"I've done the best that I can, but I won't guarantee that he'll survive."

The man wasn't a human but a Demonic beast, he didn't even seem to have a set human form so there was no telling if this human-oriented treatment would work. But luckily it seemed like Zhuan Yi was doing a good job of communicating with the man, his human-form didn't waver after Yao Jun applied the treatment so the medicine was given plenty of time to work. And eventually, the man's breathing calmed, his expression turning more peaceful and relaxed as his body once more melted and stretched out.

"Thank you, truly. I have never studied medicine so I would not have been able to save him."

Zhuan Yi lowered her head deeply as she removed her hands from the man's head, the deep gratitude in her voice signifying that the man was still alive despite his state. Yao Jun simply nodded his head and retracted his gaze, returning to observing the camp down by the lake.

The people from Basilisk's Tail had retreated to a safe distance to prepare for any eventualities, eagerly observing the roiling lake. They clearly weren't impatient either, remaining eager even as minutes turned to hours. This was an extremely grand and powerful array, any movement from it was worth investigating and observing.

But what a shame, the movement was created solely by Yao Jun, and he had fed the orb with enough energy to keep it going for several days. They may try to act again if they saw that the phenomenon persisted for several days, but at that time Yao Jun would just repeat his actions to extend the duration. He just had to buy time, the results would show themselves sooner or later.

And luckily, it seemed like the people of Basilisk's Tail held more dread and respect towards the array than he initially suspected. They showed no signs of approaching the roiling lake even after the fourth day had passed, they were content with just checking any changes that happened. But that was only to be expected, they had more than enough captives to toss out a handful of them for experiments like this, anything to get them one step closer to opening the array.

But on the fifth day, as the roiling lake was starting to quiet down again, Yao Jun sensed a very familiar fluctuation running through space around them. Little Gray and Sirius appeared a few steps away from him, their faces pale from exertion and their bodies almost completely devoid of energy. The two immediately moved to bow, but Yao Jun acted before them, his hand stroking the side of Sirius' throat.

"You've been wounded."

The particular line of skin his fingers were running over was a touch paler than the rest of Sirius' body. It hadn't left a scar, but it was clear that his throat had been wounded and that he had just covered up the wound by regrowing his flesh. The two stiffened slightly since Yao Jun had found them out so fast, but that only made them bow their heads deeper.

"Yes. Please forgive us, Milord, but we found a group that we felt would be able to spread the news further than any other so we deemed it a necessary risk. We accomplished the mission, so please look past this one transgression."

Yao Jun's eyes were slightly narrowed as he looked at the two. He knew his companions better than anyone else so he was certain that it wasn't just the one transgression, they had probably engaged in more than just a handful of dangerous battles to carry out his order. But in the end, he could only sigh and lower his own head. In the end, was this not what he had expected to happen when he asked them? Was it not he who had sent them out despite knowing the dangers?

"How long do you think it will take?"

He simply decided to skip the matter altogether, he was angrier at himself for being so weak that his friends had to take risks for him. The two wanted to sigh in relief that Yao Jun didn't speak more about it, but seeing the look in his eyes they knew what he was thinking so they couldn't bring themselves to be relieved.

"Not long at all. We already spotted three groups while we returned, I believe a few hours should suffice for the first batch."

Little Gray was the one who gave the report, his voice a bit hoarse and weak. He might be a Divine Beast, but he had just spent the last nine days teleporting around and fighting people. They had been moving nonstop, covering more distance in these nine days than they had throughout the rest of the competition so far. All so that they could bring about the chaos that their lord desired.

Yao Jun nodded his head slightly and returned his gaze to the bustling camp, but Zhuan Yi still had no idea what he was actually planning. But she was still caring for the droopy man that Yao Jun had saved earlier, her hands occasionally resting on his head as she helped him heal his weary and wounded mind.

The roiling lake was already starting to calm down by the time Sirius and Little Gray arrived, and only three hours later it had almost quieted down entirely. The leader of Basilisk's Tail didn't seem comfortable being the one to inspect it first, sending forward one of her subordinates. But just as the woman was starting to approach the lake, a somewhat disappointed voice sounded out.

"Ah drat, what a shame. I was hoping it would keep roiling for a bit longer, maybe even open entirely. But, them's the ropes, not much that can be done about it, guess we'll just have to try again."

The voice immediately drew the attention of everyone, the entire camp springing into high alert. The four leaders turned their heads at the same time, their gazes landing on one of the weeping willows that lined the shore of the lake. The bark of the tree wriggled slightly, a man strangely walking out from the tree, as if he had always been part of it.

Seven other people stepped out from the other trees, respectfully lining up behind the brown-eyed and green-haired man that had been the one to speak out. The man looked to be in his mid-twenties, but a few faint wrinkles on his face showed that this youthful appearance might not be natural. He wore a very faint smile as he gazed at the woman who led Basilisk's Tail, clicking his tongue while waving his finger in front of his face.

