Chapter 114: Willing Prey

“Since you’re willing to offer the bait, naturally, the willing will take the hook.”

Hong Yun smiled lightly as he spoke. The other party made no effort to conceal their true form as a demon. Hong Yun’s eyes swept past the calamity seed before the figure and instead fixed on the tuft of hair atop their head.

An eight-armed golden ape?

He might be mistaken, but the emblem of the golden ape, unique to the Baoping Realm, was deeply imprinted in his memory.

Noticing the other’s strange expression as they stared at him, Hong Yun cleared his throat without reason and said:

“I know your bond with my grandson is strong, and you even coaxed him into this human domain. But now, I have locked him away myself, sparing myself some worry.

Over the years, I have few attachments left in my heart. Were it not for the bait and the harm it would bring to a whole clan, I would have tried long ago.

Now, whatever you seek, we can provide. Consider this a form of observation.”

Hearing this, Hong Yun roughly understood the situation and remained unperturbed. After all, the reason Yue Sansi ventured into this human territory was for this calamity seed. That the "bait" the other spoke of had come to him was already beyond his expectations.

Moreover, judging from the calamity energy on the other side, the combined energy of both man and demon was likely less than thirty percent of his own.

Feeling the calamity seed within his body quiver intermittently as it sensed the external calamity energy, beginning to lose balance, he did not hesitate and agreed:

“Say no more. Then I shall take the bait now.”

Now?

The man and the demon exchanged a glance, clearly perceiving the gravity in his eyes.

The Great Martial Emperor’s once rustic expression gradually turned solemn, his voice lowering:

“By all logic, since the inception of the Demon Pacification Era, this world has allowed at most two cultivators at the Feather Transformation stage. Though we do not know how you achieved this level...

Should you not reconsider?”

Hong Yun’s expression did not waver. He understood the other’s concerns but said nothing more. Taking the Phoenix Emperor’s feathered arrow, he notched it to his bow, drawing it to a full crescent.

At this moment, the bow and arrow absorbed his calamity energy much faster, surging wildly as he shot them skyward with the force of banishing sun and moon.

Three consecutive shots.

After the third arrow, Hong Yun raised his hand, drawing them back through perception, then looked at the man and demon beside him:

“You perceive a limit to the calamity energy, but I do not.

In other words, for me to take the bait, only a single opportunity is needed.”

This...

The Great Martial Emperor and the Demon Ape King, feeling the overwhelming momentum of these three arrows, were shaken to their core.

For a moment, they seemed to understand something, their expressions inexplicably changed, and their fighting spirit faded.

It was no wonder the other dared to face them so boldly.

The first and second arrows were bearable, but the third...

Recalling the sky slowly recovering, they fell silent, a sudden clarity dawning.

Because they could not match it.

In other words, they could not withstand this final arrow.

When the Flame Phoenix clan took the bait, they used all three arrows to protect their lineage, revealing their extraordinary strength. Judging by this display, it was not much different.

Who could have guessed that Yun Zhongke wielded such techniques with ease—and perhaps even stronger methods?

Indeed, their presence at the peak of Feather Transformation was because that was the highest they could reach.

Whereas the other had reached that peak because this world only allowed cultivation up to that level.

“Since you are willing to entrust me with the bait, then I shall take the hook.”

Seeing their silence, Hong Yun raised his hand, drawing the calamity seed enveloped before him.

Noticing the Phoenix Seventeen was already stunned, almost forgotten, he tucked it into his sleeve.

After a slight bow to the two still recovering their composure, he shattered the barrier of the place and vanished from sight.

...

Truly, he had not expected to find it with such ease after fruitless searching.

Hong Yun looked at the calamity seed in his hand, his mood quite good.

Recalling the expressions of the Great Martial Emperor and Demon Ape King, coupled with the calamity energy within them, he understood one thing clearly: here in this world, he was unrivaled.

By his reckoning, their total calamity energy combined might match his own only after he absorbed the fire calamity seed and achieved balance.

But that was not the main point.

The key was that he had now secured all five calamity seeds of this world!

That was why he possessed the Eye of Calamity, unlike others.

Hong Yun understood this clearly. Feeling the earth and metal calamity seeds nearing the point where they could no longer be restrained, he ceased suppressing them and traveled north to a desolate place, where he extracted the gold and earth calamity seeds.

At the moment of acquisition, the two seeds slowly sank into his back, merging into his body.

At that instant, the five calamity energies inside him began to counterbalance yet also swirl chaotically.

But Hong Yun remained calm, having anticipated this outcome from the start. Unhurried, he adjusted the five elements, allowing them to generate, overcome, and gradually blend harmoniously.

At this moment, the records of calamity seeds on his skin changed.

Cultivation Method: Seed Calamity of the Body (Complete integration of the Five Element Calamity Seeds).

Not only that, his usable calamity energy points soared from a meager 441 to 5,641!

This was a prerequisite of capturing calamity seeds: for each fully mastered calamity type within the body, increase by 1,000 points; for each captured calamity type, increase by 100 points.

Having acquired all five elemental calamity seeds, and with his cultivation at the Great Dao level, understanding the birth and death of the five elements was effortless.

Moreover, after their integration, the five elemental calamity seeds seemed to form a sea eye in his dantian, from which calamity energy flowed endlessly, suffusing his body.

His Eye of Calamity opened involuntarily, entering a permanently active, non-consuming state.

The cloud wings behind him spread wide, the murderous aura within slowly dissipating as pure calamity energy filled them.

Clack—

With a crisp sound, layers of crystalline objects appeared on his body’s surface, shattering at the slightest movement.

These were remnants of his former self.

After the cycle of birth and death of the five elements, the calamity energy within him was no longer bound by the five elements. The original water, fire, and wood calamity energies, along with his own murderous aura, completely dissipated.

He was not surprised, for the overflow of his aura began affecting his sword sheath, the Tan Yu blade, and the Phoenix Bow on his back.

But he no longer cared for these external items. All his focus was on the unchanged sky above.

Just now, he sensed something as if a veil over the sky had been lifted—and then, something entered.

Willing to take the bait?

Indeed.

At this moment, Hong Yun smiled slightly, pressing his lips together.