Chapter Eighty-Four: Crimson Blood Gem

Perhaps it is true that a dying man’s words are kind, regardless of the errors and misjudgments Ye Haiyi once made in his life. As the current head of the Ye clan, aside from his own selfish desires, he was still willing to give everything for his family; otherwise, he would not have burned his own lifespan to protect the elders’ retreat, battling the Jade Jiao King and Wu Ying to the death.

With Ye Haiyi’s vital energy, in just a brief moment, Ye Yun’s cultivation broke through from the late stage of Qi Refining to the peak of Qi Refining, only one realm away from fully restoring his strength. The remaining vital energy could not be refined in time, instead condensing within his dantian into a cluster of golden energy.

Raising his gaze to Ye Haiyi, he saw that the always imposing, formidable head of the clan now stood with hair turned white, his skin etched with countless wrinkles. The man who had once been vigorous and strong suddenly seemed transformed into a feeble, elderly figure.

Ye Yun understood: Ye Haiyi’s lifespan had nearly run dry.

“Ye Yun, as the current head of the clan, I hope you will succeed me as the next leader of the Ye family,” Ye Haiyi said, his hands trembling as he removed a golden token from his waist and handed it to Ye Yun.

Ye Yun recognized this as a final bequest. Though he cared little for the title of clan leader, the lineage of the Ye family must not be severed. Once he received the token, he could later pass it to another, ensuring the succession. So, without hesitation, Ye Yun reached out and took the token. Made of unknown material, it felt weighty and substantial.

Seeing Ye Yun accept the token, a faint smile appeared on Ye Haiyi’s pale, aged face. He then produced a blood-red jade stone, his expression growing solemn and grave.

“This is the Blood Jade. The Jade Jiao King and the Wu clan joined forces against our Ye family, and one of their aims was to seize this jade,” Ye Haiyi explained.

Ye Yun was startled, sensing there were hidden secrets here.

As he recalled, among all jade in the world, five kinds were most precious: from lowest to highest, Green Spirit Jade, Golden Light Jade, Water Heart Jade, Blood Jade, and Purple Cloud Jade.

When he killed Wu Qiong, he obtained a treasure seal forged from Green Spirit Jade. Though it was only a low-grade artifact, its value far exceeded others of its kind. Artifacts made from Green Spirit Jade could be upgraded in rank; that green jade seal might one day become a high-grade or even supreme artifact.

Blood Jade ranked second among the five, its rarity far surpassing Green Spirit Jade.

As information about the five jades flickered through Ye Yun’s mind, Ye Haiyi continued: “There are three pieces of Blood Jade. If brought together, they can open the abode of an immortal. Long ago, deep in Sunset Mountain, Wu Ying, the Jade Jiao King, and I each acquired one piece.”

Hearing this, Ye Yun understood: the Blood Jade had been split into three, and for years, each of the three had sought to unite the pieces, but mutual suspicion prevented them from ever exploring the rumored immortal’s abode.

“Is it truly the abode of an immortal?” Ye Yun’s heart stirred.

What is an immortal? A peerless master, one who has taken five steps on the path of the Way and reached the very pinnacle, such as the Boundless Demon Lord, unmatched in the vast world—a cultivation level known as Human Immortal.

If it truly was an immortal’s abode, even if only a half-immortal’s, opening it might yield boundless treasures, immense opportunities, powerful artifacts, and peerless cultivation techniques.

“If ever you gather all three pieces of Blood Jade, you may open that immortal’s abode…” At this point, Ye Haiyi’s body wavered, his form flickering as if he might dissipate with a mere gust of wind.

His voice faded, growing weaker and more indistinct. Ye Yun could only see his lips move, unable to hear his words. Judging by the shape of his mouth, he seemed to be saying, “The Ye clan is yours now…”

A breeze stirred, lifting a strand of Ye Yun’s hair. Ye Haiyi’s form twisted; Ye Yun saw him close his eyes, then dissolve into the wind, vanishing utterly from this world.

Perhaps, in that moment, Ye Yun felt a twinge of compassion—a pang of sorrow for Ye Haiyi’s passing.

The Wu clan’s cultivators had retreated, yet Cloudwater City remained in chaos, cries and anguished wails echoing everywhere. Many buildings lay ruined and collapsed; the clan estates were strewn with corpses, both Wu and Ye.

On this day, some lost parents, some lost children, some lost siblings, some lost friends…

Such is the cruelty and indifference of the cultivator’s world—only strength endures, all else is powerless to change fate.

Putting aside his melancholy, Ye Yun rose and walked to the headless corpse of Lü Mengqiu, bending to search it.

Lü Mengqiu’s storage artifact was a waist token, inscribed with the character “Xu.”

This “Xu” character revealed the Xu family’s hidden hand behind Wu clan’s assault on Ye clan.

At the sight of it, a cold murderous glint flashed in Ye Yun’s eyes.

Lu Su Xue had once said that in the Sacred Dragon Dynasty, the Xu family was a first-class aristocratic house—their power far outstripped the Ye clan.

Thus, the enmity with the Xu family would require careful, long-term planning.

Ye Yun kept the token, without bothering to check what wealth Lü Mengqiu, a Golden Core cultivator, might possess.

Next, Ye Yun found the spot where Wu Ying’s corpse had fallen, retrieving his storage artifact.

Additionally, Lü Mengqiu’s three flying swords were all high-quality, low-grade artifacts. As the Wu clan’s patriarch, Wu Ying’s flying sword was even superior—Ye Yun’s first encounter with a mid-grade artifact.

After Ye Haiyi’s body disintegrated, his belongings remained, including the golden treasure bell—a mid-grade artifact.

The ancestor Ye Yu had left no advanced cultivation techniques in the clan. The martial arts technique, Golden Bell Body, was the highest, with the most profound Qi refining method being the Spiritual Origin Formula, both only cultivable to the Golden Core stage.

Ye Haiyi had cultivated Golden Bell Body, possessing exceptional talent and pursuing both martial and magical disciplines—tempering his body with Golden Bell Body, refining his vital energy with Spiritual Origin Formula, and crafting a bell artifact attuned to himself.

According to Ye Yun’s knowledge, only the royal family of the Sacred Dragon Dynasty possessed techniques cultivable to the Nascent Soul stage; all other factions’ methods could only reach the pinnacle of the Golden Core stage. Only a select few top-tier houses had methods that allowed cultivation to Nascent Soul.

If other factions obtained Nascent Soul-level techniques, they would immediately face calamity: either powerful forces would seize them, or the royal family would annihilate them.

After all, to reinforce its dominance, the Sacred Dragon Dynasty would never permit any subordinate force to cultivate Nascent Soul-level experts and threaten the royal house’s supremacy.