Shi Feiyang verbally claimed to have unfinished business with Deng Yin, but he had thought through how to handle the matter even before his arrival; it wasn't his true intention to fight or kill.

Deng Yin understood his meaning. It wasn't a genuine call to arms or an accusation, so he courteously introduced Shi to his two companions.

He enthusiastically introduced Shi Feiyang to his two friends, and upon hearing it was indeed Shi Feiyang, the Red Corpse God Monarch instantly turned pale, while the Jiulei God's eyes reddened with anger.

Witnessing this scene, Deng Yin couldn't help but smirk with pride at the corners of his mouth, "I'm aware there were some frictions between you in the past, but we're all cultivators here, used to spans of a thousand years. What issue can't be overcome? Today, I've come to mediate between your two houses, and you're not allowed to start fighting in front of me!"

He invited Shi Feiyang into his cave, where there were four seats, each with a desk in front, arrayed with all kinds of fine wines and delicacies. Deng Yin took the seat of honor himself and invited Shi Feiyang to sit at the guest seat, with the two Divine Monarchs seated beside them as company.

Shi Feiyang glanced at the food and drink before him, knowing that Deng Yin had made an effort, yet he immediately challenged Deng Yin on why he had used his powers to bully the weaker and seize his disciple's Magical Treasure.

Deng Yin's face was full of apology: "Things were urgent at that time, and it seemed that my friend Jiulei was about to be utterly defeated by your students. Out of necessity, I asked Red Corpse to initiate the twelve Dou Secret Demon Divine Sound from the clouds while I hurried to rescue him. Coincidentally, your students had Jiulei's five Flying Forks locked within two rings of light,

and I knew those Flying Forks were vitally connected to him. He had nurtured them for a thousand years; they absolutely could not be lost. In my haste, I was unable to separate them and so I took one of the rings and a fork. Considering our longstanding relationship, your disciple is just like mine. Taking her magical treasure temporarily doesn't count as robbery."

Shi Feiyang sneered: "Since you're making it sound so nice, why don't you give back the Dragon Sparrow Ring right now!"

Deng Yin chuckled: "I still have some use for that ring. After I'm done, I'll naturally return it twofold."

"You just said 'temporarily'," Shi Feiyang retorted, "but it's been seven years already. Your 'temporarily' is rather too long!"

Deng Yin smiled even more proudly: "Even a thousand years is a mere flick of the fingers to our kind, so what's seven short years?"

Shi Feiyang gazed at him with eyes full of mockery.

Deng Yin met his gaze boldly. As a seasoned Old Demon, he did not feel insecure, but he was ultimately in the wrong: "You also know I need a Demon Refining Treasure to protect my heart and spirit, and besides, the Dragon Sparrow Ring belonged to my Uncle Lianshan. He always treated me well..."

Shi Feiyang interrupted coldly, "So does that mean, if you wish, you can take back any treasure that belonged to Master Lianshan? Members of the Emei Sect like Qi Shuming and Xuanzhenzi haven't come to ask for it from me. They are the true inheritors of Emei. What right do you, a renegade from the Emei Sect, have to haggle over sect matters with me?"

Deng Yin's eyes flashed with anger at these words: "The Emei Sect was founded by Ren Shou, and that has nothing to do with me! I have never joined the Emei Sect, how then could I be labeled as a renegade?"

After saying this, he softened his tone, "As for Uncle Lianshan's treasures, it's up to his discretion as to where they end. Who possesses them is none of my concern. However, I do indeed require a Demon Refining Treasure; otherwise, if I cannot control myself and turn towards the Demon Path... Shi, if I start wreaking havoc, you'll be bearing the karma too."

Shi Feiyang nodded, "That's why I'm here today, to capture you. I will use my newly refined three Purple and Blue Duoluo Divine Flames to destroy both your body and soul, eradicating any potential threat!"

He was dead serious about this, and at these words, the Red Corpse God Monarch and the Jiulei God leapt to their feet.

Deng Yin remained calm, merely saying, "You might consider it, but don't actually try to do it."

Shi Feiyang held his gaze, "I think I might give it a try."

Hostility hung heavy in the air as the Red Corpse God Monarch and the Jiulei God quietly prepared their cultivation methods, ready to strike; both looked at Shi Feiyang with disbelief: How could this man have the audacity to take on all three of them alone and pick a fight with them here?

