Turtle Ancestor's Tragedy??

After sending the message, Ye Jingcheng released the massive Crimson Flame Fox and Golden-Scaled Beast as well, then began searching in a flurry of urgency.

He was still searching alone, waiting for Ye Xingliu to send him a voice transmission or a transmission talisman.

Even though quite a few rogue cultivators in the distance had been slain by Ye Family cultivators, Ye Jingcheng was in no hurry.

The Crimson Flame Fox continuously spat out fireballs, blasting them into hill after hill, while the Jade Ring Rat kept flicking its ears.

Making sure no cultivators were still hiding in the shadows!

This sweeping search was grand and imposing.

However, most of the clan members were still watching Soaring Cloud Peak.

Ye Jingcheng was the same. He waited with faint anxiety, wondering whether he might have acted too rashly.

But the Beast-Link Mark was now carved onto his body. Even with the Crimson Flame Fox and Golden-Scaled Beast, the clan had not stopped him too much, and Ye Haiyun had even taught him in private.

Every time he refined pills, his doors had been wide open—those were all acts of kindness.

Ye Jingcheng would remember them!

So he quickly cast those thoughts to the back of his mind, though he could not help worrying about the scene atop Soaring Cloud Peak!

The clan-protecting grand formation was still shaking incessantly.

It seemed Turtle Ancestor's frenzy was growing ever more violent.

Ye Jingcheng was still waiting when, at that very moment, an enormous spirit vessel suddenly appeared in the distance.

A huge character for Xu rippled in the wind upon the vessel as it slowly approached Soaring Cloud Peak.

The spirit vessel had three full decks and eight mast-cloud sails, radiating an imposing presence!

It was several grades larger than Ye Xingliu's spirit vessel.

Figures filled its deck, clearly indicating the presence of numerous cultivators.

Ye Jingcheng's face darkened when he saw it. He knew the cultivators here to kick someone when they were down had arrived!

Worst of all, at their head was the Purple Mansion Xu Clan of Taicang!

This scene did not only fall into Ye Jingcheng's eyes, but also into those of Ye Jingyu and Ye Jingteng.

Up on the mountain, a man strode forth. Standing atop a flying sword, he blocked the spirit vessel's path.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, what is the meaning of this?" Ye Xingliu's hair stood on end in fury, his wind robe snapping loudly. Blood still stained his longsword, which nearly pointed straight at Xu Wenchang, the Xu Family's Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator!

"Fellow Daoist Ye, you misunderstand. These past few days are when the Xu Family trains its juniors. This time, the Buqing Li Clan, the Idle Cloud Chu Clan, and the Shanyue Chen Clan happened to be joining us as well, so we thought to ask whether the Ye Family wished to come along?"

"But we never expected to spot such astonishing blood qi from so far away. Could it be that a demon beast has fallen into demonic corruption?"

"Still, let me advise Clan Head Ye: such a demon beast cannot be kept. This is expressly forbidden by the Taiyi Immortal Sect!"

"If you cannot handle it, our Xu Family can lend a hand!" Xu Wenchang said.

He wore a face full of righteous resolve and invoked the name of the Taiyi Sect, making Ye Xingliu's expression turn visibly uglier.

Within Taiyi Sect territory, demonic cultivators and blood cultivators were expressly ordered to be killed. This time, Turtle Ancestor had been afflicted by a demonic gu, and its body emitted an aura of blood-demonic qi.

Ye Xingliu could not refute him at this moment, because Xu Wenchang held a spirit disk in his hand.

Rather than answer, Ye Xingliu stared intently at Li Mutian and Li Family Head Li Muhe.

"You tampered with the Bloodheart Pill, didn't you?!" Killing intent shot from Ye Xingliu's eyes.

This time, he pointed his sword directly at them, a drop of crimson blood falling from its tip.

In the cultivation world, pointing a magic artifact at someone was a grave taboo—let alone a bloodstained sword tip.

"Ye Xingliu, stop spouting bloody slander! The Bloodheart Pill was sold by the Feather Transformation Sect, and the auction was hosted by the Xu Family. All four great families had auctioneers present. Who exactly are you trying to slander?" Li Muhe's expression changed as well, and he erupted in anger. A second-rank magic sword appeared in his hand.

