Chapter 428: with translation of chapter title

Ye Liuyun, of course, couldn't let her go. He had already felt the oppressive pressure of a powerful cultivator behind him drawing near. At this distance, escaping was difficult, so having a hostage in his hand was safer.

Nevertheless, he used Spiritual Soul stimulation to keep the queen as lucid as possible. At the same time, he sealed her True Essence to prevent it from raging.

"Audacious rogue, release the queen." With a wave of oppressive pressure, a booming shout rang, like a thunderclap in Ye Liuyun's ears. It was an obvious Spiritual Soul Attack; if Ye Liuyun didn't have the Ten Thousand Gods Command, he would surely be stunned and let go of the queen.

Ye Liuyun turned his head and saw, to his surprise, an elder of the Eightfold Tian Gang.

The elder hadn't expected Ye Liuyun to be able to resist his Spiritual Soul Attack.

"Elder Supreme!" the queen exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't expected that her capture would also alarm the Royal Palace's Elder Supreme.

Ye Liuyun was not careless; he immediately projected his own Spiritual Soul domain, inserting Hell Mingshe into the queen's Sea of Consciousness, ready to annihilate her at any moment.

Then he said to the elder, "All of you step aside. After I leave, I will naturally release the queen; otherwise, I will be the first to destroy the queen's Spiritual Soul."

The elder frowned, then waved his hand, causing the pursuers behind him to halt.

He had just witnessed Ye Liuyun's Divine Soul Power and believed Ye Liuyun possessed the strength to instantly eradicate the queen's Spiritual Soul.

If even he, stepping forward, couldn't save the queen, the royal house would be utterly disgraced!

He would rather let Ye Liuyun kill the queen than allow her to be taken away by Ye Liuyun, for that would be even harder to explain to the public.

"Why are you holding the queen hostage?" the Royal Palace's Elder Supreme asked.

Ye Liuyun gave a brief account of the events, but he did not mention what poison the queen had taken.

The Elder Supreme looked at the queen, and she nodded, indicating that Ye Liuyun had not lied.

"Since this is a misunderstanding, release the queen at once, and I will let you go!" the Elder Supreme declared immediately.

"Do you think I'm a child? You let me go, but will anyone else? Everyone has retreated a thousand li away. You may follow, but if you dare approach, we'll be dead as fish in a net!"

Ye Liuyun understood that before he could withdraw safely, releasing the queen would lead only to death. Yet persuading them to abandon the queen was unlikely.

The Elder Supreme hesitated, offering no immediate reply. Meanwhile, the guards behind him slowly closed in.

The queen shouted, "Ignore me, kill him directly!" She didn't believe Ye Liuyun would dare kill her.

"Is that so?" Ye Liuyun, with a ruthless heart, had Hell Mingshe coil around the queen's Spiritual Soul, immobilizing her, while his other hand tore a piece from the queen's shoulder garment.

"Stop!"

"Stop!"

The Elder Supreme and the assembled royal members all shouted out in protest.

If Ye Liuyun continued to tear them apart, whether he or the queen lived or died, the royal family's reputation would be ruined.

"If you don't want to keep watching, get out a thousand li away," Ye Liuyun snorted coldly, and, gripping the neck behind him, continued onward.

The queen's Spiritual Soul was now so frightened it dared not move. She hadn't expected Ye Liuyun to devise this tactic.

She communicated to Ye Liuyun, "What you're doing not only prevents your own escape but also harms me. When necessary, they will act to kill you! They won't let you take me away; that would damage the royal family's reputation."

The queen's words reminded Ye Liuyun that the royal house cares about face; they truly couldn't allow her to take the queen away, as it would be inexplicable. Therefore, before entering the Demon-Sealing Mountain, he must abandon the queen.

"I release you now, and I die as well! Don't worry; in a moment I will naturally let you go! You already know our situation was a misunderstanding; what's the point of keeping you?"

The queen, hearing this, ceased resisting and focused on controlling her emotions, preventing the poison from progressing too quickly.

Meanwhile, from a thousand li behind, the pursuing royal members kept increasing in number.

Ye Liuyun simply followed his plan, racing toward the Demon-Sealing Mountain, while his Divine Sense monitored the rear to avoid ambushes by powerful cultivators.

"I can't take it anymore! Knock me out!" the queen's Spiritual Soul suddenly communicated to Ye Liuyun again.

"No, if you faint, they might strike me directly." Thus, Ye Liuyun had to let Hell Mingshe bite her Spiritual Soul intermittently, stimulating her to stay more awake. Her True Essence was also sealed by Ye Liuyun, so there was no immediate serious danger.

But her face grew increasingly flushed. The difficulty for Ye Liuyun to keep her awake grew larger each time, requiring stronger Spiritual Soul stimulation. Fortunately, Ye Liuyun was already close to the Demon-Sealing Mountain, so time should be sufficient.

However, the Elder Supreme seemed to realize Ye Liuyun's intention to flee toward the Demon-Sealing Mountain and was making his final decision.

Just as his True Essence surged, intending to annihilate both Ye Liuyun and the queen, Ye Liuyun suddenly halted and released the queen.

"Fine, I'll spare your life! If I keep carrying you forward, your Elder Supreme will strike us both! I don't expect your gratitude; I just hope you won't bear a grudge against me. I'm also a pawn in someone's scheme!"

After Ye Liuyun finally used Hell Mingshe to rouse the queen, he immediately recalled the Hell Mingshe. Having finished communicating with her via Divine Sense, he turned and vanished into the void, sprinting toward the Demon-Sealing Mountain.

He was still some distance from the Demon-Sealing Mountain. By releasing the queen early, he indeed faced danger.

The queen hadn't expected Ye Liuyun to release her and flee alone toward the Demon-Sealing Mountain. At this moment, she believed his words and felt somewhat grateful toward him.

From a thousand li away, the Elder Supreme blinked and arrived. He had already sensed something amiss with the queen. Upon arrival, he immediately gave the queen an antidote pill and reinforced the seal on her True Essence. Then he raised his hand to strike at Ye Liuyun.

Seeing this, the queen felt compassion. She pretended to be unsteady, grabbed the Elder Supreme's arm. The Elder Supreme, fearing injury to her, withdrew his True Essence. Then he hurriedly escorted the queen back to the Royal Palace.

Soon after, the royal members behind also rushed forward. Several experts of the Sixth to Seventh Layers of Tian Gang also launched attacks at Ye Liuyun.

During this delay, Ye Liuyun finally reached the Demon-Sealing Mountain and plunged in. Although several attacks struck his body, sending him flying, his Physical Body barely endured.

"Boom," Ye Liuyun crashed to the ground, his body riddled with cracks.

"Alas, such a good person is truly hard to handle!" Ye Liuyun sighed, enduring the pain while waiting for his body to recover. At the same time, his Divine Sense spread out, monitoring whether any royal members followed, and surveying the condition of the Demon-Sealing Mountain.

"Fortunately, no royal members entered. It seems they think this place is relatively dangerous," Ye Liuyun scanned the area. "It appears the demon Qi is just a bit heavier here, nothing special!"

Soon, he located the source of the demon Qi: a cave at the foot of the mountain. What lies inside the cave, his Divine Sense could not detect.

After a while, his injuries had mostly healed, and he slowly sat up. Then he stood and moved a bit more, and his wounds were about seventy‑eight percent recovered.

Afterward, he headed straight toward the outside of the Mad Demon Mountain. He sensed no treasures within this range, so he didn't linger. Yet as he walked back and forth, he unexpectedly arrived at the cave at the mountain's foot.