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Ye Yin stared at the Desolate Emperor for a long while, so long that Pi began to feel uneasy and was about to add fuel to the fire to urge her on, when she suddenly smiled gently. "It seems to be sleeping very deeply."

"Yes, if you don't make a move soon, it'll be too late once it wakes up."

"Don't be hasty." Ye Yin slowly climbed down along the rock wall, walked over to the Desolate Emperor, stepped onto its forepaw, and rose on tiptoe to gently stroke its scarred skin.

Pi watched in silence for a moment before climbing down as well and asked, "What are you planning to do?"

"Nothing at all." After satisfying her curiosity, Ye Yin turned her gaze to Pi, making him shiver inside.

"Where is its weakness? How should I deal with it?"

Pi perked up instantly. "It's on the abdomen, the part it guards even in its sleep. All you have to do is cut open that area and take out the inner core."

"No problem. But before that, let me have a look at your eyes," Ye Yin said. "Are they the same as the Desolate Emperor's, gouged out by someone?"

Pi's body gave a slight tremor, and he replied a bit unnaturally, "You're overthinking it. How could a blind man have fought you for so long? I'd have been chopped to death ages ago. I wear sunglasses because my eyes are sensitive to light, can't stand the sun, otherwise I'd really go blind."

"I see," Ye Yin replied absentmindedly, but still did not make a move.

"If you really don't want to fight, just go back," Pi sighed. "With such a timid master, I suppose that's just my fate."

"And with a spirit beast as cunning as you, that's my fate," Ye Yin suddenly said. "Hand over your eyeballs."

Pi turned to run, but as Ye Yin chanted a spell, he fell to the ground in agony, thrashing about like the Monkey King under a tightening curse. The harsh restraint spell provoked Pi's ferocity; he transformed into his true form and lunged at Ye Yin, only to be met by her own transformation into a giant Vajra body. With a single punch, she sent him crashing into the wall.

Witnessing the true disparity in strength, all the fight left Pi, and he obediently returned to his scruffy uncle appearance.

"Give me your eyeballs," Ye Yin said firmly. "From now on, I won't repeat my orders. Disobey, and I'll kill you on the spot."

"How did you guess?" Pi asked bitterly. "The Desolate Emperor's body is covered in similar wounds; no one would specifically notice its eyes..."

"The aura," Ye Yin replied. "From the start, I sensed two types of aura on you, one identical to that on the Desolate Emperor. And you've been deliberately hiding your eyes; it was hard not to notice."

"But even so, who would guess it was the eyeballs!" Pi sighed. "It hasn't even opened its eyelids."

"I'm your master, not just anyone," Ye Yin certainly wouldn't reveal the real reason so quickly. "Enough talk—are you handing them over or not?"

With great reluctance and inner conflict, Pi removed his sunglasses. His skin was an ashen white, but his eyes glowed with a frightening golden light, like two tiny suns. Slowly, he pried the two golden orbs from his sockets and handed them to Ye Yin with a miserable air, then collapsed against the stone wall in despair. "I only wanted to seize an opportunity to regain my freedom, and now I've lost even myself. What karmic debt am I paying here?"

"Don't be too greedy. If you want a body, I can give you one. The Desolate Emperor's body is fine, but you have to be lucky enough to enjoy it. If your body couldn't handle the power of its eyes, you wouldn't have been defeated by me and become a spirit beast."

"Really?" Pi's tears vanished instantly. "You can rebuild a demon beast's body? I'm not as strong as the Desolate Emperor, but at least I'm a rare beast."

"That's not a big problem. Serve me loyally, stop scheming against me, and you'll benefit," Ye Yin said softly, sending the two orbs back into the Desolate Emperor with shamanic power. While its body instinctively opened up to absorb the eyes, she quietly planted a subtle soul mark inside with her own spiritual sense.

"You stupid woman!" A howl came from above, and a kick sent Ye Yin flying dozens of meters away. "This isn't something you should interfere with! If you kill it, you'll suffer as well!"

