This is exactly the fiendish qi of the Fiend Realm. For people from the Human World, three months is usually the limit—unless you're a real powerhouse. Even then, even the strong can't last longer than five years.
Evan Yang didn’t know this, but their conversation gave him a bit of insight. Still, he spent most of his time inside the tower and the False Mountain, so he wasn’t sure what effect it would have.
“The Heavenly Fiendbane Art is mostly fiendish qi—it attacks the soul directly. That doesn’t bother me. The fiendish qi of the Fiend Realm shouldn’t be a problem either.” Evan thought about how the Nether Patriarch’s cultivation art also used fiendish qi to mess with people’s minds, so he felt a lot calmer.
He glanced at the two people outside, but ignored them for now. He moved the Nether Patriarch off to the side so he wouldn’t bother anyone else.
“How’s it going, Nether Patriarch?” Evan had already unsealed his mouth, not worried about any shouting—this place was Evan’s turf.
“You—where exactly did you bring me?” The Nether Patriarch, dragged inside by Evan, felt like he’d entered another dimension. He couldn’t move a muscle.
“Go on, tell me—how do you use the False Mountain?” Evan grinned.
“I’m not telling you.” The Nether Patriarch snorted coldly, realizing Evan had captured him just for the False Mountain.
“Oh really? If that’s how you want to play, then you’ll end up just like the Swain Family—sealed forever, unable to move or speak. You’ll just sit here, staring blankly, until you die.” Evan said with a laugh.
Thinking about how the Swain Patriarch and their steward had already been immobilized for nearly two years, the Nether Patriarch was terrified, his face turning ashen.
“Go on, talk.” Evan grinned when he saw the Nether Patriarch waver.
“If I tell you, will you let me go?” The Nether Patriarch stared straight at Evan.
“Nope. But at least you’ll be able to talk and move around.” Evan smiled.
Evan’s words made the Nether Patriarch panic. Face pale, he said, “Fine, moving is better than not moving.”
Evan watched him with a smile, and the Nether Patriarch finally explained how to use the False Mountain and handed over the black leaf—both now in Evan’s possession.
Once everything was settled, Evan sealed the Nether Patriarch’s spiritual power, but let him walk around freely. To keep him from bothering anyone else, Evan assigned him a separate area, all by himself.
After Evan placed him in that zone, the Nether Patriarch tried every trick to escape—even pulled out a Transmission Stone. But he had no spiritual power, so the thing wouldn’t work.
He rummaged through everything he had, but without spiritual power, nothing worked. All he could do was sit there, entertain himself, and shout, “Let me out! Let me out!”
“No yelling. You’ll be released someday. If you keep shouting, I’ll toss you into the Death River right now.” Evan’s figure appeared in front of him again, grinning.
“Death River?” The Nether Patriarch blurted out, shocked.
“That’s right, we’re inside the Death River now, so you’d better behave.” Evan Yang smiled, then left the Nether Patriarch’s side.
The Nether Patriarch had personally seen that Eighth-Rank General die in the Death River. He didn’t want to end up the same way. He didn’t know how Evan could come and go freely, but he was sure Evan wasn’t lying—after all, he’d seen Evan and the False Mountain fall into the river himself.
Soon, the Nether Patriarch fell silent, and Evan took out the False Mountain to test it a few times. Sure enough, it worked, and there were two incantations: one for ‘capture,’ one for ‘release.’
“Wonder how strong a person this thing can trap?” Evan muttered to himself, thinking about the power of the False Mountain.
But he remembered that even when he was at early Soul-Gathering Realm, he could walk freely inside it—though it was tough. If someone was stronger, maybe the artifact couldn’t hold them.
So Evan gave the False Mountain to Derek. Derek’s cultivation wasn’t that high, and with this, he’d have a way to protect himself.
Derek was delighted to get the treasure. At least now he could trap Soul-Gathering Realm foes.
After dealing with the False Mountain, Evan started studying the black leaf. He found that when he infused it with spiritual power, he felt much lighter, but there was a drawback—it drained his spiritual power way too fast.
Plus, the leaf only boosted speed by less than two times. For Evan, it wasn’t much use, especially since he had Phantom Step Art and Sky-Soaring Boots. So he took out the leaf and asked Nina Ye and Winter if either of them wanted it.
