Chapter 24: After Them! Don’t Let Them Get Away!

Ye Jiuyao watched as the Ancestor of the Yellow Springs Palace, utterly terrified, let out a hearty laugh before striding into the cave dwelling. He quickly finished off the venison and fell into a blissful sleep.

Before long, the members of the Yellow Springs Palace returned. The one with the highest cultivation handed his spatial ring to the Ancestor. Upon receiving it, the Ancestor seemed possessed, shouting madly, “Grandfather, your spirit stones have arrived, grandfather…”

Witnessing the Ancestor in such a state, the others felt an even deeper sense of dread. When they glanced toward the cave, a chill seemed to pierce straight through their skulls, as if it might burst free at any moment.

“Grandfather…”

The Ancestor shouted “grandfather” dozens of times, but Ye Jiuyao inside the cave refused to appear, which only terrified him further. His mind began to fill in the gaps on its own.

“Kneel, all of you! That young man… the elder just now… ate him alive… raw…” The Ancestor, recalling the image of Ye Jiuyao gnawing on that massive leg, began to retch instinctively. The others, upon hearing this, turned deathly pale and immediately dropped to their knees, joining the Ancestor in calling out together.

“Grandfather…”

Ye Jiuyao had long since awakened, but he sensed that the time was not yet ripe for him to emerge. If he appeared too soon, the performance wouldn’t be satisfying enough—after all, the true thrill was in dancing on the knife’s edge.

Having committed so deeply to this act, he intended to see it through to perfection, flawlessly and irresistibly.

Thus, accompanied by waves of jubilant cries of “grandfather,” Ye Jiuyao sauntered out at a leisurely pace. The assembly of the Yellow Springs Palace, upon seeing him, called out even more fervently.

“Hmm, you’re quite efficient. I’ll call on you again next time…” At this, the crowd nearly fainted. If not for years of hardship and endurance, they surely would have collapsed on the spot.

“No, elder, please seek out another sect. Our Yellow Springs Palace can’t endure any more. Perhaps try the Great Zhou Dynasty—they are wealthy and well-connected, they could provide you with endless ‘grinding stones.’”

A late-stage Qi Condensation expert, who seemed particularly clever, suddenly interjected. At first, the others thought all was lost, but his words took a sharp turn, and they were overjoyed.

Of course—diverting calamity eastward. A brilliant strategy.

The Ancestor clapped his hands in delight, like a child, secretly remembering the one who’d offered this suggestion.

Ye Jiuyao, upon hearing this, chuckled inwardly. So they were trying to shift the disaster to his own territory—it seemed only right to let them suffer for it.

“Insolence! Since when do you have the right to dictate the Ancestor’s actions? Perhaps you’d like to come into my cave and discuss it? My fire still burns hot…”

At his words, the assembly lowered their heads and kowtowed even more furiously, their cries of “grandfather” growing ever more frenzied.

It rolled off the tongue so easily—so much so, they almost didn’t want to stop. But Ye Jiuyao was growing impatient.

“Enough. Hand over the goods and leave at once. The sight of you annoys me.” With a single bark, the assembly leapt up and vanished like lightning.

Ye Jiuyao stood in place, sensing their departure. When he could no longer detect their presence, he immediately reverted to his true form and burst into uproarious laughter.

“Their intelligence is lacking, but as a good person, I’ve decided to leave the Yellow Springs Palace with a lasting memory.”

Immediately, Ye Jiuyao shot off at a terrifying speed. The wind roared past his ears, the sonic boom making them ache, his body starting to show traces of blood from the force.

Yet his speed only increased. If anyone knew the Yellow Springs Secret Realm’s paths best, it was Sun Qigang.

“Hey, you little monkey, report the routes. Let’s get ahead of them and pull off some mischief…”

“No answer? Fine—then I’ll forget the essence of the technique in the manual, and you’ll have to figure it out yourself…”

He threatened directly, and Sun Qigang panicked, immediately rattling off more than ten hidden paths as if reciting his own family history.

Once he had the information, Ye Jiuyao instantly blocked Sun Qigang from the Canglang Map, leaving the monkey leaping around inside, utterly bewildered.

Who am I? Where am I? Why did I tell him the routes?

A barrage of questions flooded Sun Qigang’s mind, but Ye Jiuyao had no time for him now.

After the time it takes for half a stick of incense to burn, Ye Jiuyao arrived before the mountain gate of the Yellow Springs Palace.

“Wow, what grandeur! But I haven’t caused enough trouble yet. Perhaps…”

Eyeing the majestic sect, a sudden inspiration struck him. He pulled from his ill-gotten spatial ring a stone tablet—none other than the Demon-Suppressing Stele.

“I’ll leave a message, to thank them for their generosity.”

He set about inscribing words with his vital energy, but soon realized it was impossible.

“Damn, this thing’s too hard. Could it be some rare treasure? Better ask the little monkey, just in case I’m giving away something valuable.”

With a thought, Sun Qigang’s furious roar echoed from the Canglang Map.

“Ye Jiuyao, you scoundrel! Using me and then cutting me off, ruining my cultivation just as I was making progress!”

“Heaven and earth in chaos…”

Ye Jiuyao began reciting a lengthy passage, and Sun Qigang’s furious state quickly settled into one of delirious joy.

“What’s the Demon-Suppressing Stele made of? Can it be carved?”

“Hey! Why’d you stop? Keep going, I think I’m about to break through…”

But Ye Jiuyao suddenly fell silent. Sun Qigang could only gnash his teeth in frustration, unable to do a thing, and finally sighed.

“The Demon-Suppressing Stele is harder than ordinary black iron. Here, take this—it’ll let you carve it.”

No sooner had Sun Qigang finished speaking than a small rod appeared in Ye Jiuyao’s hand. Having gotten his answer, he cut off Sun Qigang again.

“Next time, even if you tell me the technique’s secrets, I won’t say a word—not even if this cursed map kills me, or its denizens kill me. Never again…”

Sun Qigang’s curses went unanswered as Ye Jiuyao finished his inscription.

“Grandsons of the Yellow Springs Palace, your Ancestor loves you! The development of our Great Zhou Dynasty depends on your generous support. Keep it up, grandsons!”

Once the message was carved, vital energy surged through his right arm like a qilin’s might. He hurled the stele like a shot put.

Boom!

“An intruder!”

The protective formation of the Yellow Springs Palace flared to life, but the stone tablet smashed through it as if fired from a cloud-piercing bow, landing in the heart of the palace.

“Not good—they’re back so soon! Strategic retreat—time to go!”

Sensing over a dozen terrifying auras, Ye Jiuyao, shameless as ever, opted for a strategic withdrawal, moving even faster than before.

“Ancestor, I think… I think someone’s attacking the sect…” The one who’d tried to divert disaster earlier spoke up, pointing toward the palace.

“Back, quickly!”

The Ancestor of the Yellow Springs Palace, now stripped of any pretense, led the assembly at breakneck speed—this was, after all, the sect they’d built with their own hands.

“Ancestor, they’re back…”

“Out of the way.”

“The Demon-Suppressing Stele?!”

At the sight of the stele, chills ran through the Ancestor’s heart; his knees nearly buckled, and his lips formed the words “grandfather” by reflex.

“Ancestor, look at the back—look at the back!” a disciple shouted. The elders hurriedly turned the stele around.

The moment they finished reading, they erupted in fury, veins bulging, vital energy detonating within them like a nuclear explosion.

“After him! Chase him down! Kill him!”

“We must kill him!”

Far away, Ye Jiuyao, already in full retreat, seemed to hear the anguished roar of the Yellow Springs Palace and picked up speed once more.