The people from overseas had never expected Yang Kai to be so agreeable. Their original plan had been to request what they wanted, and if that didn't work, simply take it by force. After all, they were an overseas faction — no matter how powerful the Eight Great Families of Zhongdu were, they couldn't reach across to them.
Once they'd taken what they wanted, they could just flee. As long as they made it back overseas, the Eight Families could go to hell.
But the auras of the powerful fighters in the residence had thrown Li Yuanchun and the others' plans into disarray. If it actually came to a fight, victory wasn't guaranteed. Besides, only the Shura Sword and the Thousand-Stamen Blood Begonia had surfaced so far — they had no idea where the Taiyi Seal or anything else was.
If they really pushed this young man from the Yang clan to the breaking point and it came down to mutual destruction, nobody would come out ahead.
"That's perfectly reasonable." Li Yuanchun was an old fox himself, and he quickly picked up the thread of conversation, looking at Yang Kai. "Would you allow us a moment to discuss it among ourselves?"
Yang Kai smiled and gestured, indicating he could wait.
The overseas cultivators exchanged glances and began conferring among themselves.
Yang Kai turned his gaze to Biluo. "Biluo, what are you doing here?"
Biluo was clinging to Qiu Yimeng's hand, chattering away about this and that. Qiu Yimeng looked thoroughly embarrassed, trying several times to pull her hand free without success. Hearing Yang Kai's question, Qiu Yimeng was suddenly overjoyed.
Biluo paused, then stood up abruptly. "I almost forgot. My lady sent me to deliver a message to you."
"What message?"
"Leave here immediately. The people from the Sacred Ground are coming."
"What?" Yang Kai's expression changed dramatically. "Where are they coming to?"
"Here." Biluo's face was grave. "They're taking advantage of the succession battle within your Yang clan and the fact that the Eight Families' strength is spread thin. First they'll sweep through Battle City, then push on toward Zhongdu. All six lords have mobilized under the Evil Lord's command, and the experts from the Sacred Ground are all heading this way. Battle City can't hold them off. You need to leave, now."
"When will they arrive?" Yang Kai asked in a low voice, instantly realizing the situation was dire.
"Tonight!" As she said this, Biluo couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth curl upward slightly.
"Why didn't you say something sooner? This is earth-shattering news!" Yang Kai roared. But when he noticed the faint smugness on Biluo's lips, he suddenly realized she'd done it on purpose.
If he hadn't asked, she might never have told him.
This woman...
Yang Kai wished he could drag her out and set her on fire right now.
That she'd come to warn him at all, under Shan Qingluo's orders, was already something of a miracle. Given how infatuated she was with Shan Qingluo, she'd probably be happiest if he just died already. Yang Kai saw through it clearly and understood exactly what she was thinking.
Qiu Yimeng was stunned too, frozen for a long moment before asking, "You mean the Evil Lord and the six Dark Kings are heading this way?"
"Including most of the Sacred Ground's experts as well," Biluo said gravely.
"They've got some nerve!" Qiu Yimeng's face went cold. "Do they really think our Eight Families are made of clay?"
"You still think you can resist?" Biluo regarded Qiu Yimeng with a mocking smile. "Since the Sacred Ground dares to come here, they must have every assurance of success. Like I said — you can't stop them."
"How many above the Shenyou Realm do they have on that side?" Qiu Yimeng didn't bother bickering and instead quickly tried to gather useful intelligence.
"More than ten. My lady's territory is the only one with just a single expert at that level. The others each have at least two."
"Shan Qingluo has advanced too?" Yang Kai was startled. When he'd parted ways with her, she'd been at the peak of the Shenyou Realm. After barely a year apart, she'd already broken through to the level above Shenyou.
The Evil Lands of Cangyun's six Dark Kings had possessed cultivation above the Shenyou Realm since ancient times, each one extraordinarily powerful with frightening abilities. If that hadn't been the case, the crusade against the Evil Lands of Cangyun over a year ago wouldn't have ended in failure.
"Only a bit more than ten? Battle City alone already has seven above the Shenyou Realm," Qiu Yimeng scoffed. Though she said this, she knew the situation was far from optimistic.
Biluo slowly shook her head, a trace of disdain appearing on her bewitching face. "It's useless. Never mind seven here — even if all of the Eight Families' experts above the Shenyou Realm mobilized together, they still couldn't stop the Evil Lord. This Evil Lord is... different. My lady said that under all of heaven, no one is his match. If he wished, he could defeat one expert above the Shenyou Realm in a single move, and kill one within three."
Qiu Yimeng's beautiful face turned pale.
"Furthermore, the Evil Lord commands six subordinates — the Thunder Beast King, the Skybreaker King, the Dark Ghost King, the Lightning Shadow King, the Annihilation Poison King, and the Enchantress Queen. Among these six, my lady's strength is the lowest." Biluo spoke with a calm expression, listing them one by one.
"What do we do, Yang Kai?" Qiu Yimeng asked urgently. The gravity of the situation had scrambled her thinking, throwing her completely off balance.
Perhaps if Yang Kai hadn't been here, she could have maintained her own judgment. But with someone by her side she could rely on, Qiu Yimeng lost the ability to think clearly.
Yang Kai's expression was dark as he stared at Biluo.
Biluo had come to deliver this warning, so the information was almost certainly genuine. Though Shan Qingluo was one of the six Dark Kings, from what Yang Kai knew of her from their time together, the woman was not fundamentally bad — there was no reason for her to deliberately send Biluo to toy with him.
"Qiu Yimeng, go with Huo Xingchen to the Divine Sealing Hall and tell those seven everything we've learned here," Yang Kai decided immediately, his voice low and firm.
"Right." Qiu Yimeng nodded quickly, then asked, "But if they ask where the information came from... what then?"
"Tell them the truth."