Ye Yang repeated: “The son of Luoyang City’s lord. You already said that.”
“The key point is who the lord of Luoyang City is!”
Tu Manli explained to Ye Yang that as the most prosperous territory in the demon realm, the lord of Luoyang City wielded immense power. Moreover, the lord was Yingzhao—an ancient, powerful demon with a fierce temper. Now that his only son had been abducted in the human realm by a human rogue cultivator, he was naturally putting immense pressure on the YCG.
Yingzhao was an ancient great demon who had participated in countless wars against evil gods and demons. His combat prowess was terrifying. Due to his outstanding meritorious service, he had been granted permission to establish his own territory in the demon realm—what was now Luoyang City.
Since ancient times, Yingzhao had been worshiped as a deity of animal husbandry. Therefore, he was not only a great demon but also a demon god.
His child was also somewhat unusual. No one knew who the lord had had the child with—the child looked nothing like him, bearing no resemblance to Yingzhao at all. Already several decades old, the child still showed no signs of talent and could barely even transform.
But the lord doted on this child immensely. He even carried the cub on his shoulders wherever he went, completely disregarding what others thought.
“Now do you understand?”
Ye Yang nodded. So the mission had been scaled up this much simply because of the missing cub’s special identity.
“So now you know how much pressure the YCG is under. I bet Old Man Li will be losing even more hair. Some demon clans were already not particularly fond of the YCG—Yingzhao included—and now this happens… Anyway, the lord has given us a deadline: we must return his child unharmed within one day.”
“What happens if we fail?”
Tu Manli pursed her lips. “Who knows? Given Yingzhao’s temper, he’ll probably storm straight into Dongzhou and tear the place apart until he finds the child.”
“Since he dotes on this child so much, how did Liu Chen manage to take him so easily? And why would he even want this cub?”
Director Tu replied, “Who knows why rogue cultivators do anything? Maybe just out of spite. As for how he pulled it off—you’ve got to hand it to him.”
Speaking of this, even Tu Manli was impressed. They only realized after it was exposed that this rogue cultivator had spent most of his time since escaping prison right there in Luoyang City!
He’d done nothing more than put on a very simple disguise, brazenly applied for a minor position in the lord’s manor, and had been hanging around right under Yingzhao’s nose every single day.
He truly took “the safest place is the most dangerous place” to its extreme.
During that time, he’d familiarized himself with every aspect of the manor’s layout and even befriended the young lord. He didn’t need to do anything elaborate—just a crook of his finger, and the young cub would follow him out.
He’d often taken the cub out to play, and no one had found anything unusual—not until the cub failed to return at the agreed time. Only then did people realize something was wrong. A search of Liu Chen’s room finally revealed that he was the escaped convict they’d been hunting.
Ye Yang wanted to ask more details, but the director of the Operations Department spoke up.
“Everyone’s here. Quiet down and listen.”
The crowd fell silent. The director was concise: “Time is tight, and the task is heavy. Listen to my assignments. You’ll be divided into four groups. Groups one, two, and three will each search one area. Group four will stand by, ready to provide support. If you locate the target, do not act rashly. Report immediately. Understood?”
“The mission brief has been updated. Take one minute to quickly review it. If there are no issues, we depart in three minutes.”
Someone asked, “What do we do after reporting the target?”
The director replied, “Stay put. I’ll be with you. Just follow my orders.”
…
There were twelve people in total. Ye Yang, Director Tu, and Lu Xun were assigned to the same group. Setting out from the Operations Department, the three of them headed west, northwest, and north respectively. Their transmission talismans remained open, allowing constant communication.
The two demons and one human each used their own methods. In just two hours, they had thoroughly searched their assigned areas and met back at their starting point.
“That rogue cultivator is way too good at hiding! You don’t think he’s already escaped, do you?” Lu Xun, the big yellow dog demon, lifted a hind leg to scratch his neck vigorously and grumbled.
Director Tu casually flicked away the ash from her third burned-out talisman. Though her expression showed a hint of frustration, her thinking remained clear: “Impossible. We locked down all passageways immediately. He wouldn’t dare use a teleportation array, and if he used a teleportation talisman, we would have detected it instantly. Given his level, he can’t travel that fast on foot.”
Both the human and demon realms were sealed off. The demon realm’s search would only be stricter than the human realm’s. As for the underworld—that wasn’t a place a rogue cultivator would dare go casually, nor was it easy to enter.
Ye Yang sighed, stretched his antennae, and prepared to conduct another thorough grid search. Just then, they suddenly received a message: “Target located. Everyone report to Point 4 and wait for further orders!”
The three exchanged a glance and immediately set off.
Director Tu left first. With a few hand seals, her form instantly vanished. Lu Xun shook the dust from his fur, scratched the ground twice, and took off running, soon disappearing from sight.
Ye Yang reverted to human form, resignedly pulled out a teleportation talisman, and winced a little. The mission reward wasn’t high, and he’d already used several of these. If he used too many more, he wouldn’t even break even.
He flicked the talisman, which floated in the air before him. A flash of fire light bloomed, and the scenery before Ye Yang began to change… Hmm? Why hadn’t it changed?
The talisman had already turned to ash. Ye Yang blinked and turned around in place. “You’ve got to be kidding me? The teleportation talisman malfunctioned?!”
No!
The aura around him shifted subtly. Ye Yang’s entire body jolted. He picked a direction at random and bolted forward in sheer panic, without any concern for where he was going.
