343: Chapter 343 The Ancestor of the Jin Family!

Seeing Ye Changge burning with rage, Xiao Caiyue quickly reached out to gently stroke his face, soothing him in a soft voice: "Husband, calm your anger. Although this matter is inseparable from Li Xuanfeng, it does not necessarily mean he defected voluntarily."

Ye Changge raised an eyebrow: "Caiyue, what do you mean by that?"

Xiao Caiyue withdrew her hand, her expression turning serious: "Husband, just think about it. Li Xuanfeng is now just an Old Ancestor of a fallen Family, and there isn't even a decent Foundation Establishment Cultivator left in his Family. Although the Jin Family are remnants of the Demonic Path, their Old Ancestor is a Pseudo-Core Cultivator. Even if he is currently heavily injured and on the run, he still has Disciples at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage under his command. With such strength, destroying the Li Family would be as easy as a snap of the fingers."

She paused, then continued: "If the remnants of the Jin Family came knocking and threatened the lives of Li Xuanfeng and his clansmen to force him to hand over the secrets of the Grand Array—would Li Xuanfeng dare not hand them over?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Changge frowned slightly, his rage subsiding a little.

Seeing that he had taken it in, Xiao Caiyue continued: "Moreover, the Spiritual Contract you signed with Li Xuanfeng is a Second-Order one. You should know better than I do the binding power of that Spiritual Contract. If Li Xuanfeng voluntarily defected to the Demonic Path and betrayed you, that would be a deliberate breach of contract. Under the backlash of the Spiritual Contract, at best his cultivation would regress, and at worst, he would die on the spot."

She looked into Ye Changge's eyes: "Although Li Xuanfeng is down and out, he is still a Foundation Establishment Cultivator after all. Would he gamble with his own life and his Dao path?"

Ye Changge was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "You mean... he was coerced?"

Xiao Caiyue shook her head gently: "Not necessarily coerced, but at the very least, not entirely voluntary. The remnants of the Jin Family found him and used force to threaten him; to survive, he had no choice but to hand over the secrets of the Grand Array. As for the backlash of the Spiritual Contract... since the remnants of the Jin Family could find him, they naturally have ways to help him avoid or suppress the punishment of the Spiritual Contract."

She sighed: "After all, the Spiritual Land you exiled the Li Family to only has a First-Order Medium Grade Spiritual Vein. Such a barren place can barely maintain a First-Order Grand Array, let alone defend against external enemies. For the remnants of the Jin Family to enter, it is practically like entering an uninhabited land."

Upon hearing this, Ye Changge frowned deeply.

When he had originally exiled the Li Family to that Spiritual Land, his intention was to give them a way to survive, while also ensuring they could no longer pose a threat to him. He had not expected that the barrenness of that Spiritual Land would instead become a loophole for the remnants of the Jin Family to easily infiltrate.

If that Spiritual Land had enough Spiritual Qi to maintain a high-level defensive Formation, the remnants of the Jin Family would not have been able to come and go as they pleased, nor would they have been able to easily find Li Xuanfeng and force him to hand over the secrets.

"It was my oversight."

Ye Changge said in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of self-reproach.

Xiao Caiyue held his hand and said warmly: "Husband, you need not blame yourself. No one could have foreseen this. Who could have imagined that the remnants of the Jin Family would flee to our region? And who could have imagined that they would set their sights on Longmai Mountain?"

Ye Changge took a deep breath, suppressing the anger and self-reproach in his heart, and slowly nodded: "Caiyue makes sense. Although Li Xuanfeng is hateful, this matter might not have been done voluntarily by him. If he was coerced, then the true culprit is still those remnants of the Jin Family."

He paused, a cold light flashing in his eyes: "However, even so, Li Xuanfeng cannot shirk his responsibility. If he was truly coerced, he could have secretly sent me a message or sought help from the Lingxiao Sect. But he did nothing and simply obediently handed over the secrets of the Grand Array—this is betrayal."

Xiao Caiyue did not refute this.

She knew that Ye Changge was right.

In this Cultivation World where the weak are prey to the strong, betrayal is betrayal; regardless of the reason, the outcome is the same.

"However, now is not the time to hold Li Xuanfeng accountable."

Ye Changge pondered for a moment and said, "The top priority is to find out exactly how the remnants of the Jin Family found Li Xuanfeng, and how they forced him to hand over the secrets. Also—where is Li Xuanfeng now, and is he dead or alive?"

He stood up: "I will send a message shortly to ask the Ye Family Disciples stationed at the Li Family's side to see if they have discovered anything unusual recently."

Xiao Caiyue nodded: "Husband is wise."

Ye Changge walked to the window and stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze cast into the distance.

Outside the window, Longmai Mountain was shrouded in Spiritual mist, and the Spiritual Qi in the mountains was thick. One could faintly see Spiritual light flickering on several mountain peaks, where the various properties of the Ye Family were located.

This foundation was built by his own hands.

He would never let anyone destroy it.

"There is one more thing."

Ye Changge suddenly remembered something, "With this attack by the remnants of the Jin Family, I still need to report the situation at the Li Family to the Lingxiao Sect. After all, the Jin Family are remnants of the Demonic Path; if the Li Family truly colluded with them, that would be aiding the enemy."

Xiao Caiyue nodded: "Husband is right. If Li Xuanfeng was truly coerced, then it is easy to explain. If he defected voluntarily... then this is no longer just a matter for our Ye Family, but a matter for the entire Righteous Path."

Ye Changge sneered: "If he truly defected voluntarily, the Lingxiao Sect would destroy him directly without us needing to take action."

Xiao Caiyue nodded gently.

She knew that Ye Changge was right.

As one of the five major Sects of the Zhao State, the Lingxiao Sect has an extremely strict attitude toward the Demonic Path. If they discover that any Family has colluded with the Demonic Path, regardless of the other party's background, they will strike with thunderous force and root them out completely.

The Zhao Family of Huazhu Ridge is a warning example.

"However..."

Xiao Caiyue suddenly changed the subject, her tone becoming heavy: "Husband, there is something I have been wanting to tell you."

Seeing her serious expression, Ye Changge also restrained his smile: "Caiyue, please speak."

Xiao Caiyue took a deep breath and said slowly: "The Old Ancestor of the remnants of the Jin Family is a Pseudo-Core Cultivator. Although he was heavily injured by Fairy Bai Qingyi of the Qingshui Sword Sect, he did not die after all. Moreover, when he fled, he took away the treasures the Jin Family had accumulated for hundreds of years."

She looked into Ye Changge's eyes and said word by word: "The means of a Pseudo-Core Cultivator are far beyond what we can imagine. If he has truly set his sights on Longmai Mountain, I fear he will not stop here. This time he only sent Foundation Establishment Cultivators, but what about next time? If he takes action himself, or sends that Disciple at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage..."

She did not continue, but the meaning was already very clear.

Upon hearing this, Ye Changge's eyes turned cold.

"Let him try."

His voice was calm, but carried an unquestionable confidence: "Although I am only at the Foundation Establishment Second Layer, it is not as if I have no trump cards. If he dares to come, I will definitely make sure he never returns."

Xiao Caiyue looked at Ye Changge's resolute profile, her heart trembling slightly.

She knew that her husband was not an arrogant person. Since he dared to say this, it meant that he was truly confident.

"I naturally believe in your strength, Husband."

Xiao Caiyue said softly, "But Husband must also be careful. A Pseudo-Core Cultivator is, after all, not someone to be trifled with. Moreover, if the other party seeks retaliation and does not attack you directly, but instead targets the younger generation in the Family..."