"The Dragon Capturing Cauldron!"
Ye Xuan was astonished. This power was coming from the Dragon Capturing Cauldron.
Unknown Array lines at the bottom of the cauldron were radiating a brilliant light. The Dragon Capturing Cauldron could suppress and imprison even actual dragons. Subduing the minuscule Beast Pill energy within his body was effortless.
Following his shock came wild ecstasy. Did this mean he could absorb one hundred percent of the Beast Pill’s power? This was absolutely heaven-defying!
What was he waiting for? He immediately began absorbing it.
As time passed, the light in Ye Xuan’s Dantian grew increasingly intense, and the Hidden Veins within his body shone brilliantly. The energy his body could absorb had reached its limit. Now, it was time to break through to the eighth Small River Vein.
"Break!"
With every impact of the Spiritual Qi, a fresh wave of pain washed over Ye Xuan’s face.
After roughly a hundred thousand impacts, the eighth Small River Vein finally broke open. The Beast Pill’s energy and Spiritual Qi rushed madly into the new Hidden Vein. All his exhaustion vanished, leaving Ye Xuan feeling instantly reinvigorated.
Two hours later, the eighth Small River Vein also emanated a dazzling light. His internal Spiritual Qi reserves had hit their limit once again, yet the Beast Pill’s energy was still not depleted.
Ye Xuan immediately began to consolidate his cultivation. Afterward, he planned to use this remaining power to charge at the ninth Small River Vein. If this power wasn’t enough, he still had two more level-four Beast Pills. Surely that would be sufficient?
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Ye Xuan’s cultivation was nearly fully consolidated. He controlled the Spiritual Qi in his body, preparing to assault the ninth Small River Vein.
Meanwhile, at the main entrance of the Ye family estate.
Niu Tong had finally arrived. In truth, he had returned to Niu Family Town yesterday. The reason he waited until today to apprehend the Ye family was that his grieving heart needed some release. Besides, the Zhang family had given him five days, which was more than enough time.
Upon his return, he sought out eighteen maidservants to sing and dance, partying through the night with music and entertainment. Only after indulging and letting off steam for a full day and night did he make his way to Hongtu Town.
"Mayor Niu, what brings you here? I’ll report to the Old Patriarch right away," the disciple guarding the gate spoke respectfully.
However, Niu Tong replied coldly, "No need. I’ll go myself!"
With that, Niu Tong stepped into the Ye family estate. Once inside, he let out a furious roar.
"Every member of the Ye family, come see me at once! Anyone who isn’t here in three minutes will die!"
As far as Niu Tong was concerned, Ye Xuan was already a dead man. There was no need for him to be polite to the Ye family. He still needed to vent his frustrations, after all. Who could possibly understand the pain he had endured?
"Niu Tong, what are you doing, making such a racket in my Ye family?"
Ye Zeyun rushed over immediately. His aura was significantly stronger than before; his current cultivation base was already at the 4th Layer of the Strong Spirit Realm.
With abundant resources, all he had to do every day was consume Elixirs, consolidate his cultivation, and then take more Elixirs. He didn’t even have to think about it. The feeling of constantly raising his cultivation level just by sitting around was wonderful. The only downside was the slight discomfort when breaking through his Hidden Veins.
"Still calling me Niu Tong, huh? Hmph!"
Niu Tong’s nostrils flared, seemingly puffing out white steam. A terrifying aura swept outward, sending Ye Zeyun—who hadn’t even gotten close yet—and all the surrounding Ye family members flying. This included Ye Ling’Er.
This abrupt development made Ye Zeyun’s pupils contract sharply. Had this Niu Tong grown a death wish? To actually dare act so arrogantly within the Ye family? Did he think Ye Xuan didn’t exist?
"Niu Tong, you are out of line."
"You’re the one who’s out of line! It’s one thing for the Zhang family to bully me and address me by my full name, but now even you dare to do the same! Do you all think I’m that easy to push around? Have you forgotten that I, Niu Tong, am the undisputed overlord of a hundred-mile radius?!"
