Ambush on the Journey Home

Turning to look at the majestic city walls of the Imperial Capital, Xiao Le felt a trace of melancholy rise in his heart.

Beside him, Ya Fei's eyes brimmed with resentment as she teased, "Can't bear to leave? Why not go back and find Yao Ye?"

Xiao Le gave an embarrassed laugh and slipped into the carriage, leaving Ya Fei standing there alone in resentment.

Far atop the city walls, an old man and a young woman watched Xiao Le depart. They were Jia Xingtian and Yao Ye.

Seeing the reluctance and longing on Yao Ye's face, Jia Xingtian looked toward Xiao Le with resentment as well. His precious granddaughter had actually had her heart stolen away. With a sigh, Jia Xingtian said, "Ye Ye, if you can't let him go, then go with him. What that boy said wasn't wrong either. I shouldn't have tied you to the sinking ship that is the Jia Ma Empire and held you back!"

Yao Ye's gaze wavered before finally turning into a soft sigh. Pressing her lips together, she smiled. "Grandfather, what are you talking about? He and I belong to two different worlds. Chasing after his footsteps is too exhausting. All right, Grandfather, let's go back!"

On the journey home, Xiao Le was in low spirits and did not cultivate. Instead, Ya Fei cultivated angrily beside him. Strange gray-black mist wrapped around her as spiritual energy gathered from the surroundings. Her cultivation speed was far beyond anything Xiao Le could compare to, making him sorely tempted to switch to the Heavenly Demon Ancient Scripture. In the end, though, he gave up on the thought.

Along the way, the Beast Venerable repeatedly wanted to reside within the magic core, but Xiao Le refused every time. This was an old monster who had lived for who knew how long. If it tried to possess him, how could Xiao Le possibly resist?

The carriage passed through a mountain path and entered a gorge.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out. Xiao Le jolted awake and hurriedly poked his head out, only to see four masked figures leap down from the cliffs on either side.

"Who goes there? Do you know that this is a carriage of the Miter Family?" the captain of the guards escorting Xiao Le and Ya Fei shouted at the four figures.

Xiao Le's expression turned grave. The aura of the black-clad man at the forefront was powerful, beyond the range of Xiao Le's soul perception. However, he was certainly far stronger than Xiao Zhan. He had to be a Dou Ling.

They had actually sent a Dou Ling to ambush and kill him. Xiao Le gritted his teeth in hatred.

"Boy, do you need this old man's help? As long as you let me reside in the magic core, I can draw upon its power to assist you!"

Xiao Le had no choice. No matter how gifted he was, he could not possibly fight a Dou Ling.

Helplessly, Xiao Le took out the seventh-tier magic core. At once, a silver-white streak shot into it, followed by a burst of sinister laughter.

"This Venerable has returned!"

During Xiao Le's delay, the guards had already all been dealt with. Only Xiao Le and Ya Fei, hiding inside the carriage, remained.

After calming Ya Fei, Xiao Le roared at the Beast Venerable, who was still immersed in its joy, "Old sir, is this the time to be happy? Hurry up and deal with them!"

The Beast Venerable looked at the four masked men and said to Xiao Le, "I am still too weak right now, but I can help you escape. Do not resist. I will use a secret art to infuse you with the spiritual energy inside the magic core!"

Before Xiao Le could react, the seventh-tier magic core ignited without fire. A flame of pure spiritual energy rushed straight toward him.

The blood in his body began to surge at high speed as vast Dou Qi flooded into him. A violent swelling pain swept through him, nearly making Xiao Le faint.

"Steady your mind and endure it! Otherwise, you'll both die here!"

Fortunately, the Beast Venerable spoke in time. Xiao Le endured the agonizing pain, gritted his teeth, and forced himself to control his body, not even having time to experience the immense power now filling him.

He met a Da Dou Shi lunging for him with an Eight Extremes Collapse.

Boom!

Caught off guard, Xiao Le actually blocked the Da Dou Shi's attack, retreating only five steps.

