Chapter 785: Post-Battle Reparations and the Lake of Treasures
The earth lay shattered and scarred, vast cracks stretching like serpents through a landscape of ruin.
The battlefield, cloaked in eerie silence, trembled under the weight of shock. All eyes were fixed on the distant figure lying gravely wounded upon the broken ground.
No one had expected that Hei Yin Tian—the strongest warrior among them, an eighth-rank Supreme—would be defeated by Mo Yu.
An eighth-rank Supreme, a power so formidable even the proudest prodigies of the Divine Beast Clans feared confronting directly, had just fallen to a seventh-rank Supreme.
Hovering in the air, Mo Yu slowly descended, his gaze cold and unfeeling as it locked upon the beaten Hei Yin Tian. "Still breathing? You intend to play dead?"
The wounded warrior twitched within the cratered earth, struggling weakly to rise. His face was deathly pale, his aura flickering—yet within his eyes now lingered faint dread instead of arrogance.
Even with his powerful body, Hei Yin Tian had skirted death by a breath's width. But his injuries ran deep.
"Heh… who would've thought—I, Hei Yin Tian, would stumble in a gutter like this," he muttered darkly, wiping the blood from his lips.
Mo Yu smiled faintly, though the gesture bore no warmth—only cold killing intent. There had been no mercy earlier, and there would be none now. This man had sought to kill him outright. If given the chance, he would not walk away alive.
Across the field, Hei Sha and Huang Qi hastily retreated to Hei Yin Tian's side, faces pale with fear and defeat.
The situation had reversed completely.
Cai Lin and Han Yue approached, joined by Mang Lie. The Ximo warriors' gazes toward Mo Yu brimmed with reverence.
"This time, we truly owe it all to Brother Mo," Han Yue admitted, his tone a mix of awe and gratitude.
Had Mo Yu not overturned the battle, they would have fled like beaten dogs, losing face—and the Treasure Beast's legacy—entirely.
Cai Lin's eyes flicked toward the battered enemies, a glint of cold intent in her gaze. "What do we do with them?" she asked softly. "Killing them here would rid us of future trouble."
The mere edge in her voice made the surviving Dark Tiger and Earth Leopard clansmen shudder in fear, their auras instinctively rising in defense.
Hei Yin Tian forced himself upright and growled, "Don't think that just because you've won, you can butcher us freely. The Dark Tiger Clan is no weakling faction. If I die here, your Swallowing Python and Ximo Clans will pay dearly for it!"
Huang Qi quickly added, "And the Earth Leopard Clan as well! The elder who leads my line is one of our great elders. If I fall, my clan will demand answers from your kind!"
Mo Yu's narrowed eyes glimmered faintly. Their threats weren't empty boasts—both were among the major divine beast lineages, each far surpassing the current power of the Swallowing Python Clan.
If both clans chose to retaliate, things could indeed get complicated.
He turned slightly toward Han Yue and Cai Lin, gauging their thoughts. The two exchanged a glance and shook their heads—neither seemed keen to press the slaughter further.
Seeing this, Mo Yu's cold smile returned. "It's not impossible to end this peacefully," he said mildly. "But that will come with certain costs."
Hei Yin Tian's brow twitched. "What conditions?"
"First," Mo Yu said, his tone sharp as ice, "you forfeit all claim to the Treasure Beast's relics."
Both Hei Yin Tian and Huang Qi stiffened, faces twisting. That treasure was the sole reason they'd risked entering the Beast Plains. To lose it now was a humiliation beyond measure—but the look in Mo Yu's eyes left no room for defiance. Any protest would mean death.
After a long, bitter silence, Hei Yin Tian's jaw tightened and he nodded stiffly.
Huang Qi's heart sank. His alliance with the Dark Tiger Clan had been a wager for success—but instead, he had backed the losing side. They had been crushed, reduced from hunters to beggars. Resentment brewed in his throat, but under Mo Yu's calm, deadly gaze, he swallowed it down and nodded as well.
Mo Yu continued coldly, "Second, you owe compensation. Your intrusion cost us dearly. The price will be paid in Supreme Spirit Liquid—one million per head. As for you, Hei Yin Tian, triple that."
At those words, Hei Yin Tian's expression turned black with fury. Their remaining forces numbered eight. That meant ten million in total.
It was extortion—but the alternative was worse.
Grinding his teeth, Hei Yin Tian gathered the remains of his wealth, forcibly extorting several million from Huang Qi before reluctantly throwing together the total sum.
His trembling hands gripped the jade vial tightly, muscles twitching with pain—not from his wounds, but from the loss. With a final growl, he hurled the vial toward Mo Yu.
"Take it."
