You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

"Boom—"

The deep darkness of Eternal Night enveloped everything, with only the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the heaven and earth for an instant.

In the profound night sky, Duanmu Yan, clad in black robes, nearly merged with the Eternal Night. He left Great Yong at an astounding speed, reaching miles beyond the Barrier before finally landing in a valley.

Immediately, he took out a white scale and his consciousness sank into a strange Dream Realm.

Amidst the vast expanse of the Dream Realm, Duanmu Yan looked up at the sky and spoke, "I request an audience with the Demon Ancestor."

"Duanmu Yan."

A soft, dreamy female voice resonated throughout the Dream Realm, "Weren't you in Great Yong? How long has it been since you've returned?"

Duanmu Yan lowered his head and said solemnly, "To report to the Dream Demon Ancestor, Duanmu has failed, the plan... has already failed."

"Failed?"

The soft and pleasant female voice sounded again, "I will invite the Heavenly Demon Ancestor here."

After a while, a calm male voice echoed in the Dream Realm, "Duanmu Yan, when you left, did you not boast of a ninety percent chance of success? Tell me the reason for the failure."

"Great Heavenly Demon Ancestor."

Duanmu Yan respectfully said, "According to the plan, the disaster relief should have caused the death of a great portion of the mortals in Great Yong, but... after Duanmu went to Great Yong, he found that this method was no longer effective."

"No longer effective?" The calm male voice asked, "Even if Great Yong has a thousand miles of fertile soil, prolonged drought will turn it into barren land. How could mere Rain Praying Techniques save those billions of mortals?"

"Because of the Seventh Princess of Great Yong, Xiahong Qiuhe."

Duanmu Yan said, "Somehow, this princess has produced a strange kind of fruit called 'Autumn Fruit'. Moreover, in the past year, she planted them with ease, yielding hundreds of billions of pounds, and by herself, she solved the famine of billions in Great Yong. Even without the Fengtian Order from the Divine Pivot Institute correcting the climate, it was impossible to starve billions of Great Yong's mortals to death."

"Seventh Princess?" The calm male voice paused for a moment before asking, "Was there no chance to kill her?"

"The Seventh Princess rarely leaves the Princess Mansion."

Duanmu Yan said, "Moreover, the Seventh Princess has now achieved Harmonization and become a Saint. Unless the elder from Di Hong City takes action... Duanmu has no confidence to kill her."

The calm male voice said nothing more.

That one in Di Hong City... was the true final resort, exceptionally effective once used. If deployed wisely, even killing a Prince was highly likely—an advantage that obviously could not be exposed lightly.

Duanmu Yan continued, "Duanmu also tried to hinder disaster relief efforts, but it was the Seventeenth Prince's closest guard who was in charge. Duanmu tried to deal with her, but with the Seventeenth Prince protecting her alongside the Phoenix Crown and the Blood Sea Saint Mother, Duanmu revealed all of his methods and still found no way."

"The Blood Sea Saint Mother is merely an avatar, and however powerful the Phoenix Crown may be, it can't match her avatar. With your preparations this time, you should have easily suppressed both the Phoenix Crown and the Blood Sea Saint Mother," said the calm male voice.

"Reporting to the Heavenly Demon Ancestor."

Duanmu Yan spoke gravely, "The Seventeenth Prince also possesses the strength of the Eighth Layer of Tianxia Building. The key issue is... he actually has an Imperial Decree that allows him to unleash his full strength in Jingzhou, which is why Duanmu could not capture the Seventeenth Prince's guard."

"An Imperial Decree?"

The calm male voice fell silent.

After a moment, it asked, "Why did you want to capture that guard alive without killing her?"

"Heavenly Demon Ancestor, that guard of the Seventeenth Prince is a half-demon and has perfectly cultivated the Fire Phoenix Divine Body, and she may very well have assimilated the complete Fire Phoenix Soul,"

Duanmu Yan explained, "Her strength is also extremely powerful, almost reaching the level of the Eighth Layer of the Tianxia Building. Such strength is scarce even among the Demon Kings of our Demon Clan. I suspect she might be the descendant of some significant figure of the Fire Phoenix Demon Clan, hence my desire to capture her alive."

"Oh?"

The calm male voice remarked, "Let me inquire with the Phoenix Demon Ancestor."

After a little while.

"It is indeed the case."

The calm male voice said, "The son of the Fire Phoenix Clan's Demon God and the Human Clan's Yan Yue, the revered Flame Enforcer, did indeed have a child."

"Yan Yue, the Flame Enforcer?" Duanmu Yan was somewhat surprised, "Duanmu has seen her in the Illusion Realm of Eternal Night Mountain in Great Yong. She doesn't seem fond of the Human Clan, but within the Eternal Night faction, she has shown no inclination to side with our Demon Clan. She actually had a child with the young master of the Fire Phoenix Clan..."

"She too arrived in the Eternal Night only about twenty years ago."

The calm male voice said, "It's not yet her turn for demonization, and it hasn't been verified whether she is a covert agent sent by the Human Clan. Therefore, she has been allowed to live in the breeding pen for the time being."

Duanmu Yan pondered for a moment and then said, "Great Heavenly Demon Ancestor, since her daughter is so deeply involved with the Seventeenth Prince, perhaps we can exploit this connection?"

"It's worth a try."

The calm male voice stated, "However, the return of the Prison Demon God is of utmost importance. If the Seventeenth Prince really is the reincarnation of the Prison Demon God, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince must be aware of it. Knowing that the Seventeenth Prince is the reincarnation of the Prison Demon God, yet still they willingly let him grow and even granted him an Imperial Edict to protect his life... Is he truly still the Prison Demon God?"

Duanmu Yan was slightly startled.

"Duanmu Yan, let me remind you once more,"

The calm male voice declared, "It is vital to eliminate the mortals of Great Yong, and the matter concerning the Prison Demon God is equally critical."

"Yes," Duanmu Yan responded respectfully, "Duanmu understands."

"Make sure the Seventeenth Prince's Divine Soul collapses as soon as possible."

The calm male voice instructed, "If he genuinely is the Prison Demon God, he will surely be able to absorb that droplet of Ancestor Blood. If not, the Ancestor Blood will reject him... That will be the perfect moment to kill him, to prevent the secrets of the Prison Demon God from leaking and to eliminate the threat."