Chapter 328: Chapter 328: Nether Heart Seed

However, the Blast Origin Pill had a severe side effect: once its effects wore off, the user would fall into a weakened state, their strength less than half of what it was initially.

Evidently, these two were willing to use any means necessary to kill Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan’s brow furrowed. ’If I let the effects of the Blast Origin Pill continue to play out, I’ll definitely be at a disadvantage. I have to end this quickly.’

With this thought, Ye Xuan ignored the red-robed man’s attack from the side and suddenly raised a hand.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

The Profound-Slaying Daggers shot toward Xu Liang.

"You won’t get me with the same trick twice!" Xu Liang roared, but in his heart, he dared not be careless. He kept his eyes fixed on the daggers’ trajectory.

After Ye Xuan’s Soul Power broke through to the Fifth Grade, the power of his Profound-Slaying Daggers had surged. Coupled with their unique Profound Power-shattering effect, they were enough to threaten a Tier Five Martial Sect.

But Xu Liang was prepared. Before the daggers could even pierce his protective Profound Power, he swatted them away with his Wolf-Slaying Saber. At the same time, he unleashed the Martial Soul Power from within him, enveloping Ye Xuan’s body and frantically corroding his Profound Power.

This was the moment!

Ye Xuan’s gaze turned cold.

WHOOSH!

A black, weight-like object suddenly appeared above Xu Liang’s head. The object swelled in the wind, instantly growing to the size of a small mountain before crashing down on him.

Xu Liang never imagined that the Profound-Slaying Daggers were just a distraction. The real killing move was the Zhenyuan Stone above his head.

By the time he realized it, it was too late. The mountain-like Zhenyuan Stone was already upon him. A ruthless glint flashed in Xu Liang’s eyes. Knowing he couldn’t dodge, he yelled to the red-robed man and then raised his Wolf-Slaying Saber and slashed at the Zhenyuan Stone.

"Brat, die!"

Hearing Xu Liang’s roar, the red-robed man seized the opportunity. He lunged at Ye Xuan, who was enveloped by the black Martial Soul Power, and aimed a palm strike at his back.

’Now Ye Xuan has only two choices,’ the red-robed man thought. ’Either he recalls his Profound Treasure and retreats, seeking a slim chance of survival, or he gets killed by my palm strike.’

Facing the red-robed man’s attack, Ye Xuan neither dodged nor evaded. Pushing his Fifth-Grade Soul Power to its peak, he controlled the Zhenyuan Stone and brought it crashing down with full force.

The moment the black Zhenyuan Stone made contact with the Wolf-Slaying Saber, Xu Liang screamed ’Not good!’ in his mind. He had no idea what kind of Profound Treasure this black weight was, but the power coming from it was astonishing. With a CRACK, a notch appeared on his Wolf-Slaying Saber. Then, with a BANG, it shattered.

Xu Liang was utterly horrified. His Wolf-Slaying Saber was a Fifth-level Profound Soldier! What in the world was this dark Profound Treasure Ye Xuan was using that even his saber couldn’t withstand it? Faced with the threat of death, Xu Liang panicked and tried to flee with all his might, but it was too late.

With a sickening SQUELCH, Xu Liang was instantly crushed into a paste of flesh and blood.

Seeing Xu Liang fall, the red-robed man was both shocked and enraged. He hadn’t expected Ye Xuan to be so ruthless, willing to take such a terrifying blow just to kill Xu Liang. With no time for further thought, the red-robed man’s palm, containing the full force of his power, slammed heavily into Ye Xuan’s back.

BOOM! A dense cloud of fiery Profound Power completely enveloped Ye Xuan.

"Ye Xuan!"

Everyone cried out in alarm, their eyes wide with fury and fear.

The red-robed man was a Tier Five Peak Martial Sect. How powerful was his full-force attack, especially after he had taken a Blast Origin Pill? Even a Tier Six First Layer Martial Venerable would likely be severely injured or killed by such a blow.

How could Ye Xuan, a mere Tier Four Peak Celestial Martial Artist, possibly withstand it?

The red-robed man had the same thought. ’The brat’s finally dead,’ he mused. But before the weight in his heart could lift, his eyes suddenly bulged.

In the midst of the flames, Ye Xuan had somehow covered his body with a thick layer of Rock Armor. It was unclear what the armor was made of, but it was surprisingly tough, having completely blocked his attack.

SWISH!

From within the flames, Ye Xuan remained expressionless. A brilliant flash of sword light—beautiful, dazzling, and radiant—appeared before the red-robed man’s eyes.

The red-robed man’s eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn’t understand. Even if the Rock Armor on Ye Xuan’s body had blocked the impact of his palm, his fiery Profound Power should have surged into Ye Xuan’s body. With Ye Xuan’s strength, there was no way he could resist the corrosion of that fire. Why was he completely unharmed?

But that was a question he could only ponder in the afterlife. Ye Xuan’s Dragon Pattern Sword unleashed a beam of sword light, slicing down from above and cleaving him in two.

"You can’t kill me! Elder Gale will never let you go..." As he was being split in two, the red-robed man managed to choke out these terrified words.

Taking the man’s Storage Ring, Ye Xuan sneered. ’They probably don’t even know that their so-called Elder Gale is already dead.’

In a clearing not far away, Dongfang Yanyu and the others watched, dumbfounded. They were all stunned into silence.

