A Backup Plan (Please Keep Reading)

On Green Mountain Ridge, just as Ye Jingcheng was about to retreat beneath the spiritual barrier, a black-robed figure appeared once more.

The black-robed figure moved like a ghost, trailing a long spectral afterimage!

His face was twisted into a ferocious, terrifying expression!

As though Ye Jingcheng's killing of the dark-faced cultivator had enraged him beyond measure!

A massive flying awl artifact shot from his hand, hurtling straight for the back of Ye Jingcheng's head!

Fast!

Incomparably fast!

Ye Jingcheng pulled out a spirit talisman. Though he felt that ordinary first-tier spirit talismans might be useless, at that moment, this was every method he could think of!

He even raised the Jade Ring Rat behind him!

Yet before the attack could land, a gigantic emerald-green lizard suddenly appeared in midair. Its huge red tongue lashed out like a blood python, sweeping the flying awl away in one motion, while its enormous tail swung again.

In an instant, countless earthen spikes burst from the ground.

They shot toward the ambushing Foundation Establishment cultivator.

It all happened far too quickly. The lizard had concealed itself exceptionally well—and it had been hiding within the spiritual barrier.

That barrier was not merely a defensive formation; it was also a concealment formation!

Caught by surprise, the Foundation Establishment cultivator had no defense prepared.

The earthen spikes tore through his chest, revealing a suit of gleaming golden spirit armor!

But the spirit armor had clearly not reached the second tier. An enormous hole was punched through it by the spikes, and blood immediately sprayed out!

"This is that old bastard Haicheng's spirit beast. Your Ye Family has hidden yourselves far too deeply!" The man took out a spirit talisman and shot off to the side!

Without another word, he began to flee!

This, too, happened with astonishing speed.

Almost as soon as the Foundation Establishment cultivator fled, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators confronting Ye Xingliu in the air exchanged a glance and took out spirit boats to escape!

But at that very moment, the emerald-green lizard's long tongue lashed out again, stretching over a hundred zhang!

It wrapped around one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, while Ye Xingliu's perfected Golden Sword Art and two flying sword artifacts all came crashing down!

In an instant, that Foundation Establishment cultivator was disemboweled and died a violent death!

Nearby, screams rang out again. The Red-Crowned Snow Eagle swooped down and clawed open the head of a late Qi Refinement cultivator.

Of the remaining three late Qi Refinement cultivators, one had his throat torn open by the Blood-Patterned Leopard!

Only two cultivators took out strange spirit talismans. In an instant, their speed increased dozens of times over, and they vanished into the distance without a trace!

"They're nothing but brazen, lawless Rogue Cultivators. Don't chase them!" Ye Xingliu said.

"Uncle and the others promised to meet up with us, yet they never came. The other three great families haven't shown themselves either. Let's return first—the Bloodheart Pill is what matters most!" Ye Xingliu said.

Ye Xinghe nodded as well, though uncertainty still lingered in his eyes.

After all, these Rogue Cultivators looked far too much like they had been bought off by several great families.

If the other side had tampered with the Bloodheart Pill, why would they still arrange for Rogue Cultivators to come after it?

After pondering for a long while, he could think of only one possibility.

Perhaps they wanted to dispel the Ye Family's suspicions regarding the Bloodheart Pill. At the same time, after this battle, even if the Ye Family discovered that there was a problem with the Bloodheart Pill, they would have no way to accuse the other great families.

It might even make it seem as though the Ye Family was framing them!

Moreover, the Ye Family had a share in the auction house. If the auction house's reputation was ruined, the Ye Family would suffer heavy losses as well.

That made it an open scheme!

Of course, he still hoped there was nothing wrong with the Bloodheart Pill, and that the other side had truly intended to steal it.

After all, joining forces with the Feather Transformation Sect was no easy matter, no matter how one looked at it.

"What a pity. If the family head hadn't sold one of his artifacts, all three of those Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivators would have been buried here today!"

After saying that, Ye Xinghe collected the storage pouches of the two Qi Refinement Rogue Cultivators.

At last, the Crimson Flame Fox pried open the great bell formed by that mysterious little bell.

It ran toward Ye Jingcheng.

"Jingcheng, you performed well today and killed a cultivator, but you were far too careless. You aren't suited for close combat, so you should have stayed inside the spirit formation. If Lizard Elder hadn't been here today, you would have been in grave danger!"

