The helmet of the towering figure, it resembles a ferocious beast with two horns and a white mane.
He is one of the Four Pillars—who serves to uphold the laws of the Leng Bing Realm, Xiao Jun.
"About what we were talking about…"
Towards Zhou Xiaoyu, Xiao Jun replies—
"No interest."
"At least give it a bit more thought. Once my current body becomes no different from a genuine practitioner, I can get out of this world when the necropolis opens."
The necropolis is located in the central domain of the Leng Bing Realm.
If the denizens of this world wish to enter it, they would have to step into the pillar of golden flames—that is right behind Zhou Xiaoyu's throne.
Under normal circumstances, it is only by enduring against the golden flames' heat—that a weapon spirit will be able to enter the necropolis.
Over the past 550,000 years, Zhou Xiaoyu has been devouring any living practitioners that she was able to find—via the use of a special divine art.
And as a result of this, the Leng Bing Realm's branding on her has been weakened significantly.
At this point, Zhou Xiaoyu believes that if she just devoured another 100-odd practitioners of the weaker realms of cultivation, she would be able to attain her goal of transcending the golden flames.
To both motivate and to remind herself of her ambitions, she had built her temple near the golden flames, which were in the very center of the inner domain.
"…"
Heaving a sigh on the inside, Xiao Jun says—
"Less than two and a half months—that is when the necropolis will open. You won't make it on time."
Towards Xiao Jun's remark, Zhou Xiaoyu replies—
"Naturally. But I'm thinking about the openings that will occur later down the line. The more practitioners that you bring to me now, the sooner I can fulfil my goal."
"The practitioners that I am able to bring to you are limited. They are either those given the death sentence by the Ling Yuan family, or someone had paid good money in the Everlasting Spirit Realm to send them here."
As a means to pass time, Xiao Jun would occasionally hunt these practitioners down, so that he could exchange them with Zhou Xiaoyu for good wine.
"If you just tell that little sister of yours to head outside, and nab a few individuals in, I'm sure-"
"Do you wish to test yourself against me?"
"…"
Recalling her miserable defeat in the hands of the Four Pillars in the past, Zhou Xiaoyu raises a sigh, and replies—
"A good man won't hit a fragile woman."
"A good man? If I were human that saying might apply, but I am a weapon spirit."
"…"
Disregarding Xiao Jun's reply, Zhou Xiaoyu says—
"I don't get why you're so against this. If you help me, I'll bust your true self out of the Demon Suppression Prison later. It's a win-win for the both of us, don't you think?"
"Even if you did manage to get out of this world, you would only be at the Nascent Soul realm at best."
"With my talent, and the knowledge in my head, I'd be able to become a Heaven Manifestation realm practitioner—50 years after I make my escape. Once that happens, I'll be more than capable of fulfilling my end of the bargain. And even if I wasn't, given a bit more time—I can return to the Ancient Divinity Continent, and ask my tribesmen for aid."
Shaking his head, Xiao Jun replies—
"You won't have the chance to do that. The laws of this world are already starting to collapse. That is why entry into the outer domain is possible so soon."
"…?"
Hearing this, Zhou Xiaoyu widens her eyes.
"…What?"
"Surnamed Zhou, it was fun while it lasted. However, this will most likely be the final time that I visit you for wine. A shame that you still owe me 99,491 bottles."
"Wai-"
Before Zhou Xiaoyu can say anything more, Xiao Jun vanishes into a dark rift.
"…"
Sinking onto her throne in a powerless manner, Zhou Xiaoyu simply sits there quietly.
"If what he said is true, then… The necropolis' next opening in two and a half months is my deadline. Before then, I need to devour…"
Making a rough estimation in her head, Zhou Xiaoyu concludes—
"Four Nascent Soul realm practitioners, and maybe a few others… If the last one is a Core Formation realm practitioner, then I should be able to reach my goal."
Thinking of this, a place comes to Zhou Xiaoyu's mind—
"…New Moon Village."
In the past, Zhou Xiaoyu had been rather hesitant to get on Zhen Qing Huai's bad side—due to the latter being the former's source of rare metals and minerals for a special project.
"It might be time for me to rip my polite mask off with them. If I recall, there is a surnamed Bai in the outer domain as well. If I devour him, that's one less Nascent Soul realm practitioner away—from fulfilling my goal."
Rising off her throne, Zhou Xiaoyu decides to head for the outer domain herself.
"Ai, at a time like this, I really wish I wasn't the hall master."
With a status like hers, leaving would inevitably require her to make a few arrangements beforehand—mainly related to assigning someone to be in charge while she is away.