Watching her young lady's strange expression, the maid kept muttering under her breath, totally clueless about what was going on.
It wasn't until someone walked into the flower beds that both snapped out of it. Seeing the guy, the young lady didn't even bother and just went back to her own room, leaving the maid to deal with him.
"Young Master Liu, what brings you here?" the maid asked, but inside she was cursing, "Damn pest—he's been buzzing around for ten years and never stops."
"I came to see the young lady. Why did she run off as soon as she saw me?" It was Mason Liu, who'd been dropping by every month for years now.
"She'd be crazy not to run from you," the maid cursed inside, but smiled and said, "Young Master Liu, Miss wants to cultivate. You should head back."
"Cultivate?" Mason Liu had just used his divine sense to see the young lady standing here for ages, so he walked over to check. Now she claimed she wanted to cultivate, which he totally didn't buy.
"Yep," the maid confirmed.
"Alright, I'll head out then." Mason Liu smiled and left.
The maid snorted inside, then went back to the room. Seeing Miss sitting in her chair, she said, "Miss, he's gone."
"Good job. No matter how many times he comes, just send him off like that." the young lady said.
Miss, his cultivation isn't even high. Why not let me teach him a lesson?
I'm not afraid of him—it's the Liu Family behind him, and Elder Liu in the Tracking Hall. He's a pillar of Fiend Palace. I don't want this to cause chaos inside the palace.
You're right.
Alright, I'm going to rest.
Watching Miss, the maid felt she'd changed a lot. Since ten years ago, she stopped fighting with newcomers and causing trouble for others.
Elsewhere, two people were muttering—Captain Ling and Captain Lee, of course.
I wonder if that guy is still alive.
I bet he's dead. It's been ten years.
Hope so.
We originally wanted to check out the Demon-Fiend Underpalace, see why that kid brought so many people in, but once inside, everyone ended up separated.
Yeah, otherwise we'd know which floor he's on and whether he's dead or alive.
Outside, things seemed unusually quiet because of Evan Yang. Elder Liu from the Tracking Hall was still sending out notices to track Evan Yang and Phantom Elder.
And so, year after year went by—thirty years in total. Evan Yang stayed inside for thirty years.
His strength had already advanced to late Three-Bloom Convergence Realm, with three flowers spinning above his head.
As for what was in front of him, it was the Eighth-Floor clone, which Evan Yang had just destroyed.
Whew, late Three-Bloom Convergence Realm—it's hard to progress further here, and there's no pressure at all. Evan Yang had spent a lot of time on the Eighth Floor, fighting the clone for years. Just a few days ago, he suddenly broke through during a fight, his power surged, and he easily finished off his opponent.
His soul had also grown a lot, now giving him a 2.5-fold amplification.
Without counting combat arts, with the Fly-Fire Boots' fourfold effect and the soul's 2.5-fold boost, he could reach a tenfold amplification.
In other words, he could now take on the Tenth Floor, but he didn't rush in. He planned to break through on the Ninth Floor first.
So on the Ninth Floor, Evan Yang compressed the combined amplification from his soul and Fly-Fire Boots to ninefold.
As soon as he reached the Ninth Floor, Evan Yang didn't stop—he began fighting like crazy.
After about five more years, Evan Yang advanced from late stage to Great Perfection, and the clone had lost its value for tempering.
So Evan Yang destroyed the clone and entered the Tenth Floor.
The Tenth Floor was also the last floor of the Demon-Fiend Underpalace, as far as Evan Yang knew.
On this floor, Evan Yang faced a new clone—here, he was fighting himself.
On the Tenth Floor, Evan Yang spent a lot of time—ten full years—before he felt his Great Perfection realm had advanced further, and his body started to change.
He felt the bottleneck approaching, and his blood was becoming harder to control.
Whew, looks like the Heaven-Cold Seed needs new energy again.
So Evan Yang finished off the Tenth-Floor clone as quickly as possible. He realized he'd been here for forty-five years. As soon as he gained enlightenment, he'd break through, but his blood would also become uncontrollable. So before enlightenment, he needed to find strong medicinal plants to strengthen the Heaven-Cold Seed and keep his blood in check.
Just as Evan Yang was about to leave, two beams of light appeared before him.
Wasn't there only ten floors? Why is there another path?
Before, he would've gone straight down the next path. But now, he needed to find potent herbs before seeking another breakthrough here.
