Chapter 763: Why Aren't You Running Anymore?

“With your cultivation level, you clearly could have killed Yuchi Jie just now. Why did you insist on fighting him for so long?”

Yu Chi Bugong’s face was grim as he asked in a hoarse voice, his eyes blazing with a fury that seemed ready to shoot flames.

The deaths of three Peak of the Second Layer Martial Emperor Elders was an absolutely immense loss for the Yuchi family.

The thought that Yuchi Shang and the other elders had endured such hardship—that even the evil demonic beings at the altar couldn’t kill them, only for them to die at Ye Xuan’s hands after escaping—stoked a fire in Yu Chi Bugong’s heart that could not be extinguished.

“If I hadn’t played with this piece of trash for a bit first, how would you all have been willing to contend with me for so long? If I had scared you off, preventing me from killing you one by one, wouldn’t I have lost out big time?”

Ye Xuan said with a sardonic smile.

If he had displayed his overwhelming power from the very beginning, given the cunning of Yu Chi Bugong and the others, they would have fled the instant they sensed trouble. As strong as Ye Xuan was, he couldn’t guarantee he could kill every single member of the Yuchi family.

Letting any of the Yuchi family escape was an outcome Ye Xuan was determined to avoid.

“So, you see, Yuchi Jie, you were very important indeed,” Ye Xuan said with a light smile. “It’s because of you that those elders let down their guard, allowing me to kill them with a single, fatal blow.”

“You…” Yu Chi Bugong’s face turned ashen, and Yuchi Jie was so enraged he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

‘Just moments ago, he had believed himself completely superior to Ye Xuan, fighting him for so long with a condescending, playful attitude. Only now did he realize that in Ye Xuan’s eyes, he was nothing more than a clown, utterly played by this brat.’

“Do you think you’ve already won? A mere First Layer Martial Emperor! No matter how heaven-defying your cultivation is, you’re no match for the Patriarch,” Yuchi Jie said furiously, his gaze venomous. “The Patriarch will make you experience a fate worse than death.”

“Haha, on his own?” Ye Xuan glanced at Yu Chi Bugong with disdain. “I’m not afraid of anyone from your Yuchi family. Back when I was just a First Layer Martial King, I killed a Second Layer Martial Emperor from your family. Now that I’m a First Layer Martial Emperor, why would I be afraid of Yu Chi Bugong, a Third Layer Martial Emperor?”

Both Yu Chi Bugong and Yuchi Jie looked startled. Yu Chi Bugong, in particular, demanded in a cold, deep voice, “You killed a Second Layer Martial Emperor from my Yuchi family? How have I never heard of this?”

Ye Xuan shot a cold glance at Yuchi Jie. “You should ask him about that. That man, Mo Qianshan… he was a Guest Minister for your Yuchi family, wasn’t he? He tried to kill me. A pity, really. He ended up dying at my hands instead.”

“So it really was you who killed Mo Qianshan.” Yuchi Jie was taken aback, his gaze turning venomous. “So it was people from your Profound Light Pavilion hiding in the mountain forest. That means the lingering Martial Emperor aura also belonged to one of your Martial Emperors. If we had known it was you back in Celestial Capital Prefecture, the Yuchi family would have eradicated your Profound Light Pavilion completely. Damn it all…”

In truth, the Yuchi family had suspected Ye Xuan and his group before, but they had been too preoccupied with exploring the mysterious land to spare the resources to deal with the Profound Light Pavilion.

Yu Chi Bugong’s gaze was chilling. “It doesn’t matter. The day we return to Celestial Capital Prefecture will be the day your Profound Light Pavilion is annihilated.”

Ye Xuan sneered, “And you think you’ll have the chance to return to Celestial Capital Prefecture?”

“On your own? We’ll see what gives a mere First Layer Martial Emperor like you the nerve to make such boasts.” Yu Chi Bugong scoffed, then swung his giant axe, bringing it down fiercely upon Ye Xuan.

As he struck, Yu Chi Bugong also roared at Yuchi Jie, “Yuchi Jie, get out of here now! Don’t look back! Go straight to Celestial Capital Prefecture, mobilize our family’s experts, and kill every last person from the Profound Light Pavilion!”

“Yes, Patriarch.”

Yuchi Jie knew he was useless here—he would only be a liability to the Patriarch. He immediately turned into a streak of light and shot toward the depths of the passageway.

“Trying to run?” Ye Xuan snorted. “Xiaohai, Erhei, hunt him down and kill him.”

At Ye Xuan’s command, the pangolin and the black toad transformed into two streaks of light, speeding after Yuchi Jie. Meanwhile, Ye Xuan himself raised the Zhenyuan Stone and once again blocked Yu Chi Bugong’s attack.

BOOM!

The two forces exploded in the hall, making the entire passageway rumble and shake.

“Damn you! Don’t even think about killing a member of my Yuchi family.”

Yu Chi Bugong’s face was ashen. His body flashed as he pursued Xiaohai and Erhei. A torrent of axe-shadows instantly materialized from his battle-axe as he tried to intercept the two beasts and create an escape opportunity for Yuchi Jie.

“Get back here.”

Ye Xuan’s eyes were cold and sharp as he sent the Zhenyuan Stone hurtling toward Yu Chi Bugong like a great mountain.

CRASH!

The torrent of axe-shadows unleashed by Yu Chi Bugong rained down furiously, their fierce momentum successfully intercepting Xiaohai and Erhei, giving Yuchi Jie a window to escape. However, Yu Chi Bugong himself was struck by the Zhenyuan Stone’s blast and sent flying backward in a sorry state.

