The nine souls immediately panicked. If Evan Yang never returned, they would become eternally lost souls, unable to recover. All nine souls looked pleadingly at Evan, especially the Double-Faced Fiend, who said, "If you never make it out, we'll be buried with you here forever, won't we?"
"That's right. So you'd better pray I make it out alive." Evan Yang smiled.
"Ah, don't! That's worse than killing us." The Double-Faced Fiend said gloomily.
"What can you do? There are so many dangers out there, including the Four Dread Beasts." Evan Yang laughed.
"The Four Dread Beasts! You're good with lightning, aren't you? Lightning restrains them." one soul quickly said.
"Oh? That's how it is? Then it's easy. I'll use lightning to suppress the Four Dread Beasts." Evan Yang realized lightning worked well against the creatures here; maybe he could use it on the guarding army too, keeping them away and slipping into the Ling Void Expanse.
"Even if you get past the Four Dread Beasts, you can't avoid Lord Greenguard." The Double-Faced Fiend sighed.
Evan Yang smiled, "He has his strength, I have my ways. Only battle will tell."
"He's already got one foot in the God realm. How can you fight him?" The Double-Faced Fiend wasn't looking down on Evan Yang, but Lord Greenguard was truly powerful and respected by all here—he was the Plane Lord's chief general, undefeated by anyone.
Evan Yang said, "I'll improvise." Back when he was weaker, he escaped Titus Skyflood; now he's sure he can sneak into the Ling Void Expanse.
The nine souls nearly fainted hearing Evan Yang admit he wasn't confident. But Evan Yang stowed them away, replenished his strength, and sent out a clone to scout ahead. He wanted to see what Lord Greenguard and the Four Dread Beasts actually looked like.
Evan Yang's clone flew forward and soon reached the perimeter of the Ling Void Expanse. It looked like a giant circular barrier, glowing faintly, with four huge statues of various shapes around it. From what he'd learned, these were the Four Dread Beasts.
"These must be the Four Dread Beasts. But where's the army?" Evan Yang saw only the statues, no army. Curious, he moved closer—and suddenly, the Four Dread Beasts seemed to come to life.
Their massive bodies rushed at Evan Yang's clone. He was startled, but then a green-clad figure appeared in front of the beasts, staring at Evan Yang. The aura told him this must be Lord Greenguard.
When the Four Dread Beasts saw Lord Greenguard, they retreated, clearly fearing him. Lord Greenguard stood before Evan Yang, holding back his anger. "You wretched human, you've got guts coming here alone."
"If the Plane Lord is going to awaken early, how could I not come? If the Plane Lord wakes, we're all finished." Evan Yang smiled.
"Ridiculous. You think you can stop the Lord from awakening? Keep dreaming." Lord Greenguard sneered.
"Are you the chief general guarding the Plane Lord?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"That's right. It's me." Lord Greenguard said.
"Then tell me, Firebane, Darkbane, and Netherfiend—what are they?" Evan Yang asked.
Lord Greenguard frowned at those names; they were his operatives sent to sabotage other realms. "How do you know about them?"
Evan Yang smiled, "Because I've already dealt with all three. Want a reunion?"
Lord Greenguard's eyes flashed with anger. "Did you really kill them?"
"Not killed, just imprisoned. If you want to see them, I can arrange it sometime." Evan Yang smiled.
"Hmph, if I kill you, everything's solved." Lord Greenguard said.
"Is that so? Then you'll never see them again." Evan Yang replied.
Lord Greenguard snorted, "You've ruined my plans and dared to come here—you're courting death."
"I heard you've got one foot in the God realm. I'd like to see for myself." Evan Yang laughed.
"Overestimating yourself." Lord Greenguard opened his hand, releasing countless green light points that instantly enveloped Evan Yang's clone. The clone's blood surged like a raging tide, and soon his body couldn't take it—he exploded.
Seeing Evan Yang's clone explode, Lord Greenguard snorted, "Overestimating yourself!"
Not far away, Evan Yang was shocked. Lord Greenguard's move was too powerful—his clone vanished after just one encounter. He hadn't even figured out what those green motes were before losing contact with the clone.
At that moment, Lord Greenguard prepared to leave, thinking Evan Yang was no longer a threat. He turned to go, unaware that Evan Yang's true body had already arrived. As soon as he approached, the Four Dread Beasts appeared.
The Four Dread Beasts saw Evan Yang was alive and looked surprised, but their duty was clear—they attacked. Evan Yang didn't hesitate and struck them with four bolts of lightning.
