Chapter Seventy-Four: Racing Against Time

“Mengqiu Lu, if you dare lay a hand on me, you'd better think carefully about the consequences!”
Su Xue Lu stepped forward and blocked Ye Yun, her clear eyes fixed coldly on Mengqiu Lu.
She knew Ye Yun had no chance against Mengqiu Lu; he was not only a cultivator at the Golden Core stage but also a master of formations, and now the two of them stood within the very formation he had laid.
In such a predicament, even the two Foundation Establishment cultivators—much less the head of the Ye family, Haiyi Ye, or Min Ye who had just broken through to the Golden Core stage—could do nothing while trapped within the array.
Her sole reliance at this moment was her status as the princess of the Lu family, hoping it might make Mengqiu Lu hesitate.
“Miss Su Xue, you jest. Even if I had a hundred times more courage, I wouldn't dare harm you,” Mengqiu Lu replied with a gentle laugh.
“See that you remember. This person is my friend. Open the formation and let him leave now, and I promise to return with you and fulfill the task entrusted to you by the Xu family,” Su Xue Lu said through gritted teeth.
Ye Yun's expression shifted at her words. He knew how fiercely Su Xue Lu opposed and resisted an arranged marriage with the Xu family, yet now, for his sake, she was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for life?
Moreover, as a man—especially at his age—he could not accept a woman giving up herself to save him.
“With me here, no one will take you away, not even Mengqiu Lu!”
Ye Yun reached out and pulled Su Xue Lu behind him, meeting Mengqiu Lu’s gaze fearlessly, even though his opponent was a powerful Golden Core cultivator.
He possessed the Scarlet Flame Essence, whose power rivaled the true fire of a Golden Core master, and the Heavenly Burning Seal that could unleash strength many times his own in an instant!
He also had the Nine Totem Battle Arts and the Jade Treasure Seal; even facing a Golden Core cultivator, he was not without the power to fight.
“Ye Yun!…” Su Xue Lu knew Mengqiu Lu's strength and didn’t want Ye Yun to risk himself.
“Don’t speak, Su Xue. Even if you go with him, he won’t spare me.” Ye Yun sent her a message via divine sense; from Mengqiu Lu’s gaze, he could sense the absolute murderous intent.
“I’ll do my best to hold him off. See if you can find a way to break the Small Five Elements Trapping Array,” Ye Yun continued.
“But he’s a Golden Core cultivator…” Su Xue Lu’s heart was in chaos.
“Don’t worry. I have some confidence!” Ye Yun looked at her and nodded gently.
Hearing his words, Su Xue Lu, who had been in despair, suddenly felt hope ignite within her once more...
“Alright, within three quarters of an hour, I’ll give my all to deduce the way to break this formation!” Her panicked gaze regained its calm, and Su Xue Lu nodded firmly to Ye Yun.
So young and already at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, Su Xue Lu’s talent was exceptional. Although she only had a partial understanding of how to break the Small Five Elements Trapping Array, as long as she devoted herself fully, she could gradually unravel its secrets.
Mengqiu Lu’s composed smile never left his face as he watched the pair before him. Though he looked young, he had cultivated for over a hundred years.
For cultivators who transcended the mundane, maintaining youth and vitality was not difficult; only when their lifespan neared its end would they age rapidly, until death claimed them.
“A perfect innate soul—I, Mengqiu Lu, must have it!”
A flash of madness flickered in his eyes. Few knew of the perfect innate soul, but Mengqiu Lu happened to be one of them.
“Young man, you are destined to die, and your three souls and seven spirits will be refined by me…”
Mengqiu Lu suddenly laughed, a gruesome look appearing on his face.
“That depends on whether you have the ability!”

