âNow the arrival of Wuzhong Mountain was not a good sign.â
Shen Fuxin clenched her teeth and said in a low voice, âTheyâre gone from here. You two should leave!â
Jin Ciâs expression was neither happy nor sad as he slowly closed his eyes.
Two breaths later he opened them and said, âSenior Brother, he really isnât here, and the heart demonâs aura is already weakening. So what shall we do about these two?â
Zuo Shanchuan glanced over Ye Yu and Shen Fuxin, then turned and walked away.
âTheyâre luckyâno trace of a heart demonâs aura on them. Letâs go. Thereâs no need to waste time here.â
Jin Ci nodded and hurried to follow.
Just as the two were about to soar away through the sky, Ye Yu spoke up, âHave you found a way to deal with the heart demon?â
Zuo Shanchuan stopped but did not look back.
Instead, Jin Ci turned with a mocking smile and said, âKid, arenât you getting a bit presumptuous, asking Wuzhong Mountain for something? Havenât you heard of our Divine Alliance?â
No sooner had he finished speaking than blazing flames erupted beneath Ye Yuâs feet, encircling Jin †NĐŸvĐ”â ight †(Read more on our source) Ci so tightly he couldnât move.
Sensing danger, the divine robe on Jin Ciâs body immediately activated to protect its master, forming a barrier that completely isolated him from the fire.
Jin Ci raised an eyebrowâhe had not expected Ye Yu to possess a fine divine robe. But even that barrier alone couldnât stop the people of Wuzhong Mountain!
With a shift of Jin Ciâs hands, the flames coalesced into the shape of a phoenix, its wings slicing through the air as it lunged forward.
The barrier around Jin Ci shattered instantly, yet the blazing phoenix remained, poised to deliver a lethal strike at any moment.
They had thought this would frighten Ye Yu into submission. Instead, he ignored them entirely and strode forward, saying calmly, âSince you two could trace the aura here, you must have a way to locate the heart demon. Either take me to it, or use your divine souls to guide me there.â
His concern for Gu Ji Yun was driving him; he would seize any chance to find her.
Zuo Shanchuan let out a burst of laughter as if hearing the greatest joke in the world, then, for the first time, truly looked at Ye Yu. âYou really think your Great Deity Realm cultivation makes you invincible? Speak to us people of Wuzhong Mountain like that and youâll die!â
At his words, Jin Ci stopped holding back. With a thought, he ordered the blazing phoenix to attack.
But at that moment, a breeze swept through, and the phoenix dispersed into nothingness without a trace.
Jin Ciâs eyes hardened, and the mockery faded from Zuo Shanchuanâs face. Was this Great Deity Realm cultivator somehow extraordinary?
Standing aside, Shen Fuxinâs face showed her misgivings. She understood Ye Yuâs eagerness to find Gu Ji Yun, but attacking Wuzhong Mountain so rashly was reckless. Yet now that things had escalated, she would not complain or fleeâinstead, she would do her best not to hold him back. After all, as they had said, they were friends.
âMoonshadow, enshroud!â
With Shen Fuxinâs divine art, a shaft of moonlight descended and cloaked the newly built city in darkness, not only preventing Zuo Shanchuan and Jin Ci from escaping but hiding the place entirelyâensuring no reinforcements from Wuzhong Mountain could arrive.
Zuo Shanchuan realized her intention and said coldly, âYou go deal with that female ghost deity. I will personally kill this boy!â
Jin Ci wasted no words and readied himself to dart at Shen Fuxin.
In the next moment, countless withered trees sprouted from the ground, completely barring his path.
Jin Ci twisted his body, seeking to bypass them from above, but to his shock, withered tree trunks had also descended from the sky, extending downwards. Trunks above and below encased him fully, moving with a life of their own to bind him at lightning speed.
This was one of Ye Yuâs learned divine arts:
Despairing Forest
.
Yet Jin Ci was from a prestigious lineage and refused to surrender. He immediately summoned flames to burn the tree trunks.
But
Despairing Forest
was no ordinary wood to ignite. Before the flames could catch, the dead trunks began to regenerate, and in mere breaths they formed a single massive deadwood shell around Jin Ci, stripping him utterly of mobility.
A wave of despair spread from his heart, and the negative-emotion counter above his head surged upwardâbut Ye Yu did not hurry to harvest it. Despair only grew stronger with time, and he was patient enough to wait for the emotion to ripen. Besides, there was still another person to deal with.
Zuo Shanchuan made no move to rescue Jin Ci; instead, he advanced slowly toward Ye Yu. An indomitable aura, heavy as a mountain, emanated from him. Each step he took shook heaven and earth.
âYou dared attack usâyouâre challenging all of Wuzhong Mountain. I must say, you have courage. But this is where it ends!â
He raised a hand and pointed at Ye Yu. Instantly, boundless pressure surged toward him, and behind Zuo Shanchuan the phantom of mountain and river formed.
Were it not for Ye Yuâs mastery of the Demon Clanâs strongest Body Refinement Technique,
Demonâs Arrival at Heaven
, he would not have lasted an instant.
He had to break the deadlock immediately. Straining against the crushing force, Ye Yu pressed his palms together and unleashed a newly acquired divine art:
Hell of Fear
.
Beneath Zuo Shanchuanâs feet a vast black hole appeared, its inky aura spreading outward to envelop both him and Ye Yu.
Within that zone, Zuo Shanchuan felt all control over his divine power vanish, as if he had become an ordinary man devoid of strength. Panic welled in his heart.
Then Ye Yuâs figure completely dissolved. Zuo Shanchuan desperately tried to flee, but found it futile. As memories of terrified moments replayed before his eyes, he frantically told himself it was all illusion, not real. But the truth was otherwise.