Apex predator.

It was a strange question, but Zhuan Yi was confident that Yao Jun wasn't just asking it to sound funny. So she moved her gaze between him and the resting man for a bit, the man eventually nodding his head to show that he was willing to be included. With him taking the initiative, there was nothing else to be said, so Yao Jun started discussing his plan with them, the details quickly getting filled out.

Zhuan Yi had expected his plan to be risky, but the one he presented to her was one that was surprisingly safe, it could even be considered tame. But that suited her just fine since a good portion of the risk would be carried by her people, tame was just fine in a situation like that.

And with the plan laid, all they had to do was wait, someone was bound to become impatient before long. And indeed, the hushed whispers only grew louder as time passed, only growing even faster once two more groups of people arrived and joined the tense game of chicken. And on the third day after Yao Jun talked with the Thousand Arms Master, the chicken showed his head.

"Enough! Waiting longer with our heads in the sand will only allow more people to gather. If you cowards don't dare to make the first move, then let This King be the one that makes it."

Chengong Ao's tattoo-covered body burst forth with energy, the thing that finally set him off being a harmless ripple of energy that ran through the air. It was a ripple that made it seem like another group was about to arrive, but no one did. But he had already stepped forward, it was too late to hide his head again.

The other groups also didn't stop him, they had just been waiting for someone to carry the risk by making the first move. But just as the man sent out by Chengong Ao reached the ground, a calm voice echoed out across the entire area.

"Halt, My Lord has decreed that this shall end here."

The man that Yao Jun had saved earlier walked out from the barrier created by the Thousand Arms Master's armguard, seemingly appearing from thin air. Not everyone present recognized him, but those that did reacted quite strongly to his presence.

"You?!"

Mao Tangye and her group were certain that they had already killed this man, they had driven a knife into his chest and watched as he sank into the altar, triggering the array on the lake. But what a shame, their belief was completely wrong and just something set up by Yao Jun. The man ignored their disbelieving outbursts, walking forward with slow steps as he utilized every ounce of his energy to maintain a calm facade.

"My Lord does not wish for more of his kin to fade into the obscurity of death. It is unorthodox and not the planned path, but the seal shall be opened, may the destined one acquire the spoils of victory."

He slowly walked up to the side of the lake, the information about what should have been his death quickly spreading among those who didn't yet know of it. Thanks to this, none of them stopped him, especially after he said that he was going to open the seal.

The man focused on the energy trace that he had made sure to memorize, extending his senses to track down the three water droplets that matched it. It didn't take him too long to find them, injecting them with a bit of his energy before taking several steps back.

The entire lake lit up with a pale white light after he interacted with the water droplets, a mark resembling a flourishing planet appearing on the surface of the water. The mark slowly spread out to cover the entire lake, space directly above the mark rippling faintly to indicate that it served as a gateway into a separate space.

The commotion immediately attracted everyone's attention, to the point that they stopped even paying any attention to the one that had opened the seal. Lang Kong and Zhang Qin also looked intently at the lake, but Lang Kong's eyebrows were still furrowed slightly as his pupils darted across the area.

Chengong Ao's body blurred as he sped towards the rippling space, but a thunderous crackling sound rang out as his path was blocked, Mao Tangye appearing in front of him, a large scythe grasped in her hands.

"Quite rushed, aren't you worried that you'll bite your tongue going so fast?"

The seal had been opened so now it was time for the tense standoff to end, but that certainly didn't mean that things would become peaceful. Now it was all about making sure that they got a hold of the treasure, while also making sure that the others didn't get their hands on it.

"Let's go."

Yao Jun only glanced sideways at the collision that had taken place over the lake as he spoke, his palm touching the earth as he sent out his energy. A tunnel appeared beneath them as the earth was forcibly moved around, the entire group descending into it as Yao Jun closed up the opening.

"Underground, huh? Clever, this way the wagons won't disappear while we rescue the others so they won't get too suspicious."

Zhuan Yi had heard the plan, but this part wasn't part of the explanation. But she couldn't help but nod her head, it was definitely the most sensible and safe option, it took them as far as possible away from the ensuing battles.

Yao Jun didn't have anything to say to her praise and simply expanded the tunnel in front of them by mixing his Monarch Essence and his law of earth. He had memorized the locations of the wagons that held the hostages so it was quite easy for him to count the steps and expand the tunnel until they reached the area beneath the wagons.

