Chapter One Hundred and Ten: A Breakthrough in Cultivation

When Ye Yun spoke those words, Zhao Hui, his sister, and Bai Chen all fixed their eyes at once, a thin sheen of sweat breaking out on their brows.

They had crossed paths with Yue Feng more than once, and knew very well his temper. If they spared his life, he would feel no gratitude at all. Once he returned with the support of the Pure Moon Protector, he would surely exact ruthless revenge without restraint.

“From beginning to end, no one ever wronged him. He simply relied on his great perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage and acted as though he were above everyone else. To make an enemy of such a person is to show mercy to him and cruelty to oneself,” Ye Yun said expressionlessly.

Having grown up training and traveling abroad under the guidance of his grand ancestor, Ye Yu, and after all he had experienced over the years, Ye Yun had long since grown accustomed to the coldness of human nature.

Seeing the icy killing intent flicker in Ye Yun’s eyes, Yue Feng, who lay on the ground crying out in pain, was suddenly filled with terror.

“Don’t kill me. When I get back, I swear I’ll turn over a new leaf. I’ll never stand against you again.” In fear and panic, Yue Feng crawled backward.

“Trash like you, I’ve killed plenty of. It’s too late for regret now!”

A fireball condensed from blazing crimson flame shot forth, and in an instant Yue Feng’s body was swallowed by roaring fire. Amid miserable screams, he was reduced to a heap of ashes.

“It’s over. When we go back, all we can do is brace ourselves for the wrath of the Pure Moon Protector,” Bai Chen said with a grim face and a sigh.

“If the Pure Moon Protector behind Yue Feng questions you, just say that I killed him and tell her to come find me,” Ye Yun said, frowning as he glanced at Bai Chen.

Although his cultivation had not advanced very quickly over this period, his overall strength had undergone a dramatic transformation. A sect protector at the Core Formation stage was certainly formidable, but not enough to make him retreat in fear.

Perhaps infected by the fearless air around Ye Yun, Bai Chen’s body trembled slightly. His expression shifted several times before he gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and said, “We came into the savage lands together for training. If it weren’t for Senior Brother Ye Yun, we would all have been ruined by that bastard Yue Feng sooner or later. The consequences of killing Yue Feng should naturally be borne by all of us together!”

Once Bai Chen said this, Zhao Hui and his sister Zhao Jingjing could not help but look at him in a new light.

“Brother Bai, you’re usually so careful and methodical, always advancing step by step. Since even you have the courage to shoulder this matter, how can we siblings lag behind? A man who lacks even this much responsibility—what sort of path of cultivation could he possibly pursue?” Zhao Hui said with a smile.

“That’s right. We’ll all bear this together. If the Pure Moon Protector blames us, then at worst we’ll all leave the Everlasting Spring Palace together.” Zhao Jingjing, though a girl, was also waving her little hand at this point, her voice bright with excitement.

Ye Yun smiled.

In this world, human nature was often cold. Most cultivators merely used one another, scheming and deceiving in endless cycles. Behind Yue Feng stood a Core Formation cultivator, and small Foundation Establishment cultivators like Bai Chen and the Zhao siblings were simply no match for such a force.

Ye Yun had thought they would surely grow fearful and, in order to protect themselves, shift all the blame onto him, after all he had been the one to strike the final blow and kill Yue Feng.

Yet Bai Chen and the Zhao siblings’ final response truly surprised him.

“So it seems there are still good people under heaven after all,” Ye Yun thought to himself.

“Hmph. That’s only because these three little brats are inexperienced in the ways of the world,” the Boundless Demon Lord muttered inwardly. In his eyes, the world of cultivators simply did not contain a single decent person.

After Yue Feng died, he left behind a middle-grade magical flying sword and a storage pouch.

The flying sword was decent enough, but Ye Yun had no need for it, so he gave it to Zhao Hui. As for the storage pouch, aside from some pills and spirit stones, there was nothing of much value. Ye Yun did not keep it for himself either, but distributed everything inside among the group.

“Are we heading back now?” Bai Chen asked, looking at Ye Yun. Since Yue Feng was dead, he and the Zhao siblings naturally took Ye Yun as their center.