"Tsk tsk, isn't this cheating, Mao Tangye? I can't believe you'd try to get a leg up on me by snatching this treasure. Were you perhaps hoping to eat up my group after reaching the Empyrean Ruler realm?"

The man's voice was soft, but the pressure he radiated was enough to make the surrounding air creak slightly. The danger he radiated was no less than that of the leader of Basilisk's Tail, Mao Tangye, meaning that he too likely had reached the very peak of the Sovereign God realm. The amber-eyes and green-haired Mao Tangye looked incredibly dissatisfied as she looked at the man, her eyes rolling slightly as she did her calculations.

"Tch, how did a scoundrel like you learn about this, I'm pretty sure I took every precaution to keep this hidden."

The brown-eyed man simply smirked softly but didn't bother responding to the question, Mao Tangye eventually just spitting on the ground.

"Fuck, fine. We'll split it in half, my group gets half and you get the other half. Or do you want to risk losing your seven Woodsouls here?"

Mao Tangye's group vastly outnumbered the brown-eyed man's group, but it was clear that she didn't feel confident that they were actually that much stronger. After all, her group's power level was quite diverse, but the brown-eyed man's seven followers were all late-stage Sovereign Gods. The brown-eyed man rolled his eyes while thinking about the prospect for a bit, but his expression turned dark as another voice sounded out.

"Half? If you do that, then what share will I get?"

The sky above the lake split open, revealing a white space filled with a myriad of sparkling colours. A woman with rainbow-coloured hair and crimson eyes descended from the colourful space, bringing with her close to 30 other people as she smiled charmingly at the groups beneath her.

The expression of Mao Tangye also fell heavily as she looked at this woman, another person at the peak of the Sovereign God realm had arrived. The three people eyed each other with varying expressions, but all of their eyes turned dark as another newcomer arrived.

A black orb appeared in the air above the lake, not far from the rainbow-haired woman. The orb seemingly spread out into a hazy fog, a bit over ten people appearing inside the fog, fierce auras radiating from all of them. Most of the people had reached the early-stage of the Sovereign God realm, but the large and brawny man at the front showed signs that he had just recently reached the late-stage of the Sovereign God realm.

His black hair was swept back and his entire body was covered in feather-like tattoos that looked like they were covered with small spines. He showed a fearless smile as he grinned at everyone present, not even hiding his rampant desire as he glanced at the lake. His cultivation was a bit lower than the three other leaders, but they knew that they couldn't disregard him. And the reason was simple, he rampantly radiated the aura of a Divine Beast, he was definitely far from an easy opponent.

"Hoh, This King was expecting there to be some people here, but there's a lot of vermin here to steal This King's property, isn't there? Well, tell me, do any of you have the audacity to divide This King's property between each other?"

The man didn't show even the smallest ounce of respect or politeness, he was practically challenging everyone present to lay a hand on what he had claimed as his own. A tense silence hung over the entire area all of a sudden, Zhuan Yi's gaze drifting towards Yao Jun.

"You set this up?"

It was only now that she understood his earlier words. Indeed, they wouldn't have to fight the people from Basilisk's Tail, all these people gathered here would surely do it for them now that so many of them had gathered. Yao Jun simply shrugged his shoulders, his eyes vigilantly sweeping over the new groups that were the first to arrive.

"I only spread the news that something that could help you break through the Sovereign God realm and into the Empyrean Ruler realm was sealed below Teardrop Lake and that a group was currently in the process of breaking the seal."

Yao Jun had no way of properly spreading this information, but what if he sent out Little Gray and had him use his Human God's Gate to take over the minds of other competitors? They would send out the news to everyone they knew, especially if they were familiar with other powerful competitors. And before long, the information would spread like fire in a dry forest, it was unstoppable.

"That's it? And you were confident that people would come for it?"

It sounded extremely simple, so simple that Zhuan Yi had no idea how Yao Jun could have been so confident in it. But, this was just another sign of her age showing, or perhaps it was better to say that it was her lack of experience that was showing.

"Completely. People are cautious but greedy, and when they reach the later stages of cultivation and become stuck they become willing to try anything to take another step, their greed towards that goal knows no bounds."

Yao Jun had seen many things over the years, beings of all races seemed to become increasingly desperate to increase their cultivation as they reached the later stages. Especially when they got stuck at certain realms, that desperation would only grow and give birth to many an ugly monstrosity. Yao Jun had said it casually, but the sheer conviction and certainty he spoke it with made it clear to Zhuan Yi that he was more than just a bit familiar with it.

"Huh, you look young, but it seems like you're quite familiar with the greed of man."

The greed of man, or perhaps it was the greed of all living beings. It was the dark side of all existence, a motivator for many foul deeds that most would want to be forgotten. To become familiar with this darkness was to suffer, it usually wasn't something young people went through. The corners of Yao Jun's lips curved up somewhat unconsciously when he heard Zhuan Yi, his sharp canine teeth revealing themselves. He couldn't help but think back to that title he had gotten twice in the past, once from the original Demon God's Gate holder and once from the Bloodwind Code.

"Of course, after all, I'm the greediest of them all."