Ambushed (Please Read On)

Before Green Mountain Ridge, Ye Xingliu took a step forward. The pair of second-rank mother-and-child swords in his hand shot out one before the other, transforming into two azure arcs that slashed forth.

They drove straight at the faces of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The azure arcs flew so fast that even Ye Jingcheng found them dazzling!

Yet with two ringing clangs, one of the black-robed cultivators produced two boomerang-like magic artifacts!

They spun even faster in the air, radiating dazzling spiritual light as they blocked both swords!

The other likewise drew a flying sword artifact and slashed at Ye Xingliu's chest.

But Ye Xingliu knocked it away with a dazzling Golden Sword Art at Great Mastery.

Golden light scattered across the ground as the artifact flew back. A clash between Foundation Establishment cultivators was simply too fierce—every move was a killing blow.

"Ye Xingliu, you really are in here. But this time, there are two of us. How can you possibly defeat us?"

The two of them spoke extremely loudly.

"Just two rats too cowardly to show your faces!"

Ye Xingliu charged in again!

He still wielded the pair of mother-and-child swords. Beyond that, a peak first-rank Azure Ring Snake appeared beside him. The snake was not large, no bigger than an ordinary spirit snake, but its entire body gleamed with spiritual light and was covered in scales as it coiled around Ye Xingliu.

Whenever the two men's attacks became too sharp and treacherous, the Azure Ring Snake could condense a scaled azure ring.

Like a top-grade armored shield, it blocked the deadly attacks.

While Ye Xingliu fought the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Ye Xinghe controlled the Blood-Patterned Leopard and Red-Crowned Snow Eagle, attacking the four black-robed men together!

In the meantime, he took out several spear artifacts. Every one of these spear artifacts was incredibly fast and difficult to evade, not much inferior even to Ye Xingliu's second-rank artifacts!

Those late Qi Refinement cultivators repeatedly brought out magic shields to meet the attack.

They also produced several offensive artifacts!

The four men's artifacts were rather varied: small pagoda artifacts, golden mace artifacts, as well as saber and sword artifacts!

Each had two artifacts, but there were very few top-grade artifacts—only three in total.

At the side, Ye Xingyu also rushed out, likewise fighting with one person and two spirit beasts!

The Ye Family's coordinated spirit-beast tactics displayed their full might at this moment!

Two men and four beasts fought four opponents, yet they faintly held the upper hand!

Even Ye Jingcheng felt his blood stir. At the same time, the Crimson Flame Fox and Jade Ring Rat at his feet had long since been released.

But at this moment, the Jade Ring Rat suddenly began squeaking urgently, while the Crimson Flame Fox's scarlet fur stood on end!

Ye Jingcheng was exceedingly familiar with this sight. There was clearly another enemy.

"To the left!" Ye Jingcheng could vaguely sense the Jade Ring Rat's urgency and the direction it indicated.

At once, he conveyed his intent to the Crimson Flame Fox!

Three enormous fireballs blasted out in an instant like cannonballs!

They shot toward a mound beside the hill!

As the three giant fireballs descended, a dark-faced cultivator suddenly sprang out from within the mound!

"Damn brat!" The dark-faced cultivator had intended to ambush Ye Xinghe. Who would have thought that a junior at mid-stage Qi Refinement would discover him?

Though the three massive fireballs had not hit him, they still left him filthy and disheveled!

Yet it was not over. Ye Jingcheng had already activated the Ironwood Plaque in his hand, and countless wooden vines lashed toward the dark-faced cultivator from several directions!

Ye Jingcheng controlled their direction perfectly; the dark-faced cultivator could not evade them no matter how he tried!

Vines filled the space before, behind, left, and right.

He could only flick his sleeve, sending several silver needle artifacts flying out to sever the vines in advance!

But the instant the vines fell, another three fireballs came blasting toward him!

"Damn it! How are they so fast?!" The dark-faced cultivator was about to curse his mother. Even talisman fireball spells were not this fast, let alone three in succession, and their power was far greater than ordinary Fireball Arts.

Curse as he might, his hands did not stop.

With a pinch of his fingers into a spell seal, a palm-sized shield immediately flew out, then expanded in the blink of an eye into a massive shield over five feet tall.

The fireballs slammed into the giant shield, raising blazing waves of fire two or three feet high!

Moreover, the giant shield was blasted somewhat inward, and its spiritual light visibly dimmed by a considerable amount.

This made the cultivator even more startled and furious.

