“What gave them the courage to do that?” Yang Ye’s face turned cold when he heard Ding Shaoyao, and he calmed the little fellow who was in his arms. The little fellow was about to leave when she heard Ding Shaoyao just now, but Yang Ye stopped her.

Ding Shaoyao shook her head and said, “I’m not very sure. All I know is that Senior Demon Emperor started to act against the four divine beast clans once the joint forces of the Hallowed Grounds, Exalted Han Empire, and four divine beast clans had been defeated that day. However, the four divine beast clans were truly too powerful, so he wasn’t able to eliminate them in a short period. Thus, the Spatial Mink Clan and divine beast clans entered into a stalemate. But no one expected that the four divine beast clans would suddenly launch a surprise attack against the Spatial Mink Clan today!”

“Could it be the Hallowed Grounds that’s pulling the strings?” asked Yang Ye.

She pondered deeply for a moment before she said, “I personally think that it isn’t really related to the Hallowed Grounds. Because after Nether Maiden took Unseeing with her and left that day, the Hallowed Grounds still hadn’t dispatched any more forces until now. So, there are only 2 possibilities. The first is that the Hallowed Grounds has changed its plans and intends to draw us over to its side; the second is that the Hallowed Grounds has encountered some problems of its own, like the defiant profounders…. So, since they aren’t able to spare any forces to deal with us, they shouldn’t have interfered in the matters of the demon race because it would be quite meaningless!”

“Since the Hallowed Grounds isn’t interfering, then why would they dare to act in such a way?” Yang Ye frowned.

Ding Shaoyao suddenly said, “Perhaps it’s because of you!”

“Me?” Yang Ye was puzzled.

She explained, “You killed Xiahou Xuan while An Nanjing heavily injured Unseeing, the potential and strength that both of you possess made them feel threatened, yet both of you stand on the Demon Emperor’s side. The Hallowed Grounds was keeping you busy before this, so you weren’t able to head over to the demon territory to assist the Demon Emperor. But now, the Hallowed Grounds hasn’t made a single move for a few months. Thus, it allowed them to clearly realize that if they don’t eliminate the Spatial Mink Clan now, then they would be in huge trouble once you head over and join forces with the Demon Emperor!”

“Looks like they were driven into a corner!” said Yang Ye.

Ding Shaoyao continued, “They joined forces with the Hallowed Grounds, so they are mortal enemies with the Demon Emperor. Moreover, while the Exalted Han Empire hasn’t been destroyed, the strength of our southern territory has surpassed it, so destroying the Exalted Han Empire is only a matter of time. Thus, they have to truly take control of the demon race to resist us in the future, and only then can they make the Hallowed Grounds attach importance to them and not abandon them!”

Yang Ye nodded and said, “How’s the current strength of our southern territory?”

Ding Shaoyao pondered deeply for a moment and said, “There are almost 10,000 experts at the fifth rank of the Exalt Realm and above, and there are a few thousand Exalt Realm experts below the fifth rank. As for Spirit Realm and King Realm experts, there are over 300,000 and over a million respectively!”

“A million?” Yang Ye was astounded, “That many?”

She smiled, “A war is about to erupt in the continent, so everyone is aware that it’s time to take sides. Otherwise, it would be utterly impossible to survive by relying on their own strength. So, practically all the profounders of the southern territory have come to side with us. Moreover, even the profounders of the other territories are gradually rushing over here. Right, perhaps you’re still unaware of it but large-scale rebellions erupted in both the eastern and western territories while you were in closed door cultivation. Countless sects and clans have risen up to resist the Exalted Han Empire. Of course, their forces aren’t sufficient to resist the Exalted Han Empire. So….”

“We’ve interfered?” Yang Ye interrupted her.

She smiled in response, “Of course. How could I let such an opportunity slip by? Presently, both the eastern and western territory have escaped the Exalted Han Empire’s control. We have everything we need, and all we lack is a crucial factor.”

“A crucial factor?” Yang Ye chuckled, “You’re waiting for me?”

Ding Shaoyao, “Sort of. We need you if we are to subdue the central territory while keeping our losses at a minimum. So long as you head over to the central territory, then I believe that countless people would side with us. After all, mentioning the Sword Demon can even make children stop crying!”

Yang Ye chuckled, and then he gazed at her and said softly, “It must have been hard on you to manage all of this.”

She gradually clenched her fists before relaxing them, and she even felt like she was on the verge of tears. Since she’d started managing all the affairs of the southern territory, there had been countless days and nights that she had no time for sleep. It wasn’t that she refused to give up some of her authority, but it wasn’t the time to do so. Moreover, there were many things that she really didn’t trust others to deal with.

Regardless of whether it was the Grand Qin Empire, Darkbeast Empire, or her own Ding Clan…. Actually, all of them had their own selfish motives and considerations, and the slightest mistake might cause it to become a fuse that creates an explosion in the southern territory.

She didn’t want any mistakes to occur at such a crucial moment.

Actually, even she understood that the reason all those powers in the southern territory allowed her to be in control wasn’t just because of her ability, it was also because of her relationship with Yang Ye.

All of their interests were tied to Yang Ye, yet he didn’t like to manage the southern territory’s affairs. So, only someone closely related to Yang Ye could take his place. Because if they didn’t tie Yang Ye firmly together with them, then they would be in deep trouble if Yang Ye just left with those who were close to him….

In short, while Yang Ye needed them, they actually needed Yang Ye as well!

