Chapter 704: Great Demon 67

"And here we are, meeting again on this ancient battlefield. Why don’t you tell me... now that you’ve fallen into my hands, what do you think you should leave behind to resolve the karma between us?"

Tan You smirked, her right hand lifting slightly and landing casually on a small, fluffy head. Tan You glanced down, and the little guy immediately burrowed under her palm on his own accord.

It felt surprisingly nice, so Tan You gave his head a couple more ruffles. ’He’s already calling me Mother, so our connection can’t be that shallow,’ she thought. ’What’s the harm in petting him a little?’

Meanwhile, the little guy whose head was being ruffled by Tan You broke into a wide, silly grin. ’Mother is patting my head! Does this mean she likes me?’

In stark contrast to the little guy’s joy, Jing Yue and the other Immortal Monarchs of the Taiyi Sect were not in high spirits. They were well and truly at her mercy now, with no idea what this Golden Ring Snake planned to do.

Tan You couldn’t be bothered to say more. After all, villains die from monologuing. So, after a few more words, she activated the advanced version of the God Trapping Array. Bolts of Heavenly Thunder rained down, and soon, Jing Yue and the other Immortal Monarchs from the Taiyi Sect were covered in wounds.

Tan You paid no mind to the threats the Immortal Monarchs hurled at her. In the grand competition between the clans, death and injury were expected. The situation between her and these Immortal Monarchs was already one of kill or be killed.

The little guy nuzzled against Tan You’s leg. "Mother, get them! They tried to kill me!"

Tan You shot him a sideways glance. "They could kill someone like you? Even my God Trapping Array can’t restrain you."

"Because I’m a spirit. Mother, your God Trapping Array can restrain physical beings like Immortal Monarchs and the Demon Clan, but it can’t restrain me. Besides, I was born because of your God Trapping Array. In essence, we come from the same source."

Tan You thought to herself, ’Thank goodness it wasn’t some sort of scandalous, miraculous conception. If it were, wouldn’t that just be adding an unnecessary burden on myself?’

"A spirit?" No longer paying attention to Jing Yue and the other Immortal Monarchs struggling under the Heavenly Thunder, Tan You sat cross-legged beside the little guy. "A spirit born in the Land of Severed Spirits? The so-called ’Son of the Earth’?"

"Mhm, that’s me," the little guy said, mimicking Tan You by sitting cross-legged and propping his little chin in his hands. "I remember being here for a long, long time. But it would have taken me much longer to take a physical form and walk."

"That’s because the Evil Qi from the Immortal-Demon battlefield was growing stronger, constantly encroaching on my surroundings. Then you came, Mother. Your Array is amazing! It actually managed to cover the entire Land of Severed Spirits."

"Without the encroachment of the Evil Qi, I was finally able to be fully born. That’s why you’re my mother."

His calls gave Tan You a headache. ’So this is what painless motherhood feels like.’ Still, she’d taken care of a fair few children by now. One more wouldn’t make much of a difference.

"Mother, this is for you." The little guy suddenly grew shy. He fumbled inside his clothes and pulled out a large handful of Sha Crystals.

"I saw you collecting these before, Mother. I’m a really good helper, I can help you collect more." The little guy puffed out his cheeks. "Mother, please take me with you. I’ll be good and listen to you."

Tan You sighed. "Alright, you can follow me. But I need to correct you on one thing. I’m taking you with me not because you’re a good helper, but because you did, in fact, come into this world because of me."

"Therefore, I have a duty to guide you and raise you properly."

The little guy didn’t quite understand all that, but he clearly understood that Tan You was going to take him with her. He instinctively threw himself into her arms. "Mother..."

Tan You patted his head. "I can’t keep calling you ’little guy’. I should give you a name."

The little guy immediately straightened up, his eyes wide with surprise and delight. "You’re going to give me a name, Mother?"

Tan You smiled and ruffled his hair again. "Of course. Giving a name is a very important matter. It means that from now on, everything you do will be tied to me."

Just as when Jin Yuan gave her the name Jin Zhao, everything she did in this world was closely tied to him. Fortunately, she had never committed any crimes, so no negative karma had fallen upon Jin Yuan because of her.

The little guy puffed out his small chest. "Mother, I promise I’ll be good."

"Good," Tan You smiled. "You were born in the Land of Severed Spirits. For a forbidden place like this to give birth to a little one like you... It just goes to show that even in the most desperate of places, a sliver of life can always be found."

"Then your name will be Yan. You’ll take my surname, Jin. Jin Yan."

The little guy stared with his pitch-black eyes. "But Mother, your surname isn’t Jin. I saw you. You’re chubby, not skinny like this body."

Tan You’s eyes widened slightly. She hadn’t expected this little guy to have actually seen her true form. "It doesn’t matter what I look like. Here, I am Jin Zhao."

The little guy sounded a little disappointed. "Alright, then I’ll be Jin Yan."

Tan You tapped his forehead. "Do you know how rare the Jin surname is? When we get out of here, you’ll have five grand-masters, all of them Upper Gods. You’ll be able to do whatever you want in the Ninth Heaven."

"You’ll be the youngest in the clan. How exciting is that?"

Jin Yan propped his chin in his hand. "I guess I’m a little bit happy? But I’m happiest when I’m with you, Mother."

His words made Tan You laugh. "Alright."

By then, the Immortal Monarchs within the God Trapping Array had returned to dust. Tan You’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, even after killing so many Immortal Monarchs at once. The grand competition between clans was a matter of kill or be killed.

They had ambushed her first, so they had no one to blame but themselves for being killed in retaliation.

As she mulled this over, Tan You collected the Sha Crystals the Immortal Monarchs had left behind. In an instant, her pouch grew heavy. ’It’s true what they say, crime pays,’ she thought. Her Sha Crystal count instantly shot past ten thousand.

It was clear these Cultivators from the Taiyi Sect hadn’t kept their hands clean over the past few days either, which worked out perfectly for her.

At this thought, the corners of Tan You’s lips curled up. ’But this amount of Sha Crystals isn’t enough. It won’t be that easy to take first place.’

Jin Yan waved his hand. "Mother, how many Sha Crystals do you want?"

Tan You glanced at him. "As many as I can get, of course. You’re a member of our Golden Ring Snake Clan now, so our fortunes are tied together."

"When the clan prospers, you will prosper."

Jin Yan beamed. "Mother, you just wait! I’ll definitely find lots and lots of Sha Crystals for you."

Tan You asked, "You have a way?"

"Of course," Jin Yan declared, putting a hand on his hip. "Mother, I was born in the Land of Severed Spirits. For years, the endless Evil Qi has been trying to take over this place. We’ve been fighting this whole time. If the Evil Qi had completely taken over the Land of Severed Spirits, my existence would have been erased, and the Evil Qi would have fully materialized."

"But you helped me, Mother, so I was the one who had the last laugh. Now, this Evil Qi can only ever be Evil Qi. Getting Sha Crystals from it will be a piece of cake."

Tan You hadn’t expected the little guy to have such an ability. "Will it harm you?"

His eyes immediately welled up with tears, touched by her concern. "No, Mother, don’t worry. I’m tough."

Tan You was surprised. "Weren’t you just born? How do you seem to know so much?"