The sealed beast.

Utter defeat, that was the only description Yao Jun could give the short exchange he and Guo Luo had just done. Her strange abilities had caught him completely off-guard and her loving words had shattered even the smallest smidgen of defence that he had put up. There were many people in this world that Yao Jun could crush, and there would be many more he could decimate in the future. But when it came to this future wife of his then he could only admit defeat, that was something he was fully confident in.

He couldn't muster any resistance, she wanted to go off on her own to prove herself worthy of him, to ease the fear that constantly plagued him. How could he possibly deny her determination, reject her desire to be her own person? There was no way he could do that, no way he could bring himself to even think about it, so their future separation was set in stone. But when it came to this separation, there was one question he had in mind.

"I won't stop you, but you probably knew that from the start. But who will Little Lan go with?"

The places that the two of them would visit were far from hospitable, there would be danger all around them. But it wasn't like they could just leave Yao Xuelian, their only daughter, alone while they entered these dangerous places. They didn't have a base of power in this universe, and could they really rest easy even if they did leave her in such a place? It was a question that would usually lead to at least a small discussion, but Guo Luo had clearly prepared things in advance, at least plan-wise.

"She'll be going with you of course. She was with me during our last separation so it's only fair that she gets to spend some time alone with her dearest Papa. At least that's the main reason, another reason is that while I can hide her inside my own God Gate, the environment in there is far from as good as the one inside your God Gate. And with her demon-like papa at her side, who would possibly dare to bully her?"

Guo Luo was still stuck in Yao Jun's tight embrace as she spoke, her lips right next to his ear as she whispered to him softly. Papa, it was one of the few words that could melt Yao Jun, especially when it was said by Yao Xuelian. If those who knew him as the reaper of God Piercer planet were to knew this then there was no telling how many vengeful spirits would wail at him from the underworld.

Guo Luo had acquired the ability to bring others into her God Gate when she reached the Immortal Rebirth realm, but her God Gate was different from Yao Jun's God Gate. His had to house his Demonic beasts so it would obviously produce an environment suitable to them, but her God Gate only had to house her mental energy, it was nothing more than barren land and a magnificent but empty palace.

Yao Jun once again had no way of saying anything against Guo Luo's sweet words, but that was only to be expected from one of the only three people who could handle Yao Jun. It was also true that Yao Xuelian could play around with his parents if she was in his God Gate, there was also Tang Long, Lin Shuyen, and the rest of Demon's Gate present within Yao Jun's God Gate so she certainly wouldn't be bored on her own.

"Alright, but I'm afraid that I won't dare to bring her out so there really won't even be a chance for others to bully her."

Yao Jun was going to participate in the Six Dawn's Baptism, it was the grandest competition and the cruellest blood bath within this entire major universe. There was no way he would allow himself to bring out anyone other than maybe Tang Long and Lin Shuyen in such a place, and that was only because the two were relatively strong and weren't as important to him as Yao Xuelian or his parents.

"That's fine as well, just make sure to visit her whenever you have the chance, otherwise she'll pout fiercely. Well, I'd like to see how her dear Papa would react to that though."

Guo Luo still hadn't pulled away from Yao Jun, continuing to whisper sweetly into his ear. She had made up her mind and hardened her determination, but was Yao Jun really the only one who didn't want to separate? Of course not, she wanted to stay by his side, but there were somethings that you simply had to do. So she would leave, no matter how much it ached her heart, and then she would return as a proud queen that could hold up the sky alongside her terrifying king.

Yao Jun placed his hands on Guo Luo's shoulders and pushed her a bit away, lowering his gaze so that he could study her face. Enchanting pink eyes that stole his soul with just a look and hair that made it look like a rainbow was draped over her shoulder, no matter how many times he looked at her, he would never tire of it. He gazed so deeply into her eyes that he almost lost himself, his torso leaning forward so that he could rest his forehead against hers and whisper a solemn vow.

"I've changed my mind. When we meet again, that's when I'll proclaim it to the world."

Quiet but strong, his words made Guo Luo tremble involuntarily. Back before he had started this hunt for Divine Beasts, Yao Jun had offered her a ring he had made himself and promised her that he would marry her when Little Thunder and Yun Yantian were revived. There was no telling when that would be achieved, but he had promised her that he would give her what he should have long ago and she was content with waiting.

But now he had pushed it forward, now he wanted to respond to that heart-piercing care and love that shone in her eyes. She would show the world that she was worthy of standing next to that terrible demon, and he would show the world that this queen had already stolen his heart and soul.

Guo Luo felt her throat clog up slightly, her words refusing to leave her mouth and leaving her with no choice but to nod her head in a small gesture. She was content with waiting, but what woman didn't desire to marry the man she loved as quickly as she could?

