After his initial astonishment, Ye Zeyun shook his head.
Advancing to the Frenzy Spirit Realm was no easy feat.
First, one had to raise their cultivation to the peak. Then, they had to channel all their power to open the Small River Veins required for the Frenzy Spirit Realm. The Ye Family had absolutely no idea where the Small River Veins were located in the body. As for Frenzy Soul Crystals, they didn’t possess a single one.
This was exactly why it was practically impossible for a family to develop and rise in power. If one’s strength was only in the Mortal Realm, they only deserved to know the locations of the Hidden Veins for the Mortal Realm.
Why was the Niu Family so strong? It was because only the Niu Family knew the locations of the Small River Veins, and only they could provide Frenzy Soul Crystals to their subordinate towns. This was equivalent to holding the lifelines of cultivators in their hands. No matter how strict or tyrannical they were, as long as the subordinate factions wanted to increase their strength, they had to obediently submit.
Ye Xuan didn’t know what Ye Zeyun was thinking. In truth, as long as he could raise his cultivation to the peak of the 9th Layer, he was absolutely confident in breaking through to the Frenzy Spirit Realm.
Because he knew the locations of the Small River Veins better than anyone else.
Before he cured Meng Dieyi’s poison, he had been a cultivator at the Super Spirit Realm. He had long since opened all of his Small River Veins. It was only because his innate talent and bloodline had been crippled that these Hidden Veins were blocked once again.
"Grandpa, here is another Qiankun Bag. It’s also spoils of war," Ye Xuan said. "There are quite a few Strong Soul Crystals inside. You should distribute these to the family elders. Their cultivation has been stuck at the 9th Layer for a long time. With these Strong Soul Crystals, they’ll definitely be able to break through to the Strong Spirit Realm."
"We already have Strong Soul Crystals," Ye Zeyun said calmly. "We obtained them from the Fang Family. You probably don’t know this yet, but your Second Grandpa and the others have already successfully advanced to the Strong Spirit Realm. Your father and the rest will soon follow."
"You have them? That’s good. Let’s leave it at that, then. I plan to go into secluded cultivation."
"Wait, Ye Xuan. Can this Tang Long be trusted a hundred percent?"
"He should be. But we still need to keep our guard up. After all, besides me, he is the strongest person in the Ye Family."
"He’s the strongest? What’s his cultivation level?"
"9th Layer of the Strong Spirit Realm."
"What! That strong?"
"Yes. That’s why I brought him back. When I’m usually not around, he can look after the Ye Family. But it is a double-edged sword."
Ye Xuan sighed inwardly, wishing he had some Fire Attribute Treasures of Heaven and Earth. If he did, he could refine Mortal Spirit Pills, or refine the remaining Moon Spirit Grass into Strong Spirit Pills. A single stalk of medicinal herb could be turned into ten, or even dozens of elixirs.
However, elixirs fell short of Spirit Medicines in one regard: the energy from an elixir couldn’t actively guide the Spiritual Qi in the body to the entrances of the Hidden Veins. The cultivator had to guide it themselves. In other words, if one didn’t know the locations of the Hidden Veins, having elixirs wasn’t enough; they still needed the corresponding Soul Crystals.
Of course, Soul Crystals of the same realm weren’t precious, as cultivators could condense them themselves. It just required a long period of recuperation to condense a single Soul Crystal.
What was truly precious were cross-realm Soul Crystals. To obtain such treasures without a powerful family background, one could only kill opponents in higher realms or rely on sheer dumb luck through fortuitous encounters.
But how could killing above one’s realm or having fortuitous encounters be easy? This was why so many factions were willing to be lapdogs for others. What if their master was in a good mood and rewarded them with a few high-level Soul Crystals?
After bidding farewell to Ye Zeyun, Ye Xuan went to the underground training room and began his secluded cultivation. He intended to use the Moon Spirit Grass to rapidly raise his cultivation.
Meanwhile, in Niu Family Town.
Inside the assembly hall, all the higher-ups of the Niu Family were gathered, including Patriarch Niu—who was also the Town Mayor of Niu Family Town—Niu Tong.
