Compared to Liu Chen, Ye Yang was still far too inexperienced. He couldn’t hide his thoughts at all—Liu Chen saw right through him with a single glance.
“But no matter how much you’ve figured out, it’s too late now.” Liu Chen stared at Ye Yang, then suddenly threw back his hood. The corners of his mouth curled into a wide, eerie smile.
Ye Yang’s eyes went wide. Only now did he realize that the shadow Liu Chen had brought with him had gradually spread, filling every corner. The only small patch of light left was the space they were standing in.
The light inside the barrier had vanished.
Without warning, total darkness descended.
No one spoke. No one moved. In the oppressive, pitch-black void, the only sound was the cub’s steady breathing.
Ye Yang’s nerves were stretched to their absolute limit. All his attention was focused on that shallow breathing.
The cub was in Liu Chen’s hands, so Liu Chen was still nearby. What exactly was he planning?
Ye Yang’s fingers, hidden behind his back, twitched slightly. He hadn’t even formed half a hand seal when Liu Chen’s sinister voice rang out: “Don’t move.”
The voice seemed to surround him from all directions, making it impossible for Ye Yang to tell where it was coming from. He could no longer even distinguish the cub’s breathing.
Smack!
Ye Yang’s entire body jolted. When?! When had Liu Chen gotten behind him?!
Liu Chen gently—yet with undeniable force—slapped his palm down on top of Ye Yang’s head. A chilling sensation flooded through Ye Yang’s body in an instant, like a snake slithering across his skin.
“Be patient, little thing. Half a minute more.”
With that, Liu Chen began to pace slowly around Ye Yang. Ye Yang realized his senses had been dulled—he couldn’t hear Liu Chen’s footsteps at all. The only thing he could feel was the hem of Liu Chen’s cloak brushing against the back of his hand, which was braced on the ground.
One circle… two circles…
On the third circle, Liu Chen suddenly stopped. And finally, Ye Yang understood what he had been waiting for.
Suddenly, pulling forces appeared from all directions, clinging to Ye Yang like tentacles tipped with suckers. They began to drain his demonic energy, his power, and even his life force!
Panic instantly flooded Ye Yang.
This wasn’t like before, when he’d simply lost some demonic energy or suffered serious injuries. Life force, once drained, could not recover on its own.
Ye Yang felt his body growing heavier and heavier. His consciousness began to blur.
The energy that had once filled every part of his body was slowly being stripped away. The flow of his demonic energy grew sluggish and labored.
“Huh?” Liu Chen suddenly stopped in his tracks. A faint glimmer of light appeared, illuminating barely half a meter around Ye Yang—but it was enough for him to see the shock and confusion on Liu Chen’s face.
“Why won’t it drain anymore?”
Ye Yang’s breath caught. He felt it too—that subtle dissonance, as if his body had suddenly come under someone else’s control, as if his every move was no longer directed by his own mind. The good news was that the life-draining force had finally stopped, blocked by an invisible barrier.
“Heh,” Liu Chen chuckled again. “Oh well, it doesn’t matter. That was just a test anyway.”
This time, there was no pretense left in his voice. His malice was completely exposed. Ye Yang’s sense of danger shot to its peak.
The next second, Liu Chen suddenly raised his hand. Ominous, dark purple light swirled around his entire body. With a wave of his arm, he slammed it into Ye Yang!
The power behind this strike was incalculable. Surging spiritual energy arrived silently; a full second later, the deafening sound finally reached Ye Yang.
Ye Yang’s breathing grew rapid. Overwhelming terror, carrying that horrible power, swallowed him in an instant.
Just as his fear peaked, a ring of golden light suddenly appeared around his neck.
It was the Mingguang Lock!
This magical treasure had been a gift from the fox clan to thank Ye Yang for his help. It could block a fatal attack—no matter the level of the strike.
Ever since receiving it, Ye Yang had worn it at all times. Because the Mingguang Lock turned invisible after bonding with its owner—impossible to feel or see—Ye Yang himself had forgotten all about it. He never expected it to activate now.
The force of the collision kicked up a roaring wind, sending clouds of dust flying. Even Liu Chen was startled by the sheer magnitude of it. He took an involuntary step back, his eyes fixed on the chaotic epicenter with suspicion.
What happened? That strike should have reduced the little thing to ashes without any resistance…
He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
Little did he know, Ye Yang was now truly shaken.
Though he hadn’t taken any damage at all, the Mingguang Lock had cracked. He was acutely aware that it had gone from a rare, high-level magical treasure to a mere ordinary ornament.
Back when he had faced the out-of-control spirit of the mountain god and suffered such severe injuries, the Mingguang Lock hadn’t even reacted. Yet now, with just a casual strike from Liu Chen, the lock had shattered and lost all its power!
This was a treasure that was said to block any level of attack—including a blow from a true god!
Liu Chen was nowhere near the level reported in the intelligence! They had vastly underestimated him.
Ye Yang’s thoughts raced so fast he nearly forgot his dire situation. Whether Liu Chen had been hiding his true strength all along or had encountered some unknown stroke of luck after escaping prison, Ye Yang had to find a way to warn the others right now.
