Xiaoman stood quietly in place, staring at the direction where the Red Tide had fallen, her eyes reddening, her fists clenched.

I don't know how much time passed before my heart calmed down.

"It's time to go back and find the Scorpion King and the others."

As he turned around, he caught a glimpse of something extremely inconspicuous out of the corner of his eye, and frowned slightly. "What's that?"

He rushed over and used his Bloodthirsty Sword to pry open the soil, revealing a tattered parchment scroll inside.

The moment my hand touched it, an evil aura surged into my body.

Clang!

The Bloodthirsty Sword emitted a sword intent, instantly shattering the evil aura.

Unfold the parchment; it contains completely unfamiliar characters and patterns.

"What race's script is this?"

I searched through my memories but couldn't find any matching words or patterns, so I could only keep them safe.

They ran all the way and soon reunited with the Scorpion King and the others.

Xiaoman showed the parchment scroll, "Do you have anyone here who specializes in studying the scripts of other races?"

Everyone immediately frowned and shook their heads.

Ao Jia opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "I know someone who might be able to decipher the inscription."

"Who? Where?"

“Red Earth Star Region.” Ao Jia smiled bitterly. “This person’s whereabouts are elusive; I only met him once by chance.”

"This is like finding a needle in a haystack," Ao Zanglong said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

“My lord, we still have a chance if we want to find him.” Ao Jia pointed to the clansmen who were in charge of intelligence gathering. “By using scouts and scouts from the entire Red Earth Starfield, we can definitely find the old man’s trail.”

"There's no time to lose, contact Hua Long, the person in charge of the Red Earth Starfield, immediately." Xiao Man was very anxious.

"good."

Ao Zanglong, in his capacity as the Scorpion King, issued the order, and the garrison commanders immediately sprang into action.

"I will also set off immediately for the Red Earth sector."

Xiaoman nodded to the crowd and rushed towards the fighter jet...

Red Earth region, core planet.

Hua Long is leading a group of scouts in search of the mysterious old man, but they have found no clues.

"Expand the search area; we must find him before the eldest princess arrives."

"Yes, sir!"

The scouts dispersed.

Hua Long frowned, thinking of a solution, when suddenly his eyes lit up. "Why not issue a reward notice and let the people search for it together? The chances of finding it would be much higher."

Without further ado, a reward notice was issued.

The entire population of the Red Earth region was captivated.

"Damn, just by providing information about someone's whereabouts, I can get 50,000 universal currency and three large carts of daily necessities."

"What are you waiting for? Go find someone!"

"Let's go, let's go, let's find them, let's find them!"

......

The news quickly spread throughout the entire Red Earth Starfield, and any information that even remotely resembled the mysterious person was reported by this group.

They also unexpectedly uncovered many serious criminals who had been on the run for many years.

If it were the Scorpion Kingdom of the past, they would still have a chance to escape again. But now, the Crimson Hun Empire is full of powerful figures, and its people are more united than ever before. Even the most powerful figures will be worn down by them.

No one could have predicted that this unintentional act would transform the Scorpion King's territory into an elite force. (To be continued)

The capital city, somewhere.

An elderly man wearing a straw hat and a raincoat was smiling as he stared at a group of people.

They escorted a vicious fugitive toward the city lord's mansion.

"Get out of here!" A soldier lashed the fugitive with his whip. "The murderer of the massacre in the eastern suburbs, you dare glare at me?"

The crowd rushed forward and punched and kicked the prisoner until his head was swollen like a pig's head. He never dared to glare at the crowd again.

The old man was very satisfied. He stroked his beard and muttered to himself, "I, the Venerable Dongling, have searched the whole world, but I never expected that the wise ruler would be right before my eyes. Excellent, excellent indeed!"

The sound was quite loud, and a sharp-eyed member of the public noticed him.

After a moment's thought, she was overjoyed and rushed over to grab his arm, exclaiming, "I found him! I found him! Haha..."

Everyone nearby looked over, overjoyed.

The murderer glanced around and noticed that there were far fewer guards, so he moved towards the area with the fewest people.

Suddenly, he lunged forward, slashing the soldier's neck with a hand chop.

The soldiers had no time to react and closed their eyes to await their deaths.

A gasp of surprise rang out.

The soldier felt no pain. He slowly opened his eyes and saw an old man standing in front of him, who had restrained the vicious murderer with one hand.

"Keep an eye on him, don't let him get away."

"Thank you, Venerable Master."

The officers and soldiers were deeply grateful to Master Dongling and bowed repeatedly.

Go!

"yes!"

After the government troops left, he took a few steps forward and shouted to the man who had first pulled him, "Don't you want a bigger disparity? Aren't you coming with me?"

The people were overjoyed and eagerly followed suit...

Soon, the City Lord's Mansion relayed the news of finding Master Dongling to Hualong, who then immediately passed it on to Ao Canglong.

Xiaoman quickly received the news and headed straight for the city lord's mansion.

An hour later.

Xiaoman, Ao Canglong, Ao Jia, and others gathered at the city lord's mansion.

"This humble general greets the Grand Princess and the Scorpion King." Hua Long and the others bowed in greeting.

No need for formalities.

Xiaoman slowly walked up to Master Dongling and handed him the parchment scroll. "Master, can you read the writing on this?"

He didn't answer immediately, but examined it carefully. "It should be the script of the ancient ghost beast race."

