In Ye Ling's consciousness space, Tian Xing had completed her transformation without incident.
The moment she stepped onto the Soul Suppressing Ladder, she was still somewhat apprehensive, thinking that the Lord of the Upper Realm would come to find her during her trial and prevent her from breaking free from his soul.
After all, she was different from other dark creatures; she had inherited part of the Lord of the Upper Realm's memories and knew certain core interests.
If she betrayed him, the Lord of the Upper Realm would suffer immense losses.
Therefore, she had already prepared herself for a furious backlash from the Lord of the Upper Realm and for her own demise. To her surprise, the Lord of the Upper Realm never appeared, and the entire process went incredibly smoothly.
Ye Ling neutralized all the dark energy within the Soul Suppressing Ladder and looked at the reborn Tian Xing, smiling, "Congratulations on escaping the Lord of the Upper Realm. How does it feel to be completely independent?"
Tian Xing experienced the new power flowing within her and smiled at Ye Ling, "It feels quite good, as if some shackles in my soul have completely disappeared. I feel incredibly light."
"I can no longer sense any connection to the Lord of the Upper Realm. It truly lives up to its name as the legendary Soul Suppressing Ladder."
Ye Ling asked, "Hearing you say that, you know about the Soul Suppressing Ladder?"
Tian Xing smiled, "Of course. I not only know about the Soul Suppressing Ladder, but I also know the secret hidden behind it."
"The secret hidden behind the Soul Suppressing Ladder?" Ye Ling was taken aback. "What does that mean?"
Tian Xing shook her head and chuckled, "I truly didn't expect that you, as the host of the Soul Suppressing Ladder, know nothing about it."
"Do you know that to go to the Origin Upper Realm, one must pass through the Soul Suppressing Ladder?"
"To go to the Origin Upper Realm, one needs to pass through the Soul Suppressing Ladder?" Hearing Tian Xing's words, Ye Ling was completely astonished. He could never have imagined that the Soul Suppressing Ladder was the key to reaching the Origin Upper Realm!
No one had told him this!
Tian Xing explained, "I learned this from the Lord of the Upper Realm's memories. It seems that Good and Evil placed the entrance to the Origin Upper Realm at the end of the Soul Suppressing Ladder. There is a vast golden platform, and on that golden platform, there is a door leading to the Origin Upper Realm."
"However, to open that door, a key is needed."
Ye Ling asked, "Do you know what that key is?"
Tian Xing shook her head, "I don't know that. My understanding of the Soul Suppressing Ladder is only through the memories shared by the Lord of the Upper Realm, and this information is absolutely forbidden to be spread. What I know is already the limit of my accessible authority."
Ye Ling frowned slightly and sighed, "If we don't know what the key is, then even with the Soul Suppressing Ladder, we can't go to the Origin Upper Realm."
Tian Xing said, "This Soul Suppressing Ladder is a treasure of your Origin Lower Realm, and the Emperor's Palace is the strongest force in your Origin Lower Realm. They should know what the key to the Origin Upper Realm is."
Ye Ling said, "Looking at it this way, I still need to go to the Emperor's Palace."
Tian Xing added, "I have a mortal enmity with the Emperor's Palace, so it's not appropriate for me to appear in their territory. Moreover, I have now separated from the Lord of the Upper Realm. Once the Lord of the Upper Realm spreads this news, I won't be able to mingle with the dark creatures anymore. There is no place for me in the Chaos Battlefield now. Can you provide me with a hiding place?"
Ye Ling smiled, "That's easy. You can hide in my small world for now. I'll let you out when I go to the Origin Upper Realm."
Tian Xing: "Okay!"
After they made their arrangements, Ye Ling let Tian Xing leave his consciousness space and simultaneously opened his small world, taking Tian Xing in.
After dealing with Tian Xing, Ye Ling withdrew the independent space and returned to Falling Phoenix City.
At this moment, outside Falling Phoenix City, chaos had erupted. Countless dark creatures were flying everywhere, searching for Tian Xing's whereabouts.
Tian Xing was their marshal and their backbone. Her disappearance had caused many dark creatures to panic.
The two Shadow Pillars, after searching the surroundings and finding nothing, could only regroup at Falling Phoenix City.
"Did you find Tian Xing?"
"No... we've searched everywhere nearby, and we're only short of breaking into the Emperor's Palace's territory. Where on earth did that damned Wang Li Ren hide Tian Xing?"
The expressions of the two Shadow Pillars were extremely grim.
They never expected that the unknown Wang Li Ren could actually abduct Tian Xing right under their noses!
What they also didn't expect was that the "Wang Li Ren" they were looking for was currently in the city, plotting against them.
Ye Ling looked at the two Shadow Pillars in the sky and muttered to himself, "Since I could even subvert Tian Xing, it shouldn't be difficult to make these two Shadow Pillars betray the Lord of the Upper Realm, right?"
Tian Xing then said to Ye Ling, "I sincerely suggest that subverting the Shadow Pillars is not very meaningful."
Ye Ling: "Oh? Can you tell me why?"
Tian Xing said, "The Shadow Pillars are different from me. Although they are powerful, they have not inherited the core memories of the Lord of the Upper Realm. They are creatures that the Lord of the Upper Realm can mass-produce."
"If you expend the power of the Soul Suppressing Ladder to subvert the Shadow Pillars, it will not cause any loss to the Lord of the Upper Realm. Instead, it will deplete the Soul Suppressing Ladder."
Ye Ling frowned, "You mean the Soul Suppressing Ladder will be damaged by this?"
Tian Xing replied, "Although you have absorbed all the dark energy from the Soul Suppressing Ladder, the erosion of dark energy on the Soul Suppressing Ladder is irreversible. I can feel... after the Soul Suppressing Ladder purified me, its strength weakened a bit."
"Although the Soul Suppressing Ladder can slowly repair the damage, if it absorbs too much dark energy in a short period, it might not be able to withstand it. If the Soul Suppressing Ladder breaks later, you will lose the opportunity to go to the Origin Upper Realm."
"Is that so... It seems I can't subvert dark creatures indefinitely. I was thinking of bringing all the dark creatures under my command before the Lord of the Upper Realm appeared..."
"You want to take over all the dark creatures?" Hearing Ye Ling's words, Tian Xing's mouth twitched. She hadn't expected Ye Ling's ambition to be so great!
This was something the Emperor's Palace couldn't achieve in countless cycles of reincarnation!
Ye Ling smiled, "After all, I've gained a great general like you. It's not impossible to take over all the dark creatures. However, since purifying dark creatures will damage the Soul Suppressing Ladder, let's forget it. We'll just go to the Origin Upper Realm honestly and treat this Chaos Battlefield as a transit point."
Tian Xing was silent for a moment, then said to Ye Ling, "If you truly have this idea, I have another method that doesn't require depleting the Soul Suppressing Ladder."
Ye Ling was surprised, "What method?"
Tian Xing replied, "The Lord of the Upper Realm left his Dark Heart in the Chaos Battlefield. That is the source of the generation of dark creatures. If you can obtain his Dark Heart, then making the dark creatures obey you might not be impossible!"