Dark competition in the royal family was the dirtiest and most ruthless in the world. For the throne, brothers could kill brothers or even the father. It was not a rare thing to expect.
Du Jia and Zi Yao had the same father but different mothers. To get the crown of the Dark Firmament Divine Nation, Du Jie wanted to kill Zi Yao and her blood brother, which wasn't hard to understand.
After Princess Zi Yao named Prince Du Jie, her mood was down. Along the way back, she was silent, and her smile wasn't as bright as before.
Shi Yan understood her mood. He knew it was hard to give any advice in this field. So, he didn't try to say anything in vain.
Zi Yao told him what the Land of God Punishment was. It was the area at the edge of the Raging Flame Star Area, which was obnubilated by thick mist year round. This land had so many forbidden areas that even an Original God Realm expert couldn't use his Soul Consciousness to survey.
Many space pirates would seclude in those lands to avoid the enemies.
The Land of God Punishment was situated in the center of the forbidden areas. A crowd of pirates, marauders, and evildoers that the other forces didn't want to accept dwelled there, along with brutal slaughterers and the madmen of the Raging Flame Star Area.
No one would show mercy while talking about that area. Also, it was a strange but rich trading area. Many goods the pirates and marauders got would be put up for transactions there. Rare cultivating materials that couldn't be found in the Raging Flame Star Area would perhaps appear in that land.
The Land of God Punishment was full of fights. They fought daily. Weak warriors couldn't survive there. People were killed every day, and all of their belongings would be snatched away.
When Bloody Slaughterer Ka Tuo, the leader of the pirates, operated in another area of the Raging Flame Star Area, if the enemies laid their eyes on him, he would be chased until they could kill him.
But, it would be different in the Land of God Punishment. This place had so many forbidden areas. If he evaluated that he couldn't resist the enemies, he just needed to hide in a forbidden area and seize some time to recover.
Madmen, slaughterers, pirates, and murderers with many death sentences, often visited the Land of God Punishment. They would trade many goods and materials, creating a strange but rich land.
This area hadn't been governed. Forces in the Raging Flame Star Area used to attack this place in an attempt to clean it. However, they hadn't succeeded.
After what Princess Zi Yao told him, Shi Yan quieted down as he finally knew the location of the Land of God Punishment. If it were not necessary, he wouldn't need to visit that land.
Even if he wanted to go, it shouldn't be with his current realm. When he felt he could protect himself well enough, he would go there and find Ka Tuo, asking him to do something in his favor.
Zi Yao seemed to have another goal. The tiger shark war chariot slowed down as she knew Bloody Slaughterer Ka Tuo wouldn't come for them anymore. She identified the direction, then drove the war chariot in the Solar Star Exploding Fragment Field, not caring about the speed.
On their journey, they encountered some other marauders and some warriors secluding in the Solar Star Exploding Fragment Field. However, those people weren't as brutal and fearless as Bloody Slaughterer Ka Tuo. When they found that Zi Yao was at the Third Sky of King God Realm, they would proactively stay away, not daring to mess with her.
Shi Yan relaxed happily. He stayed and cultivated in the tiger shark war chariot to steady his realm. He didn't hurry, just letting Zi Yao be in charge of everything.
Time flew by quickly.
Today, when he was closing his eyes to relax his nerves, Zi Yao suddenly smiled and muttered. "We're almost there."
"Where do you want to go?" Shi Yan lifted his head to look at her in confusion. "You should have a purpose visiting the Solar Star Exploding Fragment Field. What do you want after all?"
"I want to visit a man. He's very important to me. If I can get his recognition, I can gain the upper hand in the royal competition to the throne." Zi Yao's bold brows knitted together. "Don't be hurried. We will see him soon."
Zi Yao drove the tiger shark war chariot to glide through the maze of meteorolites, sometimes using her Soul Consciousness to survey.
Gradually, they arrived at a place packed with burning meteorolites. Flaming rocks floated everywhere while sunbeams shot chaotically.
Zi Yao got excited as she wormed through the gaps between the dangerous burning meteorolites like a shuttle. She detoured to avoid many dangerous areas, and after a long moment called out. "It's here."
Shi Yan's eyes brightened, his face also cheering up as his vision got clear.
It was unimaginable that a piece of land with rich heaven and earth energy could be situated in the middle of the burning meteorolite sea. It was a square land, thousands of miles squared in area. It floated quietly in outer space. Countless sunbeams seemed to be absorbed by that piece of land.
Steam fumed, winding outside the land, creating a marvelous barrier and covering the entire area. This barrier filtered the sunbeams, controlling the extreme heat so it wouldn't destroy the flora inside.
Square shaped herbal fields were flat and neat like cubes of tofu. Each field was the home of rare and precious spiritual herbs. They were all shining vigorously, proving their magical medicinal effects.
At first glance, those herbal fields seemed to be shimmering. So many plants in different colors looked more like blooming flowers, forming a scene that was beautifully marvelous.
A clear lake stayed in the center of hundreds of herbal fields, where an islet with a small cottage was situated.
Zi Yao's line of sight glided through the thick steam, falling on that small cottage. She left the tiger shark war chariot, going into the barrier made of thick vapor, then called tenderly, "Uncle Dirck, your niece comes to visit you. Please open the barrier so I can get in."
