123: Chapter 123 Escape

Xihe County.

This place was located in the heart of the Yan State; it was a relatively prosperous county.

Ye Yi, as the General Zhenwei personally appointed by the Emperor, had been stationed here. His elder brother, Ye Xuan, was far away at the border. In the vast General's Manor, he was the only one left, which left him feeling somewhat restless.

The residence bestowed by the Emperor was extremely lavish, with carved beams, painted rafters, and deep courtyards.

Hearing that the General Zhenwei was here, local officials came daily with generous gifts to curry favor—gold, silver, jewelry, rare antiques, and some even sent exceptionally beautiful women. All were rejected by Ye Yi.

He had always detested the hypocrisy of these officials. Rather than dealing with social pleasantries, he preferred to focus on his Cultivation to improve his own strength.

In the current General's Manor, besides a few maidservants handling chores, there were only a few trusted guards he had selected from the army.

Ye Yi's life was simple and disciplined. During the day, he handled military trifles and inspected city defenses. At night, he returned to his room to sit cross-legged and Cultivate, circulating his spiritual power to temper his physique.

After being away from home for only a month, his father, Ye Jing, sent a letter. The letter stated that he had successfully broken the evil array in the valley and secured the Spiritual Vein, stabilizing the Ye family's Foundation.

The moment he received the news, the frustration in Ye Yi's heart instantly dissipated. He felt refreshed all over, and his drive for Cultivation increased significantly.

He knew well that for his father to resolve this matter smoothly, he must have put in a great deal of effort behind the scenes.

That night, the moonlight was hazy and the starlight was dim.

The General's Manor was silent, save for the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Ye Yi was sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat in his room, practicing his family's Mind-Cultivation Technique. Spiritual power flowed slowly through his body, merging into his Dantian, but it suddenly encountered a blockage.

This caused Ye Yi to lose his focus instantly. He snapped his eyes open, clenched his fists, and looked extremely frustrated.

"What is going on? Ever since I reached Qi Refining Level 5, this spiritual power won't circulate!"

His cultivation was now stuck at Qi Refining Level 5, unable to budge, yet he couldn't find the reason why.

Suddenly, a sharp crow's cry came from outside, breaking the silence of the night.

"Hmm?" Ye Yi's brow furrowed abruptly, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

At that moment, several dark figures appeared instantly within the General's Manor. The leader, a Black-robed Man, shouted, "Kill every Mortal in this General's Manor!"

Before the Black-robed Man's voice had even faded, the dark figures brandished their Magical Artifacts. Suddenly, blood-red bats appeared and swarmed into the General's Manor to Bite.

The maidservants handling the chores were already asleep. Suddenly bitten by a swarm of Blood Bats, they died before they could even scream.

Ye Yi quickly looked out the window and saw the sky above the General's Manor filled with blood-red bats pouncing toward him.

He swung his large saber, gathering spiritual power and slashing upward. Dozens of Blood Bats were sliced in half.

Ye Yi saw that the power surrounding those Black-robed Men was extraordinary; their strength was far superior to his own.

In an instant, only one word crossed Ye Yi's mind: "Escape!"

The moment the thought occurred, Ye Yi did not hesitate. He hurriedly circulated the spiritual power in his feet and shot toward the secret passage in his bedroom like an arrow from a bow.

This was a secret passage he had built for emergencies, known to no one but himself. Seeing those Black-robed Men who were far stronger than him, Ye Yi lost all will to resist.

His figure vanished into the secret passage.

Inside the passage, he took out a Communication Talisman and informed Ye Jing that powerful Cultivators had come to assassinate him, warning Ye Jing to be extremely careful!

Having said that, Ye Yi gritted his teeth and added a few short sentences: "Father, your son is unfilial. I fear I cannot escape disaster today. This calamity must not reach the family. I will surely fight to the death to flee outward. Do not come to save me!"

He abandoned the idea of fleeing home. These Black-robed Men came with such aggression that they must have been directed by someone; he could not bring this trouble back to his family.

After the blood patterns on the Talisman disappeared, he began to flee through the secret passage.

"Trying to run? Leave your life behind!"

The leading Black-robed Man sensed a surge of spiritual power vanish in an instant, and a sinister look flashed in his eyes.

