive ancient bronze gate. Beyond it, all information was cut off, making the mystery behind the gate all the more tantalizing.
"This is the one," Zhu Jing confirmed. "I've tried every method over the past few days, but I still can't open it."
"Now that you're here, perhaps you'll succeed."
Fang Chang knocked on the bronze gate. It felt like a solid slab of iron with no reaction.
In fact, it seemed to absorb external energy. Any attack below its threshold would simply be absorbed.
"Interesting," Fang Chang said, exchanging a look with Gu Yue. "This thing was built with the combined power of at least ten deities. Looks like we've got ourselves a big fish."
"What are we waiting for? Let's smash it open!" Gu Yue didn't even finish speaking before divine power surged from her body. She was ready to blast the door.
"Hold on." Fang Chang stopped her and used mental communication to send a message to the gods still stationed outside the city, summoning them to the imperial palace.
Only after doing that did he nod to Gu Yue. The two entered battle mode, channelling their divine power and unleashing a combined strike on the bronze gate that had stood for who knew how long.
Boom—!
A piercing sound echoed out, followed by a storm of energy that took a long time to dissipate.
When it finally cleared, everyone could see that a hole over two meters wide had been blasted open in the gate that not even an Ultimate Douluo could budge.
Beyond that hole was nothing but endless darkness.