The two had been together for several years already, especially thanks to Yao Jun's Time-Altering Spire, and while his parents had often asked the two of them about their wedding, Yao Jun had never said much about it. Of course, exactly when they would meet again, and what their situation and realms would be at that point, perhaps no one really knew, or dared to imagine.

They stayed in their current position for a while longer, silently affirming their love for each other and just enjoying the presence of the other. But there was bound to be a time where they had to end this peaceful moment, they still had things they needed to do. Guo Luo had achieved her goal, and they had acquired what they came for in this city, so it was time for them to move on to their next target.

The returned to the city they had left just earlier and once again used the spatial arrays it held to return to Sunsong city. Their next target would be a Divine beast known as a Soul-Fang Emperor, a spider-type Divine Beast that could use its poison to directly ruin the souls of living beings. It was a tricky opponent for most people, but this Soul-Fang Emperor was currently stuck in an unfortunate position so it would be one of the easiest targets.

The used one of the larger spatial arrays in Sunsong city to leave the province altogether, moving four provinces to the east so that they reached the Kirin's Heart Province. From there, they took a smaller spatial array that brought them to Firefur city, which was where their target was located.

Yao Jun and Guo Luo were walking through the streets of the city decorated with crimson cloth, each cloth ending in flowing fur that resembled fire. The ruler of this province was a Fire Kirin, a true Divine Beast on the same level as Yao Jun's Ice Kirin, so every city and village in the province was decorated in a manner that would please it.

The two people enjoyed the sights for a bit as they strolled through the city, Yao Xuelian was currently playing around inside the God Gate so they didn't have to worry about tricking her in there later on. They took their time as they walked, but they still reached their target relatively quickly, a small scale palace that had several tens of small spires ending in large orbs scattered around its garden-like territory.

Yao Jun and Guo Luo stopped in front of the wrought-iron gate embedded in the large metal fence that surrounded the estate, which went a few tens of kilometres in each direction. There were a few guards standing in front of the gate, but the strongest among them had only reached the late-stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, those who could reach the Earthly Deity realm had a rather high status in this clan. The guards instinctively stiffened when Yao Jun approached, their expressions tightening further when Yao Jun addressed them.

"We've come for the sealed terror, I believe you should have already been notified of our intentions?"

The guards nodded their heads, their bodies tense and stiff as they opened the gates. Had Yao Jun contacted them in advance and told them what he wanted? The answer to that would be no, they probably wouldn't have listened even if he did so. But Yao Jun wasn't alone, he had some connections he could use to pull some strings.

In his own universe, he had a fair few more strings, but the string he had in this universe was quite a big one, Zue Angye. She belonged to the Sebettu, a race that dared to even wage war on major universes and infiltrate them as they prepared for their plans. He had used Little Gray's Human God Gate to turn her into a puppet, and using her he could influence the Sebettu currently residing in this universe.

The Sebettu didn't interact with a clan as small as this Juelei clan, but they did interact with some of the stronger organizations and clans. Even some of the organizations that stood close to the peak of this universe had dealings and plans with the Sebettu, preparing for the same grand war that would eventually reach Yao Jun's universe. And if one such grand organization contacted a clan as small as the Juelei clan, how would they dare to refuse them?

This hadn't been in his original plans, it was just a small added benefit he discovered after he handed Zue Angye over to Ren Shuren. But it saved him a bit of trouble, convincing this clan or just barging in would certainly be more risky and troublesome than this approach.

Yao Jun and Guo Luo stepped onto the path that would lead to the palace, a group of elders hurriedly rushing towards them from the palace. They had barely gotten any time to prepare thanks to how quickly Yao Jun had come here, it had barely been a single day since they received the news that someone would arrive. They bent their waists the moment they got close to Yao Jun, making sure to act extremely respectful.

"This little one is Juelei Hong and I am honoured to be in your grand presence, just looking at you has truly opened a whole new world to my eyes. I am extremely honoured that you would deign to come to our little clan just for such an old sealed thing, it probably won't even be able to handle a flick of your magnificence's fingers."

The elders looked like they couldn't wait to lick the shoes of Yao Jun and Guo Luo, it was to the point that it was almost a sad sight. They used to be a stronger clan, but as the thing they were guarding grew weaker with the passage of time, their need for strength decreased so they slowly waned over the years.

As for the thing they were guarding, it was Yao Jun's target, the Soul-Fang Emperor. It had been sealed beneath this land long ago, after it had gone on quite a violent killing-spree to feed a new brood of spiders it had birthed. As for why it was sealed, it was quite a simple reason actually, one that Yao Jun didn't quite agree with, to increase its suffering.

Killing it would have been easy, it was just a Divine Beast at the Heavenly Deity realm, after all, there were quite a few people in this province stronger than it. But they didn't kill it, they instead chose to seal it so that it's suffering would increase, a form of punishment for its crime. As for why Yao Jun didn't agree with this reason, it was simply because of the fact that it left the enemy alive.

