"Sect Master..." Third Brother said worriedly, "We still haven't investigated Ye Fan's background. Now that You Sha has also fallen, isn't it too risky to go rashly...? Perhaps we should wait until after the matter of the Evil Flame Ruins is settled before making any plans?"
"Compared to the dangers of the relic competition, Ye Fan is nothing," the Sect Master said confidently. "Besides, I have now comprehended the 'Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Souls' left by the Ancestor!"
"Hiss—!"
Third Brother and Fifth Elder both drew in a sharp breath!
"Congratulations, Sect Master, on your divine skill!"
Realizing their loss of composure, they quickly corrected themselves.
"Rest assured," the Sect Master said calmly. "If you work hard, I will impart this cultivation technique to you in the future."
The Sect Master's immense confidence stemmed not only from the cultivation technique but also from another ultimate skill he had mastered.
A life-saving ultimate skill that allowed him to escape like a golden cicada shedding its shell!
Of course, he didn't need to tell the two of them about such matters.
However, to be safe, the Sect Master still cast a divination for this expedition.
The omen was extremely auspicious, indicating smooth sailing in all endeavors!
With this, the last shred of worry for the three of them vanished.
After sending the two away, the Sect Master began to ponder.
Regardless of how Ye Fan learned about the jade pendant, he must have some connection to the Ancestor, or perhaps he had discovered some clues left behind by the Ancestor.
If he could be captured and interrogated thoroughly, that would be wonderful!
The thought of the Ancestor's legacy made the Sect Master's eyes gleam with excitement!
"What belongs to me, no one can take away!"
Seven days later.
After breakfast, Shan Ji did not, as usual, drag Xiang Jiao Jun out.
"Big Brother, can we discuss something?" Shan Ji asked subserviently.
"Your demeanor tells me this is no good news," Ye Fan teased immediately.
"Actually, it's like this, Brother Jiao and I have been thinking about establishing our own gang," Shan Ji explained. "Although recruiting some followers has no practical use, it always feels like we lack a certain presence without them."
"Oh, Brother Ji is aiming to be a boss now?" Ye Fan teased again. "What, are you planning to unify Ge City?"
"Don't worry, Big Brother, they will all be your subordinates then!" Shan Ji quickly declared his loyalty. "You will always be our Big Brother; this will never change!"
"You can do whatever you want, but there's no need to discuss this with me," Ye Fan said, his face darkening. "Are you planning to drag me around the streets recruiting followers?"
"No, no, no, Big Brother, you misunderstand," Shan Ji explained. "Brother Jiao and I discussed a few gang names before, but we didn't think they were suitable, so we wanted to ask Big Brother for some suggestions."
"What names did you come up with before?" Ye Fan asked casually.
"We initially thought of 'Ji Jiao Gang,' but it always felt strange," Shan Ji replied. "Then we changed it to 'Jiao Ji Pai,' 'Guang Tou Bang,' 'Meng Nan Hui'..."
"Cough cough!" Ye Fan choked and coughed several times.
Although his intuition told him they would be a bunch of unreliable names, he hadn't expected them to be so utterly disastrous...
"Let me think," Ye Fan said, catching his breath and stroking his chin in thought.
After all, he had nothing else to do, and was in a state of extreme boredom...
There were ready-made gang names in the Young and Dangerous film series.
Considering their identities as demonic beasts, "Yamaguchi-gumi" might also work.
However, Ye Fan felt something was still missing.
He glanced at the two demonic beasts.
Seeing their bald heads and burly physiques, Ye Fan had a flash of inspiration!
This seemed more suitable!
Then, Ye Fan took out a sword and began to draw on the ground.
He used the common script of the current continent, which the two demonic beasts could understand.
"Xin♂ Rimururi?" Shan Ji read aloud. "Big Brother, what does this name mean? Why does it feel strange?"
"Why is there a symbol in the middle?" Xiang Jiao Jun also asked, full of confusion. "Does this symbol have any deep meaning?"
Xiao Monü also looked at Ye Fan curiously.
"Xin♂ Rimururi is a legendary existence," Ye Fan began to spin a yarn. "It is the most dangerous forbidden land in the entire world!"
"The original old Rimururi was gradually eroded by darkness, which is how it evolved into the new Rimururi."
"The current Xin♂ Rimururi can be said to be the darkest place in the world!"
"The warriors, led by the King, fought tirelessly with all their might against the dark forces and their leader, longing for Xin♂ Rimururi to be bathed in light once more."
"However, the Dark Lord's power was too great, and the warriors were no match for him, forcing them to engage in various dangerous death games with him."
"Even so, the warriors did not abandon their ideals."
...
Ye Fan spun a lengthy tale, leaving the three of them stunned!
"The reason I gave you this name is because I hope you will inherit this spirit," Ye Fan concluded. "Only by embracing the darkness can you defeat the darkness completely! And the most difficult thing in this process is to always hold onto your original intentions!"
"Big Brother, I understand!"
Shan Ji immediately became excited!
In truth, he didn't care about the grand principles Ye Fan spoke of. He just felt that it sounded incredibly fierce and high-class!
This perfectly suited Shan Ji's taste and successfully hit his pleasure points.
"Big Brother, I understand!" Xiang Jiao Jun nodded solemnly.
To embrace darkness and do righteous deeds was perfectly aligned with his philosophy.
This gave Xiang Jiao Jun a sense of heavy mission!
"Oh, right," Ye Fan said, looking at Xiang Jiao Jun. "The people of Xin♂ Rimururi are all philosophers like you, and the most powerful among them are called 'King'!"
"Big Brother, do you mean...?!" Xiang Jiao Jun suddenly felt the topic becoming weighty.
"When you can achieve that level in the future, I will personally bestow upon you the title of 'King'!"
Since he had already led the Vermilion Bird and the Tree of Life astray, he didn't mind leading them a bit further.
"Big Brother, I will work hard!" Xiang Jiao Jun replied with extreme seriousness.
To follow in the footsteps of those heroic predecessors was such an honorable thing!
The two demonic beasts left, content.
Xiao Monü, however, looked at Ye Fan thoughtfully.
"There's something off about your gaze," Ye Fan immediately noticed. "What absurd things are you contemplating now?"
"I understand!" Xiao Monü nodded as if a revelation had dawned. "If I'm not mistaken, you are the great demon king of that Xin♂ Rimururi!"
Ye Fan: ???
"I suspected you were the great demon king before," Xiao Monü transformed into a detective, her eyes gleaming. "Back then, you fought with those warriors and destroyed your original world, which is why you came to this continent!"
"It must be!" Xiao Monü exclaimed. "It has to be!"
Ye Fan was shocked by Xiao Monü's strange thought process!
I just made up a few random things, and you actually believed them?!
Ye Fan suddenly regretted his words.
He regretted saying those things earlier...
What started as a momentary, wicked whim had turned into a trap for himself...
"Slap!"
A thousand words turned into a single slap.
"Why are you hitting yourself in the face?" Xiao Monü was bewildered by Ye Fan's actions.
"It's nothing... a mosquito just landed on my face..."
"Really? Let me see."
...
Just as she was about to take advantage of the situation, Xiao Monü suddenly stopped and turned her head towards the doorway.