Chapter 589: Unexpected Encounter

The lady, clad in a long, flowing red dress, had unmatched beauty. He instantly recognized her as Mo Yaoyao of the Mo Clan, the lady who had used the fishing method before.

Seeing Ye Guan also momentarily stunned Mo Yaoyao.

"It's you," she said.

"Are you a Divine Courtyard student?" Ye Guan asked, his voice carrying a hint of gravity.

A charming smile graced Mo Yaoyao's lips. "You too?"

Ye Guan nodded.

"I never would have expected you to be in the Divine Courtyard. Fate has truly brought us together."

Ye Guan chuckled softly, genuinely surprised by the revelation that this lady was part of the Divine Courtyard.

"Have you two met before?" Su Yuan interjected.

Ye Guan nodded. "Once."

Su Yuan's laughter was light. "Great. You don’t need introductions, then."

He vanished into thin air.

All eyes focused on Ye Guan and Mo Yaoyao.

Ye Guan turned to Mo Yaoyao. "May I ask your name, miss?"

"I'm Mo Yaoyao," she answered. Before Ye Guan could introduce himself, she added, "I know who you are. You're Ye Guan, a swordsman."

Ye Guan chuckled in response. "Yes."

With a delicate gesture, Mo Yaoyao tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile retaining its charm. "I won't hold back."

"I won’t—"

Before he could finish, Mo Yaoyao disappeared, and a streak of crimson light flew toward him. He swiftly raised his sword to block the attack.

Bam!

A resounding clash echoed as Ye Guan was hurtled backward. In a flash, Mo Yaoyao closed the distance again. A streak of crimson light drew across his face before he could react.

Ye Guan swiftly countered with a thrust of his sword.

The force of the impact caused his weapon to shatter into pieces and sent him hurtling away again.

However, this time, Mo Yaoyao did not pursue him. Instead, she halted, her gaze fixed on Ye Guan, who had also come to a stop just a bit of distance away.

With a smile, she remarked, "I can tell you're not giving it your all. Remember, you must give your utmost effort if you want to stand a chance against me."

Meeting her gaze, Ye Guan nodded resolutely. "Understood."

Ye Guan took a step forward, and his form instantly turned ethereal.

Space Overlap!

In the blink of an eye, a myriad of swords surged toward Mo Yaoyao's direction. At the same time, the over ten thousand swords swiftly converged into one swift, precise, and ruthless sword.

Mo Yaoyao's eyes were briefly enveloped with surprise. She extended her palm, and a blood-red demonic beast emerged, promptly devouring Ye Guan's sword.

The scene left everyone dumbfounded.

Ye Guan deeply furrowed his brows.

Swallowed whole, just like that?

His gaze remained fixed on the blood-red demonic beast. It had a feline appearance and emitted an eerie aura. It let out a loud burp, as though it had a full meal.

High above, the Left and Right Bishops frowned. Even they did not know what kind of demonic beast it was.

Meanwhile, the blood-red demonic beast before Mo Yaoyao leaped forward, hurtling straight at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan repeatedly drew his sword, unleashing the Heavenrend Quickdraw.

Buzz!

A resonant vibration filled the air.

Countless overlapping sword lights cascaded toward the blood-red demonic beast, yet it remained undeterred. Opening its jaws wide, it devoured all of Ye Guan's sword energy. Right after, it lunged toward him.

Ye Guan countered with a horizontal sword strike.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Clang!

As their clash echoed, Ye Guan was sent flying thousands of meters away.

The blood-red demonic beast licked its lips, a look of satisfaction on its face.

Ye Guan's brows furrowed even deeper as he observed it. After devouring his sword energy, the blood-red demonic beast had grown even stronger.

Turning to Mo Yaoyao, Ye Guan asked, "What kind of demonic beast is that?"

Mo Yaoyao smiled gently. "A Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast. It's from the First God’s ear."

The Left Bishop was taken aback by the answer. "The legendary Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast... According to rumors, that beast can consume anything. After the internal war between the gods back then, it vanished without a trace. I never imagined it still existed."

Gazing at Mo Yaoyao, the Right Bishop softly murmured, "To think she can command the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast..."

The Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast, originally from the Daoist Temple, was one of the six divine beasts. It disregarded all other gods and only respected the First God. Now, however, here it was, obediently following Mo Yaoyao. This was highly unusual.

From a distance, Ye Guan glanced at the blood-red beast. "Can this creature consume anything?"

Mo Yaoyao nodded. "For now, yes."

