161: Chapter 161 The Ambush in Fire Cloud Stronghold

To show his sincerity, Wang Jingyu took the lead, charging into the Fire Cloud Stronghold below first. The Wang Family blade-wielder did not hesitate, following closely in Wang Jingyu's footsteps. The two formed a pincer Formation, guarding against any ambushes hidden in the shadows.

"I alone am enough to go in. You two find a vantage point, keep a distance of two kilometers from me, and provide support from the periphery," Wei Chengxing instructed the two, avoiding the Wang Family pair and entering the Fire Cloud Stronghold from another direction.

The five of them dared to come and intercept Ye Yisong, so they were naturally not afraid of any Ye Family ambush. Before taking action, they had clearly mapped out the movements of the Ye Family's famous Late Stage Martial Ancestor powerhouses.

Even if there was an ambush inside, it would not be able to stop five experts in the middle and Late Stages of the Martial Ancestor realm from breaking through.

The five maintained a certain level of tacit understanding, exploring inward bit by bit, clearing out the small fry hiding in the shadows—mostly externally recruited miners who hadn't managed to evacuate in time, as well as the original bandits of the Fire Cloud Stronghold.

"Ah!"

"My Lord, please spare my life."

"I am not from the Ye Family, I am just..."

"I surrender, please spare me! I know a massive secret, don't kill me!"

No matter what these miners said, the five acted as if they heard nothing, killing everyone they saw without leaving a single survivor. Watching their coordination from afar, it was clear that this was not their first time doing such a thing.

As for secrets or whatever, they were not interested; they were only interested in Ye Yisong's life.

"Truly ruthless, not leaving a single survivor," Ye Jietie sighed as he watched the scene outside through a gap.

"Let them be arrogant for a while; they'll get what's coming to them soon," General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng said coldly, his face showing murderous intent.

"How much further until they enter the range of the Formation?" Grandfather Ye Tuantu asked. They couldn't just let them continue killing like this outside; recruiting miners at the Martial Master level was not easy.

"Almost there, just four more buildings away," General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng estimated, looking at the Formation Plate in his hand.

Although this secret room was small, the strength inside was extremely powerful. Including Ye Yisong who had just entered, there were a total of six experts at the Martial Ancestor level inside.

General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng had just entered the Late Stage of the Martial Ancestor realm not long ago and was the strongest among the six. The other five were all experts in the Middle Stage of the Martial Ancestor realm, namely Grandfather Ye Tuantu, Ye Jiechuan, and Ye Yisong, who had just entered not long ago, as well as Ye Jietie and Ye Xiaowu, who were guarding the mineral vein.

As for Array Master Ye Jieguo, after the Formation was stabilized, he had returned to the Family alone to report.

This force, looking at any place in the Cangjiang Prefecture, could not be underestimated!

"Uncle Tuantu, they have entered the range of the Formation," General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng said in a low voice.

"Wait a bit longer. Wait until those two archers of theirs also come in before we make a move," Grandfather Ye Tuantu said cautiously.

"Later, we will focus our attacks on those three Middle Stage Martial Ancestor Martial Artists, striving for a kill. As for the other two Late Stage Martial Ancestor Martial Artists..." Grandfather Ye Tuantu paused here and hesitated, "Jiefeng, can you hold them off by yourself?"

"Uncle, rest assured," General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng said confidently. "If we were outside, if I, your nephew, encountered those two, I would likely only have the option to flee. But within this Formation, I am one hundred percent certain that I can hold them both off for a while."

"Uncle Jiefeng, take this Tier 4 Vajra Armor Talisman," Ye Yisong said, handing General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng a Talisman.

General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng had just broken through to the Seven-Star Martial Sect not long ago. Facing two veteran Late Stage Martial Ancestor powerhouses, one against two, even with the help of the Formation, it was a dangerous situation. A slight mistake and he would risk losing his life.

"Good, today I will bask in your light. Usually, it is not easy to get a Tier 4 defensive Talisman from Brother Jiexin," General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng did not politely decline. He understood the danger involved and directly accepted the Talisman Ye Yisong handed him.

