Bloodthirsty Demon Gu (Thanks Yan Chenchen and Kaguya for the 100-coin rewards

At Soaring Cloud Peak of the Ye Family, Ye Xinghe's spirit boat passed through the clouds, and in the distance, crimson skies gradually emerged.

With vast swathes of cloud cover no longer blocking the view, the crimson morning glow was exceptionally dazzling.

Soaring Cloud Peak, too, slowly revealed itself beneath the skies.

The people aboard the spirit boat were still riddled with doubts.

Beside them, there was now another spirit boat, one that had come from the Azure Cloud Mountain Range—the Ye Family's Demon Hunting Hall spirit boat.

This undoubtedly made the atmosphere aboard the boats uneasy and strange once more.

Ye Jinghao and Ye Xinghong had also roughly guessed that this was not a clan tournament.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a beast's roar rang out from the distant clouds, and every clansman turned their gaze toward Soaring Cloud Peak.

Ye Jingcheng did the same. He had never been to the summit of Soaring Cloud Peak; it was also a forbidden ground of the family.

Now that such a terrifying roar had sounded, it was clearly as they had suspected—the family was in trouble. And judging by that roar, it was no ordinary beast.

The roar alone made the earth tremble and the mountains shake.

They could not help looking toward Ye Xinghe.

Even Ye Xinghe, who usually laughed and chatted without ever changing expression, now wore a faintly grim look on his brow. His eyes were deep as he stared ahead.

No one asked, and Ye Xinghe said nothing. When they reached Soaring Cloud Peak, what they saw was a peak braced for battle, its mountain-protecting formation activated to full power.

Many Ye Family cultivators had gathered on the mountain, and quite a few spirit beasts were being led about.

Every clansman looked somewhat panicked.

"You stay here and stand guard. I'm going up the mountain!" Ye Xinghe set Ye Jingcheng and the others down, then headed toward the peak.

The Hai-generation clansmen in charge of the Demon Hunting Team's spirit boat went with him, along with Ye Xingyu.

"Fourth Brother, Second Brother, Eldest Brother!" Ye Jingcheng called out as he looked into the crowd.

His fourth brother Ye Jingyu, second brother Ye Jingyong, and eldest brother Ye Jingteng were all there.

Ye Jingcheng had seen Ye Jingteng only rarely, because Ye Jingteng possessed two spirit roots and had joined the Taiyi Sect from a young age. He was exceptionally gifted; it was said that he had already reached the eighth level of Qi Refinement and was only one step away from the ninth, with hopes of reaching Foundation Establishment before the age of forty!

"Jingcheng, you're back?" Ye Jingyu did not speak. It was Ye Jingyong who spoke.

"The family's guardian spirit beast has gone berserk and is out of control. Because of this, the patriarch even sent a flying message to summon Fourth Grandfather back!"

Ye Jingcheng was stunned and deeply puzzled. This was the first time a guardian spirit beast of the Ye Family had gone berserk.

He suddenly recalled the family's Bloodheart Pill from before. At the time, the family's finances had clearly taken a severe hit, and their trade with the Feather Transformation Sect had only barely been completed. They simply did not have enough spirit stones.

Yet strangely enough, the Bloodheart Pill had ultimately fallen into the Ye Family's hands.

If one did not think deeply about it, there was naturally nothing unusual about the matter. But upon closer thought, there was something highly fishy beneath the surface.

Ye Jingcheng felt somewhat regretful. At the same time, he wondered whether he should go take a look. He had the family treasure book.

The beast roars atop the mountain grew louder and louder, and Ye Jingcheng and the others could even feel the earth tremble and the mountains shake.

It was as if a colossal beast were continuously shaking Soaring Cloud Peak.

And one had to know that Soaring Cloud Peak possessed a high-grade second-order mountain-protecting formation!

Many birds and beasts also took flight from the mountain. Ye Jingcheng saw late first-order Firebirds and late first-order Red Cloud Bees.

Quite a few of the Ye Family's spirit beasts hidden on the mountain had appeared before the clansmen.

Returning Ye Family cultivators at the eighth and ninth levels of Qi Refinement also headed toward the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, those standing ready for battle were cultivators below the eighth level of Qi Refinement, such as Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu.

