260: Chapter 260 Blood Iron

That cry was as weak as a flickering candle in the wind.

But it allowed Ye Jing to breathe a slight sigh of relief. He exerted force through his feet, stepping onto Hei Feng as it carried him deeper inside.

"Hold on! Father is here!"

Ye Jing roared in a low voice, his words piercing through the mist. The Poisonous Variant Bees around him dispersed, devouring all the surrounding black Qi, allowing Ye Jing to venture deep within without relying on Qi for defense.

The further he went, the more Ye Jing realized this place was not only desolate but also littered with broken Spiritual Artifacts and skeletal remains, as if it were an ancient battlefield.

Suddenly, Ye Jing sensed a faint sound of breathing ahead. With the superior perception of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Ye Jing immediately locked onto Ye Xuan's position.

The Qi within his body erupted without reservation. The meteor hammer flew from his hand, its blue flames carrying the momentum of thunder as it violently smashed through the giant skeletons blocking his path. Amidst the flying debris, Ye Jing finally saw his son.

Several broken swords stood upright ahead amidst piles of white bones. They surrounded the skeleton of a massive Yao Beast, from whose bone crevices black Qi surged out like a tide.

Ye Xuan's clothes were tattered, blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and he still clutched a blood-red, rusty iron bar in his hand.

The fluctuations of Qi on his body flickered uncertainly, threatening to extinguish at any moment.

"Father... Father..."

"Xuaner, you..." Ye Jing was startled to see him in such a state. He stopped in his tracks, intending to use his Qi to disperse the Devilish Qi on the boy.

But in the next second, the clarity in Ye Xuan's eyes faded, replaced by a crimson madness.

He roared, "Dad! Don't come near me!"

Ye Xuan immediately leapt up, seemingly under some form of control, and charged forward to kill with that blood-red iron rod.

Seeing this, Ye Jing sneered, "You brat, you actually want to hit your father!"

He immediately produced the golden light bowl. Now nurtured by the Immortal Willow, the bowl's Divine Ability was fully displayed; as soon as the golden light appeared, the surrounding black Qi instantly retreated.

"Clang!" With a loud bang, the eerie red iron rod was blocked by the golden light of the golden light bowl, unable to advance another inch.

Ye Jing immediately poured in his Qi, and the golden light surged again like a falling sun, forcibly pushing back that violent Devilish Qi by three feet.

Under the searing heat of the golden light, the blood-red iron rod let out a piercing screech. Rust fell away in flakes, faintly revealing the Pitch-black Cursed Runes entwined within.

Ye Xuan's body trembled violently in mid-air, struggle and pain churning within the depths of his crimson eyes.

"Hmph! With only this much capability, you dare to possess my son!"

Ye Jing raised his hand and pointed his fingers; the golden light bowl immediately shot out several golden swords, stabbing fiercely at the iron rod and slicing the chaotic black Qi upon it into fragments.

Ye Xuan felt his body relax as the iron bar that had given him a splitting headache slipped from his grasp. His eyes regained their clarity, and he sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

He looked up at Ye Jing, the crimson in his eyes completely dissipated, leaving only the lingering fear and guilt of a survivor.

His voice was incredibly hoarse. "Dad, I... I couldn't control myself just now... That iron bar, it was sucking my Qi and pouring evil thoughts into my head."

Ye Jing stepped forward and used his Qi to examine Ye Xuan's body. Seeing that his aura was stable and he was largely unharmed, he handed him some healing medicine.

"It's alright now. Let Father deal with this thing."

Just as he finished speaking, the blood-red iron bar that had been struck down by the golden light suddenly began to twitch violently on the ground beneath its peeled-off rust.

The Pitch-black Cursed Runes writhed frantically. The black Qi it emitted was no longer violent but had become sinister, as if fearing the pressure of the golden light bowl or perhaps brewing a counterattack.

The scattered skeletons around them rattled, and the Death Qi surged even more intensely.

Ye Jing's gaze turned sharp as he shielded Ye Xuan behind him. The golden light bowl hovered above his head, its golden radiance enveloping the father and son like a veil, isolating them from the surrounding cold Death Qi.

