As Yuan landed upon Dragon Spiral Mountain, a wave of shock and sorrow washed over him. The mountain was littered with thousands of corpses, many of whom were from the Holy Dragon Clan. The rest belonged to human cultivators wearing full armor. "Heaven’s Mandate…" Despite this being his first time encountering them, he instantly recognized them purely from their armor and its unique patterns. After all, he’d had plenty of encounters with them in his previous lives. "Did a war happen here or something? These corpses look fresh, so it happened only recently." Liya remarked as she hovered slightly above the ground, not wanting to touch the corpses. "It was likely the Celestial Emperor’s doing. He attacked this place in an attempt to prevent me from returning to the Nine Heavens. Clearly, it didn’t work out for him." "The Celestial Emperor? Isn’t that the guy who sits above everyone in the Nine Heavens? The ruler of the Nine Heavens." Though she was born on Earth, the Lord occasionally taught her about the Nine Heavens. "That’s right," he confirmed. "I’m impressed. How did you end up having beef with the most powerful individual in the Nine Heavens? That’s akin to offending the Lord on Earth," she remarked. A bittersweet smile appeared on Yuan’s face as he said, "It’s complicated. Although I have never seen or met this Celestial Emperor, he clearly has a problem with me. Or should I say the ’past’ me?" "Is that so?" Liya muttered. Yuan used his divine sense to find the Dragon Emperor and went to find him. Some time later, Yuan found the Dragon Emperor amidst the wreckage, quietly assisting in the search for fallen members of the clan. "Dragon Emperor!" The Dragon Emperor, so absorbed in his search that he hadn’t even noticed Yuan’s return, looked at him with relief in his tired gaze. "You made it back safely, Senior." Though he maintained a calm exterior, the Dragon Emperor’s appearance told another story. His once-majestic robes were torn and stained with blood, and his breath was also somewhat weak. While he had sustained minor injuries during his clash with General Wang, it was his attempt to block the Divine Judgment that had exacted the greatest toll, wounding not just his body, but his very soul. "Can you tell me what happened while I was gone? I know the Heaven’s Mandate showed up from their corpses." The Dragon Emperor gave a solemn nod before recounting everything to Yuan, from the moment of his departure to the unexpected arrival of an unknown Cultivation God who had descended to defy the Celestial Emperor and save the Dragon Spiral Mountain. While Yuan wasn’t particularly surprised to learn that the Evil God’s army had appeared, he was surprised to hear that the Celestial Emperor had personally intervened and that a mysterious Cultivation God had descended to protect them. "Who was this Cultivation God?" he asked. The Holy Dragon Emperor shook his head. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦 "I don’t know. They were wearing a face veil that blocked their face. However, she had the figure of a woman. Of course, I cannot tell you if that’s their real appearance or just a disguise." "A woman wearing a face veil…" Yuan wondered if he had known any Cultivation Gods in the past, at least among the memories he had recovered so far. Yet, none came to mind. After all, Cultivation Gods were virtually nonexistent in those ancient days, and his memories were still returning piece by piece with each passing day. The only Cultivation God Yuan knew was Dragon Goddess Yeyou, the Dragon Ancestor, and the Great One. Even Zi Xuan had only reached the 9th level of God Ascension. However, Dragon Goddess Yeyou was with him during the invasion, and the Great One wouldn’t do something like hide his identity. ’Could it be the Dragon Ancestor? No… he wouldn’t show up disguised as a woman, either. Maybe it was one of the Nine Divine Supremes? But they wouldn’t disappear immediately afterward. Maybe Dong Ye knows something. I’ll ask him later.’ In the end, Yuan couldn’t recall anyone who matched the description, leading him to wonder if the mysterious figure was someone from a part of his past he had yet to remember. After all, he’d only recovered most of the Evil God, Divine Paragon, Immortal Monarch, and Exalted Blacksmith’s memories. "By the way, where’s Xi Meili?" Yuan asked when he couldn’t see her around. "You see…" The Holy Dragon Emperor began to sweat the moment Xi Meili’s name was brought up. "I told her to stay out of the battle, but… apparently, she ignored that and joined the fight anyway. She disappeared somewhere amidst the chaos. I haven’t seen her body, so… she’s likely still alive." Yuan frowned upon hearing this, but if they didn’t find her body, she was most likely alive. ’Since the Evil God’s Shadow Army showed up, they likely took her away to protect her.’ Sure enough, just as he thought that, a familiar voice rang inside his head. "My liege, please don’t worry about Lady Xi. She’s currently with me. Though she’d suffered some injuries, they’re not life-threatening." Dong Ye notified him. "Dong Ye? Where are you right now?" he asked. "I am currently in hiding with the rest of the Shadow Army. Since we made an appearance with the Celestial Emperor watching, we’re likely going to be hunted for a while. By the way, you should leave the Dragon Spiral Mountain as soon as possible while the Celestial Emperor is distracted. I just received the information that he’s occupied with the Celestial Council and the Ten Royal Dragon Clans." Yuan nodded and said, "I’ll leave soon. Let Xi Meili know that I have returned, and keep her safe for the time being. Let’s meet once things have calmed down." "As you command." After his brief conversation with Dong Ye, Yuan said to the Holy Dragon Emperor, "I really don’t know how to thank the Holy Dragon Clan for their sacrifice. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to let me know."