Upon hearing Ye Ling's name, Qi Zijin fell silent.
Although he hadn't paid attention to the affairs of the Three Realms for a long time, he had heard of Ye Ling.
The Emperor's might had long since spread throughout the Immortal Realm. Even though he was hidden away in this small mountain village, he had heard of the great deeds Ye Ling had accomplished in the Three Realms and understood the weight of the title "Emperor."
Qi Zijin swallowed slightly and confirmed with Ye Ling, "Are you truly the Emperor Ye Ling who roams the Three Realms?"
Ye Ling smiled, "It seems you know me, which makes things easier."
Seeing that Ye Ling was indeed the Emperor he had heard of, Qi Zijin immediately became timid. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he forced a smile at Ye Ling, "Is there... perhaps a misunderstanding between us?"
Qi Zijin truly hadn't expected his Qi family to provoke such a formidable being!
Their entire clan had offered their souls to the highest god of the Underworld. It could be said that the Qi family were mere servants to that supreme god in the mortal world, performing the most lowly tasks for him.
And now, Ye Ling, who had arrived, was an Emperor capable of standing on equal footing with that supreme god. For their Qi family to oppose Ye Ling would be akin to a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
Once Qi Zijin realized this, his killing intent towards Ye Ling vanished, and he no longer dared to be Ye Ling's enemy.
"A misunderstanding?" Ye Ling smiled slightly, "I don't think it's a misunderstanding at all. Your Qi family directly targeted my disciple."
Qi Zijin quickly denied, "Impossible! My Qi family is only pursuing the escaped ancient demonic spirit in the outside world. They would never provoke you without reason."
Although Qi Zijin had the backing of the highest god of the Underworld and wasn't afraid of Ye Ling making a move against him, he also didn't want to engage in a conflict with someone like Ye Ling unless absolutely necessary.
Ye Ling said, "Speaking of which, I've always been curious about what that escaped ancient demonic spirit actually is. And why do you keep it a secret from your own clansmen, making them believe it's a family heirloom?"
Qi Zijin said solemnly, "It's merely an evil spirit from the Primordial Era, with some peculiar characteristics. Its strength isn't particularly great and certainly wouldn't catch your eye."
Ye Ling asked, "Could it be related to the inheritance of the Creation God?"
Upon hearing Ye Ling's sudden question, Qi Zijin's pupils contracted sharply, and he exclaimed in shock, "How do you know?"
Ye Ling smiled, "It seems I guessed correctly."
After all, Qi Mo had previously targeted Bai Qiao, claiming that Bai Qiao possessed his Qi family's heirloom. For this so-called heirloom, Qi Mo didn't hesitate to offend the Demonic Palace to make a move on Bai Qiao. Furthermore, Bai Qiao's inner demon was currently undergoing the Creation God's inheritance at the lowest level of the Dragon Tribe...
If Ye Ling couldn't figure out the purpose of that ancient demonic spirit even with all this, then he might as well quit.
However, what Ye Ling was curious about now was whether the Creation God's inheritance that the Qi family sought was the one at the bottom of the Dragon Tribe.
Qi Zijin hadn't expected Ye Ling to know so much. He began to lead the ox backward, creating distance from Ye Ling, and said, "So, you attacked my Qi family because you wanted to snatch our inheritance?"
Ye Ling chuckled, "I originally just intended to wipe out your clan. I hadn't thought that far ahead. Since you've verbally admitted that there's a Creation God's inheritance here, then I'll have to accept it."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Qi Zijin's expression turned extremely grim, and he said with a deep voice, "Ye Ling, don't push your luck too far! I respect you as the Emperor of the Three Realms and don't wish to be your enemy, but that doesn't mean I fear you!"
"I have the Void behind me. If you dare to make a move against my Qi family and covet our treasures, you will be making an enemy of the Void Organization! Do you truly wish to go to war with the Void Organization?"
Ye Ling smiled, "What a coincidence, I happen to have some grievances with the Void Organization as well. Your leader, Huang, was soundly beaten by me once. I imagine your Void organization wishes to flay me alive..."
"You!!! You just wait!"
Qi Zijin hadn't expected Ye Ling to not even fear the Void Organization. Knowing he was no match for Ye Ling, after uttering a threat, he fiercely slapped the ox's hindquarters. He and the ox instantly turned into blood and merged into the ground.
"Trying to escape?" Ye Ling's eyes flashed with amusement as he saw Qi Zijin turn into blood and attempt to flee. He lightly stomped his foot on the ground, and Qi Zijin, who had merged into the earth, was shaken out by Ye Ling.
Before Qi Zijin could escape, his entire body was suspended in mid-air by Ye Ling's demonic energy, unable to move.
Ye Ling pulled Qi Zijin closer and said softly, "Let me see what other secrets are hidden within your little head."
Qi Zijin stammered in panic, "N-no... Ahhhhh!"
Accompanied by Qi Zijin's screams, his demonic energy infiltrated Qi Zijin's soul, beginning to search his memories.
Soon, Ye Ling obtained all the information he desired from Qi Zijin's mind and muttered to himself, "It turns out the Qi family is indeed backed by Emperor Beiyin Fengdu. I didn't expect the highest god of the Underworld to be part of the Void Organization, and also searching for the Creation God's inheritance. I underestimated them."
"Unfortunately, Qi Zijin himself doesn't know what the Creation God's inheritance is. He only knows that the ancient demonic spirit is related to the Creation God's inheritance, and now that demonic spirit has become Bai Qiao's inner demon and is undergoing trials in the Dragon Tribe..."
"If the Creation God's inheritance in the Dragon Tribe is the one the Qi family is looking for, then I've gotten my hopes up for nothing..."
Ye Ling had already obtained the majority of the inheritance at the bottom of the Dragon Tribe, even breaking through to the Supreme realm because of it. If the inheritance the Qi family sought was the one in the Dragon Tribe, then Ye Ling wouldn't gain much here.
While Ye Ling was perusing Qi Zijin's memories, the Qi Zijin lying on the ground once again turned into blood and merged with the earth.
However, this time was different. Qi Zijin wasn't actively escaping; his body completely melted, and his soul was absorbed by the village.
In other words, Qi Zijin was dead.
"Was he treated as a disposable pawn?" Ye Ling squinted his eyes as he looked at the spot where Qi Zijin had turned into blood, "It seems this so-called Qi family is just a pawn that can be discarded at any time. The true mastermind is still behind the scenes."
Saying this, Ye Ling turned to look at the house shaped like a heart, no longer delaying, and stepped inside, entering the vortex.
Inside the vortex was a space filled with torture instruments.
Ye Ling landed on a mountain of knives, surrounded by a sea of fire, with evil spirits wailing all around.
Countless evil spirits were impaled on the knife mountain, groaning in pain. They wanted to struggle but were powerless.
At the summit of the knife mountain was a throne made of stacked skulls. On either side of the throne hung the souls of Qi Heng and Qi Zijin, both with expressions of agony.
Upon the skull throne sat a purple-haired man. He propped his chin with one hand, smiling as he looked at Ye Ling amidst the knife mountain, "Emperor Ye Ling, you actually dare to step into my domain."