The four members of the Profound Mystery Sect who had easily surrounded them, pushing them to the brink of annihilation, had been killed by Ye Xuan alone?

This...

Unbelievable.

At this moment, words could not describe the shock in their hearts. They all looked completely stupefied.

"Is everyone alright?" Ye Xuan asked as he walked over.

"We’re fine!" Dongfang Yanyu and the others finally snapped out of it. He gave a wry smile, then, as if suddenly remembering something, said urgently, "Ye Xuan, you have to leave! I heard those guys say that Elder Gale of the Profound Mystery Sect went after you. If he comes back, you’ll be in danger!"

"Don’t worry, Elder Gale is already dead," Ye Xuan said calmly.

"What? Already dead?"

Everyone’s expression froze. "How did he die?"

Seeing their shocked expressions, Ye Xuan rubbed his nose and nodded. "You could say I killed him."

Huh?

Even though they were mentally prepared for it, hearing the words come from Ye Xuan’s mouth still made everyone’s jaws drop. Their eyes looked ready to fall out of their sockets as they stared, dumbfounded.

"Everyone, heal your injuries first. I’ll clean up the scene."

Ye Xuan took out some Pills and distributed them. Then, while cleaning up the scene, he quietly absorbed all the Martial Soul Power from Xu Liang and the others.

A few moments later, Ye Xuan finished.

’Right!’

Ye Xuan suddenly remembered the strange aura that had enveloped his body when he killed Elder Gale.

He immediately sat down cross-legged and focused his mind to study it.

This aura was very mysterious. Although it hadn’t harmed him, it gave him the uncomfortable feeling of being constantly watched.

After a moment, Ye Xuan’s expression turned grim.

’This power... it’s a Nether Heart Seed! I can’t believe the Profound Mystery Sect has a Seventh-Grade Lord Level Soul Refiner.’

The Nether Heart Seed was an exceptionally strange Soul Power imprint. It was formed by condensing a unique Martial Soul Power and Soul Power aura, a technique that generally only a Lord Level Soul Refiner or higher could execute.

The Nether Heart Seed posed no threat to the body, but it acted like a tracking device, constantly pinpointing a Martial Artist’s location.

’It seems Elder Gale held a high position in the Profound Mystery Sect to have been given a Nether Heart Seed. This is trouble.’

Ye Xuan’s brows knitted tightly. The Nether Heart Seed was extremely difficult to create, and removing it was just as troublesome. However, even though his Soul Power had only recovered to the Fifth Grade, he wasn’t without options. His Endless Molten Flame could incinerate the Nether Heart Seed’s imprint.

The problem was, if he used the Endless Molten Flame to destroy the Nether Heart Seed, its aura would inevitably be sensed by the powerful expert who planted it, attracting the attention of the Profound Mystery Sect.

At that point, the entire Thirteen Nations Alliance would be plunged into war.

Ye Xuan knew very well how alluring a Celestial Fire was. The Profound Mystery Sect had dared to do all this for just the Floating Light Secret Realm. If they learned about a Celestial Fire, they would probably mobilize their entire sect to raze the Thirteen Nations Alliance to the ground.

But simply ignoring the Nether Heart Seed wasn’t a solution either. The Profound Mystery Sect would undoubtedly send experts to follow the seed’s trail and hunt him down.

In that case, the Liuyun Kingdom would also be dragged into war.

’I absolutely cannot bring the aura of the Nether Heart Seed back to the Liuyun Kingdom.’

Ye Xuan quickly made his decision.

Half an hour later, Dongfang Yanyu and the others, having recovered somewhat thanks to Ye Xuan’s Pills, came over and asked with concern, "Ye Xuan, are you okay?"

"I’m fine." Ye Xuan shook his head.

"We really owe you this time. We would have been in serious trouble otherwise," Chu Yunfei said with a wry smile, still shaken by the experience.

Even now, he still found it hard to believe that Ye Xuan had eliminated several masters from the Profound Mystery Sect. It was a level of strength he could only dream of attaining. And Ye Xuan was just a teenager, only seventeen or eighteen years old!

But then, thinking of Ye Xuan’s past feats in the Liuyun Kingdom, Chu Yunfei felt a sense of acceptance. It seemed there was nothing this kid couldn’t do.

"Let’s go. We should hurry back."

Although Ye Xuan had told them that Elder Gale was dead, Chu Yunfei and the others still felt uneasy lingering here.

"You guys go on ahead. I might not be returning to the Liuyun Kingdom," Ye Xuan said.

Everyone was taken aback.

"Do you still have something to do? Why don’t we wait for you, and we can all leave together when you’re done?" Kuchen offered.

"There’s no need. I might be leaving the Thirteen Nations Alliance."

"Why?"

Everyone froze. Yun Aoxue and the others stared at Ye Xuan in shock.

"There are some reasons I can’t easily explain." Ye Xuan shook his head, offering no further details. Telling them about the Nether Heart Seed would only make them and their families worry.

"Ye Xuan, do you really have to go?" Yun Aoxue asked, lowering her head and biting her lip.

Ye Xuan nodded.

A shadow passed over Yun Aoxue’s eyes. "Then can you tell me where you’re going?"

"If nothing goes wrong, probably the Dream Realm Plain," Ye Xuan said after a moment of thought.