Scattered Province.
In a rented apartment in one of the Thirteen Protectors' territories.
The Stop-Killing Palace Lord, dressed in a fiery red gown and wearing a silver mask, looked at a flawlessly beautiful woman and asked flatly:
"Has the Third Elder made any moves lately?"
The stunning woman wore a blank expression, her eyes hollow. Without thinking, she replied:
"No moves! The Third Elder said Yuanshi Tianzun had returned and told us all to keep a low profile. There was nothing else."
Hearing this, the Stop-Killing Palace Lord turned her head and glanced at the three companions in the room. Zhang Yuanqing's Little Red Riding Hood clone said calmly:
"Given the grudge between the Southern Faction and me, it was inevitable that I'd seek a chance for revenge after returning. It's perfectly normal for the Southern Faction's upper ranks to be on guard. The Southern Faction has quite a few Sovereigns. So long as Ling Tuo can't calculate exactly whom we intend to target, he can't make specific arrangements, nor can he station Sovereign-level helpers beside every Southern Faction elder. But they should have a means of contacting each other quickly. I suggest we end this fast."
The Demon Eye Heavenly King gave a hum. "If we can't kill him within three minutes, abandon the operation. We can't risk involving ordinary people."
Following the plan, the Stop-Killing Palace Lord hypnotized the beautiful woman, took out a miniature compass that could enter the dream world, and extracted the incantation from her.
Zhang Yuanqing's clone readily accepted the compass. Looking at his three companions, he said:
"If nothing happens on my end within ten seconds, abandon the operation."
With that, deep whirlpools emerged in his pupils, and he leaped into an unknown dreamscape.
Zhang Yuanqing appeared in the front courtyard of a