28: Chapter 28 The True Explanation of the Black Turtle

Late one night, Ye Tian was sitting cross-legged in his room practicing, when suddenly, a very faint knocking sound rang out.

It wasn't the Second Elder's people!

Ye Tian was instantly alert. He quietly stood up, gripped his short blade, and asked in a low voice: "Who is it?"

From outside the door came an old voice, carrying a trace of urgency: "It is I, Ye Zhong."

Ye Zhong?

The old servant from the Ancestral Hall?

Why would he come here in the middle of the night?

Ye Tian was confused, but he still gently opened the door.

He saw Ye Zhong still wearing his worn-out grey clothes, back hunched, but those muddy old eyes now carried a trace of gravity.

"Uncle Zhong? Why are you..." Before Ye Tian could finish, Ye Zhong slipped into the room and closed the door behind him, his movements surprisingly agile.

"Kid, no time for nonsense." Ye Zhong stared at Ye Tian, speaking very quickly, "Ye Hua is dead."

"What?!" Ye Tian's body shook, his pupils constricting, "Dead? How did he die?"

"He was found on the outskirts of Black Cloud Stronghold. His corpse had been chewed up by wild beasts, and it was only identified by the remnants of his clothing and jade pendant."

Ye Zhong's voice was low, "On the same day, Black Cloud Stronghold released word that someone from the Family had snuck into their Forbidden Ground and stolen something important. They gave the Family three days to return it, otherwise... they would wash the Family in blood!"

Ye Tian gasped!

Ye Hua was dead?

Black Cloud Stronghold was making trouble?

This sudden upheaval left his mind in a bit of chaos.

"Stolen something? Ye Hua?" Ye Tian couldn't believe it, "He went to the Black Cloud Stronghold to steal something? How is that possible?"

"Hmph, who knows if it's true or false." Ye Zhong sneered, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, "Perhaps it's an excuse found by Black Cloud Stronghold, or perhaps... Ye Hua was used as a pawn, or, it was simply to silence him!"

Silence him!

Ye Tian's heart shook violently!

Did Ye Hua know some secret he shouldn't have?

Or perhaps, the forces behind him felt he had no more value, or might even expose them, so they simply got rid of him and framed the Family, killing two birds with one stone?

"Then... what about Ye Hao?" Ye Tian asked urgently.

"Neither hide nor hair of him." Ye Zhong shook his head, "The Family is in a complete mess right now. The Clan Chief and Elders are urgently discussing countermeasures. Black Cloud Stronghold is powerful, their leader is a Ningyuan Realm expert, and they have many fierce bandits under their command. If they really break ties, the Family might face annihilation."

Ye Tian's thoughts raced. This sudden crisis had pushed the entire Family to the edge of a cliff!

And the catalyst for all of this was the very Ye Hua and his father who had a grudge against him!

"Uncle Zhong, why did you come to find me?" Ye Tian looked at Ye Zhong, not understanding why this mysterious old servant had come in the middle of the night to tell him this.

Ye Zhong looked deeply at Ye Tian, then suddenly pulled a thin booklet from his bosom that was yellowed and made of material that was neither paper nor silk, and shoved it into Ye Tian's hand: "Take this, find a place where no one is around, memorize it as quickly as possible, and then burn it."

Ye Tian took the booklet. It felt cold to the touch. Written on it were four distorted characters: Mystic Tortoise True Explanation.

He opened it to see that it wasn't a complete Cultivation Technique, but rather some extremely obscure methods for circulating Qi, techniques for tempering the Physical Body, and fragments of a few life-saving escape arts. They vaguely shared similarities with that nameless Body Refining technique, yet they were countless times more profound and mysterious!

"This is..." Ye Tian looked at Ye Zhong in shock.

"Don't ask about its origin!" Ye Zhong interrupted him, his tone unprecedentedly serious, "The Family likely cannot escape this disaster. You kid are a piece of good material; don't die here for no reason. The things in this booklet might give you a glimmer of survival in a desperate situation. Remember, survive!"

Having said that, Ye Zhong said no more. Just as he had come, he opened the door silently, his figure flickered, and he disappeared.

Ye Tian gripped the sudden Mystic Tortoise True Explanation in his hand, his heart surging with stormy waves.

Ye Zhong's identity was definitely not simple!

Why did he repeatedly help him?

What was this booklet?

But now was not the time to investigate!

The threat of Black Cloud Stronghold was imminent!

The Family was in danger!

He forced himself to calm down and carefully read through the booklet.