By now, the General's Manor was littered with corpses. The dark figures flew off in pursuit.

The outskirts.

As soon as Ye Yi crawled out of the secret passage, he was met face-to-face by those Black-robed Men.

The leader immediately began chanting under his breath.

A bolt of pitch-black ghost qi suddenly flew out from around him, heading straight for the back of Ye Yi's heart.

Ye Yi felt a bone-chilling cold behind him and instinctively dodged to the side.

That ghost qi was filled with Yin Qi; merely grazing the skin of his back caused a piercing cold to surge through his entire body.

A nearby rock was struck by the ghost qi and instantly turned into a puddle of black mud, emitting a pungent, foul stench.

Ye Yi dodged left and right, several wounds already appearing on his body.

He saw that these Black-robed Men were coming extremely fast; it seemed they had a flying Magic Treasure in hand!

"Who are you? Why have you come to kill me!" Ye Yi demanded immediately.

The leader did not answer. A human bone plate appeared in his hand, from which ghost shadows continuously emerged, surrounding Ye Yi from all sides to ensure his death.

Ye Yi could see from this that these Black-robed Men only wanted him dead, so he immediately used several Explosive Talismans from his Storage Pouch.

The Talismans exploded the moment they touched the ghost shadows. The sound of the explosion was deafening, and a violent surge of spiritual power swept through the surroundings, kicking up clouds of dust and debris.

Under the impact of the Talismans, the pouncing ghost shadows let out shrill shrieks.

Taking advantage of the cover provided by the dazzling smoke and dust, Ye Yi pushed off the ground and immediately let out a whistle.

A hawk's cry immediately sounded from afar. A White Eagle swooped down in an instant, carrying Ye Yi as it flew upward.

"Hmph, you have some tricks, actually being able to control a Yao Beast! No wonder the higher-ups specifically ordered your elimination." The leading Black-robed Man finally spoke, his voice hoarse like the rubbing of rusty iron, making one's eardrums ache.

The human bone plate in his hand did not dim because the ghost shadows had dissipated; instead, it glowed with an eerie green light. The skull patterns carved on the plate seemed to come to life, slowly rotating.

Before his voice had even faded, the other Black-robed Men moved simultaneously.

They channeled the Devilish Qi surging within their bodies. Streams of ink-black ghost qi poured from their palms, converging in mid-air into several hideous ghost claws that snatched toward Ye Yi with the sound of breaking air.

Even more deadly was that these ghost qis were laced with an imperceptible poison, leaving a faint black haze wherever they passed.

Ye Yi's heart sank. The strength of these Black-robed Men far exceeded his own. The leader was at least above Qi Refining Level 5, and with the lackeys around him, any one of them alone would be a handful.

At the critical moment, Ye Yi stopped holding back. He swung his right hand violently, slashing down with his saber. The saber emitted a sky-piercing blood light, and the bloody arc it slashed barely managed to block the attack of the ghost claws.

"Oh? Mad Saber's saber? It seems Mad Saber was indeed killed by you two brats!" the leading Black-robed Man said coldly.

"You! What did you do to my elder brother!" Ye Yi demanded in a rage upon hearing this.

The Black-robed Man gave a cold snort. "Go to Hell and keep him company!"

Several pale Soul Shadows flew out from the human bone plate in his hand. These Soul Shadows were all hideous and pounced toward Ye Yi with claws bared. Wherever they passed, even the surrounding temperature dropped by several degrees.

Ye Yi felt a sharp pain in his mind, as if countless needles were stabbing his brain. This was actually these Soul Shadows performing a Soul-Snatching Technique.

He gritted his teeth, forced himself to steady his mind, and injected spiritual power into the large saber. The saber let out a series of hums, and a sharp Sword Qi slashed out, cutting through several Soul Shadows.

But there were too many Soul Shadows to be cut down. Soon, several broke through the barrier of the Sword Qi and pounced close to him.

At the critical moment, Xiao Yu beneath Ye Yi immediately sensed its master's danger and let out a long cry. A faint, distorted white light appeared among its feathers, and then it flapped its wings.

Several beams of white light actually appeared around the Snow Eagle. As soon as the pouncing Soul Shadows touched the white light, they melted away like ice meeting fire.