Red Thousand-Mile Mouse (Please Keep Reading)

Inside the room, Ye Jingcheng continued cultivating tirelessly, taking endless delight in it.

Only when he could no longer sense any substantial increase in spiritual energy, and his mind had grown heavy and dull, did Ye Jingcheng finally stop.

He knew that his cultivation burnout had arrived.

He dispersed the Parting Fire Art and slowly calmed himself as he felt the abundant spiritual energy within his body.

Just like his state of mind, which also needed to settle down slowly.

He had merely broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refinement—not achieved Foundation Establishment, nor gained additional years of life.

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

Clearly, using the Crimson Flame Fox's spiritual power to cast the Fireball Art was almost instinctive.

That discovery delighted him even more.

This way, during a battle, he could catch his opponents even more off guard. So long as he practiced diligently, perhaps at a crucial moment he could fire off Fireball Arts like the Crimson Flame Fox. Adding the Crimson Flame Fox's four fireballs, that would make five Fireball Arts—perhaps no weaker than some formidable magical artifacts.

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

But it was enough to fill him with joy and anticipation.

Of course, he had not forgotten what the family head had told him. These methods could not be displayed casually before other cultivators. Either that, or everyone who saw them had to die!

For example, when those Rogue Cultivators had tried to seize the Bloodheart Pill, none of the Ye Family cultivators had beastified, nor had they borrowed the power of their spirit beasts.

That was also because they feared that other families might be spying in secret. Otherwise, let alone three Foundation Establishment cultivators, even five ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators might not have escaped alive that day.

Moreover, another thought lingered in Ye Jingcheng's heart. As the family head, did Ye Xingliu truly not have a second uninjured Foundation Establishment spirit beast?

Given the Ye Family's cautiousness and their habit of concealing their true strength at every turn, it was entirely possible.

Ye Jingcheng suppressed that thought and continued his research. The Beast-Link Mark had brought him far too many surprises.

The more he studied it, the deeper his sense of wonder toward the Beast-Link Mark became.

And at this moment, he even began to hesitate over whether the Ye Family was truly a Foundation Establishment family—or a Purple Mansion family.

By the time his emotions had completely settled, dawn had already broken outside, and the spring rain that had fallen all night had stopped.

The air was exceptionally fresh, filled with the scent of rain and dew.

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

A sound-transmission talisman then drifted into the room.

It carried Ye Xinghe's order to assemble.

After making a simple preparation, Ye Jingcheng left his room once more.

When he reached the inner courtyard, he found that Xu Xiuqing had changed into a fitted, practical robe, while Ye Xingyu and Ye Xinghe had already changed into another set of black robes.

These black robes were like the ones from last time, meant to conceal their identities. However, their appearance was vastly different from the previous set. Even if the Rogue Cultivators from last time saw them, they would never recognize them as Ye Family attire.

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

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

Ye Jingcheng did not hesitate and put his on immediately.

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

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

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

Once the three had dressed, Ye Xinghe directly led them through a secret passage.

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

It led to another Rogue Cultivator shop as well.

After leaving the bamboo grove outside the market, Ye Xinghe took out another spirit boat, and the four of them flew toward a hill.

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

Yet her words clearly carried another meaning.

Ye Xinghe turned back to glance at her, as if confirming the look in her eyes, before replying.

"We're meeting up with the Ye Family's spirit beasts. Otherwise, you'll never find where those evil cultivators are hiding!" Ye Xinghe answered simply.

He then continued steering the spirit boat attentively. Ye Jingcheng did not speak, instead following Ye Xingyu to one side of the spirit boat and watching their surroundings.

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

After asking her question, Xu Xiuqing said nothing further. She continued keeping a distance of three feet from the three Ye Family members, a long sword magical artifact in hand.

The spirit boat eventually landed atop a barren mountain peak. There was likewise a cave on the peak, and inside remained familiar marker signals that Ye Jingcheng recognized.

The four did not wait long before a spirit boat appeared in the distance. The clothing of those aboard was exactly the same as that worn by Ye Jingcheng's group of four.

Two of the figures were especially familiar to Ye Jingcheng. Even though he could not see their faces, he recognized them from their builds—they were his second brother, Ye Jingyong, whom he had not seen for a long time, and his fourth brother, Ye Jingyu.

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

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

The four descended, and one of the black-robed men took out a crimson long-nosed spirit mouse.

This spirit mouse was called the Red Thousand-Mile Mouse, famed 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 man before him—Ye Haiyi, the third elder of the Ye Family's Hai generation and the person in charge of the Demon Hunting Hall.

As soon as the Red Thousand-Mile Mouse appeared, Ye Xinghe took out a gray-robed corpse from the other side. It was precisely the mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator Ye Jingcheng had slain earlier.

The Red Thousand-Mile Mouse squeaked twice, then sank its teeth into the gray-robed cultivator's neck.

After its eyes rolled twice, it let out a low growl toward a direction nearby.

Ye Xingliu also took out an even larger spirit vessel.

This spirit vessel was clearly a third-tier magical artifact. When driven to its limit, 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, the spirit vessel was even faster. It had two enormous azure sails billowing in the wind, each densely inscribed with wind-attributed spirit runes. Once fully unfurled, it became a streak of light and vanished in a flash.

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

If the Ye Family had intended her harm and meant to force the location of the spirit mine out of her, there would have been no need for such trouble.

Only by making such a grand mobilization could it show that the Ye Family truly intended to wipe out the rogue cultivators.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" The spirit vessel flew over a region of mountains and ravines. Without realizing it, they had already begun to venture deep into the Taihang Mountain Range.

The next moment, the Red Thousand-Mile Mouse plunged headfirst down and disappeared from the spirit vessel. Right after it, the Crimson-Crowned Snow Eagle transformed into a streak of light and shot away.

"Prepare!" Ye Haiyi's voice rang out. All eight of them simultaneously drew their magical artifacts!