Chapter 129: Lin Dong's Defection

"Lin Dong?" Yan Chen and Chen Yiyan, who had been engaged in combat, finally regained their composure and scanned the great hall.

"That brat actually escaped!" Fury flared in Chen Yiyan’s eyes. The hall guards looked at one another in confusion; clearly, none of them had noticed Lin Dong slipping away.

"Pursue him!" Three guards of the Sixth Realm immediately rushed out of the hall to hunt Lin Dong down.

Ye Zihan felt a chill regarding Lin Dong’s betrayal, though it was within his expectations. From the very beginning, he had harbored reservations about this young master of Xuanwu City. Throughout their journey, Lin Dong had acted as if he held his own secrets, never treating them with true sincerity. Now that Lin Dong had abandoned them without a word, it was evident he had gone to seek shelter from his father.

"Wood Summoning—Blazing Firebird!"

With a mere flicker in his mind, Ye Zihan set the matter aside. He would not waste genuine emotion on someone unworthy of his attention, nor would he feel anger—it simply wasn't worth it. He could no longer afford to hide his Five Elements status and unleashed all his abilities.

"Lord Heavenly Venerate!"

At that moment, several figures appeared rapidly in the hall and addressed the Elder Heavenly Venerate seated above.

"Elders, what exactly happened in the Abyss of Demons? Did something happen to the Heavenly Lord?"

"L-Lord Heavenly Venerate, the Heavenly Lord is gone!" The white-haired elder in the lead looked at the Heavenly Venerate with a mix of shock and anxiety.

"What!" The Heavenly Venerate was utterly stunned. He had suspected trouble, but he had never imagined the Heavenly Demon Lord would simply vanish.

"Yes, it is these people!" The elder spotted Ye Zihan and the others and immediately shouted, "It was after these few entered and exited the Abyss of Demons that the incident occurred, and we discovered the Heavenly Lord was missing. But wait, why does it seem like one is missing?"

"The other ran off. I’ve already sent men to pursue him, though that boy is the Young City Master of Xuanwu City, which makes him difficult to handle," the Heavenly Venerate waved a hand and continued, "The Heavenly Lord’s sudden disappearance is concerning, but since we are unharmed, the Lord must still be alive. It seems this must be related to you all. Boy, did you encounter the Heavenly Lord?"

"If your answer satisfies me, I might consider sparing your brothers," the Heavenly Venerate said, projecting a strand of source energy into Ye Zihan to heal the wounds inflicted by the bearded leader earlier.

"The Heavenly Lord? Could you be referring to the Heavenly Demon?" A strange expression suddenly appeared on Ye Zihan’s face as he squinted at the Heavenly Venerate.

"It really is you! Speak, what have you done to the Heavenly Lord?" The elder rushed to Ye Zihan, grabbed his collar, and glared at him.

"That's right, I have met the Heavenly Demon—the 'Heavenly Lord' as you call him. But I am curious: what is your relationship with this Heavenly Lord?"

The power dynamic had shifted. Ye Zihan swatted the elder's hand away and strode toward Chen Yiyan and Yan Chen. "Are you alright?"

"Do we look alright to you?" Yan Chen rolled his eyes, his voice weak. Chen Yiyan remained silent, his body covered in fresh blood, though his eyes still burned with the will to fight.

Ye Zihan’s gaze shifted to Mo You, who had been sealed nearby by the Heavenly Venerate. The Heavenly Venerate looked slightly irritated but waved his hand to release Mo You, sending him to Ye Zihan. Mo You managed to shrink his body before falling into a deep slumber. Ye Zihan tucked him into his sleeve with a heart full of pity.

"Hmph! You don't need to know our relationship with the Heavenly Lord. You only need to tell us what happened when you met him!" the elder barked.

"Nothing much happened. It’s just that your Heavenly Lord is now my slave."

"What?!"

"Insolence! How dare you insult the supreme Heavenly Lord! We must kill you to cleanse this insult!" The elder, incensed, lunged at Ye Zihan, but the next action stopped him cold.

"Come forth, my servant—Heavenly Demon!"

Ye Zihan produced an exquisite talisman. Following a series of hand seals, a dense, chilling aura of demonic energy slowly manifested from the paper.

"H-Heavenly Lord!"

The elder dropped to his knees instantly, as did the others behind him. These Seventh Realm powerhouses, who had stood tall moments ago, now trembled before the manifested Heavenly Demon, just as the bearded leader had trembled before the Heavenly Venerate.

Even the formidable Heavenly Venerate lost all his dignity. Like a mouse encountering a cat, he scrambled from his jade throne, crawling to the feet of the Heavenly Demon, bowing in humble subservience.

"Master!" The Heavenly Demon ignored them entirely, turning instead to kneel respectfully on one knee before Ye Zihan—a stark contrast to the attitude he had shown when he tried to slaughter Ye Zihan and devour his Five Elements Soul Source.

When the Heavenly Demon knelt, his eyes held the absolute submission of a servant, devoid of any resentment. While Mo You was sleeping, Ye Zihan had used Soul Control to bind the Heavenly Demon to avoid discovery by Lin Dong. By sealing him into the talisman, he had established the supreme contract of the Fantasy God Continent, which even a peak Tenth Realm expert could not defy, let alone the Heavenly Demon, who was now but a remnant soul stripped of his former power.

"Ah? Heavenly Lord? What... what is the meaning of this? Has this brat controlled you? I shall kill them at once to restore your freedom!" The Heavenly Venerate, realizing the truth, prepared to strike.

"Insolence!" The Heavenly Demon’s stunningly beautiful face turned cold. A piercing light shone from his eyes. Without a single movement, the Heavenly Venerate began to convulse uncontrollably, wailing in agony on the floor.

"Ah! Heavenly Lord, have mercy! I was wrong, please, spare me!"

The other elders and guards trembled, heads bowed, terrified of suffering the same fate. They knew well the cruelty of the Heavenly Demon; he had delighted in torturing them, and through his soul-binding, he could inflict unbearable pain with a single thought.

Though the Heavenly Demon’s strength was depleted, his soul-manipulation techniques remained lethal. Once controlled, they had no choice but to obey; if their master died, they would die too.

Now, the Heavenly Demon had suffered the same fate. By channeling the contract through his identity as a Water Element Spirit Envoy and using Soul Control, Ye Zihan had bound her. Her relationship with Ye Zihan was now identical to that of his subordinates to him.

"From now on, he is my master, and he is also your master. You will treat him exactly as you treat me. Do you understand?" the Heavenly Demon said calmly.

"We shall serve the Master with all our might," the subordinates kowtowed, not daring to have a single dissenting thought.

The Heavenly Venerate continued to struggle in pain, pleadingly looking toward Ye Zihan. But Ye Zihan, still incensed that the man had tried to turn Mo You into a mount, watched coldly, letting him suffer the soul-searing agony until his body was drenched in cold sweat.