The sounds of battle were so loud that they sounded like thunder even inside their tunnel so it was clear things had already descended into chaos above, leaving them with not much leeway to waste time. Yao Jun turned his head, but Ba-Shei had already started acting before Yao Jun's gaze landed on him.

The darkness in the tunnel gathered together, wrapping around itself until it formed a large drill that shot upwards. It pierced through the earth and the base of the wagon above them, all the people trapped inside it tumbling down the hole. There were over 10 people stuffed into the first wagon, but only two of them were in a state where they could take on a defensive position after tumbling down the hole that had been created. But upon seeing Zhuan Yi, all the tension in their bodies melted away.

"Young Mistress? You came to save us?"

Even the faces of the people too weak to stand up lit up brilliantly when they saw Zhuan Yi, who seemed to have a higher standing than expected. But Zhuan Yi simply hushed them quickly, gesturing towards the thundering sounds that came from above.

"Be quiet, the danger hasn't passed, we'll have plenty of time to chat when we've escaped."

She stretched out her hands as she spoke, placing a hand on the head of the closest person. The girl's body vibrated once and then melted completely, merging into Zhuan Yi's body. She repeated the action with the other people, Yao Jun's eyebrow rising unconsciously at the strange scene.

It was certainly a rather peculiar scene, but he was able to understand it a little. After all, one of his companions, Jun Tuan, was this kind of being, a composite gathering of slimes that had merged together into a single whole. He locked eyes with Zhuan Yi when she finished absorbing the last person, she nodded her head to signal that she was finished so he closed up the hole and moved on to the next wagon.

They quickly made their way to the six other wagons, gathering up close to 100 people by the time they had cleared out the last wagon. The sounds of battle from above only grew louder as time passed, everyone was probably doing their best to prevent others from entering the rippling space while they themselves tried to sneak in.

Yao Jun cast a quick glance upwards but didn't hesitate to retrace his steps. They quickly reached the spot where the tunnel first started and created a new exit, distancing themselves further from the lake after they reached the surface.

Just one glance towards the lake was enough to fill most hearts with fear, the air above it was trembling fiercely, cracks continuously appearing in space there due to the rampant energy that was being unleashed. Blood splattered the ground as the weakest people present had already fallen, with new corpses falling just about every second.

And as was to be expected from a commotion this big, more and more living beings were attracted to it. Even those who didn't know about the item in the lake were being drawn over, Demonic beasts and other living beings constantly joining the fray. It was like looking at meat getting forced into a grinder, no one was willing to let anyone sneak into the separate space hidden in the lake.

But a single glance was all that Yao Jun and the others afforded themselves right now, meeting up with the man who had opened the array and then quickly moving away from the lake while remaining hidden in the bubble created by the armguard. They slowed down, eventually stopping when they felt that they reached a safe distance, Zhuan Yi bringing out the people she had absorbed while casting another glance towards the lake.

"It's a shame about the reward, but I refuse to let the saviour of my kin return empty-handed. If you're willing, you can follow us back to one of our secret hideouts, I promise you that we'll reward you to the best of our ability."

The battle taking place around the lake was not one that people should join, it was for all intents and purposes just a grinder that drew in lives and spat out chunks of meat. With how violent it was, it was unknown if anyone would end up being able to enter the lake. But Yao Jun simply shook his head in response to her offering, his head turning slightly as he swept out his hand in a gesture towards the lake.

"The reward isn't lost yet, it's waiting right there."

His words caught not only Zhuan Yi completely off-guard, but even Ba-Shei and Sirius were dumbfounded by them. They knew Yao Jun much better than Zhuan Yi, they knew that he was much more cautious than he appeared, he was not the type to dive into a situation like that.

"...You're planning on diving into that mess? Do you have any idea how risky that is, are you insane?"

Zhuan Yi didn't know Yao Jun as well as the two others, but she knew just how dangerous his plan was, it was bordering on suicide. And while she felt like she could understand him less and less, she was still confident that he wasn't someone who was this foolish. And indeed, Yao Jun nodded his head.

"I do know how risky it is, and who knows, maybe I am insane. It certainly isn't a path I would have chosen in the past. But now I can no longer afford to avoid risks and just focus on the safest options. Safety and comfort are no longer my goals, my target now is the apex."

