Chapter 822: Chapter 324: Taking the Initiative (Double-Length Chapter)

The attack on the Cangzhou Ye Clan has shocked the world.

The Youzhou Lin Clan, currently allied with the Cangzhou Ye Clan, will not sit idly by in response to Cangzhou’s request for aid, and they immediately dispatched members southward to Cangzhou.

Although the Qingzhou Ye Clan has various disagreements with the Cangzhou Ye Clan, this time, upon receiving a message from Cangzhou, the clan leader Ye Yan also sent masters from the clan to provide assistance.

Previously, in the battle of Earth Sea, Ye Morong achieved a remarkable feat by shooting dead the young clan leader of the Poli Clan, Li Yongzong, the Eighth Heaven Great Witch.

Subsequently, he himself also perished in the great battle.

Unfortunately, the clan chief of the Poli Clan, Li Yan, does not seem to accept life for a life.

His fury has not been appeased and instead has spread to other members of the Cangzhou Ye Clan.

Although Ye Yan did not leave Qingzhou to head north, in normal circumstances, with Ye Moquan present and the Cangzhou Ye Clan’s Treasure of the Clan, the Star-Chess Seal, there was no reason for Li Yan and other Jiuli Grand Shamans to cause too much harm.

After all, Li Yan and the other Jiuli Grand Shamans, having ventured into the Mortal World, could face encirclement by Great Tang Cultivators at any time.

Even if they genuinely intended to act in Cangzhou, they would not engage in prolonged combat.

Unable to achieve success in a short period, the Jiuli people, like Li Yan, must consider whether they can still retreat.

Despite his wrath reaching its peak, as the clan chief of the Poli Clan and not just Li Yongzong’s father, Li Yan needs to consider the other clan members.

Therefore, when Ye Yan in Qingzhou heard news that Cangzhou was under attack and Ye Feishan among others perished, he could not help but be greatly surprised.

"Elder brother is absent?" Ye Yan, after confirming some details, was not less surprised, but rather more bewildered.

Ye Moquan, although he instructed Ye Wei and others to gather the clan members and be on guard to avoid giving others opportunities to exploit, he did not return to Cangzhou at the first instance.

As a result, this slight delay led to completely different outcomes.

It proved that Li Yan, the clan chief of the Poli Clan in Earth Sea, never considered using diversions or feints.

After settling his clansmen in Earth Sea, he asked Li De, the clan chief of the Bili Clan, to watch over them.

Then Li Yan himself, along with a few top experts from the Poli Clan, left Earth Sea, traveled day and night, and, following guidance from remnants of the Former Sui, used rituals refined by Yang Yuqi to resist Mortal World brilliance, heading directly for the Cangzhou Ye Clan where Ye Morong originated.

Although Great Tang Cultivators monitoring the Void Gateway from Earth Sea to the Mortal World promptly reported to all parties, Li Yan’s decisive and swift actions exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Of course, what surprised Cangzhou more was that their own ancestor let them down...

Currently, the power of the Ye Clan in Cangzhou is actually quite substantial.

When the ancestral land in Jinzhou collapsed years ago, since only Ye Moquan stayed in the ancestral land, the clan suffered little in terms of casualties.

The Treasure of the Clan, the Star-Chess Seal, is now enshrined in the newly constructed ancestral home and shrine in Cangzhou.

Yet for them, the difficulty lies in that while relocating is easy, rebuilding the grandeur of their Jinzhou ancestral land’s cultural pulse and geography is extremely difficult.

Despite over a decade of rebuilding efforts by the Cangzhou Ye Clan, including nurturing and construction, the current ancestral land in Cangzhou is only beginning to take shape, barely resembling a model.

From an ordinary person’s viewpoint, it naturally covers a vast area, with continuous housing akin to a city.

But from a cultivator’s perspective, it’s difficult to say it has protective advantages in terms of geography.

If the invaders were Eighth Heaven cultivators, it would be more manageable.

But this time Li Yan of the Nine Heavens Realm came, accompanied by three Eighth Heaven Jiuli Grand Shamans.

Ye Wei, using the Star-Chess Seal, along with other clan experts, could engage with Li Yan and the other Grand Shamans.

But the destruction around them was hard to control.

Thus, some Ye clan members were still attacked and killed.

Even then, Li Yan was not yet satisfied.

His target was very clear.

Either Ye Wei or Ye Feishan.

Ye Feishan is now also a scholar of the Eightfold Heaven Realm.

But his opponent was Li Yan, the Ninth Heavenly Layer’s bloodthirsty Great Witch of the Blood River.

Ultimately, Li Yan, despite being hit by Ye Wei’s Star-Chess Seal, still managed to brutally kill Ye Feishan amidst the encirclement of numerous Ye clan experts.

During the battle, the other three Jiuli Grand Shamans also suffered some injuries to varying degrees.

But afterward, they left and broke out with Li Yan.

The Cangzhou Ye Clan looked upon the devastation, grief-stricken and unable to shed tears.

Ye Moquan arrived later, silently gazing at the devastation, at the corpse of his promising grandson, Ye Feishan, and was speechless for a long time.

Ye Wei approached him from behind, speaking with difficulty: "Father..."

"Those injured Jiuli Grand Shamans left, inform the court, and quickly encircle them, do not give them the chance to return to Earth Sea," Ye Moquan instructed.

Ye Wei replied: "Yes, Father."

Watching the body of Ye Feishan being attended to, more than shock and grief, Ye Moquan’s face revealed a deep sense of weariness.

"Come with me," Ye Moquan proceeded towards the ancestral shrine.

Ye Wei, surprised, instinctively felt that his elderly father had something significant to impart.

In such a moment, anxiety grew within him, yet he could only follow quietly.

...

Imperial Capital Luoyang.

Xiao Xueting was about to depart from the capital.

Her brother, Xiao Chunhui, was there to see her off.

"Second brother, you should head back, no need to see me off further." The armored female general nonchalantly ate the opened pine seeds, placing the husks into a small pouch she carried.

Beside her, a young civil officer, his build not particularly thin yet appearing slight, nodded: "Hmm, take care on your journey."

No matter what plans the Cangzhou Ye Clan harbored privately, this journey was officially because Ye Morong had served and won glory for the Great Tang, resulting in retribution from the Jiuli people.

The Tang Imperial Court naturally would not turn a blind eye.