"Hm?" Noticing Xiao Le's abnormal state, the Dou Ling shouted, "Stop wasting time. There's something strange about this boy!"

The three Da Dou Shi charged at Xiao Le together. Xiao Le smashed his fist into the ground, unleashing the hidden force of the Eight Extremes Collapse. The ground burst apart, and the billowing dust obscured the three men rushing toward him.

"Be careful!" the Dou Ling hurriedly warned them.

Unfortunately, it was too late!

A mocking glint flashed through Xiao Le's eyes. Gray-black lightning flickered as arcs of electricity wound around his entire body. A solid black panther, so lifelike it seemed real, appeared above his head.

Swift Lightning Thunder Shadow Thrust!

In the blink of an eye, he vanished from the Dou Ling's sight. The Dou Ling inwardly cried out in alarm and rushed toward the dust-shrouded area.

Miserable screams rang out alongside the shrill crackle of lightning.

Whoosh! A figure shot out of the dust like a swift arrow and slammed viciously into the ground, blasting out a deep crater.

Within the crater, Xiao Le's body was horribly battered, without a single uninjured spot.

As the dust cleared, the slightly disheveled Dou Ling stared in shock at the three lifeless Da Dou Shi. Near-solid killing intent swept outward, stirring up a violent gale.

"Boy, this isn't something we can handle right now. Leave quickly, or we'll both die!" the Beast Venerable urged.

As soon as the Beast Venerable finished speaking, another stream of pure power poured into Xiao Le's body, helping him recover from his injuries.

There was no time for Xiao Le to think. He hurried to Ya Fei's side and, ignoring all propriety, scooped her up in his arms. Then he unleashed the Swift Lightning Thunder Shadow Thrust, transforming into a phantom in the forest and vanishing from the Dou Ling's sight.

The Dou Ling naturally refused to let him escape and gave chase.

Exhausted in both body and mind, Xiao Le forced himself to repeatedly use his Dou Technique to flee.

The outline of Wutan City had already appeared before Xiao Le's eyes. As long as he reached Wutan City, he would be safe. With Medicine Elder there, a Dou Ling was nothing to fear.

In Wutan City, Xiao Yan had just finished refining pills when he suddenly felt a trace of unease in his heart.

"Teacher, I don't know why, but I keep feeling a sense of dread!" Xiao Yan summoned Medicine Elder and asked.

Cultivators could sometimes sense danger when facing a crisis. Medicine Elder did not take Xiao Yan's unease lightly and released his immense soul power.

"Not good! Xiao Le is in danger!" Medicine Elder exclaimed in shock and fury.

Without waiting for Xiao Yan to react, Medicine Elder transformed into a streak of divine light and fled, disappearing before Xiao Yan's eyes. This left Xiao Yan deeply worried.

Xiao Le, already at the end of his strength, felt a familiar soul power wrap around him and immediately smiled.

"Do not resist. We'll talk after things have settled down!" Medicine Elder's voice echoed in Xiao Le's mind.

Xiao Le relaxed his body. Medicine Elder merged into him and took control of his body, also sensing the Beast Venerable's presence.

"Oh, we have reinforcements!" The Beast Venerable's heart immediately settled.

An even stronger and purer force poured into Xiao Le's body. Medicine Elder hurriedly protected Xiao Le's body. Together, Medicine Elder and the Beast Venerable temporarily raised Xiao Le's battered body to the strength of a Dou Huang.

A tyrannical pressure swept toward the Dou Ling who had pursued Xiao Le all the way. There was no need to attack at all. Two brilliant beams shot from Xiao Le's eyes, and the Dou Ling expert coughed up blood and died on the spot.

Facing an unknown soul entity, Medicine Elder directly imprisoned the Beast Venerable with soul power far surpassing its own, much to the Beast Venerable's displeasure.

With the situation settled, Xiao Le finally lost consciousness, and his body slowly collapsed onto Ya Fei's delicate form.