Setting an Ambush; a Great Opportunity
The colorful sunset glow fell on the horizon of the Grotto-Heaven, making the entire Grotto-Heaven look magnificent.
The Peachwood Demon's true form had grown even larger, resembling a tree reaching for the sky. The fallen leaves had already regrowed, growing lush and vibrant, but there was still no sign of it blooming.
Upon seeing Ye Jingcheng emerge from seclusion, the Peachwood Demon stepped out of the Peachwood, accompanied by the spirit images of the Stone Spirit and the Flesh Ganoderma, and walked towards Ye Jingcheng.
"Owner!"
The three voices were perfectly synchronized, except that the latter two were noticeably more immature.
"You've broken through, keep up the good work!" Ye Jingcheng finished feeding the Thunder Rhinoceros Beetle and glanced at Peachwood, which was already in the late stage of the second tier and not far from the peak of the second tier.
Beside the spirit field, there were also many spirit wood cores planted. At this moment, Peachwood's eyes were mostly on Ye Jingcheng, and a small part of them were on the spirit wood cores.
All the other Spirit Beast Spirit Insects also surged towards Ye Jingcheng.
In just over two years, the biggest change has been in the White-Brow Green Wolf, which has now reached the mid-stage of the second tier, a remarkably rapid advancement.
It should be noted that Ye Jingcheng hadn't even given it any Advancement Pills yet, only a lot of spirit pills. The fact that it could grow this fast was because the White-Brow Green Wolf was indeed quite talented, and the difference between the second-stage Foundation Establishment realm wasn't that great.
Other Spirit Beasts, though possessing greater talent, still failed to break through due to the vast differences in their Purple Mansion levels. Even with the consumption of numerous spirit pills and the enhancement of cultivation by five Spirit Beasts, Ye Jingcheng was unable to achieve a breakthrough, demonstrating the immense gap between each level of the Purple Mansion.
Ye Jingcheng fed all the Spirit Beasts Spirit Insects one by one, and finally looked towards the spirit lake.
Linghu Lake has naturally expanded considerably over the years.
The main problem is that the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon is growing bigger and bigger. If the space isn't expanded, it will feel cramped even on its own, let alone for raising spirit fish.
And there are quite a few Star-Eating Fish and Red-Node Fish in there now.
There were over a hundred Star-Eating Fish and over five hundred Red-Node Fish.
Every so often, Ye Jingcheng would throw some spirit rice from the Lineage into the fishpond to feed them.
On the contrary, Star-Eating Fish are easy to feed; just feed them some of the spirit meat of the Flesh Ganoderma.
This is only because the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon and the Roc Fish eat a lot from time to time; otherwise, there would be even more spirit fish.
However, Ye Jingcheng's gaze was not on these spirit fish at this moment, but on a Dragon Whisker Fruit tree at the bottom of the lake.
The Dragon Whisker Fruit tree was in bloom, but there were only three flowers, each with only three petals. Each flower was as big as a bowl, and the stamens inside were as thick as a little finger.
This Dragon Whisker Fruit is widely recognized as being able to enhance the bloodline of dragons. For Ye Jingcheng, although it cannot help the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon advance once, it is still very possible to help the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon break through to the late stage of the third rank.
The fact that it is blooming now means that the time for the fruit to ripen is not far off.
Ye Jingcheng also dived into the lake, specially infusing the Dragon Whisker Fruit tree with a lot of Treasure Radiance, and dug up some second-tier Spirit Soil from Soil-Turning Earthworms. After doing all this, Ye Jingcheng went up to the spiritual lake, collected the spiritual pearls produced by the Moon Spirit Clam Ye Jingcheng, and finally left the Grotto-Heaven.
At this moment, all the Jade Lotus in Soaring Cloud Lake have bloomed, standing gracefully amidst the lush greenery of the lake.
The snow on the mountain peaks was even more abundant, and as the Spirit Veins advanced, the entire Soaring Cloud Peak had become even taller.
The sounds of Spirit Beasts could be heard from within the Beast Valley at this moment, and the sounds were quite powerful.
In recent years, thanks to the emergence of Advancement Pills, all of the Ye Family's Spirit Beasts have undergone a transformation to a higher level.
