“Great idea! That solves the question of why you asked the Master for some fruit,” said Shi Tuqin with bright eyes.
Qin Manyun smiled and with a wave of her hand, various fruits appeared in front of them. They were apples, oranges, peaches, and more. The fruits glowed with a rainbow sheen as they lit up the Chaos like stars. Suddenly, the planet began to transform. The little black dot increased in size to become a vortex accompanied by strong magnetic force. The group had been observing the planet all this while and detected the slight change instantly.
“It worked!”
“I’d never expect a dead planet to hold such a secret within.”
“It must’ve come alive when it detected the scent of the fruits.”
Qin Manyun and the rest of them stared at the opening with grave expressions on their faces while Blackie slowly walked toward it. “Let’s go in now.”
“Huh? We’re walking in just like that?” asked Jiang Liu with shock.
“If not? Should we wait for other people to get the fruit for master?” Blackie rolled his eyes and entered without hesitation with Qin Manyun and the rest of the group following behind him.
Their behavior shocked the vortex. ‘What are you guys doing? I haven’t even activated my sucking power and you’ve walked in already? Can you at least show a little bit of respect?’
Once inside, they could feel themselves being cut off from the outside world. Their new environment was one of depleting Spiritual Qi and there were no living things in sight. The darkness and silence made them all anxious. However, they had come prepared for the worst so they did not panic too much. Instead, they walked on forward until they came to the portal with the blood-red seal.
Of course, they saw the two figures hugging each other tightly, too. Both parties were shocked when their eyes met. Blackie glared at the two old men and said, “It seems like we’ve come at a bad time, Miss Huang.”
Jiang Liu was dumbfounded as well. He felt his worldview turned upside down. “What… What are they doing? Ow, my eyes, my eyes!”
“Maybe they discovered real love on their last dying breath,” said Shi Tuqin with disbelief.
“We’re sorry to have disturbed the two of you,” said Qin Manyun.
As for Huang Sirou, she wished she could scratch out her eyeballs. She was so filled with shock that she nearly collapsed to the ground. In a trembling voice filled with mixed feelings, she asked, “Father, how should I explain this to mother?”
Huang Deheng’s and Old Ling’s faces had shrunken beyond recognition while their wrinkles flapped down their faces. They were hugging each other tightly with a smile on their faces. Anyone would have had the wrong idea when faced with this.
Huang Deheng’s eyelids fluttered and with the last of his energy said, “It’s now what you all think. Please, listen to me as I explain, daughter.”
Blackie and Jiang Liu quickly comforted them.
“There’s no need to explain. You have our blessings.”
“Please, don’t worry, Seniors. We understand.”
“We’re happy the two of you found your courage at last.”
Their words nearly made Huang Deheng and Old Ling puke blood as they suddenly became livelier.
“No, I won’t die like this.”
“Brother Huang, this is all your fault. You’ve caused me to sin.”
“Please, don’t create any more rumors. We’re innocent!”
Tears began to streak down their wrinkled faces as they sobbed like a couple of wronged children.
“Lord Dog, seniors, please, stop with your teasing and save my father,” pleaded Huang Sirou.
“They’re lacking the nourishment of Spiritual Qi. That’s why they’re all dried up like that. Feed them a little bit of the fruits and they’ll be good as new,” said Blackie calmly.
Qin Manyun quickly did just that and fed the two old men some oranges.
“What’s this? It tastes delicious!”
“Ahh, it feels like a much-welcomed rain after the drought. I feel so much better now.”
“This is too good! Too good!”
Looking at the two old men, Huang Sirou’s face became beet red. She almost did not want to admit one of them was her father. How embarrassing!
Soon, Huang Deheng and Old Ling came back to life. Judging by their red faces and bowed heads, they were deeply ashamed of their previous behavior. Their reputation was as good as gone. If only there was a hole nearby.
Jiang Liu gently cleared his throat and said, “Do you have anything to say for yourselves?”
Huang Deheng suddenly snapped his head and said, “I’m…still alive? Are you the one who saved us?”
Old Ling recovered, too, and asked, “What happened? I’m still alive! You all are my saviors!”
Trust them to have completely erased what had just happened from their memories.
“Father, it’s already embarrassing enough so please, stop your acting,” said Huang Sirou with a hand on her forehead.
“Acting? I’m not acting? I really did lose all memories,” said Huang Deheng innocently.
Beside him, Old Ling was reliving the taste of the orange. “Is this orange from a Spiritual Root?”
“It’s only a fruit. No need to make a fuss about it.”
Huang Deheng smiled and said, “I’ve told you so. The expert will definitely send somebody to rescue us.”
“Technically speaking, recovering the fruit is our top priority and the two of you are our second priority,” corrected Blackie.
“Yes, you’re right, Lord Dog. Even being a second priority makes me happy!” said Huang Deheng sycophantically.
Suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from inside the portal as the giant black hand thrashed against the barrier created by the blood-red seal. They could sense its impatience and its murderous aura.
Sensing the strong suction power, Qing Manyun said, “It seems like it really wants to get its hand on the fruit.”
“This seal cuts off all Spiritual Qi and therefore, all chances of living. It could be called the Ultimate Seal. We have no idea how long this thing has been sealed here and it’s truly a miracle it’s still alive. It’s only natural for it to crave for Spiritual Qi,” said Huang Deheng in a low voice.
“Apart from that, our mana would be sucked away from that thing inside so we have to be doubly careful, alright?” reminded Old Ling. “By the way, time flows differently here from the outside. We’ve been here for a hundred years!” Anyone would have fallen into despair by the lack of Spiritual Qi and mana.
Jiang Liu looked at the sealed portal with fear in his eyes. “What should we do?”
