After their "polite" talk, the eye finally agreed to help Ye An. Now, it was "helping" him, though not very enthusiastically.
"No! I don't want to! Why are you doing this to me?" the eye screamed in a pleading tone. "Hey, brat! Tell him something! That's right! why aren't you doing anything to him? He was the one who absorbed all the Yin energy here! Why am I the only one being punished?"
The three of them were back where Ye An and Hei Qin had first met. They were reconstructing a formation that had been destroyed when Hei Qin absorbed the pure Yin energy. Now, they were recreating it with the eye's help; instead of multiple low-level ghosts, the eye alone would be sufficient to fuel it.
"Because you are the ghost here, and this formation only works if it is fueled by spirits," Ye An said laughingly, centering the formation around the eye.
"There's no shortage of ghosts in this forest! Why me? I am not just some random ghost. I am a spirit of excellent talent, the king of this forest!" the eye cried, tears welling up even as pride lingered in its voice. Watching this, Hei Qin almost laughed, but he quickly recovered his composure, acting as if he had heard nothing.
"Because that is your punishment for being a blabbermouth," Ye An replied. "Now, stop trying to distract me with your nonsense. Even if you scream in my ear, I won't lose focus. Oh! There, I've finished the formation."
As he spoke, a fluctuation rippled through the surroundings. A torrent of light emanated from the ground, and the formation roared to life. A whirlwind of energy swirled, but this time, there was only one ghost at the center. The eye felt as if its entire being were being torn apart, its cultivation slowly crumbling under the might of the formation.
"You were the one who trespassed into my home!" the eye wailed. "I only wanted to defend it! You took my cave and imprisoned me! Do I really deserve this? My entire cultivation is crumbling because of you!"
Be it ghosts or humans, immortals or gods, a cultivator's strength is their pride, their joy, and their sorrow. Watching that power crumble before one's eyes is enough to make anyone lose their mind.
"I already told you, I only wanted to investigate something in your cave. I told you that you could leave, and I even promised to compensate you," Ye An said, his carefree voice replaced by something cold and stern. "But you were the one who grew enraged and attacked me. I had no choice. Did I kill you? No. I imprisoned you, and I intended to leave you alone once my work was finished. But look what happened because you pushed your luck."
Ye An turned his head slightly toward Hei Qin. "Let's go. We have many things to do."
Hei Qin said nothing. He simply nodded and followed Ye An into the shadows of the forest.
***
Both of them arrived in front of a cave. Compared to the cave of pure Yin, this one looked like an ordinary cave.
Ye An entered the cave, and Hei Qin followed suit.
As soon as Hei Qin stepped inside, he felt a bone-chilling cold, as if the air itself were trying to freeze his very marrow.
"What powerful Yin energy. It is even more potent than the energy in your formation," Hei Qin remarked, looking around the cave.
Contrary to the exterior, the inside of the cave looked habitable—provided one could withstand the bone-chilling cold. There was even a makeshift bed carved from stone. The cave stretched deep into the mountain, with several barriers placed around the interior by Ye An.
"That's right. That's why that stupid eye chose this place as its home," Ye An said.
"Is that why you chose this place?" Hei Qin asked.
"No. I am neither a ghost nor a ghost cultivator," Ye An replied. "So, why would I have any need for Yin energy?"
"Can I know the reason? If you don't want to tell me, senior. That's okay," Hei Qin asked politely.
"Haha, can you please not call me 'senior'? It's a little weird to hear. Just call me by my name," Ye An said with a laugh.
Noticing Hei Qin's hesitant expression, he quickly added, "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you for being informal, let alone for saying my name."
Even though the "Eye" had essentially cursed Ye An, he hadn't taken any extreme measures against it
Of course, Ye An was no pushover. From what had happened to the Eye, Hei Qin understood that clearly.
"Alright then. You said you know who I really am, right? And you even know my master. What is the relationship between you two?"
"Wait, wait. It seems you have a lot of questions. Ask them one at a time. First, let's sit comfortably."
With a flick of his Qi, Ye An manifested a makeshift tea table and took a seat in one of the chairs.
"Sit down. I have so much work to do, and I don't have much time. Or rather, nobody in this world has much time left."