C560 The Great Demon Came to Seek Refuge

"Looking for Yu Yuan, Brother Gao?" Old Cash craned his neck to watch a silhouette dart across the sky, chuckling as he called out from beneath the shade of a tree.

Gao Qin, having departed from Elfview, glanced down in surprise. "Old Cash, what brings you out here?"

With a whoosh, Old Cash soared into the air, a copper coin underfoot. "I took a trip to the Devil Moon Empire to gather some items for the restoration of my Jade Tower," he said with a grin.

Joining Gao Qin's side, he added, "I've just returned and was about to seek out Yu Yuan."

"Do you know where to find him?" inquired Gao Qin.

Nodding, Old Cash replied, "Follow me."

Together, they took flight toward the mid-lake island.

Before long, they spotted a chilling streak of lightning racing toward Spider City, a hundred miles in the distance.

"Cold Yin Sect's Weixian!" Old Cash's face paled. "Yu Yuan must be on that island. When we parted ways, he mentioned he'd be cultivating there for some time. Weixian's departure points straight to that very island!"

"The Land of Legacy's master, the island refined by Yu Zhu?" Gao Qin's voice carried a note of alarm.

"Exactly," confirmed Old Cash.

"Weixian wouldn't dare harm Yu Yuan, would he?" Gao Qin's pulse quickened, and he surged ahead with increased speed. "The Cold Yin Sect wouldn't dare such audacity. With Yu Yuan's close ties to that individual, how could Weixian even contemplate an attack in the Land of Legacy?"

"Weixian is a dangerous man," Old Cash said, his worry evident.

They exchanged no further words, racing toward the mid-lake island like twin comets.

Shortly thereafter.

"Lu Qingyu from the southern Luan Bird Empire!" Old Cash gazed at a river suspended midair, his expression one of shock. "A Seventh Level Demon King and ruler of Treasure Lake's waters! What business does she have in the relic, and why head to the mid-lake island?"

"And there's Lei Jiao from the Kingdom of Rewia," observed Gao Qin, eyeing a formidable figure enveloped in lightning. "Another Seventh Level Demon King, a master of thunder and lightning. What draws him to the lake as well?"

"There's Huoluo too!" Old Cash cried out in alarm.

As fellow outcasts shunned by society, Old Cash had once practiced his craft in the desolate Absence Relic.

After departing, Old Cash roamed the vast expanse of the Profound Sky Continent, encountering numerous formidable demons. He recognized the backgrounds of Lu Qingyu, Lei Jiao, and Huoluo at a glance.

They were all kindred spirits, shunned by the mainstream sects of both the Heavenly Source and Quietus Continents, and not without their own conflicts.

Their respective power levels and preferred weapons were well known to each other.

Lu Qingyu, Lei Jiao, and Huoluo, all hailing from the Demon Clan, were rebellious souls beyond the Demon Palace's control. They honed their skills at Treasure Lake, in the Ice and Thunder Forest, and across the Crimson Desert.

These three Seventh Level Demons were on par with Old Cash's Soul Wandering Stage, and among them, Lei Jiao and Huoluo were formidable adversaries that even Old Cash preferred to avoid.

His own cultivation techniques were somewhat vulnerable to Huoluo and Lei Jiao's powers, leaving him handicapped in combat.

"Weixian, were they the ones who forced you to retreat?"

Gao Qin, a deacon of the Babel Chamber of Commerce, understood the might of these concealed demons of the Profound Sky Continent. Each of the three Seventh Level Great Demons was as powerful as a practitioner at the Soul Wandering Stage.

Weixian himself, despite being in the late phase of the Soul Wandering Stage, would likely struggle against three Seventh Level Great Demons.

Gao Qin had assumed that Weixian's flight had been prompted by the trio of demons.

Upon reaching the lake with Old Cash, they were greeted by the aftermath of a brutal skirmish, with blood spatters and shattered bones strewn about.

"A vicious fight took place here," Old Cash noted, his face turning grave as he settled by the lakeshore. He first surveyed the colorful miasma cloud hovering over the lake, then turned his gaze to Lu Qingyu, now in human form, and to Huoluo and Lei Jiao, and asked sternly, "Did you clash with Weixian from the Cold Yin Sect?"

"Old Cash, what brings you back?" boomed the muscular man with horns, his laughter echoing as he manipulated the lightning at his feet into writhing thunder snakes that coiled around his arms. "I heard Liang Jingyin seized the mountain where you used to cultivate. Looks like you're without a home to return to now."

Huoluo, in his youthful form, chuckled and gave Old Cash a nod. "It's been a while."

Lu Qingyu remained silent.

She was merely acquainted with Old Cash; they had no prior dealings. Consequently, their encounter at the Absence Relic was marked by a lack of warmth.

