Obviously, trying to go head-to-head with the God-Demon Corps would be extremely unwise, so the only option is to leave Yushan Prefecture.
After Star King was resurrected, to thank Ian, he completely separated from the Divine Temple, and Ian finally gained full control over it. Honestly, without the Time-Space Heart, the Temple isn’t much use to God-Kings.
Yushan Prefecture isn’t safe to stay in for long, so Ian gathered all his family and subordinates and brought them into the Divine Temple.
Afterward, he went to another residence, where Selena Owens was living.
"I've already broken with the God-Demon Corps and I'm leaving Yushan Prefecture. Are you coming with me or not?" Ian looked at her and asked.
"I'm your attendant. Do I even have a choice?"
Selena Owens said quietly.
Ian frowned slightly. "Fine, then I’m giving you your freedom right now. Make your own choice!"
"If I go with you, I’ll just be a burden, so..."
"Enough!" Ian raised his hand. "I know what you’ve decided. Take this storage God-ring. Bottom line: just get out of Yushan Prefecture as soon as you can!"
Ian tossed the storage God-ring to Selena Owens and left without another word.
Sigh!
Watching his departing back, Selena Owens let out a deeply complicated sigh.
After leaving Selena Owens, Ian left Yushan Prefecture directly and met up with Star King, who was waiting outside.
"Where are you planning to go?"
Star King asked.
"Do you have any suggestions?"
Ian asked.
"How about Demon Island?" Star King suggested.
"No way!"
Ian immediately rejected the idea: "If Demon Island's master were still around, he could keep the God-Demon Corps at bay. But he's already trapped in a universe that's about to collapse, so Demon Island has lost its deterrent effect. If I go there, the Corps will definitely send people to hunt me down, and I might even drag them into it!"
At this thought, Ian couldn't help but recall the group of Corpse Puppets in the Misty Forbidden Land.
He had promised them that once he reached God-King level, he would help them break their curse.
Although he hasn't reached God-King yet, his strength is already comparable, and with his formation skills, as long as a God Emperor doesn't show up, he can protect himself.
If those Corpse Puppet Kings are willing to honor the agreement and become his subordinates, that would be best—he'd gain a group of God-King-level followers.
If they refuse to keep their promise, he'll make other plans.
The distance between Yushan Prefecture and Xuliang Prefecture is far. Without using a teleportation array, it would take months to get there, but using one would immediately alert the God-Demon Corps.
So Ian decided to simply fly there.
Ian had left less than half an hour ago.
The Corps headquarters soon received word that Ian had killed Greenfiend and four other God-Kings and defected from the Corps.
This news shocked and enraged the Corps upper echelon.
They immediately issued a God-Demon kill order and sent ten God-Kings to hunt Ian.
Unfortunately—
By the time they arrived at Yushan Prefecture, Ian was already gone, and even his family had disappeared.
But these God-Kings weren't pushovers. Very quickly, one used a secret art to lock onto Ian's direction, and the group set off in pursuit.
In the Wuwang Sea, one of the God Realm's forbidden zones—
A middle-aged man in red robes, seated cross-legged on the seabed, suddenly opened his eyes and murmured, "Just now, the Time-Space Heart suddenly grew restless. Looks like the Divine Temple has appeared!"
With a thought—
A purple crystal heart appeared in the man's palm, and an image was projected in front of him.
The image showed Ian using the Divine Temple to collect his relatives inside.
"Didn't expect the Divine Temple to end up in the hands of an Upper Heavenly God. But where is this person? I'll need to run some calculations!"
Muttering to himself, Blazecrest God-King began using his divination art to locate Ian.
But soon his brows furrowed—he couldn't deduce any information about that Upper Heavenly God at all.
"But it's not hopeless. As long as he uses the Divine Temple again, the Time-Space Heart will catch his aura!"
...
Midair, Ian and Star King were flying side by side.
Suddenly, Ian frowned and said, "God-Demon Corps God-Kings are catching up!"
"What's your plan?"
Star King asked.
"Simple—kill them!"
Ian said matter-of-factly. Then he and Star King descended from the sky, and Ian tossed out Sacred Mountain, letting it expand into a giant peak standing on the earth. The two of them stood openly at the summit, waiting for the God-Kings to arrive.
Soon enough—
The God-Kings caught up, hovering in the air ten thousand meters away.
Greenfiend God-King was upper stage, and the fact that Ian killed him and several others made them wary. All ten were on high alert.
"Ian, betraying the God-Demon Corps is unforgivable. But if you reveal all your secrets, you might still have a sliver of hope!"
An upper-stage God-King spoke up.
They'd discussed it—there was no way Ian could kill Greenfiend God-King and the others by his own power. He must've gotten some extraordinary treasure in that collapsing universe.
"You want my secrets? Come catch me! If you do, I'll tell you everything!"
Ian said cheerfully.
He was baiting the God-Kings onto Sacred Mountain—if they dared come up, he'd teach them a lesson they'd never forget.
"Stubborn fool!"
"Hopeless!"
"Ungrateful brat!"
...
The God-Kings all started cursing him out.
Ian just grinned. "You wanna trade insults? I've never lost!" He pointed at all ten God-Kings and started roasting them one by one, until their eyes bulged and their bodies shook with fury.
"Little punk, shut up and die!"
A female God-King finally snapped, slashing her sword at Ian from midair.
"Tch, so ugly and still not allowed to say so? If I were you, I'd dig a hole and bury myself—don't come out and scare the flowers, grass, and little kids!"
Faced with her sword-qi, Ian didn't flinch. He dodged with a flick and easily avoided it.
Missing her mark, the female God-King slashed again.
But Ian was too fast—her attacks were useless.
"Everyone, attack together!"
Someone shouted.
The God-Kings all attacked, but kept their distance—ten thousand meters away, none dared get close.
This time Ian didn't bother dodging. He just tossed out more than ten Eternal Divine Array disks, shielding himself and Star King while letting the ten God-Kings waste their strength attacking.
"Come on! Harder! Put some muscle into it and you might break my array!"
Ian shouted.
Hearing that, all ten God-Kings went black-faced with rage.
After half an incense stick, Ian got impatient and snapped, "Did you guys skip breakfast or something? Can't even break a formation—are you fake God-Kings or what?"
At his words, the God-Kings all started trembling with anger.