Chapter 57: New Ally

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: New Ally

Ye Xuan arrived at the underground city where the Blazing Fire Serpent Clan resided.

He entered through a formation that connected the surface to the city, which could only be activated by members of the clan.

They arrived at a formation altar inside the city. One of the clan members approached them, a woman with long black hair.

She introduced herself as a servant assigned by Yan Jin to escort Ye Xuan and Qingyu to the guest residence that had been prepared for them.

Ye Xuan didn’t refuse and asked her to lead the way. He followed the half-human, half-snake woman toward another part of the city.

From time to time, he glanced around, clearly seeing numerous clan warriors training and preparing for battle.

Meanwhile, those who had been injured gathered in one place to cultivate and recover.

"What exactly happened? Why did the Northern Wind Eagle Tribe attack you?"

"We’ve been monitoring their movements for several months. Things came to a head last week when their forces arrived and attempted to seize control of Scarlet Moon Forest," the woman replied, turning her head as she spoke.

"However, you don’t need to worry. Clan Leader Yan Jin has already made all the necessary preparations and anticipated their attack."

"I heard you killed Elder Ying. That will certainly boost our morale, considering how important an elder’s position is within their tribe."

"Thank you for being willing to help us, Lord Ye and Miss Qingyu."

Ye Xuan remained silent and nodded. At first, he had only intended to hunt members of the eagle tribe and had no intention of getting involved in their war.

However, after entering the forest and realizing that a battle was taking place, he had no choice but to help Yan Jin’s clan.

They could help Qingyu devour the abilities of the eagle tribe members.

His decision had paid off. He had earned Yan Jin’s respect, and the members of the Blazing Fire Serpent Clan had begun to see him differently.

He had also gained the opportunity to kill Elder Ying, whose strength was equivalent to the Golden Core realm.

The man’s abilities could be extremely useful to Qingyu.

They arrived at the main compound of the Blazing Fire Serpent Clan.

The half-human, half-snake woman led Ye Xuan to a clean wooden house with a lush courtyard and a clear fish pond.

It was an ideal place for Ye Xuan to recover, while also allowing Qingyu to devour Elder Ying’s abilities in peace.

"I’ll stand guard outside in case you or Miss Qingyu need anything."

"All right," Ye Xuan replied softly.

After the door closed, Ye Xuan walked toward the backyard and saw a spacious area covered with grass.

He tapped his bag of holding and took out Elder Ying’s severed corpse, placing it on the ground.

"You can continue devouring his abilities now, Qingyu."

[Thank you, Ye Xuan.]

Ye Xuan sat on the back porch of the house.

He took out a spirit stone pouch from his bag of holding and broke it open, causing numerous low-grade spirit stones to float in front of him.

He knew that breaking through to the Golden Core realm would require a great deal of resources and time.

Ye Xuan didn’t want to rush things. His priority now was to recover.

He allowed the spiritual qi from each spirit stone to flow into his body.

Ye Xuan felt his body gradually becoming lighter and much more energetic. The tightness in his chest disappeared, and his breathing returned to normal.

Meanwhile, Qingyu continued devouring Elder Ying’s abilities.

Ye Xuan didn’t know whether she had found anything valuable within the man’s body, but he hoped she would gain something useful from it.

Ye Xuan continued cultivating without paying attention to the passage of time.

Three days had passed since his battle against Elder Ying, yet he was still focused on recovering.

That was understandable.

Not only were the spirit stones he used low-grade, but his battle against Elder Ying had also consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual energy due to his repeated use of powerful techniques.

His eyes opened, and a wave of qi spread throughout the wooden house. It even startled the servant standing guard outside.

The young man took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. He had successfully recovered his strength, but his cultivation base hadn’t increased.

His attention turned toward the white serpent beside him, Qingyu.

"How did it go, Qingyu?" Ye Xuan asked.

Qingyu turned her head, meeting Ye Xuan’s gaze.

[I gained one of his abilities, and it suits me quite well.]

"That’s good. Do you need to recover as well?" Ye Xuan asked.

[I already did that right after devouring Elder Ying’s ability. I’m feeling much better now.]

Ye Xuan stood up and walked into the house.

