It was only at the moment of death that the younger brother finally overcame his fear of Fu Ye and voiced the most venomous curse in his heart. He accused Fu Ye of slaughtering their entire family. He accused him of forcibly infusing demonic energy year after year, disregarding everyone else’s wishes.
“I never wanted immortality! Making me watch my own children die one by one—you are too cruel!”
Fu Ye wanted to explain. His brother’s children had poor aptitude and no chance of transforming into yao. He had already helped those children live many more years than they should have…
The younger brother gave a bitter, wretched laugh. “Many more years? Is that what you think? If it weren’t for you, they wouldn’t have had to suffer for so long!”
As his brother’s children aged, their bodies developed all kinds of problems. Every day was agony. But Fu Ye, who considered himself a different species from them now, never really thought about it. He never recognized their suffering. He merely imposed his own will on them out of one-sided goodwill—only adding to their pain.
His brother had asked him before, begged him to stop the practice of transferring demonic energy to prolong their lives. But Fu Ye didn’t understand, and he didn’t listen. His childhood experiences had made him stubborn, extreme, and absolute within the clan. His brother simply didn’t dare resist—only allowing his hatred to grow and grow.
At the very end, his brother cursed him: “You will eventually suffer everything that I have endured.”
His brother’s hatred was the final straw. It fundamentally changed Fu Ye’s mindset.
After a long period of silent solitude, he finally came to realize that everything he had experienced was because of the power he had obtained. It was not a gift—it was a curse.
Hatred became his greatest driving force. He began searching for the origin of the power that had been forcibly fused into his body.
Later, he discovered that humans possessed formidable abilities to collect and retrieve information. So he spent some effort learning to disguise himself as a human, quickly securing a highly reputable identity in human society—making it even easier for him to continue his exploration.
In a certain sense, Fu Ye was a man of deep loyalty and emotion. That was why he gave his brother everything he thought was good. That was why he never forgot that his mother had been killed by a heretical cultivator. Even while searching for the source of his power, he never stopped destroying every heretical cultivator he encountered.
And for that very reason, he became the person who understood heretical cultivator best. That was how he got the opportunity to orchestrate the resurrection of the Vermilion Bird evil god, and then use the Vermilion Bird’s power to kill Shen Ming.
Because he killed heretical cultivator on sight, Fu Ye gradually came to the attention of YCG. With his perfect disguise, he formed a partnership with YCG and became an official agent specializing in dealing with heretical cultivator.
Most people in YCG felt that although his methods were a bit extreme, he was a righteous person. Only a few—Old Li, for example—had a vague sense that something was off. But he had no evidence, so he could only keep Fu Ye’s influence from penetrating too deeply into YCG, quietly remaining on guard.
“He’s just spilling all his own schemes out like that? Who asked? But that younger brother really is pitiful. And those kind foxes who died too.” Ji Qing was muttering again. Little Thirteen’s heart was in his throat. If only he didn’t have his hands full, he would have loved to cover Ji Qing’s mouth.
Fortunately, Shen Ming spoke up as well.
This was also the first time Shen Ming had heard about Fu Ye’s background. But he knew this was not the time to dwell on such matters.
“If you wanted to kill me, the Vermilion Bird alone would have been enough. If you hadn’t drained her power just now using a forbidden technique, she would have already killed me.”
“What, you think I’m being redundant?” Fu Ye sneered. How could these lofty gods ever understand? He wanted revenge. He wanted to slay a god. He had waited centuries for this. How could he possibly let someone else do it?
“Enough. Spare me the chatter. Now, let me put an end to all of this.” Fu Ye raised his hands. A deep red energy—one that did not belong to him—began to brew in his palms.
Now! Shen Ming’s eyes sharpened. Together with Old Li, who had arrived at some unknown moment, they struck from left and right, interrupting Fu Ye’s power charge.
Stolen power could never be wielded as naturally as one’s own. Being forcibly interrupted directly caused a backlash. Fu Ye plummeted from midair, only to be lashed several more times by Old Li’s vines.
Shen Ming seized the opportunity to manipulate the Black Tortoise power within Fu Ye’s body. For a moment, they actually gained the upper hand.
Little Thirteen was intently watching the battle when suddenly someone shoved him, snatching the little sea hare from his hands. He was horrified. He launched an instinctive attack, but it was easily blocked.
“Relax. Friendly.”
Little Thirteen looked more carefully. The face seemed familiar. This should be Little Ye Ye’s colleague. Something-something snake? Wait a minute—where did he come from???
Chi Lian had no time to waste on Little Thirteen. He pinched the little sea hare, searching for its mouth but failing to find it. In the end, he simply tucked the pill under Ye Yang’s belly. The unconscious little sea hare instinctively devoured it. His translucent body quickly turned a deep brown, and his spiritual energy grew lively again.
Chi Lian breathed a sigh of relief. He had made it in time.
The scent of medicine filled the air. Ji Qing sniffed deeply, then whipped his head around. “Where did that Great Tonic Pill come from?”
“Great Tonic Pill?” Little Thirteen’s nose wrinkled slightly. “You fed Ye Ye something with such an unrefined name?”
Ji Qing leaned in and sniffed again deeply. “You don’t understand. Old Li came up with that name. Yes, it’s a bit unrefined, but its effects are anything but ordinary. Little Ye is stable now. He’ll probably wake up in a while. Once he gets proper treatment outside for his injuries, he’ll be fine.”
Little Thirteen was astonished. “It’s really that powerful?”
