Chapter 129: Divine Arts of the Winged Serpent Clan

"Whose family is it?" Yan Qingye asked expectantly.

Jun Yang extended his index finger and pointed at himself. "My family."

Ye Qi looked at Jun Yang in surprise. "Senior, are you from an ancient beast clan?"

"Don't you know? Senior Jun Yang is the patriarch of the Teng Snake clan," Yan Qingye said, filled with such pride that it was as if he were talking about his own kin.

Ye Qi was so excited he stammered slightly. "The... Teng Snake clan? The only one in hundreds of thousands of years to have a holy manifestation of their clan spirit?"

"Holy manifestation? What is that?" Yan Qingye asked, looking confused.

"You don't know about the Teng Snake clan's holy manifestation?" Ye Qi looked at him skeptically. "Wasn't that visible to everyone below the Holy Realm?"

"..." Yan Qingye was even more bewildered. He had no memory of such a thing. "When did that happen?"

Jun Yang coughed and gave Yan Qingye a hint. "It was when you were at home refining pills."

"When I was at home refining pills??" Yan Qingye had a sudden realization. That must have been when he was on Star Jade Island. It was no wonder he hadn't seen the Teng Snake clan's holy manifestation. "I was so obsessed with alchemy at that time that I missed it. What a pity."

"You certainly were obsessed," Ye Qi remarked, feeling a bit of admiration for Yan Qingye. The commotion caused by a holy manifestation was so massive that being able to focus on alchemy through it was something not many could achieve.

Yan Qingye chuckled awkwardly, then changed the subject, asking mysteriously, "Senior Jun Yang, what is the innate divine art of your family's clan spirit?"

"That old fellow in my family? Bewitchment."

"Bewitchment??" Both Yan Qingye and Ye Qi were shocked.

"Does it bewitch every clan spirit?" Yan Qingye asked curiously.

"Yes, everyone is affected. It just depends on the purity of their family bloodline. Those with higher bloodlines are less affected."

Yan Qingye swallowed hard. The divine arts inherent to ancient beast clan spirits were truly formidable. For instance, the Phoenix clan's spirit could purify and incinerate all who had fallen into devilry, while the Teng Snake clan's spirit was Bewitchment, capable of influencing even those with superior bloodlines.

Yan Qingye suddenly thought of Fan Lihua. He glanced toward the inner courtyard and whispered to Jun Yang, "Senior Jun Yang, what about the Candle Dragon clan's divine art?"

Jun Yang refused to say, tapping Yan Qingye on the head. "Why ask so much? Knowing too much won't do you any good."

Yan Qingye rubbed his forehead and let out a slightly disappointed "Oh."

Jun Yang turned to Ye Qi. "What day is the clan battle you agreed upon?"

"Five days from now, in the Poplar Forest in the west of the Immortal Realm," Ye Qi answered honestly.

Jun Yang nodded in understanding. "Since that's the case, I will take my family's clan spirit there in five days."

Ye Qi hurriedly stood up and bowed deeply to Jun Yang. "This junior is deeply grateful for Senior Jun Yang's great kindness. If there is anything I can do to help in the future, I will certainly spare no effort."

Jun Yang gestured for Ye Qi to rise. "It's nothing major. My family's old clan spirit is itching to go out and see the excitement anyway."

Ye Qi straightened up, feeling his heart settle. If it weren't for Yan Qingye and Jun Yang, his family might not end up like the Shangguan family, but they wouldn't be much better off. The family he had agreed to battle against was significantly stronger than his own. He didn't know what kind of spell he had been under when he agreed to it.

Thinking of this, Ye Qi said gravely, "That Han Xing is a bit sinister. The longer you spend around her, the easier it is to be led by the nose. If it were the old me, I certainly wouldn't have done something so reckless."

"Is that so?" Yan Qingye tilted his head, recalling the times he had met Han Xing, but he couldn't see anything strange about her.

Ye Qi nodded firmly. "Brother Qingye, it would be wise to be careful if you run into her."

"I have no intention of taking her as my maid, and I don't need any maids," Yan Qingye stated firmly.

Ye Qi shook his head with a smile. "I thought the same thing at first. When I saved her, I just thought I'd give her some spirit stones so she could live in peace. But after only a few words, I ended up bringing her home. Thinking about it now, I realize how strange that person is."

"And if what you said is true, she was the one who incited the Shangguan family into their clan battle, leading them to their current state. What exactly is her goal? A simple prank? She just doesn't want the major families of the Immortal Realm to have an easy time?" Ye Qi didn't think the reason was that simple.

Yan Qingye fell into deep thought as well.

"What benefit would she gain from both of your clan spirits being damaged?"

"What other benefit could there be?" Jun Yang interjected. "Aside from taking the opportunity to have her family's clan spirit absorb your weakened spirits and reaping the rewards while others fight, there couldn't be any other goal, could there?"

Yan Qingye suddenly realized, "Does that mean she might show up in five days?"

Ye Qi nodded in agreement. "That is highly likely. But to strengthen one's own family clan spirit through such methods... is she not afraid of falling into devilry?"

"Who knows?" Yan Qingye shrugged. Ever since he experienced the affair with the Qin family in the Upper Realm, he felt that people who were obsessed with their own narrow agendas were simply beyond understanding. To achieve their goals, they would stop at nothing, even falling into devilry.

The three chatted for a long time before Ye Qi stood up, preparing to head home.

After standing up, he bowed to Jun Yang and Yan Qingye once more. "Thank you both again for your great kindness."

Yan Qingye helplessly helped Ye Qi up. "You really are something; are you ever going to stop? If you really want to thank us, why not send Senior Jun Yang some good food, or send me some alchemy furnaces?"

Ye Qi stood up and smiled. "Fine, I'll go rummage through my family's treasury when I get home."

All three of them laughed.

After Ye Qi left, Yan Qingye prepared to return to the Alchemy Association. He walked toward the inner courtyard and stood at the door of You Xiyue's room, saying respectfully, "Little Master, I am returning to the Alchemy Association."

There was no sound from inside, but Yan Qingye was certain that You Xiyue knew. He bowed once and then departed.

Upon returning to the Alchemy Association, Yan Qingye saw Yun Jianxin and pulled him aside to chat.

"Do you know who I saw when I went back to the Upper Realm?" Yan Qingye said with a mysterious look.

Yun Jianxin raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Who did you see? How would I know?"

"I saw Ye Qi."

"..." Yun Jianxin looked at Yan Qingye in surprise. "Who is Ye Qi??"

Yan Qingye then remembered that Yun Jianxin didn't know the name of the man who had paid their bill at the Immortal Treasure Pavilion. "He's the one who treated us at the Immortal Treasure Pavilion."

Yun Jianxin nodded. "So it was him. Why would he go to the Upper Realm??"

"What do you think??"

Yun Jianxin looked at Yan Qingye, his mind turning. "Could it be to absorb the faith power of your family's clan spirit?"

"You guessed that??" Yan Qingye looked at Yun Jianxin in surprise.

Yun Jianxin curled his lips. "You two really are fated... So, did you fight?"

"Not really," Yan Qingye said with a hint of arrogance. "He didn't dare fight me. I just punched him once."