311: Chapter 312 Dissolving the Spirit Pact!

This was a declaration to everyone — I am right here, unafraid of you watching, unafraid of you coming.

Ye Changge withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and with a flash of his figure, he escaped directly toward the direction of the mountain gate.

Before long, he arrived at the mountain gate of the Qingyun Sect.

It was a massive archway, constructed entirely from a type of cyan jade, standing about ten zhang high and five zhang wide, with three ancient, simple characters carved upon it — "Qingyun Sect".

The three characters were written with the flair of a dragon soaring and a phoenix dancing, the brushstrokes powerful and vigorous, faintly emitting a sharp Sword Intent, as if they would fly off the archway in the next moment to sever a person's head.

On both sides of the archway stood a Disciple, both possessing the cultivation of Late Stage of Qi Refining.

They wore uniform cyan Daoist robes, with long swords hanging at their waists, their postures upright and their eyes fixed straight ahead.

Seeing Ye Changge's escape light land and sensing the Spiritual Pressure unique to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, the two Disciples' expressions turned solemn. They hurriedly stepped forward, cupped their hands in a salute, and were very courteous:

"Senior, may I ask if you have come to visit our Qingyun Sect? I wonder if Senior has a visiting card or a token?"

Ye Changge nodded and took out a token from his Storage Pouch, handing it over.

It was the clan token of the Ye Family of Biluo Lake, inscribed with an ancient "Ye" character, as well as the subsidiary Family number granted by the Qingyun Sect.

"Ye Changge of the Ye Family of Biluo Lake. I have come this time, firstly to report the Family's annual situation to the superior Sect, and secondly, to offer tribute."

His tone was calm, neither humble nor arrogant.

The Disciple took the token, carefully inspected it, and after confirming it was correct, respectfully returned it with both hands:

"So it is a Senior from the Ye Family of Biluo Lake. Please wait a moment, Senior; this Junior will go to report it immediately."

After saying this, he turned and walked briskly into the mountain gate.

The other Disciple led Ye Changge to a guest pavilion beside the mountain gate, poured him a cup of Spiritual Tea, and said respectfully:

"Please sit for a moment, Senior; the Senior Brother who went to report will return very soon."

Ye Changge nodded, picked up the teacup, and took a light sip.

The tea was elegant and fragrant, suffused with Spiritual Qi; upon entering his mouth, it transformed into a gentle stream of spiritual power, slowly merging into his limbs and bones.

"Good tea," he thought to himself.

The Qingyun Sect was indeed worthy of being one of the five great Sects of Zhao State; even the tea served to guests was carefully cultivated Spiritual Tea, which had a slight benefit to one's cultivation.

Before long, the Disciple who had gone to report returned quickly, followed by a Middle-aged Cultivator with an even deeper aura.

The Middle-aged Cultivator wore a cyan Daoist robe with a silver auspicious cloud embroidered on the cuff. His face was square, his aura steady, and he was clearly a Foundation Establishment Mid-stage Cultivator.

He walked up to the guest pavilion, his gaze swept over Ye Changge, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Such a young Foundation Establishment Cultivator was indeed rare among the subsidiary families of the Qingyun Sect.

"Are you Fellow Daoist Ye Changge of the Ye Family of Biluo Lake?" the Middle-aged Cultivator asked, cupping his hands.

Ye Changge stood up and returned the salute: "That is correct. May I ask how to address you, Fellow Daoist?"

"I am an outer Sect deacon of the Qingyun Sect, surnamed Zhou, with the given name 'Kang'." The Middle-aged Cultivator smiled, his attitude quite amiable. "Fellow Daoist Ye, you have come from afar; you must be tired. Please come with me, and I will take you to the External Affairs Hall to handle the relevant matters."

"I will have to trouble you, Fellow Daoist Zhou."

