*cough*—
Liu Shi spat out a mouthful of old blood, collapsing onto the ground like a dead dog, his expression twisted in pain as he looked at Ye Han with eyes filled with terror...
Chapter 22: Giant Rock Scorpion
A trail of scarlet blood stained the jade-paved floor, stretching for dozens of meters.
Following the trail to its end, Elder Liu Shi lay sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, his aura completely withered.
His face was covered in blood and filth, his expression in agony, and several ribs in his chest had been shattered to pieces by the sonic wave!
Ye Han picked up a sword from the ground, walked over to Elder Liu Shi, raised his eyelids, and said indifferently,
"Weren't you going to skin me alive?"
Though his voice was utterly flat, it seemed imbued with a bone-chilling frost, as if rising from the depths of the netherworld.
Meeting that grim face, Elder Liu Shi felt as though he had plunged into an abyss, his entire body freezing with terror, his gaze abnormally panicked.
Inwardly, he was shaken to the core, never expecting that he would fall into the hands of a mere junior of the Ye Family!
"Don't celebrate too early! Sooner or later, my Liu Family will slaughter every last one of you in the Ye Family!"
Boom!
A dark, cold flash flickered deep in Elder Liu Shi's eyes as spiritual energy suddenly erupted from his palms. He wanted to use his very last shred of spiritual energy to launch a sneak attack!
Yet Ye Han had seen it coming all along; how could he possibly let this old bastard succeed?
Without a moment's hesitation, Ye Han raised his hand and brought the sword down in a silver flash slicing through the void!
Plop!
"Ah—"
A shrill, miserable scream rang out as a spurt of blood shot several meters into the air, followed by Elder Liu Shi's head tumbling onto the ground with a dull thud.
"Elder Liu Shi has been killed!"
Nearby, the Liu Family disciples currently locked in fierce combat saw Liu Shi's head roll away, and one by one, a chill ran down their spines.
They stared at the cold, aloof Ye Han, from whose silver sword blood was dripping onto the stone floor drop by drop.
"He killed Elder Liu Shi!"
"How is that possible! Elder Liu Shi is a powerhouse who stepped into the Late Spirit Sea Realm!"
The Liu Family disciples cried out in terrified voices, one after the other.
Not far away, the Second Elder and the others, locked in battle, also sucked in a sharp breath of air upon seeing Liu Shi lying dead on the ground, feeling utterly shocked.
Elder Liu Shi possessed formidable strength; even the Second Elder might not have been confident in taking his life.
"Good! Well killed!"
The Second Elder laughed wildly, his palm striking out toward another Liu Family disciple.
Bang!
That aged palm erupted with spiritual radiance, blasting the Liu Family disciple straight into a mist of blood.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Across the entire Ye Estate, hundreds of figures were locked in fierce combat. Sword lights and blade flashes flickered as bursts of violent spiritual energy clashed in all directions, cracking the stone paving.
Before long, the jade plaza was already slick with flowing blood and piled high with corpses.
However, Ye Han raised his head to look at the two figures confronting each other high in the air.
He knew that while the bloodshed below was fierce, what would ultimately decide the battle was the two Spirit Soul Realm powerhouses!
Boom—
The First Elder released a radiant glow from his entire body, and wave after wave of vast spiritual energy formed a roaring golden spirit tiger behind him.
This was a Grade 7 essence soul: the Jingang Flaming Tiger!
Boom—
The golden spirit tiger roared like thunder, its four limbs violently launching it skyward as it spread its massive claws, attempting to tear Liu Zhentian apart.
Seeing the ferocious momentum of the tiger, a trace of solemnity flashed deep in Liu Zhentian's eyes. He instantly made his palms burst with spiritual radiance until they shone translucent and sparkling like jade.
"Heaven-Overturning Hand!"
Pressing his palm downward into the void, a translucent handprint roared outward.
Thud!
The spirit soul of the Jingang Flaming Tiger collided with the handprint, producing a muffled impact. The space itself rippled slightly, as if on the verge of collapsing inward.
Liu Zhentian was blasted hundreds of meters back, the blood in his chest churning uncontrollably.
