Something like this couldn't have been left here for no reason. Someone had clearly left it behind deliberately.
The Qihai Elder fell into thought, then suddenly broke into a wry smile. "So that person wasn't some demon lord at all—he was just trying to bluff me!"
This ring had obviously been left behind by Yang Kai as compensation for this realm. If he truly had been some irredeemable demon, he could have simply walked away without a second thought, regardless of the mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and wailing curses left in his wake.
The Qihai Elder, as a Great Emperor of this realm, was no fool. After a brief moment of contemplation, he understood the situation.
However, this matter was of great importance, and he still needed to report it to the Superior Sect. The nine Great Emperors first divided the tens of thousands of Open Heaven Pills among themselves, then held a brief discussion before the Qihai Elder and another female Great Emperor set off for Mirror Flower Water Moon to report on their encounter in the Thousand Thoughts Realm.
And while the Qihai Elder and the female Great Emperor were departing, in a distant corner of the void, Heavenly Lord Black River stood with an ashen face and a depleted aura. Numerous sword wounds covered his body, blood streaming freely, his brow twitching ceaselessly as he stood rigidly in place.
Not far from him, Lu Xue gazed at him steadily, not seizing the opportunity to deliver a killing blow.
Black River knew his current state—he was truly at the end of his rope. If this woman before him truly intended to take his life, he would have no power to resist.
Although his enemy hadn't made a move, a locking aura pinned him firmly in place. Black River was certain that the slightest abnormal movement on his part would invite a devastating onslaught—and that time, he would have absolutely no way to withstand it. So he didn't dare to act rashly.
How had things come to this?
Black River was utterly baffled!
Back in the Thousand Thoughts Realm, he had desperately unleashed his full power and should have heavily injured this woman. She shouldn't have had much strength left—but reality was nothing of the sort.
Not only was this woman's condition not as terrible as he had anticipated, it was actually recovering rapidly. Black River didn't know whether she had taken some miraculous divine medicine or activated some secret technique with severe aftereffects. All he knew was that in this battle, despite giving it everything he had, he had been utterly defeated!
He had lost!
Just as the two stood in deadlock, Yang Kai and Guo Ziyan finally arrived. Seeing the scene before him, Yang Kai showed not the slightest surprise.
Black River had already been at his last gasp. Lu Xue had consumed a Sacred Medicinal Grape and pursued him—how could Black River possibly withstand that? If Yang Kai hadn't instructed her beforehand, Black River would likely have been a corpse by now.
When Black River saw Yang Kai, a complex expression surfaced on his face. Ever since sensing the restriction he had once planted from within the Universe Palace, he had been plotting to avenge his descendant. It wasn't that he particularly valued that descendant—planting the restriction years ago had merely been a casual gesture—but if someone killed his, Black River's, descendant and he failed to seek retribution, where would his reputation be?
Yang Kai's group hadn't concerned him either. He had been confident that with his abilities, he could easily handle the three of them.
But who could have guessed that a single moment of misjudgment would land him right at the gates of death!
Forcing a thin smile, Black River addressed Yang Kai: "Young brother, enemies are better resolved than deepened. I'm willing to pay a certain price to make peace with you, and I swear that I will never trouble you again."
A man under another's roof had to bow his head. Black River didn't want to be so meek, but for the sake of his own life, reputation could be set aside.
Seeing his attitude, Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction. If Black River had refused to submit even at the cost of death, that would have been troublesome. He had paid a considerable price this time, and he needed to recoup his investment.
"A price? What price?" Yang Kai regarded him leisurely.
Hearing this, a great weight lifted from Black River's heart. He had truly feared that Yang Kai would order his execution the moment he arrived—in that case, there really would have been no way out. As long as Yang Kai was willing to negotiate, that was a good sign.
Though it pained him, he quickly flipped his hand and produced an item from his Small Universe, holding it on his palm. "Young brother, what do you think of this?"
The object radiated a brilliant golden light, surging with dense metallic power—it was unmistakably a fifth-grade resource!
Yet Yang Kai merely glanced at it and lost interest, sneering: "Trash!"
"Trash?" Black River's brow shot up. This was a fifth-grade resource, worth at least one and a half million Open Heaven Pills—he had only managed to obtain it with great difficulty. How could it possibly be trash?
This fellow was trying to drive up the price! Black River gritted his teeth and produced resource after resource, nearly emptying his entire reserves.
But when these items reached Yang Kai's eyes, the assessment was always the same two words.
Trash! Trash!
Black River's brow twitched wildly. He had taken out every valuable item he possessed, and he still couldn't move Yang Kai. Was this really meant to be a fight to the death? Suppressing his fury, Black River said: "What exactly does young brother want? Please make it clear."
The corner of Yang Kai's mouth curled as he looked Black River up and down, then spoke: "I have only one demand. If you agree, I'll spare your life. But if you dare utter a single word of refusal, this day next year will be the anniversary of your death!"
Black River's expression shifted slightly. He cupped his fists: "Please speak. If it is within my ability, I will not refuse!"
Yang Kai's demeanor immediately brightened. He raised his hand and summoned an ancient beast-hide book, flipping it open to a page: "Simple. Just leave your name and aura on this!"