As Xu Fang followed the Grand Minister into the palace, he naturally attracted many curious glances along the way.

  Soon, they arrived in the grand hall of the palace.

  At a glance, Xu Fang spotted the regal and elegant queen seated upon her phoenix throne, her eyes filled with curiosity as she regarded him.

  “Your Majesty, he has arrived.”

  Upon hearing this, the queen nodded and inspected Xu Fang closely.

  This was her first encounter with a man, and since beginning his cultivation, Xu Fang had nurtured his figure, standing tall with an extraordinary presence and handsome features.

  “Ahem…”

  At that moment, the Grand Minister noticed the queen’s gaze lingering on Xu Fang and cleared his throat lightly.

  Only then did the queen come back to her senses, offering Xu Fang an apologetic smile.

  The Grand Minister stepped closer to her side and spoke in a low voice, “Your Majesty, this man possesses an extraordinary demeanor and profound magical power; he is a highly accomplished cultivator. Perhaps he could assist us in addressing the calamity facing our kingdom…”

  “A cultivator?”

  The queen of the Kingdom of Women’s eyes widened in surprise as she turned to look at Xu Fang again.

  She knew that the Grand Minister had some magical skills, but his powers were quite limited. However, she could discern the depth of another’s cultivation.

  If this man truly had great magical prowess, he might indeed be able to help resolve the issues plaguing their kingdom.

  Though their voices were low, they were not beyond Xu Fang’s hearing at the Golden Immortal level.

  At this point, he understood why the women of the Kingdom of Women wore such despondent expressions.

  So, the kingdom was in trouble.

  After pondering for a moment, Xu Fang stepped forward and, cupping his hands, addressed the queen on the phoenix throne, “I am Xu Fang, an outsider and cultivator, here to meet Your Majesty.”

  In truth, with his cultivation level, he need not bow to a mortal ruler.

  However, Xu Fang was not one to be dismissive of proper etiquette; he did not consider himself above others.

  Seeing Xu Fang bow, the queen quickly responded, her demeanor a mix of surprise and gratitude, “You honor me with your presence, esteemed immortal. Please rise! Someone, bring a seat!”

  As she spoke, the queen gracefully descended from her throne and continued, “I am the queen of the Kingdom of Xiliang. You may call me Qingwei.”

  To be honest, if it were anyone else, the queen would not be so warm.

  Yet, mortals held great reverence for those who pursued longevity, and Xu Fang was a striking man, which inevitably caused her to lose some composure.

  Xu Fang nodded in acknowledgment, grateful for the seat, and inquired, “Your Majesty, upon entering the city, I sensed something was amiss. Has something strange occurred in your kingdom?”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  As soon as he finished speaking, the queen’s face fell, and she sighed, “To be honest, esteemed immortal, our Kingdom of Women has always been without men, and our citizens rely solely on the waters of the Mother River to continue their lineage.”

  “Recently, strange occurrences have plagued our realm, with citizens disappearing one after another. I sent people to investigate but found no clues. Therefore, the Grand Minister and I suspect that some evil entity is at work.”

  At this point, Qingwei sincerely bowed to Xu Fang and pleaded, “Now that you are here, I humbly ask for your assistance in uncovering the reasons behind our kingdom’s calamity. Qingwei and the people of the Kingdom of Women would be eternally grateful!”

  As Qingwei’s voice faded, the Grand Minister and the officials in the hall, including maids and servants, bowed deeply to Xu Fang, exclaiming, “We beseech you, esteemed immortal, to lend your aid!”

  At this moment, Xu Fang understood what affliction had befallen the Kingdom of Women.

  In simple terms, a large number of people had gone missing, and the kingdom lacked the strength to uncover the cause!

  This greatly increased the likelihood that some evil spirits were to blame!

  He had encountered similar situations numerous times during his four years of travels, and facing such cases again, he had no intention of declining.

  After all, every time he resolved such issues, merit from the heavenly Dao would descend upon him.

  His rapid cultivation advancement was largely due to this fact.

  With that in mind, Xu Fang nodded to Qingwei and said, “Your Majesty need not worry. Since I have come across this matter, I will not stand idly by.”

  “Thank you so much, esteemed immortal!”

  Qingwei was overjoyed, repeatedly expressing her gratitude.

  Xu Fang nodded, then took his leave from the palace.

  With his Golden Immortal cultivation, his spiritual sense could spread across the entire kingdom in an instant.

  However, it was exceedingly strange that he could not detect any trace of demonic energy throughout the kingdom. The only place where he sensed a surge of sinister energy was in the waters outside the city!

  “Could it be that the source of the calamity does not come from a demon, but from the river itself?”

  Xu Fang pondered for a moment before his figure flickered, and with a flash of golden light, he arrived beside the river.

  This river was the lifeblood of the Kingdom of Women, the Mother River!

  The waters surged, creating countless waves, and the sinister energy churned within, appearing quite formidable!

  Such sinister energy was difficult for those without cultivation or with low cultivation levels to detect.

  Just as Xu Fang approached the river, a chilling and somewhat sinister voice suddenly emanated from the riverbed!

  “Hmm? A man in the Kingdom of Women? Well, it seems fate has delivered him right to me! This blood essence can rival that of thousands!”

  As the voice faded, the water churned violently, and a blood-red figure exploded forth from the depths!

  Xu Fang looked at the blood-red figure, momentarily taken aback.

  The figure bore a strong resemblance to a human, but it was much larger, grotesquely ugly, and covered in bony spikes.

  “Asura clan?”

  This revelation stunned Xu Fang!

  During his time on Mount Fangcun, he had heard Master Bodhi mention the myriad races of the world, and the Asura clan was among them.

  Since the dawn of time, following the cataclysms of the primordial era, when various clans could barely survive, only the Asura clan, under the orders of the Ancestor of the River of the Underworld, retreated to the Blood Sea of the Underworld.

  This was due to the Ancestor of the River of the Underworld being formed from the foul blood of Pangu, becoming one of the most sinister entities in the Three Realms, which the heavenly Dao detested. Thus, both the heavenly Dao and Hongjun Taoist Ancestor, as well as the Six Saints of Heaven and Earth, had issued decrees against the Ancestor of the River of the Underworld.

  The Asura clan was forbidden to leave the Blood Sea of the Underworld for eternity!

  The Asura before Xu Fang had undoubtedly ventured out against this decree to seize blood essence!

  This explained why this creature dared not openly enter the Kingdom of Women to slaughter the populace for blood essence, instead hiding beneath the waters of the Mother River!

  With this realization, Xu Fang finally understood the source of the calamity plaguing the Kingdom of Women.

  “Who would have thought there was a man in the Kingdom of Women, and he’s a cultivator with such abundant blood essence! This is a tremendous treasure!”

  The Asura gazed hungrily at Xu Fang, drooling with anticipation.

  Xu Fang was momentarily taken aback by the creature’s words and then burst into laughter.

  He hadn’t even approached the Asura with hostility yet, and here this creature was, already eyeing his physical body!