"What do you think?" Jin Yanyu asked.
"It's best to kill him. If that's not possible, cripple his cultivation so he can never use that wall-passing technique again," Gu Wentian said coldly.
"No." Jin Yanyu rejected the idea without a second thought. "I, Jin Yanyu, could never do that to my benefactor."
She paused to think, then said, "That wall-passing technique has limits. If we pour molten copper over the outer layer of the cave, once it solidifies into copper walls, his technique will be useless."
"If we're not killing or crippling him, then this is the only option left," Gu Wentian agreed, but his brow furrowed. "Still… I feel like something isn't right, but I can't put my finger on it."
"Don't start imagining ghosts where there are none," Jin Yanyu replied.
In truth, she also felt something off—like the spiritual energy in the cave had dropped noticeably. But she convinced herself it was just her imagination.
After all, the Earth Spirit Divine Milk in the cave carried terrifying baleful qi. If Yang Cheng and Tang Xingyu had really absorbed it, they wouldn't still be standing here unharmed.
Inside the cave, Yang Cheng and Tang Xingyu continued to seize every moment for cultivation.
Before their eyes, the Earth Spirit Divine Milk was vanishing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Their cultivation levels were also shooting upward.
Three days passed in a flash.
Nearly half of the Earth Spirit Divine Milk in the cave had been absorbed.
Yang Cheng's cultivation had reached the half-step Martial King realm. Tang Xingyu's had reached the seventh level of Martial Grandmaster.
Beyond that, their bodies and souls had been tempered greatly.
However, more than half of the Earth Spirit Divine Milk still remained.
For now, neither could absorb any more.
Although they had the Tai Sui Breathing Technique, which gave them higher resistance to baleful qi than ordinary people, it didn't make them immune.
By now, the baleful qi was starting to affect them.
Yang Cheng had no intention of leaving the rest of the Earth Spirit Divine Milk here—it would only benefit others later.
Without hesitation, he stored all of it inside his Heaven-Earth Spatial Domain.
When Gu Wentian came to the cave again, even his slowest thoughts couldn't miss the problem.
"Where's the Earth Spirit Divine Milk?!" Gu Wentian's face went pale.
"No idea," the two little ones in the cave both shook their heads.
"It must be your doing!" Gu Wentian glared at them, then his eyes widened even more. "You… your cultivation levels…"
Since Yang Cheng and Tang Xingyu had just finished cultivating, they hadn't had time to restrain their auras.
Gu Wentian instantly saw their true realms—one at half-step Martial King, the other at seventh-level Martial Grandmaster!
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from outside.
Jin Yanyu entered again, this time her expression tight with urgency.
Seeing her, Gu Wentian forgot all about interrogating the two children and asked tensely, "Young Mistress, what's wrong?"
"I just received a pigeon message from the Heavenly Venerable—he's on his way to Golden Gate Valley," Jin Yanyu said.
"The Heavenly Venerable is coming?" Gu Wentian was stunned. "This is our Jin family's secret place. How could the Heavenly Venerable know about it?"
"I don't know either," Jin Yanyu said seriously.
But Gu Wentian's eyes lit up. "Young Mistress, unexpected as this is, it's actually good news. We won't have to worry about the Crown Prince of Great Zhou's life or death anymore."
Jin Yanyu shot him a glare and turned to Yang Cheng. "Little Benefactor, you should leave now."
Gu Wentian's face changed drastically. "Young Mistress, you mustn't! If we let him go, we'll offend the Heavenly Venerable. Our Jin family has waited thousands of years for the Heavenly Venerable to open the Abyss. If we anger him, even if it opens, we'll be shut out."
"We'll just say the Crown Prince of Great Zhou escaped on his own," Jin Yanyu replied.
"This…" Gu Wentian hesitated.
But the next moment, Gu Wentian seemed to sense something. "Young Mistress, I'm afraid it's too late."
A subtle sense of relief flickered in his heart.
Jin Yanyu's expression changed slightly.
