Ninefold Heaven Palace, No Entry for Non-Lan Descendants

The site of the Former Dynasty's hoard lay directly ahead: a nine-story underground palace occupying the entire mountain. At the very center of the palace hung a plaque emblazoned with three gilded characters—"Ninefold Heaven."

These characters were bold and vigorous, like dragons soaring through the sky. Even after centuries, their brilliance remained undiminished.

“Let’s go in.” Once Nolan Dongling saw that Serena Feng had finished looking, he took her hand and led her forward.

Knowing Serena was physically inconvenienced these days, Nolan deliberately shortened his stride so she could keep up. As they climbed the steps, he paused every few paces to let her catch her breath.

Ancient palaces always revered the number nine—nine stories, ninety-nine steps. The staircase before them had ninety-nine steps, each one broad and exhausting to climb.

After much effort, Serena and Nolan finally reached the top, only to find the palace doors tightly shut. The paint outside had long since corroded away, exposing the iron beneath, yet the doors’ imposing presence remained.

Just these two doors alone were enough to inspire awe and dread.

The Former Dynasty had truly spared no expense. Serena couldn’t tell what material these doors were made of—they didn’t look quite like iron to her.

Nolan didn’t order the Eighteen Riders to try pushing the doors. By sight alone, each slab weighed at least a thousand jin; brute force was useless. To open the Ninefold Heaven Palace, they’d need another method.

“Awoo, awoo…” Suddenly, Snow Wolf dashed joyfully toward a corner. Its exuberant cries drew everyone’s attention, and Serena was the first to follow.

Snow Wolf stretched out its front paws, clawing away a thick layer of dust from the wall to reveal large characters beneath.

“None but Lan clan descendants may enter!” Serena read each word aloud, then turned to look at Nolan and Sean Xuan.

The two men stepped forward, nudging Snow Wolf aside, and wiped away the protective film covering the inscription. Next to it was another line: “Those who intrude will be buried here.”

“This Ninefold Heaven isn’t for just anyone. Building the palace was hard, but bringing it down would be easy.” Serena stepped back a few paces, studying the nine-story palace again, focusing on the blasted mountain cave.

If the rock on both sides of the cave gave way, the small peak above would collapse, bringing down the entire Ninefold Heaven Palace. If they tried to force entry and triggered a landslide, everyone would be buried here.

“The Lan clan is so stingy. We survived a thousand dangers to get here, only to find outsiders can’t enter.” Sean Xuan spread his hands, admitting he could do no more. He looked at Nolan: “Let’s see if the Former Dynasty recognizes you as its grandson.”

“How could the Former Dynasty possibly determine bloodline?” Serena looked up at Nolan. “If it’s just blood type, anyone compatible could get through, which would make the restriction meaningless.”

“No idea.” Nolan shook his head. “Royal houses always have secret methods.” Those methods were never as simple as outsiders imagined.

“Alright…” Serena nodded. “Since we don’t know, we’ll just have to try. After coming all this way, none of us would be willing to turn back empty-handed.”

After more than a month’s journey, they’d finally reached this place—if they left without even seeing what the treasure looked like, it would be a bitter loss.

“Let’s go take a look.” Nolan led the way toward the Ninefold Heaven palace doors, with Serena and Sean Xuan close behind. The Eighteen Riders fanned out to guard both sides.

As the group approached the doors again, they noticed an hourglass-shaped device had appeared on the surface—likely triggered when Snow Wolf uncovered the inscription.

“Smart wolf.” Serena didn’t ask how Snow Wolf knew what to do; she simply patted its head in praise.

Snow Wolf lifted its head proudly, its eyes shining...

Serena patted its head again, then focused on the hourglass. Instead of sand, it held thick, black, dried blood stuck to the inner walls, filthy and grim.

“A blood test?” None of them were fools—one glance told them what it was for.

“Only Lan clan blood can unlock it, but there’s so much old, dirty blood inside that even fresh blood wouldn’t be clear.” Nolan eyed the filthy hourglass with distaste; for a man with a cleanliness obsession, it was almost unbearable.

“Leave it to me. I’ll clean it out.” Serena took a reagent from her Smart Med-Pack and dripped it into the hourglass. The ancient blood slowly dissolved, and she used a narrow tube to suction out the sludge.

“Amazing.” Sean Xuan and the Eighteen Riders were awestruck by the strange tools Serena produced from her Smart Med-Pack. To them, it was like a mythical treasure pouch; with such gear, they couldn’t understand why Nolan still needed a hoard.

If only they knew that Serena’s Smart Med-Pack held nothing but small tools and lifesaving medicines and devices, they wouldn’t think that way.

None of this had anything to do with what Nolan needed. He wanted to seize and rule the realm—he needed weapons, strong soldiers, and ample supplies, none of which Serena could provide.

Once the hourglass was spotless, Serena stepped back and handed Nolan a sterile surgical scalpel, inviting him to proceed.

Nolan accepted calmly, showing no trace of tension or expectation. He lightly sliced his fingertip and let fresh blood drip into the hourglass. Serena and Sean Xuan acted indifferent—one fiddling with a wooden box, the other surveying the scenery—while the Eighteen Riders watched Nolan with eager anticipation.

Soon, the hourglass filled with blood. Serena quickly bandaged Nolan’s finger, but before the bleeding stopped, the hourglass slowly inverted and the blood inside vanished drop by drop.

“Looks like it’s working.” Serena raised her eyebrows, a faint smile blooming on her face.

“I thought you didn’t care.” Nolan’s stiff expression softened, his brows relaxing noticeably.

Whether the Former Dynasty recognized him didn’t matter; what mattered was getting inside Ninefold Heaven. He had no intention of working so hard for nothing.

“At this point, it’s out of our hands. If it works, great; if not, we’ll think of another way.” Serena truly wasn’t concerned. If Nolan’s blood failed, they’d find another method. If all else failed…

Then they’d destroy it.

If they couldn’t have it, they wouldn’t let the Former Dynasty restorationists get it either—no sense letting the enemy grow stronger for free.

“Exactly. There’s more than one way in.” Nolan’s thinking matched Serena’s, so he wasn’t too worried.

The treasure was right before them—they’d find a way.

Click—when the last drop of blood disappeared, there was a grinding sound. The two massive doors slowly shifted inward, opening a thin crack.

“It’s opening, it’s opening…” The Eighteen Riders’ eyes lit up—they nearly pressed their faces to the gap, desperate to see what the treasure vault looked like. Nolan and Serena stood in the center, equally fascinated, peering inside.

The Ninefold Heaven Palace was built so ingeniously that they couldn’t help but want a glimpse of its interior. But…