Ye Changge followed behind him, passed through the massive archway, and officially stepped into the mountain gate of the Qingyun Sect.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away from Longmai Mountain, in a remote Family Spiritual Land.

This place originally belonged to the Li Family, but it had now been taken over by the Ye Family, housing some of the Li Family's branch Disciples who had surrendered and submitted. The Spiritual Land was not large, and the Spiritual Qi was not particularly dense, but compared to the days of wandering as a Loose Cultivator, it was already much better.

Deep within the Spiritual Land, inside an Immortal Cave concealed by a Formation. Candlelight flickered, illuminating two figures.

One figure sat upright on a meditation cushion, his face withered and his eye sockets sunken; it was the remaining Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the Li Family — Li Xuanfeng.

The other figure stood in the shadows, his entire body shrouded in thick black mist. His features were unclear, and one could only vaguely see a pair of eerie green eyes emanating a strange light in the darkness.

"This Seat has already received the news." The dark shadow spoke, his voice hoarse and grating, as if rusty iron implements were rubbing against each other.

"That Ye Changge has already gone out and gone to the Qingyun Sect. Longmai Mountain is now leaderless; this is the best time to make a move."

Li Xuanfeng's body trembled slightly upon hearing this. He raised his head to look at the dark shadow, his eyes filled with complexity.

"You... can you truly help me restore my cultivation?"

The dark shadow let out a low, cold laugh: "This Seat always keeps his word. As long as you cooperate and operate the Cultivation Technique of this Seat, even if you violate the second-tier Spiritual Contract, it will not cause your cultivation to fall to the Qi Refining Stage."

He paused, his eerie green eyes staring fixedly at Li Xuanfeng, his tone carrying an unquestionable pressure: "After this Seat seizes the Opportunity of that Ye Changge, I will naturally help you restore your cultivation, and perhaps even advance further. By then, this Longmai Mountain will still belong to your Li Family."

Li Xuanfeng was silent for a long time, finally slowly closing his eyes. He had no choice.

Ever since he was forced to sign the Spiritual Contract that day, he had known that he was already on a pirate ship. Although the binding power of the Spiritual Contract was strong, this dark shadow had used some unknown method to help him temporarily suppress the backlash of the Spiritual Contract.

The price was... a Corpse Seed had been planted inside his body.

It was a black seed the size of a pea, emitting a cold aura, planted in his Dantian and closely connected to his spiritual power and blood. With just a thought from the dark shadow, the Corpse Seed would instantly erupt, turning his entire being into a walking corpse.

These past few days, he had clearly felt his body undergoing changes.

The Meridians that had withered due to the backlash of the Spiritual Contract were, under the nourishment of the Corpse Seed, actually regaining a trace of vitality. But that vitality was cold, turbid, and carried a scent of decay, as if he were slowly turning from a living person into a living corpse.

"Begin," Li Xuanfeng opened his eyes, his voice hoarse and calm.

He knew he had no way out. Since that was the case, he might as well take a gamble. If the dark shadow could really help him restore his cultivation and take back Longmai Mountain... that was his only hope.

The dark shadow gave a sinister laugh, his palm shrouded in black mist slamming onto Li Xuanfeng's back!

"Operate the Cultivation Technique!"

A force of extreme cold, like a flood breaking its dam, surged into Li Xuanfeng's body along the dark shadow's palm, flowing crazily along his Meridians!

Li Xuanfeng let out a muffled groan, his face instantly turning pale, and his body began to tremble violently and uncontrollably. Wherever that force passed, his Meridians felt as if they were frozen, yet also as if they were being burned by raging flames; the pain was unbearable.

But he gritted his teeth, desperately operating his spiritual power according to the Cultivation Technique taught by the dark shadow.

Inside his Dantian, the Corpse Seed suddenly vibrated violently, its surface revealing dense black runes, emitting an eerie light. It began to rotate slowly, and with every rotation, wisps of black mist were released from it, merging into Li Xuanfeng's spiritual power.