After all, repairing this artifact would cost no small amount of spirit stones!

At that moment, several of Ye Jingcheng's talismans and the Azure Flow Sword flew out as well. His cultivation was inferior to the other's, so he could only take advantage of his opponent's frantic state to achieve as much as possible before the family's reinforcements arrived.

Unfortunately, the dark-faced young man reacted extremely quickly. In an instant, he sent out two talismans, blocking Ye Jingcheng's attacks one by one.

The dark-faced cultivator was especially familiar with defending against talismans. He simply would not allow them to explode nearby.

He intercepted them midway, where they dissolved into fading spiritual light.

"Whoosh!"

Three more fireballs from the Crimson Flame Fox tore through the air!

Boom!

The shield artifact's spiritual glow visibly dimmed by another degree.

The blast made the dark-faced cultivator's expression turn even gloomier.

He was not afraid of ordinary moves, but these fireballs had truly exceeded his expectations.

At that moment, Ye Jingcheng pressed his advantage while the man was weakened, showing no intention of stopping. He held nothing back with his spiritual energy!

How could he afford to hold back against a late Qi Refinement cultivator?

After doing all this, he pressed his hand against the Crimson Flame Fox once more, using treasure light to bolster it!

The fox's crimson mouth, which had seemed somewhat spent, was now filled with strength again. With lightning speed, it lunged forward, turning into a streak of scarlet spiritual light.

Its ferocious claws emerged as well!

Having consumed a great number of Body Tempering Pills, the Crimson Flame Fox's claws were even sharper than ordinary artifacts.

They slashed toward the dark-faced cultivator hiding behind his shield!

The dark-faced cultivator's expression naturally changed. He reckoned that after unleashing such terrifying, consecutive fireball spells, the Crimson Flame Fox could not possibly cast them instantly again so soon.

Otherwise, the Crimson Flame Fox would never have closed in. This was his chance—if he killed this red fox, then Ye Jingcheng in the distance was, in his eyes, merely an ordinary fifth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator!

He viciously shoved his shield forward, pushing away the lingering flames and continuing to keep the shield raised toward Ye Jingcheng. Meanwhile, nine silver needles shot out toward the Crimson Flame Fox!

But the instant his silver needles flew out, the Crimson Flame Fox abruptly retreated. It opened its mouth again and spat out three enormous fireballs!

At the same time, Ye Jingcheng's Ironwood Plaque unleashed several more spiritual wood vines!

Under this chain of attacks, the dark-faced cultivator dodged the fireballs, only to be bound tightly by the ironwood vines.

The Crimson Flame Fox arrived before him in an instant and clawed at the dark-faced cultivator!

Yet just as the blow was about to land, the dark-faced cultivator gave a savage grin. At some point, a spirit talisman and a bell had appeared in his hands!

The talisman ignited in an instant, and every wooden vine turned to charcoal and burned away completely!

The bell flew out and instantly trapped the Crimson Flame Fox beneath it!

A clanging, swaying sound rang out!

Clearly, the dark-faced man had deliberately stepped into the trap for this very moment.

The dark-faced man's smile grew somewhat savage, but in the next moment, his expression changed!

A spirit talisman had somehow exploded on his body as well!

Ye Jingcheng had hidden this Frost Talisman among the ironwood vines. Though the ironwood vines had been destroyed by the spirit talisman, the Frost Talisman remained.

The Frost Talisman was simply too close. In an instant, frost spread beneath his feet, freezing half his body. His upper body was still forming hand seals, but though his lower body tried to pull free, it could not move!

Then Ye Jingcheng's Azure Flow Sword descended in an instant.

It cleaved the dark-faced cultivator in two!

This scene also fell into Ye Xingliu and Ye Xinghe's eyes.

Both were somewhat astonished. Although Ye Jingcheng had struck first in ambush, he had still slain a seventh-layer Qi Refinement, late Qi Refinement cultivator. His performance today was hardly inferior even to cultivators seasoned by countless battles.

Of course, what surprised him even more was how Ye Jingcheng had discovered the dark-faced cultivator, and why the Crimson Flame Fox seemed to have reached the late first rank!

But at that very moment, Ye Jingcheng discovered that the Jade Ring Rat's enormous jade-ring ears had nearly stood upright, flapping without pause!

"More enemies—and at least Foundation Establishment..." Every hair on Ye Jingcheng's body nearly stood on end. Seeing the Jade Ring Rat's current state of panic, he immediately retreated into the jade bowl's spiritual barrier!