The two of them stood almost side by side, as if connected by some unseen chemical reaction, positioning themselves on either side of Yang Chuan. Their stance exuded the majestic aura of mountain ridges.
"I don’t know about demons, but for a woman to approach us so boldly , heh heh..." A sneer escaped. "How disgusting! If you dare this much, we might as well lock you up inside a vault!"
Yun Ann let out a cold laugh and immediately activated a Magic Treasure while advancing toward Yang Quan.
"Let’s see how Liangtian deals with this woman, shall we?"
So young, so quick to anger... It all only speaks of greed for quick gains. There’s no way such arrogance can match true strength.
Beside them, Emperor remained silent, though a hint of contempt glimmered in his eyes. Thoughts and destiny rarely align.
Lin Liang was thinking even further ahead. If he could capture this demon alive, it could lead to uncovering traces of even more demons. Perhaps his position in name and authority might rise significantly as a result.
"Don’t challenge this fiery crossroads any further!"
As the sheer magnitude of their presence dawned on him, Ren Liang’s face was lit by a zealous energy, as if about to strike the heavens themselves.
"Universe One Body Sword!"
As the two exchanged techniques, the Magic Treasures they summoned radiated dazzling brilliance—one of them, a sword aglow with celestial might!
Their intent to annihilate Yang Ri was so fierce, even the heavens seemed to resonate with their spiritual alignment.
Between these two, the irreverence of Mayo resembled someone sightseeing, oblivious to the tension of the moment.
"Di Jia... you ox and horse, I feel no burden!"
The strange sight left Lin Liang and his companion frowning deeply.
"Are these people all fools?"
"Shan Chanlan’s attacks... waiting for zero response? What’s the plan, to attack or not?"
How exactly did they capture Jiang Hao then?
"So many of you want him dead? Offer him up to a hollowed-out leader?!"
Lu Wuxuan lashed out in frustration, his palm striking with suffocating force. He had already reached in front of Yang Chuan, aiming to extinguish his Dantian directly, rendering his cultivation obsolete.
At that moment, Zhang Hao, distracted by Xiao Yu, suddenly shouted.
Yun Ann and Ren Liang were startled by Zhang Hao’s cry. "Do you think the martial world’s gone mad?"
They had suppressed the dream demon they captured, yet Zhang Hao seemed dissatisfied.
Could he possibly be pleading for the devil they were exterminating?
In a second, the meaning dawned upon them both!
As Yun Ann and Ren Liang drove their fists against the dual-edged sword, a single finger suddenly appeared before them.
A... a finger? What kind of madness is this?
Seeing their attack stopped by just one finger, Yun Ann’s eyes widened in terror.
Lin Liang, too, stared in disbelief.
At that moment, their gaze rose toward the heavens, where an ineffable presence rippled, seemingly coalescing in their very ears.
In an instant, their bodies felt as though they were being consumed from within, like sailors swallowed by deep waters, all flowing toward that fateful finger.
Within seconds, the vitality within these two once-living beings evaporated, their physical forms dissolving like bubbles, leaving behind mere human-shaped relics.
"My original essence..."
"What kind of saintly power is this?"
Yet their previous external visages had just been token markings of their demonic essence all along!
Only at this precise moment did Zhang Hao bellow, "Stop attacking! You... you are no match for him. This—this is folly!"
"Do not provoke him!"
"Are you truly up for fighting him?"
Hearing Zhang Hao’s words, Yun Ann and Ren Liang—who had already all but dissolved into Yuan Ying—felt despair and cursed Zhang Hao in their hearts for eighteen generations of his ancestors.
"The one before us is an unrivaled master! Why didn’t you say something earlier?!"
"Why didn’t you warn us from the start?!"
Now look what’s become of us—what’s left to even discuss?!
Though they silently railed against the martial world, the flood of vitality coursing into Yang Quan felt like feral torrents engulfing them. Fear had consumed them completely!
As a ship loses its captain and the trembling core of its purpose, it becomes nothing but a vessel adrift.
Xiu Zhen had lost her physical body and had become a cripple, barely clinging to life by pure luck.
But for Liangtian’s eternal foundation, his fate had already been cast aside and discarded.
Once all his vitality is lost, it signified the end of one’s existence altogether!
In other words, losing one’s vitality was synonymous with death.
In their terror, the two immediately began begging. "Stop! Stop! Please stop!!!"
