Just Answer

Ye Chuan's divine sense spread out like a tidal wave, centering on him and sweeping in all directions across the Aether Continent.

With his current cultivation base, a single thought could cover the entire Tianxuan Continent, let alone this mere magical world.

However, just as his divine sense was released, it was blocked by an invisible barrier of aura.

Huh?

"Interesting. It hasn't been that long since I last came here, yet this continent actually restricts the release of divine sense now?" Ye Chuan floated in mid-air, looking down at the earth below.

All around him was nothing but deathly stillness and ruin.

What should have been a lush, verdant forest was now reduced to scorched, twisted deadwood. The trunks were riddled with corroded holes, turning into black powder at the slightest gust of wind.

Rivers that should have been surging endlessly were now nothing but dried, cracked riverbeds. Blackened, stagnant water lingered at the bottom, with the skeletal remains of fish and aquatic creatures floating on the surface.

Across the vast plains, broken city walls, rusted weapons, and the scattered bones of humans and demonic creatures were everywhere.

The air was thick with the lingering stench of rotting blood. Even the wind sweeping across the wasteland carried a piercing, bone-chilling coldness, devoid of the slightest trace of living vitality.

The sky was a murky dark purple. There was no sun, no twin moons, only that layer of demonic miasma shrouding the world. It emitted a faint, suffocating, eerie purple glow that barely illuminated the devastated land.

This was no longer the bustling, vibrant magical world he had seen when he first arrived.

He couldn't see the main cities, nor the succubus taverns.

This place looked like an apocalyptic wasteland that had been thoroughly ravaged by the abyss.

Ye Chuan wasn't sure if only this region was like this, or if the entire Aether Continent had turned into this state.

He was more inclined to think that he had entered some bizarre, strange place.

With his large-scale spiritual power blocked by the demonic miasma, Ye Chuan simply retracted his widespread perception, leaving only precise life detection to sweep in all directions.

His perception skimmed over several kilometers before finally catching a few faint traces of human auras.

"Finally found something alive." Ye Chuan's figure flickered, leaving only a faint spatial ripple in his place as he instantly teleported toward the direction of the auras.

...

...

A bumping carriage.

Rough hemp ropes tightly bound a young girl's slender wrists and ankles, chafing her fair skin until red marks appeared.

The girl forcefully spat out the cloth gag from her mouth, revealing an angry, exquisite doll-like face.

She had fluffy pink twin-tails, the tips naturally curling as they rested on her shoulders. Her ruby-like almond eyes were currently wide and brimming with fury.

Even though she was imprisoned, she still carried the arrogance and haughtiness of the Storm Duke's only daughter—

Kalisia.

Her exquisite white Lolita dress was stained with quite a bit of dust, yet it still couldn't conceal her noble demeanor. It was just that at this moment, there was a touch of superficial bravado hiding her inner panic.

"You human traitors! Despicable demonic running dogs! How dare you kidnap me!" Kalisia's voice was crisp and loud. Even while tied up, her momentum was not weak in the slightest,

"My father is the Storm Duke! If he finds out, he will definitely hang you all from the city gates, and even your families will pay the price in blood!"

Hearing this, the three black-robed men in the carriage let out sinister laughs.

The scar-faced leader looked Kalisia up and down, making no secret of the greed in his eyes:

"Miss Kalisia, of course we know who you are."

"If it weren't for the fact that your body, full of magical potential, serves as the perfect tribute for the Demon General, my brothers and I would have already enjoyed a delicate noble lady like you halfway here."

The tall, skinny man next to him joined in with a chilling laugh. "You're just a second-tier Light Mage. No matter how noble your status is, aren't you still obediently tied up here by us?"

"Once we hand you over to the Demon General and get our reward, maybe we'll even get a taste of a Duke's daughter first."

"Bastards! Are you even human?!"

Kalisia was so angry her cheeks flushed and her eyes grew red, but she simply couldn't break free from the ropes binding her.

She could only grit her teeth and spout harsh words, but her slightly trembling voice still betrayed the fear in her heart.

But right at that moment, the demonic horse pulling the carriage let out a terrified neigh, rearing high on its front hooves as if it had been blocked by something.

The sudden stop caused the people inside to slam hard against the carriage walls.

"Damn it! What's going on?!" the scar-faced man cursed angrily, shouting sharply,

"Who's out there?!"

Before his voice faded, the carriage's iron door was blown right off by an invisible force, crashing heavily onto the ground and kicking up a cloud of black dust.

Against the light, a figure appeared at the carriage doorway.

Ye Chuan stood there with an expressionless face. His gaze lightly swept over the people in the carriage, finally landing on the tied-up Kalisia, before withdrawing again as if he didn't have much interest.

He spoke in a calm voice, "Yo, I stopped the carriage to ask you a few things."

Stopped the carriage to ask for directions?

The men exchanged glances, a flash of viciousness instantly crossing their eyes.

The scar on the leader's face twisted before he immediately put on a flattering smile. "So it's a great lord! We brothers are just travelers passing through, nothing is wrong."

"If you want to ask for information, we are naturally willing. Please, come in first?"

As he spoke, he shot a meaningful look at his two subordinates.

All three men quietly reached into their sleeves. Poison-laced daggers slid into their palms, while their other hands grasped pre-prepared Shadow Arrow magic scrolls. They were just waiting for Ye Chuan to get close before launching a sudden sneak attack.

In their eyes, Ye Chuan looked young and had no magical fluctuations around him. He was probably just some ignorant noble young master who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

Even if he had some skills, he absolutely wouldn't be able to withstand a combined sneak attack from the three of them.

Seeing this setup, Kalisia's heart leaped into her throat. Disregarding her own predicament, she immediately shouted at Ye Chuan:

"Watch out! They are traitors who have sided with the demons! They're going to ambush you!!"

As soon as Kalisia's shout fell, the three men violently lunged!

The poisoned dagger in the scar-faced man's hand thrust straight at Ye Chuan's heart. The dragon poison on this dagger, even if it just scratched a bit of skin, could instantly cause a Grand Mage's body to fester and their soul to rot away to death.

Their move was a killing strike, ruthless, malicious, without holding back in the slightest, aiming entirely for a one-hit kill.

Terrified, Kalisia instantly closed her eyes, unable to bear watching the bloody scene that would follow. She was anxious and regretful, hating that her magic was sealed and she couldn't help at all.

But the expected scream of agony never came.

Only a few short, shrill wails echoed in the carriage, stopping abruptly in an instant, as quickly as if someone had forcefully snapped their necks.

Kalisia cautiously opened her eyes, and then froze in place, utterly dumbfounded by what she saw.

The several men rushing forward suddenly found their bodies floating in the air, completely out of their control. Then, with a sickening crunch, every bone in their bodies completely shattered.

"When I ask you a question, just answer it," Ye Chuan said calmly.