Chapter 437: Evil Technique
Yu Mingche met Ying Yaoshi’s taunt with such composure that it silenced him.
“The men I sent will arrive in the next two days. However, I still think it would be safer for Lord Contract Master to come to my side. After all, an incompetent general is the death of his army, and I have no faith in Lord Yu’s abilities.” Ying Yaoshi looked at Yu Mingche with a doubtful gaze.
Ying Yaoshi’s meaning was clear: he didn’t believe Yu Mingche had the ability to keep Ning Xuan safe.
Yu Mingche’s expression soured at his words, but he didn’t immediately argue back. After all, Ning Xuan had just been the target of an assassination attempt. The assassins came from an Extraordinary Influence, and Yu Mingche had no idea what other methods they might employ. He didn’t dare to boast that he could absolutely guarantee Ning Xuan’s safety.
“General Ying, I admit my strength is no match for yours. But you’re in a place like the Ten Thousand Meteor Star Domain, which is fraught with danger and has a harsh environment. How can you protect the Family Head’s safety? If you’re willing to return to the Central Star, I will immediately give the position of husband to you. What do you say?” Yu Mingche stared intently at Ying Yaoshi.
Although Yu Mingche was one of the Federation’s highest Seventh Rank Governors and had some understanding of the Ten Thousand Meteor Star Domain Battlefield’s importance, he was still too new to the game. He didn’t have a clear grasp of the system of mutual restraint between the Military Department led by Ying Yaoshi and the Extraordinary Influences.
“Yu Mingche, you actually dare to make such a decision on your own!” Ning Xuan said, looking at him with a dark expression. With a wave of her hand, a tangle of intertwining vines lifted Yu Mingche and brought him before her.
After retracting the vines, Ning Xuan casually draped a jacket over Yu Mingche’s shoulders.
Yu Mingche settled the jacket on his shoulders, walked over to Ning Xuan, and hugged her. “Family Head, as long as it benefits you, I’ll do anything.”
When Yu Mingche first decided to have the artificial womb implanted, he never imagined the integration would be completed so smoothly or that he would actually succeed in conceiving. In truth, he had never planned on getting ahead of Ying Yaoshi to become Ning Xuan’s husband.
“Marshal, things aren’t exactly stable on your end, are they? The men you’re sending can come directly to Qingluan Mountain, or they can stay elsewhere. I won’t interfere too much.”
“By the way, this key to the Chaotic Divine Domain has been acting strangely recently. Do you know why?” Ning Xuan opened her hand, revealing a key sparkling with golden light in her palm.
It was the prize she had won in the Alchemist competition: the key to the Chaotic Divine Domain.
Ying Yaoshi’s expression grew solemn as he watched the key in Ning Xuan’s hand, which intermittently flashed with arcs of lightning.
“I’ve heard that if a Spirit Controller wants to enter the Extraordinary Realm, they must go to the Chaos Temple within the Chaotic Divine Domain. Only by achieving a Breakthrough in the Chaos Temple can they possibly obtain extraordinary Divine Power. And whenever someone has a Breakthrough in the Chaos Temple, the Guiding Key will react.” Yu Mingche looked at Ying Yaoshi with a strange glint in his eyes.
Whatever thought crossed his mind, a cold sneer emerged on Ying Yaoshi’s face.
“So you’re saying someone is having a Breakthrough in the Chaos Temple? Judging by all this lightning, it must be quite a spectacular scene. Do you have any idea who it might be?”
“Ying Taihe,” Ying Yaoshi said in an icy tone.
Ning Xuan looked at Ying Yaoshi in surprise. “That surname… is he related to you?”
“Didn’t you kill Ying Taihe?” As Ning Xuan was asking her question, Yu Mingche blurted out his own.
“Heh…” Ying Yaoshi gave a cold laugh, his expression turning grim.
“If it really is him, and if he enters the Extraordinary Realm, then you’re in trouble,” Yu Mingche said worriedly. “I heard you killed many members of the Ying Family back then, nearly wiping them out completely. If Ying Taihe isn’t dead and succeeds in his Breakthrough, he will definitely come looking for you.”
“Contractor, how many days has this anomaly been going on?” Ying Yaoshi asked Ning Xuan.
“Three days. For the first two days, the lightning only flashed occasionally, but the activity today is especially intense. The key has been flashing almost constantly.” Ning Xuan looked at the key in her hand, which was still pulsing with lightning.
Hearing Ning Xuan’s words, Ying Yaoshi’s brow furrowed. The Guiding Key’s unusual activity alone wasn’t enough to determine whether Ying Taihe had successfully achieved his Breakthrough. If it weren’t for Ning Xuan, he wouldn’t fear Ying Taihe, regardless of whether the man succeeded or not. But now, Ning Xuan was being targeted by major Extraordinary Influences. If another Transcendent full of animosity toward him were to appear, it would undoubtedly make a bad situation worse.
Yu Mingche looked at Ying Yaoshi and asked worriedly, “What exactly happened between you and the Ying Family? Back then, Ying Taihe was the Pioneer Corps’ Marshal, and he was the one who brought you back from the Realm of Chaos. How did things turn out like that later? Could there have been some misunderstanding? Is there any possibility of reconciliation?”
At this, Ying Yaoshi sneered, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. “Reconciliation? Ying Taihe brought me back because he wanted to control me. He planned to use an Evil Technique to devour my Win Snake and help his own Companion Spirit advance to the Legendary Level. The rest of the Ying Family knew everything. They were all accomplices.”
“No wonder. So many people from the Ying Family died, yet the government, the Military Department, and the Elder Council had no reaction. So there was a secret like this behind it all.” Yu Mingche sighed. He had originally thought that Ying Yaoshi was able to become a Marshal after his killing spree because there was no one left in the Ying Family and because of his own immense power. Now it seemed there was more to it than just those two reasons.
Any information about an Evil Technique that could devour a Companion Spirit could not be allowed to leak out. Otherwise, every Star System would be thrown into chaos.
Ying Yaoshi had cooperated with the government departments to cover up Ying Taihe’s use of the Evil Technique, shouldering the blame and pressure himself. That was how he’d been able to gain the Military Department’s support.
“Was the hidden danger within your Companion Spirit caused by the effects of that Evil Technique?” Ning Xuan asked.
“Yes.” Ying Yaoshi nodded.
“Is there a way to resolve that hidden danger?” Yu Mingche asked anxiously.
He knew that Ying Yaoshi had been stuck at the peak of the SSS-level for quite some time. Logically, he should have the power to attempt a Breakthrough into the Extraordinary Realm. If Ying Yaoshi advanced to the Extraordinary Realm, their side wouldn’t be in such a passive position.
“There is.” Ying Yaoshi didn’t speak; it was Ning Xuan who answered.
“I don’t know if Ying Taihe will succeed or not,” Ying Yaoshi said. “But it looks like I’ll have to find some time to make a trip to the Chaotic Divine Domain.”