"Master Yuan?" Seeing who it was, Ye Yin got up, both annoyed and amused. "I wasn't doing anything to it—see, I'm putting its eyes back."

"Huh?" Master Yuan, seeing the Desolate Emperor's current state, let go of his worry and fear. "Amitabha, good thing I arrived in time. Don't linger—let's get back quickly. The spiritual shockwaves when it takes flight will be too much for us."

Ye Yin flicked her string of one hundred and eight beads, instantly collecting Pi. She and Master Yuan each used their own skills to fly out of the rift valley, heading back to the base.

"Did you get it?"

"Luckily, it didn't take much effort," Ye Yin replied. "How did you know I was here?"

"The Grandmaster had Lan Yudie send me a voice transmission, saying you were heading toward the Desolate Emperor and might be in trouble," Master Yuan said. "He must have been nearby but had to leave for something."

"The Grandmaster?"

"Why do you always run off to such places? You nearly scared me to death."

"It's all because of that new spirit beast," Ye Yin grumbled. "That thing is sly as a fox—it even tricked the Desolate Emperor before." When she touched the Desolate Emperor, she had received some memories of Pi's battle with it. The way he turned the tide with a featherweight touch and layered schemes truly opened her eyes.

"Then why keep him? Aren't you afraid he'll betray you?"

"He's useful." Ye Yin smiled faintly. "Very useful indeed."

After being cleaned up and dressed in fresh clothes, Pi was actually quite presentable. A tall, well-proportioned figure, long, gentle eyes, a high, refined nose, and a faintly roguish smile at the corner of his lips... Anyone who didn't know his background might think he was some wandering noble artist, exuding a cultured and sophisticated air that could easily enthrall anyone with a fondness for mature men.

"Your original eyes were quite beautiful," Ye Yin sincerely praised. They were a pale green, making his skin look even fairer and adding a touch of melancholy.

"None of that matters now. When will you give me a new body?"

"Swear a deadly oath first," Ye Yin replied, "If you ever harbor betrayal against your master, you'll die instantly, pierced by a thousand arrows."

"Tsk tsk, you're vicious."

"Will you swear or not?"

"I swear..."

Ye Yin realized Pi was a hopeless masochist; speaking kindly to him never worked—she had to be harsh. Whenever she uttered harsh words or made unreasonable demands, he'd protest, but deep down, she could see the thrill of being bullied lighting up his eyes, making her feel rather awkward.

A deadly oath for cultivators and spirit beasts was like a heart demon—a far cry from the romantic vows of lovers. Once sworn, it had to be strictly obeyed. Any violation brought retribution faster than express delivery—there was no escaping it.

Ye Yin was careful here; she hadn't told Pi she was a shaman, not a cultivator. The deadly oath was terrifying for him, but for her, it was manageable with some caution. Still, as long as both sides acted like the vow was binding, the spirit beast would feel safer and their master-servant relationship would stabilize.

Ye Yin took out a parasitic puppet she'd crafted for practice. "Try it out. If anything doesn't fit, I'll adjust it."

Pi, half-believing, entered it. The puppet gradually changed from a rough, featureless humanoid to resemble Pi's current male form, even blinking its eyes.

"Heavens, what a puppet..." Pi looked amazed. "The fit with my soul is nearly perfect. It's comfortable, much better than that so-called sect treasure I tricked before—hundreds of times better! It's almost as good as the lost ancient techniques... Master, with those skills, following you is worth it."

"Make do with this for now. I'll try to find a solution for your original body."

"No need. There's no hope for my true body," Pi said. "This one's fine—at least I don't have to worry about anyone detecting my demonic aura." As he spoke, a subtle sadness flickered in his eyes.

"Good. Now hurry up and order those demon beasts and mutants to stop attacking the base. I've had enough trouble because of it."

"Yes, Master."

Thus, with three light words, the hard-pressed mercenaries were saved. They were amazed to see the beast hordes ebb away toward Yunze, vanishing until the Seventh Base was once again filled with desolate silence, half a ruin.