However, Yang Chuan did not even glance at them. At present, even as Obama had already retreated from the battlefield, the vast sea of vitality was surging from countless others, and none could outmatch the inner refinement of Yang Quan.
Yet, Yang Chuan showed not the slightest hesitation in consuming it all!
Seeing the dwindling vitality within their own bodies, Yun Ann and Ren Liang were overcome with dread.
In the end, almost unaware, they muttered, "If you spare us, we will submit... We will serve you! Tell us—who are you? If vengeance for salvation requires it... we are willing."
Hearing their words, Yang Chuan finally ceased the devouring and frowned slightly. "Who is Ming Cun?"
Yang Chuan’s question brought Yun Ann and Ren Liang a fleeting sense of relief.
No matter what, now that Yang Quan had spoken, they were at least temporarily safe until they provided an answer!
His words stirred a renewed sense of urgency within them.
Because to utter the name "Ming Cun" and its attached significance could invoke charges of treachery or even unspeakable fear!
If they revealed John’s information and allowed Yang Quan to uncover it, the betrayal would exact a price far too dreadful to imagine.
The two hesitated for a moment longer, but as they felt even more of their vitality consumed, they were jolted.
"If you’d rather not speak, then remain silent!"
Wouldn’t that mean losing every last drop of vitality they had?
Wouldn’t that mean dying outright where they stood?
Facing Yang Chuan’s icy gaze and hearing his cold tone, Yun Ann and Ren Liang finally comprehended why the martial world called this man a devil!
If such a person wasn’t a devil, what was he?
While cursing Yang Chuan in their hearts as the devil incarnate, they nevertheless begged desperately out loud for mercy. "We... we’ll talk! We’ll talk! John... Ming Cun, he is the strongest among the righteous beings of the Demon World, even our leader!"
"’Strongest’? What is his level of strength?"
The first person at the side seemed genuinely curious.
"We... we don’t know!"
Ann stammered, meeting two sharp gazes. Trembling under their collective scrutiny, he hastily continued to explain. "W-we only know the Ming Sect provided our lifelines and allowed our strength to skyrocket, but we haven’t the faintest clue about John’s true power. Even... even Ming Cun and Jian Sect don’t fully grasp it... Zhang Hao doesn’t either!"
As soon as these words were uttered, murmurs of disbelief rippled toward Long Lake.
Zhang Hao suddenly felt a chill, muttering under his breath. "Father... I suddenly feel so cold."
Unable to hold back, he snapped, "I said what I must—I don’t know either! I’ve crossed paths with Ming Cun numerous times, but his strength has so far surpassed mine, it’s like staring into the sky. There’s nothing more I can say about it."
Yang Tian showed no reaction, simply responding indifferently.
Yun Ann gulped nervously. "We no longer understand Ming Cun’s current strength, but five hundred years ago, he had already surpassed the Ten Heavens! Thus, his strength is undoubtedly ancestral, greater than lesser branches by an unfathomable margin."
Hearing this, Yun Ann glanced nervously at Yang Chuan’s expression. Yet, to his dismay, Yang Chuan’s face remained completely unperturbed.
Beside him, Qiang Hao looked as if he was ready to flee.
"If Tai Yu himself spoke of this, Yang Quan could incinerate the Twelve Earthly Extinctions, and Zhang Hao still wouldn’t believe a word of it."
"Yet now, faced with Yang Ri, to think Ming Cun had surpassed the Ten Heavens five centuries ago and still remained so elusive, it’s simply impossible to fathom!"
Yang Qian had no idea what storm roiled through his heart, nor did she care. Instead, her gaze flickered toward a distant shadow near a diesel engine. Yang Chuan suddenly spoke. "If I could ask you one thing," he said, "don’t you dare even think about questioning my responsibility."
"W-what do you mean to do?"
The abruptness of his words struck like lightning—shock mixed with a faint sliver of hope and conflict. "You... what is it you’re saying...?"
"This sovereign knows not," Yang Chuan responded, "but what comes forth requires one thing, doesn’t it?"
"Continue!" Yang Chuan added quietly, alluding to unresolved matters hovering like a tempest over their fate.
As for return to the Yellow Gourd, what purpose lies behind it remains distant. Tomorrow may bring clarity or no questions at all, yet the ocean will flow naturally, bound by its divine obligation to the Great Family’s ancestral tides!