"Hmph! You aren't the only one with an essence soul!"
Liu Zhentian snorted coldly, blue spiritual energy sweeping out from his entire body, an intense chill instantly freezing the surrounding air.
Screech!
His icy blue spiritual energy surged upward, condensing into a freezing bird that hovered around him!
A Grade 8 spirit soul: the Polar Snow Falcon!
Stepping into the Spirit Soul Realm required cultivating with the essence souls of fierce beasts. The essence soul Liu Zhentian cultivated was even slightly stronger than the Jingang Flaming Tiger cultivated by Ye Baili!
The Snow Falcon was wreathed in icy blue spiritual energy, and its wings beat fiercely.
Whoosh—
The blue spiritual energy was compressed into a freezing torrent that roared outward, freezing the halls and pavilions along its path into solid ice.
Seeing this, Ye Han's expression flickered slightly.
This Liu Zhentian certainly had some tricks up his sleeve!
Bang!
The Jingang Flaming Tiger was beaten back hundreds of meters by the freezing torrent, its entire body coated in a thin layer of frost, though the frost quickly melted away.
Ye Baili's Jingang Flaming Tiger seemed to possess an attribute that countered the cold falcon, so even though its grade was slightly inferior, it did not fall into a disadvantage!
This caused Liu Zhentian to frown slightly.
He looked down and saw that the forces of the two major clans were locked in brutal combat, though the Ye Family seemed to hold a slight upper hand.
Noticing Liu Zhentian's expression, Ye Baili sneered coldly,
"Liu Zhentian, your Liu Family wishes to swallow the Ye Family—it is nothing more than wishful thinking! My Ye Family is not a persimmon for anyone to knead as they please. As for your Liu Family, you have already lost an elder today. If you remain stubborn and keep fighting, I'm afraid the one who ultimately falls will undoubtedly be your Liu Family!"
Hearing this, Liu Zhentian's face grew even gloomier. Losing an elder was like losing an arm to the Liu Family; it was an absolute heavy blow!
He could not drag this out any longer; otherwise, as Ye Baili had said, the losses to the Liu Family would only grow greater.
At this thought, Liu Zhentian took a deep breath and suddenly sneered,
"Is that so? Ye Baili, I advise you not to celebrate too early!"
Hum—
An ancient jade talisman materialized in his palm.
With that, Liu Zhentian smiled grimly and decisively crushed it.
Rumble!
The moment the jade talisman shattered, an overwhelmingly powerful aura seemed to wash over the area, and the entire estate began to vibrate violently!
"What is happening?"
Everyone looked toward the center of the plaza, where the stone flooring was splitting apart as if something was about to burst out from beneath the earth.
Boom!
A crimson, eerie light burst from underground, and a colossal scorpion clawed its way out from beneath the earth!
Everyone across the Ye Family looked in shock, momentarily frozen in place.
This scorpion was fully a dozen meters tall, shrouded in gray mist. Its entire body resembled brown rock, and its surface was as uneven and rugged as stone.
Its blood-red pupils looked like crimson lanterns, grim and bizarre.
It crawled on the ground, its pair of giant pincers retracted against its chest, while its tail held a sharp, venomous stinger raised vertically into the air.
A terrifying oppressive might swept outward from its body!
"This... this is a Late Spirit Soul Realm beast?!"
The First Elder and other Ye Family powerhouses couldn't help changing color in astonishment, crying out involuntarily.
"Ye Baili, you never expected this, did you? This is a spirit beast that my Liu Family's patron has kept and raised for over a dozen years—the Giant Rock Scorpion!"
Liu Zhentian raised his chin, looking at the Giant Rock Scorpion with unconcealed arrogance.
"What?!"
Hearing these words, the expressions of the Ye Family members and other powerhouses instantly turned deathly pale.
Naturally, they had never imagined the Liu Family still possessed such a trump card!
"The Ye Family is finished!"
A Ye Family elder's lips trembled uncontrollably, his eyes brimming with terror.
