In the underground palace beneath Lingyun Lake, smoke wafted slowly upwards.

A rich tea fragrance filled the entire hall.

Along with it, there was also an overwhelming spiritual energy.

Even though Ye Jingli didn't particularly enjoy tea, as he imbibed the rich fragrance and the enduring spiritual energy, he swallowed twice, and a fiery look appeared in his eyes.

After sipping the tea, Ye Xingqun couldn't help but express his surprise:

"Patriarch, this is Tier Two Top-Grade Spiritual Tea, not commonly found even in the Sea Domain!"

"Indeed, it's rare." Ye Jingcheng nodded. He only had a little over three jin of this spiritual tea and initially thought to distribute some to everyone.

But considering even Ye Haicheng and Ye Xuecang received just a few liang, distributing evenly would not reflect well on his status.

Better to invite a few people over during casual tea gatherings.

As soon as Ye Xingcheng said this, Ye Jingli drank several more cups, and after finishing, his whole body seemed to be glowing, clearly a result of excessively dense spiritual light.

It was notable that Ye Jingli was still a cultivator at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment, showing the Cloud Conceal Tea was indeed potent and beneficial for cultivation.

Seeing Ye Jingcheng and others looking over, Ye Jingli grinned widely.

"Patriarch, we toast to you with this tea!"

Ye Jingcheng also smiled slightly. He was unconcerned with Ye Jingli's actions, as Ye Jingli's character was always like this. These gestures made Ye Jingcheng feel more genuine and warm.

He didn't wish for the others to be formal with him just because he was the Patriarch and a Purple Mansion Cultivator.

After Ye Jingli finished toasting, Ye Jingcheng reciprocated the gesture to the three of them with a smile.

It was thanks to the support of these three during the past decade.

After finishing the tea, Ye Jingcheng's expression turned serious as he took out a Spirit Diagram. It was the appearance of Lingyun Peak, and he pointed to a marked spot, then asked:

"Uncle Xingqun, Brother Jiu, Brother Liu, I want to ask if, during my seclusion, anyone has been around my courtyard?" Ye Jingcheng said.

"Brother Jingteng has been there, but no one else, as we didn't allow others to approach!" Ye Jingyun replied.

Hearing this, Ye Jingcheng was taken aback.

He didn't expect it was his elder brother, Ye Jingteng.

"He visited around eight years ago and three years ago, saying he gathered many treasures for you!"

"Additionally, he took some clan members you previously mentioned."

"Of course, each time he came, Brother Liu and I were there!" Ye Jingyun added.

After speaking, he retrieved a Storage Bag.

Evidently, the treasures Ye Jingteng collected were inside this Storage Bag.

Ye Jingcheng accepted the Storage Bag and found it contained materials for Tier Three Jade Qilin Pill and Tier Three Golden Scale Pill.

It also contained some materials for a Profound Wood Disc.

However, what he lacked now was the Tier Three Thousand-Year Profound Wood Heart.

Therefore, these materials were of no use.

But there were still plenty of primary materials within.

Including the Cold-Storage Grass Ye Jingcheng had long sought after.

Ye Jingcheng did not take out the items. The appearance of Ye Jingteng and this Storage Bag was quite suspicious.

So Ye Jingcheng handed the Storage Bag back to Ye Jingyun.

"Brother Jiu, could you keep this Storage Bag for now?" Although Ye Jingyun was puzzled, he nodded.

"Brother Jiu, was the place around here?" Ye Jingcheng pointed again at the marked point on the Spirit Diagram.

"Yes, right here, though he walked around the Array for a bit!" Ye Jingyun confirmed with a nod.

"At the time, he said he wanted to see you, and he was hard to stop, even proposing to guard you!" Ye Jingyun remarked.

"But then, things escalated in Taiqing Commandery, so the sect dispatched him there!"

"Understood!" Ye Jingcheng nodded.

There was no further elaboration.

After pondering for a while, he spoke:

"Brother Jiu, Brother Liu, just let everyone assume my breakthrough was unsuccessful. Keep pressuring the Wei family as planned; continue targeting the Yuan family. For the Cyan Cloud Nunnery, see if you can initiate discourse so they might volunteer to relocate to Taihang Commandery once the Yuan family falls, and also start acquiring some Upper-grade Spirit Stones!"

