How could the Cangyan Sect elder possibly know about what had happened twenty thousand years ago?
By the time he realized something was wrong, the Grand Elder’s golden core was already dissipating, bit by bit.
The Grand Elder had chosen to sacrifice his very soul—his entire being offered up to the artifact.
But there was no trace of pain on his face. In fact, in the split second before he vanished completely, a faint smile lingered on his lips.
BOOM—
After his death, the defensive spiritual tool on the ground activated immediately. This was the most powerful defensive artifact Ye Shaohua had ever forged to date!
Twenty thousand years ago, the Ye family had been the most formidable weapon-forging clan in the cultivation world.
Even now, in their decline, the Grand Elder—heir to the Ye family’s legacy—understood weapons better than anyone else on the continent.
When a defensive artifact was infused with a living soul, it unleashed its maximum potential.
An artifact that could originally only withstand the Divine Separation stage could now hold off even the Spirit Transformation stage for a considerable amount of time.
Long enough for Liu Yunchen to return!
The Grand Elder’s thinking was simple. He knew Ye Shaohua was at a critical juncture and didn’t want her to be distracted.
He also knew that if she sensed the danger outside, she would definitely come out. Though they hadn’t interacted much in recent years, he understood her character well.
She was not the type to fear death and abandon others.
He hadn’t made any major contributions to the family in recent years. This time, it would be his final gift to the Ye family.
The Grand Elder’s death ignited a burning fury in the younger members of the Ye family.
Each of them memorized the faces of those outside the formation, then closed their eyes and began to cultivate with renewed determination.
They knew—it was because they were too weak that the Grand Elder had to sacrifice himself to protect them!
The Cangyan Sect elder frowned and turned to the person beside him. “How much longer to break through this formation?”
“Elder, this is a defensive spiritual tool—not inferior to even a low-grade immortal artifact,” his subordinate said, his eyes gleaming with greed. “Give me another hour, and I’ll have it broken.”
Hearing the words “defensive spiritual tool,” the Cangyan Sect elder’s face lit up with delight as well.
When the Grand Elder died, he had been nervous for a moment—but after a few days passed and nothing unusual happened, he relaxed.
The Ye family members could only glare at them furiously through the formation, then retreat to cultivate with fierce determination.
Though the Cangyan Sect was somewhat surprised to find that a minor family like this had so many Golden Core and Nascent Soul stage experts, their greed only grew when they saw that even the lowest-grade weapons in the Ye family’s hands were treasure-grade artifacts.
Their resolve to wipe out the Ye family hardened even further.
As for Ye Yuan and Ye Shuang—when they saw that almost every Ye family member had a treasure-grade artifact—their faces turned green with envy.
No wonder the family hadn’t even glanced at the magical tools they’d once brought back!
Those who had left the Ye family stared at Ye Xuan and the others with burning jealousy. But then they thought about how these people would soon be slaughtered by the Cangyan Sect, and a sense of smug satisfaction washed over them.
Inside the formation, a golden disc hovered before Ye Shaohua.
She was carving the final array pattern!
Suddenly, her tightly shut eyes flew open!
“Grand Elder!” Her hands—still tracing the formation—began to tremble.
Including the time-accelerated space, this was the longest world she had ever stayed in—even longer than her own original world.
Every member of the Ye family was vivid and real to her, not just static characters in a mission world.
Especially the Grand Elder!
To her, he was not just an elder—he was a teacher, a presence closer to her than her own parents.
Because of her intensive study of formations, her spiritual power had now grown to a level beyond even her own estimation.
Everything happening outside was clearly imprinted in her mind.
Faster!
Even faster!
Ye Shaohua pressed her lips together, her eyes nearly bloodshot. Her fingers moved ceaselessly, carving arrays into the formation!
The Grand Elder’s desperate cries echoed endlessly in her mind.
“You think you can wipe out the Ye family again this time? No! This time, we will rise again and crush the Cangyan Sect beneath our feet!” His frenzied shouts kept replaying in Ye Shaohua’s head.
At first, she had treated this as just another mission world.
But over time—the Grand Elder’s devotion, the Second Elder’s steadfastness, and the younger generation’s relentless efforts to break through the formation—all of it had slowly changed how she approached this mission.
Completing the task would have been simple. Yet she had grown to want something more: to help the Ye family rise again.
This wasn’t a sudden impulse.
It came from feeling the Grand Elder’s deep-seated obsession and his unyielding faith.
Even if it meant forsaking the cycle of reincarnation, he chose to protect her—and the Ye family of today.
Ye Shaohua bit her lip, her whole body trembling.
For the second time in her life, regret consumed her.
She hadn’t told the Grand Elder her true power. Her spiritual strength now surpassed even Liu Yunchen’s—the system had confirmed it. Even the most powerful Mahayana stage cultivator in this cultivation world couldn’t match her spiritual power!
And that wasn’t even counting her combat ability. With countless spiritual tools protecting her—even if the immortal artifacts weren’t fully refined—the Cangyan Sect couldn’t take a single thing from her!
The Grand Elder’s soul sacrifice had been completely unnecessary!
But he hadn’t known!
She shouldn’t have kept it from him. She shouldn’t have!
A wild rage surged in Ye Shaohua’s heart as she used her spiritual sense to carve the final mark.
At that very moment, a deep crimson tribulation cloud appeared above the Ye family estate!
“Is someone in the Ye family undergoing a Golden Core tribulation? But why is it the red Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation?” someone from the Xuan Yuan residence exclaimed in astonishment.
Meanwhile, around the Ye family, the Cangyan Sect elder stared at the overwhelming tribulation lightning as well.
Even his Spirit Transformation stage subordinates were trembling in fear.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his expression shifted. “No—this isn’t a cultivator’s tribulation. Could it be… someone has refined a top-grade immortal artifact?!”
BOOM—CRASH— The bolts of tribulation lightning struck down one after another.
Each one seemed to hammer directly into everyone’s hearts.
“Someone can still refine immortal artifacts in this era?” The Cangyan Sect elder’s face turned pale. Then an ancient legend surfaced in his mind. “The Annihilation Sky Spear… the Ye family… Could it be… that legendary Ye family?”
He was still speaking—
When at that moment, a rift suddenly appeared in the formation that had been sealed for days.
A young woman in a blue dress slowly emerged from within.
The Cangyan Sect elder suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly activated the defensive armor—a low-grade immortal artifact—that the sect leader had specially given him before he left.
At the same grade, no immortal artifact could pierce through his armor.
But Ye Shaohua’s golden disc—without even channeling any spiritual power into it—effortlessly sliced through the Cangyan Sect elder’s neck.
It even sealed his Nascent Soul.
This wasn’t even the same level of weapon!
“Top-grade immortal artifact? No—this is a low-grade divine artifact. Reincarnation. You… are the first to die by Reincarnation.” Staring into the Cangyan Sect elder’s eyes—which were filled with utter disbelief—Ye Shaohua murmured softly: “Grand Elder, rest assured. The glorious Ye family you dreamed of, the cultivation world you longed for—I, Ye Shaohua, will claim it all and offer it to you!”