If the Liu Family had only Liu Zhentian as a Late Spirit Soul Realm cultivator, the Ye Family wouldn't fear them overly much. But with the addition of a Late Spirit Soul Realm spirit beast to the Liu Family's ranks, the balance of power between the two clans would be instantly shattered, tilting almost overwhelmingly toward the Liu Family's camp!
"The Liu Family still has such a killing move?"
At this moment, a strange look flashed in Ye Han's eyes, and his hand secretly fished out a yellowing talisman paper.
Black Demon Thunder Talisman!
However, he wasn't certain whether this Black Demon Thunder Talisman could handle the Giant Rock Scorpion!
Hum—
A stream of spiritual energy poured into the spirit talisman, yet this time, the Black Demon Thunder Talisman showed no reaction whatsoever!
"What's going on?"
Ye Han roared inwardly, his expression shifting drastically.
At this critical moment, this Black Demon Thunder Talisman wouldn't work!
What on earth was happening?
"Giant Rock Scorpion, slaughter the entire Ye Family for me!"
Liu Zhentian flickered his sleeve, his overbearing and merciless voice echoing across the entire Ye Estate.
Boom!
At that moment, the Giant Rock Scorpion flattened against the ground suddenly lashed its tail, and its venomous, barbed stinger struck directly at the First Elder.
"Jingang Flaming Tiger!"
Roar—
The First Elder's robes whipped wildly in the wind, his gaze resolute as he prepared to fight to the death and unleash all his spiritual energy.
The Jingang Flaming Tiger blazed entirely with fire, lunging toward that venomous stinger.
Yet the stinger pierced the void like a stream of light; with a squelch, it punctured the chest of the Flaming Spirit Tiger and shattered it to pieces!
Boom!
At that moment, the venomous stinger did not slow down; instead, its momentum surged abruptly as it targeted Ye Baili!
The First Elder's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly swung his staff to intercept the stinger.
Unexpectedly, with a loud clang, the staff rebounded, striking heavily against his own chest.
Spitting out a mouthful of fresh essence blood, Ye Baili plunged straight down from the void like a bird with broken wings.
At this moment, the hearts of everyone in the Ye Family seemed to sink to the absolute bottom, despairing as if their faces had turned to ash...
Chapter 23: The Powerful Black Demon Thunder
Bang!
Ye Baili's body plummeted straight down from the sky, crashing heavily onto the stone floor.
That loud crash dragged the hearts of nearly everyone in the Ye Family down into an abyss of icy despair!
Countless Ye Family members turned as pale as paper, their expressions filled with panic and unease.
They knew that once the First Elder, this pillar of support, fell, it meant the Ye Family had fallen as well.
What they would face next was bound to be the brutal slaughter of the Liu Family!
"Hahaha, the Ye Family is now just a tiger without teeth; its decline is fully exposed!"
"From this day onward, one of the Four Great Clans of Yancheng will be gone, and the Ye Clan will cease to exist."
In stark contrast, the Liu Family disciples wore expressions of wild joy, their morale soaring.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Wielding their spirit weapons once more, they launched a counterattack, slaughtering the Ye Family forces as chaos descended upon the scene once again.
Puff, puff, puff—
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
Cries of agony rang out, and the entire plaza ran red with blood in a horrific, startling sight.
"Patriarch, that brat is hiding over there; he killed Liu Shi!"
Behind him, the white-robed Elder Liu Xi pointed at Ye Han and said with a sinister grin.
Liu Zhentian looked over with a gaze filled with monstrous murderous intent, the air around him vibrating and boiling from his spiritual energy. Ye Han had killed his only son, Liu Ming, and now he had killed the Liu Family's Fourth Elder as well. Even if he had to pay a heavy price today, he was determined to execute Ye Han right here!
With a gloomy glance at the crouching Giant Rock Scorpion behind him, he said in a deep voice,
"Giant Rock Scorpion, cut that brat down!"
Rumble!
The massive rock scorpion crawled forward slowly. With every step it took, a loud noise echoed, the ground failing to withstand its weight as it shattered inch by inch.
That immense oppressive might forced Ye Han back a few steps.