"Just say the Array lacks enough spiritual energy, and in addition, no cultivators without the Beast Communication Pattern should visit my courtyard!"

"Could it be that Brother was an impostor?" Ye Jingyun was immediately filled with doubt, breaking into a cold sweat.

"I'm not sure, for now, just assume nothing happened. I still have a secret technique unrefined, so I can't exit seclusion!"

"However, this Spirit Beast Bag can be yours!" Ye Jingcheng retrieved a Spirit Beast Bag.

This Spirit Beast Bag contained none other than Ye Jingcheng's sixteen Thunder Rhinoceros Insects, four of which were Late Stage Tier Two, while the rest were all Tier Two.

But since Ye Jingcheng had a larger Insect Array, and these insects were urged to maturity, their potential was exhausted.

They could serve the family more usefully for now.

"Alright, no issue!" Ye Jingli and Ye Jingyun both nodded.

Concerning Ye Jingteng's issue, Ye Jingli seemed better suited to communicate.

And as for family matters, Ye Jingyun handled them more smoothly.

Regarding the Cyan Cloud Nunnery, Ye Jingyun had some understanding due to prior entanglements with the Ye Family.

"Oh, and Patriarch, Xu Xiuqing left six years ago!" Ye Jingyun suddenly recalled, speaking up.

As he said this, he subtly observed Ye Jingcheng's expression.

Seeing that Ye Jingcheng was momentarily surprised, he quickly added:

"However, Chu Yanqing is still here, and under her guidance, many clansmen have significantly improved their Artifact Refining Skill."

"Brother Jiu, there's no need to inform me about their comings and goings!" Ye Jingcheng immediately replied.

Ye Jingyun and Ye Jingli remained silent.

Only Ye Xingqun observed Ye Jingcheng, surprisingly looking at him for a moment, seemingly wanting to speak but ultimately staying silent.

Then Ye Jingcheng handed each a Storage Bag to Ye Jingli and Ye Xingqun.

Inside Ye Jingli's was a collection of refining materials.

Ye Xingqun had some insect control techniques and insect-controlling materials.

The group thanked him and left directly.

After they left, the underground hall became completely silent, with tea mist swirling around, making the entire underwater hall appear even more chilling and secluded.

Ye Jingcheng drank the spirit tea alone, feeling the profound essence lingering in his mind, and involuntarily, he thought of two figures.

Yet he shook his head vigorously.

The elder brothers of his family were all uncontrollable factors.

How could he possibly go to meet Chu Yanqing now?

As for Xu Xiuqing, he could only say it was a pity.

He took out the Cold Jade Bed and then started to extract the Treasure Communication Technique, beginning his study.

Ye Xuecang said that to display the divine soul externally, two factors must be achieved.

One, the divine soul's strength must break through the Late Stage of Purple Mansion; two, he must grasp the first layer of the Treasure Communication Technique.

Among these, breaking through the Late Stage Divine Sense of Purple Mansion is not difficult, as Ye Xuecang provided a Tier Three Soul Split Fruit, which can greatly enhance his divine soul even without refining it into a spirit pill.

In addition, his divine soul was already superior to those of the same tier, having a Middle Stage Purple Mansion divine soul at the Early Stage of Purple Mansion.

After breaking through the Middle Stage of Purple Mansion, his divine soul also strengthened significantly, but the farther he advanced in the Purple Mansion stages, the greater the gap became, blocking him at the limit.

Therefore, to openly reveal himself, he only needed to master the Treasure Communication Technique.

This is also why Ye Jingcheng did not outright devour the Yuan Family and Wei Family; lacking an openly recognized Purple Mansion cultivator, even though Ye Jingcheng accomplished these secretly, it would undoubtedly suggest to others that the Ye Family had confidence.

Ye Jingcheng took out the jade talisman containing the Treasure Communication Technique.

He placed it in front of his brow, and as his Divine Sense delved in, Ye Jingcheng once again saw the silvery tadpole-like characters swaying inside the jade talisman.

