Villain: After Slacking Off, The Protagonist Collapse

"Yin-Yang Holy Lord, how do you plan to thank us for the great favor we've done you this time?"

The Pure Yang Holy Lord smiled warmly at the Yin-Yang Holy Lord, but the smile felt strange, making the latter extremely uncomfortable. His mind churned with conflicting emotions.

Normally, the Pure Yang Holy Lord's actions would undoubtedly be considered a massive help, sparing the Yin-Yang Holy Land from disaster.

Calling it a lifesaving favor wouldn't be an exaggeration. Yet, recalling the Pure Yang Holy Lord's earlier smug demeanor, the Yin-Yang Holy Lord couldn't muster any gratitude.

"What do you want?" The Yin-Yang Holy Lord sighed.

No matter how displeased he was, he couldn't deny that the other party had indeed saved them. Despite the Pure Yang Holy Lord's infuriating words, they owed him.

"Just a casual hundred or so Saint Weapons!" The Pure Yang Holy Lord grinned shamelessly.

"Absolutely not!" The Yin-Yang Holy Lord's expression darkened as he refused outright. Their Holy Land didn't even have a fraction of that, so how could they possibly hand over so much?

Even if they did have it, they wouldn't give it away.

"The Holy Land only has one Divine Weapon in reserve. If you don't want it, there's nothing more I can offer!" Afraid that the other party might press further, the Yin-Yang Holy Lord quickly made his stance clear, hoping to silence him.

"Two Saint Weapons! If you give them to us and not the Primordial Holy Land, that should be fair!" The Pure Yang Holy Lord didn't bother haggling further.

He knew these people were reluctant and likely wouldn't agree to more. Securing even a few Saint Weapons was already a win; pushing further might backfire, leaving them with nothing.

The Pure Yang Holy Lord understood the value of stopping at the right time. Even getting anything was a bonus since he hadn't expected to gain anything when he arrived.

Whoosh.

The Yin-Yang Holy Land acted swiftly. Two Saint Weapons flew through the void and landed in front of the Pure Yang Holy Lord.

"Take them and leave. If there's nothing else, you can all go now!" The Yin-Yang Holy Lord's face was ashen, barely holding back the urge to tell them to get lost outright.

Storing the saint weapons, the Pure Yang Holy Lord and the Sun God King left directly, unwilling to waste time arguing with the Yin-Yang Holy Lord.

Deep within the Ancient Desolate Demon Domain, Duguxiong's face was dark and somber, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

"I'm down to my last life," he muttered bitterly, his voice filled with helplessness.

The blessings he once enjoyed had now been completely obliterated, leaving him with only a single life. If he were to die this time, there would be no coming back.

"Who was it that struck me down?" The thought of his own death left Du Guxiong speechless.

No matter how much he searched his memories, he couldn't recall how he had been killed. All he knew was that the formation node had been destroyed, and he was instantly annihilated.

As for who was responsible, he had no memory—no trace of their aura, nothing.

This filled Du Guxiong with deep melancholy. To not even know the identity of one's enemy made the loss even harder to bear.

"The plan has likely failed," he sighed. "The backbone of the Heavenly Demon Clan is all but wiped out."

He reflected on how the Demon Emperor had been betrayed and ambushed before, leaving him with a weakened following.

Now, after a desperate gamble to reverse the tides, failure had still come knocking. Du Guxiong felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. He even began to regret his decisions.

With the seal showing no signs of being lifted, nearly all the combat power of the Ancient Desolate Demon Domain had been whittled away.

The remaining strong figures could be counted on one hand, and even Du guxiong now ranked among the top. Without powerful allies, the Demon Emperor's chances of breaking free had dwindled to near impossibility.

"That useless Du Guyun hasn't made any progress!" Du Guxiong grumbled, rubbing his temples in frustration. "Who knows when he'll grow strong enough to meet my expectations!"

The Demon Emperor's plans had failed, and so had Du Guxiong's. He had joined the Ancient Desolate Demon Domain with the hope that the Demon Emperor would one day break free from the formation and sweep across the Nine Heavens Realm.

Under the Demon Emperor's protection, Du Guxiong had aimed to recuperate and seek an opportunity for his own transformation. Now, after repeated failures, the domain's once formidable forces were nearly extinct, and the unsealing of the formation was nowhere in sight.

His glimmer of hope was replaced by a growing despair. Even worse, Du Guyun, the pawn he had painstakingly nurtured, had made little progress.

Twice he had shown potential, only to suffer setbacks and regress. Currently, Du Guyun was healing from injuries, and whether he would ever meet Du Guxiong's standards was uncertain.

Du Guxiong even suspected that he might die before Du Guyun could accomplish anything meaningful.

"Hm!" Duguxiong's body tensed slightly—he was being summoned by the Demon Emperor. He didn't need to think to know what it was about.

"Demon Emperor!" Du Guxiong bowed his head respectfully.

"The plan has failed," the Demon Emperor stated coldly, his voice devoid of emotion. "I want to know how they uncovered our plan and located all five critical formation nodes."

His eyes, dark and piercing, locked onto Du Guxiong, exuding a terrifying pressure that made it difficult for Du Guxiong to breathe. Every cell in his body trembled. The Demon Emperor suspected him—suspected he was a spy.

The secrecy of the Heavenly Fiend Formation was unparalleled, and even if discovered, it was improbable that all five vital nodes could be pinpointed.

The fact that the enemy knew every detail and coordinated their attacks flawlessly pointed to an insider. Only the Demon Sect or members of the Ancient Desolate Demon Domain could have access to such information.

The Heavenly Demons, being integral to the plan, were unlikely suspects, leaving only the Demon Sect as a possibility.

"I don't know," Duguxiong replied, suppressing the fear in his heart. "I only accompanied Lord Heavenly Demon to one of the nodes. I was unaware of the others."

By saying this, he implied he couldn't possibly have leaked all the information and subtly shifted suspicion to others.

"Who do you think leaked the information? Or how do you think they learned of our plans?" the Demon Emperor pressed.

While Du Guxiong was likely not the traitor—such a betrayal would have been exposed long ago—the evidence pointed in his direction, leaving the Demon Emperor unable to dismiss the doubt entirely.

"I don't know," Du Guxiong said carefully. "But, does the Demon Emperor remember the time we attacked the Primordial Holy Land? Back then, the plan was also shrouded in secrecy, yet the Holy Land seemed to anticipate it."

"I suspect the Primordial Holy Land has a method of obtaining such information!" Du Guxiong concluded.

As Du Guxiong spoke, the Demon Emperor's frustration mounted. Of course, he had already considered this. He even had the urge to slap Du guxiong for stating the obvious. His patience was wearing thin.

"Stop spouting nonsense," the Demon Emperor thought irritably, suppressing his anger as he mulled over his next steps.