Facing Shokui's cold, killing intent-filled gaze, Ye Zi walked up to him with an expressionless face.
Shokui's size was now even larger than Gamabunta's, making him one of the most colossal summoning beasts. However, Shokui's size wasn't limited to this; given enough energy, he could continue to grow indefinitely.
At the moment, Shokui's massive body was curled up on the yellow sand, resembling a small mountain.
His enormous head rested on the ground, amber pupils glinting faintly, reflecting Ye Zi's figure.
"Bastard!" Shokui glared at Ye Zi and roared, his wide mouth spewing curses.
The sand covering his head was shaken loose, creating a small dust cloud. Ye Zi stepped back a few paces to avoid the sand, frowning as he looked at Shokui.
"Idiot," Ye Zi retorted coldly.
Shokui froze for a moment, then resumed shouting, "Bastard!"
"Idiot."
"Bastard!"
"Idiot."
"Bastard!"
After several rounds of exchanging insults, Ye Zi grew tired of the childish back-and-forth. Falling silent, he slowly closed his eyes and began to sense the natural energy around him. To his surprise, even this desolate world contained natural energy, albeit sparse and weak.
Despite its scarcity, its presence was enough. Ye Zi started absorbing the natural energy to activate Sage Mode.
If the contract with Shokui was broken, Shokui would undoubtedly attack him immediately. To seal Shokui inside his body, Ye Zi would first have to subdue him.
Seeing Ye Zi close his eyes and remain silent, Shokui thought his insults had finally subdued him. Forgetting that all he had said was "bastard," Shokui grew bolder, hurling even more insults at Ye Zi.
Ye Zi, however, completely ignored Shokui's words, calmly focusing on absorbing the thin traces of natural energy in the environment.
Ten minutes later, Ye Zi suddenly opened his eyes, now glowing faintly with a golden light. His pupils had become serpent-like, and peculiar purple markings adorned the area around his eyes.
Shokui immediately noticed the change in Ye Zi's eyes, startled but unwilling to stop his tirade. For the first time, he found venting through words without resorting to violence somewhat satisfying, it allowed him to release some of his pent-up rage.
The harsh insults were the only sounds in the barren world, with Shokui fully immersed in his verbal assault.
Unfortunately for Shokui, Ye Zi believed in solving problems with action rather than words.
Activating Sage Mode, Ye Zi leaped into the air. Under Shokui's astonished gaze, Ye Zi launched a powerful punch straight at Shokui's head.
Boom!
The fist, carrying immense force, smashed into Shokui's head. With a resounding crash, Shokui's insults were cut short. His enormous head slammed into the ground, creating a wave of sand that billowed into the air.
After silencing Shokui with a single punch, Ye Zi landed lightly and followed up with a brutal kick to Shokui's back before leaping back to the ground. His golden serpent eyes stared coldly at Shokui.
Moments later, Shokui struggled to lift his head from the sand, glaring angrily at Ye Zi. Without a word, he swung one of his massive arms toward Ye Zi.
The gust of wind from the swing stirred up a fresh cloud of sand, but Ye Zi easily dodged the blow with a backward leap.
"You damn brat! How dare you hit me!" Shokui bellowed furiously after missing his attack.
Watching Shokui shrug off a punch and a kick as if nothing had happened, Ye Zi realized how thick-skinned this creature was.
"Let's talk," Ye Zi said calmly.
He knew that once the contract was broken, Shokui would try to kill him. But as long as the contract remained in effect, Shokui couldn't attack. Therefore, Ye Zi needed to incapacitate Shokui before attempting the "Contract Seal."
This approach made things a bit easier.
"I've got nothing to talk about with you!" Shokui snarled through gritted teeth, his expression full of deep-seated hatred.
Silently, Ye Zi pulled out a storage scroll and summoned the corpse of a massive wild boar. Holding it by one leg, he effortlessly lifted it off the ground.
Shokui's eyes were immediately drawn to the boar's corpse. During his time in the shinobi world, he would have scoffed at such a meager offering. But after being trapped in this desolate space without food, even a wild boar corpse was enough to awaken his ferocious appetite.
Without warning, Shokui lunged toward the wild boar in Ye Zi's hand.
"There's nothing to discuss. The things I want to know, I'll figure out myself later." Ye Zi casually tossed the boar's corpse to the side.
Like a dog chasing a bone, Shokui instantly changed direction and lunged at the airborne boar. His massive jaws opened wide, ready to swallow it whole.
Ye Zi coldly observed the scene, his hands forming a rapid sequence of seals.
"Sage Art: Seal Gate!"
In an instant, five reddish wooden torii-like structures materialized in the air and crashed down toward Kui.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four of the gates pinned Shokui's limbs, while the fifth secured his neck, nailing him to the yellow sand below.
The reddish pillars were inscribed with black, tadpole-like runes, forming a complete sealing array.
Momentarily stunned by the sudden assault, Shokui quickly realized what had happened. He thrashed violently, trying to break free of the gates pinning his limbs and neck.
However, the gates were as immovable as mountains. No matter how much strength Shokui exerted, even when amplifying his power with chakra, he couldn't make them budge.
"You damn brat! What did you do to me?!" Shokui roared furiously at Ye Zi after failing to break free.
To be lured in by a mere wild boar and then trapped in such a manner was humiliating enough. Worse still, despite the gates' wooden appearance, Shokui couldn't even shake them.
Ignoring Shokui's shouting, Ye Zi walked over to the boar's corpse lying on the sand. It was now covered in dust.
He grabbed the boar by its leg and carried it toward Shokui. Then, without hesitation, he tossed it straight into Shokui's open mouth.
Shokui's eyes lit up. He didn't care about the sand-covered corpse and immediately swallowed it whole, not even bothering to chew.
For the first time in ages, a faint sense of satisfaction washed over Shokui as he closed his eyes.
Ye Zi stood quietly a short distance from Shokui, watching him. The Seal Gate technique was a move Ye Zi had created by combining sealing techniques with Wood Release, using sage chakra to perform it. It was both a sealing jutsu and a Wood Release technique.
The black, tadpole-like runes inscribed on the wooden pillars formed the sealing array, which possessed immense binding power. Before using it, Ye Zi wasn't sure if it could restrain Shokui, but now it seemed to work perfectly.
Despite Shokui's earlier violent struggle, the Seal Gate remained as unyielding as a mountain. It appeared that Shokui wouldn't be able to break free, meaning there was no need to subdue him any further. In this restrained state, the sealing process could proceed directly.
"I've already found a way to break the contract," Ye Zi said suddenly, looking at Shokui.
Shokui, who had been basking in a rare moment of satisfaction, abruptly opened his single eye and stared coldly at Ye Zi. "Impossible."
"Whether it's possible or not, we'll find out soon enough," Ye Zi replied calmly.
Shokui's eye flickered with a hint of intrigue. If the contract could truly be broken, he wouldn't hesitate to devour Ye Zi on the spot.
Ye Zi's expression remained tranquil, but he had already made his plans.
If the contract were successfully broken, eliminating their shared "live-or-die" bond, Ye Zi could then use the Spirit Transformation Technique to extract Shokui's memories.
Before that, however, by first sealing Shokui inside his body, even if he used the Spirit Transformation Technique, Shokui's soul wouldn't be entirely erased achieving two goals at once.
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Currently on Chapter 511 - One Against Ten Thousand II