Chapter Seventy-Five: The Passage!

Upon witnessing the ghastly fate of the nine corpses, Liu Xuan and the others were filled with terror and relief. Thankfully, they had managed to hide in a corner just in time and avoided being struck by the sharp hairs fired by the beast. Benny and another cultivator in the mid-stellar realm were fortunate as well; when the beast attacked, the cultivators standing before them took the brunt of the assault.

Staring at the lifeless bodies strewn across the ground, Benny clenched his fists, struggling to suppress his fear.
“This star beast is far beyond our power to defeat, Benny. We need to get out of here,” muttered the surviving cultivator beside him, trembling as the beast bared its teeth and crept closer.

Benny glanced up at the fissure above—the way they’d come in—and then turned to look at Yang Ye. Seeing Yang Ye’s contemptuous expression, Benny’s heart wavered fiercely.

Just then, the cultivator next to Benny suddenly leapt, aiming to escape through the crevice in the cave’s ceiling.

A flash of lightning burst forth from between the beast’s twin horns, striking the fleeing cultivator. His body spasmed midair, curled into a ball, and crashed heavily to the ground from dozens of meters up. By the time he landed, he was already dead.

Yang Ye realized that, after devouring a handful of stellar beast cores, the beast’s combat strength had grown several times more powerful than when it had first faced him.
“This creature is like a machine; previously, it lacked energy, but now it’s fully charged—its fighting prowess is truly terrifying,” Yang Ye remarked.

Liu Xuan and the others glanced at him, thinking, isn’t that obvious?
For a super-stellar star beast, its strength was bound to be overwhelming.

“Husband, Xiao Qing’s efforts were all wasted,” Long Xiaoqing said with a smile.

She had fought the beast for a long while, nearly exhausting its energy. Yet Yang Ye, in his turn, had handed it a heap of stellar beast cores, instantly restoring its strength to its peak.

Now, Benny was alone. The beast seemed to ignore Yang Ye’s group, advancing slowly with a deep growl, step by step, toward Benny. There was nowhere left for Benny to run.

Casting a glance at Yang Ye, Benny gritted his teeth and ran toward him. Embarrassing as it was, his life mattered more.

“Damn!”
One of Liu Xuan’s followers cursed and delivered a swift kick to Benny, sending him sprawling to the ground. Clearly, Benny was drawing danger toward them—his arrival would only spell disaster.

Benny scrambled to his feet, hatred flashing in his eyes as he glared at Yang Ye, who stood with arms folded, smiling.

“Why are you staring at me? I wasn’t the one who kicked you,” Yang Ye retorted, amused by Benny’s expression.

---

“Yang Ye, if I make it out alive, I’ll never let you off,” Benny snarled through clenched teeth.

Yang Ye’s eyes narrowed. “Benny, for that threat alone, I’ll never let you go.”

He then turned to the beast. “What are you waiting for? Finish him off! If you don’t kill him within a minute, I’ll skin you myself!”

The beast, recalling the beating it had received from Yang Ye earlier, opened its eyes wide in fear.

With a furious roar, it leapt at Benny.

Yang Ye watched with interest. The beast really was obedient.

The beast’s head smashed hard into the stone wall, shaking the cavern and sending a cascade of glowing crystals tumbling down. Benny dodged the attack deftly, and as the beast lunged, he drew two machetes and slashed them against its legs.

The blades struck with a pair of dull thuds, but failed to pierce the beast’s hide, bouncing off instead.

With a swish, the beast’s tail whipped across Benny’s back, sending him flying through the air. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he crashed to the ground.

Wounded, Benny scrambled up again just as the beast turned to face him.

Suddenly, the rush of wind above heralded the arrival of more cultivators. Through the fissure, a flood of stellar realm cultivators poured into the cavern—at least fifty, by Yang Ye’s estimation.

“Benny!”
A middle-aged man called out, frowning as he saw Benny wounded.

“Dad!”
Benny cried out in delight, darting to his father’s side.

“Liu Xuan, you four would do well to stay out of this. Leave now!”
Yang Ye scanned the newcomers and spoke calmly.

“This…”
Liu Xuan hesitated, then nodded. “Thank you for the warning.”

---

After speaking, Liu Xuan glanced at the beast, which was now glaring coldly at the newly arrived cultivators. With a leap, Liu Xuan vanished into the fissure above, swiftly disappearing. The three other cultivators from the Xia family exchanged looks and followed suit, leaving in haste.

Meanwhile, Benny whispered something to his father, hatred etched deep in his face.
His father’s expression turned icy as he looked at Yang Ye.

Suddenly, a section of stone wall moved aside, revealing a bright rectangular passage. At the end of the passage, a massive symbol—tadpole-like in shape—was carved into the wall.

Everyone’s attention shifted to the passage.

“That symbol! It’s… it’s from over a hundred years ago, left by those people!”
A voice cried out in shock from the crowd.

The beast roared, turning to guard the entrance.
One cultivator, eyes gleaming, darted toward the passage. As he reached the beast, a massive tail lashed out and struck him.

With a sickening thud, the cultivator was flung backward. Midair, his abdomen split open, organs spilling out. The beast’s tail had torn a gaping wound across his stomach. When he landed, he was still alive, twitching and screaming in agony.

Seeing this, Benny touched his chest, thinking that if it weren’t for his highly protective armor, he’d have ended up no better than that poor soul.

“Husband, should we go in?”
Long Xiaoqing asked, gazing at the passage.

Yang Ye shook his head, smiling. “Let’s wait until these fools are dead, then we’ll go.”

His words carried clearly to the group of American cultivators, drawing furious glares.

Yang Ye grinned. “Gentlemen, let me remind you—if you want treasure, you need the strength to claim it. If you try and end up with nothing but your life lost, it won’t be worth it. Now’s your chance to leave while you still can!”

He pointed at Benny, his voice cold. “Benny Houston, you threatened me just now. So, don’t expect to leave here alive.”

“Kill him!”
At Yang Ye’s words, Benny’s father frowned and commanded coldly.

Three figures leapt from the crowd, charging straight at Yang Ye.