“Don’t panic. First, we should play with it a little,” said Blackie with an evil smile. He strode toward the edge of the portal and with a wave of his paw, piled the fruit in front of it. Instantly, the air began to fill with thick Spiritual Qi.
Old Ling was stunned by the sight in front of him. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and asked, “Oh my, I never knew there were so many different types of Chaos Spiritual Fruit!”
The thing inside the portal was thrashing around even more wildly. It kept ramming its body against the barrier as one roar after another filled the air.
Blackie took up an apple and in a mocking tone began to tease it. “Do you want this? Well, why don’t you say so? How would I know what you want if you don’t tell me? But of course, I won’t give it to you even if you tell me.” Then, he proceeded to take a big bite out of the apple. “Mmm, delicious.”
An angry roar vibrated through the air, making Huang Deheng’s skull tingle with numbness.
“Are you angry at me? Why don’t you come at me?” Blackie turned around and wiggled his butt toward the portal. “Oh, the look on your face must be divine! How I wish I could see it.”
The others were rendered completely speechless. They never expected Blackie to have such a side to him. This was psychologically warfare at its best. Dared they say they were even beginning to feel a shred of pity for the thing inside?
Blackie waved them over and said, “Come here and have some of the Chaos Spiritual Fruit.”
Instantly, the air was filled with the sound of them eating the Chaos Spiritual Fruit. The poor thing inside could only watch with pitiful eyes at the quickly vanishing Chaos Spiritual Fruits. It nearly drove itself mad to see the Chaos Spiritual Fruit being so near and yet so far.
Suddenly, they heard a voice coming from inside the portal. “Stupid dog, you’re as good as dead!”
The group was stunned as they turned their eyes to look at the portal. It could speak!
“Eat, eat more. Your energy will be absorbed by me as long as you’re imprisoned here. So what if you finish the Chaos Spiritual Fruit? The Spiritual Qi will become mine eventually,” said the voice coldly.
“Who are you and why are you sealed here?” asked Qin Manyun.
“Who am I? Why, I’m the great cyclops, Yanmo!” His voice was hoarse and tinged with frustration. “I ended up like this because I was betrayed by the people in this world.”
“Are you not from this world?”
“Nonsense, why would we betray you?”
Yanmo’s words shocked them. They were still trying to process the new information.
‘Is he really not from the Chaos?’
‘What did he mean when he said he was betrayed?’
“If you say you’re not of this world, then does that mean you’re in cahoots with the Eldritchs?” asked Shi Tuqin.
“The Eldritchs? Hahaha…” Yanmo’s voice was filled with anger. “Back then, we joined forces with the people of your world to fight against the Eldritchs. After having won the war, the people of your world decided to go back on their word and chose to turn against us. Thus, I was sealed here. Just you wait. Once I’m out of this place, I’ll kill every last one of you!”
The group glanced at each other with frowns on their faces. “Do you think he’s speaking the truth?”
“Tell us more in detail and I might release you from this seal,” said Blackie.
“Haha, stupid dog. Do you think I’ll believe you?” asked Yanmo. “You’ll end up as a dried-up corpse soon enough.”
“Are you sure you won’t tell us more? I can give you a Chaos Spiritual Fruit.”
“Die!”
“Cyclops, which world are you from and why did you come here?”
“Die!”
Yanmo did not want to waste his breath on them and would only repeat the same word over and over again.
“Fine, here’s something for you. Hope you enjoy it.” With that, he raised his hind leg and peed straight into the portal. “You should drink it up while it’s still warm. That’s the essence of the Chaos Spiritual Fruit I had just now. No need to thank me at all.”
“Ah ah ah! I’m going to kill you!” shouted Yanmo as he thrashed wildly against the portal.
The others were once again rendered speechless, though they had to admit they were impressed by Blackie’s ability to drive anyone crazy. It was exhilarating to watch.
“By the way, where’s the fruit tree you had with you?” Blackie asked Huang Deheng.
“It was sucked into the portal when we were pulled in,” replied Huang Deheng in a quiet voice.
“What should we do next?” asked Old Ling.
“I’m done teasing him. The only thing we should do now is go inside the portal and come what may!” replied Blackie.
Shi Tuqin took a closer look at the seal. “This is a Wisdom level seal. It’s very intricate. It seems like the only way out of here is through that portal.”
“Are you sure about that? There’s a Wisdom Elite inside it after all,” said Huang Deheng and Old Ling.
“Don’t worry, he’s been sealed here for thousands of years. I bet he doesn’t have much energy left. There’s a high chance we might come out the winner,” said Blackie.
“Let’s go then. I really want to see what the cyclops looks like,” said Jiang Liu.
They all took a deep breath before entering the portal. Since the portal was only meant to keep whatever was inside from getting out, they found themselves able to easily walk in from the outside. Once inside, they could finally see the interior scenery.
They were standing on top of an extremely huge square with strange patterns shining brilliantly on the ground. The patterns were emitting the same aura as the word ‘seal’ outside of the portal. It was obviously a sealed land. On this square, there were a lot of dried bones scattered about. They must have belonged to the poor monks who were unwittingly sucked in by Yanmo.
Apart from that, they could also see a withered tree lying about. None of the leaves had survived and even the branches seemed to be holding up a white flag. There was no doubt about it—it was the fruit tree they were looking for. However, half of its Spiritual Qi had been sucked off.
There was a huge figure standing in the middle of the square. He must have been around seven or eight meters tall with pitch-black skin. Its muscles were packed onto his body like boulders, bulging here and there. They could sense a terrifying power coming off him as if a single punch from him would cause the galaxy to explode into smithereens.
Their pupils shrank rapidly when they raised their eyes towards Yanmo’s face for where his head should be was nothing but empty space.
