71: Chapter 71 In the Belly

Anxious to save his son, Ye Jiesheng could no longer care about anything else and used the Family's secret blood-burning technique—the Bloodline Curse.

The Bloodline Curse was a secret technique that sacrificed a Martial Artist's lifespan to increase their own strength. The fact that Ye Jiesheng was now completely crimson was one of the aftereffects of using this secret technique; the red color of his skin would not fade for at least a month.

Ye Jiesheng's lifespan was being consumed at an astonishing rate; from the Shuinan County government office to the side of the Weishui River, a short distance of twenty li, he had already consumed three years of his lifespan.

As a Seven-Star Body Refining Martial Sect, Ye Jiesheng appeared on the surface to be equal in strength to the Late Stage Tier 4 Flower Snake. However, because the Physical Body of a Yao Beast is naturally stronger than that of a human, the Flower Snake's strength was greater than Ye Jiesheng's, which is why the six of them had failed to take it down after surrounding it for a while.

Of course, there was also the reason that Zhao Jian and Patriarch Li Hu were focused on self-preservation. Ye Jiesheng would not be too harsh on them; no one would waste their own life on the Family members of others.

If he were in their shoes, Ye Jiesheng would not have given his all either.

But now it was different. The one swallowed into the belly of the Flower Snake was Ye Jiesheng's only son, the future Fourth-Rank Talisman Master and Fifth-Rank powerhouse of the Cangjiang Ye Clan.

How could Ye Jiesheng not be furious, not be anxious, and not want to beat this damned snake to death?

After using the Family secret technique—the Bloodline Curse, Ye Jiesheng's strength had surged twofold, reaching the Peak of the Martial Ancestor realm. Against this injured Flower Snake, he now held an absolute advantage in strength.

The man and the snake fought fiercely on the beach, kicking up so much dust by the river that it covered an area of three li, and the sound of sonic booms could be heard frequently in the sky.

The Flower Snake was determined to return to the Weishui River, but how could Ye Jiesheng let it have its way? He remained locked in a tight struggle with it.

Magistrate Sun Nanyu, Patriarch Ye Tuanzhang, Ye Xiaowu, and the others who arrived later were stunned by the scene before them and could not intervene for the moment.

Ye Jiesheng was like a humanoid berserk ape, gripping the Flower Snake's tail, biting its neck, and slamming both hands into its torso; it was incredibly violent and bloody.

"You don't need to come over; guard the riverside and don't let this beast escape back into the river."

Sensing that they had caught up, Ye Jiesheng sent a secret voice transmission.

This time, however, he did not ask them to join the attack. This snake had been thoroughly enraged by him, and with the Early Stage Martial Ancestor strength of the others, joining a battle of this level would likely result in casualties if they were even slightly careless.

Not only would they be unable to help, but Ye Jiesheng might also have to look after them, which would not be worth the cost.

It was better to have the five of them guard the riverside to prevent any unexpected situations.

"Fifth Brother has used the Family secret technique, the Bloodline Curse!" Ye Xiaowu said anxiously. After breaking through to the Martial Ancestor realm, members of the Ye Family would choose to practice this Family secret technique to prepare for life-or-death struggles in desperate situations, so he knew the severe aftereffects of this technique. At the same time, he secretly hated himself for his low strength, unable to help at all.

Seeing this bloody and brutal scene, everyone had different thoughts. Patriarch Li Hu and Zhao Jian were secretly shocked, regretting that they had been timid just now and let this Flower Snake escape.

Judging by the situation, if Ye Yisong truly died in the belly of the Flower Snake, the two of them would not fare well and might even die at the hands of the enraged Ye Jiesheng.

They prayed that this kid, Ye Yisong, would be blessed by heaven and hold on until Ye Jiesheng cut him out of the Flower Snake's belly.

A trace of jealousy rose in Magistrate Sun Nanyu's heart. He recalled when they first started doing missions in the East Sea; they were both One-Star Martial Ancestors. So many years had passed, and he was still stuck at the Three-Star Martial Ancestor level, unable to make any progress, yet his close friend from back then had already broken through to the Seven-Star Martial Sect level and was now fighting a Late Stage Tier 4 Yao Beast alone, without falling behind in the slightest.

