Chapter 200 — Black Bat

The Beast Sovereign's face still looked as weary as ever, still wearing that look of one who cared for nothing. "Let them," he said. "I cannot be bothered. But these people have actually gotten this deep into the cave? From the sound of it, they seem to have already passed the place where the Black Bat dwells. Still, if they got into this cave at all, they can likely deal with the Black Bat. There's also a black tiger fiend at the cave mouth—that they could slip in without a sound, with the black tiger making no stir either, is no simple matter."

The woman's voice in the darkness suddenly said, "Since you are no longer of a body that cannot die, with the grave injuries you now bear, can you deal with these foes of unknown strength?"

The Beast Sovereign smiled. "I do not know," he said. "But I am not worried."

The woman said, "Why?"

The Beast Sovereign smiled and said, "With you here, what have I to fear?"

The woman's voice was silent for a while, then she sneered, "Whether you live or die is no concern of mine. Do not think that because I helped you once, I will surely help you again this time. A demon of your cultivation and devilish arts—though we have some acquaintance, who is to say we will not fall out one day? Better you die early and be done with it!"

The Beast Sovereign coughed twice, his face still showing some pain, yet the smile at the corner of his mouth not diminishing in the least. He merely gazed into the dark and said, "Sooner or later I will die, rest assured. But before that—are you not still set on comprehending this Eight Fiends Mystic Fire Formation handed down by the Witch Clan? If I die, would you not lose everything?"

The woman gave a cold snort. "The formation is right here. What do I have to fear from you?"

The Beast Sovereign laughed. "Of the diagrams of the Eight Fiends Mystic Fire Formation that survive in the world today, only this place and the Mystic Fire Altar in Fenxia Valley remain. The diagram in Fenxia Valley has already been destroyed, so only this one is left. You have still not fathomed the secrets of the formation within it, so only I can activate the formation for you to study. If you had the Mystic Fire Mirror in hand, you could naturally activate it yourself—but alas, you do not." He paused here, and a faint melancholy flickered across his face. "You know by now as well: Linglong set this formation down in those years precisely to imprison me. If I should die, this formation will scatter to dust as well. In that case, would you not gain nothing at all?"

The woman fell silent, and only after a good while said, "You are ruthless, I will grant you that. I will deal with these people."

The Beast Sovereign slowly shook his head. "It is not that I am ruthless. It is that you yourself have something you care for, and so you are held in check by others. But—" He slowly raised his eyes and looked into the depths of the darkness. "Can you tell me for whose sake you must risk coming with me to comprehend this formation?"

There was no answer. All around was silence; it seemed that in that very instant, the mysterious woman in the darkness had already gone far away. The flames in the brazier still burned, reflected in the Beast Sovereign's eyes.

The Taotie slowly rose to its feet, giving low growls without cease, clearly most uneasy. The Beast Sovereign silently watched the empty darkness ahead, and said nothing.