"Are you afraid?" the Evil You Ancestor asked, seeing Ye Fan’s shocked expression.
Ye Fan nodded. How could he not be?
At that moment, he asked, "What level of power did the Holy Venerable attain?"
The Evil You Ancestor replied, "He was a being who had surpassed the realm of sainthood. He perished during the world-ending crisis. If he were still alive, my Evil Clan would have been wiped from existence long ago."
Ye Fan sighed in awe. "I see. The path of cultivation is truly a road with no end in sight!"
"This has strayed from the purpose of your visit," the Evil You Ancestor said.
Ye Fan quickly responded, "I came to ask for your assistance, Senior. Mainly..."
"I know. You want me to be your hired muscle against the God Monarch Palace," the Evil You Ancestor said bluntly.
Ye Fan was embarrassed but didn’t deny it. It was the truth, and there was no point in refuting it, so he simply nodded and said, "Senior, you are correct. What are your conditions?"
Ye Fan knew the other party wouldn’t help him for nothing. As long as he could meet the conditions, he would definitely agree.
The Evil You Ancestor said, "I can help you. The mere God Monarch Palace is nothing to me. I can intimidate or even kill them! However, I have one condition!"
"Only one?" Ye Fan asked.
"Yes, just one condition," the Evil You Ancestor said. "But this single condition contains many smaller ones!"
"Then please, Senior, tell me what it is!" Ye Fan asked curiously, wondering what kind of unusual and difficult condition the Evil You Ancestor would propose.
"You must take command of the Evil Clan members who remain in the Divine Domain," the Evil You Ancestor stated.
"Is that all?" Ye Fan was shocked. This condition was far simpler than he had anticipated; he felt as if he was getting the better end of the deal.
"Simple? Not at all!" the Evil You Ancestor retorted. "From now on, you must treat our Evil Clan as your own people. To this day, our clan is still being hunted by the Holy Clan! So, you must help us survive the threat they pose."
"Weren’t the Holy Clan severely weakened and driven into obscurity?" Ye Fan asked.
"You underestimate the Holy Clan," the Evil You Ancestor said. "Though the Holy Venerable has fallen, his father, the Emperor, still lives! The Emperor is a powerhouse even stronger than a Heavenly Venerate. The only reason he continues to hunt our Evil Clan is for a single object!"
"The Divine Talisman?" Ye Fan asked.
"Correct, the Divine Talisman," the Evil You Ancestor confirmed. "As long as the Divine Talisman is not in his hands, he will never give up on slaughtering our people. It is simply too important to the Holy Clan. That is why we of the Evil Clan still face their relentless pursuit. The Holy Clan is one of the three great ancient races, with influence spreading across the Great Thousand Plane. Sooner or later, they will come knocking. I hope that when that time comes, you won’t hand our people over! Otherwise, even in death, I will not let you go!"
Ye Fan nodded. "Senior, you worry too much. I can guarantee that I will advance and retreat with the Evil Clan. If the Holy Clan truly wishes to annihilate your people in the Divine Domain, they will have to step over my dead body first! However, I can only protect the Evil Clan within the Divine Domain," he immediately clarified.
"Very well. That is enough," the Evil You Ancestor nodded, seeming to have no further demands.
Ye Fan hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. He had initially thought the Evil You Ancestor would refuse to help. Even if he had agreed, Ye Fan had anticipated friction between them. He never imagined it would proceed so effortlessly.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Evil God Lineage launched a massive invasion, forcing the Righteous Gods to gather all their might to resist. The Evil God Lineage was no longer the dominant power it once was. Even with their strength double that of the Righteous Divine Lineage, they couldn’t breach their defensive lines.
The clash between Hu Ben Main God and Red Sand Main God ended in a draw, while Qin Heavenly Main God was defeated by the Great Wilderness Main God. As they struggled to make progress, the Divine Monarch Mansion stepped in. Jiufeng God Monarch took action, defeating the Great Wilderness Main God and severely injuring the Evil Punishment Main God. With that, two Main Gods from the Righteous Divine Lineage were wounded, and the Evil God Lineage claimed victory.
In the main camp of the Righteous Divine Lineage, Great Wilderness Main God clutched his wound and said, "Jiufeng God Monarch is too strong. I am no match for him! Even with Evil Punishment Main God fighting alongside me, we were still defeated."
Evil Punishment Main God was not present at the meeting, as he was recuperating. His injuries were even more severe than those of Great Wilderness Main God, bringing him to the brink of death. Had the other Main Gods not intervened to heal him, he would have perished.
Red Sand Main God spoke. "It seems the Evil God Lineage won’t rest until they’ve exterminated us this time! We Main Gods aren’t afraid, but we are no match for those Divine Monarchs! What I can’t figure out is why they don’t just have all six Divine Monarchs attack at once and annihilate us. What are they waiting for?"
This was a point Red Sand Main God couldn’t fathom. Great Wilderness Main God was also puzzled. If all six Divine Monarchs attacked together, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
At this moment, Tu Shen asked, "Could they be wary of something?"
At his words, the two Main Gods had a sudden realization and exclaimed in unison, "The Divine Talisman!"
It wasn’t that the Divine Monarch Mansion feared the Divine Talisman itself. Rather, they were afraid because it could restrain the Evil Clan, who were now led by Ye Fan. Therefore, what the Divine Monarch Mansion truly feared was the intervention of the Evil Clan.
Great Wilderness Main God said, "If that’s the case, then the Divine Monarch Mansion must be probing us, testing to see if the Evil Clan dares to intervene!"
"That’s right. In that case, I have a way to delay their assault!" Red Sand Main God declared.
"Are you saying..." Great Wilderness Main God began, shocked.
"Correct. Tu Shen, go to the Outer Realm at once. Have the Misfortune Pangolin and the others confront the Evil God Lineage. Their actions will show the Divine Monarch Mansion that the Evil Clan dares to fight back, which should at least buy us time until our Little Junior Brother returns!"
"Understood!" Tu Shen knew the matter was urgent and departed for the Outer Realm immediately.
Great Wilderness Main God and Red Sand Main God were left with bitter smiles. They had no choice; this was simply how things were. They both knew the Divine Talisman was with Ye Fan but could not disclose this secret. They could only hope Ye Fan would truly bring them a surprise. They laughed at the irony—they were exalted Main Gods who had promised to pave the way for Ye Fan, but now, they could only pin all their hopes on him.
At this very moment, Ye Fan was deep within the Outer Realm, striving to break through to the Main God realm. The Evil You Ancestor had imparted the Evil Nether Battle Chronicles to him, and he had resonated with the text. He began to cultivate it, and by channeling thousands of Rashamon, he finally perfected his own path.
Thus, Ye Fan was preparing for his breakthrough deep within the Outer Realm. The Evil You Ancestor was not far away, and he could sense that Ye Fan was on the verge of advancing.
Just then, the sky darkened with dense clouds. The Evil You Ancestor was shocked; even his own breakthrough to Subcestor had not caused such a commotion.
Why is Ye Fan’s Heavenly Tribulation so terrifying?