Heaven's Devourer

Dark North Capital. Burning Skies Barracks.

Gong Shenjun and the rest were tasting alcohol and discussing dao. They took turns to illustrate their understanding of cultivation. When things got heated, there would even be a debate. 

Regardless of who won in the debate, they were able to gain something in the end. 

They were also waiting for Duan Yi to bring them good news. 

"It's about time, Duan Yi should be back."

"Yeah, it has been several days. I believe the good news will reach us soon." 

The group was waiting, and some of them were getting a little impatient. 

Naturally, with Duan Yi handling this matter personally, the group felt assured. 

They were largely of the same age, but Duan Yi was indeed the strongest one among them. He was also the only suitable candidate for this. 

Yin Xuan smiled and said, "Look at how restless you guys are! There is nothing to worry. He will be back soon." 

Someone asked, "Yin Xuan, your sister is with Wu Yu. The Alternate Creature Duan Yi chooses to lure will definitely be really powerful. Aren't you worried at all?" 

Yin Xuan put his smile away and said, "If she could help her brother finish off his mortal malady, learning a hard lesson would still be acceptable. Otherwise, it's annoying to see her jumping around before me." 

Just as he finished his words, Duan Yi had returned. The group cheered and lifted their cups to welcome him. When they focused and squinted their eyes, they saw that Duan Yi was clearly not pleased. 

"Did you fail?" the group asked with frustration. 

Duan Yi gulped down a mouth of alcohol, slammed the cup heavily on the table, and said, "I managed to find a Dark North Emperor Beast and thought success would be certain. Who would have thought that...!" 

"Dark North Emperor Beast! That's frightening! Could it be that the Dark North Emperor Beast didn't take the bait? If it didn't, you can look for another one! Eventually, one will take the bait! We aren't in a hurry!" Gong Shenjun said. 

Duan Yi answered in a cold tone, "It's not as easy as you think. The Alternate World isn't a place for humans! Moreover, it wasn't the issue with the Dark North Emperor Beast. I managed to lure the Dark North Emperor Beast to Wu Yu and thought he would definitely be killed. However, he suddenly vanished without a trace and I couldn't tell where he went. I've just received news that he appeared in the Alternate Dark North Capital. It's apparent that he's not dead!" 

"He's so incredible? How can that be? If he could escape from the Dark North Emperor Beast before its eyes, then he is pretty capable!" 

"Preposterous! That guy has too many secrets with him! It's not surprising he can be so arrogant! So he has means like this to escape from danger!" 

"That's the Dark North Emperor Beast we are speaking of! How can this be possible!? Did you really see him disappear with your own eyes?" 

Duan Yi didn't hold back his emotions. "He has now appeared in the Alternate Dark North Capital. How can he be dead?" 

No matter how much the group refused to believe it, they had no other options. Gong Shenjun gritted his teeth and said, "He was lucky this time. However, I don't believe he will be able to avoid our pursuit after offending us and demonstrating he has so many secrets on him forever. Even if the Princess chooses to protect him! It's better for us to not strike personally. I'll go hire a few people and spend some money to finish him off silently." 

"I guess that's all we can do." 

"I'd like to see if he still can escape. It will be best to look for those capable of setting up spirit designs as traps so he will have no methods to run." 

"There's another matter." At this point, Duan Yi looked to Yin Xuan before continuing, "The Dark North Emperor Beast has a mystique called Cryogenesis. If one is hit by it, one's life will stop and be frozen for eternity. Yin Ying didn't escape in time and was hit by this mystique." 

"What!?" Yin Xuan stood up abruptly, panting and looking at Duan Yi. Anger was evident on his face and he almost wanted to charge ahead to attack Duan Yi. 

"Cryogenesis?! There aren't many people in this world that can thaw it! Duan Yi, look at what you have done! My sister is now ruined by you!" Yin Xuan bemoaned. 

Duan Yi didn't show any weakness as he remarked, "Stop shedding crocodile tears before me. Who isn't aware that you were clearly awaiting such an outcome?" 

Clearly, Yin Xuan was displeased with his sister. 

Yin Xuan scoffed. "Even though I don't get along with her, she's still my sister. Moreover, she has people supporting her in the family. With such a huge incident, my father might even suspect us if he pursues the matter! Other than us, who else has clashed with Wu Yu?" 

At this point, everyone was getting a little worried. After all, everyone was afraid of revenge. They were even more afraid of having to take responsibility. After all, luring Alternate Creatures in the Alternate World recklessly was definitely prohibited. 

Moreover, Yin Ying was injured in the process this time. 

"If my father learns of this incident and finds out I was involved, he will definitely give me a beating!" 

"It will be fine if it is just a beating. If this gets out, every single one of us will look like a fool!" 

Seeing how flustered the group was, Duan Yi said, "I'm the one who did it and yet I'm not worried. What are you guys worrying over? That Wu Yu definitely didn't see me, as I hid myself well in advance. The Dark North Emperor Beast might have moved to the Level 5 Zone on its own. With no one and no evidence, Wu Yu won't think of you guys. Relax!" 

Hearing this, the group finally heaved a sigh of relief. 

However, Yin Xuan was clearly still discontented. He said, "Regardless, if my family finds out I was involved in this incident, I will definitely be beaten up badly. I thought you were capable! Yet you failed so miserably!" 

The last sentence was for Duan Yi as they were competitors to start with. 

When he finished his words, he left abruptly and left the group looking at one another. 

Duan Yi scoffed and said, "Why is the direct grandson of Minister Yin so useless? It's not surprising that he's afraid of his sister as well." 