Previously, the second-tier spirit beasts of the Ye family's Lingyun Peak included only a few, such as the Blood Eagle and the Spotted Cloud Tiger.
But now, it's many times more.
However, most of them are in the Spirit Beast pouches of the Ye Family cultivators.
Ye Jingcheng descended from the summit, passed through the Beast Valley and the Spirit Herb Garden, and arrived at the Council Hall.
However, Ye Jinghu Ye Xingqun were not present in the Council Hall; only a member of the Jing generation was organizing the documents.
"Master!"
"Where are Jingming, Jinghu, and Uncle Xingqun?" Ye Jingcheng, somewhat puzzled.
The Lineage's cultivators should all be here at this point.
"Recently, some cultivators have been causing trouble at Idle Cloud Peak every day, breaking Array and digging deep into the ground, seemingly looking for some treasure. The Lineage there only has two second-tier Spirit Beasts at the Foundation Establishment, and Uncle Xingqun and Brother Hu are currently planning to capture them!" Ye Jingming said.
"This is a message for you!" Ye Jingming took out a Jade Slip and handed it to Ye Jingcheng.
After reading the Jade Slip, Ye Jingcheng immediately understood.
It was clearly the same three cultivators who had been lingering on Soaring Cloud Peak earlier, heading towards Idle Cloud Mountain.
They immediately started looking for the key.
Soaring Cloud Peak has a third-order Spirit Vein, a third-order high-grade Array, and also Ye Jingcheng and many Foundation Establishment.
However, Idle Cloud Peak is currently only a rented mountain, so the Ye Family naturally cannot invest heavily in it.
There weren't any Foundation Establishment cultivators at the beginning.
But that's clearly not possible now.
These cultivators had no fear of the Ye Family's reputation.
This is also why Lineage cultivators are often unwilling to offend high-level Rogue Cultivators.
They're like a slippery eel, so incredibly annoying.
Ye Jingcheng checked the Jade Slip. Ye Haicheng had not yet sent back any message. Ye Jingcheng even suspected that Ye Haicheng had already infiltrated the Xun Family.
He took out the Lineage Token and sent a message to Ye Jinghu and the other two.
To Ye Jingcheng's surprise, the three responded very quickly.
The three of them actually hid not far from Soaring Cloud Peak, and did not go to Idle Cloud Peak at all.
The Jade Slip and its whereabouts were both used to deceive people.
They are currently preparing to kill those cultivators at Soaring Cloud Peak.
Although Ye Haicheng had given instructions, this time, since the other party had caused trouble, the Ye Family could no longer tolerate it.
Just then, Ye Jingcheng also noticed a Spirit Boat flying in from afar.
This Spirit Boat is no ordinary Spirit Boat; it is one that returned from the Taihang Marketplace.
However, there were only three people on the Spirit Boat. These three were wearing Ye Family robes, and one of them belonged to the Jing generation, while the other two belonged to the Qing generation.
"Brother Jingxing, the Taihang Marketplace sold too many elixirs, and some are out of stock. We've come back to pick up some more!" Ye Jingfeng, who was in the lead, said.
The two men of the Qing generation next to him nodded repeatedly.
In the current Taihang Marketplace, the Ye Family occupies the largest market share. If it weren't for having to share a large portion of the profits with Taiyi Illusion Peak, the Ye Family could potentially double the number of cultivators without any pressure.
When Ye Jingxing saw that Ye Jingfeng had taken out the Lineage Token and looked exactly the same, he nodded and was about to activate the Array.
Suddenly, a figure in white robes appeared before the Array.
"No need for Jingxing, I'll give it to you!"
This person was none other than Ye Jingcheng.
The three men's expressions changed drastically upon Ye Jingcheng's appearance.
But it recovered in an instant.
"Master!"
The three lowered their heads.
"The three of you can come with me. I don't need to remind you, do I?" Ye Jingcheng said.
His tone was extremely cold.
Upon hearing this, the three exchanged glances and nodded repeatedly.
Ye Jingcheng led the three to the Council Hall of Soaring Cloud Peak, while in the distance, Ye Jinghu and the others' Spirit Boats also flew back.
Upon seeing this, the three men immediately realized they had been tricked.
Since Ye Jingcheng didn't make a move, they naturally wouldn't either.
