Chapter 104: Chapter 104: A Thousand-Li Assassination
"Don’t worry. To avoid being identified, the Li family and the Liu family were all masked and cloaked—they were dressed exactly like bandits. Furthermore, they attacked our Ye family estate first. I only know they were robbers; I don’t know anything about any Li or Liu family. Everyone in Cyan Mountain Town is aware of this. Even if the City Lord’s Mansion finds out, they’ll have nothing to say." The old man was full of domineering confidence. "Besides, the Wang family and the Zhou family launched a sneak attack on our Ye family. If the City Lord’s Mansion is going to punish anyone, they’ll punish the Wang and Zhou families first."
Old Man Ye Batian was completely fearless.
He had a very good point. This time, the members of the Li family and the Liu family, led by their Patriarchs, had attacked the Ye family estate while masked. That was unequivocally the act of bandits. Even if the Ye family killed them all, they would have no grounds for complaint, no argument to make.
Of course, the most important thing was that after breaking through to the Third Layer of the Earth Martial Artist realm, Old Man Ye Batian had become a pivotal figure in Blue Moon City. Any power that wanted to touch the Ye family would have to think very carefully.
Within the manors of the Li and Liu families, the Ye family guards worked continuously. It took them a full day to completely inventory everything.
Ye Xuan’s attention, however, wasn’t on these things. It was focused on the four who had escaped, led by Wang Xuan.
"What? You mean you want to go after Wang Xuan and the others?"
Back in the manor, the old man and the others were shocked to hear what Ye Xuan said.
"That’s right." Ye Xuan nodded. "From what I saw, Grandfather, you only killed a few elders from the Wang and Zhou families. But the leaders this time were Wang Xuan of the Wang family and Zhou Bing of the Zhou family. These two are the leading figures of their generation, their strength second only to their respective Patriarchs. If we kill them, it will be a huge blow to both families."
"Besides..." A chilling light suddenly flickered in Ye Xuan’s eyes. "Since they dared to come to Cyan Mountain Town to attack our Ye family, they should be prepared to be left behind. If we let them get away alive, what would become of the Ye family’s prestige?"
Ye Xuan would not, under any circumstances, let them escape only to come back for revenge.
"But Xuan’Er, they fled in the direction of Black Wind Ridge. There are countless paths along that route. Finding a few powerful cultivators would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. How could we possibly find them?" Ye Batian said with a frown.
Ye Xuan unfolded a map. "Grandfather, look. Based on your account, Wang Xuan and his men fled west. While there are many routes from that direction back to Blue Moon City, if we narrow them down, there are only two paths they could have reasonably chosen. Add to that the fact they were seriously injured yesterday and couldn’t have gotten far. If we hurry, we can definitely catch them."
"Most importantly, even if we don’t find them en route, we can simply rush to this choke point—a place they must pass through to return to Blue Moon City—and intercept them there."
"Besides, as long as I can find some traces they left behind while fleeing, I’m certain I can figure out which direction they took."
Ye Batian raised an eyebrow. "Xuan’Er, are you serious?"
"Of course." Ye Xuan’s expression was filled with confidence.
Ye Batian’s mind was made up. He was a decisive man, after all. He slammed his hand on the table. "Good! In that case, we set out immediately."
Ye Batian immediately arranged for who would remain to guard the Ye family estate. Then, he, Ye Zhanyun, and Ye Xuan—the three of them—swiftly made their way to the spot where the four enemies had fled the previous day.
"Xuan’Er, this is the place."
Ye Batian pointed to a patch of forest ahead.
Ye Xuan nodded. As he entered the forest, he immediately spotted traces left from the previous day’s battle, including quite a few scattered drops of blood on the ground.
Ye Xuan collected some of the blood and mixed it into a vial containing a solution. The solution immediately turned colorless.
Then, he took out a cotton ball and placed it over the vial’s opening. The cotton ball instantly turned red.
"Xuan’Er, what is this?" Ye Zhanyun asked, a look of confusion on his face.
"Father, every person’s blood contains unique properties. This solution I’ve prepared is able to react with the blood aura lingering in the air. As soon as it comes into contact with the blood aura of Wang Xuan and his men, it will turn red. This way, we can trace the path they took yesterday."
"Wang Xuan and his men left over a day ago. The blood aura must have completely dissipated by now. Can this method still find them?"
Ye Xuan gave a faint smile. "Father, although blood aura normally dissipates within a few hours, that’s actually just it being diluted. For it to vanish completely takes at least two days."
Old Man Ye and Ye Zhanyun exchanged a look of astonishment.
"Let’s go!"
After observing for a moment, Ye Xuan immediately shot off in a particular direction.
And just as he said, the cotton ball in Ye Xuan’s hand remained red the entire way. Whenever the color began to fade, Ye Xuan would pause, observe his surroundings carefully, then change direction. The cotton ball would immediately turn red again.
Ye Batian and Ye Zhanyun followed close behind, watching in stunned silence.
With such a miraculous tracking art, they could probably hunt down their target no matter where they fled.
