At this moment, Ouyang Ye could see that Mu Anxiao was determined to die. However, he was injured, and if he went up now, his injuries would definitely worsen. If Jiong Ye noticed something amiss then, the outcome would surely be unfavorable to him.
But Mu Anxiao was the 'wife' he had chosen. If she died, wouldn't all his previous efforts be in vain?
Thinking of this, he turned to Jiong Ye, "..."
Seeing Ouyang Ye look at him, Jiong Ye chuckled dryly, "Why are you looking at me?" He hadn't yet realized that Ouyang Ye was injured.
Ouyang Ye: "Go and stop Mu Anxiao."
"..." Jiong Ye was stunned.
"What's wrong?" Ouyang Ye decided to let the giant black bear monster redirect its attention to Jiong Ye, because in his opinion, Mu Anxiao's life was more important.
However, Jiong Ye was also a clever fellow. From Ouyang Ye's repeated changes of mind, he had seen through Ouyang Ye's intentions. "Don't lie to me."
"What did I lie to you about?" Ouyang Ye was still acting.
Jiong Ye: "You want to sacrifice me to save Mu Anxiao."
"You go up, I'll control it," Ouyang Ye said with a straight face.
Jiong Ye looked at Ouyang Ye's calm expression, then glanced up at Mu Anxiao, who was trying to hit the giant black bear monster's eyes with her fist but always missing. He said, "She seems quite formidable." He had also suffered at the hands of the giant black bear monster earlier, so seeing Mu Anxiao's fierce side, he was also afraid.
"Are you afraid she'll hit you?" Ouyang Ye tried to ask.
As Ouyang Ye had said, Jiong Ye not only feared the giant black bear monster but also Mu Anxiao, who struck with no regard for moderation and seemed to have lost her senses.
However, he didn't want to admit it. "Not at all," he shook his head, losing the courage to look at Ouyang Ye.
Ouyang Ye continued to gaze at Jiong Ye's face, took a deep breath, and said, "Since you're not afraid, go and help her."
"I..."
"Master, something's wrong," Xi'er ran over, interrupting Jiong Ye.
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ye frowned, turned to Xi'er who had come up behind him, and asked, "What is it?" He noticed Xi'er's nervous expression and sensed... something must have happened.
Xi'er ignored Jiong Ye and said, "Those people have escaped."
"People... escaped?" Ouyang Ye didn't understand what Xi'er meant and said, "Explain yourself clearly."
"Just now, a dagger suddenly flew over. The dagger scratched my arm when I wasn't paying attention, and then it took those people and ran."
"What?"
Those people were all trained by Jiong Ye, and each of them had their own skills. Ouyang Ye had intended to take those people back as food for the evil spirits after he took Jiong Ye in. This way, the evil spirits' abilities would greatly increase.
Who knew... that such a thing would happen now.
He frowned and clenched his fist.
Immediately after, Jiong Ye took the opportunity to change the subject. "It must have been the dagger Mu Anxiao had." He stepped to Ouyang Ye's side and glanced down at Ouyang Ye's wound.
Hearing this, Xi'er also reacted, "It seems like it was that dagger." She was excited.
Ouyang Ye thought for a moment, turned around, and looked up at Mu Anxiao, who had pinned the giant black bear monster's head. He said, "It must have been her." As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes and turned to Xi'er, "Let those people go if they want. Now, control it."
"Yes." Xi'er cupped her hands, stepped forward, glanced at the unharmed Jiong Ye, and thought, this guy is really lucky, damn it.
After thinking this, she glared at Jiong Ye, looked up, and began to cast her demonic arts, trying to summon the giant black bear monster with her thoughts.
Seeing this, Jiong Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Then he thought about his relationship with those people. He was worried that Ouyang Ye would use him to find them, and he knew those people. They were all individuals with karmic affinity for immortality. If they were really used as food by the evil spirits, the heavenly realm would know immediately.
At that time, he would suffer along with them.
'No, I can't harm myself.' He thought, moved a few steps aside, and secretly cast his demonic arts to sever his connection with those people.
Ouyang Ye paid no attention to Jiong Ye and was using his demonic arts to continue healing himself.
Zhao Meier dared not act rashly and only dared to watch them from a distance.
On the other side, the moment Jiong Ye cast his demonic arts, those who had been following Yin Ye and the dagger suddenly fell one by one.
Immediately after, the dagger and Yin Ye sensed something was wrong, stopped together, and turned to look at the people lying on the ground, both startled.
Yin Ye asked, "What's going on?"
The dagger did not speak. It looked at the layers of demonic energy surrounding their bodies and frowned. It turned to look at Yin Ye, who was about to step forward, and said, "Don't move."
Yin Ye was startled. "Why?" she asked the dagger.
The dagger: "If I'm not mistaken, this is a demonic art to undo some kind of restraint."
"Restraint..." Yin Ye repeated, and a flash of inspiration struck her. "I remember now. Jiong Ye seemed to have placed a demonic art on them, said to prevent them from escaping." She looked at the dagger.
"Prevent escape..." The dagger narrowed its eyes. "Then that makes sense."
"What makes sense?" Yin Ye didn't understand the dagger's meaning.
The dagger: "He was worried that Ouyang Ye would force him to find them, so... he took the opportunity to sever his ties with these people first. This way, even if Ouyang Ye investigated him, he wouldn't find anything."
"These people were all trained by him. Is he really willing to part with them?" Yin Ye wondered about Jiong Ye's actions.
"How could he not be willing? If it were you, would you be willing to hand over talents you've painstakingly cultivated?"
"..." Yin Ye said seriously, "I don't think he's that good. By doing this, he's only worried that Ouyang Ye will force him to find these people, and then he won't be able to find them, and he'll lose his own life. Isn't that a bad deal?"
The dagger looked at Yin Ye's serious expression and then glanced at the beams of light floating above those people's bodies. It said, "No."
"What's wrong?" Yin Ye asked in confusion.
The dagger: "These people all have karmic affinity for immortality."
"Karmic affinity for immortality..." Yin Ye was stunned and looked back at those cowardly people, saying, "How is that possible? They don't look like it."
"You can't judge a book by its cover," the dagger said. "Jiong Ye was once from a cultivation sect. If I'm not mistaken, he fears not Ouyang Ye, but immortality."
"..." Yin Ye frowned.
"If they die, Jiong Ye will be locked onto by the gods above immediately. So, for his own sake, he decided to sever his ties with these people. This way, Ouyang Ye will definitely have no way to deal with him, and the immortals won't be able to find him. What's not to like?" the dagger summarized based on what it saw.
Yin Ye nodded after listening. "What you said makes sense." As she spoke, she noticed the beams of light fading.
The dagger also noticed. "Almost done."
Yin Ye glanced at the dagger and said nothing.