In an instant, swords were drawn and bows bent. Though Ye Xingliu stood alone, his momentum did not diminish in the slightest!

At this moment, Chu Family Head Chu Xiyu stepped out to smooth things over.

"Clan Head Ye, even if it truly was a problem with the pill, is it not possible that the spirit beast itself went wrong and turned bloodthirsty and mad?"

"After all, that spirit pill came from the Feather Transformation Sect. Though they are not, like us, under the Taiyi Immortal Sect, they have no reason to sell things recklessly. Besides, all four families inspected it, and so did the Xu Family!"

As soon as those words were spoken, Xu Wenchang's bearing changed as well. This concerned the Xu Family's reputation.

If Ye Xingliu spoke further, he would likewise be slapping the Xu Family across the face.

Most crucially, this was only Ye Xingliu's side of the story.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, if you want us to go in and help, hunting demon beasts and having the juniors compete are not urgent right now!"

"No help is needed. The Ye Family will handle it ourselves!" Ye Xingliu gritted his teeth as he spoke.

And as the Ye Family made its declaration, the fluctuations from the battle atop the mountain reached their peak. The clan-protecting grand formation began gathering power for a strike, blasting toward the summit of Soaring Cloud Peak.

Every cultivator understood that today, the Ye Family was destined to lose a Foundation Establishment Late Stage spirit beast.

Once the demonic gu erupted, it would only become increasingly terrifying. Unless the Ye Family had a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator, it would be difficult to subdue it. Using the clan-protecting grand formation and numerous Foundation Establishment combatants to trap and kill it was their only option.

The appearance of the Xu Family and the other families here was equivalent to supervising the battle. Given their strength, if the Ye Family did not act, they would naturally step in themselves.

They could even enter the Ye Family's Soaring Cloud Peak and probe the Ye Family's true foundations.

Countless ice-soul arrows danced through the air, accompanied by tiger roars, lizard shrieks, and eagle cries that rang out from Soaring Cloud Peak. Even the clan-protecting grand formation could not fully conceal them!

The other three families could easily infer the Ye Family's current fighting strength from the fluctuations of battle.

The Ye Family clansmen watching below were heartsick as well. With one fewer Foundation Establishment combatant, the Ye Family's voice in the market district would weaken somewhat, and its reputation would suffer another blow.

A family's development was no different from a cultivator's: wealth, companions, methods, and land.

After a long while, the disturbances atop Soaring Cloud Peak gradually subsided. The next moment, a figure in green robes flew out—it was Ye Haicheng. His cultivation was fully unleashed, the peak of the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage laid bare for all to see.

Yet his eyes showed a trace of exhaustion. In his hand, he gripped a blood-stained inner core.

At that moment, the blood disc in the Xu Family's hands also began to shine with a dazzling glare, erupting with an immense bloody light.

Clearly, that demon beast inner core contained demonic gu poison.

"The gifts your four families brought this time have been accepted by the Ye Family. But mountains may not turn while rivers do—the Ye Family will return the favor someday!"

"Also, let me tell you this: Jingteng has now become Taihao Master's disciple!" Ye Haicheng's voice was filled with fury. At the same time, jade slips flew from his hand toward the four families.

"We will not be seeing guests off today. I hope you gentlemen will return whence you came!"

Xu Wenchang's expression shifted slightly. He looked at the jade slip, then at Ye Jingteng, and after saying a few words, turned to leave.

But once they had turned away, all four families wore pleased expressions. The angrier the Ye Family was, the better it was for them. As for becoming a Master's disciple, their families also had clansmen apprenticed within the Taiyi Sect. Still, with this connection in place, they would have to spend more effort if they wanted to completely shut the Ye Family out.

As all the enormous spirit boats departed, Ye Haicheng descended into the air above Soaring Cloud Peak.

"The clan tournament will proceed as usual. Starting today, the family stipend policy will undergo sweeping changes. All of you, remember this day well. In the future, the Ye Family must repay this a hundredfold!"

Ye Haicheng spoke loudly and furiously, but Ye Jingcheng alone was somewhat confused and had no mind to listen.

Ye Xingliu should have received his sound-transmission jade talisman, yet he had not received the slightest response.