Ye Yun let out a cold snort and, with a thunderous sound, the earth and stones beneath his feet were scattered as he charged toward Mengqiu Lu. His form shifted, fierce like a scarlet-flamed tiger, exuding unstoppable force.
“Impressive martial arts, but sadly your cultivation is too low.” Mengqiu Lu sneered. He remained motionless, forming a seal with one hand, and powers of the five elements gathered from all directions.
“To fight a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator would sully the dignity of a Golden Core master. With the power of the five elements in this formation, killing you is child’s play.”
Mengqiu Lu laughed loudly, his Golden Core cultivation and mastery of formations making him arrogant, even disdaining direct combat with Ye Yun.
“That’s exactly what I want. The more he underestimates me, the greater my chances of victory. Even if I can’t kill him, I can at least buy Su Xue time to break the array.”
Ye Yun thought to himself, while outwardly he feigned rage, flames surging around him as he charged at Mengqiu Lu like a moth to a flame.
“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”...
The powers of the five elements, drawn by Mengqiu Lu’s seal, transformed into multicolored sword energies. As a master of formations, he could shift the array from a trapping formation to a killing formation at will.
These were the Small Five Elements Sword Qi, formidable enough that even Golden Core cultivators would be hard-pressed, able only to defend themselves and not attack the formation master.
However, the formation was already suppressing Haiyi Ye and Min Ye, the two Golden Core cultivators of the Ye family, so most of its power was tied up with them. The force Mengqiu Lu could muster against Ye Yun was limited.
Even so, the Small Five Elements Sword Qi was enough to kill most late-stage Foundation Establishment experts.
Ye Yun, however, was no ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. As the multicolored sword energies rained down, his form shifted again, transforming into a Black Tortoise with the head of a dragon and the body of a turtle, blocking all the sword energies outside.
“What a formidable technique.” Mengqiu Lu’s pupils contracted in surprise. In the brief instant Ye Yun transformed, a powerful protective aura rose around him, impenetrable to the sword energies.
Meanwhile, Ye Yun broke through the sword energies, transformed again into a Crimson Dragon, seeming ready to devour Mengqiu Lu.
Mengqiu Lu’s martial cultivation was not high. Though his cultivation surpassed Ye Yun’s, he dared not engage in close combat. He quickly formed a seal, using Wind Control to lift himself and retreat.
“It seems your strength far exceeds your cultivation, but I am not without ways to deal with you.”
Mengqiu Lu smiled coldly, forming another seal. The scattered sword energies swiftly converged into a giant multicolored sword, nearly twenty feet long.
“Let’s see how you withstand this!” Mengqiu Lu’s aura surged. Employing Golden Core methods, he wielded the sword with intent to kill.
“Die!”
Mengqiu Lu stood unmoving, pointed in midair, and the giant sword elongated to thirty feet, cleaving toward Ye Yun with overwhelming force.
“Bring forth the Seal!”
Such a fierce attack, Ye Yun dared not meet it head-on. He summoned the Jade Treasure Seal, clashing with the giant sword above.
With a thunderous crash, the Jade Seal was sent flying. Ye Yun, affected by the force, was thrown back, his feet gouging a deep trench in the ground, his blood surging as his face flushed.
“A Golden Core master indeed; even a glimpse of his power is far beyond mine.”
Ye Yun’s pupils contracted. He knew this would be the hardest battle of his life.
Throughout, Mengqiu Lu had only used part of the formation’s power against him. If the Golden Core master attacked directly, Ye Yun would struggle to withstand even a single blow.
Yet Ye Yun was not anxious; his goal was to buy time for Su Xue Lu.

Outmatched in a direct clash, Ye Yun stopped confronting the giant sword head-on. Instead, he used exquisite footwork to dodge its attacks. No matter how sharp the sword’s angles, it could not touch him.
Mengqiu Lu noticed this, glancing toward Su Xue Lu, who sat cross-legged nearby, her hands weaving intricate seals before her, her fingertips glowing with mysterious light. She seemed to be making good progress in deducing the method to break the formation.
Mengqiu Lu’s expression darkened. He thought, “The Lu family is said to possess brilliant formation arts. If Su Xue is given more time, she might really break my Small Five Elements Array.”
Formation mastery differed from cultivation; as long as one understood the intricacies, even Foundation Establishment cultivators could easily break the arrays of Golden Core masters.
This was the art of formations, unrelated to the strength of cultivation.
Alchemy has its formulas, artifact forging has its methods, and so too does formation have its own arts. In talisman studies, there are also differences in refining techniques and quality.
Mengqiu Lu knew well that even if the array was broken, he could easily deal with Ye Yun and Su Xue Lu, but the two Golden Core cultivators of the Ye family, once freed, would make the situation troublesome.
“For the sake of the bigger picture, I’ll kill the Ye brat and seize his soul later. First, I must capture Su Xue Lu before she can break the formation.”
With this in mind, Mengqiu Lu, while fighting Ye Yun, formed another seal; suddenly, brilliant green light surged within the formation, and a thick vine the width of a barrel appeared, winding toward Su Xue Lu, who was wholly absorbed in deducing the formation’s solution.
Ye Yun was ever watchful of Mengqiu Lu’s movements. Seeing this, his brows shot up, and the flow of Scarlet Flame True Qi sped up several times.
“Scarlet Flame Devil Body!”
His flowing black hair suddenly turned upright and crimson, and a silver gleam flickered deep in his blood-red pupils. With his Divine Eyes, he saw through the flaw in Mengqiu Lu’s divided attention as he attacked Su Xue Lu!
A deep roar, like a dragon’s, rumbled from his chest and abdomen, and his speed soared, slipping free of the giant sword’s entanglement, appearing beside Su Xue Lu in a flash.
“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”...
Several fireballs shot from his fingertips, imbued with the power of the Scarlet Flame Essence, incinerating the thick vine to ashes.
“The power of a primal flame!...” Mengqiu Lu’s pupils widened, and he suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. “No wonder your Fireball Art is so powerful despite your Foundation Establishment cultivation. You possess a perfect innate soul and a primal flame!”
He could no longer remain composed; greed flashed green in his eyes, his expression twisted and fierce!
Whether a perfect innate soul or a primal flame, their value was immeasurable. Compared to these, the Xu family’s task was nothing.
With both, Mengqiu Lu would never need to rely on others again. When he reached Nascent Soul, he would be invincible, and even the legendary Divine Transformation would be within reach!
At this moment, overwhelming greed and ambition for power nearly drove Mengqiu Lu mad. He had only one thought…
Kill this Ye family youth, refine his soul, and seize his primal flame!