Ye Guan smiled faintly, then vanished. A streak of sword light shot toward the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast. However, upon reaching the demonic beast, the sword light abruptly turned blood-red because of his Mad Demon Bloodline!

The Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast swallowed the sword light whole. At the same time, Ye Guan retreated thousands of meters away and silently watched it.

After consuming the sword energy infused with the Mad Demon Bloodline, the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast's expression tightened. Suddenly, its eyes turned blood-red. It then began to tremble violently, roaring madly as boundless murderous intent surged from within its body.

Ye Guan now had a strange expression on his face. The creature was clearly being influenced by the Mad Demon Bloodline. Even he, as a swordsman, couldn't fully control it, so this was only natural.

Taking advantage of the situation, Ye Guan pressed on, striking with his sword in quick succession. Each strike was infused with the power of the Mad Demon Bloodline. However, the beast, becoming increasingly enraged, indiscriminately devoured Ye Guan's sword energy.

Slowly, the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast's aura grew even stronger but also more abnormal. Eventually, it began to roar in fury. Becoming aggressive, it clenched down on its own fangs. Killing intent and hostility continued to pour out from it.

Meanwhile, the man in white frowned. "Qing'er, why does this bloodline aura feel so familiar?"

Plain Skirt Destiny calmly asked, "Does it?"

"Yes." As if to confirm his suspicions, he added, "Stop deceiving me and just tell me the truth."

"I won't," she replied.

The man was at a loss for words.

...

In the distance, Mo Yaoyao watched the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast become increasingly crazy with furrowed brows, realizing that she couldn't communicate with it anymore. Worse, when she attempted to, the beast even showed signs of hostility toward her.

Was it rebelling?

Mo Yaoyao turned to Ye Guan. "What did you do?"

"I fed it sword energy," Ye Guan replied.

"There's something wrong with your bloodline power."

She had sensed Ye Guan's bloodline power earlier, but she hadn't given it much thought at the time. She didn't expect that it could affect the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast, which was becoming more and more abnormal. Its murderous intent was growing stronger as time passed.

Observing the nearly out-of-control beast, Ye Guan quietly stepped back. He knew how terrifying the Mad Demon Bloodline could be. It could erode one's sanity, and this creature wasn't benevolent to begin with. Under the influence of the Mad Demon Bloodline, its evil side would come out.

An eerie atmosphere enveloped the arena.

All eyes remained fixed on the raging Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast.

In a sudden frenzy, the beast charged straight toward Mo Yaoyao, who stood closest to it.

What in the world?

Everyone in the arena was stunned. What was happening? Had the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast truly gone rogue?

Mo Yaoyao's expression darkened as she watched the beast rush toward her. She hadn't expected that it would turn against her.

What kind of bloodline was this? Even the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast couldn't subdue it.

Before she could ponder further, the creature reached her, prompting her to swiftly flip her right hand. A terrifying aura surged from her palm, forcefully suppressing the beast in its tracks.

The demonic beast roared angrily as it resisted.

Mo Yaoyao's brows furrowed again. Suddenly, Ye Guan sent hundreds of sword energies toward the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast.

Facing Ye Guan's onslaught of sword energy, the demonic beast indiscriminately devoured them all, further exacerbating its madness and strengthening its aura.

Glaring at Mo Yaoyao as if she were its mortal enemy, the now thoroughly mad beast relentlessly rammed into her.

Mo Yaoyao shot a glare at Ye Guan, who kept adding fuel to the fire.

Now that the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast had completely lost its rationality, Mo Yaoyao remained silent for a moment. She then opened her palm and summoned a blood-red book. In the next instant, a beam of blood light shot out, directly sucking the beast into the book.

Instead of continuing the fight, Mo Yaoyao just shot Ye Guan a fierce glare before turning into a beam of light and disappearing into the horizon.

She had to find a way to return the Devouring Spirit Ancestor Beast to normal. It was far too precious to her for her to let anything happen to it.

As Mo Yaoyao departed, everyone in the arena exchanged puzzled looks. What was going on?

Ye Guan shook his head with a smile. He hadn't anticipated things would turn out like this.

He turned to Su Yuan.

"Continue fighting," Su Yuan calmly instructed.

Perplexed, Ye Guan questioned, "Continue fighting?"

Su Yuan nodded. "The Inner Courtyard has found its champion. The Divine Courtyard should, too."

"Alright, then. Please proceed," Ye Guan said with a nod.

Su Yuan turned and glanced in a certain direction. After receiving some messages, he turned and disappeared.

Ye Guan felt puzzled. Just then, a man in white suddenly appeared before him.

Ye Guan and Little Pagoda were rendered speechless.