“Yuchi Jie, go, now!”

Yu Chi Bugong roared. Even after taking a heavy blow from the Zhenyuan Stone, his thoughts were still on Yuchi Jie’s survival. Forcing down the tremors that wracked his body, he turned to charge at Xiaohai and Erhei once more.

If he could just stop Xiaohai and Erhei one more time, there was a high probability that Yuchi Jie would escape.

SWOOSH!

Seeing this, Ye Xuan hastily directed the Zhenyuan Stone to smash toward Yu Chi Bugong. Simultaneously, the sword in his hand danced, and a bolt of azure, lightning-infused Sword Qi shot out, streaking through the air toward Yuchi Jie like a comet.

Seeing Ye Xuan’s attention focused entirely on Yuchi Jie, a strange glint flashed in Yu Chi Bugong’s furious eyes. BOOM! As the Zhenyuan Stone came smashing toward him, he used its immense propulsive force to retreat instead of advance, shooting out into the abyss beyond the passageway with a SWOOSH.

The man who had just appeared to be rushing to Yuchi Jie’s rescue was now escaping at a speed even greater than his. The entire sequence was as smooth as flowing water—clearly, it had been planned all along.

“Haha, boy! If you want to kill me, try again in your next life!”

Yu Chi Bugong laughed maniacally. His body moved like lightning, pushing the speed of a Triple Peak Martial Emperor to its absolute limit. He was like an afterimage, just about to exit Ye Xuan’s attack range.

“Is that so?”

At that moment, a faint, indifferent smile touched the lips of Ye Xuan, who was supposedly in a furious pursuit of Yuchi Jie. With a calm word, he suddenly waved his right hand.

FWIP!

A gray shadow, which had at some point been laid in ambush along Yu Chi Bugong’s escape route, snaked up like a long serpent, preparing to envelop him layer by layer.

From a distance, it looked as if Yu Chi Bugong was actively charging right into the gray rope’s encirclement.

“What?” Yu Chi Bugong was startled and hastily halted his flight. A monstrous gleam of axe-light erupted from the black giant axe in his hand as he slashed at the gray shadow.

TCH TCH TCH!

The sharp axe-shadow, combined with Yu Chi Bugong’s astonishing Profound energy, was enough to shatter any metal. But against the gray shadow, his attack met only empty air, as if he had struck nothing at all.

And yet the gray shadow, even while enveloped in the axe-light, moved like an agile serpent, weaving around the layers of light to once again coil toward Yu Chi Bugong.

Yu Chi Bugong was stunned. When he finally got a clear look at what the gray shadow was, his expression turned to one of sheer horror.

“It’s Elder Chou Gong’s Emperor-Binding Rope! How do you have that?!”

Fear crossed Yu Chi Bugong’s face. A phantom of an axe-shaped martial soul appeared above his head, emanating astonishing power. A brilliant light suddenly erupted from the battle-axe in his hands, unleashing a terrifying aura that seemed to solidify the very void as it viciously slashed down upon the gray shadow.

CRACK!

Amidst the violent boom, the gray rope was sent flying. The spiritual light upon it dimmed slightly as it fell to the passageway floor.

Ye Xuan waved his hand, and the gray rope immediately flew into his grasp.

“Go on, run. Why have you stopped, Yu Chi Bugong? Using the lives of your own clan elders as bait to create an opportunity for your own escape. Tsk, tsk. Patriarch Yu Chi Bugong, I’m truly impressed. What brilliant tactics.”

Ye Xuan stood proudly in the passageway, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

Yu Chi Bugong’s face was ashen. The anger had vanished, replaced by an icy, venomous calm. “How did you know I was going to flee?” he asked coldly.

Ye Xuan sneered. “Isn’t it obvious? What kind of person are you, Yu Chi Bugong? It would be strange if you actually cared about the life of a clan elder. If you had only put up a token resistance, I might not have suspected anything. But for you to risk your own life to save Yuchi Jie? Tsk, tsk. That’s not very in-character for you, Patriarch.”

Ye Xuan’s words, delivered with a mocking expression, made Yu Chi Bugong’s face turn even uglier.

“How did you get Elder Chou Gong’s Emperor-Binding Rope?” Yu Chi Bugong demanded again, his voice cold as ice.

“What do you think?”

Ye Xuan scoffed.

Just then, a blood-curdling scream echoed from the depths of the passageway. It was Yuchi Jie’s voice, and it made Yu Chi Bugong’s expression change.

Ye Xuan clapped his hands and sneered, “Alright, that’s enough nonsense. You’re the only one left from the Yuchi family now. Allow me to send you on your way. If you hurry, perhaps you can join your elders on the road to the Yellow Springs.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ye Xuan attacked.

KRA-KOOM!

A flash of azure lightning-infused sword light streaked through the air, piercing toward Yu Chi Bugong like a spear of thunder. At the same time, Ye Xuan activated the Zhenyuan Stone. VMMMM! A hazy, vast aura emanated from the stone, pressing down with a power several times greater than before.

Feeling this terrifying power, Yu Chi Bugong’s expression changed drastically. But what shocked him even more was the Domain Realm that Ye Xuan unleashed.

An invisible spatial power spread out. Yu Chi Bugong felt his entire body go rigid. The space around him seemed to solidify like concrete and freeze like a lake, binding him completely. No matter how he tried to activate his own Domain Realm, it was utterly suppressed, leaving him unable to move an inch.