Yang Ye slowly closed his eyes, placed his hands behind his back, and made it seem like he was an extraordinary expert as he spoke in a cold tone. “Where’s that little girl?”

The old man said, “I’ve trapped her in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. Let’s let her go after we’ve left, otherwise, she might become suspicious of you. Saint Liu Yun, quickly remove the seal on me. I’ve stayed in this place for over 10,000 years, and I really can’t take it anymore. I haven’t smelt fresh air for so long!”

Yang Ye heaved a sigh of relief in his heart upon hearing that. Fortunately, she’s fine.

He pondered deeply for a moment and said, “I’ve just fused with the memories of this body, and my memories are slightly damaged. So, I’ve forgotten some things. Why don’t you wait for me to recover completely before I remove the seal on you?”

The old man’s face sank, and he said, “Saint Liu Yun, are you thinking of going back on your word?”

Yang Ye said, “You should understand that while most of my soul was repaired, it wasn’t completely healed. I seized his body by force, and this kid possessed the Enlightened Sword Heart and an extremely tenacious will, so my soul suffered a certain level of impact because of it, and that impact caused a certain portion of my memories to be lost. Of course, if you’re unwilling to wait, then you can tell me how to remove the seal on you.”

The old man glanced suspiciously at Yang Ye and said, “You’re really having problems with your memory?”

Yang Ye opened his eyes and glanced indifferently at the old man before he said, “It’s fine if you don’t believe me. If you’re unwilling to tell me, then you can just wait until I’ve recovered completely to remove that seal.” Yang Ye walked slowly towards the door as he spoke.

Actually, he was quite anxious in his heart because the old man was a Monarch Realm expert. If the old man suspected him, then he would definitely die here. He could surmount a realm of cultivation and kill Exalt Realm experts while at the Spirit Realm, but he was absolutely unable to surmount a realm of cultivation at the Exalt Realm and kill Monarch Realm experts.

It was impossible for anything to make up for the gap between the Exalt Realm and Monarch Realm!

When he saw ‘Saint Liu Yun’ turn around and leave, the old man gritted his teeth, dispelled the suspicions in his heart, and he said, “Saint Liu Yun, you used a strand of your soul that didn’t contain any memories to place a shackle on me. I’ll naturally be free once you take that strand of your soul back.”

Yang Ye’s heart shook when he heard this, and then he stopped moving and closed his eyes. A strand of wild joy flashed in his eyes when he opened them. Because he was actually able to sense that strand of soul within the old man’s body. It wasn’t long before Yang Ye came to an understanding. He’d devoured Saint Liu Yun’s soul, so he could be said to be Saint Liu Yun. Of course, Yang Ye was still himself because the little girl had eliminated Saint Liu Yun’s memories.

So, Yang Ye was able to sense that strand of soul in the old man’s body, and he could even control it. Because that strand of soul which possessed no memories had taken him to be Saint Liu Yun!

Yang Ye turned around, gazed at the old man, and then a smile curved up on his lips as he issued a command with his soul.

“AH!!!” A shrill cry resounded from the old man as he suddenly grabbed his head.

minutes later, the old man had collapsed on the ground, and his face was covered in pain as he gazed at Yang Ye with resentment. He said, “Saint Liu Yun, you lying bastard! You’ve enslaved me for over 10,000 years yet still refuse to let me go. You swore with your soul all those years ago. Could it be that you aren’t afraid that the Heaven Dao would annihilate you?”

Yang Ye shook his head and said, “He has already been annihilated by the Heaven Dao!”

The old man’s pupils constricted when he heard this, and then he gazed at Yang Ye with astonishment. “You... you aren’t Saint Liu Yun. You... you are that sword cultivator, Yang Ye!”

“Well done!” Yang Ye smiled and said, “It’s really surprising, right?”

“How could that be possible....” The old man gazed at Yang Ye with disbelief, and he said, “How could that be possible? How could Saint Liu Yun have possibly failed? You’re just a sword cultivator at the Exalt Realm, so how could you have possibly resisted Saint Liu Yun?”

Yang Ye said, “That isn’t something you should be paying attention to right now. You should care about yourself right now. I only intend to ask you a single question. Do you want to live, or die? If you want to die, then I’ll fulfil your wish right now and detonate your soul. If you want to live, then you have to have the realization of someone who wants to live. You should understand what I mean!”

“You want to enslave me as well!” The old man laughed miserably and said, “It has been over 10,000 years. I’ve been enslaved here without being able to see the light of day for over 10,000 years! Haha! Now I’m going to be enslaved again! Heavens! How unfair of you!”

Yang Ye said, “So you want to die?”

The old man gazed at Yang Ye with resentment and said, “I do. But I’d like to tell you that I’ll take both you and that little girl with me. Do you know where you are right now? You’re within me right now, within me.... Understand? Hahaha!!”

“You’re the World Portrait! No, you’re its Equipment Spirit!” Yang Ye’s expression changed. He hadn’t imagined that this old man would have actually been the World Portrait’s Equipment Spirit!

