Chapter 521: Ambushed

Of course, for Ye Chen, the situation might be difficult, but it was far from unsolvable.

Once he obtained the White Tiger Tribe’s flame seed, his injuries would recover even further.

With the strength he would have then, he could probably handle Lin Ruowei, even with the Profound Wind Pavilion backing her.

The two of them talked as they headed up the mountain.

Jade Crane Mountain wasn’t as towering or majestic as Kunlun Mountain, but its paths were exceptionally rugged, uneven, and overgrown.

Without his cultivation, the mountain paths became even more arduous for Ye Chen.

“By the way, how is someone as young as you the Priest of the White Tiger Tribe?”

Ye Chen glanced at the bright-eyed, lovely young woman beside him and asked casually.

“What about it?”

“Are you surprised?”

Qing Lian said, beaming.

“Yes.”

Ye Chen nodded. “The Priest of the Vermilion Bird Tribe is an old man. I assumed all tribal Priests were advanced in years.”

“…Actually, the position of Priest in each tribe is passed down through a single bloodline. If the Priest has no heirs, they take a tribe member as an apprentice and teach them everything they know.”

“The previous Priest of our tribe was my maternal grandmother… But she suffered a latent injury in a clash with the Luo Race, one that never healed.”

“Ultimately… she passed away.”

As she finished, the light in the young woman’s bright eyes dimmed.

Seeing this, Ye Chen tactfully refrained from asking any more questions.

It was clear that Qing Lian, having become a tribal Priest at such a young age, must have been under considerable pressure.

As they talked, the two followed the map to the entrance of the mine.

The depths of Jade Crane Mountain were teeming with Great Demons, making them exceptionally dangerous. Therefore, this mine was located only halfway up the mountain, so one didn’t need to venture too far in.

Even so, if the Celestial Mountain Sect hadn’t lent some of their powerful Spiritual Treasures to the Vermilion Bird Tribe and the Cyan Cloud Pavilion, it would have been difficult for these two factions to even approach Jade Crane Mountain with their level of strength.

What surprised Ye Chen, however, was how peaceful their journey had been. He found it odd that they had gotten so close to their destination without encountering a single danger.

“This must be the mine from the map. It’s certainly well hidden.”

“If this rock face hadn’t been broken, I doubt anyone would have ever discovered the cave behind it.”

Qing Lian sized up the cave in front of them.

The cave entrance clearly showed signs of having been broken open by someone.

Before, a solid rock wall had likely blocked the entrance.

Otherwise, the mine hidden here wouldn’t have remained undiscovered until now.

“Let’s go take a look.”

Ye Chen took the lead and walked toward the cave.

No one knew if other dangers were lurking inside, so naturally, he had to be the one to go first.

Qing Lian followed closely behind Ye Chen, looking cautious.

At the cave entrance, it was too remote for sunlight to penetrate. Looking in, they saw only pitch-black darkness, which was quite unsettling.

Ye Chen stood at the cave entrance, his brow slightly furrowed.

‘This place is a little too quiet.’

Not a single human voice could be heard.

‘Could it be that the people from the Vermilion Bird Tribe and the Cyan Cloud Pavilion are no longer inside?’

‘But they definitely haven’t returned to the tribe.’

This made Ye Chen wonder—could they have run into some kind of danger? Had they already met with disaster?

‘In any case, since we’re already here, we have to go in and see for ourselves.’

Before Ye Chen could move, a flame flared up beside him.

Qing Lian handed a torch to Ye Chen and said with a grin, “I knew you couldn’t use your Spiritual Power, which means you can’t use your Storage Ring, so I came prepared.”

But Ye Chen refused. “You keep it.”

With that, he strode into the cave.

Seeing this, Qing Lian let out a soft hmph and quickly followed.

The cave was not deep. After just a few steps, Ye Chen noticed signs of a struggle along the way.

The residual auras were still fresh, indicating that a battle had taken place in the cave not long ago.

“Hm?”

“Look over there!”

Qing Lian seemed to have noticed something. She raised her torch high and pointed ahead.

Ye Chen followed her gaze and was startled to see a person lying in a corner of the cave.

It was an old man, one whom Ye Chen recognized.

It was none other than the Elder of the Vermilion Bird Tribe, Zhao An’s grandfather, Zhao Tiankuo!

“Elder Zhao?” Ye Chen frowned and strode quickly toward Zhao Tiankuo.

But just then, Zhao Tiankuo seemed to be startled awake by Ye Chen’s movement. He opened his eyes and saw Ye Chen at once.

‘Elder Zhao is okay?’ Before Ye Chen could even breathe a sigh of relief, he saw Zhao Tiankuo’s entire face twist in horror, as if he had just seen something utterly terrifying.

“Run!”

“Don’t come any closer!”

Zhao Tiankuo shouted at Ye Chen.

Ye Chen froze. Before he could say anything, a shadow leaped at him from the side!

“Look out!” Qing Lian, who was behind Ye Chen, couldn’t help but cry out, her pretty face filled with panic.

Ye Chen’s reaction was extremely fast; he threw a backhand punch toward the shadow.

Although his response was rushed, Ye Chen wasn’t about to hold back against an unknown danger. He put at least seventy percent of his strength into that punch.

To Ye Chen’s surprise, however, the shadow took the punch head-on but seemed largely unaffected. With a sway of its body, it shot back three meters, its eyes glinting coldly as they locked onto Ye Chen, radiating killing intent.

In that moment, by the dim light of the torch, Ye Chen finally got a clear look at the shadow that had ambushed him.

It was a ferocious tiger!

Crimson patterns swirled around its entire body, its massive frame looking as if it were engulfed in red-hot Flame. Its power was astonishing, and it radiated a terrifying aura.

“Is that… a Red-Mane Tiger at the Peak of the Spirit Sea Realm?”

Qing Lian cried out, her face full of horror.

Ye Chen’s eyes flickered, and a grave expression crossed his face.

Red-Mane Tigers were exceptionally vicious demonic beasts. They fought with bloodthirsty recklessness, completely disregarding their own lives, and struck fear into the hearts of many Cultivators.

When they reached adulthood, their strength is usually around the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. Only individuals with superior bloodlines and talent have a chance to break through to the Primordial Mansion Realm.

Clearly, this enormous Red-Mane Tiger before them was not only fully grown but also possessed a rather strong bloodline and talent. Its cultivation was extremely close to the Primordial Mansion Realm, making it a formidable enemy that one would not want to provoke.