Even if it meant increasing their suffering, there was no way that Yao Jun would leave an enemy alive, it was an act that would give said enemy a chance to escape and retaliate in the future. But the people of this universe clearly thought differently, or perhaps they were just thinking that it didn't really matter even if the enemy escaped.

"Please follow me, your magnificence, I will take you directly to the seal so that you can engage in your business. We usually chase away anyone who tries to interact with the sealed thing, but we've been pestered by a particularly persistent person lately so please just ignore it if you see anything on the way."

The elders rapidly led Yao Jun down the path, their waists still bent slightly even as they walked. The background Yao Jun had faked by using Zue Angye really was one they didn't dare to offend, they would allow it even if Yao Jun tried to snatch away all of their young girls.

They pushed open the gates of the palace and guided Yao Jun through the halls and rooms of the palace, making sure that they brought him through the places that were decorated most decadently. They tried to not show it, but the expressions of the elders subtly dropped as they approached one of the rooms located not too far from the stairs that would bring them down to the basement. And just as they feared, a loud shout echoed through the halls from that room just as they approached it.

"AND I ASKED WHY! I've already been waiting here for three months while you 'discussed the matter', and now you want to just chase me away like that?! Who is it?! Who is it that you so quickly decided to let see the beast?!"

The ruby-coloured door at the end of the hallway was flung open, a red-faced youth with veins bulging from agitation standing there. He was clad in a luxurious silver robe decorated with the image of a wolf howling at three moons, seven men clad in similar but slightly less luxurious robes quickly moving over to him to calm him down. A young woman clad in the same robes as the elders was leaning against the wall in the room beyond the flung open doors, clearly wary of the furious youth. The brown hair of the youth was in slight disarray, his sharp black eyes landing on Yao Jun and the elders.

"It's you, isn't it?! You're the one going to see the sealed beast, right?! I am Lang Haoye and I've already spent the last four years trying to get to that damn thing, so why did they just accept you so quickly while shooing me away every time?!"

The youth stepped forward in agitation, the aura of someone at the late-stage of the Earthly Deity realm flaring forth and causing the elders some discomfort. Yao Jun looked at the youth, he was strong enough to easily barge his way into the seal but hadn't done so despite having tried for four years so it seemed like doing so would bring the displeasure of someone quite high up in the ranks of this province.

He looked at the youth but didn't really bother with him, gesturing for the elders to continue leading the way. Even if this youth really was from the grand Lang clan, this wasn't one of the provinces under their control, and the background that Yao Jun had faked for himself was even grander than the Lang clan. But the youth clearly wasn't used to being ignored like that, quickly stepping to the side and blocking the path of Yao Jun's group.

"Oy, don't you ignore me! I am here on the orders of my elder brother, Lang Tian Kong, he wants the blood of the beast! You can have the body, but we need the blood, we are willing to pay if that's what it takes."

The expressions of the elders twitched slightly when Lang Haoye spoke the name of his elder brother, but Yao Jun didn't really care about it. Even if the Lang clan wanted to do something to him if he refused, he could easily escape since this wasn't a province under the control of the Lang clan. He wouldn't let something like what happened to Yun Yantian repeat itself, he would leave the moment it looked like things would leave his control.

"I have a use for it, so no."

Yao Jun curtly rejected Lang Haoye, he simply didn't like his attitude. The look in his eyes made it seem like everyone would have to listen to him just because he came from the Lang clan. He tried to continue moving, but Lang Haoye stopped him once more, gritting his teeth while lowering his voice slightly.

"...Just name your price, we are willing to pay more than you can imagine. I don't want to have to rely on this, but do you really want to go against my elder brother and my Lang clan? People who do that never meet a goo...!!"

Lang Haoye's voice was cut off just as his eyes started to slide towards Guo Luo to indicate that she too was included in the threat. A horrifying pressure bore down on him and the men behind him, their knees instantly slamming into the floor as they were forced to their knees.

The men behind Lang Haoye were pushed flat against the ground but Lang Haoye was just barely able to keep himself from falling flat, his palms desperately pushing against the floor. And as his heart trembled from the horrifying pressure that prevented him from moving, the cold voice of Yao Jun slid into his ears and sent a deathly chill down his spine.

"I really don't like it when people threaten those around me, they never meet a good end. I don't know about your elder brother, and if your Lang clan is the one I know then sure, you're strong and mighty, but so what? Right now, you should fear me, not vice versa."

There would be one thing Yao Jun would never accept, threats made against those close to him. Trying to do that was a very simple way to kill yourself, the only reason Lang Haoye was still alive was that Yao Jun didn't want to go against the Lang clan if he could help it. But should they persist then he wouldn't shy away from dealing with them, no one was allowed to lay a hand on those close to him.