Ye Qingxian looked completely calm and composed. He seemed so transcendent that even Zhu Ping'an almost wondered if the scene of Ye Qingxian kneeling before him had just been an illusion.
Ye Qingxian reached out and patted Yan Shubing on the head.
"Don't worry. Starting today, Zhu Ping'an won't dare target me in the slightest!"
"Qingxian Ge, you're amazing." Yan Shubing gazed at Ye Qingxian with admiration.
Zhu Ping'an couldn't be bothered with that crazy couple. As long as Ye Qingxian obediently played his part as a useful tool, everything would be fine.
Fortunately, although Ye Qingxian liked to show off, he hadn't forgotten who was really in charge. Their group naturally continued on together.
"Did he threaten you in private?" Leng Tianjiao couldn't help asking.
"Don't worry. He can't even beat me, so how could he threaten me? We've simply buried the hatchet." Zhu Ping'an winked at Leng Tianjiao.
With Ye Qingxian cooperating, their exploration of Secret Realm Number Thirteen went exceptionally smoothly.
Inside the secret realm, ruins lay in pieces, the magnetic field was chaotic, and arcs of lightning leaped through the air, making the place seem mysterious and unfathomable. Yet the opportunities within the realm seemed to have eyes and seek them out, with all kinds of rare treasures showing up at their doorstep every so often.
Zhu Ping'an's eyelids twitched. Was this the Protagonist Halo? That bastard Ye Qingxian was absurdly lucky.
But at least all of it belonged to him now!
Ye Qingxian didn't play any tricks. They split everything they found seventy-thirty, with the larger share going to Zhu Ping'an.
Yan Shubing was puzzled by this, so Ye Qingxian explained.
"After giving someone a beating, you offer them a sweet date. I just taught Zhu Ping'an a lesson, so naturally I have to give him some benefits. That way, he'll follow me with all his heart."
Yan Shubing believed him without question. She nodded again and again, gazing at Ye Qingxian with even greater admiration.
Secret Realm Number Thirteen seemed to be shaped like a gigantic funnel. The deeper they went, the more people they encountered, and the narrower their surroundings became.
When those people saw their group, they hurriedly moved away warily. After all, in a secret realm, you could never be sure who was a friend and who was an enemy.
The ruins they'd first passed through gradually gave way to intact buildings, putting Zhu Ping'an and the others on alert.
Intact buildings meant that there might be living creatures nearby.
"Everyone, be careful," Zhu Ping'an reminded the Leng Family martial artists before continuing onward.
As they went farther, intact buildings became more and more common. Just then, a dark shape suddenly shot out of one of the buildings at tremendous speed.
But Zhu Ping'an and the others were already watching their surroundings. They dodged at once, and the shadow slammed heavily into the ground, sending a chill through everyone!
Because the shadow was a human corpse!
The corpse was male, his entire body twisted into a corkscrew. His head had been wrenched clean off his body. It was hard to imagine what kind of torture he'd suffered before he died.
Zhu Ping'an's heart raced. He cautiously poked the corpse lying on the ground.
"Buddy, you okay?"
The corpse didn't answer.
"Damn, he's dead."
The corpse still didn't answer.
The body was still warm. Clearly, the man had entered Secret Realm Number Thirteen with them just moments ago.
Zhu Ping'an began examining the corpse. He felt through its pockets: a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a wad of cash, and a condom. There was nothing that could identify the corpse, but it looked like the man had recently been planning to get lucky.
He tossed the condom aside. It was too small for him. Then he pocketed the lighter and cash and returned the cigarettes to the corpse.
"Rest in peace, buddy."
He then examined the corpse's injuries. Its body had been twisted into a spiral, as if some enormous creature had grabbed its head and feet in separate hands and wrung it out like a towel.
Zhu Ping'an gestured to show the size of the creature that had twisted the corpse. It had to be at least five meters tall.
"Be careful. There may be an enormous humanoid Mutant Beast nearby!" Zhu Ping'an warned Leng Tianjiao and the others.
But Leng Tianjiao, Ye Qingxian, and the others were looking at him strangely, with even a trace of wariness and fear in their eyes.
Zhu Ping'an was confused. He'd only searched a corpse and looted its pockets. Was that really enough to make them look at him like that?
"Zhu Ping'an, look behind you," Leng Tianjiao said, unable to hold back any longer.
At her words, Zhu Ping'an turned around in confusion. The moment he saw what was behind him, he froze too.
Not far behind him, a terrifying monster two stories tall had appeared at some point. It looked like a hairless gorilla covered in spikes. Two blood-red eyes, round as lanterns, stared straight at them.
If nothing unexpected had happened, the corpse on the ground had died at this monster's hands.
"What is that thing?"
At school, students were taught to identify all kinds of Mutant Beasts. Knowing yourself and your enemy ensured victory in every battle; the more you knew about Mutant Beasts, the better your chances of defeating them when you ran into one.
But no matter how hard Zhu Ping'an searched his memories, he couldn't recall what kind of Mutant Beast this spiny hairless gorilla was.
"Could it be a demon?!" Zhu Ping'an's expression turned grave.
Demons were synonymous with terror.
Although demons were rare, every single one possessed terrifying intelligence and was incredibly cunning.
"Better to kill a hundred Mutant Beasts than provoke one demon." This saying was common among martial artists, and it showed just how terrifying demons were.
"Zhu Ping'an, this demon doesn't seem to be planning to attack us. Try backing over this way!" Leng Tianjiao said.
Zhu Ping'an nodded. He didn't know how strong the demon was, and he wasn't eager to provoke it.
He kept his eyes on the demon and slowly stepped backward.
A strange light flickered in Ye Qingxian's eyes as he pondered whether this might be the perfect way to get rid of Zhu Ping'an.
If he attacked the demon now, it would fly into a rage and surely direct its fury at Zhu Ping'an, who was closest to it.
If the demon could kill Zhu Ping'an for him...
But Ye Qingxian quickly dismissed the idea. If he failed to kill Zhu Ping'an, he would never hear the end of it. Even now, just remembering the terrifying feeling of a cauliflower growing on his tongue made him shudder.
Unless he was a hundred percent certain he could kill Zhu Ping'an, he absolutely wouldn't make a move.
Just as Zhu Ping'an had backed up beside Leng Tianjiao and the others, the spiny hairless gorilla moved!
But it didn't come for Zhu Ping'an and the others. Instead, it reached out its massive hand toward the corpse lying on the ground.
It lifted the corpse by one leg, as casually as if it were holding a frog, then opened its mouth and tossed the body inside.
Crunch!
Crunch!
Crunch!
A horrifying chewing sound rang out. It was the sound of human bones being crushed beneath the demon's hard teeth.
Before you continue