Ye Tianxuan stood on the altar of the God and Demon Sacrificial Arena, his entire body enveloped in a faint layer of deep blue flames—the lingering trace of his newly formed pact with the Southern Peak Ugly Ox Fire Demon.
The Karmic Fire danced across his palm, its deep blue radiance reflecting off his stern face.
With a wave of his hand, he extinguished the blue glow, his gaze piercing through the void as if capable of seeing through all the conspiracies and greed in the world.
His recent clash with the members of the Ye Family had barely tested his skills, yet it had allowed him to see the true face of this clan completely.
"The Ye Family is no place to stay for long. I must find a chance to take Mother and leave."
Ye Tianxuan muttered to himself.
Just then, a violent surge of energy came from deep within the altar, interrupting his thoughts.
He turned his head to look and saw a fissure splitting open in the center of the altar, shooting a beam of golden light straight up into the clouds.
"This is..."
A thought stirred in Ye Tianxuan's heart; intuition told him that this golden light concealed a profound mystery.
Without hesitation, he took a large stride forward and stepped directly into the fissure.
Inside the fissure lay a whole new world, where space was distorted and time seemed to stand still.
A powerful suction force pulled Ye Tianxuan into a dark tunnel, inside which light flickered as countless stars seemed to flow past.
Within the span of a few breaths, Ye Tianxuan reached the end of the tunnel. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by a boundless expanse of starry sky, where countless twinkling stars felt close enough to touch.
Looking closer, at the center surrounded by those stars, a massive palace floated in mid-air, its surface carved with ancient and mysterious runes.
"Could this be the true location of the God and Demon Sacrificial Arena?"
Shock filled Ye Tianxuan's heart. He truly had not expected the God and Demon Sacrificial Arena to harbor such hidden depths.
Recovering the Emperor's Supreme Seal was already a massive joy; this spectacle before him was simply an unexpected windfall.
"Who goes there? Unauthorized entry is forbidden!"
The palace doors slowly opened, and a figure walked out.
The figure was tall and formidable, clad in battle armor and holding a long sword, emanating an aura of natural majesty from between his brows.
Seeing this, Ye Tianxuan was about to step forward when—
A rustling sound by his ear caused the image before him to blur increasingly.
"It seems you still have matters that require your attention. Young man, once your strength is sufficient to stand proudly above the Nine Summits, we shall meet again. Go!"
With a flick of his hand, that figure sent a ball of light surging toward him, enveloping his entire body just as he had been when first entering the God and Demon Sacrificial Arena.
When he opened his eyes again, he and Li Wanqing were still inside the alchemy room.
"Xuan'er, you're awake. What just happened—"
Rapid footsteps approaching from afar interrupted Li Wanqing's words, shattering the surrounding silence.
"Ancestor, do you have any idea how arrogant Tianxuan was back then?"
"That's right! Not only did he commit offenses against his superiors and show disrespect to his elders, but he even launched murderous attacks on the family head and Zhengyun! He didn't care about blood ties in the slightest!"
Li Wanqing rose alertly, leaning softly against the window to peer outside. Hearing what the people outside were saying, her willow brows arched in anger as she instinctively clenched her fists.
"These despicable wretches!"
"To think they actually managed to invite the Ancestor out. This is going to be troublesome."
The Ye Family Ancestor had always favored Ye Zhengwen's faction. If what that Wang Family brat said was true, then Tianba's matter must certainly have had the Ancestor's tacit approval.
"It looks like they've come for us."
Ye Tianxuan stood coldly, his gaze burning like torches. "Mother, do not worry. I will handle everything."
Li Wanqing nodded as she looked at Ye Tianxuan, who was holding her arm. For some reason, a wave of inexplicable reassurance washed over her heart.
"Ye Tianxuan, how dare you betray the family and murder a Wang Family elder! If we do not capture you today, where will the honor of the Ye Family be?!"