“I feel that my cultivation is about to break through. Why not continue training on the outskirts of the savage lands a little longer before we return?” Ye Yun said with a smile.

If he could advance from the middle stage of Foundation Establishment to the late stage, then even if he encountered an early Core Formation expert, he would still have the power to fight.

As far as he knew, in the Everlasting Spring Palace the protectors were all at the early Core Formation stage, the elders at the middle stage, and only the sect master himself was a late Core Formation powerhouse.

On this vast land ruled by the Holy Dragon Dynasty, only the imperial family possessed Nascent Soul experts. Among the other great clans and first-rate sects, a great perfection Core Formation cultivator was already the pinnacle.

For the next stretch of time, the four of them put Yue Feng out of mind and continued searching the outskirts of the savage lands for spiritual medicines, killing Foundation Establishment demon beasts, and gathering all kinds of materials.

These materials and herbs could be turned in to the sect upon their return in exchange for magical treasures, pills, talismans, or martial techniques and arts—whatever would be useful to them.

Having only just arrived, Ye Yun had merely a preliminary understanding of the Everlasting Spring Palace. From Bai Chen, he learned that among the palace’s four great elders, the highest in status was Elder North Star, a Core Formation cultivator in the middle stage and also a first-rank grand master of formations; next was Elder South Cloud, a first-rank grand master of alchemy; then Elder East Regret, a first-rank grand master of talismans. As for the last of the four, Elder West Valley, he was said to follow the path of martial cultivation. His strength was terrifyingly formidable, and he was regarded as the strongest beneath the palace master himself.

The pursuit of immortality and the Dao has five major disciplines, and formations, talismans, pills, and magical treasures all have five ranks as well, each rank further divided into four levels.

Take alchemy as an example: within each rank there are alchemists, master alchemists, grand master alchemists, and pill kings.

The same applies to formations, talismans, and artifact refining.

As for the current head of the Ye family, Ye Min, the fact that he could refine the Dao Profound Pill already placed him among first-rank grand master alchemists.

Three days later, a powerful and scorching aura spread from Ye Yun’s body. At that moment he sat cross-legged on a vacant stretch of grass, and within a radius of ten feet centered on him, all plants and trees had been reduced to nothing by the searing flames.

“The core disciples of our Everlasting Spring Palace should be cultivating the Everlasting Spring Scripture, a wood-element technique. Yet what Senior Brother Ye Yun cultivates is clearly a fire-element art, and it seems far more profound than the Everlasting Spring Scripture.”

Bai Chen, watching Ye Yun break through nearby, let out a bitter smile. He and the Zhao siblings were all at the late Foundation Establishment stage, yet compared with Ye Yun, they were like the flicker of a candle beside the sun and moon. For someone who had always believed his talent to be quite good, this was a profound blow.

“Giggle. Brother Bai Chen, don’t be discouraged. It’s not that your talent is poor—it’s just that Senior Brother Ye Yun is too amazing. Otherwise, how could he have become a core disciple?” Zhao Jingjing said with a laugh from the side.

“Yes. Those core disciples of the Everlasting Spring Palace all hold their noses in the air because their cultivation is basically all at great perfection Foundation Establishment, and their talents are excellent as well. They all have a great chance of breaking through to Core Formation. But Ye Yun could become a core disciple while still at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment—there must be something uniquely exceptional about him,” Zhao Hui said with no small emotion.

“When he was only at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, he could easily kill Yue Feng, who was at great perfection Foundation Establishment. Now that his cultivation has reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, do you think his strength might already rival that of a Core Formation cultivator?” Bai Chen said, the corner of his mouth twitching.

“This... that seems a little unlikely, doesn’t it?” Zhao Jingjing drew in a deep breath, her small chest rising and falling.

“The gap between Foundation Establishment and Core Formation is a whole major realm, and I’ve never even heard of anyone who could cross it. But Ye Yun is a freak—maybe he really can do it?” Zhao Hui’s pupils contracted slightly, and even he was shocked by the thought in his own mind.