Chapter Eighty-One: Return After Departure

With the Crimson Flame Demonic Body, the refined Crimson Flame Essence Fire, and the amplification of the Heaven and Earth Totem Battle Technique, although Ye Yun's cultivation was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, his true combat power was enough to contend with even late Foundation Establishment cultivators, or those at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Catching his opponents off guard with the Jade Seal, only four of the original six Foundation Establishment cultivators remained. However, each of these four was at least a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and among them were two elders of the Wu clan who had reached the very peak of Foundation Establishment. This made the battle rather thorny for Ye Yun.

Using the refined Crimson Flame Essence Fire for protective arts, he could ward off most low-level spell attacks, while the Jade Seal, hovering above his head, was able to withstand assaults from the magical treasures of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators. In this way, Ye Yun stood in a position of near invincibility. Yet, these four Wu clan cultivators were exceedingly cautious, advancing and retreating in unison, giving him no opportunity to defeat them one by one.

Outside the Rain Pavilion courtyard, on the city streets, the sound of battle and cries of death echoed without end. The Wu clan had gathered a large number of cultivators to storm the city of Yunshui, clearly intending to seize it with utmost speed.

High above, Lord Ye Haiyi was burning his life essence to battle the Jade Flood Dragon King and Wu Ying. Though he maintained the upper hand, the combined efforts of the Jade Flood Dragon King and Wu Ying, while not his equal, made it exceedingly difficult for him to slay them quickly.

"Heaven-Scorching Seal!"

Forming incantations before his chest, Ye Yun thrust his hands forward. Torrents of crimson flames surged out, majestic and boundless like rolling rivers.

The four Wu clan cultivators opposite him changed expression, but decisively activated their protective arts and summoned their flying sword treasures, weaving a barrier of light.

A wave of scorching heat swept outward, stirring up dust and debris like a storm. Ye Yun felt his crimson flame true energy rapidly depleting, while his four opponents, though forced back several meters by the blow, managed to withstand the attack with their barrier, their faces pale but otherwise unharmed.

Seeing this, Ye Yun frowned. His insufficient cultivation was ultimately his greatest weakness; even if he could defeat these four, it would be a pyrrhic victory at best. With dozens, perhaps a hundred Wu clan Foundation Establishment cultivators attacking Yunshui City, he feared that even without the intervention of their three Core Formation elders, he alone would not be able to withstand the onslaught.

Just then, a violent wave of elemental energy erupted in the sky. Ye Yun and the four Wu clan cultivators looked up in unison, and saw a gigantic flaming hand materialize and descend from the heavens.

With a hiss, the flaming hand enveloped one of the Wu clan elders at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

"Not good! It's a Core Formation cultivator—run!"

Only now did the four Wu clan cultivators realize the danger. Terror-stricken, they tried to flee with all haste. But the elder caught by the flaming hand had no chance to escape. Before he could react, he was seized, and the searing fire incinerated his flesh and bones, drawing forth screams of unimaginable agony.

A figure in green robes drifted down from above. Ye Yun recognized him at once—it was Elder Ye Min, returned.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Elder Ye Min stood suspended in midair, pointing his finger. Three beams of flame, condensed from true energy, shot out, piercing and killing the three Wu clan cultivators who had scarcely managed a few steps in their flight.

"Senior, why have you returned?" Ye Yun breathed a sigh of relief, looking up at Elder Ye Min.

"Some of the elite disciples of the clan have already escaped through the secret tunnel. I was uneasy, so I returned to support you," Elder Ye Min replied, descending from the sky. "Quick, gather your parents. I will carve a path of blood and take you away from here."

"Understood!" Ye Yun was overjoyed, recognizing the urgency. In a flash, he entered the main hall, calling, "Come with me."

Ye Xian, Ye Zili and his wife, as well as Ye Zicheng and his wife, hurried to their feet and followed him out. When Elder Ye Min saw several servants from the Rain Pavilion courtyard trailing behind as well, he frowned slightly but said nothing.