Niu Tong stood two meters tall. The mustache at the corners of his mouth was thick and stiff, curving like bull horns. His expression was incredibly dark, radiating pure fury.
"To think someone dared to commit highway robbery in our Niu Family’s territory! If word of this gets out, will any of you have face left? Have you found out who did it yet?!"
"We’ve already investigated, but the road was empty at the time. There were no witnesses."
CRASH!
Niu Tong shattered the table with a single palm strike.
"A bunch of useless trash! Do you have any idea what I lost?"
"Patriarch, was it something very precious?"
"I had someone collect fifteen stalks of Moon Spirit Grass! With those, Yingjie’s cultivation could have rapidly improved. And now, they’re all gone!"
"What?! Moon Spirit Grass, and fifteen stalks at that! Such Spirit Medicine that can increase cultivation is incredibly rare!"
The clan members finally understood why Niu Tong was so furious. Spirit Medicines that could raise cultivation were simply too scarce. Every stalk used meant one less in the world.
"Tell me, how am I supposed to swallow this anger! Do this: post notices saying that two days ago, someone robbed the Niu Family’s tribute carriage. Whoever provides accurate clues can choose any Yellow-rank weapon they want, and I can even provide them with Frenzy Soul Crystals! I want to see exactly which bandit has the gall to beard the lion in his den."
Just as Niu Tong finished speaking, a servant’s voice echoed from the doorway.
"Patriarch..."
"Get lost! Can’t you see we’re having a meeting?"
"Patriarch, Lord Ning has arrived. His carriage is about to reach the main gates."
"Hm?"
Niu Tong’s expression shifted, and he darted out of the assembly hall in a flash.
By the time he reappeared, he was already at the main gates. He kept his gaze fixed ahead until a carriage came into view.
The carriage was white, and the beast pulling it was equally white, sporting a single horn on its head. It looked entirely harmless. However, if this beast were to fly into a rage, it could trample a weak town into nothingness. Because it was a Level-3 Beast—a Unicorn.
"Beast" was a blanket term for all living animal creatures. Based on their bloodlines, Beasts were actually classified into five tiers: Mortal Beasts, Wild Beasts, Fierce Beasts, Sub-Saint Beasts, and Divine Beasts. However, these five tiers were too broad to accurately differentiate the strength between Beasts of the same tier.
Take the Unicorn before them, for example. Unicorns belonged to the Wild Beast tier, and upon reaching adulthood, they possessed the strength of a Level-3 Beast. But this wasn’t its upper limit!
Since all Beasts could increase their strength by devouring other Beasts, their ranks were directly divided into Level-1, Level-2, Level-3, Level-4, Level-5, and so on. The higher the number, the greater the power. Each level was further divided into nine ranks, which corresponded to the realms of cultivators.
A Level-1 Rank-9 Beast corresponded to the 9th Layer of the Mortal Spirit Realm.
Of course, advancing was a hundred times harder for a Beast than for a human. They could only grow stronger by consuming Beasts of a higher level than themselves. Yet, Wild Beasts couldn’t practice various Cultivation Techniques. Trying to eat higher-level Wild Beasts was no easy task. Thus, most Beasts had a fixed level, and only a rare few could upgrade themselves.
Pulling the white carriage, the Unicorn’s mere aura was enough to keep the surrounding people at bay.
Upon seeing the carriage, Niu Tong’s lips curled into a respectful smile. When it drew near, he even bowed deeply.
Before long, the beaded curtains parted. A handsome young man clad in a Gold Foil Jade Robe stepped out from the carriage. He was followed by a woman. The woman possessed snow-white skin and exquisite features. Her long hair fell over her shoulders like strands of black pearls. A faint fragrance wafted from her, refreshing to the mind and spirit.
"Young Master Ning, why didn’t you send someone to notify us of your arrival?" Niu Tong’s respectful voice rang out. "Please forgive my failure to welcome you properly."
The handsome young man ignored Niu Tong. Instead, he spoke to the woman, "Lian’Er, be careful."
Only then did he turn back to Niu Tong. "You. Come here and be my footstool."
Niu Tong was slightly taken aback, but he obliged nonetheless. He crouched beside the carriage and bent his back, looking exactly like a dog.