Ye Ling looked at the mass of black energy before him, his hand hovering at the edge of touching it. He then asked the young man, "As long as I touch it, that's enough, right?"
The young man smiled and said, "Of course. If you want Su Ruoxue to live, Emperor, you have no choice but to do this."
"Don't worry, it will only extract your final power, nothing else."
"I understand." Ye Ling's lips curved into a slight smile. Demonic energy emanated from his palm, coiling around the black mass.
The young man was stunned by this turn of events, a premonition of something ominous surging within him. He quickly asked, "What are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Ye Ling chuckled, seizing the black mass, which was now isolated by his demonic energy, and hurled it fiercely at the young man. "I'm returning it to you!"
The black mass shot out like lightning, directly entering the young man's body.
Ye Ling's sudden action caused the members of the Shadow Hall, who were hiding behind the spatial gate, to erupt in chaos!
"Xiao Qing!"
Ye Ling called out softly. Without hesitation, Xu Xiao Qing, who was behind him, immediately rushed into the spatial passage Ye Ling had opened behind her, arriving at the spatial gate behind the young man!
The other Shadow Hall members had not anticipated that Ye Ling could open another spatial passage. Before they could react, Xu Xiao Qing swiftly grabbed the unconscious Su Ruoxue, pulled her into the spatial passage, and returned to Ye Ling's side!
The spatial passage closed!
"When did you...?"
The young man's eyes were bloodshot, filled with utter shock, as he saw Xu Xiao Qing appearing behind Ye Ling with Su Ruoxue.
Everything was lost!
However, the young man's shock quickly turned to agony.
The black energy that had entered his body began to relentlessly drain his life force, causing him to age visibly and his aura to plummet.
"No, it shouldn't be like this..."
The young man roared. In less than three seconds, before he could even scream, he was reduced to a withered husk by the black energy, a truly terrifying sight!
"This guy is indeed a liar!" Ye You looked at the young man being consumed by the black energy, a lingering sense of fear in her heart.
If she or her brother had touched the black energy earlier, they would have met the same fate as the young man!
"Ye Ling!"
After the young man was devoured by the black energy and Su Ruoxue was rescued, the other four members of the Shadow Hall, who had been hiding behind the spatial gate, all rushed out. They stared intently at Ye Ling, their faces extremely grim, seemingly enraged by Su Ruoxue's escape!
Ye Ling ignored the charging Shadow Hall members and quickly turned to check on Su Ruoxue's condition.
Xu Xiao Qing quickly asked, "Senior, is she alright?"
Xu Xiao Qing did not recognize Su Ruoxue. However, when the young man had threatened Ye Ling earlier, Ye Ling had quietly transmitted a message to her, instructing her to pass through the spatial passage and rescue Su Ruoxue.
Ye Ling himself had mastered the laws of space and possessed profound attainments in this domain. Even though the Shadow Hall had opened a separate space here, with only one exit, Ye Ling could still use the laws of space to covertly open another passage.
Furthermore, the undefinable nature of the Primordial Chaos allowed it to completely conceal the fluctuations of spatial laws!
All Ye Ling needed was a little time to rescue Su Ruoxue.
It was clear that the Shadow Hall members had been deceived.
Seeing that Ye Ling was ignoring them, boundless anger flared in the eyes of the Shadow Hall members. They said sternly, "Ye Ling, even if you save Su Ruoxue this time, as long as the final power remains, those around you will never know peace!"
"Noisy."
Boom!
Ye Ling uttered a soft word, and the Shadow Hall members suddenly felt an unimaginable gravity pressing down on their shoulders, forcing their knees to buckle.
Bang bang!
The Shadow Hall members all fell to their knees, pinned down and unable to move.
Ye You did not even glance at them, instead asking Ye Ling with concern, "Brother, is Sister Ruoxue alright?"
"She's not seriously injured. It's likely just extreme shock that caused her to faint."
After injecting a small amount of his spiritual energy into Su Ruoxue to nourish her soul, Ye Ling handed Su Ruoxue over to Ye You's care and turned his attention to the Shadow Hall members.
The kneeling Shadow Hall members couldn't help but show a flicker of fear as Ye Ling's gaze fell upon them.
They knew there was a vast difference between themselves and Ye Ling, but they had never expected the gap to be so immense!
They were unable to move even an inch while kneeling on the ground.
Simply enduring Ye Ling's aura made it difficult for them to breathe!
Ye Ling calmly looked at the Shadow Hall members and took a step forward. The surrounding overlapping spaces immediately collapsed, and everyone was returned to the basement of the Shanbu Villa!
Now that Su Ruoxue had been rescued, Ye Ling had no more reservations. He could shatter the surrounding spaces with a single step!
The Shadow Hall members' pupils contracted sharply as they witnessed Ye Ling shatter the space they had painstakingly constructed with a single stomp. Despair flickered in their eyes!
With such a colossal disparity, they saw no hope of turning the tables!
Ye Ling calmly approached the Shadow Hall members and, with a single hand, drew one of them towards him.
Ye Ling grabbed the man's head and poured his demonic energy into it!
"Ahhhhhh!" The man let out a piercing scream, his face contorted in extreme agony.
The other Shadow Hall members, kneeling to the side, trembled uncontrollably upon hearing their companion's screams. They all lowered their heads, their faces covered in sweat.
It was only then that they realized the being standing before them was a demon!
Their earlier threats to Ye Ling were not only suicidal...
But would also plunge them into an abyss where survival was a luxury and even death was unattainable!
One of the Shadow Hall members, unable to bear the fear, quickly said to Ye Ling, "Ye Ling, please grant us a swift..."
Before the Shadow Hall member could finish speaking, Ye Ling's demonic energy surged into his head as well, corroding his body.
Another person let out a shrill scream.
Ye Ling looked at the remaining two trembling cultivators and said indifferently, "Since death is a reward for returning to your master's embrace, have you ever considered that falling into my hands now would make even death a distant hope?"
"Since you chose to provoke me, you should have been prepared for such consequences."
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, the remaining two cultivators trembled even more violently. They dared not look up, their rationality gradually being consumed by fear!
Behind them, Ye You and Xu Xiao Qing fell silent as they watched Ye Ling's back, both feeling that an angered Ye Ling was like a completely different person, his demeanor vastly altered from before!
If Ye Ling's previous demeanor was that of a gentle, friendly older brother, then the current Ye Ling was like a bloodthirsty demon king, bringing only fear to the world!
"Brother..."
Ye You gazed at Ye Ling's retreating figure, a complex emotion flashing in her beautiful eyes. "Is this the real you..."
"In the Eastern Xuan Continent... what exactly did you go through?"