When the weak encountered the strong, they would only feel fear. But the truly strong—true Demons—would feel genuine excitement from the bottom of their hearts when encountering a powerhouse, even if they knew they were no match. They would not show the slightest hint of dread.
Whether influenced by the Golden Dragon or his battle intent, the Heaven-Defying Battle Intent Technique began to circulate on its own.
Ye Xuan’s body glowed radiantly. All the Spiritual Qi in the surroundings surged toward him frantically, as if drawn in by a black hole. At first, only the Spiritual Qi within the Ye family compound converged on Ye Xuan. Soon, the Spiritual Qi of the entire Hongtu Town gathered toward him. Merely a dozen breaths later, all the Spiritual Qi within a five-mile radius of Hongtu Town came rushing in.
It was a spectacular and unimaginable sight. The normally invisible Spiritual Qi had become so dense that it emitted a faint glow.
"What’s going on!"
"Such dense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi."
The Ye Family was completely astounded. Some tried to absorb the Spiritual Qi, but they couldn’t absorb it at all. Instead, it began pouring into Ye Xuan’s Dantian, circulating throughout his entire body along with the Heaven-Defying Battle Intent Technique.
His body automatically emitted a blinding golden light that illuminated the night. In this moment, Ye Xuan looked like a Golden Armor War God, reigning peerless and supreme.
"The Gathering of Ten Thousand Spirits! It’s the Gathering of Ten Thousand Spirits! I can’t believe this serendipitous cultivation state actually exists," Ye Zeyun exclaimed in shock.
"Grandpa, what is the Gathering of Ten Thousand Spirits?" a junior member asked.
"It’s an ultimate state of cultivation," he explained. "In this state, one seems to merge with their environment—a realm of complete self-transcendence where supreme goodness flows like water, and the boundary between heaven and man fades away."
Indeed, Ye Xuan had completely transcended himself and the world around him. With such dense Spiritual Qi suddenly appearing, he had to absorb it to the fullest. In just a few breaths, he felt as if his body was going to explode. He knew the amount of Spiritual Qi his body could store had reached its limit. If he absorbed any more, exploding and dying would be his only outcome.
Without hesitation, acting almost on instinct, Ye Xuan guided the Spiritual Qi inside him to assault the second Small River Vein. The Spiritual Qi transformed into a Golden Dragon, carrying an aura of absolute supremacy over the world. The originally tough bottleneck, which usually required tens of thousands of impacts to break through, shattered in an instant.
The second Small River Vein was cleared immediately. Such a situation was unheard of and simply unimaginable.
The moment the second Small River Vein was cleared, vigorous Spiritual Qi swarmed in. Within a few breaths, the vein sparkled with golden light.
"Ye Xuan’s aura has risen!" members of the Ye Family cried out.
With his cultivation increased, Ye Xuan’s aura was noticeably stronger than before.
"Could it be that his cultivation has advanced by a layer?"
No sooner had the clan member’s exclamation fallen than Ye Xuan’s aura rose yet again. Inside him, the third Small River Vein had appeared.
But it wasn’t over yet!
The surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi remained incredibly dense; Ye Xuan hadn’t finished absorbing it. Under the guiding strikes of the Golden Dragon, the fourth Small River Vein emerged as well. With his Dragon Blood boiling, Ye Xuan was advancing at a frenzied pace!
"He advanced again! He advanced again!"
"Just what kind of Demon is Cousin Ye Xuan?"
The younger generation was left entirely dumbfounded. Cultivation was supposed to be extremely difficult and arduous, so how was Cousin Ye Xuan blazing through levels like a madman?
At this moment, the Spiritual Qi in Ye Xuan’s body reached its peak once more. He subconsciously controlled the energy, preparing to crash through the fifth Small River Vein.
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered in the sky, obscuring the moonlight. An eerie wind blew, causing the storm clouds to clash. A bolt of lightning tore across the sky. Then, with a loud CRASH, a terrifying thunderbolt descended from the heavens. The thunder was so deafening that it violently disrupted Ye Xuan’s state of meditation.
