The other Lake Kings had no idea what Lady Waterfiend was talking about. Once she got the answer she wanted, she said to the rest, "Let him leave."
"Why should we?" Knife-Heaven King asked in confusion.
"Because right now, I'm going to help him," Lady Waterfiend said helplessly.
"What? You mean you're going to help this human? Lady Yara, what are you getting at?" Knife-Heaven King was baffled, and the other Lake Kings also frowned, looking curiously at Lady Waterfiend.
Lady Waterfiend spoke up, "Do you all know what's inside the barrier?"
"What is it?" Knife-Heaven King was dying to know what was in the barrier that would make Lady Yara take the initiative to help Evan Yang.
"It's an artifact—the Hundred-Fiend Cauldron. It can contain us Sovereigns, and to put it simply, it can control us. You all saw it just now; I'm not myself anymore," Lady Waterfiend said.
"What? You mean you've been controlled? How is that possible?" Knife-Heaven King knew Lady Yara's strength—if even she could be controlled, that was a disaster.
"That's just how it is. If you want to attack him, you'll have to get past me first," Lady Waterfiend said helplessly. She didn't want to fight her own people, but she couldn't let Evan Yang be in danger either—otherwise, she'd be dead herself.
Knife-Heaven King and the others exchanged glances and discussed privately. They weighed the odds: there were eight of them, while even counting Lady Yara, Evan Yang only had five on his side. No matter how they looked at it, they still had the advantage.
So the eight had already set their sights: capture Evan Yang first, then release Yara Lowe. But they didn't realize that the Fiendkeeper brand couldn't be undone, and kept stubbornly pushing ahead.
So as soon as the eight moved, Evan Yang and his group knew what they were planning. Without hesitation, Evan picked one of the Sovereigns, attacked until he was seriously injured, then drew him into the Hundred-Fiend Cauldron.
Seeing another one disappear, Knife-Heaven King showed a look of terror. This meant Evan's side had gained another ally—sure enough, Evan now had six, while theirs was down to seven.
Facing their last advantage, Knife-Heaven King and the others clustered together, not wanting to be picked off one by one.
"Knife-Heaven King, give up. At least you'll still have your freedom. If you end up like us, you truly won't be free anymore," Yara Lowe sighed.
"No matter what, I'll stick it out to the end." Knife-Heaven King had never considered surrendering to Evan Yang, so he said this.
The seven grouped together, staring at the six, afraid they'd end up like the others.
Evan Yang used psychological tactics, starting to say, "You all should just leave. If I really drag you into the Hundred-Fiend Cauldron, then you'll have no freedom left."
"No matter what, we've got seven here. Let's see how you pick us off one by one," Knife-Heaven King said.
"If that's how it is, then I really have no choice." Evan Yang needed a way to break the stalemate, so he took out that sword. The moment he drew it, everyone saw its extraordinary power. The reason Evan dared to bring it out now was because he knew he had six loyal guardians to protect him—even while he was gathering power into the sword, he'd have time to unleash it.
The seven quickly realized what was happening and all launched attacks at Evan Yang. But the five Sovereigns with him instantly stepped up to block the seven's assault.
The five barely managed to defend against the seven's powerful strike. When the seven saw they hadn't succeeded, they tried again.
At that moment, Evan Yang gripped the sword with both hands and said, "You forced me to do this. Go!" With that, he swung the sword, unleashing a tremendous power that slashed directly at the seven.
In an instant, all seven were wounded by the sword's energy. Evan knew he was weak now, but so were they. He immediately used the Hundred-Fiend Cauldron, enveloping all seven inside.
The seven struggled to escape, but that last attack had left them all injured to varying degrees. They'd already used up most of their power trying to block the blow—just as Evan had planned. Once they were drained, that was when they were weakest.
In no time, the seven were all sucked into the Hundred-Fiend Cauldron.
Evan Yang finally let out a sigh of relief. "Whew, that was close."
"What was that sword just now? How could it be so powerful?" Yara Lowe looked at Evan Yang with suspicion. The other Sovereigns were just as curious.
"That move was my ultimate life-saving trump card. Once I use it, I lose four-fifths of my strength, so I can't keep fighting. If you all hadn't been here, I wouldn't have dared to use it." Evan Yang said with a bitter smile.
Yara Lowe and the others, surprised by Evan Yang's ability, stared at him curiously.
Finally, Evan Yang smiled and said, "Alright, let's see how everyone else is doing." With that, he released the other Sovereigns. After coming out, each of them looked at Evan, their feelings especially complicated—just moments ago they were determined to kill him, but now they had to consider becoming his followers. Some had a spirit of 'better dead than submit,' so they confronted Evan and threatened suicide.
But Evan Yang spoke up, "Don't get worked up. I never said you have to do anything. Entering my Hundred-Fiend Cauldron is completely voluntary—if you don't want to stay, you can leave anytime."
