"This Life Tree still has some residual energy," Demon Soul said quickly, "this time, you can't snatch it from me."
He kept a particularly wary eye on Yun Jin. If only he absorbed it, the leftover energy from the Life Tree would probably be enough for him to reach the peak realm. But if Yun Jin deliberately came to steal it… that was another matter entirely.
Still, he relaxed quickly. Although Yun Jin had mastered the Heaven-Devouring Soul Codex, she'd just absorbed far too much blood-red matter at once, and she still hadn't digested it.
She wasn't in a position to compete for the Life Tree's energy. Sure enough, after sitting down, Yun Jin began regulating her breath, showing no intention of snatching energy, and Demon Soul let out a sigh of relief.
Ji Wusi raised an eyebrow and set up a barrier around them, temporarily blocking others' view.
"Xiao Jin clearly had a different plan. If someone came over, it might interfere with her intentions. Better to be safe."
Time passed—three days and three nights went by quickly.
After the Blood Moon fell, the sky over the Demon Domain gradually returned to normal, and all living beings were no longer affected by the blood-red light.
Other races also joined the battle, and without the Blood Moon's boost, the demons stood no chance at all. In those three days and nights, the demon race was almost entirely wiped out, and human cultivators began orderly taking over the Demon Domain.
Yet Yun Jin and Ji Wusi still hadn't appeared.
Everyone couldn't help but worry. No one knew what kind of price Yun Jin and Ji Wusi had paid to shatter the Blood Moon. Had something gone wrong?
With no word, the others could only wait quietly in the Demon Domain.
Inside the barrier.
Yang Yun opened his eyes. His face looked pale, and the demonic markings on his body twisted into even more grotesque forms.
These markings had finally absorbed enough energy and kept changing shapes, looking incredibly eerie. Demon Soul chuckled and dove back into Yang Yun's body.
Yang Yun was forced to stand.
Yun Jin calmly opened her eyes too.
Both sides had completed the contract, and the contract's energy vanished at that moment.
Demon Soul chuckled, "Foolish human! You actually let me absorb so much of the Life Tree's energy! You think I'm weaker than you? Now, let me show you my true strength!"
Suddenly, Yang Yun's body expanded to an enormous size, the dense demonic markings transforming into black snakes that lunged at Yun Jin.
Yun Jin reached out and grabbed the black snakes formed by the markings.
"You actually dare touch the demonic markings with your hands? Hahaha, that's suicide!" Demon Soul roared.
Then Yun Jin grabbed one snake, another snake, another…
Finally, she tied them all into a perfect knot. A swarm of black snakes struggled wildly, snapping and hissing, but they were all bound together and couldn't move.
She looked up at Demon Soul. "My dear friend, what exactly are you trying to do, hmm?"
Demon Soul's smile vanished.
Crack, crack, crack.
He slashed the black snakes apart, disappearing from the spot in an instant.
"Yun Jin! Just wait! I'll avenge today, sooner or later!"
The voice lingered, but both Yang Yun and Demon Soul were gone.
Yun Jin: "…"
Ji Wusi: "…"
Was Demon Soul a little too flexible? He just ran away?!
"Xiao Jin, we absolutely can't let the Demon Sovereign escape," Ji Wusi said solemnly.
Yun Jin nodded. "Master, you don't need to worry about the next part. I know where Demon Soul is going, and I'll deal with it."
Ji Wusi's expression was complicated. How much time had passed?
The little girl who was once a Golden Core stage cultivator had grown to a point even he couldn't catch up with. He knew her capability, so he didn't insist on following. He just said gravely, "Be extremely careful."
"Don't worry," Yun Jin said with a sly smile.
In the next moment, she returned straight to Wushuang Sect.
Demon Soul had only one destination:
The Extreme Northern Ice Plains!
The system had said a secret space in the Extreme Northern Ice Plains was where the spatial barrier was weakest.
Demon Soul would definitely head there.
All Yun Jin had to do was get there first and wait.
This place was guarded by the Heavenly Dao, so the map hadn't been unlocked yet.
Yun Jin went to the Mission Hall and opened the world map. In the Extreme Northern Ice Plains, only that small section remained locked. She clicked on it.
The system gave the same prompt.
[This area is guarded by the Heavenly Dao. It can only be unlocked with the Heavenly Dao's consent.]
Yun Jin raised an eyebrow, muttering to herself, "Hurry up and unlock it already."
After a brief pause:
[The Heavenly Dao has consented. Do you wish to spend one billion Emotional Value to unlock a new task map?]
"Unlock it!"
The lock on the map slowly opened.
A new SSS-rank mission appeared in the Mission Hall.
[SSS-Rank Mission: Protect the Small World]
[Fragments of the devoured Demon Soul have leaked into this realm, attempting to spread the Small World's coordinates to the outer-realm Demon Domain.
Mission Objective: Stop the Demon Soul's plot and protect the Small World's peace.]
Yun Jin immediately accepted the task, and a teleport button appeared on her panel. She teleported straight away.
Extreme Northern Ice Plains.
Buried deep beneath the icy plains, a hidden space. It was pure white, empty, silent.
Yun Jin appeared instantly in this space. No sooner had she arrived than a faint, ethereal voice echoed.
"You're here."
Yun Jin smiled. "Long time no see."
Here, the Heavenly Dao manifested again.
Hearing Yun Jin say "long time no see," its voice sounded a little puzzled, "Relative to a cultivator's long lifespan, it hasn't really been long."
Doing the math, it hadn't even been a few years.
Yun Jin waved her hand. "Don't worry about the details."
She'd teleported directly here; Demon Soul was probably still trudging along. She wasn't in a hurry and set out a sofa, placed a table, and happily started roasting food.
Soon, a rich aroma filled the icy space.
The Heavenly Dao remained silent for a moment.
"You've grown rapidly these past few years," it said.
Yun Jin nodded casually. "Not bad."
The Heavenly Dao was silent again. After a while, it recovered its composure and asked, "With your strength, you could easily crush that Demon Soul. Why did you deliberately let him go?"
Yun Jin raised an eyebrow. "The outer-realm Demon Domain is very close to this world, right?"
It replied slowly, "The two worlds are indeed gradually converging. In the future, if beings encounter spatial turbulence, they could easily be drawn into the other world. In about fifteen hundred years, the two Small worlds will collide, and then the worlds will fully merge."
It paused, then continued, "The outer-realm Demon Domain is already a Level One Small World, while I'm only a Level Three Small World. Once the worlds merge, the outer-realm's Heavenly Dao will devour me. The beings in this Small world will likely face calamity as well."
Even while discussing its possible devouring, its voice remained calm.
Yun Jin caught a new term and asked with curiosity, "Level One Small World? Level Three Small World?"