Chapter 140: Utterly Disheartened

Staring coldly at the old man ten paces away, she had already materialized a long whip in her hand. Her gaze remained icy as she assumed a combat stance, uttering not another word.

"I heard that your Azure Cloud Sect has produced a Spirit Body?"

"What!"

His target was actually Dongfang Yanran? Ye Yunque was struck with sheer panic!

One had to know that Dongfang Yanran's identity was strictly guarded by the Azure Cloud Sect. Only a dozen or so people were aware of it, including the elders who instructed Dongfang Yanran, the former sect master, the current sect master, and more than ten elders who held authority and credentials.

Could there be a traitor within the Azure Cloud Sect? Ye Yunque's mind raced through various possibilities. If that were truly the case, wouldn't Yanran be in grave danger?

Seeing that Ye Yunque remained silent, the old man continued on his own accord.

"Since you are a member of the Azure Cloud Sect, you should know where that Spirit Body is located!"

"Your cultivation is very weak, and this old man bears no hostility toward you. As long as you lure that Spirit Body out, I will spare your life. How about it?"

The old man said leisurely, squinting as he closely observed Ye Yunque's expression.

"In your dreams! That's impossible, you can give up on that idea right now, you scum!" Ye Yunque cursed viciously.

No matter how much she loathed Ye Wuyai, that hatred was strictly reserved for him and had nothing to do with Dongfang Yanran. Naturally, she would never drag Dongfang Yanran down just to save her own skin!

This was precisely why she would rather go crazy by herself than ever pick a fight with Dongfang Yanran.

The root of all evil was that idiot Ye Wuyai!

"Ye Wuyai, you absolute fool!"

"I'm about to die here, and where the hell are you out enjoying yourself?"

Ye Yunque was filled with unwillingness. She had not yet seen Ye Wuyai, nor had she seen Ye Ruyue and Ye Ruxue—who were not much younger than her—return home.

To let her die right now was something she naturally resisted with every fiber of her being!

Yet she knew that even if she agreed to the old man's demands, she would still end up dying a miserable death.

How numerous were the means of cultivators? Would methods to control someone be lacking?

The moment she agreed, her fate would likely be far more agonizing than death itself.

She could never forget the look the old man had given her—a naked, predatory gaze that made her skin crawl with intense discomfort.

Unfazed by Ye Yunque's curses, the old man instead let out a low, sinister laugh.

"Little girl, this old man is a mighty cultivator of the Four Poles of the Golden Core realm. Although my cultivation has fallen to rock bottom, I still possess the strength of the Golden Core realm. As long as you bring the Spirit Body to me, I will certainly recover my cultivation, successfully break through to the Golden Core Dragon Bridge realm, and become the undisputed number one expert in this Yan territory!"

"By then, I will unconditionally grant you three requests!"

"What do you say?"

The old man smiled beamingly as he looked at Ye Yunque. He believed that Ye Yunque would never refuse such a magnificent stroke of fortune.

Three promises from a Golden Core Dragon Bridge expert—this was no different from pie falling straight from the sky.

Just as the old man was lost in his daydreaming fantasies of getting his hands on the Spirit Body, three words shattered his thoughts:

"I refuse!"

Ye Yunque said indifferently, casting a look of utter disdain and contempt toward the old man, showing not a shred of fear!

The old man had misjudged Ye Yunque's character because he fundamentally did not understand this woman! Ye Yunque possessed a fiery temper; she was straightforward, bold, open-hearted, and spoke her mind. With such a style of daring to love and hate, it was simply impossible for her to collude with this old man.

The old man's facial muscles twitched slightly. This slap in the face came too swiftly, catching him off guard.

"Ahem!" He feigned a couple of coughs to ease the awkward atmosphere of the moment.

"This old man will add one more condition! As long as you bring the Spirit Body out, I am willing to take you as my disciple. Whatever you desire, this old man will be able to make it happen for you."