Commander Wang felt incredibly conflicted. The problem his own base couldn't solve even with their lives was taken care of in no time by mercenaries sent from another base. Anyone would feel it was a blow to the face. But as an old hand in officialdom, he knew the right posture to adopt. Any hint of dissatisfaction or suspicion was hidden deep—no one could tell what he really thought, and everyone believed he was happy and excited.

"Thank you so much! You're heroes of our Seventh Base!" Commander Wang was almost ready to kneel before Li Lei. "Please convey my heartfelt gratitude to your base commander!"

"Get up, Commander Wang, I don't deserve this. In fact, besides the beast horde, there's something else we need to discuss with you," Li Lei said, giving Ye Yin a meaningful glance.

Ye Yin briefly explained about the volcanic frogs and stated her terms.

Commander Wang feigned delight, though inwardly he was roiling. Whoever controlled such a treasure would have all the bases by the throat. If so, wouldn't the capital base's plans be...?

"Heaven hasn't abandoned us—there's hope for humanity's bloodline yet!" He wiped his eyes desperately. "Rent, we'll rent it! Thank you to that great expert!"

Ye Yin quietly tallied her accounts, barely able to keep her joy from showing. Goodness, now she commanded the rent from three entire bases—was she not the ultimate landlord in the apocalypse? If the volcanic frog business kept growing, could she not top the apocalypse's rich list?

"Hey, snap out of it—you're about to drool," Li Lei nudged her quietly.

Reminded, Ye Yin quickly put on her serious face again.

"Then, may the Third and Seventh Bases always coexist peacefully and prosper together," Li Lei said, flashing a bright white smile and extending his hand.

Commander Wang took a deep breath, forced a broad smile, and grasped his hand firmly with both of his own. "May we always be allies!"

The mercenaries weren't fools. The sudden end to the beast attacks naturally caught their attention, and many started probing in private. Some even claimed that Master Yuan, mysterious as ever, had gone out to relieve himself and just happened to run into the leader of the beasts—and crushed it on the spot...

Good heavens, if the subordinates were so fierce, how powerful must the captain be?

Once aboard the ship, Ye Yin clearly felt the atmosphere had changed. After publicly dealing with Ruan Hao and the others, the mercenaries had looked at her with fear mixed with wariness and something else. Now, each of them gazed at her with adoring, springlike eyes, sweeter and more passionate than the fangirls in a campus escort squad.

"Captain Ye, all the best cabins with the best views are vacant now—your team can have them. We've already sent people to clean them," the third-ranking Wildfire Squad captain said with a cheerful smile. "If it's too noisy, we can have the others move out—there are plenty of empty rooms anyway."

"No need, this is fine. Thank you," Ye Yin replied.

"Not at all, not at all." The captain was flattered. "We'll go make arrangements now."

Ye Yin looked after the dainty retreating figure of the Wildfire Squad captain in puzzlement, unable to figure out what was going on with everyone.

"That's how people are," Master Yuan said, gnawing on a roasted corn cob. "They resent and envy anyone who threatens them, but only when you're strong enough to make them give up do you truly earn their respect and submission. Sometimes it's not about others being petty—it's just that you weren't strong enough."

"Not bad for a bald donkey—you can talk the talk," Pi said with a sly grin. "You're weak as a kitten yourself, yet you dare spout such nonsense."

"You beast! Want a fight?" Master Yuan, incensed, threw his corn cob into the river and leaped up.

"Oh dear, the bald donkey is scary. Hua Hua, let's go—don't sit with this fierce bald head or he'll corrupt the children," Pi said.

"But..."

"No buts—let's go play chess!" Pi grabbed Hua Hua's hand and strutted off.

Apart from Ye Hua and Master Yuan, Ye Yin kept Pi's identity secret from everyone else, saying only that he was a down-and-out ability user from the Seventh Base. Pi was especially fond of the innocent, gentle Ye Hua, treating her better than a daughter and pushing Ye Yin, his actual master, into second place.

For some reason, though, he always targeted Master Yuan. The two would argue on sight, sometimes even come to blows, and Pi would always get a stern lesson from Ye Yin afterward. So now he settled for getting the last word and running off when the coast was c