"Ugly Ox?"
Quinn Shepherd instantly tensed up, hurriedly asking, "Which Ugly Ox?"
The scout god didn’t recognize him and replied, “That I’m not sure about. This is the border—humans and demigods live mixed together. We don’t keep track here, and neither do the demigods; there’s never been a census.”
Quinn’s expression changed slightly. He rushed over to Annie and said, "Watch the lantern. Whatever happens, do not let it go out."
Annie was puzzled. The lantern was Wayne Gale’s treasure—he was at least the Cloud-Nether Emperor. Surely a lantern refined by him couldn’t be extinguished so easily?
But Quinn was extremely anxious, pacing back and forth. He hurried over to Moon-Venerable and Venerable Skysoar, saying, "Evacuate the population immediately. Move every human to the interior, far from this place. Something unimaginably terrifying is about to happen here!"
Moon-Venerable was stunned, but quickly relayed the order, instructing her people to move the humans inland.
"Darkness is coming, darkness is coming... The darkness I saw that day must have emanated from one of the Heaven Worlds nearby. Those demigods have been searching in the wrong place."
Quinn looked up at the sky. Several Heaven Worlds hung overhead, and some powerful demigods were flying toward them, leaving streaks of divine light across the sky like meteors.
Quinn muttered, "Ugly Ox is actually in one of the nearby Heaven Worlds, but when the darkness descends, it will inevitably spill over here... This lantern can’t possibly block it! Moon-sis, Skysoar-sis, I’m leaving now—heading for Heavenly Court. I must reach it before the darkness falls and finish what I came here to do!"
Moon-Venerable and Venerable Skysoar were both a bit reluctant to part. "You just arrived, and now you’re leaving already?"
Quinn jumped swiftly onto the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Palanquin, calling to the two, "We’ll meet again, I promise! Don’t worry, I’ll definitely come back to see you! Annie, keep an eye on the lantern. Grant, get ready to set out!"
He stepped into the coach, opened the window, and said in a deep voice, "You two shouldn’t stay here either—leave at once!"
Seeing Quinn’s grave expression, Moon-Venerable and Venerable Skysoar realized this was no ordinary matter. Venerable Skysoar stepped forward and handed him her Peach-Wood Hairpin, saying, "Before we part, return my hairpin."
Quinn placed the Peach-Wood Hairpin into his brow, and as soon as it entered the Keane-Sigil Continent, another Peach-Wood Hairpin appeared in Venerable Skysoar’s hair.
Venerable Skysoar smiled softly and whispered, "With this scene, I can keep enduring."
Six Heavenly Dragons hauled the palanquin into the air, racing through wind, clouds, and lightning. As the coach passed the palace on the back of the Great Azure-Gold Bird, the bloodied man tied to a pillar lifted his head and shouted, "I can’t die! If I die, none of you will escape!"
Quinn watched the man through the window, expressionless and silent.
A woman stepped out from the palace, meeting Quinn’s gaze from afar. He nodded gently; she returned the gesture with a slight bow.
"I distinguish between kindness and enmity. I will repay you in the future." The woman’s divine sense echoed in Quinn’s mind.