The spiritual energy within his body surged like a tidal wave, wrapping around his legs until they looked as though they were cast from solid gold, glowing brilliantly.
With a roar, a massive venomous stinger lunged downward fiercely.
Ye Han leaped backward violently on his feet, his speed skyrocketing as he dodged like an afterimage, while the venomous stinger slammed into the ground with a loud boom, blasting out a giant crater.
Dodge this blow he did, but instead of retreating, Ye Han sprinted solo toward the left side of the stinger.
Swish!
A shadow flashed as the sword in Ye Han's hand struck viciously against the stinger. Unexpectedly, with a single clang, the sword cracked apart.
Rumble!
The Giant Rock Scorpion moved once again, its body churning with gray mist. Raising its two giant pincers, it swept them outward with a roaring friction against the air.
"Not good!"
Ye Han thought to himself, flashing away at top speed to evade. A loud crash echoed behind him as the two giant pincers smashed a palace to pieces!
"Truly an arm trying to stop a chariot, utterly overestimating oneself! The Giant Rock Scorpion has already reached the Late Spirit Soul Realm, and its physical body is impervious to blades and spears, as indestructible as rock and metal. To say nothing of a tiny Spirit Sea Realm brat like him, even Ye Baili was no match for this fierce beast in a single exchange!"
Liu Xi scoffed coldly, unable to resist mocking him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the distance, the Giant Rock Scorpion's giant pincers acted like two massive pliers, launching continuous attacks.
Meanwhile, Ye Han moved like a starlight streak, dashing through the void at extreme speed. Under the fierce pursuit and attacks of the Giant Rock Scorpion, he was in constant, hair-raising peril!
Rumble!
Palace after palace was destroyed into ruins, and even some Ye Family members were directly crushed into mists of blood by the Giant Rock Scorpion.
This Giant Rock Scorpion was savage beyond measure!
"Great Sun Scorching Heaven Palm!"
Whoosh—
Ye Han soared into the air, a blazing sun manifesting in his palm before condensing into a golden flame palm that he thrust outward.
Bang!
That blazing sun flame palm slammed fiercely into the back of the Giant Rock Scorpion, instantly bursting into shattered sparks that vanished into nothingness.
Ye Han's expression grew gravely solemn at that moment. He hadn't expected that this Grade 7 spirit art couldn't even scratch the beast!
Whoosh—
While Ye Han was deep in thought, the venomous stinger struck out once more, like a dormant hidden weapon tracing a residual afterimage through the void.
Ye Han's pupils contracted sharply as he caught a whiff of the scent of death.
Oh no, he had been too careless!
The sudden sneak attack of the venomous stinger left him completely unable to dodge in time!
"Young Patriarch, get out of the way!"
Boom—
Right then, a figure swept forward enveloped in spiritual energy, blocking his path.
Ye Han cast his gaze forward to see a gray-robed elder.
The Fourth Elder of the Ye Family, Ye Kai!
With crimson eyes, Ye Kai roared as he swung his longsword, charging directly toward that venomous stinger.
Squelch!
Yet that venomous stinger pierced straight through Ye Kai's body, and with a loud bang, blew him apart into a mist of blood!
"Elder Ye Kai!"
Ye Han's gaze turned grim and cold as he clenched his fists tightly.
Yet at this moment, he hadn't noticed that the blood on his palm was continuously seeping into the Black Demon Talisman, being absorbed by the patterns etched upon it!
As the blood poured in, the spirit runes grew increasingly distinct, and the spirit talisman in his palm finally erupted with light, lifting into the air.
Hum—
"This is..."
When that talisman hovered in mid-air, a mysterious and terrifying fluctuation instantly enveloped the entire Ye Estate!
Even Liu Zhentian, a Late Spirit Soul Realm powerhouse, experienced a drastic change in expression under that fluctuation, his eyes filled with terror!
"It's... a talisman!"
The First Elder also wore a look of shock, his pupils constricting.
Moreover, the fluctuation of this talisman was at least of the quasi-Mystic Grade!
He never expected Ye Han to possess such a powerful trump card!
