Furious energy slammed into the palace, making it hum and vibrate.

The four hovering masses of Wood Essence vanished in an instant, snatched up by four pairs of True Essence Hands.

Mengg Yiren obtained one mass of Wood Essence, quickly stored it away, and retreated to the side.

Beize Sheng, following close behind Ye Wushuang, also moved a step ahead of the others to seize a mass of Wood Essence.

Ye Wushuang’s hands shot out, grabbing two of the masses.

Just then, Feng Yang’s hand also closed in on one of them.

Ye Wushuang glanced over and said calmly, "I promised you one. I always keep my word."

Ye Wushuang collected one mass and handed the other to Feng Yang.

Feng Yang hastily secured it, stored it away, and turned to give Ye Wushuang a deep, searching look.

’Wood Essence is a life-extending treasure, a Healing Holy Medicine. It’s far too precious. Anyone else would have surely kept it for themselves. Who would share it?’

’And Ye Wushuang could have taken both for himself.’

’Yet, simply because of his promise, Ye Wushuang had given one away without a second thought. This made Feng Yang’s estimation of him rise even higher.’

’At the very least, it proved that befriending Ye Wushuang was worth it.’

Of course, with only four masses of Wood Essence, it was a case of too many wolves and not enough meat. Lupao, Tu Qianqian, Ao Wuchang, and Yuh Yuzhen had come up empty-handed, and their faces were contorted with envy and rage.

Pairs of icy gazes, filled with killing intent, simultaneously turned toward Ye Wushuang. The Wood Essence should have been within their grasp, but because Ye Wushuang had blocked their path, they had lost the initiative.

Now that Ye Wushuang had a mass of Wood Essence, how could they possibly let him go? One by one, they greedily closed in on him.

’That mass of Wood Essence on Ye Wushuang is ours!’

"Let’s kill him together. You can have his life, I want his corpse. As for the Wood Essence, it’s every man for himself," Tu Qianqian said with a sinister grin.

BOOM!

The moment Tu Qianqian finished speaking, the crowd that had rushed to the peak of the Ancient Tree charged at Ye Wushuang, intent on killing him.

Ye Wushuang’s expression darkened. Four of the strongest disciples at the Spiritual Spring Fourth Layer, backed by their respective teams—this was a terrifying force.

Watching the crowd rush toward him, Ye Wushuang considered his options, not a trace of fear in his heart. ’These people are strong, but if I use the Dragon Blood Killing Sword, I can undoubtedly kill every last one of them.’

’However, the Dragon Blood Killing Sword is my trump card against the old monsters of the Yin Yang Realm. If I use it, it means that for a short while afterward, I’ll be a sitting duck if I run into a Yin Yang Realm expert.’

’So, for now, my only option is to risk using the Supreme Transformation True Demon to forcibly kill them all.’

’As for Beize Sheng and Mengg Yiren... I’m confident Dii Qingxue can handle them on her own.’

As he watched the crowd close in, Ye Wushuang prepared to unleash the Supreme Transformation True Demon. But just then, something strange happened behind him.

CREAK!

The massive doors of a palace directly behind him abruptly swung open.

This sudden development drew the attention of the entire bloodthirsty crowd, their gazes shifting to the open doors.

Ye Wushuang’s eyes narrowed. After a moment’s hesitation, he turned and dashed inside.

The entire group immediately gave chase, following him inside.

One of the Illusion Race disciples transformed into a giant roc and took the lead, charging inside.

AARGH!

But the moment he charged inside, the Illusion Race disciple let out a pained scream. Reverting to his original form, he came tumbling back out, clutching his head.

Yuh Yuzhen, who had been charging at the front, abruptly folded her wings and halted. She stared at the Illusion Race disciple; he was already bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

"What happened?"

Ao Wuchang asked, his face grim.

"It’s... terrifying in there... don’t go..." Before the Illusion Race disciple could finish, his head exploded in a horrifying burst.

Yuh Yuzhen swept her Divine Sense through the palace but found nothing. "Damn it," she said grimly. "Is Ye Wushuang playing some kind of trick?"

Tu Qianqian also scanned the palace’s interior. Gazing at the dead Illusion Race disciple, he said, "He said it was dangerous inside, but he didn’t mention Ye Wushuang. It’s probably not him. There must be some other danger within the palace."

"There’s nothing in this palace besides Ye Wushuang. What other danger could there be?" Ao Wuchang said coldly.

"If there’s nothing, then why don’t you go test it out?"

Lupao retorted, turning to Ao Wuchang.

The other two also turned to look at him.

Seeing this, Ao Wuchang snorted and turned his face away. ’He knew exactly what the three of them were thinking.’

While the four of them hesitated outside, Ye Wushuang collapsed to the ground inside the palace. He was drenched in sweat, his face deathly pale.

He felt an agony akin to being sliced by a thousand blades. His features twisted in pain, and trickles of blood seeped from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It felt as if he were about to explode.

He had previously sensed no danger in the palace, which was why he’d planned to lure the group inside and use the Supreme Transformation True Demon to slaughter them all.

’But the moment I rushed in, I realized I’d made a rookie mistake.’

’Just because I couldn’t detect any danger didn’t mean there wasn’t any!’

The moment he stepped into the palace, a mysterious force assaulted him. Ye Wushuang’s soul felt as if it were being pierced by ten thousand swords—a pain that seared his very spirit.

His head felt as if it had been struck by an unparalleled Divine Artifact, on the verge of bursting.

Worse, his Cultivation was suppressed in this place, making it difficult to even circulate his True Essence.

"Damn it all! The Soul Power in this palace is horrifying! Kid, get out of here, now! The Soul Power in here is strong enough to kill you!"

The Dragon Cat, having retreated into the Chaos Space, had sensed something was wrong and was shouting in alarm.

Ye Wushuang might not have understood, but the Dragon Cat knew just how formidable Soul Power could be.

Ye Wushuang cursed inwardly. ’My head feels like it’s about to split open, and my body feels like it’s being crushed under ten thousand mountains. I can’t even move, let alone retreat.’

’I’ve really screwed up this time!’

Ye Wushuang gave a bitter smile. One small mistake had led to a life-threatening crisis.

’Under the influence of this Soul Power, it wouldn’t matter how many people came after me; their heads would just explode and they’d die.’

’But I can’t die yet!’

’If I die, I’m afraid all of Master’s hard work will have been for nothing.’

’And Qing’er and my sister... they won’t be able to escape the Destructive Tribulation!’

These thoughts gave him a reason to fight on. He wracked his brain for a solution, even considering the Chaos Dragon Tomb.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t yet control the Dragon Tomb.

’Wait... The Tai Chi Pattern!’

Suddenly recalling the abilities of the Tai Chi Pattern, Ye Wushuang hurriedly sat down cross-legged. He activated the Tai Chi Pattern, enveloping his entire body in Tai Chi Power.

Yin Yang Divine Light cascaded through Ye Wushuang’s Divine Court, and the pressure on his tormented soul eased slightly.

"Interesting!"

Suddenly, Ye Wushuang’s ears twitched. He had faintly heard an ethereal voice.

"A terrifying bloodline, Soul Power far beyond that of an ordinary person, and you have even comprehended Tai Chi Power... You are a suitable inheritor for the Ten Thousand Spirits Soul Control Technique. It seems my wait has not been in vain."

The ethereal voice echoed in Ye Wushuang’s mind once more.

Before Ye Wushuang could even react, the mysterious power within the palace surged madly into his mind.

It felt as if his head were being stuffed with cotton, ready to burst at any moment.

’This is bad!’ Ye Wushuang thought. His head lolled to the side, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.