Another year later, at a villa on the outskirts of Mingdu.
The lingering glow of dusk filtered through the window curtains, spilling across the warm floor of the living room.
Lu Jun had unusually finished his affairs early for the day. Leaning back in the soft sofa, he closed his eyes slightly to rest.
Ice Empress sat beside him, carefully kneading his somewhat stiff shoulders. Her technique had already become quite practiced.
Snow Empress carried over a cup of calming tea at just the right temperature and gently set it on the coffee table before him.
Just then, the high-grade Soul Guidance Communication device on Lu Jun's wrist vibrated softly, projecting an urgent encrypted briefing from the Federation Supreme Council.
He opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the rapidly scrolling text on the light screen.
The report was clear and exhilarating: after two years, under the current Plane Master Di Yue's continuous, all-encompassing perception scans without blind spots, combined with the Federation military's Thunderous Might precision strikes, all known Abyss creatures and pollution sources lurking throughout Douluo Star—including dozens of Black Empress Clan-level strongholds—had been confirmed as completely eradicated and purified.
At the same time, the investigation department had fully uncovered how the Abyss creatures had managed such large-scale, long-term infiltration.
The source was none other than the long-declining yet ever-lingering Holy Spirit Cult!
In particular, its Cult Master, the Demon Empress. Somehow, she had established contact and cooperation with the Abyss Plane. Using her special abilities and understanding of spatial barriers, she had quietly torn several minute, exceptionally difficult-to-detect cracks into Douluo Star's already damaged plane barrier, which had been battered by wars throughout the ages, opening a back door for Abyss creatures to infiltrate.
Now, the Demon Empress and the Holy Spirit Cult loyalists remaining under her