"Yunlan, do you know why this emperor places such great trust in you?" The Celestial Demon Lord suddenly spoke.
Emperor Yunlan was taken aback. "This subordinate is dull-witted. Please enlighten me, my Lord."
"Once you have mastered my demonic arts, I want you to return to the human domain. Take all of these people with you — every last one — back to the human domain."
"What?" Emperor Yunlan was shocked. "My Lord, if we go back now, we'll be like rats crossing the street — everyone will be out to get us!"
"No matter. Your humans have a saying, don't they? 'Repeated rumors can turn metal into dust, and three people can make a tiger appear.' You have so many people here, and Jiang Chen is only one mouth. How can he out-talk you?"
Emperor Yunlan was genuinely stunned. His instincts told him this plan was unreliable, but on second thought, it actually seemed quite feasible.
That brat Jiang Chen might be glib-tongued, but he was still just one mouth. They had so many people, and the matter involved so many sects across the Upper Eight Domains.
Surely they couldn't be out-argued by a single Jiang Chen.
But the ones who had escaped this time weren't limited to just Jiang Chen.
"My Lord, besides Jiang Chen, there is also Emperor Shaoyang of the Nine Sun Heaven Sect, and a warrior from some minor sect."
"Even if you add them all together, that's still only three mouths. And how many do you have here?"
The Celestial Demon Lord said coldly, "Yunlan, this is a test for you. When you return to Pill Fire City, you will have another mission — seize Pill Fire City while the opportunity presents itself, and bring Emperor Danji under your control. From what you've told me, Pill Fire City is the most powerful force in the human domain. If you can manipulate Emperor Danji and turn Pill Fire City into our Celestial Demon race's stronghold, then my plans will proceed at twice the result with half the effort!"
Emperor Yunlan's heart surged with excitement. Back when he'd been in Pill Fire City, he had merely been one of Emperor Danji's underlings. Although he'd held a position of considerable authority there, in Pill Fire City there had always been only one boss — Emperor Danji.
No matter how high anyone else's status, it was all granted by Emperor Danji. If you failed to serve him well and displeased him, no amount of status would save you. It could be stripped away in an instant.
If he could control Emperor Danji and command Pill Fire City, wouldn't that perfectly satisfy the ambition he had suppressed all those years?
Becoming the ruler of Pill Fire City — wasn't that the dream he, Yunlan, had never dared voice?
Now, the Celestial Demon Lord's proposal had shown him the feasibility of this very thing. In that moment, Emperor Yunlan was filled with a Nameless excitement.
However, he still had some concerns.
"My Lord, Emperor Danji is formidable — far more powerful than I am. Dealing with him won't be easy. Especially if that bastard Jiang Chen returns to the human world and gets ahead of us, spreading his version of events first. People will be prejudiced from the start. Even if Emperor Danji trusts me, he'll probably still be on his guard."
These were Emperor Yunlan's worries.
"No need for concern. That brat you mentioned, and the other two — none of them have left yet." The Celestial Demon Lord's demonic sense, having recovered for a moment, began sweeping the area once more.
Within range of his consciousness, he could clearly detect the auras of those few individuals.
Especially one—
"Hm?" The instant the Celestial Demon Lord's demonic sense locked onto Jiang Chen, his divine consciousness experienced a violent fluctuation, and a vague feeling of unease swept through his heart.
What was going on?
The Celestial Demon Lord pushed his demonic sense further, observing carefully.
"What is this brat doing?"
His demonic sense immediately picked up on Jiang Chen's actions. However, the Celestial Demon Lord clearly didn't know the secret of the Giant Stone Clan, and watching Jiang Chen's behavior, he couldn't make sense of it for the moment.
"What's going on with those giant stone statues?" The Celestial Demon Lord had sealed this place for so long that he naturally knew the Sacred One Sect's sacred ground was guarded by eight colossal stone sculptures at its entrance.
He had always assumed they were mere decorations of the Sacred One Sect, carrying no particular significance.
But now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
The demon race was suspicious by nature, and the Celestial Demon Lord's instinctive response to Jiang Chen's unusual behavior was a growing sense of alarm.
"Yunlan, here is your chance — a once-and-for-all opportunity to eliminate that brat Jiang Chen. Do you dare take the gamble?"
Emperor Yunlan's eyes lit up. "My Lord, that brat really hasn't left yet? Where is he?"
"Right at the palace entrance. He seems to find those stone statues at the door quite fascinating. His behavior is strange. Yunlan — I bestow upon you a Celestial Demon Golden Armor Talisman. Will you take people and go kill that brat?"
A look of eager, restless desire flashed through Emperor Yunlan's eyes. But he immediately thought of another problem. "My Lord, what about the Divine Vermilion Bird?"
The Celestial Demon Lord said displeasedly, "That feathered beast is on its last legs. Its previous attack consumed far too much of its divine power. It's now at the tail end of its life cycle and doesn't have much energy left. Otherwise, do you think it would have refrained from storming in here to kill you all?"
"It... it's about to fall?"
"Of course! If it weren't on the verge of perishing, do you think people with your meager abilities could have entered this secret realm in the first place? Not when the Divine Vermilion Bird is at its peak!"
Though the Celestial Demon Lord despised the Divine Vermilion Bird, he still harbored considerable wariness toward it. But he had also observed that this particular Vermilion Bird had indeed reached the final stage of its life cycle.