Ning Junze stumbled, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
But that was impossible! It made no sense.
He tried his best to steady his emotions and asked, "What is it?"
"Patriarch, the First Elder... Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder, Sixth Elder..."
With every word the servant spoke, Ning Junze’s face grew a fraction paler. Finally, he roared, "Enough! Shut your mouth."
BOOM!
With a wave of his large hand, Spiritual Qi burst forth. The servant’s body was instantly blown to pieces. In the eyes of the strong, the lives of the weak had always been as worthless as weeds.
"Men! Have all the elders of the Ning Family come to the conference room."
Ten minutes later, in the conference room.
"Junze, why did you call us here in such a hurry?"
"Elders, I will be blunt. The elders sent to Hongtu Town are dead."
"What!"
"How is that possible? The First Elder personally took command! Are you saying that even he..."
"That’s right. The First Elder is dead, too. All of their Life and Death Jades shattered."
As Ning Junze finished speaking, an eerie silence fell over the room. Every elder wore a grim expression.
These were five experts in the Super Spirit Realm. The deaths of five elders—especially the First Elder—would severely impact the Ning Family. Although the First Elder’s cultivation base wasn’t the highest, no one in the entire Ning Family could surpass his awakened Beast Soul. Even the Ning Family’s strongest Supreme Elder was no match for him.
For someone who had awakened a Fierce Beast Soul, killing opponents in higher realms was commonplace.
After a long while, an elder finally broke the silence. "Is that Ye Xuan of Hongtu Town really so powerful? To think even the First Elder was no match for him."
Ning Junze said solemnly, "I believe our Ning Family has kicked an iron plate this time. This Ye Xuan is far more formidable than we imagined. He might have an even more powerful faction backing him; otherwise, he could never be so arrogant."
"That makes sense. We must treat this Ye Xuan with the utmost seriousness. However, we know nothing about him."
"How about we send someone to Hongtu Town to investigate first? Let’s uncover his background."
Ning Junze shook his head. "Right now, what I’m actually worried about is whether this Ye Xuan will come knocking on our doors to slaughter the Ning Family."
"He’d dare attack our Ning Family?" The elders were taken aback for a moment before they burst into cold sneers.
"It would be best if he came! Even if his strength is astounding enough to kill the First Elder, he will certainly die if he sets foot here. Our Clan Protection Array is not to be trifled with. It will ensure he never returns—I just doubt he has the guts."
Gritting his teeth, Ning Junze said, "Elders, there is something I have kept from you."
"What is it?"
"The power of the Clan Protection Grand Array has weakened again."
"What!"
Ning Junze sighed. "The Clan Protection Grand Array has existed for a thousand years. With every activation, its power diminishes by a fraction."
"Even so, it’s more than enough to kill that brat!"
"I know, but I’m not worried about that brat. I’m worried about the Zhang Family..."
A carriage sped across the wasteland.
Zhou Yuxin and Tang Long acted as the drivers, leaving Ye Xuan sitting alone inside the carriage. He closed his eyes, his Divine Sense entering his Sea of Consciousness.
At this moment, a tiny drop of blood radiating golden light appeared in his palm. This was the remaining Dragon Blood.
That day, when Ye Xuan was gravely injured, his ancestor hadn’t allowed him to consume all the Dragon Blood, fearing his body wouldn’t be able to handle it and he would suffer a backlash instead. Instead, the ancestor had used the power of the Cage Cauldron to extract all the Dragon Souls contained within the Essence Blood, fusing the War Dragon Soul into Ye Xuan’s entire body.
He thought, "Now, it’s time to consume the Dragon Blood!"
If Ye Xuan wanted to confidently face the Ning Family, he had to rely on the power of the Dragon Blood. He wondered just how much this remaining droplet of Dragon Blood could strengthen his body.
Regardless, he decided to consume it first.
With a shift of Ye Xuan’s will, the tiny drop of blood suddenly transformed into a Golden Dragon. The Golden Dragon circled once within his Sea of Consciousness before breaking free from it and entering his physical body.
A majestic power surged through his entire body. Whether it was his Dantian, Hidden Veins, skin, muscles, or internal organs, everything was enveloped by this force.
Pain! Heart-wrenching, lung-tearing pain.
This agony did not just stem from his body, but also from his soul. The power of the Dragon Blood seemed to be elevating his spirit as well. The clear space within his Sea of Consciousness was slowly expanding.
"Damn it, why does it hurt so much!" he cursed.
Ye Xuan’s body curled up involuntarily, and he rolled off his seat. It was too painful! This was ten times more agonizing than the pain of breaking through his Hidden Veins.
He probably hadn’t felt this pain earlier because the ancestor’s residual power had been protecting him. Otherwise, with his heavily injured body, how could he have possibly endured it?
Outside the carriage, Zhou Yuxin had her arms wrapped around Tang Long’s waist. The two cheerfully sang songs as they drove, completely oblivious to the fact that Ye Xuan was half-dead from the excruciating pain inside.
However, no matter how agonizing it was, a faint, almost imperceptible smile lingered on the corners of Ye Xuan’s mouth. Because within his body, the fifth Small River Vein had appeared.
He discovered that with this majestic power, breaking through the Hidden Veins was easier than ever before. Then came the sixth, the seventh...
In just one hour, three more Small River Veins had formed within his body. At this moment, Ye Xuan finally understood what it meant to find pleasure in pain.
Now, seven Small River Veins crisscrossed throughout his body, glowing brilliantly. Ye Xuan originally thought he could take this opportunity to push through and open all nine Small River Veins in one vigorous effort, before opening the Great River Vein and re-entering the Super Spirit Realm.
The Great River Vein was the Hidden Vein corresponding to the Super Spirit Realm. From the name alone, it wasn’t hard to tell how it differed from the Small River Veins.
How could a small river ever compare to a great one?
But then, Ye Xuan was utterly dumbfounded. He realized that after opening the three Small River Veins, the power of the Dragon Blood had unexpectedly stopped gathering toward his Dantian and Hidden Veins.
Without a replenished source of power, how was he supposed to break through the eighth Small River Vein? Yet, no matter how hard Ye Xuan tried, he couldn’t guide the power of the Dragon Blood.
At this moment, all the energy from the Dragon Blood was clinging to his internal organs. It seemed that the Dragon Blood’s effect on reforming his innate talent and physique far outweighed its boost to his cultivation.
He thought, "Why is it only tempering my body? Don’t stop! Give my Dantian a little more power!"
Ye Xuan suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise. "Hm? This is the Cultivation Route for the Divine-Demonic Overlord Body...
"It’s circulating even though I haven’t manifested the Divine Demon Statue."
Inside his body, the highest concentration of Dragon Blood energy had gathered along the Cultivation Route of the Divine-Demonic Overlord Body. Centered around this Cultivation Route, the energy dispersed outward in all directions. It completed a full cycle and then returned.
"This is an automatic circulation... automatic tempering!" he realized in astonishment.
Ye Xuan was utterly amazed. Automatic circulation—what kind of concept was this? It meant that his physical strength was being continuously elevated at every waking moment.
At this moment, Ye Xuan finally understood why the Divine-Demonic Overlord Body was classified as one of the Body Techniques despite manifesting in the form of Spiritual Qi. It was precisely because it could automatically temper the body.
The speed might not be fast, but with years of continuous accumulation, Ye Xuan’s physical body would grow stronger and stronger, eventually even catching up to his cultivation base.