But then his thoughts turned, and he couldn’t help sighing. “I don’t even know if we’ll ever get out…”
Ji Qing and Chi Lian’s hearts sank. They couldn’t help but look toward Shen Ming, who was still locked in confrontation with Fu Ye.
Moments ago, for his final strike against the Vermilion Bird, Shen Ming had used every ounce of power he could muster at the time, aggravating his old injuries in the process. His divine power had been steadily leaking away. Although he had managed to buy some time just now, and now had Old Li assisting him, everyone present couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat for him.
Fu Ye had only been at a disadvantage at the very beginning. Soon, the battle-hardened Fu Ye broke through Old Li’s restraints. Fighting two against one, he held his own, even gradually gaining the upper hand.
Chi Lian suddenly spoke up. “We can get out. As long as all of us send spiritual power to Ye Ye and help him recover quickly!”
Everyone turned to look at him. Chi Lian licked his dry lips and spoke rapidly, explaining in the simplest terms possible.
“Ye Ye pressed me into a crack in the ground earlier to save me. I stumbled through a hidden central passage in the secret realm and ended up on the other side, where I found Old Li trapped by one of Fu Ye’s snares.”
Remembering the sight on the other side of the secret realm, Chi Lian still felt a bit dazed.
The moment he steadied himself and looked up, he was frozen in place, not daring to move. Though the scene before him was unfamiliar, its level of horror was on par with the sacrificial altar he had just left. It was a long, narrow valley floor. As far as the eye could see, there were only corpses—corpses, and more corpses.
It was Old Li’s voice calling out that finally snapped him out of it.
It turned out Old Li had long suspected Fu Ye was problematic. He had split off from the others and gone after Fu Ye alone, never expecting that Fu Ye had anticipated this as well. Fu Ye had set a trap specifically designed for Old Li within the secret realm, pinning him down completely. If Chi Lian hadn’t appeared by accident, even Old Li wouldn’t have been able to break free anytime soon.
“After I destroyed the trap and freed Old Li, he gave me this Great Tonic Pill and rushed me over here immediately. He said that no matter what, we had to help Ye Ye recover—that he is the key to our survival.”
“So we should all send spiritual power to Ye Ye right now?” Little Thirteen asked. “Will that work? We’ve been sending it all along, and it doesn’t seem to be doing much.”
Ye Yang’s injuries were severe. He and Ji Qing had been taking turns sending spiritual power to him, barely managing to protect his heart meridians and keep him from dying on the spot. Even after taking the Great Tonic Pill, Ye Yang was still far from well enough to stand and fight.
Chi Lian said, “That’s why I said—all of us, together!”
A leopard rose up on its hind legs, his eyes full of doubt. “Even the Black Tortoise couldn’t hold his ground. You expect him to make a difference?”
“Yeah, wouldn’t it make more sense to give the spiritual power to Brother Ji Qing? He’s stronger, isn’t he?” a white wolf added.
Many of the other yao race members were also skeptical. It wasn’t really their fault—the little sea hare was just that tiny. They had all seen it with their own eyes: he couldn’t even block a single attack. How could they believe in him?
Time was of the essence. Chi Lian said urgently, “There’s no time to explain everything. Just trust me—Ye Yang has a special support ability. Once he joins the fight, Lord Black Tortoise and Old Li will definitely be able to defeat Fu Ye!”
The crowd was still torn with doubt. But the two fox clan elders, Su Huaiyu and Bai Jun, who had just recovered a little, pushed through the crowd without a word and sat down cross-legged beside Little Thirteen. They poured their spiritual energy into Ye Yang as if it cost them nothing.
Seeing this, Ji Qing waved his hand broadly. “Everyone, we don’t have any other options right now anyway. Rather than waiting here to die, why not go all out?”
A small marten yao stepped forward, his expression resolute. “I don’t want to die. My demonic power is weak, but I’m willing to try. Count me in!”
Ji Qing held significant sway among the yao race. With him speaking up, and with the two fox clan elders taking the lead, many yao joined in one after another. The spirit beasts hesitated for a moment, then followed suit, one by one.
Even the few ordinary humans trembled as they stood up, asking if there was anything they could do to help. Though they still had no idea what was going on, their will to survive was just as strong!
…
When Ye Yang opened his eyes, the battle was still deadlocked.
Old Li had transformed into his true form as an ancient tree spirit—thick enough to take ten people holding hands to encircle, with a canopy so vast it blotted out the sky and sun… Though there was no sun in the secret realm, suffice it to say, the entire sky seemed to be shrouded by that canopy.
Beneath the canopy, Fu Ye had also revealed his true form—a red fox with fur so striking and brilliant it was almost blinding.
Though he only had one tail, no one dared underestimate him. He had long since surpassed the realm of ordinary nine-tailed foxes. Even without the empowerment of the Vermilion Bird evil god’s power, very few present could have defeated him.
With the evil god’s power now in him, the red glow around Fu Ye grew increasingly intense, staining everything around him red. As Fu Ye grew more and more familiar with the stolen power, the red glow on his body began to merge with the deep crimson of the collapsed sacrificial altar.
As for Shen Ming, his entire body shone with a distinct watery blue light. He appeared to be in much better condition than before. Working in tandem with Old Li, he had managed to suppress Fu Ye several times.
But only Ye Yang—who carried fragmented memories inherited through divine blood—knew that Shen Ming was burning through his divine power and life force.
The Four Directional Guardian Gods share the lifespan of heaven and earth—but that is predicated on the upper realm being normal and the gods themselves being normal. Given Shen Ming’s current condition, if he kept fighting so desperately like this, even if Fu Ye didn’t kill him, it would be very difficult for him to escape this secret realm alive today.
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