So Evan Yang flashed over and chose the exit.
A flash of light, and after forty-five years, Evan Yang stepped out again. The old man was lying there, thinking someone else had come out. When he saw Evan Yang, he jumped up and stared: "You just came out?"
Yeah." Evan Yang nodded.
Which floor did you reach?" the old man asked, surprised.
Seeing the old man's expression and remembering how terrifying those clones were, Evan Yang didn't tell the truth. He said, "The Fifth Floor."
The Fifth Floor? Why were you in there so long?" The old man was shocked and suspicious.
On the Fifth Floor, I fought that clone for ages—took me decades to beat him." Evan Yang said with an awkward smile.
So that's how it is." The old man sized up Evan Yang. Although Evan had barely won on the Fifth Floor, anyone who made it that far was no ordinary person—after all, that's five times the strength.
Evan Yang looked at the old man and asked curiously, "Senior, how many floors does the Demon-Fiend Underpalace have?"
Ten floors." The old man replied.
Ten floors? Only ten? There's nothing after that?" Evan Yang asked, surprised, since he'd seen another entrance after the tenth floor.
That's it." The old man replied.
How is that possible?" Evan Yang asked, suspicious.
What do you mean, how is that possible?" The old man asked, confused.
Nothing, just curious. Has anyone ever reached the tenth floor?" Evan Yang asked.
The tenth floor? Seems like no one has. Someone once used all kinds of treasures to make it to the ninth floor, but came out badly injured." The old man replied.
Who built this place?" Evan Yang wanted to know how the Demon-Fiend Underpalace came to be.
You mean the Demon-Fiend Underpalace? It's ancient—it's been here ever since Fiend Palace existed." The old man replied.
So no one's ever gone into the tenth floor? Just the ninth?" Evan Yang finally understood—no one had ever entered the tenth floor, so they didn't know if there was an eleventh or more.
Yeah, that's right." The old man replied.
Thanks." Evan Yang said goodbye to the old man.
Watching Evan Yang leave, the old man muttered, "Strange, why is he asking so much about the tenth floor?"
Forget it, I'll tell the young lady." After thinking for a while, the old man couldn't figure it out and flashed over to the flower grove.
He found the young lady in the flower grove.
The young lady was in seclusion, so the old man said to the maid, "The person Miss was looking for has come out."
The person Miss was looking for?" The maid asked, confused.
Tell Miss—it's the one from the Demon-Fiend Underpalace." The old man said, then left.
The maid walked into the room, saw the young lady meditating, and waited by her side.
What's up?" The young lady asked as she sensed someone approaching.
The person from the Demon-Fiend Underpalace has come out." The maid said.
The young lady forced her eyes open, as if shocked. "What did you say?" she asked.
The one from the Demon-Fiend Underpalace—the one you were looking for—has come out." The maid repeated.
He really came out?" The young lady had thought Evan Yang was dead, but after forty-five years, she was surprised to hear news of him.
She jumped up, wanting to go out.
Miss, you're not in seclusion anymore?" The maid asked, puzzled.
Nope." The young lady smiled and left the room, leaving the maid wondering.
Evan Yang was walking down the road, and Owen Bing, thrilled to have received Evan's orders, brought everyone to welcome him.
Evan Yang was surrounded by his subordinates, and he noticed some had already earned the Fourth-Rank General title.
Captain Wood, you finally came out." Owen Bing said with a smile.
You're already a Fourth-Rank General, no need to call me Captain anymore." Evan Yang said with a smile.
Captain Wood, don't tease me. Even though I've made a breakthrough, I'm still nowhere near your level." Owen Bing had reached late Divine Cauldron, but Evan's aura seemed extraordinary.
The others all laughed as well.
Evan Yang glanced around—only forty people remained. When he asked why, he learned that nine hadn't come out of the Demon-Fiend Underpalace in forty-five years, and might even have died.
You all did great—such big improvements." Evan Yang noticed the Sixth-Rank Generals had become Fifth-Rank, and several Fifth-Rank had advanced to Fourth-Rank.
Captain Wood, what realm is your strength at now?" Owen Bing asked curiously.
That's a secret." Evan Yang smiled, then led everyone to his winery to celebrate.
But suddenly, two people appeared—Captain Ling and Captain Lee, who had always hated Evan Yang.