Suddenly, Zi Yue coughed violently, and several mouthfuls of blood spilled continuously from her lips while her body trembled weakly within the forest.

The spiritual Qi around her had become chaotic once more after forcefully resisting the Blood Soul Sovereign’s possession and then immediately battling three demonic cultivators afterward. Even though she succeeded in killing two of them instantly, the burden placed upon her soul and body clearly remained enormous.

After all, she used the remaining spiritual Qi of the sovereign against them. Since the Spiritual Qi was incompatible with her current cultivation, her body and soul were severely injured afterward.

The remaining demonic cultivator stared at her in complete disbelief while blood continuously flowed from his severed arm.

"You..."

His voice shook uncontrollably from shock and fear.

"...You actually defeated Master’s soul?"

Even now, he sounded awestruck beyond belief because what Zi Yue defeated was not some weak wandering spirit or remnant soul left behind by an ordinary cultivator.

The being inside her body earlier was the Blood Soul Sovereign himself, a terrifying Nascent Soul cultivator whose name once caused sects and kingdoms to tremble in fear.

Yet somehow...

This woman in front of him had survived.

Not only survived, she actually won.

The demonic cultivator slowly approached Zi Yue with hesitation while keeping his remaining eye fixed upon her weak figure. His body was still trembling violently from the earlier attack, but his confusion now outweighed his terror for a brief moment.

Slowly, he grabbed Zi Yue’s robes roughly and lifted her slightly upward.

His eyes carefully studied her body.

"I truly cannot believe this..."

His voice became quieter while disbelief filled every word.

"A mere Core Formation cultivator resisted the soul possession of a Nascent Soul expert..."

He shook his head repeatedly as though trying to force himself awake from a dream.

"This should have been impossible from the very beginning."

The demonic cultivator narrowed his eyes while inspecting her more closely.

"Even your spirit roots are not heaven defying enough to explain such a thing. Your cultivation is not high enough either. Your spiritual sense should have collapsed long ago beneath Master’s pressure."

His breathing slowly became heavier.

"Could it be your dao heart?"

Immediately, he shook his head.

"No..."

"Or perhaps your soul experienced some transformation beforehand?"

The more he looked at her, the more confused and unsettled he became because nothing about Zi Yue made sense anymore. Everything regarding her survival completely contradicted the Blood Soul Sect’s understanding of soul cultivation.

But alas, she’s already spent.

Not threat anymore.

Then suddenly...

The demonic cultivator froze completely. Because something suddenly felt wrong.

Very wrong.

At first, he thought the wind changed direction strangely, but then he realized the sensation was not wind at all.

His robes...

Were slowly and forcefully being lifted upward.

The demonic cultivator’s expression stiffened immediately.

His heartbeat accelerated violently.

Then slowly... Very slowly...

He raised his head upward.

And the moment he saw what stood above the heavens themselves...

His mind nearly shattered.

The world disappeared entirely before his eyes.

A colossal existence loomed beyond the sky itself like an ancient unknowable god staring downward upon insects crawling beneath its feet.

The being possessed no visible face from his perspective. No clear end. No understandable form. Only a terrifying silhouette vast enough to swallow the heavens themselves.

Its fingers resembled mountain ranges. Its skin looked like endless heavenly walls stretching infinitely across existence. Its shadow completely covered the land below.

The demonic cultivator’s breathing instantly stopped.

To him...

Clayne no longer resembled a human being.

He looked like a faceless heavenly existence beyond comprehension itself.

An ancient god. A terrifying immortal.

Perhaps even something beyond immortals entirely.

The demonic cultivator’s soul trembled violently from pure instinctive fear. Even Nascent Soul cultivators would probably collapse before such a being. The pressure alone felt enough to crush his spirit into nothingness.

Then suddenly—

His body lifted upward helplessly into the sky.

The giant fingers effortlessly held him between them like dust caught by the heavens.

The demonic cultivator instantly began screaming in terror. "Senior Deity!"

His voice cracked repeatedly while his entire body trembled nonstop.

"Please spare this lowly one!"

"This junior truly did not know this sacred land belonged to Senior!"

"If I knew, even with ten thousand lives, this humble one would never dare intrude upon Senior’s divine territory!"

