Still, he had not expected the Jiang Family to have already sent people here to take away Jiang Haisheng and his granddaughter, Jiang Tingting.
In that case, Ye Fan was most likely being relentlessly hunted by the Jiang Family's knights for the precious treasure he carried. Either that, or the elder of Spirit Ruins Paradise whose lifespan was nearly exhausted had already captured him to refine medicine, and he had escaped death and hidden himself away to cultivate.
"If I remember correctly, Zhou Yi, Lin Jia, Wang Ziwen, Zhang Wenchang, and the other classmates were all taken away by the Yan Kingdom's six grotto-heavens. Some of them should be there. A perfect chance to see a few old acquaintances!"
He walked into the town at an unhurried pace.
Taiyi rubbed his chin, murmuring to himself.
After waking up back then, he had seen Zhou Yi and the others from afar, aged and decrepit.
Among the classmates who had left the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land alive, excluding himself, since he had not left with them at the time-
Counting Ye Fan, there should have been exactly thirteen, no more and no less.
Because Ye Fan possessed the desolate ancient sacred body, which was considered a useless constitution incapable of cultivation, each of the six grotto-heavens had selected two people.
Barring any surprises, there should be two of them in Yanxia Cave Heaven.
"Hyah!" Just then-
An arrogant-looking young man in lavish clothes came charging recklessly out of the town on a imposing Dragon Scales Horse, nearly running someone down.
"Riding a horse at full gallop through town? How outrageously arrogant..."
"Watch your words. That's the Wang Family's fifth young master!"
"Alas! Ever since the Li Family, which used to oppose the Wang Family, was wiped out, the Wang Family has held sole sway over a hundred miles around. They've become more lawless by the day!"
"I heard that recently, a young master of the Wang Family took a fancy to the beautiful young mistress of a small family in the neighboring town. He actually sent people to abduct her by force and even wiped out her entire family!"
"What? Is there no law left? No justice under heaven?"
"Law? How are mortals supposed to fight cultivators like them?"
On both sides of the street-
Several vendors' stalls had been caught in the commotion, their goods scattered across the ground.
Yet the common people who had scrambled out of the way along his route dared only swallow their anger in silence.
The reason was simple: that young man belonged to the Wang Family. He was also a disciple of Yanxia Cave Heaven, one of those lofty "immortals."
Over a year ago, the Li Family, once the Wang Family's equal, had provoked someone they should never have crossed and been slaughtered to the last member.
Since then, the Wang Family alone had dominated the surrounding hundred miles. More and more of its young members were sent to cultivate at Yanxia Cave Heaven, and its influence continued to flourish.
It had also seized the opportunity to expand its territory and take over the Li Family's businesses.
The Wang Family had always preyed on the locals, seized others' farmland through deceit and force, and driven respectable women into prostitution. Having committed every kind of evil just like the Li Family, it now grew even more arrogant and unrestrained.
"A bunch of lowborn scum..."
The Wang Family's fifth young master snorted coldly.
He paid no attention whatsoever to the chaos he had caused.
He galloped away on his Dragon Scales Horse, which possessed a trace of demonic beast blood and had taken considerable effort to tame, its speed and endurance far surpassing those of ordinary horses.
"Get out of the way... Do you want to die?"
Suddenly-
Anger crossed his face.
A vicious, savage gleam flashed through his eyes.
Beneath the town gate, someone was walking at an unhurried pace, making no effort to dodge like everyone else.
But Wang Five had no intention of stopping. Instead, he lashed his whip and urged his horse faster.
He plainly meant to trample the man to death.
"A mere Bitter Sea cultivator dares show murderous intent toward me?"
Dressed in purple, Taiyi's gaze turned cold.
Looking straight at the charging Dragon Scales Horse, he slowly extended his right hand.
Boom! The Dragon Scales Horse let out a piteous whinny and flew backward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
A terrifying suction force dragged Wang Five bodily off its back and pulled him over.
"What?" Wang Five's expression changed in horror.
His Bitter Sea shone, and several divine marks shot out.
They blasted viciously toward Taiyi.
Boom!
Light flashed.
All three or four divine marks were destroyed.
The Wang Family's fifth young master flew backward and slammed heavily into the ground.
He spat great mouthfuls of blood, staring in terror at Taiyi as he approached unhurriedly.
Pale-faced, he struggled miserably and shouted with a fierce front masking his fear, "Who are you? I'm a disciple of Yanxia Cave Heaven..."
"Yanxia Cave Heaven? Is that supposed to be impressive?"
Taiyi remained unmoved.
He planted one foot mercilessly on the Wang Family's fifth young master.
With his right foot pressing down over the man's Sea of Bitterness, he released a measure of divine power. "Remember this. Crossing someone you should never provoke comes at a price!"
"Aah!"
Chapter 14: A Killing Spree, the Primordial Origin Holy Light Technique
"Aaah..."
Before the town gate-
The Wang Family's fifth young master screamed, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
Deathly pale, he glared at Taiyi in terror and rage, his eyes brimming with venom. "You crippled my Sea of Bitterness?"
That single strike had destroyed his Sea of Bitterness and completely abolished his cultivation.
For the rest of his life, he would never be able to cultivate again.
He could only live as a mortal.
"I told you. Arrogance comes at a price!"
Taiyi looked down at him.
His expression was indifferent, his voice calm.
Had he been an ordinary person just now-
He would probably already have become a ghost beneath the Dragon Scales Horse's hooves.
Such brazen arrogance and utter disregard for others showed that the young man had done this sort of thing many times before.
"Stop! Let Little Five go!" Just then-
Just after a Bitter Sea cultivator's head had been cut off, an angry shout suddenly rang out from afar.
Whoosh! At the same time, red light flashed.
A flying sword tore through the air like lightning, carrying a chilling murderous intent.
It thrust savagely toward Taiyi's head.
It meant to pierce straight through him.
Boom!
Taiyi did not even turn his head.
He displayed the formidable strength of his body.
With a flick of his finger, he knocked the flying sword away and shattered it outright.
"Stop..."
"Let Little Seven go!"
"Bastard..."
Just then-
Several divine rainbows streaked over.
Figures ranging from young to middle-aged to elderly appeared, all glaring at Taiyi.
"Elder Brother, Second Sister, Elder, save me..."
The Wang Family's fifth young master, his face pale and covered in blood-
Was overjoyed to see his elder siblings and the others, including an elder of Yanxia Cave Heaven, and hurriedly begged them for help.
At the same time, filled with hatred, he tearfully cried out, "Kill him for me! He destroyed my Sea of Bitterness! I can't cultivate anymore!"
"What?"
The cultivators were both shocked and furious.
None of them had expected him to act so ruthlessly.
He had destroyed Wang Five's Sea of Bitterness outright, leaving him forever unable to cultivate, reduced to a cripple.
"I am an elder of Yanxia Cave Heaven. May I ask which grotto-heaven or blessed land you come from, young friend?"
The elderly man leading them, dressed in Daoist robes and bearing something of an immortal's refined air, also darkened his expression.
Hearing the passersby's whispers, he roughly guessed what had happened. He frowned at the Wang Family's fifth young master, then at Taiyi, whose foot remained planted on him.
As he studied the young, handsome Taiyi and his extraordinary bearing, a trace of wariness flashed in his eyes.
Uncertain of Taiyi's identity and background, he had no intention of rashly offending him. He spoke gravely. "Wang Five is, after all, a disciple of our Yanxia Cave Heaven. Even if he offended you just now, a small lesson would have sufficed... Wasn't destroying his Sea of Bitterness going too far?"
"What? You want to stand up for him?"
Before you continue