But he was still a step too slow. His body slammed hard against an invisible barrier, sending ripples across its surface and distorting the air around it.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he drew back his fist and punched the barrier. He channeled demonic energy into his fist, striking the transparent wall until it wobbled precariously.
Punch after punch—a full forty or fifty of them. Yet the barrier, which had seemed on the verge of breaking, only grew denser and more solid. It gradually shifted from transparent to a frosted, opaque color, and its trembling diminished with each hit, as if it were absorbing the power from every one of Ye Yang’s blows.
“Haah… haah…” Ye Yang gasped for air and stopped punching, instead gathering the most powerful spell he knew at his fingertips.
Seven bolts of golden lightning struck down in succession, landing with precision on the exact same spot.
Useless.
Completely useless.
Mission after mission, battle after battle, Ye Yang had learned one important lesson: even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. That was why the moment he sensed danger, he had immediately used his greatest power.
But today, he had encountered an enemy far too strong.
He was no lion, and the other party was no rabbit.
The barrier, having absorbed the lightning, deepened in color to a solid milky white. It was dense, hard, and could no longer be shaken in the slightest.
Only then did Ye Yang finally understand.
This wasn’t an ordinary barrier. This was a miniature pocket dimension. Trapped in a pocket dimension, the only way out was to be released by its master. There was no other possibility. Even a true immortal would likely be helpless for a good while.
Moreover, any attack on the pocket dimension would only be absorbed, making it even stronger!
But how could something like this be in the hands of a rogue cultivator of such average ability?!
Behind him, a shadow had appeared at some point. The figure within the shadow was entirely shrouded in black robes, walking slowly toward Ye Yang.
“So adorable. Falling for the exact same trap so easily—just as stupid as this little brat here.”
Ye Yang had guessed correctly—it was indeed Liu Chen.
His steps were light as if he were out for a stroll, and he was holding something in his arms.
As Liu Chen drew closer, Ye Yang could finally see: it was a cub that looked like a cross between a mouse and a rabbit. Its fur was pure white, roughly the size of a ferret, with a round, chubby body, two small drooping ears, and closed eyes. Its little belly rose and fell as it breathed.
Wasn’t this exactly the cub described in the mission brief—the son of Luoyang City’s lord?!
Ye Yang’s heart leaped into his throat. Every muscle in his body tensed, his back arching slightly, ready to pounce at any moment.
“Relax, the little thing is just asleep,” Liu Chen chuckled, his tone as casual and easy as an old friend.
But the more relaxed he acted, the less Ye Yang dared to let his guard down. His eyes were locked onto Liu Chen’s every move. The gray antennae on top of his head emerged quietly, trembling slightly.
Perhaps finding the cub a bit heavy, Liu Chen shifted its weight to his other hand before continuing. “This little thing is both dumb and cute. I couldn’t bear to hurt it.”
Without any warning, Ye Yang’s body suddenly slammed downward. He dropped to one knee—his left knee and even half his shin sinking straight into the dirt.
“Ha ha ha ha~” Liu Chen’s delighted laughter echoed in Ye Yang’s ears. “Fun, isn’t it? You didn’t really think I’d be as careless as last time, did you?”
Sweat beaded on Ye Yang’s face, but he didn’t panic. This was his second confrontation with this rogue cultivator, and he was no longer the clueless little yokel of a demon he’d been back then.
He had already realized it. All means of sending a message—whether human or non-human—were useless now. He had to buy time and wait for the others to notice he was missing.
It wouldn’t be too long.
Ye Yang struggled twice but couldn’t move. With difficulty, he forced out the words: “You… you caused all this trouble just to catch me?”
Liu Chen snorted coldly. “Don’t think so highly of yourself. Catching you was just a side benefit.”
Sweat dripped into his eyes. Ye Yang blinked hard and pressed on: “Then why did you take that cub? You should know there’s no good outcome in provoking the lord of Luoyang City.”
Liu Chen sneered. “Heh. I take what I want. Do I need a reason? Besides, I just took the kid out to play. We got lost and couldn’t make it back in time. It’s not like I did anything else~”
Even as he spoke, Liu Chen subtly increased the pressure on Ye Yang, suppressing his every tiny struggle completely.
Ye Yang strained to keep his head up, observing Liu Chen. But Liu Chen’s face was mostly hidden by his pitch-black, light-proof hood. Only his chin and the corners of his lips—forever curved in a smile—were visible.
“You—you should know how many people are looking for you out there right now. I suggest you surrender before—”
Liu Chen waved his hand impatiently. A tremendous force appeared out of nowhere, cutting Ye Yang off mid-sentence.
“Enough. I don’t like hearing that sort of thing.” Liu Chen curled his lip. “Hmph, I know you’re stalling for time. But that’s fine. Since we haven’t seen each other for so long, we might as well catch up.”
“…” Ye Yang tried hard not to let his fear show. Liu Chen’s words revealed quite a bit. Clearly, he had used some kind of secret technique to sever all connections between Ye Yang and the outside world. Not just the usual communication methods—even Shen Ming’s divine power and the Mingruo spell Bai Jun had placed on him were probably useless by now.
Otherwise, surely someone would have arrived by now.
So Liu Chen wasn’t afraid of him stalling.
But wait—was it possible that Liu Chen was the one stalling for time?!
Liu Chen caught the flicker of realization on Ye Yang’s face and let out another cold laugh. “Look at you, little thing. You’ve grown quite a bit. Figuring that out so quickly.”
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