The moment his words fell, Niu Tong suddenly appeared in front of Ye Zeyun and grabbed him by the throat. He was thoroughly enraged. These past few days, he had been living worse than a dog.
"Stop it right now!"
Just then, a low shout rang out as Tang Long made his move. His aura was ten times stronger than before. Clearly, he had advanced to the Frenzy Spirit Realm.
However, it was useless. Even though it was a sneak attack, his body was blasted away by a single punch from Niu Tong before he could even get close. Upon hitting the ground, he wildly spat out a mouthful of blood, having sustained heavy injuries. Niu Tong was, after all, a cultivator at the 5th Layer of the Frenzy Spirit Realm. The gap between them was simply too vast.
After sending Tang Long flying, Niu Tong finally let go of Ye Zeyun. Although he badly wanted to go on a killing spree to blow off some steam, he couldn’t kill the Ye family, nor did he have the right to. How could he possibly have the right to kill those the Zhang family wanted dead? Not unless he wanted to die himself.
"You... what exactly do you want?!" Ye Zeyun pointed at him, not daring to call him by his full name again.
"Nothing much. I want you to gather every single member of the Ye family right here within three minutes. Otherwise, you’ll face the consequences!"
Ye Zeyun said coldly, "Every member of the Ye family? Does that include Ye Xuan? If he comes out, you know the consequences."
Niu Tong chuckled, "If you can actually call him out here, I’ll immediately kowtow and apologize to you. I’ll even call you ’Grandpa’ three times!"
Ye Zeyun was stunned. Judging by Niu Tong’s tone and attitude, it seemed he had no idea Ye Xuan was currently at the estate.
Just as he was about to say something more, Ye Xuan’s icy voice rang out.
"Give me a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, forget about kowtowing and apologizing—even if the Heavenly Emperor himself came, he wouldn’t be able to save you."
Hearing this voice, Niu Tong’s originally furious face instantly drained of color. He subconsciously turned around, and upon seeing Ye Xuan, his eyes widened to the size of saucers.
What was going on?
Ye Xuan! Why was he at the Ye family estate?!
Niu Tong thought his eyes were playing tricks on him and vigorously rubbed them. But it wasn’t an illusion; it really was Ye Xuan!
Ye Xuan’s expression was chillingly dark, radiating a suffocating murderous intent that locked onto him.
THUD.
Niu Tong immediately dropped to his knees. His expression was as bizarre and complicated as one could possibly imagine.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, he broke down, repeatedly bashing his forehead against the ground.
What the hell was going on?! Didn’t the Zhang family say they needed to kill the Ye family to lure Ye Xuan out? But Ye Xuan wasn’t in the Secret Realm at all—he was right here at the Ye family estate! Were they fucking kidding him? Wasn’t this just setting him, Niu Tong, up for a complete death sentence?!
In this scenario, under these circumstances, how was he supposed to explain himself? How was he supposed to handle this?!
"Ye Xuan, you’re here," Ye Ling’Er smiled as she stood up from the ground.
The reason Ye Xuan had come out was that she had crushed the Twin Jade. Earlier, when Niu Tong had looked so furious, she had genuinely believed he was going to kill her grandfather. The moment the Twin Jade shattered, Ye Xuan, who had been preparing to break through to the 9th Layer, immediately left the secret room. He knew that if the Twin Jade broke, something major must have happened.
THUD THUD THUD.
Niu Tong was still frantically bashing his head against the dirt. He used so much force that he even pounded a crater into the earth. Blood was already pouring from his forehead.
"Do you want to die? No need to go through so much trouble. I can just blow your head off right now," Ye Xuan spoke again.
Niu Tong snapped out of his breakdown, bursting into loud, wailing sobs. The sight of a two-meter-tall, burly man crying his eyes out left the entire Ye family completely dumbfounded.
Still sobbing, he crawled toward Ye Xuan and hugged his thigh. "Lord Ye Xuan, I was forced! The Zhang family ordered me to capture the Ye family to force you to show yourself!"