Yuqing escape light tore through the night in a bedraggled streak.
Guangchengzi and Chijingzi retreated at lightning speed, without leaving so much as a parting threat.
Before the Ruined Temple, the primordial violet light slowly withdrew.
Yin Jiao and Yin Hong stood before the Divine Statue, their chests heaving, unable to recover from their shock for a long while.
They had just witnessed their master's divine hound injure the Dao foundation of Guangchengzi, leader of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Sect and a perfected Great Luo, with a single bite.
He was a Saint's disciple.
He was an immortal they had never even dared look up to before.
Yet now he dragged his damaged auspicious cloud behind him as he fled back to Kunlun in disgrace.
Yin Jiao slowly clenched his fingers.
The Purple-Gold Imperial Seal between his brows trembled gently, and the Human Emperor Heaven-Sealing Art began circulating on its own.
From the direction of Chaoge, a faint wisp of humanity's Dao wishfire passed through the night and entered his blood.
That power was not overwhelming.
But it truly existed.
Yin Hong lowered his head to look at his palm.
A pitch-black demonic mark flashed deep in his eyes.
The Heaven-Devouring Demon Seed in his sea of consciousness had quietly swallowed a strand of the Yuqing magical power Guangchengzi and Chijingzi had scattered.
In that instant, he had felt a hunger.
Profound.
Cold.
And terrifying.
His gaze drifted involuntarily toward Chaoge.
Demonic energy churned above that mighty city, like an enormous hunting ground laid before him.
Yin Jiao's throat bobbed, and his voice sounded somewhat hoarse.
"Senior brother."
"Just what kind of being is the master we have taken?"
That question weighed on his heart.
He looked at Yang Jian, then glanced at Xiaotian Dog, who lay beside the temple entrance licking his paws, and ultimately refrained from pressing the question.
Yang Jian withdrew his gaze from Kunlun.
"You need only remember one thing."
"Once you enter Master's tutelage, you must fight for your own fate."
Yin Jiao's heart shook.
Yang Jian continued, "Now that Guangchengzi has gone back, the Jade Void Palace will not swallow this insult."
"The fortune of Yin Shang Orthodoxy you carry is a fat morsel to the Chan Sect, the Heavenly Court, the Western Religion, and even the Demon Clan."
"From the moment you bowed and took Master as your teacher, you had already stepped into the Investiture of the Gods Game."
Yin Hong paled slightly.
Yet the demonic mark deep in his eyes also pulsed faintly at that moment.
Fear weighed upon him.
The demonic energy in Chaoge City was also beckoning to his Demon Seed.
Yin Jiao, however, raised his head, the flame in his eyes burning ever brighter.
"I understand."
He looked beyond the Ruined Temple.
Past the Mass Burial Grounds, demonic clouds shrouded Chaoge's walls.
"Master bestowed the Human Emperor Heaven-Sealing Art upon me. My path is humanity's Dao."
"The struggle for humanity's Dao takes place in the mortal world."
"In Chaoge."
Yin Hong turned sharply toward him.
"Brother, you want to go back?"
"Our Royal Wanted Notices are posted all over the city, and Daji and the people from the State Preceptor's Residence are still in the palace. If we go back, they'll surround us and kill us!"
Yin Jiao gripped his wrist.
"We're returning to Chaoge to exact payment for what they did to Mother."
"We'll return to the city first, not storm the palace."
Yin Hong froze.
Yin Jiao's voice grew steadily firmer.
"Before, we were merely princes fleeing for our lives. We could only wait for the Four Great Lords to rescue us, only hope someone else would seek justice for Mother."
"Things are different now."
He raised a hand and pointed between his brows.
A sliver of light appeared on the Purple-Gold Imperial Seal.
"My art can gather humanity's Dao wishfire and suppress the energy of demons that throw the kingdom into chaos."
Then he looked at Yin Hong.
"Your art can devour the essence of demons and use the Tribulation's baleful energy to strengthen you."
"To others, Chaoge is a demons' nest."
"To us brothers, it is a place to cultivate, and a place to take revenge."
Yin Hong's breathing quickened.
As he watched the resolve in his elder brother's eyes, the lingering urge to retreat was gradually pressed down.
They no longer had any way back.
Their mother was still suffering in the palace.
Those loyal to them had fallen one after another beneath their pursuers' blades.
If they kept hiding, their title as princes would become nothing but a joke.
Xiaotian Dog ambled over and circled them, sniffing.
"One of you smells of incense offerings, the other of devouring."
He flicked his tail.
"The demonic stench in Chaoge is strong. It certainly makes a good place to practice."
"But you've only just begun. If you run into those old demons from the Xuanyuan Tomb, you'll be in trouble the moment you meet."
The corner of Yin Hong's mouth twitched.
The courage he had just mustered was almost knocked right back down.
Yang Jian gave Xiaotian Dog an indifferent glance.
Xiaotian Dog immediately shut his mouth and lay back down beside the threshold.