“Surprising, right?” The old man spoke with a slightly frenzied tone. “If you are Saint Liu Yun, then you naturally wouldn’t have to fear me even if I detonated myself. But you aren’t. So, everything within this world will cease to exist once I detonate myself, and you and that little girl will die! Hahaha!!!”

Yang Ye nodded, and then he said, “Do you know why Saint Liu Yun failed/”

The old man’s eyelids twitched and said, “Why?” He was actually extremely puzzled. After all, Saint Liu Yun was at the Saint Realm, so he wondered how Saint Liu Yun could have possibly failed! It seemed simply impossible to him!

Yang Ye smiled. “That’s a secret of mine. I just wanted to tell you that I’m able to protect myself even if you do detonate yourself. You don’t seem like you want to die either. So why don’t we make a deal? You stay by my side for 20 years and obey my every command during that period. I’ll let you go after that time. What do you think?”

“20 years?” The old man was slightly tempted, but he quickly said, “Why should I believe you?”

Yang Ye shrugged and said, “You’ve suffered over 10,000 years already, so do you even care about 20 more? 20 years is just like an instant to you, right? Moreover, I’m the Sword Emperor at any rate, so I should have that bit of trustworthiness, right? Of course, if you don’t believe me or aren’t willing to wait for 20 years, then I have nothing else to say. Go ahead and detonate yourself. I’ll definitely not stop you.”

The corners of the old man’s mouth twitched as he gazed at Yang Ye’s extremely confident appearance. Is this fellow really without any fear or is he putting on a show?

Yang Ye continued. “I presume it wasn’t easy for you to cultivate and form an Equipment Spirit. Are you really willing to detonate yourself just like that? I only need you to obey me for 20 years, and you’ll be free after that. 20 years aren’t long for you at all. So, you should take this gamble no matter what, right?”

“Will it really be for only 20 years?” said the old man in a low voice.

Yang Ye nodded and said, “Absolutely!”

“Alright, I’ll go with you for 20 years and obey you during that period!” The old man had decided. Just as Yang Ye said, he’d cultivated for countless years to form an Equipment Spirit, and if he had a choice and hope, then he would naturally not want to detonate himself. Moreover, he’d suffered through over 10,000 years of time, and it was only a mere 20 years now. In any case, he felt that it was only like a nap to him!

Yang Ye smiled when he heard this.

Yang Ye arrived before a pavilion called Heavenly Treasure Pavilion under the old man’s lead. The old man waved his right hand, and then the restrictions around the pavilion were dispelled. The old man said, “Her ancestor is a ninth rank Monarch Realm expert and is a huge threat to Saint Liu Yun, so I didn’t have any intention to harm her. I just intended to trap her here and let her go when I left.”

Yang Ye nodded and walked into the pavilion. However, he’d just walked in when a figure assaulted him, and then a fist struck his stomach, causing him to be blasted flying.

The old man closer his eyes slightly as if he hadn’t noticed at all because it was An Nanjing who launched the attack!

Yang Ye stood up and was slightly dazed, and then he gazed at An Nanjing who had an icy cold expression and said, “An Nanjing, is there something wrong with you in the head?”

An Nanjing walked over to Yang Ye, and then the corners of Yang Ye’s mouth twitched as he said, “I’ll fight back if you continue acting rashly.” Even though his physical body was strong, he wasn’t able to resist An Nanjing’s punches.

An Nanjing asked after she arrived in front of Yang Ye. “You’re still Yang Ye?”

Yang Ye felt much better when he heard this because An Nanjing had probably guessed Saint Liu Yun’s intentions, and she probably attacked him just now because she thought he was Saint Liu Yun. When he thought up to this point, Yang Ye didn’t make a fuss about it with her and immediately nodded. “He failed to take over my body, so I’m naturally myself, and....”

Yang Ye hadn’t finished speaking when An Nanjing pressed forward again and blasted her fist against his stomach, causing him to fly over 50m away.

Yang Ye crawled up from the ground and glared at her as he said, “An Nanjing, I told you that I’m Yang Ye. I’m really Yang Ye. I’m not Saint Liu Yun. Look properly!”

“I know you’re Yang Ye!” An Nanjing walked towards Yang Ye as she spoke.

Yang Ye was stunned, and then he flared-up and said, “You knew I was Yang Ye yet still hit me? Is there something wrong with you in the head?”

“You deserve a beating!” An Nanjing spoke concisely.

Yang Ye’s face twitched as he said, “An Nanjing, I’ve never offended you, right? Hey, don’t come over here! I won’t hold back if you attack again.”

An Nanjing walked over to Yang Ye and just gazed at him, and she looked at him until he felt uncomfortable before she said, “I know you took the initiative to inherit Saint Liu Yun’s mantle because of me, and I know that you definitely did that because you were confident in your ability. Moreover, I’m even aware that you didn’t want me to be in danger. I understand all of that!”

Yang Ye glanced at her with displeasure and said, “You knew yet you still hit me? How could you?”

An Nanjing took two more steps forward, and she gazed at him with an emotionless expression before she said, “Have you thought about what your loved ones would do if your body was really taken? Did you think about what I, An Nanjing, would do?”

Yang Ye was at a loss for what to say.