Chapter 8: Times Have Changed!

An Imperial-rank demonic beast is kneeling?

They couldn’t believe their eyes.

Ye Guan looked at the Path Sword.

After a moment of silence, he asked Master Pagoda, “Master Pagoda, are you familiar with this demonic beast?”

It took Little Pagoda a while to reply, “Yes, I know this demonic beast.”

Ye Guan quickly took Little Pagoda out.

The demonic beast was stunned when it saw the pagoda.

“That’s…” it muttered.

Ye Guan stared deeply at the demonic beast and asked, “Do you know Master Pagoda?”

The demonic beast gulped before replying, “Are you talking about Little… Pagoda?”

Little Pagoda calmly asked, “You’re an imperial beast, so how did you end up in such a pitiful state?”

No one else could hear Little Pagoda’s voice aside from the Imperial-rank demonic beast, and its expression turned ugly upon hearing Little Pagoda’s voice.

“It really is you!” exclaimed the Imperial-rank demonic beast.

Little Pagoda seemed full of emotions as it said, “I didn’t expect that we’ll meet here.”

The Imperial-rank demonic beast replied, “Little Pagoda, just what exactly happened? If I hadn’t run away as fast as I could, I would have died back then.”

Little Pagoda went silent for a while before saying, “It’s a long story.”

The Imperial-rank demonic beast hesitated before looking at Ye Guan. “Is he Ye Shao’s—”

Little Pagoda interrupted, “Hush!”

The Imperial-rank demonic beast’s expression became complex, and its eyes were slightly warm as it looked at Ye Guan.

Little Pagoda said, “Have you been hiding here all this while?”

The Imperial-rank demonic beast muttered, “Yes…”

“Are you about to leave?” asked Little Pagoda.

“I’m going to the Guanxuan Universe because I sensed Department Head Erya’s call,” said the Imperial-rank demonic beast with a light nod. It then hesitated before saying, “Do you want to go there together?”

Little Pagoda replied, “No, I can’t.”

The Imperial-rank demonic beast was confused. “Why not?”

Little Pagoda’s voice turned solemn as it said, “His identity is special, and he can’t be allowed to go to the Guanxuan Universe for the moment.”

The Imperial-rank demonic beast looked at the Path Sword in Ye Guan’s hands and asked. “Is he really her successor?”

Little Pagoda responded, “Yes.”

The Imperial-rank demonic beast went silent.

Little Pagoda said, “You should go.”

The Imperial-rank demonic beast hesitated before looking at Ye Guan. It smiled a little before opening its paws. A small box appeared in its paws, and it floated over to Ye Guan. “Young lad, this is a Demonic Beast Internal Pill that I got after killing several demonic beasts in the past. Take it.”

Ye Guan was stunned, but he quickly recovered and said, “Thank you, senior!”

“We’ll meet again one day!” said the Imperial-rank demonic beast before turning around and heading deeper into the cave. Soon, it turned into a ray of light that pierced the cave’s ceiling to disappear into the clouds.

The entire Nanzhou was stupefied at the sighting of an Imperial-rank demonic beast! The experts of Nanzhou were shocked as they looked in the direction of Nanshan Mountain.

…

Meanwhile, Ye Guan hurriedly stored the earth vein away before looking toward Si Qing.

“The appearance of an Imperial-rank demonic beast means that experts will soon arrive here. Experts from Beizhou and Zhongzhou are probably rushing over here as we speak. You have to be careful,” said Si Qing.

She paused before continuing. “I will attract their attention. Take Lady Jia with you and do your best to escape. We’ll meet again one day.”

With that, Si Qing took flight and rushed to the cave entrance.

Ye Guan and Nalan Jia headed back to where they had come from. They moved as fast as they could, and they reached the cave entrance in the blink of an eye.

The cultivators at the cave entrance were focused on Si Qing, so Ye Guan and Nalan Jia managed to leave without attracting any attention.

While Ye Guan and Nalan Jia were on their way back to Ancient Desolate City, they saw many cultivators with extremely powerful auras flying above them. There were many of them, but they only had one destination—the Nanshan Mountain Range.