Winter smiled. “Give it to Sister Nina Ye. I’m happy just being by your side.”
Evan Yang smiled, then handed the black leaf to Nina Ye. Hearing Winter’s words, Nina Ye had originally wanted to give it to her, but when she realized Winter had such a good reason and she didn’t, she couldn’t think of anything to refuse.
So the black leaf quickly ended up in Nina Ye’s hands. At that moment, Nina Ye still spoke up, “You should use it yourself.”
“It’s not much use for me. As my cultivation grows, my movement arts and my other treasures will get a big boost.” Evan smiled, then placed the leaf in her hand.
Nina Ye looked at the pitch-black leaf and finally gripped it tightly. “Thanks.”
“Look at you,” Evan said with a smile.
“Where are we right now?” Nina Ye saw Evan’s smile and felt something she couldn’t describe, so she quickly changed the subject.
Evan had no idea what she was thinking, but he replied, “Death River.” Then he explained the situation to the three of them.
“So what do we do now?” Nina Ye asked, suspicious.
“We go into seclusion. Both of those guys outside are stronger than Soul-Gathering Realm—I’m not confident I can beat them.” Evan answered.
After Evan finished explaining, everyone agreed. No one wanted Evan to take unnecessary risks.
So Evan Yang started his closed-door cultivation inside the tower, planning to check things outside after three years.
Three years outside meant one hundred fifty years in the tower. Derek absorbed eight strands of Fiend Star Source, and his strength slowly climbed, almost reaching the Nascent Soul Realm.
Back when Evan spent years in the tower, it was impressive, but compared to Derek’s cultivation method, it was still lacking. Evan often praised Derek’s special body.
The two outside had no idea what life was like inside Evan’s tower. They just thought Evan was hiding in the river, waiting for him to go crazy.
But Evan wasn’t afraid at all. He spent most of his time inside the tower, which was clearly a separate space—fiendish qi couldn’t touch him.
Just like that, the three years outside slowly approached, while Evan had spent nearly one hundred fifty years inside the tower—fifty times faster than normal.
Derek’s cultivation had advanced to early Out-of-Body Realm. If he had more Fiend Star Source, he could improve even faster. Nina Ye, on the other hand, hadn’t changed much—her cultivation was still suppressed. Unless the Feng Family removed the seal, nothing would change. Evan had wanted to try, but found that their restriction was totally different from his own sealing methods, so even he couldn’t break it.
As for Winter, her cultivation soared, reaching Soul-Gathering Realm. Evan hadn’t expected it. If Derek’s speed was thanks to absorbing Fiend Star Source, Winter’s progress was a mystery.
Little Buddy was still like an ever-young Green Crystal Beast, but it spat out more green crystals than before.
Old Clam and Oddball were still in closed-door cultivation. The speed at which everyone else improved made them feel like the least useful members of the group.
The Street Thug couldn’t cultivate—Evan Yang had sealed his spiritual power. All he could do was wait in a designated area for Evan to let him out. As for the Nether Patriarch, he was even more bored. After a hundred fifty years, he was about to go crazy. Everyone else could cultivate—just close their eyes and decades or even centuries would pass.
But he couldn’t cultivate, so he just lived like a regular person, sleeping and waking up over and over.
Every time Evan looked at him, he begged to be released, but Evan, now in the Death River, refused every time. It wasn’t until the three-year deadline approached that Evan came to see him again.
As soon as he saw Evan, the Nether Patriarch pleaded, “Senior, let me go! I won’t dare anymore!”
“I’ve got a question for you.” Evan knew the Nether Patriarch was at his wit’s end, so he smiled.
“Ask away! If I know it, I’ll tell you!” the Nether Patriarch replied quickly.
“What is that mountain, and who gave you these treasures?” Evan asked curiously.
“Him?” The Nether Patriarch remembered how the Corpse-Refiner had warned him not to tell anyone, so he hesitated.
“What’s wrong? Afraid of him?” Evan smiled.
“Yeah, he’s terrifying. If I tell you, I might lose my life,” the Nether Patriarch said, frightened.