"Rogue Cultivators may possess fewer treasures than cultivators from great families and sects, but their ruthlessness and countless tricks are what make them the hardest to guard against!"

"Uncle is right to reprimand me!" Ye Jingcheng lowered his head.

He had recognized his mistake as well. That brush with death just now had truly come down to the narrowest margin.

"You killed that dark-faced man, so the spoils are yours as well. Remember to feed Lizard Elder a few spirit pills. You're an alchemist—I needn't say more!"

After Ye Xinghe finished speaking, he took out a fire banner and gave it a casual wave, burning the corpses of the Rogue Cultivators to ashes.

Ye Jingcheng hurriedly went to collect the Rogue Cultivator's storage pouch, along with the little bell artifact, the heavily damaged shield, and no fewer than nine silver needles.

Once he had finished tidying up, he imitated Ye Xinghe and had the Crimson Flame Fox breathe fire, burning the corpse to ashes!

At that moment, Ye Xingliu also brought out the spirit boat!

Ye Jingcheng boarded the spirit boat, but the emerald-green lizard was nowhere to be seen. Just as Ye Jingcheng was wondering about it—

With a slurping sound, a faint shadow materialized before him, revealing the enormous emerald-green lizard.

"Lizard Elder!" Ye Jingcheng tried calling out as well, taking out several Azure Spirit Pills and Qi-Blood Pills at the same time.

He held them out toward the emerald-green lizard.

Its tongue shot out again and curled around them, sweeping up the pill bottles as well. With two crunches, it swallowed everything down.

Then its body began fading once more, vanishing from atop the spirit boat again in the blink of an eye.

"This is your granduncle's bonded spirit beast. Within the family, bonded spirit beasts hold equally exalted status!" As though he had seen Ye Jingcheng's confusion, Ye Xinghe explained from beside him.

"The reason our Ye Family has been able to secure its footing among the four great Foundation Establishment families is because of the family head and your granduncle, and because of these Foundation Establishment spirit beasts as well!"

"Besides spirit beasts the family has raised from a young age, spirit beasts can also be inherited!"

After Ye Xinghe finished speaking, he said nothing more.

Leaving Ye Jingcheng alone on the spirit boat, his thoughts running wild.

He had long suspected that the family could not be so simple. Now, it seemed that even the mere tip of the iceberg they had revealed was immensely formidable.

And judging by how easily the family had handled this battle, they likely possessed many more hidden cards.

For instance, Lizard Elder belonged to his granduncle Ye Haicheng—but what demon beast did his Third Uncle, as the Ye Family head, possess?

And who was this Bloodheart Pill meant for?

Ye Jingcheng's heart was filled with questions, but he did not ask. He knew that when the time came for him to know, he would know.

Asking when he should not would not only yield no answers, but might even invite displeasure.

For now, he only needed to understand one thing: the Ye Family's strength was not to be underestimated, and the Ye Family elders were no easy opponents either!

To be part of such a family was an immense blessing indeed!

Ye Jingcheng held spirit stones in his hand, slowly replenishing his spiritual energy, while the Crimson Flame Fox lay curled up beside him.

The spirit boat continued toward Soaring Cloud Peak. Once they passed Green Mountain Ridge, the remaining mountains became exceptionally low and gentle.

At the edge of the earth, a colossal mountain peak could now be vaguely seen.

At this moment, another spirit boat came hurtling in from beyond the horizon at an even more terrifying speed.

"It's Eldest Uncle and the others!" Ye Xingyu was the one who spoke this time.

Ye Jingcheng finally saw the arrivals clearly. Ye Haicheng, Ye Haiyi, and Ye Haiping were all there.

"Someone played a passage of the Beast-Calling Melody near the family, causing quite a bout of unrest!" Ye Haicheng was the first to speak.

Seeing that all four of them were unharmed, he was relieved as well!

Once the two spirit boats joined up, the danger was completely lifted, and they soon returned to Soaring Cloud Peak.

Seeing the familiar mountain, the familiar paths, and the familiar buildings, Ye Jingcheng could not help but sigh inwardly.

Though only a little over a month had passed, he had experienced so much.

"Jingcheng, make your preparations properly over the next few days!" Ye Xingyu reminded Ye Jingcheng again from beside him!