Ye Guan’s expression turned solemn. The appearance of an Imperial-rank demonic beast in a place as remote as the Nanshan Mountain Range was strange, so many cultivators were in a hurry to investigate the place.

Soon, Ye Guan and Nalan Jia arrived at Ancient Desolate City.

Upon arriving at the city entrance, Ye Guan took out the small box that the Imperial-rank demonic beast gave him, and it turned out that the box contained six Demonic Internal Beast Pills, but one of the pills was Imperial-rank while the remaining pills were Sky-rank.

Needless to say, the pills were extremely valuable.

There’s actually an Imperial-rank Demonic Internal Beast Pill here! Ye Guan’s expression changed. If someone else were to find out, they would definitely go crazy.

A few internal pills were enough to dramatically increase the strength of any demonic beasts. In other words, internal pills were like holy items to demonic beasts.

Of course, internal pills also contained a huge amount of energy that humans could absorb. The value of these pills was no less than an earth vein. Nalan Jia’s beautiful eyes filled with shock as she stared at the pills.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Ye Guan handed over three Sky-rank Demonic Internal Beast Pills to Nalan Jia.

“These are yours,” he said.

Nalan Jia was stunned.

“I have to go back to the Ye Clan. Little Jia, see you next time,” said Ye Guan. He then turned around to leave.

However, Nalan Jia grabbed him. Ye Guan turned to look at her and saw that she was staring deeply at him.

“Are these pills really for me? These pills are Sky-rank Demonic Internal Beast Pills…” muttered Nalan Jia.

Ye Guan froze, but he quickly recovered and asked, “And what’s wrong?”

Nalan Jia wordlessly stared at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan smiled. He knew what she was trying to say, so he took out a pill. It was the Mixed Origin Pill that Nalan Jia gave to him. Ye Guan stared deeply at Nalan Jia before saying, “No amount of Sky-rank Demonic Internal Beast Pills will be as precious as this Mixed Origin Pill.”

With that, Ye Guan finally left.

Nalan Jia watched him leave, and a smile soon appeared on her lips. It was such a beautiful smile that everything around her paled in comparison to it.

…

Ye Guan immediately looked for Ye Xiao upon arriving at the Ye Residence.

There were only Ye Guan and Ye Xiao in the vast hall. Ye Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. He had been too worried when he heard that an Imperial-rank beast had appeared at the Nanshan Mountain Range.

An Imperial-rank beast is no joke, but to think that a demonic beast like that would appear here…

After Ye Xiao’s initial shock passed, he started worrying about Ye Guan. He finally sighed in relief after seeing that Ye Guan managed to return home safely.

Ye Guan placed two Earth-rank cultivation manuals in front of Ye Xiao and said, “Clan Leader, these two are Earth-rank cultivation manuals. Please take a look and see which one of them is the most suitable for you. You can share them with the rest of the clan once you’ve memorized them.”

Ye Xiao was stunned.

However, Ye Guan wasn’t done just yet. He took out a storage ring and placed it in front of Ye Xiao. “This storage ring contains a thousand gold spiritual crystals and five thousand pure-grade purple spiritual crystals. Please distribute it accordingly.”

With that, Ye Guan stood up and turned around to leave.

Ye Xiao’s voice was trembling as he exclaimed, “Little Guan!”

Ye Guan came to a halt. “Clan Leader, please make sure to hide the cultivation manuals and the spiritual crystals from any outsider. Otherwise, our clan could get into trouble.”

With that being said, Ye Guan finally left.

Ye Xiao was left by himself in the vast hall. He stared at the Earth-rank cultivation manuals and the storage ring for a long time. Eventually, he came back to his senses and shook his head with a smile. “That lad is really…”

…

Upon departing the hall, Ye Guan headed to Ye Qing’s residence. It didn’t take Ye Guan long to find Ye Qing.

Ye Qing was stunned, but he soon recovered and greeted Ye Guan. “Greetings, Brother Ye Guan.”

Ye Guan handed over the remaining Earth-rank cultivation manual to Ye Qing.

“This is yours,” said Ye Guan.

Ye Qing stared blankly at the scroll.