"This is for you all, two for each person." Before the others could retract their envious gazes, Ye Yisong took out eight Tier 4 Low Grade Thunder-Fire Talismans and handed them to the remaining four.

"This?" The five were stunned by Ye Yisong's display of wealth. They knew Ye Jiexin doted on Ye Yisong, but they hadn't expected it; their poverty had underestimated their imagination.

Ye Jiexin worked without rest all year round and could only produce four or five hundred Tier 4 Talismans. However, Ye Jiexin had daily tasks to complete within the Family. After subtracting the time spent teaching the younger generation, he could only produce three hundred or so Tier 4 Talismans a year.

Of these three hundred-plus Tier 4 Talismans, eighty percent were handed over to the Family Affairs Hall, so he didn't have many left for himself.

Looking at this situation, Ye Yisong didn't empty out Ye Jiexin's private treasury, did he?

"What are you looking at? Take them," Ye Yisong urged. Knowing they had misunderstood, he continued, "I made these myself over the past few days. I didn't steal them from the old man, so feel free to use them."

"Good, many thanks, nephew." As long as it wasn't emptying Ye Jiexin's private treasury, it was fine. Wait... he made them himself?

"You are saying these Talismans were made by you yourself?" Grandfather Ye Tuantu asked with a heavy expression.

"Yes. A few days ago, after I broke through to the Martial Ancestor realm, I studied the Legacy jade Talisman the old man gave me. After trying it out simply, I successfully made a few Tier 4 Low Grade Thunder-Fire Talismans," Ye Yisong said. He knew that in a few days, after returning to the Family, they would naturally know this news, so there was no need to hide it from them. He nodded affirmatively.

"Simply... successfully..." Ye Jietie held the Tier 4 Low Grade Thunder-Fire Talisman in his hand and stammered. This was a big deal.

Now, what they were protecting was not just a Prodigy Martial Ancestor Martial Artist, but a Prodigy Martial Ancestor combined with a Fourth-Rank Talisman Master. What Family would use a Fourth-Rank Talisman Master to go fishing for enemies!

If this mission failed today, none of them would have the face to return to the Family!

"Good lad."

"Abandon the plan to kill those three Martial Ancestors. Activate the Formation to hold our ground and wait for reinforcements. I have already sent a message to the Old Ancestor, and the Old Ancestor will arrive in an instant," Grandfather Ye Tuantu decisively abandoned the original plan, changing the first priority to ensuring Ye Yisong's safe return to the Family.

"Don't! We finally have a chance to kill a few Martial Ancestor experts from the Wei Family and Wang Family; how can we just give up like this?" Ye Yisong said anxiously. "Besides, long-term defense leads to failure. If we let the five of them run amok in the Formation, not only will this Tier 4 mineral vein not be preserved, but we might not even be able to block their attacks. It would be better to take advantage of the fact that they haven't reacted yet and kill a few of them to lighten our defensive burden."

"Yisong makes sense. Blindly defending, the Formation really might not be able to hold," General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng said. "Let's maintain the original plan and inflict damage on their effective strength."

"But what I mean is, during the battle later, if any other unknown risks arise, even if we are all wiped out, we cannot let anything happen to Yisong."

"Yes, we absolutely cannot let anything happen to Yisong," Ye Xiaowu and the others agreed.

"Don't be so nervous. I am, after all, a Middle Stage Martial Ancestor expert now. Plus, with these Tier 4 Vajra Armor Talismans the old man gave me, I will definitely have no problem protecting myself," Ye Yisong said with a smile, revealing some of his trump cards to put everyone's mind at ease.

"Good. Later, stay by my side and do not act alone," Grandfather Ye Tuantu agreed with their point of view, while simultaneously cautioning Ye Yisong, fearing that he was a newborn calf not afraid of the tiger and might act alone and have an accident.

If they had known earlier that Ye Yisong had already broken through to become a Fourth-Rank Talisman Master, they would never have made such a dangerous plan that put Ye Yisong at risk.

"Prepare to move; those two archers have also entered the range of the Formation," General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng reminded them.