The demonic cultivator desperately kowtowed while trapped between the giant fingers.

"Please forgive this ignorant ant!"

"This humble one merely followed traces left behind by that woman earlier!"

"I swear I possessed no intention of offending Senior Deity!"

His words came faster and faster while panic completely overwhelmed him.

"I still have value!"

"I know cultivation methods!"

"I know demonic arts!"

"I know sect secrets!"

"I know hidden caves and spiritual resource locations!"

"Please spare me!"

The demonic cultivator nearly cried from fear while bowing desperately again and again.

Meanwhile, Clayne quietly listened while trying not to look awkward about the situation.

Honestly, seeing the demonic cultivator this terrified felt extremely strange because from Clayne’s perspective, he was simply a normal guy holding a tiny screaming person between his fingers.

Still...

He immediately realized this was a perfect opportunity to gather more information regarding cultivation.

So he calmly pretended.

"You know her?"

He pointed slightly toward Zi Yue.

The demonic cultivator instantly reacted like a drowning man grabbing onto hope.

"Yes!"

"Yes, Senior!"

His expression immediately changed.

"That woman deceived us!"

"It was her that lured us here!"

"If this junior knew Senior Deity resided within this sacred valley, I absolutely would never dare approach!"

The demonic cultivator hurriedly explained while fear filled every word.

"That woman escaped repeatedly while carrying the vessel our Master desired. We merely followed her traces until arriving here!"

His breathing became uneven.

"She clearly knew this was Senior’s territory!"

"She intentionally brought disaster upon us!"

"This humble one truly entered by accident!"

The demonic cultivator bowed repeatedly.

"Senior Deity, please understand!"

"Our Blood Soul Sect has already fallen into ruin!"

"We are merely surviving remnants trying desperately to survive in this cruel cultivation world!"

"We only wished to revive Master so our sect could rise once more!"

His face twisted emotionally.

"If we offended Senior, it was purely because of ignorance!"

"Please forgive this lowly one!"

Clayne narrowed his eyes slightly.

"...Don’t lie."

The demonic cultivator nearly collapsed.

"I would never dare lie before Senior Deity!"

His voice trembled violently.

"That woman was specifically chosen because Master intended to perform soul replacement through her body!"

"She was destined to become Master’s vessel!"

The demonic cultivator quickly explained further.

"Master’s soul preservation method required someone talented enough to survive possession. That woman perfectly satisfied the conditions!"

"She resisted stubbornly the entire time!"

"She even nearly destroyed her own spirit sea rather than surrender willingly!"

The demonic cultivator swallowed nervously.

"But who could have expected she would actually defeat Master’s soul..."

Even now, disbelief still filled his expression.

"This junior truly cannot understand how she accomplished such a thing."

Clayne remained quiet briefly before speaking calmly again.

"Zi Yue is my acquaintance."

The moment those words descended from above, the demonic cultivator’s expression immediately changed once more.

"Although we do not know each other deeply..."

Clayne continued thoughtfully.

"I am relatively satisfied with her."

Immediately, he scooped her up in his other hand.

Instantly—

The demonic cultivator adapted shamelessly.

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Senior Deity speaks correctly!"

"That Zi Yue truly possesses heaven defying talent!"

"To resist a Nascent Soul soul takeover despite only reaching Core Formation..."

The demonic cultivator shook his head repeatedly in fake admiration.

"Such talent is practically monstrous!"

"No wonder Senior Deity views her favorably!"

"That woman’s dao heart is absolutely extraordinary!"

"She is more than worthy of becoming Senior’s acquaintance!"

The demonic cultivator immediately changed sides completely.

"Even this junior admired her greatly earlier!"

Meanwhile, Zi Yue weakly coughed from Clayne’s other palm while blood stained the corner of her lips again.

"Senior..."

Her voice sounded weak but firm.

She slowly looked toward the demonic cultivator.

"Please..."

"He killed disciples of my sect..."

"Senior Deity... he must die..."

The demonic cultivator immediately panicked.

"No!"

"No!"

"That is false!"

His face twisted anxiously.

"Senior Deity, please do not listen blindly!"

"Cultivators kill one another constantly over resources and inheritances!"