He opened it, and his expression instantly changed. “Brother Ye Guan, this manual…”

Ye Guan nodded and replied, “Train well. The Ye Clan needs us both.”

With that, Ye Guan turned around and left.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing went back to his room. He shook his head and smiled while staring at the Earth-rank cultivation manual. “Tutor…”

A voice echoed inside him. “He’s not an ordinary person, that’s for sure, and he’s bound to achieve great things.”

Ye Qing chuckled bitterly.

The voice continued. “Didn’t you say that you want to lead the Ye Clan to glory? Why don’t you work with him? He obviously has the same ambition as you. “

Ye Qing didn’t say anything.

The voice said, “I know that you do not like to fall behind anyone, but you should learn to acknowledge that there will always be someone stronger than you rather than being jealous. Don’t make a mistake because of jealousy. Do you understand?”

Ye Qing’s expression turned grim as he said solemnly, “Yes, I understand.”

...

Ye Guan soon arrived at the hill behind the Ye Residence. He sat cross-legged on the summit and took out the tiny pagoda.

Ye Guan stared at the tiny pagoda and asked, “Master Pagoda, do you not have anything you want to say to me?”

However, Little Pagoda remained silent.

Ye Guan frowned slightly.

Little Pagoda finally spoke, but it berated him. “You’re in danger!”

Ye Guan stiffened upon hearing Little Pagoda’s claim.

Little Pagoda explained, “Did you really think that you’re destined to reach great heights just because a demonic beast was nice to you?”

Ye Guan asked carefully, “What do you mean?”

Little Pagoda sighed and replied, “You’re in serious danger, lad! That demonic beast treated you well, but it also means that there’s a higher chance of exposure. Do you know the consequences if people found out about who you really are?”

“What about my mother?” asked Ye Guan with a grim look.

Little Pagoda went silent.

Ye Guan’s eyes narrowed. “Was she murdered?”

Little Pagoda hurriedly said, “Thankfully, she’s still alive. However, she’s trapped.”

Trapped? Ye Guan frowned, obviously confused.

Little Pagoda continued with its tricks. “Anyway, you have to keep cultivating. You have to become strong enough to face the trouble that will come knocking on your door the moment your cover is blown. You have to become incredibly strong—a lot stronger than an Imperial-rank demonic beast. Otherwise, you don’t stand a chance against them.”

Ye Guan frowned and asked, “What about my father? Does he not care at all?”

Little Pagoda replied, “Your father married into her clan, and he has no influence as a son-in-law.”

Ye Guan was speechless.

Little Pagoda sighed and said, “Both you and the Ye Clan are in a bad position. The Ye Clan and you are doomed if they manage to find you. I don’t know if you can even comprehend their strength, but let me give you an example. Remember that Imperial-rank demonic beast? In their eyes, an Imperial-rank demonic beast is just an ant!”

Ye Guan closed his eyes to digest Little Pagoda’s words, and he felt like he was under immense pressure.

The Imperial-rank demonic beast he had encountered could kill him quite easily, but to think that an Imperial-rank demonic beast was just an ant in their eyes.

It seemed that there was always someone stronger and more powerful in this world.

Ye Guan took a deep breath and spoke, “Master Pagoda, can I go into the pagoda to train?”

Little Pagoda said, “I can’t open it right now.”

Ye Guan replied, “I have purple and gold spiritual crystals.”

Little Pagoda declined. “They’re useless to me. You should use them for yourself.”

Ye Guan was stunned, and he couldn’t help but ask. “Even purple and gold spiritual crystals are useless to you?”

Little Pagoda responded, “Yes. My injuries are too severe, and I also lost some of my abilities.”

Ye Guan asked, “Were they the ones who hurt you?”

Little Pagoda didn’t deny it. “Yes.”

Ye Guan muttered, “You poor thing…”

Little Pagoda didn’t know what to say.

Meanwhile, Ye Guan sat cross-legged on the ground to try and make a breakthrough to the All-Truth Realm. He realized something when he met Zheng Lin and Nan Qingyue.

The members of the grand clan were unruly, and they were even more willful the stronger they were. They were arrogant as well, and they looked at those weaker than them as nothing but ants they could easily crush.