Patriarch Ye Tuanzhang was even more firm in his belief that he must seek an audience with that Old Ancestor to merge the two families back together; Shuinan was too small a place.

"Human, cough, cough, cough, you are too late. That brat has already been digested and absorbed by me, dead in my belly." The Flower Snake looked at Ye Jiesheng with cold, crimson eyes and said, "Having your own child die before your eyes, the feeling must be unpleasant, right?"

"If I were you, I would have no face left to continue living in this world."

"That is total bullshit! My son has the protection of heaven. A mere Flower Snake dares to speak such nonsense and even wants to use Gu to confuse me? Damn you, damn you!" Ye Jiesheng's attacks became even more ferocious.

The Flower Snake frantically moved its body to dodge Ye Jiesheng's attacks. Ye Jiesheng was the most powerful human Martial Artist it had ever seen.

Previously, during campaigns attacking human county towns, it had been surrounded by despicable humans, but it had suffered only minor injuries at most. It had never endured such damage before.

"Father, I am not dead yet!" Inside the belly of the Flower Snake, Ye Yisong heard the Flower Snake lying to Ye Jiesheng and shouted loudly, but his voice could not pass out of the Flower Snake's body.

After Ye Yisong received his reward and saw the slightly chubby middle-aged man again at the edge of the arena, the unease in his heart reached its Peak. It was as if he were being stared at by a giant beast that wanted to swallow him in one bite.

Ye Yisong made a decisive decision and applied a protective layer—a Fourth-Rank Diamond Body Protection Talisman—to himself, while simultaneously casting a Speed Talisman on himself, intending to return to Magistrate Sun Nanyu's side and have Magistrate Sun Nanyu hold off the middle-aged man for a few breaths.

By then, his father, Ye Jiesheng, would surely have arrived by his side, which would certainly ensure his safety.

It could be said that Ye Yisong's reaction was timely and his handling was extremely appropriate. Had he not decisively used the Fourth-Rank Talisman to protect his body, he would have lost his life the moment the Flower Snake swallowed him into its belly.

However, he had overestimated his own strength, or perhaps he had never considered that a Late Stage Tier 4 Yao Beast had infiltrated the government office of Great Wei. How could a mere Martial Master like Ye Yisong escape such a thing?

"Looking at the situation, this damned Flower Snake must have targeted me when it scouted the location last time, just waiting for a suitable opportunity to kill me and create this heaven-piercing trouble for Magistrate Sun Nanyu," Ye Yisong analyzed the current situation in his heart. "If you want revenge, go find Magistrate Sun Nanyu! Why kill me? I have no grudges or grievances with you."

The Flower Snake's open conspiracy targeted Magistrate Sun Nanyu perfectly. Killing the first place winner of the Martial Examination inside the government office meant that Magistrate Sun Nanyu wouldn't just be unable to get a promotion; he wouldn't even be able to keep his own life.

Unfortunately, plans could not keep up with changes; it had encountered Ye Yisong, this chosen son of heaven.

Looking at the four remaining Fourth-Rank Talismans in his hand, Ye Yisong anxiously pondered when his father would be able to beat this damned beast to death; there were not many life-saving Talismans left.

After such a long period of consumption, Ye Yisong had already used up the five Fourth-Rank Diamond Body Protection Talismans given by Grandfather Ye Tuantu, and even the four Diamond Body Protection Talismans given by his grandfather the Clan Chief had been used up. Along the way, he had also tried using one Fourth-Rank Hundred Sword Talisman to attack the sunken flesh on the Flower Snake's belly, but the effect was minimal, only causing one or two small scratches.

He was now using the Fourth-Rank life-saving Talismans given by Ye Jiexin. Ye Jiexin had been quite generous to him, giving him eight Diamond Body Protection Talismans and two Great Sword Talismans at once, telling him to prioritize saving his life when encountering danger and not to harbor delusions of killing high-level Martial Artists.

The old man was indeed far-sighted; if not for these eight life-saving Talismans, Ye Yisong would have died several minutes ago.

Another one had been consumed, and only three were left. Father, if you don't beat this Flower Snake to death yet, I am really going to lose my life.

"What should I do?"

Ye Yisong was thinking frantically inside the foul-smelling snake belly. It seemed that his father would not be able to take down this beast for a while; if he didn't think of a way to save himself, he would probably be done for.