Yang Jian looked at the two brothers.
"Since Master has sent you into the game, he naturally has arrangements in place."
"One of you will be yang, the other yin."
"Yin Jiao, you will handle matters in the open."
"In the name of Yin Shang Orthodoxy, gather the loyal ministers in Chaoge City who have yet to submit, and unite humanity's Dao wishfire."
"Yin Hong, you will handle matters in the shadows."
"Hide in the darkness and hunt the demons harming people in the city. Seize their essence with the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art."
"One in the light, one in the dark, supporting each other like the horns of a beast."
"Only then will you have what it takes to gain a foothold in Chaoge."
Yin Jiao and Yin Hong bowed together.
"Please guide us, senior brother!"
The Divine Eye between Yang Jian's brows glimmered.
The demonic energy churning above Chaoge and the lingering humanity's Dao wishfire separated into two threads in his sight, one dark and one bright.
"The first thing you must do after returning to the city is find Bi Gan."
Yin Jiao's expression changed.
"Uncle Bi Gan?"
"He has repeatedly remonstrated with Father. Daji has long considered him a thorn in her eye."
"I'm afraid he can barely protect himself now."
Yang Jian nodded.
"Precisely for that reason, he will be your first fulcrum for moving the hearts of Chaoge's people."
"Master once left a hidden safeguard on Bi Gan to protect his life."
"In the coming days, Bi Gan will face a bloody calamity."
"You must appear at that moment."
Yin Jiao's breath caught.
He understood now.
Saving Bi Gan meant far more than saving a loyal minister.
It meant declaring to everyone in Chaoge who still remembered Cheng Tang's state that Yin Shang Orthodoxy had not yet been severed.
Yang Jian's voice was steady.
"Let those old ministers who dare to feel anger but dare not speak know."
"The princes have returned."
The wishfire in Yin Jiao's eyes suddenly flared.
He repeated softly.
"The princes have returned."
Yin Hong hurriedly asked, "What about me?"
Yang Jian looked at him.
"Your battlefield lies in Chaoge's shadows."
"After Daji entered the palace, she drew many demons into Chaoge."
"They hide in noble residences, taverns and dark alleys, and among the agents of the State Preceptor's Residence, cultivating through human flesh and blood and Great Shang's national fortune."
"Those demons will all be nourishment for you."
The pitch-black demonic mark lit up in Yin Hong's eyes.
This time, he did not shrink back.
He could even feel his Demon Seed growing excited.
Yang Jian flicked a finger.
Two faint rays of light entered the brothers' brows.
"This is the Concealment Method bestowed by Master."
"As long as you do not expose yourselves, those below Great Luo will find it difficult to see through your true fates."
"Xiaotian and I will remain outside the city to protect your path."
"You will deal with ordinary demons yourselves."
"I will block any Great Luo or Saints' pawns who truly overstep."
Hearing those words, Yin Hong's taut heart finally settled somewhat.
Yin Jiao turned to face the Divine Statue.
He dropped heavily to his knees.
His forehead struck the cold floor tiles.
"Your disciple Yin Jiao will never disgrace your teachings!"
Yin Hong knelt after him.
Much of the timidity in his eyes had faded, replaced by a ferocity he could no longer suppress.
"Your disciple Yin Hong will devour every last demon that brings chaos to the kingdom and harms its people!"
Deep within the Incense Burner, primordial violet light flickered gently.
As though in answer.
The two brothers rose.
They took one final look at the Ruined Temple.
This place had once been their dead end.
It had also been their rebirth.
The next moment, they turned and walked into the morning mist of the Mass Burial Grounds.
The outline of Chaoge City gradually sharpened in the distance.
Within that city were their enemies.
Their mother.
And the hearts of the people they would win back with their own hands.
Xiaotian Dog lay on the threshold and yawned.
But his tail had already flicked toward Chaoge.
The dark-gold vertical pupil between its brows quietly opened a sliver.
"Those two little fellows have a lot more confidence than before."
It glanced sidelong at Yang Jian.
"Are we just going to watch from here?"
Yang Jian stood before the Temple gates, his gaze turning toward Chaoge.
"Master ordered us to remain here for now and safeguard their path."
"The waters of Chaoge run deeper than they think."
"The Chan Sect's retaliation won't be far off, either."
Xiaotian Dog licked its canine teeth.
"Guangchengzi tasted pretty good."
"The next time he comes, I want another bite."
Yang Jian ignored it.
The Divine Eye between his brows suddenly stirred.
A moment later, he raised his head and looked beyond the East Sea.
"A thread of a Saint's gaze has fallen upon us, too."
Xiaotian Dog's ears pricked up.
"The Chan Sect?"
Yang Jian shook his head.
"Not Yuqing."
Ten thousand miles away.
Upon the East Sea.
Golden Turtle Island, Biyou Palace.
Seated high upon a cloud couch in the nine heavens, Sect Master Tongtian suddenly opened his eyes.