"We mustn't delay. Let us go," Elder Ye Min said, glancing once at the battle raging in the sky before striding out at the head of the group. Ye Yun brought up the rear, guarding their retreat.

"It's Ye clan cultivators—kill them!"

A cacophony of shouts erupted nearby. Following the sound, Ye Yun and the others saw a pack of Wu clan cultivators, fierce as wolves and tigers, surrounding two Ye clan cultivators. Flying swords and treasures flashed, and spells rained down in a frenzied attack. The screams were unending, and within moments, the two Ye clan cultivators fell dead, their bodies completely obliterated.

"The family head has decreed: for every Ye clan Foundation Establishment cultivator slain, one spirit stone for an early stage, two for mid-stage, four for late stage, and ten for an elder at the peak!"

The Wu clan cultivators cheered, and one among them raised his voice, prompting dozens of eyes to turn greedily toward Ye Yun's group.

"Kill!"

The Wu clan cultivators pounced like wildcats scenting blood. Some closed in with martial techniques, some launched attacks from afar with flying swords, while others unleashed spells—Tangle Vines, Fireballs, Ice Arrows—all dazzling and deadly.

The relentless barrage left Ye Zili, Ye Zicheng, and the other ordinary folk petrified. The servants of Rain Pavilion courtyard trembled in terror, their faces ashen, stricken with fear.

With a resonant hum, Elder Ye Min waved his hand, and a furnace radiating a blue aura spun into the air, manifesting a shield of light that enveloped them all.

Blows rained down on the blue shield, sending ripples across its surface. As numbers accumulate, even the strongest defenses can be worn down; the combined might of dozens of Wu clan cultivators nearly shattered the barrier Elder Ye Min had set.

"Fire Dragon Spell!"

Elder Ye Min formed an incantation. The fire element in the heavens and earth surged wildly, gathering into a mass of scorching energy, suffused with an aura that made hearts tremble.

A roar, like that of a real dragon, echoed through the air. A dragon formed entirely of flame appeared, fierce and terrifying, claws bared, charging toward the Wu clan cultivators.

"It's a Core Formation cultivator!" someone screamed in terror. The immense fire dragon, over thirty meters long, was horrifying to behold. This was an intermediate spell, only executable by cultivators at the Core Formation stage or above.

Wherever the fire dragon passed, all was destroyed, devastation rampant. Any Foundation Establishment cultivator brushed by its flames saw their bodies ignited; true energy could not extinguish it, and they could only watch in despair as their flesh was consumed to ash.

In a matter of moments, the fire dragon spell had reduced the number of Wu clan cultivators from several dozen to just over ten.

Ye Yun stared, dumbfounded. The power of a Core Formation cultivator was incomparably beyond that of those at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Elder Ye Min, though newly advanced to the Core Formation stage, possessed strength sufficient to utterly crush a host of Foundation Establishment cultivators with ease.

At the same time, Elder Ye Min changed his incantation, and the lid of the furnace he had summoned shot skyward. A torrent of blazing fire gushed forth, vast and overwhelming like a tidal wave, sweeping toward the remaining Wu clan cultivators.

"Go!" he commanded.

Having unleashed two powerful spells in quick succession, Elder Ye Min, though at the initial stage of Core Formation, felt his magical power greatly depleted.

Without hesitation, he expelled the servants of Rain Pavilion courtyard from the blue shield, leaving them to their fate, and swiftly led Ye Yun and Ye Xian's families away.

"Elder!" "Don't abandon us!" the servants cried out, hearts broken, but Elder Ye Min was merciless, not even looking back.

Ye Zili and Ye Zicheng were moved to pity, wishing to speak, but in the end said nothing.

Ye Yun shook his head, knowing this was the harsh reality: the more people Elder Ye Min had to protect, the more magical power and attention he would expend. Thus, the elder was not in the wrong.