Before entering the valley, Yang Kai had already suspected that Lei Gu was luring him into a trap. The most obvious sign was Murong Xiaoxiao's two screams — each more desperate than the last, her intentions unmistakable.
Yang Kai had naturally put on an act of "uncontrollable fury" and charged into the valley alone, wanting to see what exactly Lei Gu was scheming. Everything that followed was simply going along with the flow, and the results were exactly as he'd hoped — he'd hooked the big fish that was Lei Gu. But now, because of Gao Xueting, he was held back by scruples.
In the brief exchange between the two, the demonic qi in the valley had already diminished drastically, all of it swallowed into Guixu's maw. The darkness gradually receded, and the valley's original scenery slowly emerged — figures stood in formation, with numerous corpses strewn across the ground.
The valley was nothing like the lush green it had been before. As far as the eye could see, everything was in ruins, the ground almost entirely dyed red with blood.
At the very center of the valley, several thousand people had gathered, arranged into formation after formation. Faint or dim light enveloped them. These were the people from the Southern Domain who had come to participate in the martial tournament — those who had not yet been corrupted.
It was clear they had been relying on these formations to hold out until now, but regardless of their cultivation levels, every single one of them was deathly pale, clearly at the end of their strength. And surrounding them on all sides were over ten thousand corrupted humans, encircling them completely.
The dissipation of the vast demonic qi left everyone stunned.
Swish, swish, swish...
As the sounds of breaking air rang out, one powerful aura after another materialized, flooding the valley in an instant. These were the helpers Yang Kai had brought along. Fan Wu and the others, seeing Yang Kai safe and sound, breathed a slight sigh of relief, though their attention was quickly drawn to Lei Gu.
Everyone could tell that Yang Kai appeared to be in a standoff with Lei Gu, and that Lei Gu had a corrupted woman held as a hostage — though none of them knew what her relationship to Yang Kai might be.
"Little Xueting!" Wen Zishan's voice rang out, his expression more solemn than it had ever been. As his purple robes unfurled, he had already arrived at Yang Kai's side, his deep gaze fixed on Lei Gu.
No explanation was needed. He too could see the situation for what it was.
Lei Gu's face was grim as he slowly scanned his surroundings. Seeing powerful figures standing on every side, he understood that the tide had turned. This plan had been a complete failure. Hatred churned within him. Though he still had over ten thousand corrupted followers, their strength was uneven, they had been corrupted for too short a time, and he needed to split his attention to control them. They were practically useless — at most, they could create some chaos.
"You think you can escape?" Yang Kai regarded Lei Gu and said flatly. "Believe it or not, one word from me and there won't even be bones left of you."
Lei Gu laughed loudly. "Naturally I believe it. But before I die, I can drag her down with me. Don't believe me? Give it a try."
Yang Kai nodded. "I believe you too." He paused, then said, "As I said before — your life isn't worth that much in my eyes. Let her go, and I'll let you leave."
"Absolutely not!" a furious voice rang out. It was Ma Qing, the Holy Master of the Heavenly Martial Holy Land. His body was covered in blood — whether his own or someone else's, no one could tell — and he looked wretched. He glared coldly at Lei Gu. "He is the mastermind behind all of this. He cannot be allowed to leave. Moreover, this plot was clearly planned long in advance. If we capture him, we may be able to extract some intelligence."
Yang Kai and Wen Zishan both turned their heads to regard him.
Ma Qing glared back. "If we let him escape today, the Southern Domain may face another catastrophe in the future. Envoy Xiao, what do you think?"
Xiao Yuyang's brows were furrowed, and he said nothing. In principle, he naturally agreed with what Ma Qing had said, and he knew Ma Qing's words came from no selfish motive. For over a decade, the Southern Domain had been hunting down demonic remnants. They had believed they had killed nearly all of them — even if a few stragglers remained, they shouldn't have been able to cause any real trouble. Who could have imagined that the entire Wuhua Palace had fallen without anyone noticing?
Who had orchestrated such a massive scheme, and for what purpose — no one knew. If they could capture Lei Gu, there was indeed hope of extracting intelligence, which would help them prepare better going forward. At the very least, they needed to know who else among the Southern Domain's powerhouses had been possessed by demonic obsession.
For this reason alone, Lei Gu could not simply be allowed to slip away.
But at this moment, it was not his call to make. He was indeed the Golden Star Envoy of the Star God Palace, and under normal circumstances he could speak on the Palace's behalf — one order from him, and no Southern Domain cultivator would dare disobey. But now... Xiao Yuyang glanced at the unfamiliar powerful faces surrounding them and smiled bitterly to himself.
His words probably carried no weight. Yang Kai and Wen Zishan clearly intended to rescue Gao Xueting, and if he truly tried to oppose them, the only one who would lose face was himself.
When Ma Qing saw that Xiao Yuyang remained silent, he naturally understood what the man was hesitating over and gave up expecting anything from him. He turned to Wen Zishan and said gravely, "Hall Master Wen, I understand your feelings, but I ask you to consider the bigger picture — the well-being of all living beings in the Southern Domain. You are the Hall Master of the Green Sun Divine Hall. Every word you speak and every action you take sets the example for hundreds of millions of cultivators in the Southern Domain. Think carefully!"
With such a heavy hat placed on his head, Wen Zishan's expression became anguished. He said slowly, "Brother Ma, if it were Lady Qi in this situation, what would you do?" Lady Qi was his wedded wife, a cultivator at the second level of the Emperor Realm, and she stood right beside him at that very moment.
Ma Qing's face twitched several times. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Only through sacrifice can there be gain!" His voice was filled with grief, as though he had truly already given up on Lady Qi.
At these words, the elegantly dressed woman beside him trembled slightly, her beautiful eyes lowering.
Wen Zishan smiled bitterly. "What admirable resolve, Brother Ma..."
"Shut him up!" Yang Kai suddenly signaled to Fan Wu with a glance.