The phantom of the inner demon dissipated, leaving Ye Ling alone in the vast white space.
"What… does this guy want to do?"
Ye Ling forced himself to calm down, retracting all the demonic energy that swirled around him.
He had to admit that his state of mind had fluctuated greatly after hearing what the inner demon phantom had said, and he had acted impulsively.
He should have kept the inner demon phantom to interrogate for further details.
"The inner demon deliberately said those things just to provoke me. Its power must have increased considerably… If this continues, I might actually be devoured by the inner demon."
"But… something feels off…"
Ye Ling's mind was somewhat chaotic, but he couldn't dwell on it at the moment. He could only leave this space and return to the ancient ruins.
Yang Jian and Xiaotian Quan were still guarding the side, and the battle within the ruins remained fierce.
However, Ye Ling's mood was completely different from before.
Yang Jian could sense the change in Ye Ling's aura, and his eyes shifted slightly. He said solemnly, "You look unwell. Did something happen?"
Ye Ling shook his head and said, "It's my personal matter and has nothing to do with our cooperation."
Before entering the ancient ruins, Ye Ling had left a clone outside in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
The Red Dust Pavilion had not yet begun the sacrificial ritual, and there was no trace of Xiao You in the human world. He still had time to deal with the aftermath here in the ancient ruins.
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, Yang Jian didn't press further and instead asked, "What are your plans now? Since Xuan Xiao could bring me that brocade pouch, it means he knows about our cooperation. He won't trust me anymore, and I'm afraid anything I do will be useless."
Ye Ling replied, "Let's put Xuan Xiao aside for now. He's not a threat in the short term. I have more important matters to attend to. If I need you later, I'll find you."
With that, Ye Ling took the corpse of the Three Yuan Star Lord and flew towards the statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord.
Yang Jian was stunned, unable to react for a moment.
After learning that Xiao You might be controlled by his inner demon, Ye Ling's thoughts had become a mess. Although he appeared outwardly calm, his mood was exceptionally restless.
Ye Ling didn't want to bother with Xuan Xiao's affairs at the moment. He just wanted to finish dealing with the ancient ruins quickly and then return to Shanghai to deal with the Red Dust Pavilion's sacrificial ritual.
The statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord contained the power of a sage. Although it had no independent cultivation and moved extremely slowly, it could still suppress Nezha and the heavenly soldiers and generals with its sheer strength.
Meanwhile, at Jiu Ling's side, the Mother of Calamity had been suppressed by her, its aura continuously declining, appearing as if it could be subdued by Jiu Ling at any moment.
Li Jing was currently overwhelmed and agitated by the statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord and the Mother of Calamity.
If it weren't for Jiu Ling's help, the hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals would have been completely routed by now.
The Heavenly Court needed the help of demonic beasts from the human world to suppress the demonic calamity, which was a great humiliation for the Heavenly Court.
However, despite feeling humiliated, Li Jing had no choice but to rely on Ye Ling's power.
When Li Jing saw Ye Ling flying over, he didn't dare to delay. He immediately went forward and bowed, saying, "Thanks to the help of the Emperor's spirit beast, the Mother of Calamity has been suppressed. Otherwise, with the Mother of Calamity and the statue attacking together, we would likely not be able to resist."
Ye Ling said indifferently, "Tell your men to withdraw. I have urgent matters and need to return. I don't feel at ease leaving this here for you to handle."
"This…"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Li Jing was also stunned and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Although he trusted Ye Ling's strength, with the tone Ye Ling was using, it was as if he wasn't leaving any room for the heavenly soldiers and generals to escape disaster!
Furthermore, Ye Ling wanting to deal with the Mother of Calamity and the statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord alone seemed like a fantasy to Li Jing!
No matter how strong Ye Ling was, he didn't need to show off.
Li Jing smiled and said, "It's good that the Emperor is going out, and I believe in your strength. However, the enemy's power should not be underestimated. We still have many heavenly soldiers. If we assist you from the side, we can…"
Ye Ling interrupted, "There's no need for such trouble. Have everyone withdraw, lest I get hurt."
Seeing Ye Ling insist on him withdrawing his troops, Li Jing felt a hint of displeasure, but he still said, "Since the Emperor insists, I can't say much more. If you can't hold on, just call us for assistance, and you don't need to feel embarrassed then."