Ye Han was also stunned, glancing down at his blood-stained palm. Only then did he realize that this Black Demon Thunder Talisman had been activated by his vital essence blood!
"Now, let's see if the Liu Family can withstand my wrath!"
The corners of Ye Han's lips curled upward as he spoke in an icy voice.
Screech—
The terrifying fluctuation spread outward as the talisman rose into the air, transforming into a black light barrier that enclosed the entire estate.
Crackles and sparks—
Upon the light barrier, tendrils of black lightning carrying an aura of annihilation flickered from time to time, making everyone's heart leap into their throats.
Every single streak of Black Demon Thunder was infinitely terrifying!
"This is... Black Demon Thunder?! Not good! Fall back!"
Staring fixedly at the pitch-black magical lightning, Liu Zhentian shuddered all over, his scalp tingling as he roared the command at the top of his lungs.
"Want to run? Too late..."
Standing tall in the void with a grim expression, Ye Han also wanted to witness the true might of this Black Demon Thunder!
Rumble!
At that moment, an ancient thunder chant resounded across the sky above the estate, and a violent surge of thunder force began to condense.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Everyone raised their heads in horror. Thunder clouds blanketed the light barrier, and black lightning occasionally slashed across the sky like the heads of black dragons probing outward.
Every single bolt of lightning possessed an aura comparable to the Late Spirit Soul Realm!
"Impossible! How could the Ye Family possess a high-grade talisman?!"
Liu Zhentian's face turned pale as a sheet, a chill running down his spine as his eyes lost focus.
As for Liu Xi and the others, they swallowed hard in sheer fright, as if enveloped by the aura of death.
Those Black Demon Thunders were simply too terrifying!
Fully hundreds of bolts of Black Demon Thunder—even a single one of them would be enough to blast them into oblivion!
"Quick, break the barrier!"
Spiritual light burst from Liu Zhentian's entire body as he seemed to burn every ounce of strength within him, launching a frantic barrage of attacks against the barrier's light curtain.
Yet against this barrier light curtain, no one below the Purple Palace Realm could possibly break it!
Boom!
At that moment, black lightning suddenly descended from the heavens!
A terrifying flash of thunder cleaved downward, and in an instant, the entire Ye Estate lit up as bright as day!
Amidst gazes filled with terror, that bolt of Black Demon Thunder cleaved straight down from the crown of Liu Zhentian's head.
"No!"
With an earth-shattering boom, the Black Demon Thunder slammed into Liu Zhentian's physical body. Liu Zhentian roared in terror, but the very next instant—
Bang!
His physical body burst into a mist of blood!
"Patriarch..."
Across the Liu Family, bodies went limp.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The second, third, and fourth bolts of Black Demon Thunder descended in dense succession.
Bang, bang, bang—
"Ah!"
The Black Demon Thunder acted like a pair of deathly meat-grinders, blasting figure after figure into mists of blood.
Even that Giant Rock Scorpion had its physical body pierced clean through under the bombardment of several bolts of Black Demon Thunder!
The entire Liu Family echoed with the wails of ghosts and the howls of wolves!
Chapter 24: Reckoning!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Accompanied by deafening explosions, bolts of black lightning radiating an aura of destruction plummeted from the sky!
Like the sickers of the Grim Reaper, they went on a wild rampage, slaughtering the Liu Family members.
With the descent of every single flash of thunder, another figure burst into a mist of blood with a loud bang!
Bang, bang, bang—
"Ah!"
Hysterical shrieks, howling ghosts and weeping wolves, and panicked cries echoed across the entire plaza. This scene resembled a human purgatory, incomparably bloody!
Within the array, corpses were already piled like mountains and blood flowed in rivers.
"Too terrifying..."
Even the members of the Ye Family couldn't help swallowing hard upon seeing this sight, their hearts overflowing with fear.
Staring at the black magical array, Ye Han was inwardly shocked as well; he hadn't expected this Black Demon Thunder Talisman to be so terrifying!
Even someone as strong as Liu Zhentian couldn't withstand a single strike of the Black Demon Thunder, bursting into a mist of blood on the spot.