The dense Spiritual Qi in the surroundings vanished in a flash. The roaring Spiritual Qi Golden Dragon within him also faded into nothingness.
"What a pity. What an absolute pity."
"These cursed heavens are forever blind!" Ye Zeyun couldn’t help but point at the sky and roar in anger. He knew that Ye Xuan’s state of the Gathering of Ten Thousand Spirits had been broken. This was a serendipitous realm for a Cultivator, one that usually existed only in ancient texts!
"Cursed heavens..." Ye Xuan looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with indignation. If that state had lasted, his cultivation would have increased by at least two more layers.
He knew that his previous state was due to the battle intent of the Blood of the War Dragon activating the Heaven-Defying Battle Intent Technique. The combination of these two elements was what had allowed him to enter that highly elusive cultivation state. Even if his battle intent surged to the heavens and his blood boiled the next time, he would likely never encounter such an opportunity again.
"Ye Xuan, what is your cultivation level now?" Ye Zeyun couldn’t help but ask.
"Frenzy Spirit Realm, 4th Layer."
"You directly increased your cultivation by a 3rd Layer! That’s simply heaven-defying."
"Patriarch, can we fight against the Ning Family now?"
Ye Xuan’s expression remained grave as he answered, "We cannot fight the Ning Family. Although I don’t know exactly how strong they are, I’m guessing the Ning Family definitely has Super Spirit Realm experts."
"What! The Su—Super Spirit Realm."
The members of the Ye Family looked at each other in dismay, their eyes filled with shock. In the entire Ye Family, excluding Ye Xuan, the strongest person was only at the Strong Spirit Realm’s first layer. A Super Spirit Realm expert could probably kill them all with just a single roar, couldn’t they?
"Are you afraid? But I’ll say it again—I am not willing to just run away. Earlier, I said that I might not lose against the Ning Family, but right now, I want to say that I definitely will not lose," Ye Xuan spoke up once more. Having experienced that previous state, he grew even more confident.
As his words fell, Ye Zeyun frowned and said, "Ye Xuan, this is no trifling matter! This concerns the lives of everyone in the Ye Family."
"I know, and I am not joking. Grandpa, my fellow family members, I want to ask one thing—do you believe in me?" Ye Xuan suddenly questioned all of his clansmen.
Upon hearing his words, the clan members all fell silent. They really wanted to believe in Ye Xuan, but how could they? Even though Ye Xuan had created many miracles and had just entered the state of the Gathering of Ten Thousand Spirits, raising his cultivation by a 3rd Layer in one breath... what did that matter?
Could a mere 4th Layer of the Frenzy Spirit Realm contend against the Ning Family, which was overseen by a Super Spirit Realm master? That was simply striking a stone with an egg, bringing about their own destruction. A 4th Layer of the Frenzy Spirit Realm fighting against the Super Spirit Realm? Such a peerless genius did not exist in the entire Kingdom.
Silence. An eerie silence descended upon the courtyard.
Seeing everyone keeping their mouths shut, Ye Xuan smiled. He smiled not because he was disappointed in his clansmen, but because anyone with a brain would not believe him. In their eyes, the gap was simply insurmountable.
"I know you all don’t quite believe me, and it really does sound too unbelievable. But this isn’t your problem; it’s mine. It’s because I’ve created too few miracles! That’s why you feel I can’t do it. So, do we dare to make a bet?"
When he finished, a family member finally spoke up.
"Patriarch, a bet? What do you want to bet on?"
Ye Xuan’s voice rang out clearly. "Bet that I, Ye Xuan, will live to see tomorrow’s sun. Bet that the Ye family compound will remain safe and sound, without a single tile broken."
Ye Xuan’s words carried an inexplicable power. The Ye Family felt as if they were pumped up with adrenaline, cheering up significantly. But immediately after, they felt deeply conflicted. What was the use of getting fired up? It couldn’t save their lives, nor did it have any practical value.
One of the Ye Family members spoke, "Patriarch, making this bet with you... if we lose, we’ll all die."