The jade vial hovered before Mo Yu. He gave it a casual glance before flicking it into his sleeve, a faint grin tugging at his lips.
Though ten million Supreme Spirit Liquid was pocket change to his true self, this was a fitting punishment—a financial scar these traitorous clans would remember well.
"You can leave," Mo Yu said simply.
Hei Yin Tian's expression twisted as he turned one last time toward the distance, where the depths of the valley shimmered faintly—a reminder of what he'd lost.
He could feel the power still hidden there, the aura of unimaginable treasure. But with his strength broken, even gazing upon it felt cruel.
"Go," he ordered bitterly.
The defeated forces gathered, retreating with dark expressions. Hei Yin Tian cast Mo Yu one last venomous look before disappearing into the shadows. Hei Sha and Huang Qi followed in silence, their faces bloodless.
Han Yue exhaled a long breath beside Mo Yu. "Joining hands with you was the smartest thing that's ever happened to us," he said with a rueful smile. "Honestly, without you, we'd already be corpses."
Mo Yu chuckled quietly. He produced the jade vial again but began to divide the contents. Both Han Yue and Cai Lin immediately shook their heads in refusal.
"This victory was yours," Han Yue said firmly. "You earned every drop of it."
"Indeed," Cai Lin added softly. "Without you, there wouldn't even be a battle to split."
Mo Yu couldn't help but smile again, tucking away the fortune. His own resources had been depleted—this replenishment would serve him well in his coming cultivation.
"Let's move," Han Yue said then. "We should reach the Treasure Beast's resting place before others arrive."
Everyone's spirit stirred at once. After all the peril and bloodshed, the true prize awaited.
Even Mo Yu's normally calm eyes flickered with anticipation. The treasure left behind by a being like the Treasure Beast might well be beyond imagination—perhaps even a quasi-sacred relic.
"Let's go."
Han Yue took the lead, and the group followed swiftly.
Their path through the withered basin was unexpectedly clear. The earlier battle had stirred the nearby Beast Spirits, drawing them elsewhere. Only a few stragglers remained, easily dispatched by Mo Yu's hand.
After half an hour of rapid flight, the atmosphere around them darkened once more. Han Yue slowed, his expression turning grave. The oppressive air of death grew thick, now a pitch-black haze that smothered spiritual energy itself.
Even the protective white flames flickering on their shoulders dimmed and wavered under its touch.
"This death aura…" Cai Lin murmured. "It's terrifying."
"It can only mean one thing," Mo Yu said softly. "We're close."
Indeed, only the death of a supreme beast could have generated such potent miasma. This was unmistakably the resting place of the Treasure Beast.
Moving with caution, the group pressed through the choking dark for several minutes. Then suddenly, the gloom lifted. The air cleared as light broke through the fog.
Before them stretched a vast, crystalline lake—its surface dazzlingly clear, untouched by the deathly miasma beyond. Gentle luminescence rippled over the water's surface, forming a barrier that kept all corruption at bay.
Even from a distance, its purity radiated a sacred, unyielding strength.
"This is it," Han Yue said, his voice filled with reverence. "The Treasure Beast's resting place—the Lake of Treasures."
"The Lake of Treasures…" Mo Yu echoed, gazing upon the tranquil expanse.
He peered into the mirrorlike water, but the depths resisted every attempt at perception. Some unseen force—the will of a long-dead god-beast—blocked external sight.
Han Yue lifted his sleeve and sent a gust of spiritual energy sweeping across the surface. The water churned violently, forming towering waves that crashed upon themselves with thunderous force.
As the waves broke, a massive pale shape briefly flashed beneath the surface—a glimpse of something impossibly colossal.
Bones.
A skeletal fragment, glowing faintly with residual white light, so vast that even the exposed portion stretched for hundreds of meters.
"That's the Treasure Beast's remains," Han Yue said gravely.
"The lake looks pure," he continued, "but it's saturated with the beast's lingering will. If we touch it directly, that will devour our energy from within. Any attempt to dive in would be suicide."
"How do we claim the treasure then?" Mang Lie asked aloud.
"By stirring the lake," Han Yue answered. "With spiritual power, we create massive waves. If part of the beast's bones are revealed, they act as a channel for our intent. Through them, one can sense the treasures left behind.
"As for finding a quasi-sacred relic," he added with a faint smile, "that will depend on fortune."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
Mo Yu's gaze remained fixed on the shimmering waters. Though his perception was blocked, his instincts prickled—something lay within. Deep beneath that sacred mirror, he could faintly feel pulses of energy, vast and divine.
Artifacts—no, treasures worthy of the title of a quasi-saint.
The Lake of Treasures concealed more than death. It held power.
(END CHAPTER)
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