Evan Chu glanced at Selena and asked, "So the Yin–Yang Demon Empress is that freak who’s neither man nor woman—how could someone like that be interested in women? I’m honestly confused now, Sel. And how did you end up as just a soul remnant?"
"The Yin–Yang Demon Empress is a total pervert. He can switch between being a man and a woman. When he’s a man, he can’t stand anyone more handsome than him. When he’s a woman, if someone’s prettier than him, he’ll do everything he can to kill them or seize their body."
"Maybe I got possessed just because I was prettier than his female form. And as for why he wanted to do those things to me—maybe that’s just his twisted male side needing some kind of outlet!" Selena explained, her voice tinged with bitterness.
The more Evan listened, the more lost he felt. But what’s done is done, and worrying now wouldn’t change anything. "Sel, I won’t let you suffer anymore. It’s all my fault for not protecting you. You don’t blame me, do you?"
"Idiot, how could I ever blame you? This is fate—my tribulation. But I believe I’ll get through it, because I have a husband who loves me, a husband who’s insanely strong. Just talking to you now makes me feel so weak. I’d better go back into the bottle and wait until you guys reach the Immortal Realm before I come out again." Selena said, her words gentle but full of hope.
"Alright, it won’t be much longer, Sel. I swear I’ll bring you back to life—Lina is still waiting for you!" Evan promised, determination burning in his eyes.
Selena’s soul remnant quickly slipped back into the porcelain bottle. Evan plugged the stopper and put it into his storage ring. Just thinking about what Selena went through in the Demonic Realm made his heart ache. In the Immortal Realm, he could do whatever he wanted, living free and easy, but her life could only be summed up in one word—miserable!
"What are you daydreaming about, so deep in thought?" Lynn’s voice came from the cave entrance. She and Jade walked in, each carrying a few mountain chickens. Not a bad haul.
"Our mission’s done—now it’s your turn! Haven’t had barbecue in ages, so let’s see what kind of feast our husband can whip up for us this time." Lynn teased, grinning.
"I’ll go grab some firewood. I was so focused on catching chickens I totally forgot. You two chat, I’ll be back soon!" Jade said, turning and heading out again.
Evan handled the mountain chickens like a pro—killed them, plucked the feathers, gutted them, then used Watershift to wash them clean. Lynn watched, totally stunned. She genuinely admired Evan’s skill from the bottom of her heart.
Jade came back soon after, and Evan started grilling. His practiced technique quickly filled the cave with the mouthwatering aroma of roast meat. Next up—time to feast!
"Evan, you should head back to the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons and keep watch. If anything happens, we need to be ready. We can’t afford even the slightest mistake with the Soul Mushroom. Jade and I will hurry over if anything goes wrong," Lynn said.
Jade nodded, agreeing with Lynn. "Young Master, if anything unusual happens, just send us a message. Lynn and I will rush over right away. Here, take this transmission jade—keep it safe." As she spoke, a piece of green jade appeared in her hand.
Evan eyed the jade in Jade’s hand with curiosity. He clearly remembered that when he rebuilt her body, she didn’t have anything like that. No clue where she got it, or that sword she now carried. Total mysteries, but he was too embarrassed to ask.
Taking the jade, Evan said, "Alright. If things get rough, I’ll let you know. You two just rest up here and recharge. I’ll head out now!"
With that, Evan left the cave, flashed away using teleportation, and appeared instantly at the entrance to the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons. He activated Light Transformation to hide himself, broke through the entrance restriction, and slipped inside.
Inside, things looked just like before—bones everywhere, remnant souls all around. Evan soon reached the Soul Mushroom’s spot, but kept his distance, staying more than ten meters away.
Main reason? The purple Skeleton King was standing right in front of the Soul Mushroom, holding a bone sword radiating intense killing intent. One look and you could tell it was no ordinary weapon.
"Yin–Yang Demon Empress, if you dare try to steal my Soul Mushroom this time, I swear I’ll destroy you! Bet you never imagined I laid Corrupt-Heart Venom all around it. If you get hit by that stuff, no matter how strong you are, you’re finished. This king spent ten thousand years extracting it from corpses, and now I’m using it all!" the Skeleton King declared, his voice echoing with murderous intent.
Hearing that, Evan’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know exactly what Corrupt-Heart Venom was, but anything brewed for ten thousand years had to be insanely toxic—totally terrifying.
But wow, the Skeleton King was kind of an idiot, blurting out his secret like that. If Evan hadn’t come here, he’d have had no clue—he’d probably have walked right into the poison trap. Looks like Lynn’s advice to come here was spot on.
Evan slowly spread out his divine sense, scanning everything around him. His main goal—pinpoint exactly where the Corrupt-Heart Venom was, and figure out how to avoid touching it.
His first thought was to use Earthshift to tunnel through the ground and snatch the Soul Mushroom without anyone noticing. But he quickly realized that wouldn’t work—his divine sense was instantly devoured as it entered the soil, and the same thing happened on the surface.
So Corrupt-Heart Venom’s main trait was devouring—or maybe corrosion. Poison that could even eat away divine sense? That was next-level scary. Evan’s back went cold just thinking about it.
Just then, the Skeleton King produced a black porcelain bottle. "Only a little Corrupt-Heart Venom left. I was planning to use it to rule the Demonic Realm, but now I’ll use it to deal with that sick freak Yin–Yang Demon Empress. It’s a shame, but worth it. Once I kill her, nobody in the Demonic Realm will be my match."
The Skeleton King kept muttering to himself, but Evan was already scheming to get his hands on that Corrupt-Heart Venom. If it could corrode divine sense, it’d be a priceless trump card—even in the God Realm, it’d be deadly. Maybe it could save his life in a pinch.
The Skeleton King quickly stashed the bottle. Evan noticed he wasn’t wearing a storage ring—just a skeleton body. No idea where that bottle went, which only made it more mysterious.
Time flew by—ten days passed in a flash. Now that Evan knew the Soul Mushroom was surrounded by Corrupt-Heart Venom, he stopped probing and used Earthshift to hide himself underground. Keeping up Light Transformation would drain too much elemental energy, so he didn’t want to waste it.
"Hahaha! Just one more day and the Soul Mushroom will be ripe. Once I eat it, I’ll be the strongest in the Demonic Realm! Yin–Yang old freak, get ready to die!" the Skeleton King shouted, his laughter echoing through the Abyss...