Ye Liang's heart jolted with shock. Izan Yamato had acted too suddenly—he hadn't even had time to react before Aya Fujiwara was dead.
Izan Yamato chuckled. "Although members of the Fujiwara clan are nobles of Takamagahara, they harbor ill intentions and often engage in banditry!
I saw dark aura between this woman's eyebrows—she must have innocent blood on her hands. Better to send them to Yomi sooner rather than later for their eternal rest. Consider it a service to the world."
"I see how it is!"
Ye Liang's expression turned grim. "You damn old bastard! Even if they truly harbored ill intent, that monster is you! F*** you!"
Instinctively taking a step back, he began thinking again, "This old bastard hasn't killed me yet. There must be something he needs me for. Looks like I still have a chance!"
Pretending to believe Izan Yamato's words, they resumed walking side by side.
Before long, they arrived at a ruined city wall.
It looked as though someone had deliberately destroyed this place—the traces everywhere were fresh.
"What do you think, Brother Izan?"
Ye Liang asked first.
Izan Yamato didn't reveal his identity, instead choosing to speak casually as an equal.
"Previously, plenty of people learned about this ruins. Since they've entered this Other World, they're sure to come searching around here sooner or later."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Ye Liang replied, falsely nodding.
He acted as if deep in thought and gazed into the distance. "Since Brother Izan trusts my judgment, maybe we should move on elsewhere now. This place probably has nothing valuable left. Let's go check elsewhere."
"Fine." Izan Yamato agreed.
Ye Liang frowned slightly.
Honestly, he had no clue where to go next. But since Izan Yamato was just following him anyway, he might as well lead blindly. Plus, for some reason, Izan Yamato stayed silent too.
The two returned to the ruins of the old village and approached the pond again.
"Apologies," Ye Liang bowed toward Izan Yamato. "It seems we've reached a standstill."
Izan Yamato's expression tensed briefly but quickly smoothed out. "That's okay. Whatever path Brother Ye Liang chooses, I am willing to follow you anywhere."
Ye Liang froze.
"What the hell could this old guy possibly be plotting?"
He glanced at the pond ahead once more.
"Although those ghostly hands were destroyed earlier, there are still many ghostly hands lurking in the depths of the pond. If I can lure this old man there, maybe I'll be able to shake him off."
No sooner said than done.
Ye Liang faked a diving posture and turned to Izan Yamato. "Brother Izan, all other paths seem blocked. How about we explore this pond? It appears bottomless—perhaps it leads somewhere else."
"Sure."
Izan Yamato nodded.
Everything went surprisingly smoothly.
After stretching their limbs, both dove straight in.
It felt freezing cold!
As soon as Ye Liang jumped into the pond, he used his superior swimming skills to dart through the water. He wasn't sure whether he'd manage to shake off Izan Yamato, but diving deeper felt like his best bet.
Soon enough.
Ghostly Hands appeared beside the two.
Ye Liang understood their behavior well. As long as one didn't provoke them, they wouldn't attack. But this time, it was different!
With Izan Yamato around, Ye Liang intended to use those Ghostly Hands to shake him off.
He swam slowly toward Izan Yamato. Because the underwater area wasn't spacious, each advance forced Izan Yamato closer to the edge! Calculating the distance precisely, Ye Liang suddenly darted back just as he neared the Ghostly Hands.
[Boom!]
The Ghostly Hands moved!
Its hairy black hand directly grabbed Izan Yamato's neck. Before the latter could even react, the rest of the clustered Ghostly Hands surged toward Izan Yamato as well.
In an instant, they wrapped him into a black ball!
[Yes!]
Seizing the moment, Ye Liang immediately swam away. Yet just as he started moving, a golden light shot out from that black ball!
Then came the second, third, fourth!
Every Ghostly Hand pierced by the golden light fell lifelessly down.
"Brother Ye Liang, where do you think you're going?" Izan Yamato's voice abruptly echoed in Ye Liang's ear.
Long-range voice projection!
The old man actually broke free!
Ye Liang was startled.
There was no time to think.
He immediately dove deeper toward the bottom of the pond!
That was where he had come from—behind him stood the Bronze Door. Ye Liang wanted to escape directly through that Bronze Door out of the entire underground ruins, but Izan Yamato wouldn't allow it.
He quickly chased after Ye Liang.
Just at that moment!
The entire underground pond suddenly shook violently!
From the exact spot where those Ghostly Hands' aura had been, a massive underground palace emerged from the rock wall! It gleamed magnificently, exuding a sense of holiness.
"This is the Creation Altar!"
Izan Yamato's eyes widened. He abandoned chasing Ye Liang and hurriedly swam toward the palace.
Ye Liang saw it all, though he didn't understand what it was. Since Izan Yamato wasn't chasing him anymore, he decided to just leave it be and slip away.
Just as he opened the Bronze Door, a powerful stream of water rushed in from outside! Ye Liang hadn't even reacted before being swept by the current straight into the palace!
[Crash!]
Ye Liang dove in first, crashing through a wall.
He plunged inside.
Izan Yamato was taken aback.
Still, he calmly opened the grand door of the palace.
Ye Liang had been carried far by the water. As soon as he got up, he dove forward swiftly again.
Once he confirmed Izan Yamato wasn't chasing him, he stopped.
Catching his breath, he slipped into a Side Chamber.
The current was strange—it had swept Ye Liang into the palace but didn't flood the interior. It seemed as if there was an invisible protective barrier around the palace, allowing only people to enter.
After resting briefly, he stood up.
"This place is the side of the palace. Izan Yamato entered from the front—he should be in the central area. If I move along the Side Chamber, I should be able to avoid him completely."
Ye Liang planned to head straight to the rear entrance of the palace through the side entrance, so he could escape from here.
He'd barely taken two steps when he felt something strange under his foot. Looking down, he saw what looked like a turtle shell poking at the sole of his shoe.
Ye Liang took a closer look.
The shell turned out to belong to a beetle with razor-sharp teeth! Its mouth full of spiral-shaped fangs looked straight out of an Alien movie!
"Oh crap! This thing can eat people, right?" He quickly tried to activate his Tenseigan to escape this space, but suddenly realized there was no void inside the palace!
"Damn it! My Tenseigan doesn't work here!"
Ye Liang tried to hide his presence with Shadow Camouflage again, but these black beetles here seemed to be able to smell him, and they actually climbed up his legs!
The crawling sensation of their legs made Ye Liang's scalp tingle!
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