"I'm leaving. I hope our paths will never cross again!" A faint smile appeared on Rocky's face before he
disappeared in front of Erica.
The next day, Sabina and her two companions were released from the governor's mansion. Rocky was
waiting for them outside the governor's enormous house.
"Why did you give the spiritual treasure to her? We risked our lives just to get it," Sabina grumbled as
soon as she saw Rocky.
"Our goal was to ruin Alston's plan. And to make sure he will not get his hands on the spiritual treasure.
Besides, I only gave her half of the treasure," Rocky said with a smile. He flipped his hands and a
Mysterious Spirit Raw Gemstone glowed on the top of his palm.
"You are so cunning! Erica will be pissed off if she finds out!" Sabina's eyes twinkled when she saw the
stone. She laughed as she imagined Erica's face once she discovered that she only got half of the
spiritual treasure.
"Did she hurt you?" Rocky asked in a tender voice.
"No. But I'm confused. We stole the spiritual treasure, but Erica was still kind to us. She also asked me
to give you a message." Sabina glared at Rocky suspiciously.
"What message?" Rocky asked.
"She said your paths would definitely cross again," Sabina replied.
"Looks like I am in trouble," Rocky bit his lips. He did not expect that to stop Alston's plan, he would get
into trouble with Erica. With Erica's temper, Rocky knew he was in hot water. However, what worried
him most was whether Erica would recognize him.
Since they had successfully ruined Alston's plan, Rocky and his companions went back to the Holy
Dragon Empire at once.
A day later, the imperial preceptor of the Magic Phoenix Empire and Erica's master, Felicia, also arrived
at the Blood Phoenix City.
Inside the hall of the governor's mansion, Erica handed the spiritual treasure to Felicia.
"You must be mistaken. It's only a chunk of the spiritual treasure," Felicia said as she held the spiritual
treasure in her hands. She examined it more carefully, but she was still convinced that it was not the
whole gem.
"Only a part of it? That guy lied to me!" Erica was furious. She did not expect that Rocky would deceive
her.
"Don't worry. You mentioned that the man who gave you this is with the disciple of General Marcia of
the Holy Dragon Empire. If that's the case, then it would be easy to find him. Take some of our people
and go to the Holy Dragon Empire as soon as possible. Make sure you will come back with the missing
part. But you have to be careful. Do it discreetly, just as I told you before," Felicia ordered. Since the
incident about the spiritual treasure was of great importance and a delicate matter, they had to keep a
low profile to avoid attracting the attention of the other countries.
"Yes, master!" Erica nodded and bowed her head. However, she could not help herself and asked,
"Master, what is this thing? Even the Holy Dragon Empire sent so many people to steal it. And this was
not the first time people risked their lives and searched for it. Spirit manipulators from other countries
also came to the Magic Phoenix Empire in the past to secretly look for it."
"You don't have to know the answer to that question. Your knowledge about this thing will only
endanger your life. Just follow my instructions and bring the missing part back to us," Felicia ordered in
all seriousness.
Erica nodded, then turned around and left.
A few days later, Elder Duke returned to the Palace City with the spirit manipulator team. It enraged
Alston when he learned that the treasure hunt expedition had failed and the spiritual treasure had been
returned to the Magic Phoenix Empire.
"You were accompanied by dozens of men, but you failed to defeat a group with few people! What's
worst, you were identified by the Magic Phoenix Empire's people." Alston's eyes darkened. He was
furious and wanted to curse the people in front of him, but his current position prevented him from
doing so.
"Your Majesty, the operation failed because of Marcia's disciple, Sabina. She and her companions got
in the way of our plan and stole the spiritual treasure." Elder Duke did not hesitate and accused
Sabina.
"Sabina? How did she know that I sent you to look for the treasure? Did Marcia inform them?" Alston
became suspicious. He was aware that for the last six months, Marcia had been secretly gathering
forces. He was not aware of her reasons, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was not in favor of
him. However, he lacked evidence and could not do anything to prosecute her. Now, Marcia had
blatantly ruined his search for the spiritual treasure. Without a doubt, she was against him.
"The thing is, Sabina was with a very powerful spirit manipulator. I did not recognize him, but he was
the one who took the spiritual treasure from us. He must be someone extraordinary," Elder Duke
narrated.
"His identity is not important! But how he was able to defeat three peerless masters at the Divine
Stage?" Alston asked in a loud voice.
The color on Elder Duke's face vanished, and he did not dare to say anything more.
"Forget it! You may leave now." Alston waved his hand impatiently. He knew it was useless to lose his
temper now.
With their heads bowed, Elder Duke and his team left.
"Your Majesty, how are we going to explain to the Dragon Master Clan that we failed to get the spiritual
treasure?" Priest Dean who was beside Alston asked with a worried face. He knew how important it
was for them to possess the spiritual treasure.
"I wanted to get my hands on the spiritual treasure of the Magic Phoenix Empire, so I can give it to the
Dragon Master Clan. That would have impressed them a lot. But I did not expect my plan to fail. Damn
it! I have to find a way to enter the forbidden area of the royal family as soon as possible," Alston said
with a determined look on his face.
"But for the past six months, you have tried so many ways to enter the forbidden area of the royal
family, and failed," Priest Dean replied.
"I know, but the Dragon Master Clan has already issued an ultimatum. I do not have a choice. I have to
find a way," Alston answered.
"What about Her Royal Highness? Have you tried asking her?" Priest Dean asked reluctantly.
"I already asked her many times, but her answer was always no. I don't know if she was telling the
truth..." Alston's voice trailed off.
"I think it's time for you to make some drastic moves," Priest Dean suggested. The Witch had existed
since the beginning of the Holy Dragon Empire. She was well respected and held a prominent status.
Her role was to protect the Holy Dragon Empire and its hidden secrets. Even if Lena knew something,
she would not disclose the information easily.
"I don't want to force her. If I wanted to, I would have done it a long time ago. There is no way I will
force her. She remained to be my one true love," Alston said, his voice filled with affection. He was
crazy about Lena, and he did not want her to get hurt because of his ambition. But this was before he
entered this dead-end situation.
"But we are left with no choice. Since we failed to get the spiritual treasure, our only hope is the
spiritual treasure that is in the forbidden area of the royal family," Priest Dean said seriously.
"I know. I will talk to her again. For now, I need you to find out why Sabina disrupted our plan. And I
want to know the reason behind Marcia's malicious tactics." Alston ordered Priest Dean.
"Yes, sir. But what should we do with the Ji Clan? Should we just let it go?" Priest Dean asked Alston.
"If the Ji Clan refused to send the empress back, then we must take some actions, I heard Daniel have
a crush on Sabina. I will put together a decree to propose marriage on his behalf. If the Ji Clan agrees
then they will be under my control. But if they refuse, then I will have a reason to punish them with my
power and authority. There are only two clans left—the Ji Clan and the Ximen Clan. As long as I can
manipulate those two clans, no one in the Holy Dragon Empire will dare to disobey me! Ha-ha!" Alston
laughed, and it filled his eyes with wickedness.
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