"However, considering that you possess a divine technique, if you hand it over to the family, I will spare you the punishment of having your cultivation crippled, in light of your genuine repentance."
The Ye Family Ancestor's voice was like a booming bell, making the surrounding air tremble.
"Hah, what a righteous-sounding front."
Ye Tianxuan sneered coldly, lifting a foot to walk out, but the hem of his robe was tightly grabbed by Li Wanqing.
"Xuan'er!"
"They outnumber us heavily; do not go out to fight them head-on."
"Your mother will go! I hold the Li Family token; they wouldn't dare touch me."
"Mother, don't worry, I have a way to deal with them."
Ye Tianxuan comforted her softly, raising a hand to lightly pat the back of Li Wanqing's hand before pushing the door open and stepping out of the alchemy room.
Li Wanqing was ultimately uneasy, so she hurriedly followed right behind him.
Raising her head, she saw that the Ye Family had mobilized virtually their entire clan this time.
Her lips trembled slightly. While this chilled Li Wanqing's heart, it also ignited an intense fury deep within her.
Now that she and Xuan'er were a lone mother and son, it was bad enough that the Li Family refused to acknowledge Xuan'er, but now they were even being targeted by the Ye Family.
"Oh, quite a crowd has come. It seems I'm quite important after all."
The Ancestor, the clan elders, and even the Ye Family servants were all present.
Ye Tianxuan swept his gaze around the circle, finally letting it land on the person surrounded in the center.
"Audacious! The Ancestor is here, Ye Tianxuan! You betrayed the family and brought shame upon us—why don't you kneel and kowtow in repentance!"
Ye Zhengwen pointed a finger at Ye Tianxuan, shouting sternly.
Upon hearing this, Ye Tianxuan almost laughed out loud. He cast a faint glance at Ye Zhengwen, his calm tone dripping with utter disdain. "Betray the family?"
"Hmph! It was clearly you people who tried to kill my mother and me first!"
"All you want are the secret treasures left behind by my Father, as well as this newly awakened power of mine. Unfortunately, you are destined to get nothing."
Ye Zhengwen's expression stiffened. He had not expected Ye Tianxuan to puncture their conspiracy so directly.
Meeting Ye Tianxuan's icy gaze felt almost like returning to the moment he was nearly beaten to death by him. Though anger burned within him, shock and wariness were far more dominant now.
Having absorbed the Creation Muscle-Regenerating Pill, the Ye Tianxuan before him was probably no longer the pushover of a cripple he used to be.
"Hmph, sharp-tongued brat!" The Ye Family Ancestor sneered coldly, waving his hand to signal the clansmen behind him, "Take this rebellious son down for me!"
At the Ancestor's command, dozens of Ye family members rushed forward.
Palms flipping with seals, multicolored lights flashed brilliantly as they simultaneously launched attacks toward Ye Tianxuan at the entrance of the alchemy room.
"You dare to bring out such cheap tricks to make a noise?"
With a blur of motion, Ye Tianxuan vanished from his spot.
The next instant, he had already appeared behind a Ye family member. With a gentle wave of his hand, that clansman let out a miserable scream and was sent flying backward.
Immediately following that, Ye Tianxuan materialized in front of another clansman, throwing a punch that directly sent the opponent vomiting blood and crashing to the ground.
In the span of just a few breaths, more than half of the dozens of Ye family members had already fallen. The remaining clansmen were terrified to their cores, but riding the tiger, they had no choice but to brace themselves and continue their assault.
"Still coming?"
Ye Tianxuan shrugged, letting out a nonchalant yawn. "Very well, I'll humor you then."
With Ye Tianxuan's current strength, he simply didn't need to take ordinary Ye family members seriously.
His figure moved like the wind, weaving freely among the Ye clansmen.
Every strike was precise and ruthless, and every attack easily knocked an opponent down.
Along the way, even as he locked eyes with the Ye Family Ancestor, he repeatedly trampled right over the heads of the Ye family members.