The reason he had agreed before was because he was confident—confident that Yi Tianxing would be unable to pull even a single prodigy out of the Ten Thousand Tribulations Demon City.
But reality had shattered that confidence.
The scariest thing about the Demon City was how it completely fused a living being's body and soul, making them inseparable from the city itself. To extract someone meant pulling against the entire Demon City. Not even those stronger than the Demon Sovereign could accomplish this easily.
Yet—it happened.
And worse—he had already agreed to the terms, unable to go back. Watching these prodigies being rescued felt like someone slicing off pieces of his own flesh.
He wanted nothing more than to stop it.
But when Yi Tianxing pulled yet another Eternal prodigy out of the city, the Demon Sovereign's face turned ashen. With a wave of his hand, the Demon City vanished, even the Yin-Yang Bridge could no longer lock onto it.
"Enough. The precious 'great medicines' harvested from the God-Demon Battlefield have all been pulled out. The rest have already become one with the city. No force can separate them now—there's no point continuing."
The Demon Lord sneered coldly.
His tone showed just how furious he was. All the effort he'd put into hunting these prodigies—completely undone. No wonder his expression was so ugly. Honestly, the only reason he wasn't cursing was because the bad luck curse still lingered on him. Otherwise, how could he have endured such humiliation?
"Very well. That completes the first condition."
Yi Tianxing nodded slightly—knowing when to stop.
If it had been other Eternal Night prodigies, he would've killed them on the spot. But facing the Demon Lord, a twisted and near-immortal existence, attempting to kill him was pointless. This much—rescuing the Eternal prodigies—was already an unexpected bonus.
"Speak. What's your second demand? Let's complete the deal, and you can remove this cursed bad luck. I've kept my word. I trust you will do the same, Emperor Yi."
The Demon Lord took a deep breath. The damage was done. No point crying over spilled blood. All he wanted now was to rid himself of this damned misfortune. He was willing to pay. The only question was how steep the price would be.
"Naturally. As an Emperor, I do not speak in vain."
Yi Tianxing nodded again. For an emperor, credibility was vital. If he broke his promises, his integrity would vanish, and with it, others' trust. That would be far more dangerous than any immediate loss.
Keeping one's word was the foundation of character—both for rulers and for all people.
"Good. What is the second condition?"
The Demon Sovereign's expression lightened slightly.
"I want tomes from the Eternal Night World. Three million volumes. Of those, three hundred thousand must be cultivation techniques. The rest can be any kind of text."
Yi Tianxing spoke decisively.
"Tomes?"
The Demon Sovereign blinked in surprise. That was clearly not what he'd expected.
He had thought Yi Tianxing would ask for Innate Spiritual Treasures, supreme techniques, or rare wonders. Demands that would actually hurt.
But Yi Tianxing only asked for texts—and not even specific ones, aside from the 300,000 cultivation manuals. The other 2.7 million? Any books would do, even casual records or miscellaneous scrolls.
At a glance, it sounded like a huge amount. But in practice, this was no real loss. He could easily produce copies.
"That's right. I want Eternal Night's manuals and written knowledge. What do you think?"
Yi Tianxing asked again.
"Fine. That's simple. Tomes? I have plenty."
The Demon Lord agreed immediately.
He understood Yi Tianxing's real intent—to better understand the Eternal Night World, its cultivation systems, and philosophies. To prepare for future confrontation.
But he wasn't worried.
Even with all these books, what could Yi Tianxing do? The Eternal Night's true strength wasn't in a few books. Let them read all they want. They still wouldn't be able to counter the deeper mysteries.
Besides, what did it matter to him?
The Demon Lord didn't serve Eternal Night or Eternal Light. He served himself. As long as they left him alone, he didn't care who won or lost.
Swish swish swish!
With a casual wave, countless books flooded out like a tide.
In his Demon City, he had a massive library. Retrieving tomes was easy. And he wasn't giving away originals—just copied replicas, easily produced in a single thought.
There were cultivation techniques, practice journals, travelogues, biographies, philosophical texts, and Daoist commentaries.
They came from countless races and cultivators—a chaotic mix, but every volume was valuable.
After all, the Demon Lord wasn't someone who would collect ordinary trash.
These so-called "ordinary" tomes were actually extremely rare and insightful—not easily found elsewhere.
"Three million volumes. All here. Check them. Then remove this bad luck."
The Demon Lord snorted coldly.
Yi Tianxing didn't argue. He calmly swept the texts into the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Pagoda.
While doing so, he also scanned them—no tricks, no hidden dangers. The count was correct. The tomes were genuine.
The Demon Sovereign had kept his word.
"Good. Deal complete."
"Green Emperor—purge his misfortune."
Yi Tianxing looked toward the Green Emperor.
The Green Emperor clearly wasn't pleased.
He still remembered that bonk on the head with the staff.
He wasn't at all willing to help—but with Yi Tianxing giving the order, he had to obey, even if begrudgingly.
He walked forward in a duck-like swagger, reached the Demon Lord—and inhaled.
A green mist emerged and was sucked into his belly.
Over the years, the Green Emperor had mastered the power of misfortune—he could now both release and reabsorb it.
That made him even more terrifying.
"At last… this cursed bad luck is gone."
The Demon Lord felt a huge burden lift from his body. His whole being lightened, as if a mountain had been lifted from his back.
Had he been forced to carry that bad luck around any longer, even he might have died—in increasingly ridiculous ways.
Suddenly, a flash of green.
The Green Emperor, having finished the job, suddenly lunged at the Demon Lord, mouth open, aiming for his leg.
"What the actual—!?"
The Demon Sovereign's face turned black. Seeing that jaw coming for him again, his scalp went numb.
If he got bitten again—wouldn't the bad luck come back!?
He vanished in a streak of light, dodging the bite just in time.
"Emperor Yi! You broke your promise!" he shouted angrily.
"This has nothing to do with me. Green Emperor acted on his own."
Yi Tianxing shrugged.
"You filthy freak! You dared hit this emperor with a stick! I'll bite you to death!"
The Green Emperor roared, his eyes full of vengeance. He was definitely holding a grudge.
"Hmph. I won't stoop to the level of a moldy mutt. I'm leaving."
The Demon Lord's mouth twitched. He vanished instantly.
Clearly—he wanted no part of fighting the Green Emperor again. Getting cursed again? No thanks.
"The Demon Lord fled?!"
"Green Emperor is invincible—even the Demon Sovereign runs from him."
"That's a true Bane-Beast. With the Green Emperor around, no demon dares act up."
"I heard he likes beautiful dog-girls. We should keep him… busy with dog-girls so he doesn't get bored."
"They say the Eastern lands have a Dog-Girl Tribe. Might be just his type."
Countless cultivators had watched the scene in stunned amazement.
The Demon Lord had fled like his butt was on fire. The Green Emperor's aura of intimidation had clearly reached ridiculous levels.
Swoosh!
Just as the Demon Lord vanished—
A sword-light streaked across the horizon like a blazing ribbon.
It was clearly someone flying with sword-riding technique. The speed was unbelievable—among the fastest forms of flight.
The aura of that sword-light was pure and intense.
It shot straight toward White Crow City, obviously coming here with purpose.
In the blink of an eye, the light arrived at the city.
The light dissipated—revealing a graceful, ethereal female cultivator.
She was stunning—beauty among thousands. Her sword-cultivator aura made her even more outstanding and radiant.