Crimson Thousand Rat (Asking for Follow-up Reading)

Inside the room, Ye Jingcheng continued cultivating tirelessly, never growing weary of it.

Only when he could no longer sense another substantial surge in spiritual energy, and his mind had grown muddled, did Ye Jingcheng stop.

He knew that the fatigue period of cultivation had arrived.

He dispersed the Li Fire Art and felt the abundant spiritual energy within him, slowly calming down.

Just like his state of mind, which also needed to settle little by little.

He had merely broken through to Qi Training Stage 6. It was not a Foundation Establishment breakthrough, nor had he gained more years to live.

Just as the joy of cultivation faded, he discovered that if he used the Crimson Flame Fox's spiritual power, the Fireball Spell he cast was more powerful, and even his hand seals were much faster.

Clearly, casting the Fireball Spell with the Crimson Flame Fox's spiritual power was almost instinctive.

This discovery delighted him even more.

In battle, this would allow him to catch enemies even more off guard. So long as he practiced diligently, perhaps at a critical moment he could release Fireball Spells just like the Crimson Flame Fox. Including the Crimson Flame Fox's four, that would make five Fireball Spells—no weaker than some formidable Dharma Artifacts.

As for merging with the Crimson Flame Fox and taking on a half-beast form, Ye Jingcheng could not do that yet.

Still, it was enough to fill him with delight and anticipation.

Of course, he had not forgotten what the family head had told him. These methods could not be casually displayed before other cultivators—unless he intended to kill them all!

For example, when those Rogue Cultivators had tried to seize the Blood Heart Pill, none of the Ye Family cultivators had transformed into beasts. They had not even borrowed the power of their Spirit Beasts.

They were worried that other families might be watching in secret. Otherwise, let alone three Foundation Building Cultivators, even five ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators might not have escaped alive that day.

Moreover, another thought lingered in Ye Jingcheng's mind. As the family head, did Ye Xingliu not have a second uninjured Foundation Establishment Spirit Beast?

Given the Ye Family's cautious nature and habit of hiding their strength at every turn, it really was not impossible.

Ye Jingcheng suppressed the thought and continued his research. The Beast Communication Mark had given him far too many surprises.

The more he studied it, the deeper his amazement at the Beast Communication Mark became.

At this moment, he even began to doubt whether the Ye Family was truly a Foundation Establishment Family or a Purple Mansion Family.

By the time his heart had completely calmed, it was already broad daylight outside, and the spring rain that had fallen through the night had stopped.

The air was especially fresh, brimming with the scent of rain and dew.

Through the window, he could see emerald bamboo leaves swaying with droplets of dew, lush and glistening. Deep within the bamboo grove, tender bamboo shoots had sprung up everywhere.

A Sound Transmission Talisman drifted into the room.

It carried Ye Xinghe's order to gather.

After tidying himself up simply, Ye Jingcheng left his room once more.

When he arrived at the Inner Courtyard, he found that Xu Xiuqing had also changed into a neat, fitted robe, while Ye Xingyu and Ye Xinghe had already put on different black robes.

These black robes, like the ones from last time, were meant to conceal their identities. But their appearance was vastly different from before; even the Rogue Cultivators from last time would never recognize them as Ye Family attire.

"Put these on!" Ye Xinghe handed Ye Jingcheng and Xu Xiuqing a set of clothing each.

He had them cover themselves in the black robes, leaving only their eyes exposed.

Ye Jingcheng did not hesitate and put one on immediately.

Unlike the previous set, which could refresh and sharpen the mind, this one was utterly ordinary. It also showed how differently the Ye Family regarded these two operations.

Xu Xiuqing, on the other hand, hesitated for a while before gritting her teeth and putting it on.

After all, once she wore the black robe, even if she died, no one might know it was her.

Once the three had donned their robes, Ye Xinghe immediately led them into a secret passage.

What surprised Ye Jingcheng was that this time, it was a different hidden passage.

It led to another Rogue Cultivator shop.

After leaving the bamboo forest outside the market, Ye Xinghe took out another Spirit Boat, and the four flew toward a hill.

"Senior Ye, is there anything this junior can help with?" Xu Xiuqing asked after hesitating for a long time.

However, her question clearly carried another meaning.

Ye Xinghe glanced back at her, as though confirming the look in her eyes, before replying.

"We're meeting up with the Ye Family's Spirit Beasts. Otherwise, if you want to find where the Heretical Cultivators are hiding, it's simply impossible!" Ye Xinghe answered briefly.

He continued steering the Spirit Boat with full concentration. Ye Jingcheng did not interrupt, instead following Ye Xingyu to one side of the boat and watching their surroundings.

He always remembered clearly: speak less, do more, observe more.

After asking her question, Xu Xiuqing did not speak again. She continued maintaining a distance of three feet from the three Ye Family members, holding a long sword Dharma Artifact in her hand.

The Spirit Boat finally landed atop a desolate peak. There was likewise a cave on the mountain, and inside the cave remained traces of a signal marker Ye Jingcheng recognized.

The four did not wait long before a Spirit Boat appeared in the distance. The people aboard wore exactly the same clothing as Ye Jingcheng's group.

Two of the figures were especially familiar to Ye Jingcheng. Even without seeing their faces, he could recognize them by their builds—it was his Second Brother, Ye Jingyong, and Fourth Brother, Ye Jingyu, whom he had not seen for a long time.

Then the one who had come out this time was still the family head, Ye Xingliu. He just did not know whether Lizard Elder had appeared this time.

Ye Jingcheng could not help recalling the image of that color-changing lizard. With the other party's unfathomable methods, it would surely add greatly to their chances on this expedition.

As the four landed, one of the black-robed figures took out a crimson long-nosed spirit rat.

This spirit rat was called the Crimson Thousand Rat, famous for its enormous red nose and its ability to track targets from a thousand miles away.

With this Spirit Beast present, Ye Jingcheng instantly understood the identity of the person before him. He was Ye Haiyi, the Ye Family's Third Elder of the Hai generation and the person in charge of the Demon Hunting Hall.

As soon as the Crimson Thousand Rat appeared, Ye Xinghe took out the corpse in a Gray Robe—the mid-stage Qi Training cultivator Ye Jingcheng had killed earlier.

The Crimson Thousand Rat squeaked twice, then plunged its head into the Gray-Robed Cultivator's neck.

Its eyes spun twice before it let out a low growl toward a direction nearby.

Ye Xingliu then took out a larger Spirit Boat.

This Spirit Boat was clearly a Third-Order Artifact. When activated to its fullest, it could even accommodate more than a dozen rooms; calling it an inn in the sky would not be an exaggeration.

Yet despite its immense size, it was even faster. It had two enormous green sails billowing in the wind, each densely engraved with wind-attribute Spirit Patterns. At full activation, it became a streak of light and vanished in a flash.

At that moment, Ye Jingcheng noticed that there was light in Xu Xiuqing's eyes.

If the Ye Family intended to harm her and force the location of the Spirit Mine out of her, there was no need to go to such lengths.

Only such a grand mobilization could show that the Ye Family truly intended to wipe out the Heretical Cultivators.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" The Spirit Boat flew over a region of mountains and ravines. Without their noticing, they had already begun entering deep into the Mount Taihang Mountain Range.

The next moment, the Crimson Thousand Rat dove headfirst down and vanished from the Spirit Boat. Right after it, the Crimson Crown Snow Eagle also turned into a streak of light and shot away.

"Prepare!" Ye Haiyi's voice rang out, and all eight of them swiftly drew their Dharma Artifacts!

Thank you to Fleeting Star for the 100-coin reward.

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