The attention of the Star Palace would not fall on him, so he could temporarily extricate himself from this storm.

Of course, he also understood that he could not let his guard down at this moment.

He must remain low-key, avoid standing out, and not reveal any anomalies to prevent certain people from catching on.

"Little Mouse was merely acting strictly according to the master’s instructions." Shuihu Mouse said with a flattering smile.

Xu Ping cast a cool glance at it, "Regarding the matters I instructed you, you haven’t... disclosed them to your Dao partner, Jin Linger, have you?"

Shuihu Mouse asserted, "Master, rest assured, I haven’t leaked a word about this matter."

"All the intelligence was gathered when I, Little Mouse, accidentally discovered the Star Palace acting suspiciously and reported it with righteous indignation to the Golden Spirit Mouse clan."

"Hmm."

Only then did Xu Ping nod in satisfaction.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jin Yuxuan, but the stakes were too high, and the fewer people who knew, the better.

Seizing the opportunity, Shuihu Mouse boasted, "Moreover, master, due to my meritorious report, the True Dragon Hall rewarded the Golden Spirit Mouse clan with many benefits, including a precious drop of ancient dragon whale essence blood."

"It seems that the Golden Spirit Mouse clan’s status within the True Dragon Hall will be significantly elevated!"

Upon hearing this, a hint of a smile flashed across Xu Ping’s eyes, "That’s very good."

The higher the status of the Golden Spirit Mouse clan in the True Dragon Hall, the more core intelligence they could access, which would naturally benefit his future plans.

It would also be easier to utilize the power of the Demon Race for endeavors.

After inquiring about some details, Xu Ping rewarded Shuihu Mouse with a Tier Four Demon Core and dismissed it.

The chamber fell into silence once again.

Alone, Xu Ping meticulously reviewed every aspect of this operation, confirming there were no apparent flaws, and only then did he truly breathe a sigh of relief.

....

At the core of the Star Palace’s restricted zone.

Within a structure seemingly composed of countless stars.

A majestic figure draped in hazy starlight was quietly listening to a subordinate’s report on the disastrous defeat in the outer sea.

With the report, the light of the stars in the surrounding space seemed to grow cold and dim.

"Holy Lord, that is the situation. Due to the True Dragon Hall’s intervention, we have temporarily lost surveillance over the outer sea..."

The reporting Star Palace Cultivator lowered his head to report.

The starlight around the Star King’s body fluctuated slightly, showing no thunderous anger, but the silent chill and oppression almost suffocated the subordinate cultvator.

Fortune was seized, resulting in backlash injuries.

Moreover, they failed to detect anything, suffering such substantial losses.

Since he assumed control of the Star Palace, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

At the same time, a thick suspicion arose in his heart.

He had dealt with the Demon Race for many years and was naturally aware of their nature and state of lethargy.

But this operation was executed swiftly and decisively.

"Could it be... the seizing of fortune was the work of that old mudfish, Ao Qin?"

A shadow of gloom flickered deep in the Star King’s eyes.

Fortune was seized, the mysteries confused, and despite his powerful divine techniques, he could only determine a vague approximate location in the outer sea.

Such clean and swift methods capable of concealing his perception... was it truly the work of that usually slumbering, accumulating five-clawed old dragon?

Besides him, who else in the entire outer sea had such capability?

Normally, he would immediately join forces with the Moon God to personally descend upon the outer sea, causing upheaval.

Engage in a battle with that old mudfish, if necessary.

However, now, the Star King subconsciously sensed his own not yet fully healed injuries, and the equally concerning condition of the Moon God...

Engaging in a fight with an equal-ranking being at this moment would be adding insult to injury and might even shake his foundation.

Suppressing the churning anger and killing intent, the Star King’s voice returned to calmness, yet carried an unsettling coldness:

"Transmit the order for all remaining personnel in the outer sea to immediately withdraw. This matter is temporarily concluded, and await my further instructions."

"Yes, according to the Holy Lord’s decree."

The cultivator, as if granted amnesty, hurriedly bowed and retreated, instantly vanishing from this starry space.

The Star King stood alone in the hall, his gaze seemingly penetrating the endless space, falling upon the vast and chaotic outer sea.

"That old mudfish better not be you. Once I recover from my injuries... I shall personally visit the outer sea to catch up with you!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

On one hand, it was to investigate the matter of seizing fortune, on the other, it was a probe.

If it were indeed the old dragon’s doing, their future plans to gather fortune and break through to higher realms might encounter unexpected complications, even benefitting others at their expense.

At the deepest part of the True Dragon Hall, at the core spring of a mid-grade Fifth Rank Spirit Vein.

The concentration of Spiritual Qi here had surpassed the liquid level, almost forming a sticky, rainbow-colored spiritual gel.

In the center of the spiritual gel, a colossal five-clawed golden true dragon lay in slumber.

With each slow breath, the entire source of the Spirit Vein fluctuated, and massive amounts of spiritual gel were absorbed into the dragon’s body, nourishing its terrifying flesh and Dragon Essence.

The snoring was like muffled thunder, echoing throughout this space.

Suddenly—

"Achoo!"

A massive, unexpected sneeze burst from the golden dragon’s nostrils.

Boom!

Like sudden thunder from a clear sky.

Countless sticky rainbow-colored spiritual gels were sprayed, the entire core of the Spirit Vein quaked violently.

The five-clawed golden dragon abruptly opened its giant eyes, which were like suns and moons. A trace of confusion disrupted its peace, quickly turning into coldness and puzzlement.

"Hmm?"

It lifted its enormous head, its nostrils twitching slightly as if sniffing something, myriad mysterious runes swirling and deducing in its pupils.

"Is someone secretly plotting against this seat?"

A trace of extremely dangerous cold light flickered in the dragon’s eyes.

It pondered for a moment, then let out a low dragon’s cry. The sound penetrated through multiple Restrictions, reverberating through the True Dragon Hall: "Ao Qin, come see me!"