"Ye Nantian, so it really was you who obtained the supreme spiritual vein!"
The blazing streak of escape light dissipated, revealing an elder whose sharp gaze locked onto Ye Nantian.
The old retainer's face twisted in terror. "It's the Great Elder of the Yuchi family! How could he be here?"
Ye Nantian's robes flared with golden light, pushing back against the crushing pressure.
When his eyes fell on the elder of the Yuchi clan, dread surged within him.
It must have been the leaking aura of the supreme spiritual vein that drew him here. Today, he would not be able to take away the violet dragon so easily. His expression did not waver, but beneath his sleeve, his hand stealthily pulled out a jade talisman.
"Hmph! You think I'm blind?" With a single wave of Yuchi Hai's hand, a violent gust of gang wind swept Ye Nantian away like a ragdoll.
A sharp crack sounded. The jade talisman in Ye Nantian's grasp shattered into dust.
Yuchi Hai's face darkened. The talisman had broken. The moment it shattered, the Ye family would be alerted. He could not afford to waste time here.
Yuchi Hai's greedy gaze fell on the supreme spiritual vein. "A supreme spiritual vein... it truly is one!"
"Young master!!" The old retainer struggled against Yuchi Hai's oppressive aura, dragging the others as they stumbled to Ye Nantian's side.
"Young master, are you alright?" His voice carried deep concern.
Ye Nantian wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth, venom glinting in his eyes.
As long as he stalled Yuchi Hai, once his father learned he was in danger, he would definitely bring the clan elders to slaughter their way over.
"I'm fine."
He pulled a spirit sword and drove it into the ground, leaning on its power to stand upright.
Yuchi Hai glanced coldly at the scene, his eyes sweeping over Yao Ranran and the other three watching silently at the side.
"So it's four pieces of trash. No wonder you don't dare contend with Ye Nantian for the supreme spiritual vein."
He did not put them in his eyes. No one here posed a threat to him.
Nie Rong, whose vision had just recovered, opened his eyes only to hear Yuchi Hai's words. Fury nearly drove him to charge forward.
"Yuchi Hai, you dog thief! You can't even recognize who's standing before you?"
Yao Ranran listened silently to his cursing, making no move to stop him.
Her gaze, in the corner of her eye, caught Ye Nantian secretly preparing something. The foundation of great families was not something a loose cultivator like her could compare to. So she decided to conserve her strength, let the two tear each other apart, and strike only at the survivor.
Zhou Lili and the other two had no inkling of her plan. They thought she was truly afraid of the power of both the Ye and Yuchi clans.
If they knew her true thoughts, they would be shocked by her boldness and ferocity. The supreme spiritual vein was within arm's reach. No one could resist such temptation.
While Yuchi Hai's focus was drawn by Nie Rong, Ye Nantian clenched both hands around ten Exploding Heaven Beads. At last, these remaining people proved useful!
"Old man, who cares who you are? You're just a mere Golden Core, and you dare call yourself 'father' before me?"
Yuchi Hai had no intention of wasting time, yet Nie Rong's words sparked his fury. In his left palm, spiritual energy gathered, condensing into a massive fireball that churned violently.
Zhou Lili and Meng Xiangxiang stumbled back in fear.
Nie Rong's pupils shrank. He roared, "I am Elder Nie Rong of the Wuxiang Sect! Yuchi Hai, you dog thief, have you forgotten me?"
A flicker of hesitation passed in Yuchi Hai's eyes. "Nie Rong? When did you change your appearance?"
Nie Rong sneered proudly. "Not changed—this is my original..."
"Who cares what you look like? A defeated foe should just die!"
Before he could finish, Yuchi Hai's eyes flashed cold. The massive fireball slammed forward from his palm.
Nie Rong's expression shifted dramatically. "Still the same dog after all these years. You never change—always ambushing like a coward!"
Yao Ranran's fingers twitched. Her eyes swept over Ye Nantian, yet she remained still, showing no intent to intervene.
Yuchi Hai's mouth curved into a cruel smile. "And you haven't changed either, wretched thing. Still hiding behind that handsome mask..."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ye Nantian seized the chance, hurling the ten Exploding Heaven Beads at Yuchi Hai. Mushroom clouds erupted in the valley, boulders shattered, and choking smoke rolled skyward.
Yao Ranran pulled Nie Rong back, shielding Zhou Lili and Meng Xiangxiang as they retreated to safety.
No one from Ye Nantian's group noticed her movements.
"Why hasn't Yu Daoyou come out yet?"
Ye Nantian's eyes swept the ground fissure, but there was no trace of activity.
"Forget it, we're leaving!"
He tossed a spirit net, ensnaring the violet dragon.
At Yao Ranran's subtle signal, the dragon made no resistance and allowed itself to be caught.
Ye Nantian grinned, retracted the net, and bolted toward the outside.
"Ye Nantian, I had spared you only for the Ye family's sake. Yet you persist in courting death. Do not blame me for cruelty, then!"
From the roiling smoke, Yuchi Hai leapt forth, battered but holding the Heaven-Flipping Seal in hand. His injuries were mostly superficial. Only one bead had pierced his lungs. His strength remained terrifying.
The gap between a Nascent Soul and a Golden Core was as vast as heaven and earth.
Ye Nantian knew the beads alone could not kill him. He had another plan. A crabapple blossom unfurled, scattering countless Bone-Piercing Needles like a fine rain.
"The Begonia Ten-Thousand Rain Needles! So Ye Xuanqing truly entrusted such a treasure to you!"
Yuchi Hai swiftly activated the Heaven-Flipping Seal. Radiant golden light enveloped him in a protective shield, crackling as the needles embedded themselves, leeching away his spiritual power like parasitic leeches.
Ye Nantian looked back smugly, his gaze lingering on Yao Ranran. "Fairy, may I know your honored name? Once I return to the Ye family, I will welcome you as my concubine!"
Yao Ranran tilted her head, intrigued. Where did this man get the confidence to believe he could escape the palm of a Nascent Soul cultivator?
"Ye! Nan! Tian!"
Yuchi Hai's roar shook the air. The golden barrier expanded violently, blasting the Bone-Piercing Needles in all directions.
Ye Nantian's face paled. He flung high-grade talismans one after another, dragging the netted violet dragon forward with all his might.
Yao Ranran smiled faintly at him.
And then—the violet dragon refused to move.
Ye Nantian poured all his spiritual power into it, but the massive dragon hung suspended in midair, immovable. His eyes bulged in horror.
"Move! Go! Why won't you move? What's wrong with you? What's wrong with this supreme spiritual vein?!"
The distance he had fought so hard to create vanished in an instant as Yuchi Hai closed in. Ye Nantian's eyes trembled, his followers straining with red faces, yet none of them could budge the dragon.
Not far away, Yao Ranran still smiled at him.
Suddenly, he felt something was wrong.
He had overlooked something crucial.
Yu Zhenyan had clearly chased that boy into the fissure. So why had Yao Ranran's group emerged with the supreme spiritual vein, while Yu Zhenyan had vanished without a trace?