Suddenly, the door opened, and the female servant entered, lowering her head respectfully toward him.

"Clan Leader Yan Jin has arrived and left a message for you. If you’ve finished cultivating, he would like you to come to the clan’s main hall."

"All right. Lead the way," Ye Xuan instructed. The woman immediately obeyed.

They left the wooden house and headed toward the clan’s main hall.

It was a magnificent, towering structure and the tallest building in the entire underground city.

The two guards at the entrance immediately opened the doors when they recognized Ye Xuan and Qingyu.

The two walked into the hall and saw Yan Jin sitting on his throne, holding a meeting with the clan elders.

"The northern area has been secured. Our clan now controls the outermost territory in the north, allowing us to monitor the Northern Wind Eagle Tribe’s movements," one of the clan elders reported.

"There has been no sign of human sects assisting the Northern Wind Eagle Tribe. Is it time for us to accept their request for a ceasefire?"

"We must not make peace with them. Half the forest was destroyed because of their actions. Continue the war and make them understand the consequences of provoking us!" another elder declared.

Yan Jin listened to everyone. However, his attention was immediately drawn to the female servant’s voice echoing through the hall.

He and the clan elders turned around and saw Ye Xuan, the man who had managed to kill Elder Ying on his own.

"Brother Ye, how are you feeling?" Yan Jin asked.

Ye Xuan clasped his hands together and lowered his head respectfully.

"I’m feeling much better. I, Ye Xuan, thank Clan Leader Yan Jin for your kindness."

"It’s nothing. Your victory over Elder Ying shattered the Northern Wind Eagle Tribe’s morale. We managed to defeat them," Yan Jin replied as he rose from his throne.

"As the Clan Leader of the Blazing Fire Serpent Clan, I want to personally thank you for helping us."

"Clan Leader Yan Jin is too kind. My visit to Scarlet Moon Forest was originally intended to hunt several members of the Northern Wind Eagle Tribe," Ye Xuan replied.

"Because of your connection with Senior Sister Qingyu and your contributions to our clan, I’ve proposed to the elders that we grant you the title of Honored Human," Yan Jin revealed.

"With this status, you’ll become one of us. You’ll be more welcome here than in most other places," Yan Jin added.

Ye Xuan was somewhat surprised to hear this. He then turned toward Qingyu and saw the white serpent respond with a nod.

In the end, Ye Xuan decided to accept the title.

He remembered Senior Wang’s advice that he should build friendships and maintain good relationships with people outside the Golden Pagoda.

There was another reason Senior Wang had said that.

Among other things, Ye Xuan needed allies who could fight alongside him and someone capable of protecting him.

Of all the people Ye Xuan had met, Yan Jin, the Clan Leader of the Blazing Fire Serpent Clan, seemed like a suitable person.

Building a good relationship with their clan certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing for Ye Xuan.

"I, Ye Xuan, accept the title granted by the Clan Leader."

"Excellent," Yan Jin praised. "There’s one more thing I’d like to ask you about. It concerns a strange incident that happened three weeks ago."

"What is it?" Ye Xuan asked.

"My men were on patrol when they happened to see you fighting human sect cultivators."

"They also saw you heading toward Northern Ridge."

A commotion broke out among the clan elders. No one in the clan or anywhere in Scarlet Moon Forest knew much about Northern Ridge apart from them and their Clan Leader.

"Northern Ridge? That’s practically suicide."

"But if that’s true, how did he survive that monster?"

Ye Xuan faintly heard their remarks before looking toward Yan Jin, "I did fight those cultivators and lure them toward Northern Ridge."

"But I managed to survive thanks to a teleportation token given to me by someone."

Yan Jin fell silent for a moment, raising one hand to stroke his chin as though deep in thought. His reaction naturally made Ye Xuan curious.

"I’m really curious. What exactly is in Northern Ridge, and who is that black monster carrying a scythe?"

"Judging from your reactions, it seems to be the most terrifying place in Scarlet Moon Forest."

Yan Jin let out a brief sigh before placing both hands behind his back and looking seriously at Ye Xuan, "Have you ever heard of the Fengdu Soul Servant?"