After all, these three were among the most formidable top-tiered experts in the world. United, even with the Xuanyuan Two Treasures in his possession, how could it matter?

The Red Corpse God Monarch felt that, given the temperament of the Blood God, he should immediately summon the two of them to eliminate Shi Feiyang together, take all his treasures, and while the Red Corpse God Monarch was reluctant about Deng Yin's inclination to kill at will, Shi Feiyang's arrogance was unbearable. If it came down to a fight, he would not hold back!

But Deng Yin didn't want to fight; he softened his tone, "If you and I clash now, it would only benefit outsiders, why bother! Consider the Dragon Sparrow Ring as borrowed from me. You only have half of the ring; when I find the other half, the mother ring, I'll return it to you doubled. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Shi Feiyang also didn't wish to fight. Even though he was confident in defeating Deng Yin, he wasn't completely certain he could annihilate him.

Should Deng Yin escape, all his disciples would be in danger.

Besides, as long as this Demon remained as a deterrent, he could force so many Sword Immortals of the Emei Sect to seal their mountain for self-protection, keep the two elders of Song Mountain in check so they dared not roam freely and be a nuisance, and even make so many high monks and Divine Nuns of the Buddhist order wary. It was truly an advantageous situation, and all he had done was lend half of a Dragon Sparrow Ring.

His purpose in making this trip was not to retrieve the Dragon Sparrow Ring, but rather to make Deng Yin wary and prevent him from acting recklessly.

Now, with the Emei Sect sealing themselves off and the Buddhist monks and nuns retreating from worldly affairs, Shi Feiyang had to step in to maintain order, quelling all kinds of evil demons and heretics.

He needed to keep Deng Yin in check and then use him to restrain the Emei Sect and many other enemies, preserving the equilibrium of the overall situation. This was the optimal solution for the moment; the key was whether Deng Yin would comply.

From the current look of things, Deng Yin was indeed wary of him. So Shi Feiyang told Deng Yin, "I know what you're aiming to do, and I also know what you need the most. I think you should know what I intend to do as well."

Deng Yin nodded, "I can swear on my Lifebound Divine that I will not kill the innocent. I only kill my enemies. However, you must also swear to my Lifebound Divine that if I do not kill indiscriminately, you will not make yourself an enemy to me, nor will you side with the Emei Sect or those bald monks against me!"

Shi Feiyang said, "I can swear, but I only swear to the heavens and earth. You should know that for Xuan Sect Sword Immortals like us, who are united with heaven and man and respond to the divine, if we swear to the heavens and then break our word, we almost certainly lose any chance of Ascension."

"Good! I trust you!"

Deng Yin didn't continue to fuss over the details and readily agreed.

He first raised his hand to cast a spell, his aura swirling with blood, and he took an oath with his Divine Demon that he would seek vengeance only against his enemies and not kill any innocents unwarrantedly, otherwise, he would let demons devour him, splitting his Primordial Spirit, so he'd never find peace even in death!

Then Shi Feiyang also swore to the heavens that as long as Deng Yin did not kill indiscriminately, he would never harm Deng Yin, otherwise, he would be struck by lightning, blasted by the five thunders, body and soul destroyed!

Such oaths were meaningless when spoken by ordinary people, but at their level of cultivation, each oath was bound to come true, truly a case of "where words go, magic follows."

After making the oaths, Deng Yin completely let down his guard, Shi Feiyang too felt reassured, and the two of them looked at each other and smiled, beginning to truly enjoy their drinks and conversation.

Deng Yin kept urging drinks: "When I glimpsed Shi Daoist across the vast desert of the Northwest years ago, I felt an immediate kinship, a deep sense of closeness, and I've wanted to be intimate friends with Shi Daoist ever since. Now, my wish has finally come true, heaven has not treated me unfairly! I, Deng Yin, am truly blessed in my three lives!"

The two Divine Monarchs beside them were dumbfounded; they had just watched the situation nearly escalate into a fight, and now they were reconciled? Even if they weren't going to fight, the switch had been too quick!

Based on Deng Yin's temperament, for over a thousand years, under the whole sky, excluding his senior Master Changmei, he had never submitted to anyone else. No one, including Master Changmei, would've imagined Deng Yin could give such flattering comments to someone! Was this really the Blood God Monarch who once dominated the world and struck fear into the heart of every Sword Immortal?

