The man crashed to the ground, but gritted his teeth and forced himself upright again. He glared at the three and growled, "You..."
"We told you—work with us or else. If you think you're so tough and won't cooperate, that's your choice." Nangong Palace Lord shrugged, his tone casual.
"Hmph! Injure me, capture me, whatever you want. Unless you kill me, I'd rather die than betray my principles." The man hadn't expected his luck to be this rotten today.
"So you're really that eager to die? You finally reached Emperor-realm strength—what others dream of for a lifetime—and you're just going to throw it all away?" Nangong Palace Lord pressed, disbelief in his voice.
"That's still better than being toyed with by the likes of you. Besides, I'm a senior disciple of the Saint Spirit Sect. I'd never betray my sect's will." The man snorted, defiant.
"Stubborn as expected. I knew you wouldn't give in easily. Tried to kill yourself when you fell, didn't you? No? Well, Young Master Yang gave you some special treatment." Nangong Palace Lord glanced at the items on the ground, recognizing them as things only Yang Tian from the Yang Family would carry. He smiled knowingly.
The man's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He tried to muster his strength, but found himself completely powerless, as if he'd been poisoned. "What did you do to me?"
"That's our Yang Family's Origin-Severing Powder. Once you're poisoned, even an Emperor can't gather any power for at least half an hour without the antidote." Yang Tian smirked.
"You—Origin-Severing Powder? You're from the Yang Family, one of the Four Heaven-Battling Clans!" The man's eyes widened in shock.
"Didn't think you'd even know our Yang Family's name. Not bad, not bad." Yang Tian grinned at the recognition.
Elder Simon Spring also showed a shocked expression. He'd thought the man was just an ordinary person, but hearing 'Heaven-Battling' stunned him.
If someone with Emperor-realm strength didn't know the Heaven-Battling title, that would be pretty pathetic.
The man was now completely powerless, knowing he was almost done for. He hurried to find a way to end himself, but Nangong Palace Lord got to him first, smiling, "Don't waste your energy. Come out."
With that, he grabbed the poisoned man and brought him to an open spot.
"So, it's just someone's whereabouts. Is it really that hard?" Nangong Palace Lord asked.
Yang Tian watched curiously from the side, wondering what kind of person they wanted to know about—enough to ask an Emperor-realm expert.
"I'm not telling you." the man snorted coldly.
"Fine, you won't talk? I'll just lock you up for a few days." Nangong Palace Lord snorted, about to deal with him, but the man suddenly passed out.
"What's wrong with him?" Elder Simon Spring was startled and hurried over, Yang Tian also came to check.
Nangong Palace Lord was the first to notice, so he carefully examined the man and exclaimed, "Damn, he's self-sealed!"
"This guy... I didn't expect that before he even fell, he'd already set this up. If the preset restriction in his technique isn't lifted within a certain time, he'll automatically self-seal—completely shutting himself off. No matter what you do, you can't wake him unless he wants to wake up himself." Yang Tian couldn't help but admire the man for being so prepared.
"Damn it!" Nangong Palace Lord roared in anger. Elder Simon Spring also looked furious. Seeing the two so angry, Yang Tian said, "It is what it is, nothing we can do now."
Nangong Palace Lord collected himself and said, "Even though we didn't get any answers this time, I'm still grateful for Young Master Yang's help."
"Don't say that. I didn't really help at all—actually, it turned out like this instead." Yang Tian sighed.
"It's not your fault, Young Master Yang. The other side was just too cunning—no one expected he'd prepare to self-seal ahead of time," Nangong Palace Lord said.
Neither Yang Tian nor Elder Simon Spring had expected such a trick. With their lead gone, Nangong Palace Lord continued, "Take him back. Maybe we can still find a way to force it out of him."
Yang Tian and Elder Simon Spring both thought this was the only option left, so they followed Nangong Palace Lord back to see what he would do next.
Evan Yang, having finished detoxifying the poison from Sharla's body, said, "All done."
"Thank you," Sharla said.
"What are you planning to do now?" Evan Yang asked, curious.
"Wherever you go, I'll go too," Sharla said.
Evan Yang shook his head, "I have a lot to do. It's not convenient for you to follow me."
"Why? Am I bothering you?" Sharla asked, suddenly anxious after hearing Evan's words.
"It's not that. It's just the situation here is really complicated—I don't know how to explain it. I suggest you find somewhere to stay, and when the formation opens, leave this place." Evan Yang knew things were even more complicated than before, so he had no intention of bringing Sharla along.
Sharla frowned, "No way. I'm staying with you."
"I'm not joking. It's dangerous here, do you understand?" Evan Yang said.
"No." Sharla shook her head.
Just then, a mocking laugh rang out. "Ha! What a pair of shameless lovers."
Sharla looked toward the source of the voice and, seeing the man, was startled. "Ah!"
Evan Yang glanced at the man and frowned. "Who is he?"
