Possessed by demons?
Watching Luo Yi leave, Chen Yu's expression froze, then changed drastically. He turned, his eyes fixed on the little demon's.
"What do you mean?"
"How is Luo Yi about to be possessed?"
"His obsession is too deep," the little demon pursed her lips and spread her hands. "Just now, I saw demonic energy swirling behind him. If this knot in his heart isn't untangled within half a year, he will surely be possessed."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yu's heart jolted.
He had indeed considered that Luo Yi's possession might be due to his obsession.
There was no way around it.
His obsession was truly profound.
Even Chen Yu could feel Luo Yi's intense obsession with Irina in his words and actions, which made his conduct and behavior somewhat extreme.
Putting aside other matters, consider the words he spoke before leaving.
He intended to control a City Lord!
How could such a feat be easily accomplished?
How many of those who reached the position of City Lord were mediocre? Even if Luo Yi's intelligence could utterly crush, perform a dimensionality reduction attack on that City Lord, controlling him would still be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
After all, a City Lord would have many advisors by his side.
"If that's the case, why didn't you say so earlier?" Chen Yu whispered, his voice grave. If he had known that Luo Yi showed signs of possession, he would have done everything to keep him here.
He might not have influence with Irina, but his relationship with Ilya was very harmonious.
Perhaps, through his connection with Irina, he could arrange a meeting between Luo Yi and Irina to resolve his inner turmoil.
Yet, the little demon shrugged indifferently.
"Why should I say anything?"
"What's wrong with being possessed? I'm a demon, do you dislike my demonic nature?"
"How can such things be equated?" Chen Yu sighed. The little demon grinned, patted Chen Yu on the shoulder, "Relax, he still has half a year at least. Maybe during this time he'll succeed or adjust?"
"Even if he does become possessed, it's not necessarily a bad thing."
"Possession can grant him stronger power, and his consciousness and soul will remain clear. He'll simply shed many unnecessary distracting thoughts."
"Don't view possession as a monstrous flood, alright?"
The little demon crossed her arms and pouted, nodding in the direction Luo Yi had left.
"Even if you chase him back now, his obsession won't vanish. I know what you're thinking, you probably want to use Ilya's connections to get him to see Irina."
"Do you think he would accept that?"
"He needs to stand before Irina with dignity. Relying on your connections would only make him feel utterly humiliated."
Chen Yu, standing in the wilderness, sighed.
Undeniably, the little demon had a point. Luo Yi's obsession was set. Only by achieving what he desired in his heart could this obsession dissipate.
Allowing him to pursue his own path might be the most appropriate course of action for him.
What Chen Yu could do now was to silently bless him in his heart, hoping for his eventual success and for him to stand before Irina and resolve this inner turmoil.
He hadn't expected there to be such deeply devoted individuals in the underground world.
Chen Yu hadn't interacted much with Irina. He had only met her once when he caught her for Ilya while fishing. At that time, she had invited him to join the Northern Sea as a chef.
Recalling his meeting with Irina, he could tell that she was a rather assertive person.
She was also the next King of the Northern Sea.
She was undoubtedly one of the most prominent figures in the entire underground world.
For Luo Yi to stand before her and gain her recognition and attention, that path was likely fraught with thorns.
"Stop thinking about it. You haven't even sorted out your own affairs yet, and you're worrying about others," the little demon said disdainfully, crossing her arms. "Think about yourself. Is this the time to consider others? Be clear-headed. The path we're taking to the Royal City is also very dangerous."
"That's true."
Chen Yu's current situation was indeed one of internal and external strife.
He was perplexed by Rou Si among the divine generals. The matter of possessing the Divine General's Token was also suspected of being exposed. The family he was cooperating with was a family abandoned by the kingdom.
In terms of predicament, he might be in a worse state than Luo Yi.
"Let's go." Chen Yu glanced sideways at the portal leading to his city-state. This long journey ahead was uncertain, and he didn't know what he might encounter.
"Then let's hurry."
The little demon urged him incessantly. Unexpectedly, Chen Yu took out a shovel from his wristband and began digging.
"What are you doing?"
Seeing Chen Yu's actions, the little demon looked bewildered. Black Bean, however, shrugged as if it were ordinary.
"Isn't it obvious? Gathering resources."
The little demon, with her arms crossed, widened her eyes in astonishment.
"Chen Yu, you truly live up to your reputation."
They each owned a city-state, capable of investing millions or tens of millions with a wave of their hand, yet now, in a planar space, he was still meticulously digging for tens of units of soil.
Was it worth it?
He could casually throw a gold coin and buy tens of thousands of units.
"Heh, every bit counts," Chen Yu grinned. "If I dig dozens of units from one place, and we don't know how many planes we'll traverse on our way to the Royal City, accumulating tens or hundreds of thousands of units of soil bit by bit is also a considerable fortune."
"Chen Yu, I'm impressed!"
The little demon immediately performed a gesture of prostration.
There was no mockery in her voice.
She was genuinely moved by Chen Yu's actions, so much so that she began to blame herself for her own extravagance as the Great Demon King of the Demon King's Castle.
If he could be as frugal as Chen Yu, perhaps his Demon King's Castle would have developed even better?
Such a person, if he weren't rich, who would be?
In the subsequent underground worlds, Chen Yu would also collect as many resources as possible along the way. This also gave him a sense of returning to the time when he first entered the underground world.
Back then, wasn't he also carrying an axe, chopping trees everywhere, and a shovel, digging soil everywhere?
Although he was indeed living a prosperous life now.
A person should not forget their roots!
Occasionally, Black Bean could keenly sense treasure chests buried in the soil, although they were mostly lower-level wooden or bronze chests.
The resources obtained were also ordinary, but they were enough to bring a pleasant surprise.
It could be considered a form of relaxation during the arduous journey to the Royal City.
The little demon watched silently, too lazy to complain. In fact, she was even influenced and began to chop trees and dig for treasure chests with Chen Yu.
And strangely, it was quite interesting.
"Chen Yu, look!!!" the little demon exclaimed excitedly, a smudge of dirt on her nose. "I found a golden-grade treasure chest."
Chen Yu quickly went over and, upon confirming it was a golden-grade treasure chest, he grinned.
"Not bad."
"This must be the highest-grade treasure chest we've dug up recently, right?" The little demon puffed out her chest, her face filled with pride.
Praise me!
"Heh, truly worthy of you."
Chen Yu was never stingy with his praise for others, and the golden treasure chest unearthed by the little demon was indeed the highest-grade one they had found recently.
The problem was—
Were they not getting a bit sidetracked?
"Barbara, we're supposed to be going to the Royal City," Chen Yu muttered, rubbing his hands together. "I'm digging for soil and treasure chests to not waste resources we encounter along the way. Why are you following us to dig? We need to get to the Royal City, sister. You've been leading me and Black Bean in circles for the past two hours, running through every planar space. When will we ever reach the Royal City? Shouldn't you be guiding us?"
"Huh?"
Unexpectedly, the little demon, holding the treasure chest, was stunned and uttered a sentence that sounded like a bolt from the blue.
"Aren't you the one leading the way?"