A soul fluctuation was sent from the small cottage on the islet. A moment later, a white-headed man emerged from the cottage. He waved his hand to dismiss the barrier, letting out a tender laughter. "Come in."
Zi Yao nodded to Shi Yan, signaling him to come with her.
Shi Yan smiled and didn't hesitate, accompanying Zi Yao through the barrier to that land of rich heaven and earth spiritual Qi. They slowly descended at the center of the islet.
The white-headed man called Dirck had some wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, but he was surely a handsome man when he was young. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, standing in the yard of his cottage while facing the sky. Until Zi Yao and Shi Yan landed, his deep eyes had never left Zi Yao, as if he were sinking into his thoughts.
Shi Yan didn't say anything as he was observing the surroundings discreetly, especially Dirck.
This herbal area was surrounded by so many flaming meteorolites. It was just around a thousand square miles, but the heaven and earth spiritual Qi and the Five Elements energy in this land were dozens of times denser than the Sixth Herbal Star.
Herbs and spiritual grass planted in those fields seemed to be all high-quality, which Nita's couldn't compare with at all. It seemed people in this islet had utilized the solar energy of the Solar Star Exploding Fragment Field to convert the cycle of heaven and earth energy to create the magic of this area.
Dirck had the same immense energy fluctuation that Shi Yan had observed from Da Lei. Their auras were vast and immeasurable. However, when he tried to sense further, he couldn't feel a beam of energy on him. It was like he was just an ordinary person.
He was obviously an alchemist whose rank was higher than Nita. Looking at Zi Yao, Dirck fell into his memories. Different complicated moods sparkled in his eyes. After a long moment, he sighed with emotion. "So identical! You and your mother, you guys look the same as if you are one."
Zi Yao's soft body shivered. "Uncle Dirck, you've met my mother? How was she?"
Zi Yao's mother passed away before she could be able to memorize things. She had no memories of her mother. Every time she tried to ask her father, she didn't get the information she wanted to know. With time, the feeling she had for her mother seemed to fade gradually.
"That b*stard Du Tian Ji had promised me to take care of your mother. He didn't fulfill his promise. He let your mother die!" Dirck snorted, his face cold and dark. "If I had known it, I would have never let her go. If she had gone with me, she would have never fallen into this tragic consequence. She would absolutely not have had to die!"
"How did she die? My father has never told me anything. Uncle, could you please tell me?" Zi Yao begged the man.
"You should ask him yourself, dear." Dirck let out a long sigh, looking at Zi Yao with fondness. "That b*stard knows you look exactly like her. That's why he sent you to see me. It's been so many years, and he hasn't changed a bit. Cunning! He calculates everything precisely. He knows I won't refuse you, so he sent you to me."
"Uncle," Zi Yao called him tenderly, "Is my mother's death related to... him?"
"Of course, yes!" Dirck rolled his eyes, "If he didn't want that throne and expand the territory, how could my sister die exhausting herself? My sister was the most outstanding alchemist of that year. Even I didn't have her innate endowment. She had refined so many God pellets for that b*stard Du Tian Ji. She had damaged her soul badly to help Du Tian Jie strengthen his force. Her soul was eroded bit by bit. Eventually, her soul altar vanished, leading to her death. If Du Tian Ji hadn't been so selfish that he wanted to rule the entire Raging Flame Star Area, my beloved sister wouldn't have had to die!"
Zi Yao's heart trembled, her beautiful eyes watery. A sorrowful feeling soaked her wholly.
"You look like my sister, but your brother takes after that b*stard. It's impossible if you want me to leave my place and aid your brother. I will never help someone who looks like Du Tian Ji. But, if you want to do something, I promise you, even if I have to risk my old life, I will help you at all costs." Dirck took a deep breath. "The entire Raging Flame Star Area knows what your brother is like. He inherits Du Tian Ji's characteristic from when he was young. I will never risk my life for him!"
Zi Yao was indifferent.
"Du Jie, your brother from another mother, came here before you. He came and promised me that as long as I stayed in this area, he would transport a large number of medicinal materials to me every ten years." Dirck darkened his face. "The royal evil competition is so dirty that nothing could compare with it. Brothers kill sisters without any hesitation. Anyway, thinking about it, Du Tian Ji had also killed a lot of his siblings to claim the throne. In present days, his children are going on the same path as his young self. I wonder if he has ever thought about it."
"It's him!" Zi Yao clenched her teeth. "I almost died before I could see you, Uncle. The one who ambushed me was my dear older brother Du Jia."
"Why do you need to yearn for power and position? Give it up and leave with me, then we will live in peace and freedom." Dirck gave her a deep look. "As long as you want it, Uncle can protect you forever. You will never need to worry about anything. Uncle can help you collect cultivating materials. Why do you need to get out there and battle with the others?"
"Even if I don't fight for my right, the others won't let me go." Zi Yao pondered for a while and then beamed a forced smile. "Father has put forth everything to reach the Ethereal God Realm. You know how dangerous it is. If he succeeds, nothing will change. But if he fails, his soul altar will perish. At that time, the Divine Nation will fall into chaos. Then, no matter where I hide, I can't stay away from their pursuit. Even if Uncle wants to protect me, it'll be a hard task."
Dirck panicked. "That damn b*stard! How could that heartless moron gain such realm! The Heaven is so unfair!"