"My lord's deputy," Sharla exclaimed.
"Lord? You dare call him lord? Do you realize what you've done? You've shamed our whole team. Today, I'll bring your corpse back." The man snorted coldly.
"It's all my fault... I ruined everything for you." Sharla said to Evan Yang, feeling aggrieved.
Evan Yang patted her shoulder. "It's fine."
"And who are you?" The man, not knowing Evan Yang's identity, sneered.
"That's none of your business. If you want to live, you'd better leave now," Evan Yang said.
"Arrogant! You think a first-stage Profound Immortal can handle me? I'm an Immortal Lord!" the man snorted coldly.
"Is that so? Does being an Immortal Lord mean you can always defeat a Profound Immortal? Not necessarily," Evan Yang replied calmly.
"Who do you think you are? A first-stage Profound Immortal challenging an Immortal Lord? You really think you're like that freak, Evan Yang? Arrogant!" The man snorted coldly, clearly aware of Evan's reputation.
"Thanks for reminding me. I don't know Evan Yang, but maybe I'm even stronger than him," Evan Yang said with a smile.
[Irrelevant webnovel artifact omitted.]
Behind them, Sharla heard this and struggled to hold back her laughter, torn between amusement and caution.
"You're pretty arrogant. Let's see if you have the strength to back it up," the man sneered, stepping forward to teach Evan Yang a lesson.
Evan Yang motioned for Sharla to step back, then planted himself firmly. He met the man's attack head-on with a punch—boom! The man staggered backward, stunned. He quickly retreated a few steps, staring at Evan in disbelief. "Damn, I didn't expect you to be this strong."
"Weren't you going to take me down? Is that all you've got?" Evan Yang taunted, a cold smile on his lips.
"Damn it, kid—try this!" the man snapped, summoning a sharp wooden sword.
Evan Yang glanced at it and chuckled, "So it's wood attribute—rare, but so what?" With a sweep of his flames, he scorched the sword black.
The man stared at Evan Yang in shock. "You... I'll remember this. Next time, I'll come for you."
Evan Yang saw the man trying to escape, but snorted, "Dream on!" With a flash, he blocked the man's path. The man panicked, retreated, then pulled out a pill and swallowed it—his body instantly began to change.
"Demon? Human?" Evan Yang watched as the man's form shifted between beast and man.
"Not good, he's forcibly activating his residual demonic power!" Sharla cried out, her voice trembling with panic.
"Demonic power? What's that?" Evan Yang asked, genuinely puzzled by the man's sudden transformation.
With a guttural roar, the man's hands thickened, his head swelled, and his eyes bulged wide as he glared fiercely at Evan Yang.
"Turning into a demon doesn't make you invincible! It's not like I haven't fought monsters before. Let me send you on your way." Evan Yang snorted, whipping out the Limitless Spear for the first time in this arc. Flames erupted along its tip.
The man lunged for the Limitless Spear, trying to strike at Evan Yang, but the spear suddenly extended, keeping him at bay. Forced to defend against the relentless flames and spear, he frantically dodged, but it was useless. In the end, all that remained was a scorched corpse sprawled on the ground.
Just then, a wisp of white mist floated up from the corpse. Sharla cried out in alarm, "Stop it!"
Evan Yang didn't know what the white mist was, but seeing Sharla so anxious, he rushed forward to intercept it. Yet he was too late—the mist slipped away and vanished in a blink.
Sharla hurried over, panic etched on her face. "We're doomed," she muttered.
"What's wrong?" Evan Yang asked, concern in his voice.
"That was his last bit of demonic qi, and it carried his consciousness. It probably returned to my lord," Sharla explained, worry clouding her features.
"Demonic qi? And what did you mean by demonic power earlier? Also, what was that pill he swallowed—why did it change him so much?" Evan Yang pressed, curiosity piqued.
"He's like me—half-human, half-demon. We have traces of demonic power left in our bodies. With certain methods, we can awaken that power and make ourselves stronger," Sharla explained.
"So that's how it works. I never thought demons and humans could mix and create beings like you," Evan Yang replied, genuinely surprised.
"Are you looking down on us?" Sharla retorted, feeling a bit hurt.
"That's not what I meant. Don't take it the wrong way," Evan Yang said quickly.
"Good. Still, it seems I've been exposed. Otherwise, he couldn't have found me so easily," Sharla said, a hint of anxiety in her tone.
"Looks like that's exactly it," Evan Yang agreed.
"And you still want me to leave? Alone?" Sharla thought of her lord's methods and her current predicament, making her even more desperate to stay with Evan Yang.
Evan Yang already understood Sharla's situation from what just happened. He wasn't heartless, so he sighed, "I have a space artifact. Go stay there for now. Once we're out of this formation, I'll let you out."
"Thank you," Sharla said gratefully.
Evan Yang glanced at Sharla, then placed her into his tower-space artifact, arranged a place for her, and composed himself before disposing of the deputy's corpse.