With the power Liu Chen had just displayed, not a single person in the entire Operations Department could withstand one of his strikes.
Could it be… A terrifying thought surfaced in Ye Yang’s mind. Could it be that Liu Chen’s goal was neither Yingzhao’s cub nor himself—but everyone?
If he didn’t return soon, the others would definitely come looking for him. They would find this place sooner or later. Was Liu Chen planning to wipe out all the field operatives of the Eastern Zhou YCG in one fell swoop?
The restraints on Ye Yang had dissipated under that last attack. The surrounding light had dimmed even further, but he didn’t dare move an inch. If Liu Chen struck again, there was no way he would survive.
The situation had reached an unsolvable dead end.
“What do you have on you? Speak!”
That confident strike had failed to achieve its intended effect. Ye Yang was still alive. Finally, Liu Chen no longer wore that effortless, composed expression.
But Ye Yang barely registered Liu Chen’s question. He was staring down at the ground, his mind suddenly landing on a very risky idea—one he had absolutely no confidence in.
Slowly, he raised his head and focused his gaze on Liu Chen, but his peripheral vision remained fixed on the cub lying off to the side in the darkness.
Before that last strike, Liu Chen had tossed the troublesome cub aside. Whether under some spell or simply because the cub was that oblivious, it hadn’t been affected at all—it had even started snoring softly.
“Speak up! Don’t try any tricks. Even if you didn’t die, there’s no way you’re escaping from here.” Liu Chen’s face darkened as he repeated himself.
Then, he added: “But if you come clean, I might just let you go.”
Ye Yang didn’t believe a single word, but he didn’t let it show on his face. Instead, his eyes shifted nervously.
Seeing this, Liu Chen let out a derisive snort. This little demon is somewhat special, but still just as gullible. His smug smile returned.
Ye Yang couldn’t lie, so he mixed a bit of truth in. “I have a magical treasure that can negate part of an attack.” His voice was extremely low—ashamed, practically inaudible by the last word.
Liu Chen raised an eyebrow. His first reaction was disbelief: “Impossible. A nobody like you, having a magical treasure?” He and his fellow rogue cultivators spent their days hiding and running, and what they wanted most was a magical treasure or two for protection. But such things were extremely rare, and this little demon had no background whatsoever.
But there really had been that flash of golden light. Wait… Liu Chen suddenly remembered.
“Did that magical treasure come from the fox clan?”
Ye Yang swallowed nervously. “How did you know?”
Just as he thought. So the fox clan had given it to him. Didn’t that mean this little demon should be thanking him for having such a treasure?
Liu Chen walked over to Ye Yang and reached for his neck. Sure enough, he felt a thin chain. He kept his guard up, staying wary of any remaining strength Ye Yang might have, and kept one hand ready with a hand seal as he approached.
As it turned out, the little demon was indeed severely injured—covered in grime, barely breathing, almost unable to speak. He couldn’t spare any strength to attack.
Reassured, Liu Chen yanked the chain off and examined it carefully.
Ye Yang had been holding his breath the moment Liu Chen approached. Just as Liu Chen lifted the chain, Ye Yang suddenly kicked out, tripped him, and bolted toward the cub.
How could Liu Chen have imagined that this little demon, who should have been at death’s door, could still explode with such strength? A master of magic who had neglected his physical body, Liu Chen was once again brought down by Ye Yang’s sheer physical power. If he hadn’t kept some guard up, he would have broken a few more bones.
He quickly swallowed a pill and stood up—only to be utterly horrified: “…Where is he?!”
—
Ye Yang’s mind had never worked so fast. His thinking was clear: after tripping Liu Chen, he didn’t linger to fight. He scooped up the cub and immediately used an earth escape technique.
Bypassing the hardened ground left by Liu Chen’s powerful attack, he slipped through the loose soil and burrowed underground.
In less than half a second, he dropped straight down more than ten meters. At a depth of seventeen or eighteen meters, the suppressed sensory connection suddenly returned. Ye Yang was overjoyed—he’d won! His gamble had paid off!
The barrier indeed hadn’t completely enclosed the underground area. For such a vast region, extending the barrier dozens of meters underground was already no small feat. To seal it all completely without a single gap would have required an enormous amount of power—far beyond what one person could achieve.
Soon, Ye Yang descended another several dozen meters. Just as he reached the limit of his ability, the teleportation talisman he had been clutching in his hand finally reacted.
The next second, he and the cub vanished from underground and reappeared on a barren mountain on the other side of Dongzhou City.
Perfect timing. The remaining half of his demonic energy was completely spent. Having narrowly escaped death, Ye Yang didn’t even have the strength to lift an arm. He couldn’t stand steadily after the teleportation, couldn’t even maintain his human form. He simply sprawled on the ground, sent out a signal, and let his antennae and the leaves on his back unfurl freely.
Even though it hadn’t been that long, lying on the grass and looking up at the sky, Ye Yang felt as if ages had passed. The leaves pinned beneath him reflected the bright sunlight. His gray antennae drooped on either side of his head like a lop rabbit’s ears.
He looked down at the cub in his arms and stroked its pure white, soft fur. “You really can sleep,” he muttered.
Only now did he finally have the chance to replay his escape in his mind.
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