Ye Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief when the Great Elder completely stopped breathing.
Moments ago, when facing a life-or-death crisis, the Dragon Capturing Cauldron and the War Dragon Essence Blood in his Sea of Consciousness had both emitted a brilliant light. The War Dragon Essence Blood glowed because it wanted Ye Xuan to absorb its power immediately. However, Ye Xuan worried that absorbing the Dragon Blood’s power would take too much time, so he opted to use the Dragon Capturing Cauldron instead. As expected, the caught-off-guard Great Elder was crushed to death instantly.
How could the Great Elder have known that such a tiny, stone-like fragment possessed the crushing weight of ten thousand catties? He thought he would be fine if he just closed his eyes. But who could have anticipated that once he closed his eyelids, he would never open them again?
"A stroke of luck," Ye Xuan murmured, his expression unusually solemn. Although he had killed the Great Elder, he knew full well that he had only succeeded by a fluke. He had come incredibly close to being the one who died.
He truly hadn’t expected the Great Elder to comprehend Beast Soul Transformation. Even in the Profound Cloud Sect, where geniuses gathered, few disciples could achieve Beast Soul Transformation. Resonating with a Beast Soul, connecting with it on a spiritual level, and gaining mutual acknowledgment—these were easy to say but incredibly difficult to execute.
Taking a Spirit Medicine from his Qiankun Bag, Ye Xuan swallowed it in one gulp. It was a Profound Level mid-grade Spirit Medicine. While it might be useless to someone with the Great Elder’s cultivation base, Ye Xuan was only at the 4th Layer of the Frenzy Spirit Realm. A Profound Level mid-grade Spirit Medicine was more than enough to rapidly heal his injuries. Once he had mostly recovered, he took the Great Elder’s Qiankun Bag, pushed off the ground with both feet, and leaped out of the pit.
"Huh? You’re not dead?" The Fourth Elder, who had been guarding the edge of the pit, instantly widened his eyes. He never expected Ye Xuan to emerge from the crater instead of the Great Elder. "Where is the Great Elder?" the Fourth Elder demanded.
Ye Xuan’s expression remained flat. "Do you want to see him? Then I’ll send you on your way." As his voice fell, the Dragon Soul Power surfaced once more. Ye Xuan threw a punch straight at the Fourth Elder’s head.
The Fourth Elder’s expression drastically changed. He quickly retreated and then turned to flee. But how could Ye Xuan let him escape? The Golden Snake opened its massive maw and shot forward like a bolt of golden lightning, snapping at the Fourth Elder’s head.
The Fourth Elder turned back in despair, just in time to see the Golden Snake’s gaping, bloodthirsty jaws. In that split second, whether it was an illusion or not, two horns suddenly sprouted from the top of the Golden Snake’s head. Boundless majesty descended from the heavens. After that, the Fourth Elder’s thoughts ceased forever. His head was directly blown apart by Ye Xuan.
Having killed the Fourth Elder, Ye Xuan completely relaxed. The people the Ning Family had sent to assassinate him were all dead. He guessed that these five Elders represented the Ning Family’s strongest combat power, especially the Great Elder, who had awakened a Fierce Beast’s Beast Soul.
"Ye Xuan... you... you actually did it!" Tang Long’s voice rang out from behind Ye Xuan. Xin’Er was right beside him. The gazes they directed at Ye Xuan were filled with awe and disbelief. How old was this young man? Yet, he could actually kill a Super Spirit Realm expert.
"Although it went a bit differently than I imagined, the outcome is still the same," Ye Xuan said with a smile. His original plan had been to consume the Dragon Blood to elevate his cultivation base again. By then, he would have had absolute certainty when facing the Ning Family. But who could have guessed that the Ning Family would arrive so quickly this time? He hadn’t even had the chance to use the Dragon Blood yet. What was supposed to be a sure victory had turned into a fifty-fifty gamble. Fortunately, despite the unexpected changes to his plan, he had still emerged victorious.
"Ye Xuan, what exactly is the Beast Soul you awakened? How could it exert such tremendous pressure?" Tang Long asked.