Ba-Shei and Sirius were right, Yao Jun used to be a very cautious man, he would have side-stepped a situation like this because it was the safest option. But now, now he had to change. If he wanted to reach the apex of creation then his old methods weren't good enough, just the fact that he had been separated from Guo Luo once, and the fact that he had gotten his God Gate shattered were the best proof for this. He had to go about things differently, even if it meant taking risks. He turned his head to talk to Ba-Shei and Sirius, but they didn't even bother to let him finish a single sentence.

"Sirius, Ba-Shei, go w..."

"There is no point in finishing that sentence, we refuse. If that dangerous mess is where you intend to go then we will follow, you should already know that."

Neither of them showed any sign that they were willing to back down, this was something they refused to relent on. One had sworn to let Yao Jun live with the same freedom that he had given him and the other had sworn to forever follow the man who had stretched out his hand and carried this normal snake all the way up to the divine.

Both of them were also certain that Little Gray would make the exact same choice if he was here. In that regard, they could actually consider themselves lucky, they got to follow along with their lord on this path while the other one was stuck in a different location.

Zhuan Yi only stood a short few steps away as she looked at their exchange, her gaze occasionally drifting towards the chaotic battle around the lake. Once Ba-Shei and Sirius had finished saying their piece, she let out a long sigh and scratched the back of her head.

"Ha~ah, fuck. Fourth Elder Baison, bring everyone to the third hideout, there's no way it will have been compromised so that's where you'll be the safest."

She barked the order towards one of the few people that had still been able to stand and take a defensive position when they released them from the wagon where they had been imprisoned. The black-haired and green-eyed man jumped slightly at her order, but he didn't try to dissuade her and simply saluted respectfully.

"As you wish, Young Mistress! We await your safe return!"

The man acted immediately after saluting, absorbing those that couldn't move while guiding those that could still move away from the area. Their Young Mistress had given an order so it was their duty to follow, this was also not a place where they could safely wait for her. Zhuan Yi turned her gaze away from her departing kinsmen, tapping the armguard she was wearing when she saw Yao Jun's raised eyebrow.

"I told you, I refuse to let the saviour of my kin return empty-handed. I have the ancestor's armguard, it will be much safer with me helping you."

In truth, her bet was over. It had paid off perfectly, the man she had decided to bet on had accomplished everything perfectly, her kinsmen were now safe. She could leave right now, but she there was a nagging feeling in her chest that told her that it wouldn't be right. He had helped them, even potentially sacrificing a great reward for them.

She also couldn't deny that there was more to it, she wanted to see the truth. Who was the Nine Heavens Demon God, what height did he stand at? She wanted to see it, she wanted to learn the truth, wanted to see what truth could bring even Divine Beasts to their knees. But what she hadn't expected was that this curiosity was perhaps the first step those Divine Beasts had gone through before falling to their knees.

Yao Jun's gaze roamed Zhuan Yi's face, which was surprisingly relaxed despite the chaotic battlefield they were about to sneak through. He was silent for a moment, but he eventually took another action he would not have taken in the past, he nodded his head.

"...Alright, I won't refuse. But just like you said, it's so risky that it's insane, don't haunt me if you die, and please spare me the trouble of being hated by your race for causing your death."

He was about to hop into an incredibly dangerous area while bringing with him two of his closest companions, and he was even bringing along someone he had only met recently. If the Yao Jun of the past could see the current him then he would perhaps not be able to avoid getting scolded, but that was a thought that didn't even enter Yao Jun's mind.

"It'll be fine, they call me Young Mistress but I'm fairly expendable, they'll be able to find a new one no problem should the worst come to pass."

Zhuan Yi waved it away quite casually, but Yao Jun didn't think that things were really just that simple. That was especially the case since Zhuan Yi was someone who had reached the Sovereign God realm, no race would be willing to easily let go of such a being. But she had said that it was fine, so he did something he rarely did with others, he trusted her and nodded his head.

"Then let's go, I'll give my thanks if we manage to get through this alive."

Yao Jun turned his body and started retracing his steps to return to the battle that covered the lake. Sirius and Ba-Shei followed him immediately, Zhuan Yi standing still for a bit while looking at his back with a slightly tilted head. She found the word he used earlier quite peculiar, but also strangely fitting, but she didn't quite know why she thought like this.

When humans spoke about reaching the top they would generally use words like zenith, peak, even ascendancy and godhood. But she had never anyone use the word apex to describe it. But there was one title pertaining to the word apex that she could think of, and it seemed like it might actually fit him quite well from what she had seen. Apex predator.