In the distance, Han Sen could see a pure white donkey walking towards Shadow Shelter.
The donkey was the size of any average donkey, but not a single speck of dirt muddied its pure white fur. A bronze bell was hanging around its neck, and whenever the creature moved, it gently tolled.
On the donkey's back, a human-looking person was riding it. It was difficult to discern his race from that distance, but he seemed to be clad in green clothing.
The man was sitting with his legs crossed. He had one hand in front of his chest, with another clutching a necklace. He rubbed it a lot If you looked closely at the orbs of the necklace, you could see they weren't what they initially seemed. They were very small skulls. Strangely small.
But the skulls were rounded and polished like smooth stones. Most likely a result of long years of rubbing. It was like they were painted.
But in the eye of every skeleton, you could still catch sight of a queer red light. Looking at the light in their sockets would make any observer feel nervous. It would almost feel as if the eyesocket was ready to suck you inside.
As the man fondled the skulls, he chanted something with his eyes firmly closed. He looked very calm, as if he was simply sunbathing.
The donkey was approaching Shadow Shelter now. The creature's big eyes were fixed on Han Sen, who stood atop the tower.
The donkey looked like a proud animal, and it looked at Han Sen from the corner of its eyes. It was like the creature was saying that, aside from the man on his back, he was the greatest there.
"F*ck! Someone is waltzing up to the gate. I'm going to take people to kill them," Cheap Sheep shouted, looking at the man and the donkey.
"I won't stop you if you want to die. But don't take others down with you," Gu Qingcheng said coldly. She didn't look at the sheep when she spoke; her eyes were attached to the man on top of the donkey.
Cheap Sheep was suddenly shocked, and he realized that the man below might be someone that he really shouldn't offend.
Han Sen looked at the man on the white donkey, and he could tell it was the man Gu Qingcheng had mentioned before. It was Ancient Devil.
Although Han Sen had never seen Ancient Devil himself, the emperor had left a replica of himself in his old shelter in the Third God's Sanctuary. That shadow looked exactly the same as Ancient Devil did. The only difference was the feeling of him.
The shadow looked very holy, but Ancient Devil himself looked like an average guy. Aside from the skull necklace he clutched, he looked like a standard religious person.
If Han Sen hadn't known that the being in the Third God's Sanctuary was only Ancient Devil's shadow, everyone would believe it was the real Ancient Devil.
Seeing that the donkey was now only two hundred meters away from the gate, Gu Qingcheng's eyes looked icy as she drew out her sword. She sent out a swordlight that looked powerful enough to sunder the entire earth.
The donkey acted as if it didn't see the attack coming. It maintained the same speed as it trotted toward the gate.
When the swordlight was just about to reach Ancient Devil's head, he lifted the hand that was on his chest. With only his thumb, he reached out defiantly and touched Gu Qingcheng's swordlight.
When the skin of the thumb came into contact with the swordlight, it made the attack blend into his other four fingers like water. In that moment, the swordlight was absorbed. Ancient Devil then opened his hand, revealing the residue that was left.
Ancient Devil opened his eyes and blew at the remains on his hand. The dust scattered with the wind and disappeared from sight
The donkey came to a halt Then, Ancient Devil looked up at Han Sen who was atop the tower and smiled. "I am from Nonpure Mountain. I am Ancient Devil. Are you Skysword Han Sen?"
"I am. What are you doing here, Ancient Devil Emperor? Does every elite want a shot at my life?" Han Sen said, looking at Ancient Devil.
Han Sen would not underestimate this character, though. A man who had planned to kill God needed some respect, even if his attempt had not succeeded. His subordinates had been scary people, too. Sky King, Yaksha, Xiang Yin, Dragon King, and Asura. None of them were weak.
As the master of those elites, he might have been betrayed by Asura, but he survived and thrived. He became a demi-god after that. He was a legend of sorts.
Ancient Devil smiled and said, "I am not an enemy of yours. A friend has asked me for a favor, and it concerns you."
"Whether I can help depends on your friend, and what you'll be asking of me," Han Sen said coldly. But he already knew the answer.
"The leader of Sacred is a good friend of mine. His young daughter Goddess was ignorant and naive. She offended you. I was hoping if you'd be kind enough to let her go. If you do this, I would appreciate it" Ancient Devil bowed towards him.
"And what if I don't?" Han Sen asked him.
Ancient Devil, with his head still lowered, sighed and said, "You can save three-thousand-four-hundred-and-fifty-six lives.
It'd be a good deed. If you're a smart person, you'll know what to do."
Hearing Ancient Devil say this, Han Sen looked murderous.
The shelter's population was 3456. No more, no less.
"Did you kill Steel Wolf and Bone Witch?" Han Sen asked, his voice hard.
"To give you a favor, I had to sacrifice those lives." Ancient Devil looked remorseful.
"You killed my people and say you are doing me a favor?" Han Sen laughed at him.
Ancient Devil responded, "If I hadn't killed them, how would you know that I can kill 3456 lives? Now you know I could've killed everyone, but I didn't I have done you 3456 favors. All these favors in exchange for Goddess' life seems fair."
Everyone in the shelter was very angry, and Han Sen just laughed. "Good math, but you forgot to carry the one."
"What am I missing?" Ancient Devil looked confused.
"You didn't count your own life." Han Sen teleported in front of Ancient Devil with his Split-Blade aimed at the man's head.