Taiyi Sect's Scheme, Upgrading the Spirit Vein (Bonus Chapter for Patron 3842, Part 1)

Incense smoke curled through the grand hall of Sky Shadow Peak as an array sealed it off.

Ye Jingcheng and Ye Xuefan entered the hall together.

Both had learned what had happened to Ye Qingyan, and their brows were tightly furrowed.

Ye Qingyan was no ordinary talent. He had dual spiritual roots, a five-inch Beast-Link Mark, and an aptitude for alchemy surpassed within the Ye Family only by Ye Jingcheng.

Many of Ye Jingcheng's Advancement Pill research projects had even been entrusted to Ye Qingyan.

"It seems the Taiyi Sect won't let us withdraw!" Ye Jingcheng said helplessly.

Ye Jingteng had not quite understood the Taiyi Sect's hint, but Ye Jingcheng had spoken with the Purple Sky True Lord and understood it well.

Ye Qingshuang's promotion and the considerable expansion of Ye Jingteng's authority were clearly gestures of goodwill toward the Ye Family from Purple Peak.

But the warning that Ye Qingyan should not leave Taichang Market was just that—a warning.

And the fact that this warning had come through Ye Jingteng also made the Taiyi Sect's stance clear.

The Taiyi Sect feared that, once the Ye Family withdrew, all the pressure would fall on it. Worse, other sects might claim the Ye Family had fled out of guilt and hold the Taiyi Sect responsible.

So it was likely not only Taichang Market that the Ye Family could not leave. They probably could not withdraw from Taihang Marketplace or their holdings in Taihang Commandery either.

If their guess was right, the Taiyi Sect would even keep those places under watch.

"Let's hope they can keep the Zhang Family's informants in check!" Ye Xuefan understood the stakes too, and could only sigh helplessly.

They had concealed much with the Heavenly Mechanism Cloth, but the surviving members of the Zhang and Jia