Chapter 1097 A Sudden Stirring of the Heart

"Ji Qingyun, what kind of spiritual medicine are you looking for? If we go any further, everyone will be in danger!" Guo Xu said in a deep voice.

Outside the third layer were still some divine beasts at the peak of the Divine King realm; further in, there were divine beasts at the Void Profound realm.

With the strength of these disciples, they naturally couldn't go any deeper.

Ye Yuan glanced at him and said indifferently, "Do you think ordinary spiritual medicines can catch my eye? Aren't you here for training? I didn't ask you to follow me. Why don't you take your junior brothers and continue training while I go find my medicine? If I get killed by a divine beast, you should be happy."

"You!" Guo Xu was momentarily speechless.

At this moment, the Divine Hound King suddenly spoke up: "Guo Xu, take your junior brothers and train here for a while. I'll continue forward with Ji Qingyun."

Hearing this, Guo Xu became anxious and quickly said, "How can that be?"

The Divine Hound King glanced at him and said, "The medicine Ji Qingyun wants should be on the fourth layer, barring accidents. Once we enter the fourth layer, I won't be able to look after you! Besides, you've seen his strength. If it really comes to a fight, you won't gain any advantage."

Guo Xu's face stiffened as he realized an embarrassing fact.

The Divine Hound King's meaning was clear: if he kept following, he would become a burden.

Even if Ye Yuan had any ulterior motives, Guo Xu following along wouldn't help; instead, he might become Ye Yuan's breakthrough point.

This... was awkward.

"Then... be careful, Lord Divine Hound!" Guo Xu said dejectedly.

The Divine Hound King patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry. With me here, he can't pull any tricks."

Guo Xu nodded. He naturally trusted the Divine Hound King's strength.

He just hadn't expected that one day he would become a burden.

...

After parting with the disciples of the Purple Gold Hall, Ye Yuan, along with the man and the dog, headed deeper.

Going further in, Ye Yuan naturally couldn't use the divine beasts for practice as before.

Unless he used a divine artifact, it would be difficult for him to defeat those divine beasts at the Void Profound realm.

So along the way, both Ye Yuan and Zhao Lingdong kept a low profile, trying to avoid those powerful auras.

Moving cautiously, a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Since parting with Guo Xu and the others, they had traveled nearly a hundred million li.

Along the way, they naturally encountered some powerful divine beasts, most of which were dealt with by the Divine Hound King.

And this allowed Ye Yuan to witness the Divine Hound King's power.

Ordinary Void Profound divine beasts were no match for the Divine Hound King.

Throughout the journey, whenever they encountered a Void Profound divine beast, the Divine Hound King would crush and kill the opponent.

However, from beginning to end, that Howling Heaven Divine Dog never made a move.

Before his rebirth, Ye Yuan had no dealings with the Divine Hound King, but he had heard of his strength.

But today, Ye Yuan realized that Zhao Lingdong was even stronger than the rumors suggested.

On this day, the two finally arrived at the entrance to the fourth layer.

Ahead was a small teleportation array.

A small beam of light emitted a lively radiance.

As they were walking, Ye Yuan suddenly stopped.

Zhao Lingdong asked suspiciously, "Why have you stopped?"

Ye Yuan said calmly, "Let's wander around the third layer a bit more. I need a fifty-thousand-year-old Blood Azure Sky. This is the deepest part of the third layer; maybe it's here. If we can find it, we can reduce the time we spend on the fourth layer. That way, the danger will be somewhat less."

The Divine Hound King could dominate on the third layer, but on the fourth layer, he would have to keep his tail between his legs.

The divine beasts on the fourth layer were too strong. For the Divine Hound King, the fourth layer was his limit.

He absolutely couldn't enter the fifth layer.

The Divine Hound King frowned and said, "The chance of finding a fifty-thousand-year-old Blood Azure Sky on the fourth layer should be much greater than on the third. Don't forget, we only have half a year. If we waste too much time on the third layer, we won't have time to find the later medicines."

Ye Yuan thought for a moment and nodded, "You're right. Let's go."

The Divine Hound King relaxed inwardly, nodded, and was about to move forward.

But as soon as Ye Yuan took a step, he stopped again.

"Hmm? What now?" The Divine Hound King looked at Ye Yuan suspiciously.

Ye Yuan turned to look at the Divine Hound King and suddenly smiled, "Your heart stirred!"

The Divine Hound King's heart skipped a beat. Could Ye Yuan have noticed something?

Impossible!

From beginning to end, he believed he had shown no flaw.

Zhao Lingdong frowned and said, "What do you mean?"

Ye Yuan curled his lips slightly and smiled faintly, "I mean... you really want me to enter the fourth layer?"

Zhao Lingdong's premonition grew worse, but he still refused to give up.

One more step, and Ye Yuan would fall into the trap set by the Three Demons of Demon Ridge. Once Ye Yuan was trapped in the Map of Mountains and Rivers, there would be absolutely no chance of escape!

Even a Son of Fate, with his destiny shielded, would only have a dead end!

What's more, those dealing with Ye Yuan were five Void Profound realm experts.

But it was only one step away!

His heart was pounding, but Zhao Lingdong showed nothing on his face.

He was inherently calm and steady; even if a storm raged in his heart, he wouldn't reveal a trace.

Without such composure, how could he have dared to work undercover under the three giants of the Holy City for so many years?

It was precisely because of this confidence that Zhao Lingdong knew he had shown no flaws along the way.

But how did Ye Yuan figure it out?

Could it be because of that trace of spatial fluctuation?

That trace of spatial fluctuation was so minute that even he hadn't detected it.

And even if Ye Yuan had suspicions, why at this particular moment?

Zhao Lingdong was utterly baffled!

"What you said—it's you who wants to find the medicine, not me. If you don't want to enter the fourth layer, then don't," Zhao Lingdong said in a deep voice.

Ye Yuan looked at Zhao Lingdong and said indifferently, "Still not giving up? Since I said that, I naturally have some certainty."

This time, Zhao Lingdong was completely resigned.

He knew that Ye Yuan had truly sensed something was wrong.

But there was no flaw in sight. If he hadn't known beforehand, Zhao Lingdong would never have known this was a trap.

So how exactly did Ye Yuan figure it out?

Zhao Lingdong frowned, a faint killing intent locking onto Ye Yuan, and said in a deep voice, "I believe I showed no flaw. How did you figure it out?"

Ye Yuan didn't answer his question. He looked at the teleportation array in the distance and smiled, "Flawless, without a single crack! If I'm not mistaken, this should be the legendary Map of Mountains and Rivers, right?"

Zhao Lingdong's gaze sharpened. He hadn't expected Ye Yuan to even recognize that!

This kid was simply too monstrous!

Ye Yuan turned back to Zhao Lingdong and smiled, "You indeed have no flaws, but you should know what a sudden stirring of the heart means, right?"