The blood-red iron bar struggled for a moment but ultimately could not withstand the Pure Yang Golden Radiance of the golden light bowl. The Pitch-black Cursed Runes gradually dimmed, and its twitching grew smaller and smaller until it finally froze in place, leaving only a faint bloody light on its surface.

He stared at the iron bar, his Qi surging beneath the surface. "This is no ordinary iron, nor is it a common devilish artifact. Its cursed runes are obscure and venomous, like some kind of evil object. How did you get it?"

Ye Xuan said helplessly, "A Retainer who went to look for spirit mines was suddenly caught in an accident. I came to support him, but I didn't expect to run into two old rivals here. I ended up here by accident while trying to escape, and then..."

As he spoke, he looked at the slightly vibrating iron bar on the ground, still feeling a lingering fear.

"After that, I felt as if something was constantly attracting me. I came here as if possessed, encountered this iron bar, and then I was controlled by it."

At this point, Ye Xuan looked at the iron rod and quickly asked, "Dad! Do you know what this is?"

Seeing this, Ye Jing decided to try using the Immortal Willow to investigate.

A string of ancient characters appeared on the blood-red iron bar: 'Fragment of a High Grade Magical Artifact, the soul refining banner. Devours souls for Possession, nourishes demons with blood.'

Ye Jing's expression instantly became solemn upon seeing this.

"This thing is a fragment of a Magical Artifact. It didn't just attract you; because your Qi is pure, it chose you as the perfect Cauldron.

It sucked your Qi and filled you with evil thoughts to completely occupy your Physical Body, intending to use your Bloodline to break its Seal and return to the world."

Ye Xuan's body stiffened at the words, his back breaking into a cold sweat from fear.

"No wonder I couldn't control my mind at all. Even though I knew something was wrong when I got close to it, I couldn't move my feet, as if I were possessed... To think it was such a venomous thing."

Ye Jing gave a faint smile. "However, this is a fragment of a High Grade Spiritual Artifact. Our family only has Low Grade Spiritual Artifacts and a few Medium Grade ones. I see that this fragment has extraordinary power; why don't we take it back? We can even have Gui Yun forge a weapon out of it."

"Can we do that? Won't it be too dangerous?"

Hearing his father say this, Ye Xuan thought about how this weapon could possess and control him. If it was forged for his wife, he wondered if it would affect her.

Ye Jing gave the boy a flick on the forehead. "Brat, your father will naturally clear the Restrictions on this blood-red iron bar completely before forging it! Don't you want a handy weapon?"

Ye Xuan clutched his aching forehead, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up, and the heart that had been in his throat finally settled.

"Father is right. I was overthinking it."

He looked at the blood-red iron bar frozen on the ground, his eyes filled only with wariness, no longer containing a hint of the infatuated obsession from being bewitched.

"It's just that this fragment's evil nature is too heavy. Clearing the Restrictions will likely cost you a lot of effort."

Ye Jing used his Qi to place a Restriction on a Jade Box and then put the iron rod inside.

He looked at the field of shattered Magical Artifacts below, and a different idea suddenly came to mind.

"Xuaner, don't you think it's a bit too monotonous that the task points for our family's Retainers can only be exchanged for Spirit Medicine and Cultivation Techniques?"

"Do you mean you want to take the Spiritual Artifacts from here, Father?" Ye Xuan understood immediately, but he found it a bit strange. "These Spiritual Artifacts are so badly damaged. It would take a lot of work to re-forge them."

Ye Jing smiled faintly. "No matter. Your father has plenty of time!"

With that, he took out several empty Storage Pouches and flew into the air, gathering all the Spiritual Artifacts that had been reduced to rubble on the ground.

The Immortal Willow had a most heaven-defying function: it could restore damaged Spiritual Artifacts to their original state. He didn't want to waste so many Spiritual Artifacts.

There were bound to be a few among them that were of the highest quality; perhaps he could even produce another High Grade Spiritual Artifact.