CHAPTER 200: CHAPTER 200: AN INCIDENT OCCURS

The continual rainy season made the entire sky appear even more gloomy.

The expression on Ye Xinghe’s face also gave Ye Jingcheng a bad feeling.

"Jing Feng and Xingyu have had an accident; they were responsible for this shipment of spirit medicine!" After a long silence, Ye Xinghe finally spoke.

His face showed a hint of grief.

And also heartache.

Most of the Ye Family’s spirit medicine is sent from Lingyun Peak, and each shipment is usually handled by two people.

This way, the target is smaller, and both the selection of personnel and timing are not fixed to prevent some Tribulation Cultivators from taking risks by attacking the Ye Family’s spirit transporters.

The Ye Family has been implementing this strategy for nearly a hundred years.

Furthermore, Ye Jingfeng was not only at the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation but also had a Black-Horned Rhinoceros as a spirit beast, and was a Spirit Talisman Master. As for Ye Xingyu, it goes without saying; he was also at the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation, with two late-stage Tier One spirit beasts.

Logically speaking, as long as the two acted modestly, nothing should have gone wrong.

However, both of their jade talismans shattered without any warning, and they didn’t even manage to cast a single Spirit Technique before their deaths.

The attacker was either a Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivator or members of other clans.

The most suspicious are the Li Family and the Chen Family, though the Xu Family and Mo Family are also possibilities.

But with the spirit medicine not delivered, the Ye Family cannot refine enough elixirs, which is exactly what the Li Family would be most pleased to see.

"Uncle, are there any clues?" Ye Jingcheng also felt heavy-hearted, having once competed on the same stage as Ye Jingfeng in a Qi Cultivation competition.

"No, from the moment the jade talisman was detected to have a disturbance until it shattered, it took less than five breaths, and even the Beast Communication Pattern returned to the family’s Beast Communication Tower, indicating the spirit beasts sacrificed themselves too," Ye Xinghe shook his head.

Ye Jingcheng furrowed his brows tightly; this crisis could either be due to a mole within the clan or a dedicated Foundation Establishment cultivator who targeted the road leading to the market. Either scenario was extremely disadvantageous for the Ye Family.

The most dreaded are indeed these covert cultivators; since shipments happen roughly every one to three months, it’s impossible to always have Foundation Establishment cultivators or Tier Two spirit beasts as escorts.

"Uncle, perhaps they’re targeting me!" Ye Jingcheng finally spoke again after a while.

At this point, he hoped it was the Li Family’s doing. Given the current strength of the Li Family, only Li Yufu and Li Muhe could accomplish it; even a newly advanced Foundation Establishment could not, certainly not within five breaths to kill Ye Jingfeng.

The real fear is the Xu Family and Mo Family, who have cultivators possibly at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Moreover, should he want to devise a trap, consideration of whether he could defeat them would be essential.

"Uncle, does the clan have a strategy?" Ye Jingcheng hesitated for a moment before asking.

"An initial strategy is in place, but it requires your cooperation!"

"The clan wants to know, in case of an emergency, can you withstand a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator for three breaths?" Ye Xinghe asked.

The implication was clear; they intended to use Ye Jingcheng as bait.

The likelihood that the adversary would ambush a second time during transport was low, as was the likelihood of frequent attacks; the Ye Family couldn’t possibly always guard the shipments, especially since Ye Xingliu was once again heading to Jade Dragon Valley!

So, no matter who was guarding, it would potentially expose the Ye Family.

"If you can’t withstand them, the risk will be significant, and the clan will opt for a different approach!" Ye Xinghe continued.

"Most likely, it’s Li Muhe, at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, but there’s no guarantee he hasn’t progressed to the late stage!"

"The clan will provide the Lizard Lord, a Tier Two Blood Eagle, and the Turtle Ancestor. Additionally, all gains from this endeavor will belong to you!"

"I’ll try it once!" Ye Jingcheng hesitated for a long time but eventually nodded.

If only the Lizard Lord and Blood Eagle were involved, he might waver, but with the Turtle Ancestor, his worries eased.

After all, the Turtle Ancestor was at the early stage of the Third Rank with a Spatial Grotto Heaven; if worst came to worst, he could be enveloped into the space and escape.

Of course, whether he could withstand those few breaths as Ye Xinghe mentioned was also a major consideration.

"Uncle, give me two months!" Ye Jingcheng spoke again.

In two months, the Golden Scale Beast would likely advance, and additionally, the Three-Colored Cloud Deer might also break through.

During this time, he needed to cultivate the Celestial Soul Technique to elevate his Divine Soul.

There are times when cultivators are instantaneously killed due to a weak Divine Soul, falling victim to illusions or other secret techniques.

Ye Jingcheng had to guard against such possibilities.

Otherwise, before he could summon the Turtle Ancestor, he might be destroyed by a Soul Destruction Needle-like treasure.

At this moment, he happened to have two Jade Soul Pills, and still a three-hundred-year-old Jade Soul Fruit, which could open another furnace.

As for the family’s extraction of thirty percent of the spirit pills, Ye Jingcheng could only make it up with other spirit pills for the family.

Reflecting on this made him a bit regretful; his Divine Soul was still too weak. Otherwise, if it were closer to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he could perform a Soul Split and gain an additional life.

The only concern was that there might be no Treasure Book for the split soul.

"Alright, I’ll transmit a message to the family!" Ye Xinghe obviously had a treasure that allowed him to send messages across distances, and seeing this, Ye Jingcheng nodded.

Ye Xinghe took a few steps but didn’t forget to remind him before leaving.

"Jingcheng, be careful these days; I’ll go to the Xu Family to purchase spirit medicine to hold out for two months!"

Then he entered his own room and shut the door tightly.

Watching Ye Xinghe’s broad back, Ye Jingcheng felt a sense of relief.

Though the clan used him as bait this time, they also showcased their strength openly to protect him.

Now, he was the third most prominent figure of the Ye Family visibly.

Meanwhile, Ye Jingcheng reflected upon his overly high-profile behavior at the auction.

Given his actions in the market, it was understandable that others would want to eliminate him.

Subsequently, Ye Jingcheng entered his house and began feeding the Red Flame Fox, Five Poison Bee, and Jade Qilin Snake.

Once finished, he closed his eyes to study the Celestial Soul Technique.

Since he planned to engage in this battle, he needed to give it his all.

Even the Jade Ring Rat received better treatment this time around.

It was provided with a Cyan Spirit Pill and a Spirit Cultivation Pill each time, and often enjoyed Spirit Beast Meat, causing its ears to become larger and more jade-like in appearance.

It finally showed signs of a breakthrough.

This made Ye Jingcheng a bit surprised.

That night, the entire Ye Family gathered at the table; the evening feast wasn’t lavish but neither was it meager, and Ye Xinghong had prepared a large spread of spiritual cuisine, with no tea but only wine on the table.

Jade Wave Wine!

This time, two seats were left intentionally empty.

The young Jing Generation members were quite puzzled, but with Ye Xinghe’s somewhat angry face, they didn’t dare ask questions.

They looked towards Ye Jingyun, who possessed the Beast Communication Pattern and thus was aware of the situation.

But with such an incident occurring, the route from Ye Family’s Lingyun Peak to the Ye Family Shop had already been entirely reorganized within a day; additionally, cultivators without the Beast Communication Pattern within the family were now under some level of surveillance.

Ye Jingyun naturally wouldn’t speak at this moment.

"Everyone, please be cautious; do not leave the market in the coming days. Even if you must leave the shop, report it first, as Evil Cultivators are showing up again!" Near the meal’s end, Ye Xinghe finally spoke.