Ye Ling looked at the extremely excited Tian Yi and said lightly, "Remember your identity from now on. I am your new master."
Although Tian Yi seemed dull and methodical, anyone with discerning eyes could see that Tian Yi was fond of Xu Shuya.
However, Xu Shuya was an Yin胎 (Yin Embryo), and she was never meant to belong to this mortal world.
Her best outcome would have been to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation, be reborn as a new person, and be accepted by the Heavenly Dao.
If she were forcibly kept alive, even if she could miraculously evade the Heavenly Dao and survive in the world for a time, she would ultimately turn to dust.
Tian Yi's infatuation would ultimately be in vain, only leading to more pain in the end.
Of course, if Tian Yi could still persist in finding the reincarnated Xu Shuya decades later, Ye Ling wouldn't mind lending him a hand.
"Tian Yi understands."
At this moment, Tian Yi wasn't thinking so much. He carefully placed Xu Shuya inside the female corpse and then respectfully kowtowed three times to Ye Ling.
Tian Yi respectfully said, "The Heavenly Net Ghost King keeps a Corpse Flood Dragon outside the King City. In the previous battle, the Heavenly Net Ghost King has consumed a large amount of vital energy. This time, the Heavenly Net Ghost King will definitely go to find that Corpse Flood Dragon and absorb its essence to replenish its strength."
"Hmph!"
Hearing Tian Yi's words, the corners of Ye Ling's mouth curved slightly.
Tian Yi saying this meant that he had completely severed his ties with the Heavenly Net Ghost King.
Ye Ling flicked his sleeve and turned to walk out of the great hall.
Before taking two steps, Ye Ling dissipated into the wind.
...
Outside the Heavenly Net Ghost City, by the lava moat.
After Ye Qingyan sent the young girls to safety outside Hundred Spirit Mountain, she quickly rushed back.
At this moment, smoke and fire filled the Heavenly Net Ghost City, and screams echoed everywhere.
Ye Ling's shadow, after killing the evil spirits who had escaped from the banquet hall and the cultivators who served the Heavenly Net Ghost King, did not dissipate. Instead, it roamed throughout the Heavenly Net Ghost City, slaughtering all the evil spirits and cultivators within the city.
These evil spirits and unrighteous cultivators, who cultivated either by eating people or drinking human blood, were utterly wicked. Leaving them alive would only be a menace.
If these individuals were allowed to escape Hundred Spirit Mountain and infiltrate China, many people in Jiangdong Province and Jingchu Province would likely die tragically!
Therefore, Ye Ling believed it was best to kill them all. After all, for him, these were merely casual tasks.
The space behind Ye Qingyan slightly distorted, and Ye Ling walked out.
He asked Ye Qingyan, "Are those girls settled?"
"You shouldn't always appear out of nowhere like that!"
Ye Qingyan was startled again by Ye Ling and complained, but she still said, "Those girls have been temporarily placed in Hundred Spirit Mountain. After things here are settled, you can contact the Dragon Department or the Zhengyi Sect, and let those professionals handle their resettlement."
After all, those girls had just been used as sacrifices, and they had witnessed so many cruel and bloody events. Releasing them into society rashly would cause quite a stir.
If not handled properly, it would also be a troublesome matter.
"Yes, I happen to know people in the Dragon Department. It's good to let them handle the follow-up."
Ye Ling nodded and took out his phone, sending a message to Wang Liren.
Seeing Ye Ling so relaxed, Ye Qingyan couldn't help but ask, "Is the Heavenly Net Ghost King dealt with?"
"He got away."
Ye Ling said nonchalantly while texting.
"Got away?" Ye Qingyan was shocked. "That's a Ghost King! Releasing it will bring endless trouble. Why are you still so relaxed?"
She thought Ye Ling had everything under control, but she didn't expect such a mishap!
"Don't worry... Aren't I here to handle the follow-up?"
Ye Ling put his phone back into his pocket and smiled at Ye Qingyan, "Even though it escaped, I didn't say I'd let it go."
Ye Qingyan was confused by Ye Ling. "Are you speaking in riddles with me?"
In Ye Qingyan's eyes, Ye Ling could have killed the Heavenly Net Ghost King with a flick of his finger.
The Heavenly Net Ghost King wanting to escape was definitely because Ye Ling let it.