The old man declared with overbearing dominance. By then, he would be the number one expert in the Yan territory. As the disciple of the number one expert in the Yan territory, this condition should be more than enticing enough.

The old man figured that if such a heaven-sent stroke of good fortune had fallen upon his own head, he probably would have been too excited to sleep.

Looking at Ye Yunque, he thought to himself, "With such an alluring condition, this little girl surely has no reason to refuse now."

"I am never going to help you, so you can banish that thought from your mind! Last time you almost wiped out ten thousand lives of the Ye family! Do you think that with such a massive hatred as a premise, a few words from you can make everything as if nothing ever happened?"

Ye Yunque said with extreme scorn, looking at the old man as if he were an absolute idiot.

"Hmph!"

The old man let out a cold snort. No matter how nicely or reasonably he spoke, this stubborn little girl simply refused to take the bait.

"Since that is the case, don't blame this old man for being ruthless!"

The old man was also losing his patience. Although he urgently needed to absorb the Spirit Body, this girl possessed such breathtaking beauty.

Seizing this girl and keeping her as a dual-cultivation cauldron was also an exceptionally good alternative choice.

With this thought, the old man's gaze lost all restraint, staring fixedly at the front of Ye Yunque's body.

Encountering the old man's aggressive and predatory gaze, Ye Yunque felt a surge of revulsion, finding it utterly sickening.

Were it not for the disparity in their cultivation, she genuinely wanted to tear him limb from limb and throw him into the river to feed the fish!

"Hehe, since you are unwilling, don't blame this old man for capturing you to serve as a dual-cultivation cauldron! Judging by how dense your yin essence is, you're still a virgin, aren't you? Rest assured, this old man will treat you well."

The old man laughed with a wicked, piercing cackle.

"In your wildest dreams! I'd rather die than let a piece of trash like you benefit from me!"

Ye Yunque shouted angrily, gripping her whip tightly as she watched the old man with heightened vigilance.

"Whoosh!"

The old man took a step forward, moving as if by teleportation, and instantly arrived a mere two meters in front of Ye Yunque.

"So fast!" Ye Yunque thought inwardly in alarm. Without slackening her pace, she channeled her spiritual energy to the fullest and lashed downward instantly toward the crown of the old man's head.

The whip drew closer and closer to the top of the old man's head. When it was twenty centimeters away, the old man finally moved!

In an instant, he shifted direction and darted to Ye Yunque's right side.

The whip struck the ground at that very moment with a sharp snap, tearing a massive, gaping fissure across the earth amidst a flurry of shattered debris.

This crack was seven or eight meters long, and its depth extended outward continuously, measuring around one to two meters deep. The ground had literally been split open by the force of the whip!

This vividly demonstrated the terrifying might of a Qi-Forming realm cultivator.

Had that strike landed squarely on the old man's body, even a cultivator of the Golden Core realm would likely have suffered some degree of injury from taking it head-on.

"Quite the fiery temper, but ultimately you belong to me. Surrender yourself obediently."

The old man chuckled with an air of absolute calm and ease. Laughing softly, he took step after step toward Ye Yunque.

As the old man advanced, Ye Yunque retreated a step; wherever she moved backwards, the old man followed forward.

Ye Yunque whipped out frantically at the old man again and again, quickly reducing the ground into a chaotic mess, yet she failed to touch even a corner of the old man's robe.

She could only retreat continuously while wildly brandishing the whip in her hand!

Losing his patience for games, the old man pinpointed a flaw in Ye Yunque's defense, took a swift stride forward, and materialized right in front of her like a phantom!

With one hand, he tightly seized Ye Yunque by the throat and slowly lifted her into the air.

Facing the old man before her, no matter how desperately Ye Yunque struggled, it was entirely futile. Her heart sank into utter despair.

A cultivator of the Golden Core realm was simply too terrifying; she was fundamentally no match for him.

On the other side of the cliff!

Ye Wuyai slowly opened his eyes!