Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time to leave. Princess Ivy, Faye Knox, and Lillian Zhang were all feeling extremely downcast. At the farewell banquet, they kept drinking nonstop, trying to numb their pain with alcohol. Watching this, Evan Chu felt a pang in his heart.
But as the Human King, Lillian Zhang couldn't afford to lose face in front of everyone. She still made an effort to greet the guests from time to time, but it was obvious from her voice and tone that she was deliberately hiding her true feelings.
Evan didn’t know what to say. This departure was so rushed that even the Nether Monarch and Shade Lord hadn’t been notified. He left two letters for them instead, asking Ivy and Faye to deliver them if possible. The banquet lasted half a day before ending, and both Faye and Ivy got drunk—intentionally so, because they didn’t want to see Evan’s departing figure, afraid they couldn’t bear the pain of saying goodbye.
Fenton Liu just quietly asked Ouyang Hong to take care of his granddaughter, and left before Evan and the others departed—maybe he, too, didn’t want to face the pain of parting. In the end, Evan took most of his Netherstones and some martial arts manuals he’d obtained from the Death-Tower Grounds out of his storage ring and handed them to Lillian Zhang, saying:
“Lillian, take good care of our child, and of Faye and Ivy’s children too. If there’s ever a chance, I’ll definitely take you all away from here. This time, don’t come see me off—it’ll only make things harder for everyone. You’d better just help Ivy and Faye back to their rooms.”
“Evan, we’ll wait for you to come back, no matter how long it takes—I’ll always wait!” Crystal tears welled up on Lillian’s cheeks, making Evan’s heart ache.
Evan didn’t say anything more. He turned to Roxanne Lin and Sean Xiao and said, “Let’s leave from here. We can break open the entrance to the Netherworld wherever we want—I don’t want to make things too complicated. I just hope we can return safely this time!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Evan’s mind stirred and a dragon’s roar echoed through the heavens. His massive Golden Dragon body fully manifested. At this moment, Evan had a complete set of seven claws, and an eighth claw was just beginning to emerge.
Once Evan revealed his dragon form, Ethan followed suit, manifesting the Obsidian Tortoise body. The colossal tortoise appeared in the sky, stunning the citizens of the royal capital—none had ever witnessed such a sight before.
Immediately after, Ouyang Hongye unleashed the Sacred White Tiger form, the massive white tiger soaring into the sky with a roar that sent timid people scurrying indoors. Finally, Roxanne Lin flashed with red light and let out a clear phoenix cry; a blazing Vermilion Bird took flight.
The sight of the Four Sacred Beasts in the sky left everyone in shock—none more so than Lillian Zhang. She never imagined the true identities of these four people could be so fantastical; it was all just too surreal.
At that moment, Evan shouted down to the crowd below, “Scatter quickly, or you’ll get hurt in a moment!” Only then did he realize his decision was reckless—the light from the Sunflare Stone would harm many people, and he’d actually forgotten about that.
But things had already come this far, so he couldn’t worry about it anymore—he could only press on. Evan took out the Sunflare, Moonshadow, and Starflare Stones and slowly tossed them into the air. Instantly, the Four Sacred Beasts poured their power into the three stones, and the light erupted, turning night into day.
Lillian wanted to see how Evan and the others would leave, but after hearing his warning, she went back inside—at least that way, the pain wouldn’t get any worse.
Soon, the three stones began to spin, and a hexagram appeared—identical to the one that had opened the Netherworld entrance before. This was the most mysterious property of the Sunflare, Moonshadow, and Starflare Stones: they could perfectly replicate the array used to travel between realms, and the hexagram now shining in the air was a direct copy.
Otherwise, Evan would never have found the entrance back to the Azure Tide Ruins—the hexagram array in the Netherworld started spinning, faster and faster, until a beam of white light shot into the sky. Instantly, a two-meter-wide portal appeared overhead above the four of them.
Many Humans, curious about this bizarre phenomenon, came to watch—unaware that some would lose their lives just for looking. The Sunflare Stone’s intense light was the bane of every Netherkin race, which was exactly why the Nether Monarch had always feared Evan’s Sunflare Stone.
Seeing the portal, Evan immediately called out to Sean Xiao and Kiera Liu, who was wrapped head-to-toe in black cloth: “Get into the portal, quick!” His tone was urgent.
Sean glanced up at the portal and understood instantly—they’d broken open the Netherworld’s space. He grabbed Kiera Liu and, in a flash, leapt inside. Evan and Roxanne Lin followed right after. Within a few breaths, the portal began to close, the space returned to calm, and the three Stones vanished, their mission complete.
As soon as they entered, a powerful pulling force swept over them. It was intense, but everyone managed to endure it. After a while, the force faded, and they all found themselves under a vast blue sky. They resumed their human forms, each feeling a rush of inexplicable joy.
Evan never would’ve guessed the Netherworld exit would be in midair—and the portal was big enough for dozens to pass through. If he’d known, he would’ve brought Princess Ivy and Faye Knox along. Just then, the Demon Lord, who hadn’t spoken at all inside the portal, finally spoke up.
“Evan, you really should have brought them back. Life in the Azure Tide Ruins might not suit them, but my Demon Realm would. It’s not very large, but it’s a unique space—there’s no sunlight, but plenty of plants. They could live there.”
Evan hadn’t minded before, but hearing this made him want to curse the Demon Lord out—talk about hindsight! What good was it to say this now? It’s not like they could just go back to the Netherworld. Without the three Stones, there was no way to open the entrance again. Evan was so frustrated he wanted to punch someone, and that someone was definitely the Demon Lord, the idiot.
Afterward, everyone landed on the ground. Evan looked around and said, “We don’t know where we are—why don’t we find someone nearby and ask?”
Ouyang Hong glanced at Kiera Liu beside him and saw she was trembling all over. He immediately took off his own outer robe and wrapped it around her. “Evan, you’re the fastest—go scout out where we are. I need to get Kiera back as soon as possible; she can’t handle being out here.”
“Alright, wait here—I’ll be right back!” With that, Evan’s figure flickered and vanished before everyone’s eyes…