"Her sect attacked us first!"

"We merely defended ourselves!"

His words rushed out desperately.

"Furthermore, many of those disciples died before this junior even arrived!"

"That woman merely seeks revenge!"

"She wishes to manipulate Senior emotionally!"

The demonic cultivator bowed repeatedly again.

"This humble one truly means no harm!"

"I only wish to survive!"

Clayne frowned slightly afterward before calmly speaking again.

"Do not misunderstand."

His voice remained steady.

"I am curious about immortal cultivators."

"Cultivation methods."

"Techniques."

"Sects."

"Spells."

"Spiritual beasts."

"Everything."

His eyes drifted toward the tiny world thoughtfully.

"The existence of cultivation itself interests me greatly."

His fingers slowly tapped against the air.

"But..."

Clayne’s tone became colder.

"That does not mean I enjoy being ordered around."

Inside his heart, Clayne genuinely disliked the feeling of being controlled. Even before the apocalypse, he hated when people constantly tried forcing their expectations and decisions upon him. Now that he possessed power, that feeling only became stronger.

He would help if he wanted.

Not because someone demanded it.

The demonic cultivator instantly reacted again.

"Aha!"

"Exactly!"

His face brightened immediately.

"How could someone beneath the heavens dare command Senior Deity!"

The demonic cultivator immediately turned toward Zi Yue mockingly.

"You foolish woman!"

"You actually attempted ordering a supreme existence!"

"Do you think Senior Deity is some righteous sect elder beneath your command?"

"Hah!"

"You truly overestimate yourself!"

The demonic cultivator laughed nervously while continuing to insult her.

"Even your so-called talent only exists because the Senior Deity showed favor!"

"Without Senior’s divine blessing, you would already belong entirely to our Master!"

"You should kneel gratefully instead of making demands!"

Zi Yue’s expression immediately became colder.

But before she could respond—

Clayne suddenly added calmly,

"I will decide based on usefulness."

The demonic cultivator instantly froze.

Clayne continued speaking.

"I need someone capable of teaching me more regarding cultivation."

His gaze slowly drifted between the two of them.

"So whichever one satisfies my curiosity more..."

He paused briefly.

"...Maybe I will help them."

The moment those words descended, the demonic cultivator immediately became excited.

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"This junior knows countless things!"

He instantly began speaking rapidly.

"I know pill refinement!"

"I know demonic cultivation techniques!"

"I know formations!"

"I know hidden cultivation caves!"

His eyes brightened desperately.

"Senior Deity, cultivation contains endless paths!"

"There are sword cultivators capable of splitting mountains apart!"

"There are body cultivators who refine themselves into living weapons!"

"There are pill masters capable of extending lifespan and healing impossible injuries!"

"There are formation masters capable of trapping entire sects within killing arrays!"

The more he spoke, the more enthusiastic he became.

"There are illusion techniques!"

"Soul attacks!"

"Corpse refinement methods!"

"Dual cultivation arts!"

"Flying treasures!"

"Beast taming inheritances!"

"Poison scriptures!"

"Blood rituals!"

The demonic cultivator nearly shouted from excitement.

"There are spiritual pills capable of cleansing marrow entirely!"

"There are spirit stones used as cultivation currency!"

"There are heavenly flames!"

"Secret realms!"

"Ancient inheritances!"

"There are even legends regarding immortals capable of crossing worlds themselves!"

His breathing became increasingly hurried.

"Senior Deity, this junior can explain everything!"

"Our Blood Soul Sect specialized in soul cultivation!"

"We refined spiritual blood pills!"

"We cultivated soul avatars!"

"We even researched methods capable of transferring consciousness between bodies would fascinate Senior."

"Not just that Senior, I have a lot more that can pique the interest of Senior."

The more he explained...

The more interested Clayne became.

Honestly, hearing all this directly felt far more exciting than reading online novels in the past because this was no longer fantasy.

This was real.

Actual cultivation.

Real immortal paths.

Real techniques.

Most of all, would absolutely be a help to his current situation.

Clayne slowly nodded.

"...Hmm."

"Interesting."

Then suddenly—Zi Yue weakly raised her head.

"Wait..."