"Your humble servant wouldn't dare!" The Earth Demon submitted, then added, "Young Master, that girl who just helped you is quite decisive and ruthless in her strikes."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that I quite like this girl, Young Master. Could you perhaps speak to her on my behalf, let me instruct her for a few years? She is certain to become a great asset to you in the future!"
"I don't like her!" Yang Kai replied coldly.
"Yes, yes, everything is as the Young Master decides." The Earth Demon dared not contradict him, merely sighing inwardly at the missed opportunity.
Nie Yong's death left Hu Meier stunned on the spot. On the other side, the Lingxiao Pavilion disciples who were tending their wounds were also utterly shocked. They had only heard Yang Kai's furious roar, and then Nie Yong had fled in disarray, with a black spike pursuing him. Just as Nie Yong and the black spear clashed, Lan Chudie launched a sneak attack, and Nie Yong fell, never to rise again.
What exactly had happened? No one could react in time.
Just then, the mountain-sized turtle demon beast crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar. The disciples from the three sects who had been besieging it let out a collective cheer at the sight.
Hu Jiao'er's giggling laughter drifted over: "Fang Ziqi, I landed the final blow."
Fang Ziqi grumbled: "You cheated! How can that count?"
Hu Jiao'er sneered: "Can't accept defeat?"
Fang Ziqi flared up: "What do you mean, can't accept defeat? If you hadn't taken advantage of my distraction to land several extra hits, how could you have won this? Fine, I won't stoop to arguing with a woman like you!"
"Perhaps you're too ashamed to argue with me now." Hu Jiao'er pressed her advantage without mercy.
Having his true thoughts exposed, Fang Ziqi's face flushed red with embarrassment. He said impatiently: "I won't waste time bickering with you. Let's claim the demon beast core first!"
As he spoke, Fang Ziqi reached deep into the turtle demon beast's forehead and groped around. After a short while, he pulled out a round, blood-stained, earth-yellow demon beast core.
Staring at the core in his hand, Fang Ziqi's gaze grew fervent: "A demon beast core from a peak Sixth-Order beast... tsk, tsk, how much would this be worth?"
Long Jun glanced at him coolly and spoke: "Brother Fang wouldn't be thinking of keeping it all for yourself, would he?"
This turtle demon beast's most valuable item was undoubtedly this demon beast core. Although the giant turtle shell on its back was surely also worth a fortune and could serve as material for crafting artifacts, who could possibly carry away such a massive shell?
All eyes now focused on Fang Ziqi's hand. He chuckled, answering candidly: "I certainly wouldn't mind."
Long Jun's expression changed, while Hu Jiao'er merely watched him with a smile.
"But I wouldn't dare!" Fang Ziqi smacked his lips. "If I really took it, would any of you let me off?"
Long Jun gave a cold laugh: "Brother Fang is a sensible man."
"But there's only one demon beast core. How do we split it?" Fang Ziqi turned to look at everyone. This battle was unlike the previous eight demon beast hunts, where each sect had fought independently. This time, the three sects had joined forces, so naturally, everyone deserved a share of the spoils.
As soon as Fang Ziqi said this, everyone fell silent. A single demon beast core was indeed difficult to divide fairly.
The only sensible solution was probably to sell it for silver and then split the proceeds three ways, one share for each sect.
Realizing this, Long Jun was about to speak when Fang Ziqi continued: "The reason we could kill this beast this time is largely thanks to Brother Yang of Lingxiao Pavilion. Why don't we give it to him?"
Standing below, Yang Kai frowned slightly upon hearing this, looking at Fang Ziqi in surprise.
Long Jun said discontentedly: "Although he contributed greatly, my Blood Battle Gang was not idle either. Many disciples were injured. Are we to receive no benefit at all?"
"If you want that giant turtle shell, you can take it. The Wind and Rain Tower has no objections," Fang Ziqi pointed to the side and said.
Long Jun was so choked he nearly rolled his eyes. The turtle shell had been attacked by countless disciples from the three sects and still bore almost no marks. Although the material was certainly of good quality, who could possibly cut it up and carry it away? This was no joke.
Just as the two were still arguing, Fang Ziqi's expression suddenly changed. He hastily threw the demon beast core in his hand away.
The earth-yellow demon beast core flew out and, instead of falling to the ground, began spinning rapidly in mid-air.
Accompanying its rotation, waves of invisible suction radiated outward in all directions. A bizarre scene unfolded as two other demon beast cores suddenly flew out from within Fang Ziqi's robes.
The same thing happened at Hu Meier and Long Jun's locations.
Xie Hongchen also had a demon beast core hidden against his chest fly out.
These cores were all obtained from the eight demon beasts previously slain by the three sects' disciples and were being held by these individuals. Now, without exception, every single one had flown out.
Eight demon beast cores, arranged in a mysterious pattern, gathered around the turtle demon beast's core, all spinning together. An unseen, mystical force seemed to be activated. The entire Inheritance Grotto-heaven suddenly shook violently. A colossal vortex appeared in the previously formless sky, presenting a scene of apocalypse before everyone, leaving their hearts trembling with fear.
No one knew what had happened. Only the Earth Demon's excited voice echoed in Yang Kai's mind: "The Soul Beast Cloud Opening Formation!"
Yang Kai's expression shifted, realizing the Earth Demon must know something, and hurriedly asked: "Explain in detail."
The Earth Demon said: "Young Master, I understand now. The reason there were nine demon beasts here was to deploy this formation. The existence of these nine beasts was merely a test of the strength of those who entered. If you hadn't killed them, this formation would never have been triggered. Now that the beasts are dead, the formation has been activated. It will use those nine demon beast cores as guides to set the grand formation in motion, revealing certain things before your eyes."
"What things?"