But why? Just because. A justification was useless in front of absolute power.

Ye Guan was convinced that his clan was probably more outrageous than the grand clans of Nanzhou. However, he really couldn’t understand his father. How could a man be so subservient?

Meanwhile, the mysterious voice spoke in the pagoda, “Aren’t you afraid that your joke will create trouble?”

Little Pagoda calmly responded, “What can I do? Tell him the truth? Aren’t you afraid that he’ll end up like his father? If he destroys this world, do you really think that we can just head to the next one? Sigh, times have changed! That won’t work anymore.”

The mysterious voice went silent.

Little Pagoda said, “He’s a really capable lad, we can’t let him stray from the path.”

The mysterious voice could only sigh in response.

Meanwhile, Ye Guan emerged from his meditation and looked up. The clouds split, revealing the figure of a woman flying toward him. It didn’t take her long to arrive in front of Ye Guan.

The woman looked like she was in her twenties, and she was wearing a sky-blue dress. Her hair draped over her shoulders, and her features were delicate. She was holding a fan in her right hand, and there was a wine gourd hanging by her waist.

Overall, she was beautiful with a seemingly outspoken demeanor.

She’s beautiful!

Ye Guan thought after seeing her for the first time. However, he raised his guard up after being unable to deduce the woman’s strength. The woman was the strongest cultivator he had seen aside from the imperial-rank demonic beast.

The woman stared at Ye Guan and asked, “Are you Ye Guan?”

Ye Guan nodded and asked, “You are?”

The woman smiled. “I am Fei Banqing. I’m Little Jia’s tutor.”

Ye Guan blinked and asked, “Do you have business with me?”

Fei Banqing stared at Ye Guan. “I’ll get straight to the point. I want you to call off your engagement with Little Jia. It’s only a matter until Little Jia becomes a Nascent Divinity Realm cultivator, and she’ll quickly reach the Truth Realm because of her unique physique.”

After saying that, Fei Banqing took a swig of the wine in the wine gourd. A trickle of wine dripped from the corner of her mouth, depicting a rather risque scene.

Ye Guan remained silent.

Fei Banqing finally continued. “Once she reaches the Truth Realm, she’ll be the top student of our academy, and she’ll represent us in the decennial martial contest of the Milky Way. She’ll definitely meet many talented people there, and she’ll earn a ton of resources…

“In other words, it’s only a matter of time until she becomes even more outstanding than she is right now.”

Ye Guan continued to remain silent while staring at Fei Banqing.

Fei Banqing took another swig of her wine before saying, “I have always been pragmatic and frank, so let me tell you this: You and Little Jia belong to different worlds. You’d be in a world of hurt if you were to forcefully stay with her.”

Fei Banqing stared deeply at Ye Guan. “She’s still very young, and I’m sure that she hasn’t thought about her future. However, I’m sure that you’ll eventually realize that the two of you aren’t fated for each other. It’ll become obvious once you can’t keep up with her anymore…

“When the time comes, the inevitable separation will only be more painful and horrible. You’re also going to have a hard time surviving with her by your side because she’s also extremely beautiful in addition to her talent…

“Do you have any idea just how many young men are pursuing her? Her suitors are not only talented, but their clans are powerful as well—”

Ye Guan suddenly flipped his palm.

Whoosh!

A sword appeared in front of him, and he immediately gripped it before pointing the sword at Fei Banqing.

The ferocious aura of the sword enveloped Fei Banqing.

Fei Banqing stared blankly at the sword in Ye Guan’s hands. Her right hand was still holding her wine gourd, and the wine in her mouth started trickling down her chin, creating a rather beautiful and provocative sight.

Moments later, Fei Banqing loosened her grip on the wine gourd and smiled before saying, “Young Master Ye, please forget I said anything, and let me start all over again.”

With that, Fei Banqing moved even closer to Ye Guan and reached out to hold the latter’s right hand.

“Be my disciple,” said Fei Banqing. Her gaze toward Ye Guan turned fiery as she continued. “I’ll be the witness to your marriage with Little Jia. If someone is daring enough to object, I will crush their balls personally!”

Ye Guan didn’t know what to say.