The demon who came to report was so startled by Zou Yang that he almost jumped. He spoke in a careful whisper.
"The Frost Demons sent word. Before that mysterious powerhouse left, she tossed out a single sentence. 'Every cause must bear its fruit. The darkness of the heavens will be lit by blood.'"
Zou Yang's lips trembled uncontrollably.
"Commander, what does that even mean?" the demon asked, still tiptoeing around.
"What else can it mean? Get out!" Zou Yang gritted his teeth as he barked the words.
The demon didn't dare ask anything more and hurried to leave.
"Wait." Zou Yang stopped him again. A strange glint flickered in his eyes. "When the Frost Demons reported that line, how many demons were present to hear it?"
"Only me."
"Only you?" Zou Yang asked again.
"Yes," the demon answered honestly.
"Good." Zou Yang suddenly gave him a smile. "You've done well these years. I'm planning to recommend you for promotion."
"Thank you, Commander!" the demon said in surprise and delight.
"Come here," Zou Yang waved.
The demon rushed forward.
Zou Yang gently patted his shoulder. "From now on, you'll…"
The demon leaned in, listening carefully.
Then suddenly,
A burst of terrifying demonic power exploded from Zou Yang's palm. The demon who had come to report didn't even have the chance to struggle. His pupils went blank, and his body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Zou Yang's eyes were cold. He pulled out a vial of liquid and poured it onto the corpse. The body dissolved instantly, leaving not even a trace behind.
He stood alone in the silent room for a while. Then he gathered himself, touched a hidden mechanism on the wall, and the floor opened up to reveal a perfectly concealed secret chamber beneath.
Zou Yang stepped into the chamber. He didn't do anything right away. Instead, he checked the entire place with extreme caution. Only when he confirmed that no one had discovered it did he finally allow himself to sit down, looking exhausted.
After steadying his breath, Zou Yang took out a small box. He opened it. Inside lay a quiet, unassuming map.
"Every cause must bear its fruit. The darkness of the heavens will be lit by blood." Zou Yang's expression twisted.
To most, those words might sound like meaningless nonsense.
But to him, they were earth shattering.
"'The darkness of the heavens will be lit by blood.' This was clearly tied to the Tian Qi Demons.
'Every cause must bear its fruit.' This was the Law of Causality, the one thing Tian Qi Demons excelled at."
This sentence pointed directly at an ancient demon race that had vanished hundreds of thousands of years ago, the Tian Qi Demons.
In today's Polar Night Demon World, the eight Demon Gods hunted every trace of those ancient demons relentlessly. If even a single ancient demon appeared, the eight Demon Gods would immediately dispatch forces to exterminate them.
Now that someone suspected to be a Tian Qi Demon had appeared, he should, by all logic, report it immediately.
This was huge. The eight Demon Gods would react instantly.
They never showed mercy to ancient races.
But...
Zou Yang slowly unfolded the map inside the box.
This map, it pointed straight to the treasure vault of the Tian Qi Demons.
His face shifted over and over. More than forty years ago, he had killed a high ranking demon and looted this box from him. The map had been inside.
On its back were clear notes detailing information related to the Tian Qi Demons. He should've reported it then and there.
But...
This was the treasure vault of an ancient demon race. How many priceless treasures would it hold?
If he could claim it, wouldn't he finally have a chance to break through his current limits?
Driven by greed and instinct, Zou Yang had hidden the map and guarded it carefully. The map carried a restriction, meant to be opened only through a special method.
But, the high ranking demon who knew how to open it was already dead. Zou Yang had to slowly wear down the restriction with his own demonic power. After so many decades, the restriction was extremely thin. He was close to fully opening the map and discovering the vault's exact location.
But at this very moment.
Suddenly.
A powerhouse suspected to be a Tian Qi Demon had appeared in his territory.
Zou Yang's first thought: That powerhouse was here for him. His expression shifted again and again.
If he reported it now, the Tian Qi Demon would definitely be hunted down. But since that demon dared show himself so openly, he surely had some kind of backup plan.
Zou Yang worried that he'd expose his secret, that he'd reveal been hiding the map all along.
Knowing the location of the Tian Qi Demon treasure vault but refusing to report it was a capital offense.
Zou Yang clenched his teeth until his eyes turned blood red.
He suddenly realized.
He had…
Without even noticing…
Boarded a pirate ship he couldn't get off.
Damn it.
Was this the Tian Qi Demons' so called causality?
The Primordial Force of Causality was terrifying beyond imagination.
-
In a mysterious space far away.
A Tian Qi Demon blinked awake in confusion. They had slept for so long. Why did he suddenly sense a causality thread outside that was linked to his race?
Could it be…
He'd slept too long and his grasp of the Laws had become unstable?
He shook his head. It wasn't time to awaken yet. It must've been an illusion. He sank back into slumber.
-
Zou Yang had no idea his panic had stirred subtle ripples in that mysterious space. He paced in circles inside the secret chamber like a madman.
"Kill him. Kill him now. No, that won't work. I don't even know where that Tian Qi Demon is hiding. Even if I found him, I probably wouldn't stand a chance.
And the Tian Qi Demons have been sleeping for countless years. If one suddenly woke up, would he really be the only one?
If news spreads that I hid the map…
Calm down. Calm down. If that Tian Qi Demon chose my territory to show up in, he must want to talk. Maybe there's still a path to survival."
After a long time, Zou Yang stepped out of the chamber. His expression had returned completely to normal. No trace of his inner panic remained.
He ordered all island guards to stay where they were. Then he went to Frost Island alone.
When Zou Yang arrived, all the Frost Demons were kneeling neatly in fear, not daring to move.
The old Frost Demon elder looked up and saw that Zou Yang himself had come. Despair washed across his face.
The entire island guard unit had been wiped out. That kind of disaster had even alerted the Commander himself.
The Frost Demons were doomed.
Zou Yang swept his gaze over the corpses.
One strike kills. Every single one.
Even the giant demon captain had been killed in a single strike.
Ancient demons were terrifying.
He looked at the kneeling Frost Demons. A cold gleam of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
They had also heard the message. Should he silence them too?
Zou Yang forced the killing intent down. That Tian Qi Demon had deliberately left the message, so there had to be deeper meaning behind it.
He glanced at the elder and said directly, "You, come here."