He noticed Zhou Yan was covered in dirt, clearly having been through a fierce battle.
"Who are you!" the man demanded coldly, looking at Zhou Yan.
Hearing this, Zhou Yan immediately looked up, carefully observing the man. He was shocked to find the man was at the eighth-tier of the God Emperor realm.
Such cultivation at such a young age was terrifying. Who was this person, and why was he trying to capture him?
Zhou Yan mused silently, not daring to speak.
"Who are you!" the man repeated, looking at Zhou Yan.
"Who are you? I don't know you, so why would I tell you!" Zhou Yan replied.
A trace of anger flashed across the man's face. "Hmph! It seems you have no intention of cooperating!"
"That's right, I won't cooperate. What can you do? If you dare to make a move, I'll shout, and your reputation will be ruined. I'm sure my cries will attract countless powerful experts to come and eliminate you. Then we'll see how arrogant you can be!" Zhou Yan threatened. He knew the man couldn't possibly kill him, which was why he dared to speak so boldly.
As expected, the man's expression changed upon hearing Zhou Yan's words.
"Fine, if you're so eager to die, then don't blame me!" the man said angrily.
He extended his hand, and a terrifying killing aura erupted from him, a strong scent of blood filling the entire canyon.
"Boom!"
At this moment, an incredibly powerful force exploded from him, rapidly spreading outwards. The demonic beasts within the canyon immediately felt it and fled in a panic.
Countless demonic beasts began to converge towards this location.
The man smiled in satisfaction at the scene. These demonic beasts were all orphans he had raised. Now that they were scared away, he could thoroughly teach Zhou Yan a lesson and show him the meaning of "there's always someone better."
Seeing the man's expression, Zhou Yan knew his plan had worked. He immediately concealed his strength and rapidly summoned five stars, quickly arranging them into a formation.
This was a formation Zhou Yan had learned previously.
His comprehension of formations was very high, so learning them hadn't taken long.
Terrifying roars echoed, and then all the demonic beasts in the canyon surged towards Zhou Yan's location, a dense swarm.
Looking at the terrifying demonic beasts before him, Zhou Yan's face paled, and his heart pounded. He couldn't possibly withstand so many.
However, Zhou Yan quickly regained his composure. He swiftly arranged all the demonic beasts to surround and attack the man, while he himself quietly slipped away.
Zhou Yan quickly turned and swam towards the depths of the canyon, heading for the dwelling of the dark-clothed man he had encountered before. He hoped to stumble upon a passage leading outside, which might allow him to escape safely.
Zhou Yan soon reached the end of the canyon, where a rock stood carved with a few characters: "Demon Den!"
"It really is here. This is the closest cave to the Demon Den. I never expected to find a path here. What a stroke of luck!" Zhou Yan muttered to himself, looking at the carved words with great excitement. He immediately moved towards the rock, wanting to test if he could traverse into the Demon Den.
The construction of this Demon Den was a mystery. The demonic energy within was extremely dense, enough to instantly devour anyone who entered. Zhou Yan dared not be careless and slowly approached the rock.
Soon, Zhou Yan stood before the rock, carefully examining the inscriptions, hoping to find a way through the Demon Den.
"Huh, strange, how did this character appear?" Zhou Yan murmured, looking at the rock. He had stared for a long time but found nothing unusual.
Moreover, Zhou Yan noticed that the rock seemed to have been forcibly split by some power, a phenomenon he had never witnessed before, making it extremely peculiar.
"I don't believe it!" Zhou Yan said, then swung his fist directly at the rock.
"Bang!"
As his fist struck the rock, Zhou Yan felt an incredibly powerful force rebound, causing him immense pain throughout his body.
"Such terrifying recoil!" Zhou Yan exclaimed in surprise at the rock's incredible hardness.
"Boom boom boom!"
Zhou Yan persisted, continuing to pound the rock. He landed over a dozen blows, but the rock remained completely unharmed. Zhou Yan repeated this action incessantly.
"No, I must find a way!" Zhou Yan said to himself, looking at the rock.
"Whoosh!"
Just then, Zhou Yan suddenly thought of a method. He quickly released his soul power, which spread out rapidly. Soon, Zhou Yan enveloped the rock with his soul power, guiding it deep within. He quickly discovered a passage.
Zhou Yan immediately followed this passage, flying rapidly into its depths. Before long, he arrived at the end of the passage, a dark opening. The walls around the opening were covered with various strange plants, giving it a very eerie appearance.
Zhou Yan studied it carefully and discovered that the stone walls were inscribed with numerous complex runes, whose meanings were unknown.
Zhou Yan attempted to decipher them with his soul power but found that these runes were designed to prevent soul power intrusion, not for attack. He tried to interpret them, but it was completely ineffective.
"Is it because my skills are insufficient, and I can't decipher these runes? Or perhaps these runes only work on cultivators and have no effect on ordinary people, which is why I can't break them?" Zhou Yan frowned, contemplating the runes before him.
"Forget it, no matter what, I'll go in and take a look. It would be great if this is truly a passage leading outside." Zhou Yan made his decision, looking at the opening.
He then quickly walked inside.
Entering the cave, it was pitch black with no light. Zhou Yan took out two torches, lit them, and began to grope his way forward. Soon, he touched a massive stone wall covered with many characters. Zhou Yan couldn't understand a single one, but he was certain these were the written characters of this world, and they seemed to differ slightly from the script used in the cultivation world.