Chapter 432: The Earth Demon

The Nine-Depth Earth Demon saw him emerge from the Xuan Kong Shi, and was not especially excited. He simply asked offhand, "Are you ready?"

Ye Liuyun nodded, took out the Mourning Bell, and prepared to cast it onto the Sealing Demon Tablet.

"Below this Sealing Demon Tablet there is a spiritual vein; after I leave, you can collect it together," the Nine-Depth Earth Demon reminded him.

"Thanks!" Ye Liuyun said gratefully, and said no more; after all it was just a transaction with the Nine-Depth Earth Demon, each taking what they needed, and further words were useless.

Ye Liuyun didn't even ask what realm he was in. He only knew that the demon lord's realm must be above the Heavenly Gang Realm. He wasn't concerned about that now; everything would wait until he grew stronger.

The contract he made with the Nine-Depth Earth Demon was drafted with the help of the Ten Thousand Gods Command. If the demon broke it, the Ten Thousand Gods Command would act against him. So he wasn't worried about the demon's betrayal.

The Nine-Depth Earth Demon also didn't expect Ye Liuyun to be so decisive, not at all fearing a reversal. The more Ye Liuyun acted like this, the less the demon dared to make any move.

In the end he decided that, whether Ye Liuyun truly wasn't afraid or was just being cryptic, he would not strike at Ye Liuyun. The kid's temperament actually suited his taste.

So Ye Liuyun wielded the Mourning Bell and directly cast it onto the Sealing Demon Tablet. Immediately, the Nine-Depth Earth Demon also poured all his force into suppressing the tablet, his body awash with Demon Qi, and surged out of the Cave.

At the moment the Mourning Bell sealed the tablet, Ye Liuyun instantly felt the surrounding Demon Qi raging, showing signs it could not be restrained.

The Nine-Depth Earth Demon seized the momentum to burst out of the Cave, then fled upward without looking back.

"Hahaha, the Nine-Depth Earth Demon has emerged! Thanks, kid. You're not a pond‑dweller; perhaps we'll meet again in the Nine‑Depth lands!"

After the Nine-Depth Earth Demon sent a Transmission Voice to Ye Liuyun, it broke through the void and vanished. Ye Liuyun never heard his voice again. Above, the void opened a huge hole, which after a while slowly sealed.

At the moment the Nine-Depth Earth Demon emerged, Demon Qi gathered around him, and the wails of ghosts and wolves echoed across the Sealing Demon Mountain. Visible strands of black Demon Qi formed, converging on him. The whole sky turned as black as ink.

"What a demon lord's emergence! This momentum truly feels like hell descending," Ye Liuyun thought, genuinely envious. "When will my own actions create such a scene?"

The Demon Qi of the Sealing Demon Mountain began to dissipate after the Nine-Depth Earth Demon left.

At this moment Ye Liuyun's Divine Sense was no longer constrained by Demon Qi, and he could see the entire mountain range crystal clear.

He immediately put away the Mourning Bell and began to examine the Sealing Demon Tablet.

The Sealing Demon Tablet suddenly moved on its own. It rose from the ground, hovered in mid‑air, its massive body shrinking to the size of a palm, then fell toward Ye Liuyun's hand.

Ye Liuyun instinctively reached out, grasped the small tablet, and fed a strand of Divine Sense into it, causing the Sealing Demon Tablet to readily recognize its master!

Ye Liuyun didn't know what grade the Sealing Demon Tablet was. It seemed like his Demon Slaying Sword—its quality unreadable from appearance. Yet something that can subdue a demon lord cannot be a mundane object.

But after recognizing its master, the Sealing Demon Tablet flashed, leapt into his Sea of Consciousness, resonated from afar with the Ten Thousand Gods Command, and settled there.

The Ten Thousand Gods Command merely bathed it in a ring of Golden Light, then ceased moving, showing no repulsion—apparently permitting it to stay.

Ye Liuyun used Divine Sense to link with the Sealing Demon Tablet and found the connection intact; if he wishes to summon the tablet again, it will appear.

He had no choice. The fact that the tablet could enter his Sea of Consciousness and coexist peacefully with the Ten Thousand Gods Command told him it was certainly not simple.

"Let it stay inside; when I need it, it will come out," Ye Liuyun thought. Since he couldn't control it, he might as well leave it be. At least the tablet now seemed easier to control than the Ten Thousand Gods Command.

Next, he drew the Demon Slaying Sword and began to excavate the spiritual vein.

This breakthrough consumed so many Spirit Stones that his flesh still ached; if he didn't reclaim those Spirit Stones, he'd likely be unable to rest.

Fortunately the Nine-Depth Earth Demon didn't deceive him; there truly was a spiritual vein below.

"Fortune!" Ye Liuyun shouted, calling everyone out, even the Dragon Palace, and had them load Spirit Stones together. The Spirit Stones he mined he replenished into the Xuan Kong Shi.

The people, excited by the abundance of Spirit Stones, spent nearly half a day hurriedly moving the entire Mineral Vein away.

At this point, Ye Liuyun finally told them of his breakthrough to the Heavenly Gang Realm.

Afterwards, he also tried a bit of sky‑riding flight.

A warrior of the Heavenly Gang Realm, when sky‑riding, not only soars far higher than a Yuan Dan cultivator but also moves at a thousand‑li per instant, as if completely freed from gravity, soaring straight to the heavens.

From this altitude, Ye Liuyun realized that everything within ten thousand li fell within his Divine Sense's coverage; with the Golden Pupil, his vision would be even clearer.

This scouting range made tracking a Yuan Dan cultivator trivial; even if the Yuan Dan warrior ran several thousand li first, Ye Liuyun could still lock onto them.

Moreover, sky‑riding for a Heavenly Gang Realm master consumes far less effort than for a Yuan Dan warrior, requiring hardly any True Essence. It's as if Heavenly Gang masters are born to fly. Especially for someone like Ye Liuyun, whose True Essence is abundant and quickly replenished, the consumption is almost negligible.

The altitude he now occupied was already the continent's limit; any higher would effectively be flying out of this realm.

Ye Liuyun then understood why others said only the Heavenly Gang Realm could leave the continent—it's because below that realm one simply cannot fly out.

After mastering the Heavenly Gang sky‑riding, Ye Liuyun immediately descended, fearing he might impulsively fly away to chase his parents' and aunt's traces. He was self‑aware, knowing he was insignificant on this road; venturing out like that would likely get him killed. To leave, he needed greater strength.

So after landing, he resumed condensing his Heavenly Gang domain. He had already formed a prototype of the domain; now with stronger True Essence, he needed to reinforce it entirely, patching all previous flaws.

To save time, he returned to the Xuan Kong Shi to do this work. He only completed his Heavenly Gang domain after night fell, then emerged from the Xuan Kong Shi.

Then, at Lei Ming's suggestion, everyone barbecued to celebrate Ye Liuyun's breakthrough and stayed that night on the Sealing Demon Mountain.

The Sealing Demon Mountain is a notorious cursed land; no one dares enter. Resting there was the safest option, with no fear of royal pursuit.

In fact, the royal party rescued the queen, and upon seeing Ye Liuyun fall onto the Sealing Demon Mountain, they assumed he was dead; no one guarded the outside, and there was not even a bounty on him.

At this moment, people around the Sealing Demon Mountain noticed its daytime changes, but no one dared to investigate.

Ye Liuyun and his group rested a night, ate and drank their fill. At dawn, Ye Liuyun launched a Flying Boat, surged out of the Sealing Demon Mountain area, and pursued in the direction Su Miaoyin had gone.