Chapter Fifty-Six: The God of Darkness

"Alright, enough nonsense! Can't you see someone across the river is upset?"
The Sky-Swallowing Sparrow was about to explain, but Ye Qiu cut him off, because on the other side of the boundary river, the god who had just awakened from darkness was already growing impatient.

Originally, he thought Ye Qiu would offer him the highest courtesy and respect, but Ye Qiu had been ignoring him all this time...

As the supreme god of darkness, how could he tolerate such treatment? He was long since restless.

Yet... as impatient as he was, Ye Qiu was even more so.

How dare you lay a hand on the object of my secret affection? You must have guts...

Wait—object of my secret affection?

Strictly speaking, as long as a woman was beautiful, she was Ye Qiu’s secret crush; the prettier, the more he liked her.

Who doesn’t like women? Any man surely does, and he’s bound to fancy every one he meets.

But let’s be clear: liking is just liking! It’s not the same as love. Admiring beauties is instinct, but in the end, there is only one who will accompany him for life.

Ye Qiu's heart was vast enough to hold all the beauties of the world, but also small enough to hold just one.

Some might say, isn’t this just being a scoundrel?

Come on, whom have I wronged? I don’t even have a girlfriend—what’s wrong with liking beautiful women? If I did have a girlfriend, I wouldn’t dare act this way.

Wait... I’m getting off track!

"You truly disappoint me!"

Seeing Ye Qiu finally raise his head to glance at him, the god of darkness uttered an unhappy voice.

"Disappoint? Do you know what I’m thinking right now? I’m considering whether to cut you into eight pieces, or sixteen, or perhaps just cook you outright..."

Ye Qiu replied coldly with a smile, and even he felt a bit guilty after saying it.

Though he didn’t have the ability, he couldn’t lose his aura. What’s the harm in bluffing a bit?

Upon hearing this, the god of darkness visibly shuddered, clearly somewhat alarmed.

If someone else had spoken these words, he might not have cared, but since Ye Qiu said it, it carried weight.

After all, Ye Qiu had just uttered two words and sent him back across the boundary river—a feat never witnessed in his millions of years.

Though the god of darkness feared Ye Qiu, he still believed that, even if he was slightly weaker, he could stand as Ye Qiu’s equal.

"You think I’d be afraid of you?"

The god of darkness tried, probing whether Ye Qiu truly intended to kill.

Ye Qiu was instantly panicked, "Damn, he’s not afraid of me? How am I supposed to keep bluffing? Do I really have to fight?"

No way! I can't fight. The only two fighters present—one is up in the sky intimidating the void, the other is sitting behind, recuperating.

The Buddha is just a portrait, with no independent consciousness. He can only seal the abyss, not take action himself.

As for Yue Chan—it was clear she wasn't a match for the god of darkness; as for the others... no need to mention them, just cannon fodder at best.

As everyone turned their hopeful gazes toward Ye Qiu, he grew even more uneasy.

Brothers, stop looking at me! I really can’t fight. It took me such effort to get a single cheat, and it’s one-use only—what am I supposed to do?

No, I can’t lose my aura; otherwise, he’ll think I’m afraid. If that happens, instead of me attacking him, he’ll come right at me.

Ye Qiu made up his mind, keeping a calm and composed expression, smiling as he said, "So you think I’d be afraid of you?"

At these words, the god of darkness felt his heart skip a beat! Outwardly poised, inwardly a bundle of nerves.

Wait a minute! Isn’t this supposed to be my domain? How did the atmosphere suddenly shift—it now feels like his stage?

At this point, both were nervous, neither daring to make the first move.

One truly couldn’t fight, the other wasn’t sure if he could win—both were feigning calm...

"Damn it, just where did this human powerhouse spring from? In just a single epoch, such an unparalleled expert has emerged. Is my dark clan truly about to be wiped out today?"

The god of darkness was deeply unsettled, for behind him stood his descendants. If he lost, the boundary river would never again see the dark clan.

If not for Ye Qiu's sudden appearance, he wouldn't have been awakened so soon, and now, facing this unfathomable foe, it felt... darker than darkness itself.

There was simply no hope...

He was indeed powerful, but only just stepping into the immortal realm, while Ye Qiu felt like a true supreme immortal.

The god of darkness thought it over and finally decided to imitate Ye Qiu and pretend...

He knew he couldn’t win, but his aura couldn’t falter, or everything would be lost.

Originally, their clan had spent centuries planning an invasion, waiting for him to break through and storm the wilderness.

Now, it seemed... invading the wilderness was impossible! With Ye Qiu there, any number of fighters would be mere sacrifices. It’d be better to turn and attack the opposite foreign land.

There should be no immortals there, easier to conquer!

After a long silence, the god of darkness observed Ye Qiu, noticing that he hadn’t moved at all, always as steady as a mountain, giving off an unfathomable feeling.

This person, both in cultivation and temperament, was exceptional—so exceptional that, faced with such circumstances, he could remain so calm, while he himself could only feign composure.

This was the god of darkness’s highest evaluation of Ye Qiu; little did he know Ye Qiu was pretending too, just much better at it.

If Ye Qiu knew his thoughts, he’d be delighted—so those rumors were true: masters really don’t like to talk.

Just by standing there, silence speaks louder than words, overwhelming the opponent with mere presence. Losing is almost impossible.

After a long silence, the god of darkness finally spoke: "The boundary river and the wilderness have always minded their own affairs. May I ask, what brings you here today? Are you intending to invade my river?"

"What? Invade? What’s so valuable about your stinking ditch for us to invade?"

Ye Qiu couldn’t help but laugh. The so-called boundary river was nothing more than a foul ditch—just a big one, that’s all.

Faced with Ye Qiu's ridicule, the god of darkness dared not voice his anger, and spoke again: "Isn’t your manner a bit too discourteous?"

"Is it not?"

Fine, the god of darkness yielded. He really wanted to argue, but it seemed true—this was indeed just a stinking ditch.

"If it's not an invasion, then what do you want?"

The god of darkness was quite annoyed. If this were anyone else, he would’ve struck long ago.

"Nothing much! I heard from them that you dark gods are quite formidable, and once you cross the river, you’ll endanger the wilderness. I’m afraid you might threaten me one day, so I came today specifically to seal you all away..."

God of darkness: "???"

Listen to that—does it sound human?

You say we’re formidable, I tolerate it. You say we might endanger the wilderness, I tolerate that too...

But you actually claim that we, mere henchmen, would threaten you? And you want to seal us away?

Heavens, I beg you, strike down this inhuman creature!

Do you even have a sense of your own strength? We’d threaten you?

Please, just act like a normal person!

This behavior is truly beyond the pale...