It was as if Ye Xuan had grown an invisible third eye, unerringly leading the way. Ye Zhanyun and Ye Batian followed closely. After about half a day, Ye Xuan suddenly came to a halt.
"We’re close. The blood aura here is very fresh; it must have been left within the last hour. I can sense them. They’re just ahead," Ye Xuan said coldly, his gaze fixed on a dense forest before them.
The two men’s gazes sharpened, their expressions turning vigilant.
"Xuan’Er, when we engage, I want you to stay hidden. If you spot Wang Xuan and his men, stay far away and don’t act rashly. Let your father and me handle this."
After speaking, the old man took the lead and entered the dense forest.
"Xuan’Er, be careful. If anything seems wrong, retreat immediately," Ye Zhanyun added.
Ye Xuan’s gaze was calm. He said nothing more and simply followed behind Ye Zhanyun.
At that moment, in a hollow several dozen miles away, Wang Xuan and his three companions were sitting cross-legged, regulating their internal energy.
The two from the Wang family were Wang Xuan and Wang Cong, while the two from the Zhou family were Zhou Bing and Zhou Qian. Of the four, two were at the Second Layer of the Earth Martial Artist realm, and two were at the First Layer—all of them were formidable experts.
"I never thought that old dog from the Ye family would actually break through to the Third Layer of the Earth Martial Artist realm in the middle of a fight, causing our entire plan to fall apart," Wang Xuan said, his gaze cold.
"With an expert at the Third Layer of the Earth Martial Artist realm, the Ye family’s rise will be unstoppable."
"Damn it! They’re just a small, backwater family. If this continues, won’t our two families be forever constrained by the Ye family?" Zhou Qian’s expression was grim.
Wang Cong said coldly, "Don’t worry. That will never happen. We’ve already sent word back to our families. When the Clan Leaders receive the news, they will absolutely send experts. They will not allow the Ye family to rise."
"Exactly. We’d rather die than spend the rest of our lives living at the mercy of the Ye family."
Savage expressions appeared on the faces of all four from the Wang and Zhou families.
"Alright, let’s not overthink this. Our priority is to get back to Blue Moon City first."
Wang Cong said grimly, "We have to get back to Blue Moon City, but we’ll probably have to detour through Black Wind Ridge. I don’t think we can go through Giant Stone Town anymore."
"Why? You think the Ye family would set up an ambush there?"
"I don’t know if they’d set an ambush, but Giant Stone Town is the only direct route back to Blue Moon City from here. If I were one of the Ye family and couldn’t track us, that’s exactly where I’d be waiting. We can’t take that risk."
Wang Cong, the most meticulous thinker of the group, stated coldly.
"Truly worthy of being called the sharpest mind of the Wang family’s second generation. A pity that no matter how smart you are, you’re still going to die today."
Suddenly, a burst of laughter echoed from outside the hollow. A domineering figure appeared on the ridge above them. His frame was imposing, like that of a giant, as he looked down on the four men below, radiating an aura of absolute power.
"It’s you! Ye Batian! How did you find us here?"
The four cried out in unison, their faces filled with horror.
They had moved erratically through the forest, never taking a predictable path, and had believed themselves to be perfectly safe. Seeing Ye Batian now was like seeing a ghost.
"Why am I here? Fate has sent me to claim your lives."
Ye Batian let out a cold laugh. Without another word, he threw a vicious punch down at the four men.
BOOM!
The force of the blow shook the air, tearing at the stone. The immense power of his fist materialized as a roaring tiger, charging straight for Wang Xuan and the other three.
"Old dog, you think you can kill the four of us alone just because you had a breakthrough?"
With a deafening BOOM, a massive crater appeared where the four had just been standing. They had already leaped into the air. Exchanging a glance, they shot toward him from four different directions.
"The old dog is alone! We have to kill him if we want to live!"
Wang Xuan roared, and a gigantic black serpent materialized above him. The serpent writhed, its eyes glacial as it spat a chilling aura. Wrapped in a halo of black light, it struck viciously at the old man.
At the same time, Wang Cong, Zhou Bing, and Zhou Qian also unleashed their Martial Souls. The two from the Zhou family were instantly covered in a thick layer of stone armor. An earthy yellow light swirled around them as they swept forward with seemingly invincible momentum.
The four experts knew that trying to escape now would be suicide; he would just pick them off one by one. Their only chance of survival was to fight together.
"A bunch of useless weaklings. You’ve already lost to me once, and you still dare to talk of bravery?" The old man sneered as he unleashed his Earth Martial Soul. His body erupted in a brilliant radiance, and his hands, now like two giant fans, swept viciously toward the four of them.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
A series of explosive impacts rang out through the mountain forest. Several large trees nearby were instantly blasted to splinters by the terrifying force. The hard, rocky ground was violently gouged, sending shards of stone flying everywhere.
Amid the thunderous explosions, the old man was like a fierce tiger, his roars echoing through the forest. With each consecutive strike, he created sonic booms, blasting Wang Xuan and the other three back, their bodies trembling from the impacts.
