Nu Ying was ultimately defeated, a defeat so humiliating that even she found it difficult to accept. Yet there was no alternative—in the ancient order of cultivators where true strength is revealed through combat, defeat means losing control completely, and she officially fell under Ye Fan’s control.

At this moment, Nu Ying was no longer the arrogant and domineering figure she once was, sitting lifelessly on the ground. The majority of her power had been sealed by Ye Fan, leaving her with such depleted strength that not only could she not face Ye Fan, she wouldn’t even be able to hold her own against a female cultivator of Ming Ye Shangren’s level.

Nu Ying had completely lost the ability to resist, and as she looked at Ye Fan, disbelief lingered in her eyes. After all, she had been defeated by a human, and an ordinary human at that, like Ye Fan, who had lost most of his cultivation.

"I’ve warned you before, don’t overestimate your own strength!" Ye Fan spoke like a lofty monarch. "Now that you’re under my control, I don’t need your consent for anything I do to you. The only one who might save you now is Shun; do you think he will come to rescue you, or should I take you to challenge him actively?"

Nu Ying finally raised her head and said, "How you plan to fight that man is your business, there’s no need to seek my opinion. I think you can defeat Shun, but see for yourself! Although Shun bears the title of an ancient master, his cultivation might not even match yours, he’s not even comparable to Xuan Nu... Haha... "

Her ridicule of Shun was piercing, as if deliberately spoken for someone’s ears. Ye Fan scrutinized Nu Ying and shook his head helplessly, recognizing that Nu Ying harbored considerable resentment towards Shun. Despite being husband and wife, in the ancient cultivators’ order where they had cultivated together for hundreds of thousands of years, there was unlikely any deep affection remaining. Moreover, based on what Ye Fan knew, Shun didn’t inherently espouse monogamy; Shun should have quite a few confidantes.

Ming Ye Shangren asked, "Is she ridiculing Shun to lure him out?"

"No, you’re mistaken! Shun hasn’t come at all. Her ridicule is merely a reflection of her own incompetence!" A voice came from above Ye Fan’s head; someone he knew had arrived. Although this person wasn’t an ancient master, they were an integral part of ancient cultivators—Lei Zu, once a woman of the Yellow Emperor, who later bore a daughter for someone else and eventually left for the horizon with Xi He.

Lei Zu appeared before Ye Fan, and as Ye Fan appraised her, Lei Zu said, "Ye Fan, we meet again. I never thought you could retreat unscathed from Nuwa’s attack, yet your cultivation seems to have lost a lot!"

Ye Fan looked at Lei Zu, sensing her ill intentions upon arrival, he asked, "What? Do you want to try opposing me?"

"I can’t help it; I don’t wish to either!" Lei Zu appeared resigned, saying, "You’ve disrupted our ancient cultivators’ order. If I don’t come forward, then Nuwa will punish me—I can’t resist at all. However, if I do come forward, I’m aware there’s a significant gap between our cultivations. Why not let me face you once—if I lose, I’ll sign a Blood Oath with you, becoming your woman, as even Nu Ying cannot be an exception... Having two ancient female cultivators as your cauldron is surely not a bad thing?"

Nu Ying scoffed coldly, "You, Lei Zu, don’t involve me in whatever you’re doing. I won’t join forces with you!"

"You don’t want to join forces with me? Haha, do you think what you’re doing now is vile? You want to kill Ye Fan, seemingly following Nuwa’s orders, yet don’t forget that Nuwa has actually deviated from the original Life Realm order. Pan Gu and Fu Xi would absolutely not agree, even if you worship Nuwa’s insight, you have to admit that in matters of insight, the highest are still Pan Gu and Fu Xi. Only those two make me feel utterly perfect, worthy of trust; as for Nuwa’s decisions, I will not follow!" Lei Zu stated, "Yet now, constrained by the ancient cultivators’ order, I have to oppose Ye Fan—indeed, I want to test Ye Fan’s cultivation depth. Even if I lose, I will atone with myself, but you?"

Nu Ying no longer spoke; she closed her eyes as if wanting to quickly cultivate and break through Ye Fan’s restrictions, so she could kill Ye Fan and escape!

At this moment, Ye Fan asserted in an indisputable tone: "Lei Zu, don’t make excuses for your actions! I won’t listen to such reasoning. Since you’ve come to battle me, then show your abilities—I also want to see where your cultivation stands. If you can defeat me, then you’ll control everything, otherwise... true to your own words, obediently become my cauldron; after these two battles, I want to cultivate diligently, and need a strong cauldron!"

Lei Zu said, "Then Ye Fan, I wish you good luck!"

As Lei Zu spoke, a weapon resembling a Fang Tian Hua Ji appeared in her hands. This seemed incongruous for a seemingly delicate woman, but it paired well with Lei Zu, perhaps due to her particular aptitude with this weapon. Seeing it, Nu Ying instinctively took a step back, saying, "No wonder you dare to seek death, you have obtained your destined weapon!"

Ye Fan was unfamiliar with what a destined weapon was, but he knew this weapon had a strong affinity with Lei Zu, enabling her to enhance her cultivation to a relatively fearsome level, even though her cultivation was not high.

Even Xi He opened his eyes for a glimpse and said, "No wonder, you assist Nuwa because she offered you this benefit!"

"No, I merely wish to follow the ancient cultivators’ order!" Lei Zu continued to argue fiercely, but her tone carried a potent killing intent. She directly wielded her weapon to attack Ye Fan with formidable strength, leaving Ye Fan no place to retreat.

Ye Fan must face this power from an unknown origin and unknown strength directly; he had to be completely vigilant. After all, Ye Fan was merely a mortal and if he died, he would face eternal damnation, as he could not rely on reviving from the Spiritual Body. Thus he could only rely on his own efforts to prevail over Lei Zu before him, and he believed Lei Zu was inherently unable to contend with him.

"Since you’ve come here seeking death yourself, I won’t show mercy!" Ye Fan declared, as a Fire Dragon Sword appeared in his hand.

This Fire Dragon Sword was precisely the Divine Weapon he had obtained from Min Shang, which had helped him defeat countless enemies.