Obviously, the Four Dread Beasts were weakened by Evan Yang. He quickly attacked them, but because of their massive bodies, it took quite a while to finish off the first one before moving on to the second.
The second, third, and fourth beasts took most of an hour. Evan Yang barely managed to defeat all four.
"Whew, good thing lightning restrains them. Otherwise, their sheer size alone would be deadly trouble." Evan Yang muttered. Just then, a voice sounded behind him: "Kid, you're still alive?"
Evan Yang was startled; he hadn't sensed Lord Greenguard approaching. Lord Greenguard had returned after sensing the Four Dread Beasts' distress, emerging from a spatial crack. Evan Yang had no warning, but Greenguard didn't attack immediately.
If Lord Greenguard had attacked Evan Yang right away, he'd probably be dead now.
"Why didn't you attack?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"I don't need to attack first against someone like you. I'm just curious—didn't I destroy your body just now?" Lord Greenguard looked puzzled.
Evan Yang smiled, "That was just my clone you destroyed."
"Clone? I couldn't even tell the difference. Damn it, this time you won't escape." Lord Greenguard snorted and summoned green motes again. Evan Yang dodged, then struck Lord Greenguard with lightning.
But apart from being slightly injured by the lightning, Lord Greenguard wasn't weakened. The green motes had already entered Evan Yang's body.
"You think your lightning works on me? Let me tell you, I'm wearing God-grade armor from the Plane Lord. Your lightning is useless against me." Lord Greenguard snorted.
"I thought you had some special way to avoid lightning—so that's it." Evan Yang was shocked. At the same time, he felt a huge force swelling inside him, as if it was about to burst his body.
Seeing Evan Yang's expression, Lord Greenguard sneered, "Don't struggle. This move is Overload Compression—I've packed my power into those motes, and once they expand inside you, your body can't handle it and will explode."
Hearing this, Evan Yang finally understood and laughed, "So you're wood-attribute. No wonder you have this ability."
"That's right. Strong recovery is a wood-attribute trait. And the power of Overload Compression is beyond what your body can handle." Lord Greenguard sneered.
Hearing this, Evan Yang calmed down. If his body was just filled with power, that was easy—he could absorb it. Others couldn't do this, but he could, thanks to the Heaven-Cold Seed. Especially since it was wood-attribute, he could absorb it with no pressure. Lord Greenguard, unaware, didn't attack further and just watched, "Let's see how long you last."
"You're not going to attack?" Evan Yang asked.
"I'm not attacking. I just want to see how long you can last, and then watch your agony when you finally explode." Lord Greenguard said with a smirk.
His opponent's hesitation gave Evan Yang a chance. He looked in pain on the outside, but inside he was fine—the Heaven-Cold Seed was absorbing all the power bit by bit. Evan Yang felt close to a breakthrough, but knew he had to hold on; breaking through now would be troublesome.
Lord Greenguard, unaware, thought Evan Yang was suffering, not realizing Evan was absorbing all the power. The energy from Overload Compression was gradually absorbed.
When the time was right, Evan Yang grimaced, "Your move is powerful, but it won't kill me. If I hold out a bit longer, I can expel all the energy."
"Expel it? That's wishful thinking." Lord Greenguard sneered at Evan Yang's expression.
"There's nothing impossible in this world. I'm already feeling much better." Evan Yang retorted.
"Oh? Is that so? Looks like I underestimated you. No matter—I'll give you double the power this time. Let's see if you survive." Lord Greenguard wanted to torment Evan Yang, so he unleashed green light again, which all entered Evan Yang's body.
Instantly, Evan Yang's body was filled with energy again, and his painful expression returned.
Lord Greenguard laughed, "Just wait to die. I want to see your suffering."
"I won't die." Evan Yang endured, while the Heaven-Cold Seed rapidly transformed the energy. Lord Greenguard was unwittingly helping Evan Yang advance. Still unaware, Greenguard kept mocking him.
After half an hour, Evan Yang gasped, "I still won."
"Impossible! Double the power and you're not dead?" Lord Greenguard couldn't believe it.
"I told you, anything's possible. Don't underestimate me." Evan Yang smiled.
"Don't get cocky. Try my strongest move—I'll crush you." Lord Greenguard used ten times the power, aiming to kill Evan Yang instantly. Evan Yang's face twisted in pain, but the Heaven-Cold Seed kept absorbing, and his cultivation kept rising, almost breaking through to the solid stage.
Lord Greenguard was too confident in his abilities, unaware Evan Yang's body was different. Evan Yang's power surged uncontrollably, and suddenly, his cultivation soared.