Chapter 81: Searching for the Jiang Surname
Whenever Ye Fan saw the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the helpless, a sour feeling would always well up in his heart. But once he encountered those who bullied the weak and did evil deeds, he would always become very ruthless, his heart turning cold. It seemed contradictory, but it was his true nature—an excess of compassion coexisting with cold-blooded ruthlessness. He didn’t know which side he leaned toward more.
Right now, for instance, he was absolutely ruthless, without a shred of pity. Stepping on the face of the Seventh Young Master of the Li Family, his voice was icy cold. “If you don’t want to suffer, you’ll answer whatever I ask. Otherwise, you’ll understand the consequences.”
“You little bastard…”
“Bang!”
Ye Fan kicked him away. All of the Li Family Seventh Young Master’s teeth were loosened, his fair and delicate cheeks completely swollen, blood spurting from his mouth and nose.
“Looking at your soft, tender skin, you’re practically a eunuch. Won’t talk, huh? I’ll help you live up to the name.” Ye Fan once again summoned the Golden Book, which shot out like a rainbow ray, fixed in the darkness, brilliant and dazzling.
“You… what are you going to do?” The Li Family Seventh Young Master was terrified.
“Make you a eunuch!”
“No! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!” The Li Family Seventh Young Master’s face twisted in fear. For a man, this was worse than death.
“Useless piece of trash.”
Ye Fan sat on a nearby green stone, quietly listening as he recounted the past. Tingting’s parents had indeed been murdered by several cultivators of the Li Family. They had paid a hefty price to obtain a rare drug from other cultivators, one that could drive powerful strange beasts into a frenzy. They had secretly applied it to Tingting’s parents, and when they went out to gather spiritual herbs, they were torn to pieces by terrifying Lightning Birds.
Of course, there were also dirty deals and shady schemes involved, enough to make anyone furious. Ye Fan sighed. “Whether in the mortal world or the world of cultivators, there’s no difference. Wherever there are people, there will be complex human grudges. Even cultivators can’t escape it.”
Ye Fan reached into his chest and pulled out a wooden box, then kicked him aside. Under the light of the stars and moon, he slowly opened the somewhat heavy sandalwood box.
Inside was a pale yellow stone, about the thickness of a thumb and the length of a finger joint. Though it was very small, it was heavy in his hand. Ye Fan could feel a vigorous life force.
“According to ancient records, in the era when heaven and earth combined their qi to create all things, vegetation flourished, creatures were powerful, and spiritual herbs were endless. They even formed many ‘Source’ stones, like amber, crystal clear, but sealed within were vast life essences. Is this ‘Source’?”
Ye Fan examined it repeatedly under the moonlight. He found that the interior of this “Source” was full of impurities; the crystalline part only made up a third. This disappointed him somewhat—it wasn’t pure Source.
But even so, he was very satisfied. Within this amber-like strange stone was an extremely vigorous life essence, with mist-like and rosy light flowing inside.
“Good stuff. I wonder how much it can help me expand my Sea of Suffering.”
“That’s mine…” Not far away, the Li Family Seventh Young Master groaned in a pool of blood, gnashing his teeth, filled with venom and rage.
“Wasn’t this Source found in a deep mountain ancient cave? Is there only this one piece, no others?”
Under Ye Fan’s torture, the Li Family Seventh Young Master confessed everything without holding back. In that ancient cave, there had been a cultivator who had sat in meditation and passed away. The era was so distant that even his skeleton had weathered away, leaving only this piece of Source.
“What a pity. I thought I could harvest a few pieces.” Ye Fan felt he was being a bit greedy.
“I’ve told you everything. Can you spare my life?” The Li Family Seventh Young Master’s eyes showed a glimmer of hope, though he knew it was just wishful thinking. The other party wouldn’t let him go.
“Did you have any pity when you plotted to kill Tingting’s parents? Did you think about giving Old Man Jiang and little Tingting a way out when you oppressed such helpless old and young?”
Ye Fan kicked him away. “I’ll give you a chance. End it yourself, so you don’t suffer. I haven’t killed anyone yet, and I don’t want blood on my hands.”
“You… you’ve never killed anyone…” The Li Family Seventh Young Master trembled with rage at these words. “You… you’ll be struck by lightning from heaven!”
Ye Fan kicked him to the front of a mountain rock. “Dash your head against it. If you force me to act, I’ll make you a eunuch first, then take your life.”
At that moment, the Li Family Seventh Young Master felt so humiliated he could go mad. This way of dying was too pathetic. The other party didn’t even deign to kill him himself, forcing him to do it.
“You little bastard, you’re truly despicable! I… I’ll become a ghost and never forgive you!” The Li Family Seventh Young Master coughed up blood in fury.