Of course, although Ye Jingteng was at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, the family had not required him to go. As the only two-spirit-root cultivator of the Ye Family's Jing generation, and one who had joined the Taiyi Sect—

Naturally, they could not let him risk his life.

"Fourth Brother, this time, the family..." Ye Jingcheng still asked Ye Jingyu. As the patriarch's son, Ye Jingyu would know more.

More importantly, he faintly sensed fluctuations in Ye Jingyu's cultivation as well.

This meant Ye Jingyu had definitely cultivated the Beast-Link Mark recently, and the spirit beast he had contracted was likely not a Flying Cloud Leopard, but a spirit beast passed down through the family.

"It was in the medicine from last time. It had been contaminated with a colorless, odorless second-order Bloodthirsty Demon Gu!"

"This poison erupts incredibly slowly—it took a full three years to flare up!" Ye Jingyu's expression was extremely grim.

The Ye Family's current status as one of the four great families was connected to the Ye Family's spirit beasts, and at present, the strongest Ye Family spirit beast was Turtle Ancestor.

It was said that Turtle Ancestor had guarded the Ye Family for five or six hundred years, and its cultivation had reached the late second order.

Within the Ye Family generations, even Ye Haicheng of the Hai generation had to address it as Turtle Ancestor.

If Turtle Ancestor died, it would be an utterly devastating blow to the Ye Family.

That was why every Ye Family cultivator had returned. Even Ye Haiyun, who had been summoned by his sect, had already come back.

The entire family had been shaken to its core.

Fighting had also begun on the mountain, as countless spiritual lights surged through the peak.

There were tiger roars, eagle cries, and the sounds of all manner of spell battles.

This scene made the faces of the Ye Family clansmen turn even uglier.

The situation might be even worse than imagined. The Turtle Ancestor currently had no cultivator inheritor within the Ye Family and no spiritual contract; it mainly relied on the intelligence of its spiritual beasts. Now that they had lost control and gone mad, the consequences were easy to imagine!

The sky kept shifting, while the blazing sun hung high in the heavens.

All the Ye Family clansmen grew even more anxious. Ye Jingcheng and the others had waited for half a day, while clansmen such as Ye Jingyu had already been waiting for several days.

Boom!

A massive arrow of ice crystal shot toward the clan-protecting grand formation, unleashing a thunderous tremor.

Cracks began to spread across the spiritual barrier as well, as though it would shatter the very next moment.

"All Ye Family clansmen, arm yourselves with magical artifacts and seal off the area within thirty li of Soaring Cloud Peak. Do not allow any living creature to approach!" Ye Xingliu's voice rang out.

At this moment, it was exceptionally imposing!

Ye Jingyu was the first to head outside. As the patriarch's son, he naturally stepped forward without hesitation!

Besides Ye Jingyu, Ye Jingteng and Ye Jingyong did the same!

Apart from those assigned to remain behind, the Jing generation and the lower-cultivated members of the Xing and Hai generations all headed toward the area within thirty li of Soaring Cloud Peak!

They would not have known without looking, but sure enough, they discovered Rogue Cultivators lying in hiding!

These were clearly spies from other factions.

Battle was on the verge of erupting. At this moment, the Ye Family clansmen could not allow any news to get out.

Every Rogue Cultivator spy had to die!

Ye Jingcheng also found an unoccupied spot and sent out a voice-transmission talisman toward Soaring Cloud Peak!

Though this might expose his treasure book, Ye Jingcheng knew that if the family declined, his own days would not be any easier.

Most importantly, the family did not guard against him or question him. That still moved Ye Jingcheng somewhat. He knew full well that in the cultivation world, there were plenty who turned against each other over treasures.

At the same time, the spiritual radiance of his treasure book would not be noticed by outsiders. He could simply claim that he possessed a special spiritual body capable of healing spiritual beasts!

Besides, among the Ye Family's upper ranks, nearly everyone had more or less guessed as much.

The Crimson Flame Fox was naturally sturdy, so he could bluff the younger Ye Family members.

But as for the Ye Family elders, they might not even need spiritual eyes or divine sense. With their naked eyes alone, they could tell whether a spiritual beast was in good condition!