Yan Ruyu Arrives

At an edge of Hua Qiang's Small World, dead silence hung like congealed ink.

The floating gray sphere barrier radiated a chilling aura, placed here after Hua Qiang refined the Exile Ruins.

Heavenly Emperor Xing Ming curled up beside a moss-covered rock; his once majestic and opulent robes were now tattered beyond recognition, hanging on his body like patches of withered, defeated leaves.

He raised his head to gaze at the sky, where the blood-red setting sun resembled a drop of blood-tears that fell not yet falling, its cast light making his visage grow all the more pale and haggard.

He had no idea how long had passed since he entered this barrier; his power was completely sealed, and the dignified Heavenly Emperor was now as powerless as an ant.

Normally, he occasionally found a few spirit herbs and Spirit Fruits to ingest, but the meager spiritual energy that managed to sprout had no sooner let him feel the fluidity of spiritual energy circulating within his body than the Spirit Devouring Insects swarmed over like bone-gnawing maggots.

Those tiny yet greedy insects clung densely to his body, their sharp mouthparts piercing into his skin as they frantically sucked away his hard-won spiritual energy.

That pain felt as though tens of thousands of fine needles were simultaneously piercing his flesh and blood, yet also like raging flames burning fiercely within his meridians, making every single moment excruciatingly agonizing.

In moments of despair, the thought of ending it all flashed through his mind more than once.

Yet whenever this happened, the sights and sounds of the three thousand beauties in the Heavenly Palace, especially the gentle and stunning Empress Mi Yue, would surface before his eyes.

How could he bear to abandon them? They were the softest attachment in his heart, the