Seven Demons Part Two Greed

There was a cracking sound from the back of Yun Jingheng's knees as he stood up.

He glanced at Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan, who were still standing there, frozen in their own illusions. Xie Xie's brows were furrowed, while Xu Xiaoyan was huddled up in a small ball.

He paused for two breaths, then turned and walked towards the exit of the cave.

The passageways in the grottoes seemed longer than when we arrived.

The rocks on both sides gradually transitioned from dark gray to deep gray, and then to a color close to inky black. There was no moss or watermarks on the rock surface; it was bare, as if it had been repeatedly rubbed by something.

The height of the dome also changed, gradually decreasing from three or four zhang to a level that barely allowed him to pass through upright, and then suddenly opening up again after he walked through.

When he walked out, the view in front of him suddenly opened up.

A valley.

Surrounded on all sides by black rock walls that soar into the clouds, the valley is shrouded in a layer of gray mist that acts like a lid.

The gravel underfoot had changed from dark gray to almost pure black. The texture of the gravel was different from before; it was finer and denser, like ground coal ash.

There was nothing in the center of the valley, except for wisps of Sisi thin white vapor occasionally seeping from the cracks in the rocks, drifting along the ground like something slowly breathing deep underground.

Then he saw a figure standing in the distance.

They were about thirty feet away from him.

The man stood on a raised black rock. He was tall with broad shoulders and wore a dark gray robe that reached his ankles. Dark patterns along the edges of the robe flashed in the occasional glimmer of light.

He wasn't leaning against anything; his hands hung naturally at his sides, his posture relaxed as if he were waiting for someone.

Yun Jingheng slowly moved closer.

After walking a dozen or so steps, the figure became clearer.

It was a man, who looked to be in his sixties or seventies, with a angular face, high cheekbones, deep brow bones, and a heavy shadow in the hollows of his eyes.

His skin was an unhealthy pale, which made his eyes appear exceptionally dark.

His hair was grayish-white and very short, as if it had been burned and then grown back.

Yun Jingheng stopped about five steps in front of him.

The two stood apart across a small patch of black gravel, neither of them speaking.

The wind blew in from the center of the valley, and the warm, sweet, fishy smell was even stronger than before.

"Who are you?"

The man's lips twitched slightly, like a snake that had been touched. "Greed."

His voice was much lower than Fei's, rough like sand rubbing against a metal surface, "You have a strong aura about you, have you seen Desire?"

"I saw it."

How much did she tell you?

"This island, the Life Origin, Destruction Fragment —how did you seven become like this?"

The man looked at him.

Those deep black eyes, beneath the gray-white brow bone, were like two bottomless wells. Yun Jingheng could feel the other person's gaze moving from his face to his body, sifting him through from head to toe like a sieve.

"Your Divine Power is quite good,"

Greed said, "It should be around the level of a sixth or seventh ring now, right?"

Yun Jingheng did not deny it.

Greed stepped down from the rock.

He moved slowly, each step steady, the hem of his dark gray robe leaving a shallow trail on the black gravel surface.

He stopped two steps away from Yun Jingheng and looked down at him.

The height difference between the two was about half a head, but the oppressive feeling that Greed gave people was far greater than his size, like a mountain pressing down on his shadow.

"Have you ever thought about why your parents asked you to come?"

Yun Jingheng looked at him but did not answer.

Greed tilted his head slightly, and something flashed in his deep black eyes.

He turned around, took a few steps toward the center of the valley, and then stopped with his back to Yun Jingheng.

His short, grayish-white hair revealed a small section of skin on his neck at the back of his head, where a dark line, like tree roots, spread up from under his collar, climbed along the side of his neck, and disappeared into his hairline.

"More than a thousand years ago,"

Greed said, his voice echoing through the empty valley, "There are so many people who come here."

He turned around.

The section of the dark, root-like pattern peeking out from under the collar gleamed with a deep purple sheen in the dim light.

"The fact that you've made it this far shows that your Divine Power is sufficient to see the truth. But do you know that seeing the truth is sometimes more terrifying than being kept in the dark?"

Yun Jingheng remained silent.

"Your parents and your aunt," Greed said, slowing his voice as if chewing each word, "They sent you here so you can take things from here."

"Take it away?"

"The Destruction Fragment has been buried beneath the island for over a thousand years, coexisting with the Life Origin."

"Take them away, and the seven of us will be free."

Greed took a step closer to him.

Those deep black eyes looked down at him, and his gray eyebrows were slightly lowered.

"Your aunt is a high-ranking member of Shrek, right? She knows about the existence of this fragment."

"She sent you here to see if you can take it away and separate it from the core of this island."

"I can't do it," Yun Jingheng said, his tone flat.

"No, no, no... You can do it. You are the heir to the Godhood throne."

The Greed Old Demon raised a hand.

His dark gray sleeves slipped down, revealing his forearms, which were covered with deep purple, root-like patterns that stretched from his wrists to his elbows, densely covering the entire length of skin.

"I can help you," he said.

Yun Jingheng looked at him, and his brow twitched slightly.

"You took them away, helping us gain our freedom, and I..."

"I can give you anything you want! Money? Sure!"

"Rights? A minor issue!"

"Beautiful women? Countless!"

"Resources? You could never use them all in your lifetime!"

"Imagine! You are already the heir to Godhood, and now you obtain the fragments of Destruction and the origin of life. With these two divine treasures, how far will you grow?!"

"Isn't our relationship a win-win situation? Before you left, didn't someone give you a box?"

Yun Jingheng frowned, then nodded slightly.

"That's right! The thing inside that box can neutralize the conflict between the two divine artifacts and help you fuse them."

Yun Jingheng's brow twitched.

The corners of his Greed mouth twitched again, though the movement was still very small.

His voice lowered, its rough texture like the lingering sound of sandpaper scraping wood, "What's your relationship with the person who gave you the box?"

Yun Jingheng was silent for a moment, then said, "My father."

"Yun Ming?"

"Yes, you know my dad?"

"Of course, of course. Your father knows this island, knows its secrets, and knows that seven old men like us live here."

Greed asked in a flat, unquestioning tone, "What did he say to you when he gave you that box?"

"... He said..."

"Did he mean that if you encounter any difficulties on the island, this box can help you?"

Yun Jingheng recalled that although his father had never said those words, the general meaning was similar.

"Almost."

The Greed Old Demon took a step closer to Yun Jingheng.

The distance between the two had shrunk to less than an arm's length. Yun Jingheng could see the details of the deep purple patterns at the edge of his collar, which pulsated slowly beneath his pale skin like living tree roots.

"Your father has thought of everything for you."

Greed said in a voice so low it was almost a whisper, "He sent you here to take these two things. Think about it—if you didn't have that box, why would he send you to take this risk?"

"Wouldn't it be better to stay quietly at Shrek and be the crown prince?