"A mutated Golden Snake Soul," Ye Xuan casually explained. He then looked at Xin’Er. "You’re awake, Xin’Er."
Xin’Er nodded, placed her hands on her waist, and bowed gracefully to Ye Xuan. "Zhou Yuxin thanks her benefactor."
"There’s no need to thank me. If anything, I should be the one thanking Tang Long," Ye Xuan said, expressing his heartfelt gratitude. If it weren’t for Tang Long, he would never have found the Hidden Green Grass, let alone obtained the Fire Spirit Ginseng. "Tang Long, now that Xin’Er is awake, what are your plans? Have you decided to leave Hongtu Town and continue wandering?"
Tang Long shook his head. Taking Zhou Yuxin’s hand, he smiled and said, "Xin’Er and I have decided to stay with the Ye Family. I wonder if your Ye Family would be willing to take us in?"
"Stay with the Ye Family?"
"Yes. I am willing to spend the rest of my life serving the Ye Family."
"Are you sure, Tang Long?"
"I’m sure. It’s not just because you saved Xin’Er, but also because you are a Demon. Following you might be the wisest decision we could make. From today onward, we are your subordinates. Please allow me to call you Lord of the Family. If you have any orders in the future, Lord of the Family, just give the word."
Ye Xuan burst into hearty laughter, evidently in a good mood. "I wouldn’t call them orders. Just help me look after the Ye Family when I’m not around." Turning around, Ye Xuan looked at the collapsed town walls behind him. "For the next two days, help me repair the town walls."
"I can do that. What about you? Are you leaving?"
"Yeah. The Ning Family just lost five Super Spirit Realm experts at once, so I doubt they’ll dare send anyone else. Even if they have stronger people, they won’t recklessly send them to their deaths. They’ll definitely investigate everything about me first.
"Since they aren’t coming, I’ll take the initiative to pay them a visit. After all, I only have ten days. Within these ten days, I absolutely must crush the Twin Jade."
"Lord of the Family, are you planning to assault the Ning Family’s home? Then you must be extremely careful. You said it yourself before: luring the snake out of its hole is definitely safer than charging into the tiger’s den. I still suggest you lure them out and kill them one by one."
"Don’t worry. I won’t act rashly when I go to the Ning Family. I’ll probe their background first. It shouldn’t be a big problem."
"No, I still can’t put my mind at ease. How about I go with you? The Ning Family is probably quite far from here; I can be your carriage driver."
"You want to come with me? What about Xin’Er? You two were just reunited. Tell you what, if you really want to come, bring Xin’Er along so no one can accuse me of tearing lovebirds apart. As for the town walls, I’ll just have the subordinate families handle it."
As he spoke, Ye Xuan glanced up at the sky. The Colorful Feathered Giant Crow that had been flying above was long gone. It had likely flown back to the Ning Family on its own; otherwise, he could have flown there directly.
"Together? That’s perfect. I’ll go prepare a carriage right now," Tang Long said.
A few minutes later, the trio—Ye Xuan, Tang Long, and Zhou Yuxin—departed from Hongtu Town.
Meanwhile, at the Ning Family’s Main Town.
The servant guarding the Ning Family’s Life and Death Jades suddenly let out a piercing shriek. He stumbled backward in terror until he finally collapsed onto the floor. He had only stepped out to relieve himself, yet upon returning, he found more Life and Death Jades shattered. And it wasn’t just one piece—it was five! What suffocated him the most was that these five pieces belonged to the row dedicated to the Elder Life and Death Jades. That meant the Ning Family had just lost five Elders simultaneously.
"Patriarch... Patriarch..." The servant practically scrambled out of the room on his hands and knees, rushing to find Ning Junze as fast as humanly possible.
"Patriarch, disaster has struck!" Before the servant even arrived, his frantic voice reached Ning Junze’s ears.
Ning Junze frowned, but his expression drastically changed the moment he recognized the shouting man. This man was solely responsible for guarding the Life and Death Jades. If he was screaming about a disaster, something catastrophic must have occurred.
Could it be...