The gale howled without respite, sending sand and stone hurtling through the Shadowless Grotto-Heaven.
Four figures stood in silent confrontation. Yang Kai appeared entirely at ease, while the expressions of the three Mountain Lords of Xuan Yang Mountain shifted with each passing moment.
"Big Brother!" Zhou Ya called out softly.
Mao Zhe turned his head to look at her. Their eyes met, and memories of their years together surfaced unbidden—the countless moments, big and small. The cold severity on his face slowly melted away.
With a leisurely sigh, Mao Zhe looked toward Yang Kai and asked, "If we submit to you, you can guarantee our safety?"
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "Not only can I guarantee your safety, I can also lead you out of this Shadowless Grotto-Heaven!"
Mao Zhe slowly shook his head. "And how am I to know whether your abilities can truly shield others as well?"
Yang Kai smiled. "That's simple. If the Grand Mountain Lord doesn't believe me, he need only test it himself."
Mao Zhe nodded. "That was precisely my intention!" As he spoke, he moved to charge toward Yang Kai.
Geng Qing hurriedly stopped him. "Big Brother, let me do it!" Before Mao Zhe could object, he had already slipped past him—evidently fearing that Yang Kai might seize the opportunity to strike a killing blow, and resolving to risk himself in Mao Zhe's stead.
In the blink of an eye, Geng Qing had closed the distance to Yang Kai. Yang Kai made no move to block him; instead, he relaxed the towering Evergreen Secret Art, opening a gap in its defenses and allowing Geng Qing to charge straight through.
Standing beside Yang Kai, Geng Qing remained on guard, his eyes lifting to take in the colossal canopy blotting out the sky, then examining the branches draping down around them. Soon, an expression of shock crossed his face.
Within the radius of this towering ancient tree, he felt not the slightest disturbance from the Shadowless gale. More than that, the rich vitality surging from all around filled him with an inexplicable sense of peace. His exhausted body and mind found tremendous relief in that single moment.
A divine ability like this—never had he heard of it, never had he seen it!
After lingering for barely a dozen breaths, Geng Qing flickered back out. Before leaving, he cast a complicated glance at Yang Kai.
Returning to Mao Zhe's side, he quietly conveyed a few words via divine sense, undoubtedly describing everything he had just experienced. Mao Zhe's eyelids tightened as he listened.
After a brief pause, Mao Zhe sighed. "Fine, fine. There's nowhere left for us in this Shadowless Grotto-Heaven. If you can truly lead us out of this place, then submitting to you is a small price to pay."
If he could leave this place, he would have the opportunity to advance to the Seventh Grade. The temptation was far too great to resist.
Yang Kai clapped his hands together. "The Grand Mountain Lord speaks frankly and knows when to bend—a true man of character. However… empty words are just that. Since the Grand Mountain Lord has made this decision, it would be best to have some assurance. I have no wish to one day find a knife in my back. After all, you and I haven't exactly had the most pleasant dealings."
Mao Zhe gave a cold snort. "What kind of assurance do you want? You want the three of us to swear an Oath of Heart Demon?"
"That won't be necessary!" Yang Kai flashed a grin and produced an ancient, unadorned tome, holding it up with a smile. "All the three of you need to do is write your names upon it in your own life blood and leave behind a soul imprint."
Mao Zhe's expression shifted slightly. "What is this?"
"The Register of Loyalty!" Yang Kai tossed the tome toward Mao Zhe as he spoke.
Mao Zhe caught it and opened it. The Register of Loyalty contained only nine pages. On the first page was the name Chen Tianfei. The second held Hei He, the third Yun Xinghua, and the remaining pages were all blank.
He probed it with his divine sense and sensed a power within that was profoundly strange and unfathomable—even with his Sixth Grade Open Heaven cultivation, he could not begin to comprehend it.
Though small, the Register of Loyalty now felt as though it weighed a thousand jin in his hands, pressing them down with its heaviness.
He raised his eyes to Yang Kai. "What exactly does this thing do?"
Yang Kai answered without any attempt at evasion. "Once your names are inscribed upon it, your lives and deaths will be under my control!"
Mao Zhe's expression shifted once more.
Geng Qing flew into a fury. "You push too far, boy!" The three of them were all Sixth Grade Open Heaven cultivators—if they truly left their names on this thing as Yang Kai described, would they not become his servants henceforth? A scholar may be killed but not humiliated. How could he possibly tolerate such a thing?
Yang Kai replied with perfect calm. "Whether or not you leave your names on the Register is entirely your own decision. I will not force anyone. The only thing I will tell you is this: if you are willing to leave your names, I will gladly lead you out of this Shadowless Grotto-Heaven and back to the Three Thousand Worlds. If you are unwilling, then so be it. As for what kind of person I am—if we have the chance to spend more time together in the future, you will naturally find out."
Mao Zhe suddenly asked, "What is the cultivation of these three people?"
Yang Kai blinked, then realized he was referring to the three names already inscribed in the Register. He answered, "Two are Fourth Grade, one is Fifth Grade."
Mao Zhe nodded gently. "Since they left their names in the Register, they must all have had grievances with you. You didn't want to let them go easily, but you didn't want to kill them either—so you had them leave their names in the Register and serve you instead."
"That's correct."
"I understand!" Mao Zhe nodded. Without warning, he raised a hand to his mouth, bit his fingertip, and forced out a drop of his own life blood. Flipping to the fourth page of the Register of Loyalty, his brush-like strokes swiftly inscribed his name.
"Big Brother!" Both G Qing and Zhou Ya cried out in alarm. Once this name was written, there would be no possibility of resistance ever again.