The content inside was extremely difficult, but every method pointed directly to the fundamentals of Cultivation, especially several secret arts for stimulating potential and increasing combat power in a short time, as well as a concealment and escape technique called "Turtle Breath Escape". It made his heart race!

This was definitely not a Legacy that the Family could possess!

He didn't dare to delay, and immediately relied on his superior memory to forcibly imprint all the content of the booklet into his mind.

Only after confirming it was word-for-word did he follow instructions and hold the booklet to the oil lamp to ignite it.

Watching the yellowed booklet turn to ashes in the flames, Ye Tian felt incredibly heavy.

Just at this moment, hurried footsteps and shouting came from outside; the entire Second Elder's courtyard was disturbed.

"Something happened! The Clan Chief is urgently summoning all Elders and core disciples to the meeting hall!"

The storm had finally arrived!

Since that night when Ye Zhong suddenly appeared and disappeared, this old servant who had guarded the Ancestral Hall for many years seemed to have vanished into thin air, never appearing in the Family territory again.

For the first few days, there were still servants discussing it, but as time passed, an insignificant old servant was quickly forgotten by everyone.

Ye Hua's death did indeed cause a ripple in the Family.

A manager dying inexplicably outside was, after all, not a small matter.

Clan Chief Ye Qingtian personally ordered a thorough investigation, but the people sent out circled the outskirts of the Black Cloud Mountains and, apart from bringing back some tattered clothing chewed by wild beasts and that blood-stained jade pendant, found no other clues.

Ye Hua's death could only be attributed to "going out privately and meeting with misfortune," becoming an unsolved case.

With the approach of the Family Sacrifice Ceremony, the focus of the Family quickly shifted, and Ye Hua and his father's matter was soon no longer paid much attention to.

And what was even more puzzling was the attitude of Black Cloud Stronghold.

They had previously aggressively threatened the Family, giving them three days to return the "lost item" or else they would wash them in blood.

But after the three-day deadline passed, Black Cloud Stronghold suddenly quieted down and made no further moves.

This abnormal calm made Ye Qingtian and several core Elders feel even more uneasy.

They knew well that Black Cloud Stronghold was definitely not kind; such an anticlimactic ending must have some trick behind it.

Perhaps they were brewing a bigger conspiracy, or perhaps something had happened internally.

But regardless, the fact that the opponent was temporarily holding back was, for the Family, a chance to catch their breath.

Throughout the Family, all attention was focused on the upcoming Family Sacrifice Ceremony.

Regarding these storms in the outside world, Ye Tian knew clearly, but he had neither the power nor the need to investigate deeply.

Ye Hua's life or death, the schemes of Black Cloud Stronghold—these were not things that he, a small disciple at the Qi Gathering Realm, could interfere with.

The Second Elder was right. For him right now, the most important thing was to defeat Ye Long in the martial arts competition during the Family Sacrifice Ceremony, or at least break into the top five, to win the qualification to enter the Ancestral Land Secret Realm!

Only by gaining stronger strength would he have the qualifications to face the future storms.

He couldn't go to the Black Cloud Mountains for the time being.

That was the sphere of influence of Black Cloud Stronghold, and the risks were unpredictable.

He poured all his energy into closed-door cultivation.

The resources provided by the Second Elder were enough for his needs.

He stayed indoors every day, and apart from necessary eating and resting, he used almost all his time to temper himself.

The fragmentary methods in the Mystic Tortoise True Explanation were difficult and obscure; he could only grope and experiment bit by bit.

Combined with the unique refining ability of the chaos bead, his control over Qi and strength became more and more precise, and his Meridians also became tougher and wider after repeated scouring.

His cultivation improved steadily, already approaching the Late Stage of the Qi Gathering Fifth Level, and his Aura was more than a notch thicker and more condensed than when he first entered the Fifth Level.

The cultivation of the Overlapping Wave Fist was the top priority.

The force-generating technique of the third wave was extremely complex and put a huge burden on the Physical Body.

He practiced it again and again, failing again and again. His arms were often swollen and bruised from the backlash of the force, but he gritted his teeth and persisted. Relying on his strong physique from the third level of Body Refining and his tenacious will, he finally gradually touched the threshold.

Now, with one punch, he could faintly bring out three almost imperceptible Qi explosions, doubling the power!

As for the Body Refining Cultivation Technique, with the help of some incomplete guiding methods in the Mystic Tortoise True Explanation, it seemed he had new insights, and his Physical Body strength was still slowly improving subtly.