After expending a significant amount of vital energy, Zhang Fan managed to shake off the Vatican arbiter. He then flew on his sword for hundreds of kilometers, arriving at Elba Island and finding Ailabela and the others.
"Master!"
"Master!"
Seeing Zhang Fan return unharmed, Ailabela and Lin Haotian were overjoyed. However, they soon noticed that Zhang Fan's condition was not right.
Zhang Fan, who usually appeared full of youthful vitality, was now extremely pale, devoid of color. He looked like a young net addict who had been online for a week straight without sleep, appearing very tired and weak.
"Make arrangements. Leave Ailabela here. The rest of you, return to Huaxia immediately," Zhang Fan said as soon as he arrived.
Hearing this, everyone felt uneasy. It was the first time they had seen Zhang Fan make such a serious and urgent arrangement.
"Master, what happened?" Ailabela and Lin Haotian exchanged glances. Lin Haotian asked.
"The Vatican's strength far exceeds my estimations. There are five Earth Immortals alone, and I can sense this is not their full power," Zhang Fan said, shaking his head with a grave expression.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, the Vatican's strength truly surpassed his expectations, far beyond what he could currently resist.
Although he had temporarily suppressed the five Earth Immortals of the Vatican with the Mountain River Seal, giving him a chance to escape, this had caused considerable damage to the artifact spirit of the Mountain River Seal. After all, he could not fully control the Mountain River Seal yet and could only rely on the artifact spirit's power to wield it.
"Five Earth Immortals?"
Lin Haotian and Ailabela were stunned by Zhang Fan's words.
In an era where Divine Realm experts were rarely seen and Earth Immortals were mere legends, the Vatican actually hid five Earth Immortals. How terrifying was such power?
Although Ailabela was the little princess of the Blood Clan, with noble status and extraordinary standing, her strength was still too weak.
With her peak Saint Realm strength, exceptional talent, and noble birth, she held a status comparable to an ordinary Divine Realm expert within the Blood Clan.
However, even ordinary Divine Realm experts knew very little about beings above them.
At the very least, the Blood Clan had several Grand Dukes who surpassed the Divine Realm, but Ailabela knew nothing about whether there were even more powerful beings.
As per Zhang Fan's arrangements, Lin Haotian took Yan Qianghu, Hong Binglan, and the others back to Huaxia on a private jet that same night. Even Zhao Qingqing, who was planning to spend a few days in Europe, was sent back by Zhang Fan.
Having witnessed the Vatican's power, Zhang Fan dared not be careless, which was why he immediately sent Lin Haotian and the others away. After all, with their strength, any single Divine Realm expert from the Vatican could easily crush them.
Only when they returned to Huaxia could Zhang Fan feel a little more at ease.
In Huaxia, with the Blood Demon Flood Dragon guarding the place and the formations Zhang Fan had set up, it was enough to resist ordinary Core Formation realm cultivators. Moreover, it would be difficult for the Vatican's forces to extend their reach into Huaxia. The deterrence of a major power in the contemporary era would, Zhang Fan believed, make even the Vatican wary.
"Master, where do we go next?" Ailabela asked after they had seen everyone off.
"Let's leave here first and find a secluded place. I plan to go into seclusion to research something," Zhang Fan said.
He had already exposed himself on Elba Island, so they could not linger there. They planned to leave first and then make further plans.
"If Master is looking for a place to go into seclusion, I happen to have a very good recommendation. Even those Earth Immortals from the Vatican would likely not dare to disturb us easily," Ailabela said with a sweet smile.
"Since that's the case, let's go." Without Ailabela needing to say it, Zhang Fan had an inkling of where she was referring to.
"It seems Master has already guessed. If Master doesn't mind, then let's set off."
On the surging sea, two figures, like shooting stars, streaked across the sky, becoming smaller and smaller, gradually disappearing into the night.
...
In a deep, dense jungle, there stood a magnificent ancient castle. It occupied a vast area and stood prominently on the mountainside.
Zhang Fan and Ailabela hovered in the air, looking down at the ancient castle below. A sense of familiarity welled up within Ailabela.
After all, she was born in this very castle.
"This is the foundation of our Blood Clan, the Ancestral Castle. Legend has it that it was built by our progenitor and has a history of several hundred years," Ailabela introduced to Zhang Fan.
"It seems there's a reason why your Blood Clan has been able to oppose the Vatican for centuries without being wiped out," Zhang Fan nodded and chuckled.
Within this castle, Zhang Fan could sense no less than five Divine Realm experts, and the number of Saint Realm experts exceeded double digits.
As for beings above the Divine Realm, such powerful individuals could deliberately conceal their auras. With Zhang Fan's current strength, it was not easy for him to detect them.
Therefore, Zhang Fan was unsure how many beings surpassed the Divine Realm within the Blood Clan.
However, judging by the Vatican's strength, there must be Earth Immortal-level experts in the Blood Clan, and more than one, otherwise, the Blood Clan would have been destroyed by the Vatican long ago.
"Although the Ancestral Castle is very large, only Blood Clan members of Prince bloodline can reside here permanently. Other Blood Clan members can only live here if their strength reaches the Saint Realm. This results in the Ancestral Castle appearing somewhat deserted normally," Ailabela said.
Zhang Fan was enlightened. No wonder so many powerful individuals were gathered within this castle. However, it also showed the extraordinary significance of the Ancestral Castle to the Blood Clan.
Ailabela's figure flickered, and she gracefully landed before the castle gate. The gate was extremely grand, like an ancient city gate.
The castle gate was tightly shut. Ailabela gently pushed it, and it was like activating a switch. The castle gate made a sound of machinery turning and slowly opened.
Upon entering, one was greeted by a corridor nearly a hundred meters long. The lights on both sides of the corridor were dim, and the two felt as if they had stumbled into an ancient ruin.
At the end of the corridor was a magnificent hall. Zhang Fan and Ailabela walked slowly into the hall.
At this moment, quite a few people were already gathered in the hall. They stood there quietly, gazing at the approaching pair with incredibly calm expressions.
"Princess."
Ailabela had immense popularity among the younger generation of the Blood Clan, not due to her status, but because of her talent.
At the young age of just over twenty, she had already achieved peak Saint Realm strength. With such talent, reaching the Divine Realm was no difficulty for her.
All the members of the Blood Clan believed that Ailabela was the most likely candidate in the past century to challenge the legendary Prince realm.
Therefore, the younger generation of the Blood Clan held a blind admiration for Ailabela.
...