Actually, as far as they were concerned, Ding Shaoyao was considered as Yang Ye’s representative that managed all of them. That was why she was able to manage all of them, and it was also the reason why they’d accepted her leadership and hadn’t tried to seize her position. Of course, Ding Shaoyao’s own ability played a huge role as well!

Managing all of these powers was no easy task. After all, there was all sorts of conflict between them, and there were even some that were irreconcilable enemies….

All of this was like a mountain that pressed down upon her, and only she knew the hardships she faced. However, when she heard what Yang Ye said, she suddenly felt that she hadn’t gone through all of it in vain.

“How are you feeling?” Yang Ye felt slight pity as he gazed at her. After all, who would have imagined that she was just like Xiao Yuxi and had suffered such torture since she was born?

Ding Shaoyao suppressed the complicated emotions in her heart and nodded lightly, “The vitality within me has stopped leaking out for now. It shouldn’t be a problem for me to live a few more years.

Yang Ye said, “Don’t worry. I’ll solve it!”

She cracked a smile and replied, “Do you really not want me to die that much?”

He answered, “Could it be that I should?”

Ding Shaoyao gazed at him for a short while before she changed the topic, “Do you need anyone to go with you to the demon territory?”

Yang Ye shook his head, “There’s no need for anyone else to come. I’ll leave An Nanjing here. I can be at ease knowing that she’s here to protect the southern territory while I’m away!”

Ding Shaoyao nodded and said, “If you’re able to resolve the conflict with the four divine beast clans during this trip, then seize the opportunity to remove the barrier between the human world and the demon territory. Only by truly joining forces will we be able to resist the Hallowed Grounds or the defiant profounders!”

“Alright!” Yang Ye smiled, and then he flipped his palm. A thousand extreme-grade energy stones appeared before Ding Shaoyao as he said, “Do as you please with them. I’ll leave the Sword Servants from the Sword Team and Saber Team by your side, and they’ll obey your every command. In short, just be careful. I think the Exalted Han Empire would definitely try to act against you!”

She took the energy stones and said, “Stop being so long winded and just go!”

Yang Ye rubbed his nose, and then he vanished on the spot.

Two women walked into the room after Yang Ye left. It was An Biru and the black clothed woman.

“Big Sister An, how did it go?” asked Ding Shaoyao.

An Biru gazed at the black clothed woman, and the black clothed woman said, “I couldn’t find anything. It was like he just vanished. All the forces of the City Governor’s Estate have been handed over to Lu Jianyao, and there’s nothing wrong with her.”

Ding Shaoyao closed her eyes slightly, and she said, “It’s very strange indeed. Big Sister An, please continue using the forces of the An Clan to investigate the matter. I don’t want there to be any uncertain factors.”

“You didn’t tell Yang Ye about it?” asked An Biru.

An Biru shook her head, “He has enough pressure weighing down on him. He shouldn’t be the one to worry about this. Moreover, it isn’t severe to the point it’s beyond my control. Since we have Elder Mu on our side, he wouldn’t be able to do anything even if he’s planning something. However, we still can’t be careless. So, I’ll have to trouble Big Sister An with this matter.”

An Biru nodded and said, “Of course, we’re on the same boat now!”

Ding Shaoyao nodded and said, “Big Sister An, as for the misunderstanding between you and Yang Ye, don’t worry about it. I’ll persuade him. After all, he isn’t a heartless person, and he’s clearly aware of what you’ve done for him and the southern territory.”

An Biru was slightly stunned. Quite some time passed before she said, “Thank you!”

…

The demon territory.

At this moment, the demon territory was quite chaotic. The four divine beast clans had countless clans as their vassals, so when they started the rebellion against the Demon Emperor, all of their vassal clans had naturally joined the rebellion. Of course, as the Demon Emperor of the demon territory, the Demon Emperor had his own vassal clans as well. So, enmity between the four divine beast clans and the Spatial Mink Clan had transformed into internal strife throughout the demon territory!

The violet mink on Yang Ye’s shoulder pointed towards the distance while anxiousness filled her eyes. On the other hand, Lei Lin who was by Yang Ye’s side was ceaselessly nibbling on an enormous spirit fruit that she held in her arms….

Yang Ye nodded and was about to flash forward when the world before him shook, and then a group of enormous black wolves that were over 50m tall appeared within his field of vision.

Lei Lin stopped eating, and there were even bits of fruit left on her lips. She blinked as she used her left hand to pull on Yang Ye’s sleeve.

Yang Ye rolled his eyes. In the eyes of others, it would seem like Lei Lin was afraid, but that wasn’t the case at all. She wanted to zap someone. She was pulling on his clothes because she was asking him if she could…. After all, Yang Ye had warned her that she couldn’t just zap anyone at will.

Yang Ye didn’t attack because he wasn’t sure if they were subordinates of the Demon Emperor or the vassals of the four divine beast clans.

In next to no time, almost 100 enormous wolves had surrounded Yang Ye’s group. The black wolf with silver stripes that was in the lead started sizing up Yang Ye, and it wasn’t long before that fellow’s gaze descended onto the violet mink on Yang Ye’s shoulder.

“Aowu! A Spatial Mink! Haha! It’s actually a Spatial Mink! We’ll get 10 Beast Limit Herbs for this Spatial Mink’s head!” That wolf in the lead spoke the human tongue, and its voice was filled with excitement.

Yang Ye had figured out their allegiances, so he patted Lei Lin on the head and said, “Go ahead!”