These words from Evan left the nine newly branded Sovereigns exchanging glances in disbelief.
"Are you serious?" Knife-Heaven King asked.
"That's right. Go ahead," Evan Yang replied.
Even though they bore the Fiendkeeper brand, Evan Yang didn't want to keep people who disliked him. So he chose a 'freedom mode'—they were free to leave if they wished.
As soon as Evan said this, several Sovereigns left. After all, they were proud Sovereigns and didn't want to be managed by Evan. With someone taking the lead, seven quickly left, leaving only Knife-Heaven King and Yara Lowe.
Knife-Heaven King looked at Yara Lowe and asked, "You're not leaving?"
"No, I'm staying. I think following him is interesting." Yara Lowe had been in the lake domain for years, and ever since Evan Yang managed to kill Drakehorn, she'd been intrigued by him. After everything that happened, she was even more certain that life with Evan would be far more interesting.
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
Knife-Heaven King paused, then looked at Evan Yang and finally said, "Thank you." With that, he turned and left. In the end, only Yara Lowe remained out of the nine.
Evan Yang looked at Yara Lowe and asked, "Are you sure you want to follow me?"
"That's right. Why? Not welcome?" Yara Lowe asked curiously.
"Not at all. You're welcome to join." By now, Evan Yang had four Sovereigns who had pledged themselves to him. With this kind of strength, he had the makings of a powerful force.
"Good." Yara Lowe replied. Sovereign Eagle and the others were delighted, and Evan said to the four, "Since you're willing to follow me, I can't have you staying inside the Hundred-Fiend Cauldron all day. Just suppress your cultivation to Emperor Realm. Without my permission, don't reveal your true power."
The four nodded. For them, suppressing their power was easy, so they quickly brought their strength down to Emperor Realm.
Once everything was settled, Evan Yang asked Yara Lowe, "Do you know where the spatial crack is?" "The spatial crack you mentioned is at the northernmost edge of the city. I'll take you there now," Yara Lowe replied.
Evan Yang nodded, then led the four Sovereigns—who had all suppressed their strength to Emperor Realm—to the spatial crack. Soon, they crossed through and, upon emerging, found themselves back in the Immortal Realm.
Returning to the Immortal Realm, they found the sky had changed dramatically.
It was no longer night or day as before, but a gray sky. On one of the planets, Evan Yang frowned at the sky and said, "What's happened to the heavens?"
"I see a gate opening," Sovereign Eagle said.
"A gate? What gate?" Evan Yang asked, puzzled.
"The gate between realms is opening," Sovereign Eagle replied.
Evan Yang frowned, then sent out his divine sense to scan the area. He found several cities, but they were all empty. Curious, he wondered how he ended up on a planet of empty cities. He entered one and walked through its streets.
Soon, he noticed movement inside a house. Evan and the four Sovereigns entered and saw a person peeking out, staring at them in terror.
"Who... who are you?" the person asked in terror.
"What's going on here? Where did everyone go?" Evan Yang asked, puzzled.
"Are you from the Devil Realm?" the person asked, still terrified.
"No, I'm from the Immortal Realm," Evan Yang replied. He released a pure surge of immortal essence, displaying it before the person. Seeing that Evan was indeed from the Immortal Realm, the person crawled out and patted his chest, saying, "You scared me to death. I thought some damned Devil Realm folk had come to kill us again."
"Devil Realm? They've come here to kill?" Evan Yang asked, puzzled.
"Don't you know? The gate between the Devil Realm and the Immortal Realm opened early for some reason, so now people from both realms are fighting everywhere. Most cities got the news and hid, trying to avoid running into any vicious devil folk," the person explained.
Evan Yang was shocked—the gate to the Devil Realm had opened early! That meant the Immortal Alliance was doomed. Since he'd left, many Immortal Sovereigns had departed, greatly weakening the alliance. Now, it was the perfect opportunity for Devil Sovereigns to invade the Immortal Realm.
Thinking of this, Evan Yang wasted no time. He immediately said to the four Sovereigns, "Let's go, follow me quickly." With a flash, all five vanished at once.
Their speed was astonishing, leaving the person standing there dumbfounded. "What just happened? What speed was that? Am I hallucinating?"
The gate between the Immortal Realm and Devil Realm wasn't supposed to open so soon, but for unknown reasons, the alliance between realms opened early. Devil Realm folk, who had long wanted to invade, poured into the Immortal Realm.
The Immortal Alliance quickly gathered all forces to resist, but with fewer Immortal Sovereigns than Devil Sovereigns, defeat came swiftly. Many planets near the gate were destroyed. The alliance leader led the survivors to a nearby stronghold planet, forming a massive barrier to temporarily hold back the Devil Sovereigns and their forces.
But they knew this wouldn't last long, so everyone was anxious—each day felt like a year, even slower than cultivating.