Seeing how "obedient" Deng Yin had become, Shi Feiyang also spoke a few kind words: "I had long heard of Deng Yin's famous reputation, but based on the outside world's portrayal of your extreme brutality and inhumanity, I dared not get close. I never expected that the real Blood God Monarch would be so magnanimous and easygoing, truly refreshing!"

People of the Demon Path typically showed no politeness to those weaker than themselves, treating them like slaves or ants, killing and torturing at whim.

Yet when faced with someone stronger than themselves, or when they needed something from someone, they could be as sweet-talking as if their mouths were slathered in honey, saying things that truly resonated with people, making them feel as satisfied as if they had tasted honey.

Shi Feiyang was well-versed in the principles of the Demon Path; he knew which words of Deng Yin could be trusted and which could not. He himself had cultivated Demonic Path Skills, and now he countered in the same manner. The two exchanged words back and forth, the conversation growing more and more joyful.

Deng Yin suddenly said, "Us addressing each other as Daoist friends seems too distant, why don't we call each other brothers? In the future, like hands and feet, we shall support each another and jointly face the great calamity brought by heaven and humankind, how about that?"

"Sure, I had the same idea!" Shi Feiyang didn't refuse and directly agreed.

Deng Yin wanted to be the elder brother, but Shi Feiyang disagreed: "I should be the elder brother; you, the younger."

Deng Yin calculated with his fingers: "I am over a thousand years old now…"

Shi Feiyang said with a smile, "I am over three thousand years old!"

Deng Yin slapped his thigh; he had forgotten that Shi Feiyang was the Black Dragon, and based on the information he had gathered, that Shi Feiyang had crossed over from another world, he wasn't even a hundred years old.

By that logic, Shi Feiyang would be too young even to be his grandson.

But Shi Feiyang shamelessly included the lifespan of the Black Dragon as his own.

Deng Yin could have argued based on reason, but he didn't; instead, he pretended to have an epiphany: "I completely forgot that elder brother, with your Black Dragon identity, are over three thousand years old! I have miscalculated as the younger brother. However, to have you as my elder brother, I will feel supported even when those bald donkeys oppress me in the future!"

The two Divine Monarchs beside them shivered at the same time: Deng Yin must have been affected by some magic backlash, probably a case of Deviation! With his Daoist power and temperament, how could he possibly take someone as his sworn brother? And to call him an elder brother so directly!

What they didn't know was Deng Yin, being suppressed under the Star Constellations Sea Floor by Master Changmei for many years, originally harbored only resentment. However, after encountering Shi Feiyang and visiting his world, seeing all sorts of inconceivable things, his temperament had drastically changed, and he was now aiming to be flexible and adaptable!

Deng Yin knew that the Buddhist had obtained the Seven Treasures Golden Banner and the Conch Leaf Talisman and would sooner or later come after him—the greatest crisis of his life.

To keep his life under the two supreme Buddhist treasures, he had only three options.

The first was to find the other half of the Blood God Scripture and master it, reaching the realm once attained by the Stone God Palace Master.

But after many years of calculations, he could not find the slightest clue to that half step; passing this calamity that way seemed incredibly slim.

The second option was to fully comprehend the Liangyi Dust Formation and use it to confront those two Buddhist treasures. He'd been studying this formation for over three hundred years and felt he had mastered about eighty to ninety percent of it.

Yet, recalling the past, he felt far short of his senior brother's realm, and without the Spiritual Jade Peak and the Taiqing One Qi Divine Talisman, that too was unreliable.

That left only one last resort: to cling tightly to Shi Feiyang's coattails and seek refuge with him when the time came. He would have a chance of survival by depending on the two treasures of the Holy Mausoleum.

For this reason, he was so courteous to Shi Feiyang, even willing to call Shi Feiyang his elder brother and seem extraordinarily close.

Shi Feiyang told him, "I have another sworn brother, the Sect Leader of the Qingcheng Sect, Jiang Shu, the True Master of Demon Suppression. From now on, I'll be the eldest brother, you the second, and he the youngest. When you meet him and his disciples one day, you must present yourself with the demeanor of an elder brother and senior."

Deng Yin showed a very happy expression: "Great, great, great, I now have another younger brother, the True Master of Demon Suppression Jiang Shu!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.