"Hmph! If it weren't for my master going to conquer the lower realms, how would I have ended up like this?"
Ye Ling glared at Lord Zhouye and said sternly, "I don't care who you are. If you dare to kill me, you'd better be prepared for my master to seek revenge on you!"
Seeing Ye Ling's fearless demeanor, Lord Zhouye was somewhat intimidated. His gaze sharpened slightly.
Then, Lord Zhouye's expression softened. He removed the chains around Ye Ling and smiled at him, "Young brother, I'm afraid there's been some misunderstanding between us."
"Let's leave here and talk in the main hall to clear up this misunderstanding."
Lord Zhouye didn't know if Ye Ling was telling the truth, but he didn't dare to gamble. If it were true, he might escape, but his Witch Palace would definitely be destroyed!
He didn't want to risk his entire Witch Palace for such a trivial matter!
Seeing that Lord Zhouye had backed down, Ye Ling became even more audacious. He remained seated in the water prison and said to Lord Zhouye, "I actually find it quite comfortable here... I'll stay in this prison."
"Either kill me here, and I'll take your Witch Palace down with me! Or wait for my master to arrive, and then you can reason with him!"
Xiang Yue, standing beside them, saw Ye Ling's confidence growing and Lord Zhouye's hesitation. He gradually realized that he seemed to have caused a huge problem and became anxious.
He dared not let the situation escalate further and quickly said to Ye Ling, "Brother, all this misunderstanding is my fault. We were just attacking the Soul Capturing Sect earlier, and we didn't expect you to be escorted by their disciples. Our disciples were blind and mistook you for a Soul Capturing Sect disciple."
"The situation was chaotic at the time, and you killed people from my Witch Palace during the conflict, which is why our conflict escalated."
Ye Ling snorted coldly, "I finally broke free from the seal and regained my freedom. Your people came to kill me, so how could I not kill them?"
"If Brother truly blames me, I will bear the responsibility alone," Xiang Yue continued to apologize to Ye Ling.
He had already implicitly acknowledged that Ye Ling came from a powerful sect.
Seeing Xiang Yue lower his stance, Ye Ling knew that if he continued to push his luck, he might completely enrage Lord Zhouye. His expression immediately softened, and he then said to Xiang Yue, "Actually, I should thank you, brother. If you hadn't rescued me from those Soul Capturing Sect members, the Primordial Spirit Fire I was guarding would have truly been snatched away by those fellows!"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Lord Zhouye's eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked Ye Ling, "Young brother, what exactly is this Primordial Spirit Fire you are guarding? I've never heard of it."
Ye Ling said, "It's just a treasure guarded by my clan. Few people outside know about it, so it's normal that you haven't heard of it."
Ye Ling's statement, however, piqued Lord Zhouye's interest, and he continued to ask, "Young brother, you don't need to be so guarded. While I may not be a righteous person, I am not one to seize things by force, and I have no intention of coveting your Primordial Spirit Fire."
"It's just that I've never heard of such a divine object in this world, so I'm quite curious."
Ye Ling said arrogantly, "So, barbarians are just barbarians, not even having heard of the Primordial Spirit Fire."
Hearing Ye Ling's arrogant words, a hint of gloom flashed in the depths of Lord Zhouye's eyes, but he still smiled at Ye Ling without changing his expression and asked, "Then can you, young brother, enlighten me?"
"No, let's wait until my master arrives before we talk."
Ye Ling refused without hesitation, then directly sat down in the cold water prison, closed his eyes to meditate, and paid no further attention to Lord Zhouye and Xiang Yue.
"Sect Master, this..."
Seeing Ye Ling stubbornly remaining in the water prison, Xiang Yue looked towards Lord Zhouye, awaiting his instructions.
He had never expected things to develop in this direction.
Lord Zhouye, seeing Ye Ling's confident attitude, became even more convinced that Ye Ling had a powerful supreme being behind him. He frowned, then said to Xiang Yue, "Go arrange a superior room for young brother, and personally invite him over."
"Yes, disciple will attend to it immediately!" Xiang Yue quickly replied and hurried away from the water prison to arrange a guest room for Ye Ling.
After Xiang Yue left, Lord Zhouye took another deep look at Ye Ling, then said solemnly, "Young brother, I see that you are young, so I am advising you kindly."
"Youth should not be too arrogant. Even if you have a good master, the path ahead still needs to be walked by yourself. If you were to perish here today, I believe your master would be very sad."
"At most, I would lose my Witch Palace. If you truly want to exchange your life for my sect, I am willing to accompany you."
"Young brother, I have said all I can. Take care of yourself!"
With that, Lord Zhouye flicked his sleeves and left.
Seeing Lord Zhouye leave, the World-Destroying Spirit Fire couldn't help but ask Ye Ling, "Kid, what were you playing at just now? I don't understand."
"This is called playing hard to get," Ye Ling smiled slightly. "The more arrogant I appear, the more they will believe I have a supreme being behind me, and the more real your identity will seem."
The World-Destroying Spirit Fire asked again, "But I don't think Lord Zhouye is that afraid of your 'master.' Aren't you afraid he'll turn hostile?"
"I want him to turn hostile!" Ye Ling chuckled. "If he's afraid, how can he snatch you from me?"
"His attitude of wanting to kill me yet being somewhat hesitant is the most perfect development."
The World-Destroying Spirit Fire nodded as if it understood, "Alright... what you said makes some sense. Anyway, as long as I play the part of the Primordial Spirit Fire and act as your inside informant, right?"
"I thought Lord Zhouye would just snatch me away, but I didn't expect him to be so cautious!"
"After all, the other party is a supreme being who rules a region, and we are of unknown origin. It's normal for him to be cautious," Ye Ling said with a light smile, not at all surprised by Lord Zhouye's actions.
In order for Lord Zhouye to take the bait, he had even captured a few elders from the Soul Capturing Sect and subtly altered their memories.
Even if Lord Zhouye went to verify with the Soul Capturing Sect, as long as Lord Zhouye didn't confront the supreme beings of the Soul Capturing Sect directly, his identity would not be exposed.
Furthermore, the Witch Palace and the Soul Capturing Sect were currently at war, so the chance of Lord Zhouye having a face-to-face conversation with the supreme beings of the Soul Capturing Sect was almost zero.
Ye Ling was not worried about his plan being exposed.
"Kid, what if something goes wrong with the Soul Capturing Sect?"
The World-Destroying Spirit Fire began to worry about problems with the Soul Capturing Sect again and asked Ye Ling, "We don't have the ability to alter the memories of supreme beings. Once Lord Zhouye meets with the supreme beings of the Soul Capturing Sect, we'll be exposed!"
"If we're that unlucky, I'll accept it," Ye Ling shrugged. "After all, it's not the first or second time our plans have gone awry."
"Plans never keep up with changes. If everything could be perfectly calculated, it would be too boring. Regarding the matter of Long Yu, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, the World-Destroying Spirit Fire was no longer worried and sighed, "That's right... we'll face the challenges as they come, and take it one step at a time!"