He deliberately let the Heavenly Net Ghost King go, yet said he wouldn't let it go...
The more Ye Qingyan thought about it, the more contradictory it seemed.
Why the unnecessary move?
Seeing Ye Qingyan's confused expression, Ye Ling chuckled and stopped teasing her, explaining, "The Heavenly Net Ghost King is under this lava right now. When it comes out, it can be dealt with."
"In this lava?" Ye Qingyan asked with uncertainty. "What is it trying to do?"
Ye Ling said, "There is a Corpse Flood Dragon in this lava, entwined with the earth veins. If that Corpse Flood Dragon is not dealt with, it will eventually disturb the earth veins, causing a major earthquake in Jingchu Province and Jiangdong Province. The casualties then would be immeasurable."
"I see that the Corpse Flood Dragon is too tightly entwined with the earth veins. If I were to intervene, I might accidentally break the earth veins and trigger an earthquake prematurely."
"I originally planned to have you go down and deal with the Corpse Flood Dragon after resolving the Heavenly Net Ghost King. But now, with the Heavenly Net Ghost King going to absorb the Corpse Flood Dragon's essence, letting the Heavenly Net Ghost King drain it dry will conveniently save us the trouble of acting."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye Qingyan's forehead was covered in black lines. "Should I call you a great philanthropist... or call you a scoundrel?"
"You want me to go kill a Corpse Flood Dragon?"
Asking her to go under the lava to kill a Corpse Flood Dragon was almost like asking her to die!
Not to mention whether she could withstand the high temperature of the lava, just asking her to fight the Corpse Flood Dragon alone was an unreasonable request.
"This was a plan, not a command. I didn't really ask you to go."
Ye Ling smiled at Ye Qingyan. At this moment, the shadow that had been rampaging through the Heavenly Net Ghost City had slaughtered everyone in the city and returned to Ye Ling's body as demonic energy.
"It's about time. The Heavenly Net Ghost King should be finished."
"You step back a bit, lest you get splashed by the lava."
Ye Ling glanced at the flowing lava and pulled Ye Qingyan back several dozen feet.
Boom!
A black shadow shot out from the lava. The Heavenly Net Ghost King let out a long howl, and the earth trembled.
At this moment, two horns had grown on the Heavenly Net Ghost King's forehead. Its arm, which had been severed by Tian Yi, had been replaced by the giant claw of the Corpse Flood Dragon, with an eye growing on its palm, making it incredibly ferocious!
The Heavenly Net Ghost King stood in the air, its aura reaching an extreme.
Ye Qingyan's pupils contracted slightly. "He broke through!"
"This fellow is lucky." Ye Ling chuckled.
While the Heavenly Net Ghost King was absorbing the Corpse Flood Dragon's vital energy, it suddenly discovered that the earth veins entwined by the Corpse Flood Dragon also contained a trace of dragon脉 (Dragon Vein)!
Dragon Veins often represent the destiny of a nation. Although the wild Dragon Vein found by the Heavenly Net Ghost King was nowhere comparable to the Dragon Vein beneath the capital of China, by absorbing this Dragon Vein, the Heavenly Net Ghost King also inherited the luck of the Heavenly Dao!
The destiny of a nation empowering it allowed the Heavenly Net Ghost King to break through in a desperate situation, shattering the shackles of the eighth rank and stepping into the threshold of the ninth rank Red Dust Immortal!
The current Heavenly Net Ghost King's strength had already surpassed Tian Yi!
Tian Yi, who had been carefully attending to Xu Shuya in the great hall, felt the powerful aura surging from outside. His eyes flashed with a hint of shock, and he quickly grabbed his demonic sword and flew out of the great hall!
"Heavenly Net Ghost King..."
Looking at the Heavenly Net Ghost King's retreating back, Tian Yi felt an unprecedented pressure, and his hand holding the sword trembled slightly.
He regretted it, for his soft heart earlier, he had let the Heavenly Net Ghost King escape...
He never expected that his momentary soft-heartedness would lead to such a disaster!
The Heavenly Net Ghost King clenched its claws, a smug smile on its face. It contemptuously glanced at Ye Ling, Ye Qingyan, and Tian Yi. "I have absorbed the Dragon Vein and am blessed by national destiny, becoming a half-step Red Dust Immortal!"
"I am invincible in this world. You ants who dare to humiliate me will pay the price."