Still startled by Ye Lingyuan's gaze, she couldn't help but take a step back.
She eyed Ye Lingyuan defensively, yet stubbornly insisted, "I don't know!"
Ye Lingyuan narrowed his eyes and coldly remarked, "Very good!"
As he spoke, his entire aura shifted, and his Saint King realm cultivation poured out.
With a thought, Ye Lingyuan conjured a massive sword of golden spiritual energy before him.
He stared at Yiran and demanded, "Speak, or do not speak?"
His voice, as if from the deepest netherworld, sent an involuntary shiver through Xue Ying and Yiran.
Xue Ying glanced at Yiran with concern and then timidly addressed Ye Lingyuan, "Ming..."
"This King did not ask you!"
Ye Lingyuan icily cut off Xue Ying's impending words, making his meaning clear: he hadn't asked her, so she should shut up.
Facing Ye Lingyuan in his current state, Yiran felt a pang of fear, but the thought of Ye Lingyuan forcing her to yield was sheer fantasy.
She shook her head at Xue Ying and transmitted, "Stay there and watch carefully. Do not come over."
Xue Ying was stunned. Witnessing a powerful cultivator's battle at such close range would undoubtedly be immensely beneficial to her as a novice.
Her heart warmed. Although Yiran always wore a stern expression, she was undoubtedly the type to be cold on the outside but warm within.
After reassuring Xue Ying, Yiran looked at Ye Lingyuan without fear and declared, "I shall test whether the renowned Underworld King is truly as formidable as the rumors suggest!"
Her actions had already answered Ye Lingyuan's question: if you want to fight, fight; if you want to know my master's whereabouts, forget it!
Despite her words, her wariness did not diminish in the slightest.
"Very good!"
Ye Lingyuan's gaze turned cold, and he commanded, "Sword of Gold, go!"
Controlled by Ye Lingyuan's divine sense, the colossal sword flew rapidly towards Yiran.
As the massive sword drew nearer, Yiran scoffed, "The God of War of Heavenly Revelation is nothing more than this!"
With a thought, she summoned an identical colossal sword that clashed with Ye Lingyuan's. Energy dispersed, and the Goddess Temple was once again filled with dust.
"Is that so? Threads of Gold, entwine!"
Ye Lingyuan's icy voice echoed opposite Yiran.
As his voice fell, the dispersed golden spiritual energy recondensed into an extremely fine golden thread, which then coiled towards Yiran.
Yiran was greatly alarmed. She had never seen spiritual energy that had lost its control being re-controlled. What kind of spiritual technique was this, so powerful?
Indeed, he was not a man of undeserved reputation. This Underworld King was certainly not someone whose fame was baseless.
Though Ye Lingyuan's move was powerful, Yiran was no pushover. She was, after all, the artifact spirit of the Divine Protector Feng Lixi in her past life. How could she be defeated so easily?
With a thought, she once again utilized the energy of the Divine Maiden Hall, summoning a green energy shield that instantly enveloped her.
The "Threads of Gold" struck the green energy shield with a "bang," scattering once more into spiritual energy elements.
Ye Lingyuan's brow furrowed. This technique, "Golden Sword Binding Divine Threads," was obtained from an ancient ruin. It was not a mere spiritual technique but, in a sense, a divine ability, or one could call it a pseudo-divine ability.
The difference was that spiritual techniques used spiritual energy, while pseudo-divine abilities used soul force, meaning the power of the soul was imprinted onto spiritual energy elements in a special way, and the user only needed to control the soul force.
This was why the spiritual energy of the colossal sword, despite being dispersed, could recondense into golden threads.
"Golden Sword Binding Divine Threads" could be considered one of Ye Lingyuan's trump cards and a reason for his ability to fight beyond his cultivation level.
The reason he unleashed such a powerful move from the outset was twofold. First, the five-colored energy used by Yiran gave him a sense of danger; that energy was not spiritual energy and was very much like the legendary Chaotic Power.
Second, Ye Lingyuan intended to capture Yiran alive and then, through a special method, force her to reveal the whereabouts of Zi Lingling. While this move was powerful, it would not endanger Yiran's life.
Third, divine abilities were almost extinct, so using this move would achieve the effect of surprise and make it impossible to defend against.
Yet now, Yiran had broken this pseudo-divine ability of Ye Lingyuan's with such a simple method, leaving him astonished and scrutinizing that peculiar energy with great interest.
Yiran dispelled the energy shield, her shock profound, but she feigned disdain, saying, "This move has some merit, but for me, it is useless!"
Ye Lingyuan's eyes sharpened once more, and he said with a half-smile, "Not necessarily!"
He spoke as if about to make another move.
"Wait!"
Yiran interjected first.
Ye Lingyuan's movements paused, his sharp gaze fixed on Yiran. "Are you going to speak now?"
Yiran rolled her eyes at him. "Dream on! I simply don't want to damage any of the items in the Goddess Temple. If you want to fight, let's fight outside the temple."
By now, she was beginning to believe that Ye Lingyuan was not an enemy of Zi Lingling. As Ye Lingyuan had said, with his strength, if he wanted to kill Zi Lingling, she would not have survived this long.
But Yiran, as a ten-thousand-year-old artifact spirit, possessed her pride. How could she surrender so easily?
Therefore, no matter what, she had to defeat Ye Lingyuan first before considering whether to tell him about her master.
Seeing that Yiran's killing intent had subsided, Ye Lingyuan guessed her thoughts.
It was fortunate, as he also did not wish to damage anything within the Goddess Temple. He felt a strange sense of familiarity towards the temple.
Thus, he nodded and replied, "Alright!"
Seeing Ye Lingyuan agree, Yiran breathed a sigh of relief. She cast a meaningful glance at Ye Lingyuan and then turned, walking towards the outside of the Goddess Temple.
Ye Lingyuan did not hesitate. With a flash, he too disappeared from the Goddess Temple.
Xue Ying stomped her foot and followed.
In her eyes, both Ye Lingyuan and Yiran were acting for Zi Lingling's well-being, so she didn't want to see them oppose each other.
Alas, their strengths were unfathomable, far beyond what a mere Body Tempering second-level spiritual practitioner like herself could manage.
In the open space outside the temple, Yiran and Ye Lingyuan stood opposite each other. Yiran thought, "Little brat! This is the Great Heavenly Array. All the power here can be controlled by me. Let's see if I don't teach you a good lesson!"
Ye Lingyuan, observing the shifting light in Yiran's eyes, divined her intentions with considerable accuracy.
He inwardly braced himself and said indifferently, "Can we begin now?"
A sly smile flickered across Yiran's face, and she said triumphantly, "Of course!"
Simultaneously, an even larger ball of five-colored spiritual energy appeared before her and rapidly flew towards Ye Lingyuan.