They appeared like a heavenly script, and just looking at them for a moment made his head dizzy, making it extremely difficult to comprehend.

Ye Jingcheng did not recognize this script, and upon asking Ye Xuecang, he found there was no specialized primer for the Treasure Communication Technique, so he could only ponder over it character by character.

Initially, Ye Jingcheng achieved nothing, just like when he first started cultivating, searching for the feeling of energy.

Yet he did not lose heart and continued to study the simplest spiritual character.

Over time, he discovered he could see this profound silver tadpole-like script as if it were both a cultivation path and a spirit pattern, constantly transforming, mysterious beyond compare.

Although vague like a mirage, Ye Jingcheng indeed felt a sense of understanding.

Moreover, he felt it was akin to refining the Treasure Communication Technique.

However, before he could grasp even one character, he would develop an intense headache and had to stop.

He glanced at the sandalwood burning beside him and realized it had been two hours.

His divine sense soul power had also been mostly consumed.

He had to take a Jade Soul Pill to feel slightly better.

At the same time, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his divine soul seemed to have improved slightly.

Such progress in two hours was something he had only felt while cultivating the Celestial Soul Technique.

Still, the Celestial Soul Technique was incomplete; although the soul splitting technique was functional, allowing him to manifest a clone, relying on the Celestial Soul Technique to strengthen soul power was exceedingly difficult.

Now, seeing that understanding the Treasure Communication Technique had benefits, Ye Jingcheng was naturally overjoyed.

After recovering his divine sense, Ye Jingcheng wanted to continue comprehending but found it completely unfeasible, so he had to stop.

He placed the Stone Spirit Grotto Heaven beside him, allowing it to absorb spiritual energy, and then took out a number of Five Poison Bees, spreading them around the Ye Family's Lingyun Lake.

He even released several Red Section Fish he controlled through beast communication, letting them blend into Lingyun Lake.

This way, he could detect any disturbance immediately.

...

Taihang Commandery, Tai Cang Mountain.

The Yuan Family has occupied this place for nearly twenty years, and possibly due to the previous Spirit-Extinguishing Locust Plague.

The Yuan Family arranged the entire Tai Cang Mountain with increased rigor.

There was an array almost every ten miles.

Furthermore, the Yuan Family has indeed developed their spirit beast business, setting up numerous beast valleys around.

Although their high-tier spirit beasts are fewer than the Ye Family's, their management of low-tier spirit beasts is quite well-organized.

Atop the mountain, within a grand hall, the patriarch of the Yuan Family, Yuan Haoyun, had closed the great doors of the hall tightly.

He then isolated the array.

Soon, a few figures emerged from the depths of the hall.

All of them wore spirit-blocking robes!

Their eyes were increasingly fierce.

"Senior, I have already arranged for our family members to explore an excellent route!"

Once proud, Yuan Haoyun looked weary at this moment.

He unfurled a Spirit Diagram in his hands, pointing and explaining over it.

"Lion King Ridge is too dense, with too many Flaming Lions, making it difficult even for seniors. Plus, with the flatter terrain of Cyan Wind Wolf Plain, escaping pursuit is extremely hard!"

"However, between Lion King Ridge and Chixia Ridge, it's different; the two Great Demons unconsciously overlook this area during the absence of beast tides!"

Yuan Haoyun spoke up.

"Have you thoroughly investigated the Great Demons here?" The figure in the spirit-blocking robe finally spoke.

His tone was full of dissatisfaction.

After all, last time, the Yuan Family blundered.

Not only did they fail to trigger a beast tide, but they also didn't manage to hold back True Master San Yuan, nearly causing their deaths.

"It's thoroughly investigated, foolproof!" Yuan Haoyun patted his chest and assured.

"Alright, I'll trust you once more. If you fail this time, you can forget about the Purple Mansion Jade Liquid!"

"Moreover, regarding the dispute at Taihang Market with the Wei Family, make it bigger; Taiyi Sect seems to be suspicious!"

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior. I have already started the arrangements. Once the time comes, neither the Yuan nor Wei families will consider themselves allied!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.