The remaining group laughed awkwardly and didn't mutter a single reply. 

Obviously, they left in a hurry one after another. Remaining here might become troublesome as well. 

...... 

The Yin Residence was located at the East of the Dark North Capital. 

This was one of the best locations in the Dark North Capital. 

However, this wasn't the main base of Minister Yin. 

Minister Yin was the army general of the Stygian Nightmare Army, one of the Eight Main Armies, that was stationed at the East of the Dark North Kingdom. 

Minister Yin rarely showed up in the Dark North Capital. When Wu Yu arrived, Minister Yin wasn't in the Yin Residence. The one in charge here was Yin Xuan and Yin Ying's father. 

Wu Yu had been to the Dark North Royal Palace. Therefore, he wasn't intimidated by the huge and majestic view of the Yin Residence. 

At this moment, the Yin Residence had received news. Many people were waiting outside. 

When Yin Yang brought the block of Cryogenesis back to the Yin Residence, they entered with the rest of the people. 

The Yin Family was an elite family in the Dark North Kingdom, with its influence spread everywhere. It wasn't limited just to the Stygian Nightmare Army. For example, people like Yin Yang, who chose a different path and attained the high status of dark sea general in the Dark Sea Army, were plenty. 

Therefore, the cultivators that Wu Yu faced were largely elite cultivators. Their cultivation periods weren't short - they were largely middle-aged and in their prime years. 

"What happened?" Yin Yang was instantly surrounded when he arrived. 

Yin Yang didn't speak much. He removed the protection he had set up to show the rest. At the same time, he illustrated the events rapidly. 

Standing before this group of people, Wu Yu found it hard to breathe. This was because among the dozen-odd people, there were one to two old men who could send Wu Yu to his afterlife casually if they wished. 

This made him understand the differences between the elite experts in Yan Huang Ancient Region and him. These people were largely at the Dao Querying Realm and were pushing to reach the Immortal Realm. 

Among them, the one in charge looked a little similar to Yin Yang. He appeared to be a little younger but had a more frightening aura and denser aura bloodlust around him. He was likely a level above Yin Yang, and those in the Yin Residence instantly saw him as the leader. 

From the conversation between them, Wu Yu could roughly guess his identity. Although he looked young, he was actually the eldest son of Minister Yin. His name was Yin Ding, and he wasn't in the Dark Sea Army. Instead, his position in his father's Stygian Nightmare Army was the nightmarish sky general. A nightmarish sky general was equivalent to the dark sky general. It was said that he was the youngest nightmarish sky general and had a high chance of succeeding Minister Yin's position in the future. 

Yin Xuan and Yin Ying were both his children. 

The one frozen in Cryogenesis right now was his daughter. 

Therefore, he was clearly looking gloomy. 

At this point, Yin Yang said, "Anyone knows of any news or means to break this Cryogenesis?" 

"Our Dark North Kingdom doesn't have any person or item that will be capable of doing so. We have to ask someone from the Yan Huang Tribe." 

"I guess the only thing we can do is get in contact with the Yan Huang Tribe. However, it's hard to tell if we can get anyone on short notice. Those who can break this mystique would likely be hard to find or are busy dealing with the three catastrophes." 

"We can only try our best to ask and search. Our Yin family has wide dealings and numerous friends. Spread the news out and we should be able to find someone who can help." 

"I'll go contact my friends from the Yan Huang Tribe and ask if they can help us look around." 

With regard to this Cryogenesis, that was all they could do. 

"Yin Yang, isn't the Dark North Emperor Beast typically found in the depths of the Alternate World? Why would it be at the Level 5 Zone?" an old man asked. 

Yin Yang took a glance at Wu Yu before speaking, "This brat said that he vaguely saw a figure when the Dark North Emperor Beast appeared. What he means is that someone lured the Dark North Emperor Beast from the depths of the Alternate World. That person made use of his body composition to target him. In the end, Yin Ying was implicated. 

"He saw the Dark North Emperor Beast and got away unscathed?" Yin Ying asked solemnly. His voice was cold and identical to the freezing storm in the Alternate World. 

Yin Yang replied, "I tested him out. This person is incredibly fast. At that time, the Dark North Emperor Beast was targeting him and therefore he could only escape and couldn't take care of Yin Ying." 

Yin Yang was a nice guy to still speak up for Wu Yu at this point. The truth was, they were well informed as well. They knew that Wu Yu was the one Princess You Xue had brought back. Also, they had heard of his conflict with Gong Shenjun and the rest. Nonetheless, the most crucial thing was that Wu Yu was rumored to be his son's competitor. 

This was probably the reason why Yin Ding wasn't friendly towards Wu Yu. 

Wu Yu knew that it was time for him to speak up. Facing the group of influential and noble characters, he spoke directly. "Since all the elders are here, I'll keep things short. Since I've arrived in the Dark North Kingdom, I’ve mainly had conflicts with two groups of people. The first group is Yin Xuan from the Yin Residence. I believe everyone has heard of it. The second group is Gong Shenjun. Yesterday, when the young master of the Li Heavenly Province was appointed, I saw Gong Shenjun and a few others with him. I don't care if everyone doesn't believe me, but I suspect that they have thought of killing me because of the previous clash I’ve had with them. When they found out that I had entered the Alternate World, they immediately thought of luring the Dark North Emperor Beast to kill me. In the process, Yin Ying was implicated." 

The truth was, if someone really had tried to lure the Dark North Emperor Beast, it would only be the few of them.