Volume One, Chapter Nine: Reduced to Ashes

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“You ask too many questions,” the dream demon grinned widely and laughed. “I’ve never tasted a disciple of the Supreme Clarity Sect before—let me have a try!”

With that, it transformed into a gust of demonic wind and clashed fiercely with Ye Ziying.

Ye Ziying unleashed her true energy to its fullest, battling the dream demon head-on.

However, Ye Ziying was only at the seventh-grade realm, while the dream demon had already reached the eighth-grade. Thanks to the Jade Reflection Technique, Ye Ziying could barely hold her own against it, but as time passed, her stamina waned, and even her true energy began to run dry.

Gradually, Ye Ziying fell into a disadvantageous position.

“Father, you must leave quickly!”

Knowing she couldn’t stop the dream demon, Ye Ziying urged Ye Qingbei to escape.

Ye Qingbei’s face was tense with worry.

But he couldn’t bear to abandon his daughter and leave.

“Bang!”

The dream demon struck out with a palm force. Ye Ziying, unable to resist, was forced back and spat blood.

“A disciple of the Supreme Clarity Sect is nothing special,” the dream demon sneered, then strode toward Ye Qingbei.

“Father!”

Ye Ziying deeply regretted underestimating the enemy. Before leaving, a senior from the sect had asked if she needed help, but she had dismissed it, thinking only minor demons roamed White Cloud City.

She had been so confident she could handle it easily, not even bringing her spirit treasure.

Who would have thought the dream demon that came to White Cloud City was an eighth-grade powerhouse, and came specifically after her father?

“Don’t touch my father!”

At that moment, a heavy sound rang out. Ye Yun suddenly appeared behind the dream demon, wielding a long staff and striking forcefully on the demon’s head.

But with Ye Yun’s strength, it was barely enough to annoy the dream demon.

“Kid,” the dream demon said as it turned, grinning. “You’re brave.”

With a mere lift of its gaunt palm, it sent Ye Yun flying into the house.

Ye Yun spat blood upon impact, collapsing in a daze.

“Yun’er!” Ye Qingbei shouted in alarm.

“Enough,” the dream demon turned to Ye Qingbei. “I originally intended to enter dreams to search for something, but now I’m too lazy to do it myself. Tell me, where is the Ninth Prince?”

Ye Qingbei’s expression changed. “There’s no way I’d know the Ninth Prince’s whereabouts.”

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“Oh?” The dream demon nodded, then turned and strode into the house. “If you don’t know, I’ll kill your son as a reminder!”

With that, it grabbed the struggling Ye Yun by the neck. Ye Yun’s face contorted in pain, and the demon’s palm seemed ready to crush him.

“Stop!”

Ye Qingbei roared, veins bulging as he fought despair.

“I’ll give you three breaths…” The demon’s grip slowly tightened.

Ye Ziying watched helplessly as her brother was gripped in the demon’s hand.

Then, unexpectedly, Ye Yun’s face reddened as he seemed to mutter something.

“What did you say?” the dream demon asked curiously, leaning closer.

“I said… you… die!” Ye Yun shouted desperately, then suddenly lifted his hand. Unseen until now, a talisman appeared in his palm!

Seizing the dream demon’s moment of unpreparedness, Ye Yun pressed the talisman against the demon’s forehead.

When Ye Yun fell earlier, the talisman had been beside him. Though he believed Ye Ziying’s warning that it might be a fake, in this critical moment, he gambled everything on it.

“Buzz!”

In an instant, the talisman burst forth with dazzling light.

Beneath its glow, all demonic and evil spirits seemed purified. The eighth-grade dream demon didn’t even manage a scream before being instantly purified into ashes!

Everyone watched in disbelief as the demon turned to dust.

Clatter.

Ye Yun collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, then stared at the ashes in shock. “The exorcism talisman works! Father, sister, it’s real—the Taoist wasn’t lying. He truly is a peerless master!”

Ye Ziying stared blankly, utterly stunned.

The Taoist sect was in decline.

Long gone were its former glories.

No orthodox Taoist sects existed anymore, and no tales of transcendent Taoist masters remained. How could a single talisman possess such power?

That was an eighth-grade dream demon.

A mere talisman had reduced it to ashes in an instant.

Then what level of master must have crafted this talisman?

Such a master would be a priceless ally for White Cloud City.

“Yun’er,” Ye Qingbei nodded. “Well done. Tomorrow, you’ll go find that elder and properly thank him for saving your life! Be sure to invite him to the city lord’s mansion as an honored guest.”

“Leave it to me!”

For the first time, Ye Yun beamed with joy at his father’s praise.

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“Why hasn’t he returned yet?”

At the Longevity Temple, by all rights, Liu Dongyue should have come back today, but there was still no sign of him. Li Hanzhou found himself unable to focus on his reading.

Another matter left Li Hanzhou feeling exasperated.

He originally had true energy at the sixth-grade realm, but as his spiritual energy increased, it had fiercely devoured all his true energy, as if transforming it into nourishment.

Now, Li Hanzhou bore no trace of true energy—he looked like an ordinary man.

What surprised Li Hanzhou was that, according to the “Northern Emperor Sutra” he cultivated, his current realm was considered the Qi Refining Stage.

His cultivation system was completely different from others.

Unfortunately, the “Northern Emperor Sutra” was only an inner sect heart method and contained no spells.

“Senior apprentice uncle, Second Senior Brother is back!” Yun Qianzhu came running in.

“Finally back!” Li Hanzhou’s eyes lit up.

Liu Dongyue had returned with a thousand taels of silver!

But when Li Hanzhou stepped outside, he saw Liu Dongyue’s mournful face and the large silver axe slung across his back.

“What happened?” Li Hanzhou was puzzled. “Did you not make it into the top thousand?”

“Yeah,” Liu Dongyue replied. On the way back, he had already decided it was better to say he hadn’t placed first than to admit he failed to enter the top thousand at all. Besides, the first place didn’t even get much of a reward.

“With my Seven Treasures Gourd, you still didn’t make it into the top thousand?” Li Hanzhou looked disappointed, struggling to accept it.

The thousand taels of silver were gone.

The day to repay the debt was approaching.

There were experts at the gambling dens in White Cloud City. With only the members of the Longevity Temple—old, weak, sick, and minors—they simply couldn’t compete.

“That axe—where did it come from?” Li Hanzhou eyed the Ruyere Axe in surprise. When did Liu Dongyue switch to an axe as his weapon?

“Oh, it’s a gift,” Liu Dongyue hastened to explain.