"Huh?" Everyone was shocked.

Master Dongling ignored them and pointed to the strangest pattern, "Princess, you should have seen a similar pattern before, right?"

Xiaoman frowned slightly, her memories flashing before her eyes. She quickly found a pattern that looked somewhat similar. "Now that you mention it, it does look a bit like it. Not long ago, I hunted down a member of the Ghost Beast Clan. When his icy power was pushed to its limit, a similar pattern appeared."

"Really?" Master Dongling asked solemnly.

"really!"

Master Dongling trembled, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke, "I am now certain that this parchment scroll is the map to the Doom Star System."

"How long will it take to completely decipher it?" Xiaoman asked expectantly.

“That’s hard to say. The inscription is too ancient. I need to study and deduce it carefully before I can decipher it.” Master Dongling bowed slightly. “Your Highness can rest assured that I will be able to decipher it in half a month at most.”

"Okay!" Xiaoman turned to Ao Canglong, "I'll cooperate fully!"

“Yes, sir!” Ao Canglong gestured for him to follow. “Master, please come with me.”

As Master Dongling left, a hint of regret flashed in his eyes.

Xiaoman's ability to read people was so strong that she immediately understood that the other party was lamenting that their talents were not being recognized, and she immediately stopped them.

He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Master, I have another request, and I hope you will grant it."

"You're too kind, Princess!" She clasped her hands and bowed repeatedly.

"The Scorpion Territory is lacking a highly capable strategist. I would like to invite you to take on this role. Would that be alright?" Xiaoman's attitude was extremely sincere.

Although Master Dongling was a recluse, he had never encountered such a wise and respectful ruler. He bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle and cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness. I will do my utmost to assist the Scorpion King!"

Xiaoman nodded and looked at everyone. "From now on, Master Dongling is the chief strategist of the Scorpion Territory. Anyone who disagrees can come and find me."

The oppressive aura carried a faint killing intent.

The strongest among them was Master Dongling, yet even he felt a chill run down his spine; the others fared even worse, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Master Dongling bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, and only slowly rose after a few seconds: "Thank you, Great Princess!"

"Please rise quickly!"

Xiaoman released a faint internal force in her hand and helped Dongling Shangren up.

Master Dongling was shocked and thought to himself, "I never expected that the Great Princess's strength has reached such a level. To be appreciated by such a wise ruler, I have no regrets in this life. Master Dongling hereby vows: In my lifetime, I will do my best to expand the Scorpion Domain and expand the territory of the Crimson Hun Empire."

He clasped his hands in a fist and slowly turned around, his eyes filled with the joy of having met a wise ruler.

Xiaoman wasn't in a hurry and waited for him to calm down.

A few minutes later.

After calming down, Dongling Shangren bowed and said, "Princess, Scorpion King, and generals, please forgive me for being a little out of line just now."

"What are you saying, strategist?" the generals returned the salute.

"Thank you all." After bowing, he turned to Xiaoman, "If the eldest princess is in a hurry for results, she can study this with me."

"OK!"

Ao Zanglong quickly arranged a secluded spot for the two of them and personally led the way.

"I will not disturb your research any longer. Farewell!"

"Okay, you've been worried for a long time too, go back and rest." Xiaoman.

"Farewell!"

After the Scorpion King left, Master Dongling immediately unrolled the parchment scroll and took out an ancient book for comparison.

"How strange?"

"What's wrong with it?" Xiaoman stared at the parchment scroll, but couldn't see anything wrong with it.

Master Dongling did not answer immediately. He pointed to the pattern on the ancient book and then to the parchment scroll. “These two patterns look similar, but they are actually worlds apart.” He moved his finger forward. “Look here. Isn’t there an extra, barely noticeable line?”

Upon his reminder, Xiaoman also noticed that the two patterns were not the same. "The one on the parchment scroll looks like some kind of evil god, while the one in the ancient book, although also an evil god, is much more powerful than the former. In other words, if they were put together, the evil god on the parchment scroll would have to call the evil god in the ancient book 'ancestor'."

Master Dongling gave a thumbs up, "The eldest princess's observation is meticulous, and her analysis is very thorough. I agree with her." She frowned slightly, "However, there is one thing I really can't understand. Since they are the same, why is there such a huge difference in their strength?"

Xiaoman's brows furrowed at times and relaxed at others.

"Strategist, let's make a bold assumption. If you were the one who drew this parchment, would you have inscribed all the information on it?"

"I can."

"Then let's assume it's genuine. Why is it different from what's recorded in this ancient book?"

Master Dongling shook his head.

Xiaoman paused for a moment, then there's only one possibility: the illustrator wanted to hide something. Or, the ancient book might have a problem.

“Not all ancient books will have problems,” Master Dongling assured him, patting his chest.

“It’s fine, so the only problem is with the parchment scroll.” Xiaoman said gravely. “Let’s make a bold assumption: this parchment scroll was likely deliberately exposed by the enemy. Anyone who deciphers it and goes to the coordinates on it will be doomed.”

"Hiss!" Master Dongling broke out in a cold sweat. "This possibility is extremely high." He looked up at Xiaoman and said, "Princess, since its dangers outweigh its benefits, we don't need to pay attention to it and can simply abandon it."

Xiaoman shook her head, her eyes filled with unwavering determination. "Whether it's true or false, anything involving the Ghost Beast Clan must be destroyed."