Ye Ling didn't respond to Li Jing's expression of dissatisfaction, only looking at the statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord and the Mother of Calamity ahead with a detached gaze.
He no longer had the mind to think about anything else. He just wanted to resolve the trouble here and leave quickly.
Li Jing immediately issued the order, striking the gong to recall the troops.
Upon hearing the horn, the heavenly soldiers and generals who were fighting immediately obeyed and withdrew, showing no desire to continue the battle!
"Father, why are you suddenly recalling the troops?"
With the withdrawal of the heavenly soldiers and generals, Nezha alone could not withstand the attack of the statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord. He immediately retreated and questioned Li Jing.
Li Jing said, "The Emperor wants to deal with the statue and the Mother of Calamity alone. You can retreat for now!"
Hearing Li Jing's words, Nezha stared at Ye Ling with disbelief, "You want to deal with the statue and the Mother of Calamity alone? Are you crazy?"
"You guys pack up, and you can return to the Heavenly Court."
Ye Ling said indifferently, then went to the clouds and looked at the statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord, which was constantly moving towards the human world, and the Mother of Calamity, which was still fighting with Jiu Ling.
"This guy…" Nezha looked at Ye Ling's retreating back, grinding his teeth in anger, wishing he could fight Ye Ling right now to curb Ye Ling's arrogance!
"Jiu Ling, come back." Ye Ling called out softly, his indifferent voice echoing through the sky, filling the entire ancient ruins space.
"Emperor?"
Jiu Ling heard that Ye Ling's voice was a little off. She immediately broke free from the Mother of Calamity, transformed into human form, and flew to Ye Ling's front, asking with concern, "What happened?"
"Leave this to me. You retreat."
With that, Ye Ling flew directly towards the Mother of Calamity and the statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord.
After being freed from Jiu Ling's suppression, the Mother of Calamity's aura surged again. A large number of tentacles emerged from the ground, shredding the space.
Boom!!!
Nezha felt the rapidly expanding power of the Mother of Calamity and became even more anxious. He quickly questioned Li Jing, "The Mother of Calamity has gone berserk. Father, are you just going to let Ye Ling mess around like this?"
Li Jing smiled bitterly, "I originally wanted you to assist him and suppress this demonic calamity together, but Ye Ling insisted on going alone. I couldn't do anything."
"You agreed just because he wanted to go alone?" Nezha was confused. "You are the commander of a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals. If you don't order a retreat, why would the heavenly soldiers and generals retreat!"
"Now Ye Ling is trying to be a hero alone. If he gets killed by the Mother of Calamity, who will bear the responsibility?"
Li Jing sighed heavily, "You've seen the strength of the Mother of Calamity and that statue. If Yang Jian doesn't make a move, you and the heavenly soldiers and generals alone won't be able to stop them."
"If it weren't for the help of Ye Ling's spirit beast, we would have been routed long ago. If I don't go along with Ye Ling now, and he gets angry and leaves with his spirit beast, then we really won't be able to stop the Mother of Calamity and the statue. That would be a real problem."
"If he wants to be a hero, let him show off. You protect him from the side. If Ye Ling shows signs of defeat, you go up to help immediately."
"If you and Ye Ling join forces, and I lead the remaining heavenly soldiers to assist, it will be enough to quell this calamity."
Hearing Li Jing's words, Nezha could only sigh, his gaze towards Ye Ling's back filled with displeasure, "I say, you… why are you showing off for no reason?"
In Nezha's mind, even if Ye Ling could defeat the Mother of Calamity, he was definitely no match for the statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord!
Ye Ling's show of strength was meaningless except to embarrass himself.
For a moment, all the heavenly soldiers and generals, all eyes, were focused on Ye Ling.
There was confusion, worry, and even mockery.
No one believed that Ye Ling could deal with the two great calamities, the statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord and the Mother of Calamity, by himself.
They didn't understand Ye Ling's actions.
Ye Ling ignored the gazes focused on him, looked indifferently at the Mother of Calamity and the statue of the Three Yuan Star Lord, raised his hand slightly, and slashed horizontally.
Chii!
Space, statue, Mother of Calamity…
Cut into two halves!
The world fell silent.