Outside the valley, two figures were approaching.
The one in front was an three-year-old boy—Yang Xiu.
Behind him followed a middle-aged man in black.
"Yang Cheng, you probably never dreamed that one day you'd become my prisoner," Yang Xiu thought, excitement surging in his chest. On his face, he tried to maintain a calm, aloof look, carrying an air of superiority.
"No matter how much of a monster you are, how can you compete with me, the one blessed by Heaven's Mandate?"
"Today, you'll die and sink into the Yellow Springs, while I will step over your corpse and walk the path to the supreme imperial throne."
Though he looked calm, his quickened steps betrayed his impatience.
The urge to see Yang Cheng was almost unbearable.
Before long, Yang Xiu and the black-clad man reached the cave entrance.
"Paying respects to the Heavenly Venerable," Gu Wentian greeted, dropping to one knee.
Jin Yanyu's delicate brows knitted slightly, her mind still troubled over Yang Cheng's fate.
Yang Xiu's gaze landed on her.
At first, his eyes flashed with amazement, then he nodded in satisfaction.
According to Lu Jingshu, Jin Yanyu would one day be his noble consort.
Now that he saw her, she was indeed beautiful and alluring.
But Jin Yanyu's senses were sharp. The moment she felt his gaze, a chill ran down her spine as if a venomous snake had fixed its eyes on her, making her skin prickle.
Yang Xiu might be the same three years old as Yang Cheng, yet in his eyes she caught a lecherous glint—like that of an old pervert.
Her thoughts went back to Yang Cheng's clear, pure gaze, so clean that he could fall asleep even while she danced seductively before him. That purity stood in stark contrast.
Instantly, her heart grew cold toward Yang Xiu.
Yang Xiu had no idea.
In Yang Cheng's previous life, Yang Xiu had only met Jin Yanyu more than a hundred years later.
At that time, even if he coveted her, she would have thought it normal.
But now, seeing such a look from an three-year-old boy only made her feel he was abnormal.
"Young Mistress, the Heavenly Venerable is here—why haven't you saluted him?" Gu Wentian urged.
"There's no need for such formality, Miss Jin," Yang Xiu said with a faint smile.
Jin Yanyu breathed a small sigh of relief. She truly didn't want to salute him.
"Is he inside?" Yang Xiu asked.
"Yes," Gu Wentian replied promptly.
Yang Xiu immediately strode into the cave.
Soon, his brows furrowed at the sight before him.
What he wanted to see was Yang Cheng in a miserable, tortured state.
Instead, the place was stocked with fine food and all kinds of comforts.
Yang Cheng wasn't here to suffer—he was practically here on holiday.
Still, Yang Xiu couldn't openly blame Jin Yanyu. He could only inwardly sigh at his own failure to give clear instructions, letting her think she was supposed to treat Yang Cheng like an honored guest.
"Yang Cheng, you didn't expect we'd meet here, did you?" Yang Xiu said coldly, hands clasped behind his back.
Yang Cheng lazily popped a top-grade Lingqing grape into his mouth. "Sixth Brother, it's only been a few days, and already you're itching for a beating again—daring to speak to this Crown Prince like that."
"Insolence!" Yang Xiu's face darkened with rage. "Yang Cheng, it seems you still don't understand your situation. One word from me, and your life will be over."
"Hm?"
Yang Cheng's eyes narrowed. He set the grape aside and fixed Yang Xiu with a sharp, commanding gaze.
Yang Xiu's face paled instinctively, and he took several steps back—the result of the psychological shadow left by seven years of being beaten by Yang Cheng.
But the next moment, he reminded himself that times had changed.
There was no reason to fear Yang Cheng anymore.
His shame turned to fury. "Yang Cheng, kneel before me. If I'm in a good mood, I might just spare your life."
"Sixth Brother, you are a subject of the realm, yet you dare speak this way to me, the Crown Prince. You truly are courting rebellion," Yang Cheng said evenly.