"Hey? Does this road go up the mountain?" Lily Bai drove out from Awakening Abbey and discovered a small road leading up the mountain.
Sandy glanced up and checked the GPS for a full view. "Yes, this road winds along the mountainside to the front of the mountain. But there are roadblocks on the front side—you can't drive through."
"Oh! I remember that fork in the road," Lily said, recalling. "It's blocked off by moveable barriers, with a big sign: No Entry."
"Mm-hmm."
"Ha! Just some measly roadblocks! I'll move them, drive through, and put them back after!" Lily was buzzing with excitement for the adventure, stomping the gas as she headed for the back of Dragon Mountain Hills.
The back of the mountain is a sheer cliff, and that little road is built halfway up, wrapping around to connect with the road on the front side.
To get onto that little road, you have to pass by the National Heritage Museum.
The museum is a round fortress-like building, super artistic, with a huge parking lot out front.
As Lily drove closer, she couldn't stop marveling, "Wow! This building is amazing! Look at those sculptures—dragons, phoenixes, qilin—so beautiful!"
Sandy pulled up info on the National Heritage Museum and said, "This place houses some of China's most priceless relics, with one of the world's top security systems—it's ranked in the top three globally for toughness."
"Whoa! That intense?" Lily asked. "Say the spirit jade was inside—if I told you to steal it, could you do it?"
"Let me check." Sandy carefully scanned the museum's entire internal security system.
Suddenly, Sandy's face showed surprise. "Stop the car."
Lily glanced at her and pulled over to the side of the road.
Sandy got out and stared at the National Heritage Museum.
Ever since her repair, Sandy hadn't found anything she couldn't scan through.
If she was willing to burn the energy, she could look underground and see an ant on the other side of the planet.
Look up, and she could spot a pebble on the moon.
But the Black Hole Energy she'd stored in the snow mountain's underground array was limited, so she didn't want to waste it.
Yet now, she had actually detected a tiny, impenetrable zone inside this building.
A tiny zone—it looked like just a doorway?
It was blocked by a surge of red energy.
This red energy didn't belong to the Lotus Realm.
Beyond a certain distance, it could even hide its energy signature.
That's why, even though she'd scanned Dragon Mountain Hills and its surroundings countless times, she never found it—only spotting it now by passing this way.
Could it be that, besides her, there are other Outer-Realm entities on Earth?
"What's up?" Lily asked.
"Let's go inside and check it out," Sandy said.
So Lily drove straight to the museum parking lot, put Little Smudge into the pet carrier, handed it to Sandy, and got ready to buy tickets.
Before they reached the ticket window, someone called out, "Hey? Aren't you Lily?"
Lily turned around and saw Third Prince Xiao and his wife.
"Third Prince! Princess Consort!" Lily greeted respectfully. "Are you here to tour the museum too?"
"We work here," said Third Prince Xiao—Nathan Xiao.
Apparently, royal blood runs strong in the Chinese imperial family.
Third Prince Xiao looked young and handsome too.
But his vibe was totally different from the Supreme Emperor.
The Supreme Emperor is steady and radiates elite authority.
But this Third Prince... the moment Lily saw him yesterday, she felt he had a kind of drifting, unanchored air.