"The Babel Chamber of Commerce is definitely going to take action against Liang Jingyin!" Gao Qin blurted out suddenly.

Old Cash's eyes sparkled with interest. "The Chamber is going after Liang Jingyin?"

"Liang Jingyin plundered the Chamber's supplies and now he's on their hit list," Gao Qin, privy to the details, informed Old Cash. He continued, "The Demon Palace has laid down the law in the Absence Relic. Neither those at the Yang God Stage nor Eighth Level Great Demons are permitted to set foot in the Relic for the time being!"

"Even Taoist Chongxiao of the Spirit Void Sect, with his Yang God form, is barred by the Demon Palace from entering."

"Liang Jingyin, at the pinnacle of the Soul Wandering Stage and not yet a Yang God, is known to the Chamber. But due to the Demon Palace's edict, they can't send a Yang God powerhouse after him, leaving them at a loss."

With this revelation, Old Cash finally grasped why Liang Jingyin had vanished without a trace in recent years, having evidently raided the Chamber's stores and gone into hiding to assimilate his spoils.

It also became clear why Liang Jingyin, despite being hunted by the Chamber for so long, had the audacity to show up at Yellow Mountain.

Boom!

A colossal dark cauldron burst through the island's colorful miasma cloud, sending up an enormous plume akin to a multicolored mushroom cloud.

"The Evil Cauldron! Yu Yuan!" Gao Qin exclaimed in shock.

Lu Qingyu, Huoluo, and Lei Jiao, witnessing the massive cauldron and Yu Yuan standing at its rim, were visibly taken aback, unsure of how to react.

"Yu, did Wei Xian stop by earlier?" Old Cash asked, relieved to see him unharmed. He quickly added, "What's Wei Xian up to here? Did he make a move against you?"

"Wei Xian was wounded and fled with the Extreme Cold Seal," the muscular man with a thunder snake coiled around his arm casually remarked. "We've heard that the Yu family's young master has a close relationship with the master of the relic. Could you please make an introduction? We're eager to meet her."

Lu Qingyu and Huoluo executed a clumsy bow, adhering to human customs.

"Wei Xian previously harmed Qin Yun, so I returned the favor," Yu Yuan said with a smile, addressing Old Cash and then giving Gao Qin a nod. "Is the Chamber of Commerce planning to establish a branch in Spider City?"

"He injured Wei Xian?" Old Cash was taken aback.

Wei Xian was in the late Soul Wandering Stage, on the cusp of condensing his Yang God, and was more powerful than Old Cash himself.

Old Cash bore a grudge against Wei Xian, yet upon arriving at the Absence Relic, he refrained from seeking revenge, knowing full well he was no match for Wei Xian.

How then, could Yu Yuan have managed to injure him?

The three Seventh Level Great Demons, upon hearing Yu Yuan's claim, were equally skeptical.

Was it not the relic's master who had used the relic's Dao to overpower and injure Wei Xian?

Why was this man claiming all the credit?

They could gauge Yu Yuan's cultivation level with a mere glance and sense of his aura.

His Profound Break Stage cultivation, even with the ability to wield the Evil Cauldron, wouldn't provide an artifact at its peak state, thus offering only a limited boost to his combat strength. How could he possibly have injured Wei Xian?

The three Seventh Level Great Demons were outright incredulous and began to view the Yu family's young master with skepticism.

"Indeed, the Chamber of Commerce has started constructing a branch within the relic, with Zhu Peining overseeing the project, and she's currently in Spider City," Gao Qin said, eyes slightly narrowed. "I visited Elfview Town and came across a variety of exotic spiritual herbs. Zhu Peining sent me to extend an invitation for you to visit Spider City and discuss some matters with her."

Although just a deacon, with a rank lower than Zhu Peining's within the Chamber of Commerce, Gao Qin addressed her directly by name.

This indicated that Gao Qin had some leverage within the Chamber of Commerce.

"Spider City," Yu Yuan acknowledged with a slight nod. "I'll head over there later."

Shifting the conversation, he addressed Lu Qingyu, Huoluo, and Lei Jiao, "The person you're looking for isn't in the relic at the moment. Haven't you heard? She's currently at the Demon Palace."

"But she's definitely inside!" insisted Lu Qingyu.

Yu Yuan furrowed his brow. "I've told you, she's not there."

"It has to be her inside; she's the one who frightened Weixian off!" Lu Qingyu's urgency was palpable. "I need to meet her. I've uprooted my whole family and journeyed thousands of miles from Treasure Lake just to seek her out. She can't just refuse to see me!"

"I've already told you, she's not here," Yu Yuan reiterated, his tone icy.

"You don't own the relic sealed by the Demon Palace; you don't speak for her!"

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