They were merely at the Foundation Establishment; how could they possibly make a move in front of the Purple Mansion stage?
As for escaping, there was no hope of escape, since they didn't have Array on them.
"Senior Ye, we juniors are here because we have a big business deal to do with you!" The cultivator disguised as Ye Jingfeng made no attempt to disguise himself; his face was made up with ordinary makeup.
However, his appearance does indeed bear some resemblance to Ye Jingfeng of the Ye Family in Taihang Marketplace.
With the addition of disguise techniques and Secret Methods, ordinary members of the Ye Family really couldn't tell the difference.
But Ye Jingcheng is different; he can tell just by looking at someone's cultivation level.
Ye Jingfeng has not yet Foundation Establishment.
"Oh, what a big deal! You've dug up my Spirit Mountain and even impersonated a member of the Ye Family." After entering the Council Hall, Ye Jingcheng sat in the main seat, looking down at the three of them with disdain.
The three of them were so frightened that they immediately knelt down.
"A third-tier Pill Wasteland Secret Realm, I wonder if Senior Ye has heard of it?" the three asked one after another!
There was no concealment whatsoever.
"We are cultivators from the Purple Goose Xun Family in Returning Goose Commandery. We came to the Ye Family only for the sake of the Chu Lineage members. They made a vow with our Xun Family to explore the secret realm together, but we never expected that something so drastic would happen later. Our Xun Family does not have the key and cannot enter the Heavenly Poison Marsh!"
"Next year will be when the poisonous fog in the Heavenly Poison Marsh is at its weakest. That will be the best time for us to enter the Pill Wasteland Secret Realm!"
"Senior Ye, I don't think I need to elaborate on the legends of the Eight Desolations Sect. But within this Pill Wasteland Secret Realm, there are Fifth Stage- or even Sixth Stage Pill Formulas, and there are probably quite a few Wood Demons and transforming spirit medicine. Most importantly, it is said that there is also a Law Treasure Pill Furnace contained within Spirit Vein!"
The Xun Family cultivator became more and more excited as he spoke, and when he talked about the treasures in the secret realm, he was eloquent and fluent.
Upon hearing this, Ye Jingcheng became even more eager to explore the treasures within the Pill Wasteland Secret Realm.
At this moment, he naturally used the Spirit-Inquiring Talisman.
Therefore, the Xun Family cultivator was not lying.
Of course, it's also possible that the information the Xun Family cultivators knew was false, but that wouldn't count as lying.
But Ye Jingcheng felt that the possibility was still very low.
According to the Xun Family, it seems that West King Valley in Returning Goose Commandery was unaware of the Pill Wasteland Secret Realm.
Like the Taiyi Sect Green River Sect is divided into six valleys.
Among them, the most famous place in Returning Goose Commandery is naturally West King Valley.
Therefore, as long as West King Valley remains unaware, it is still highly likely that the Ye Family will explore this secret realm.
However, it's unclear to what extent the Lineage Clan Elders have infiltrated.
There has been no reply yet from within the Lineage Token.
This is what Ye Jingcheng hesitated about the most.
"The third-tier secret realm is naturally fraught with danger. I am only at the early stage of the Purple Mansion. How can I go in to search for treasures?" Ye Jingcheng did not deny Chu Yanqing's existence.
This also made the Xun Family cultivators realize that there was an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
The three immediately added:
"Senior, rest assured. This Pill Wasteland Secret Realm is filled with Spirit Herb Gardens. It is a secret realm left behind by the Pill Wasteland of the Eight Desolations Sect. There aren't many Demon Beasts inside, otherwise Demon Beast would have ruined all the spirit medicine. The most worrying thing inside is those Wood Demons. These Wood Demons that have become sentient are quite troublesome. Secondly, there are the Array. One of my Xun Family's two Purple Mansion Ancestors is a mid-grade third-level Array master. In addition, the other ancestor is also a Purple Mansion Ancestor who is skilled in fire magic. Dealing with these Wood Demons is a piece of cake. And with Senior Ye's reputation, he will definitely be invincible inside!"
"Moreover, this secret realm doesn't need to be explored in one go!"
"We can explore once every ten years, and by then the number of the Purple Mansion cultivators will only increase!" the Xun Family cultivator continued.
"Things will naturally get smoother and smoother in the future."