Ye Fan sat on a nearby green stone. “Why so much nonsense? Hurry up and get on with it. I don’t have much patience.”
“You… I…” The Li Family Seventh Young Master was so choked with frustration he couldn’t speak. Finally, he roared, “You’ll die a horrible death!”
“Bang!”
He slammed his head into the mountain rock and died a violent death.
“You killed yourself. I didn’t kill anyone.” Ye Fan stood up and began to clean up the traces. It took him a full hour to erase everything, then he headed back to the small town.
Though he appeared calm, his palms were already sweating. This was the first time in his life he had killed an enemy. Even though the Seventh Young Master was guilty of heinous crimes and deserved death, it still made him feel uneasy.
After seizing the “Source,” Ye Fan didn’t rush to cultivate. He knew well that “Source” contained vast life essence. When broken open, it would release a surge of Source power, and if he wasn’t careful, others would detect it. For now, he had to be cautious.
Over the next two days, Clear Wind Town was very peaceful. It wasn’t until the third day, when the other two cultivators of the Li Family returned from the Smoke Cloud Cave Heaven, that chaos erupted, spreading throughout the entire town.
“The Li Family Seventh Young Master has gone missing.”
“How can a cultivator just disappear like that?”
“This is the Li Family’s retribution!”
“What retribution? It must be the Wang Family’s doing. Who else would dare, besides the Li Family’s enemies? Who else has that kind of strength?”
“Yeah, according to the Li Family’s servants, it’s probably related to that piece of ‘Source’ from a while back.”
…
Even ordinary people in Clear Wind Town were discussing it, showing how big the storm was. The entire Li Family was furious, but also somewhat fearful.
At first, Ye Fan didn’t care. The two who had returned from the Li Family hadn’t reached the Life Spring realm and couldn’t ride divine rainbows, so they weren’t very threatening. But a few days later, things developed beyond his expectations. The storm grew.
The Smoke Cloud Cave Heaven actually sent people. Several cultivators at the Life Spring realm arrived in person, ordering the Li Family to guide them straight to the ancient cave where the “Source” was found. Then, the Wang Family’s cultivators also invited their sect’s people, heading into the deep mountains to search for that cave. The two sides nearly clashed violently.
“Could there be a Source vein here?” On that very day, over a dozen riders entered Clear Wind Town, all mounted on extremely extraordinary strange beasts. Each beast was covered in gleaming scales, with prominent horns and fierce appearances.
The central mount was the most remarkable. Its body was covered in golden scales, surrounded by dazzling divine light, as if golden flames were burning. It resembled a golden divine qilin, but had two forked horns on its head, shimmering with golden radiance, very majestic and imposing. Its hooves didn’t touch the ground, hovering three inches above it, completely treading on air. This showed how powerful and terrifying the strange beast was.
Seated on the golden divine qilin was a young man of about twenty-four or twenty-five, dressed in white robes. He looked very refined, with a gentle smile on his face, very handsome. His eyes were like water, faintly shimmering with divine light, truly as elegant as jade.
Flanking him were two other riders. On the left was a cyan strange beast, shaped like a lion-tiger, with very long, clean cyan fur, as glossy as jade, shimmering with clear light. On its head grew a single jade horn, actually radiating five-colored divine light. This five-colored strange beast also walked on air, never touching the ground, extraordinary and divine. Seated on it was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth in cyan robes, with a sharp, imposing aura, but with a hint of arrogance, looking disdainfully at everything in the town.
On the right was a silver-shining strange beast, shaped like a divine deer, covered in silver scales, with a vertical eye in the center of its forehead. Holy light shimmered all over its body as it walked on air, spotless. Seated on it was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, with skin like solidified fat (ningzhi), eyes like autumn waters veiled in mist, red lips, very beautiful, but giving off an unapproachable feeling, with a trace of pride.
The dozen or so strange beasts behind the three were also extraordinary, all rare and precious species. Some were covered in gleaming scales, others were as smooth as jade, all shimmering with light. The riders, ranging from twenty to forty years old, both male and female, carried a killing aura. A powerful battle intent gathered around them.
In the distance, Ye Fan saw all this and couldn’t help but draw in a cold breath. Who were these people? They were definitely not ordinary!
Not to mention the three leaders, even the dozen or so knights behind them were no worse than the people from the ancient aristocratic clans and holy lands he had seen before the Demon Emperor’s tomb. A strong battle intent and killing aura rushed toward him.
“Excuse me, is there a family with the surname Jiang in this town?” Just then, one of the knights, following orders, asked a townsperson.
Ye Fan’s heart jumped. What were they looking for someone with the surname Jiang for?
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