Chapter Sixty-Two: Threat

"Miss Lingyun,"

Ye Ji stepped forward, his tone extremely respectful. "Please forgive any offenses I committed previously at the Immortal Sword Sect."

"Our Patriarch has stated that he holds no grudge against you for killing Ye Fan."

"Furthermore, the Patriarch has appointed you as the Saintess of the Ye Family, allowing you to participate in the Holy Court Grand Tournament and eventually inherit the position of the head of the Ye Family."

"Miss Lingyun, you will be the first female head of the Ye Family."

As he spoke, Ye Ji produced a storage ring and withdrew several precious treasures from it. "Since Miss Lingyun has just comprehended the Ice-Heart Sword Intent, this is the Saint-grade superior sword, the Ice-Heart Sword, specially chosen for you by the Patriarch."

"Miss Lingyun has only recently stepped into the Golden Core realm and her foundation is not yet stable, so the Patriarch has specially selected ten bottles of Saint-grade pills to assist you in your cultivation."

Gazing at the rows of Saint-grade superior pills and the Saint-grade superior Ice-Heart Sword, everyone from the Profound Elixir Sect was utterly astonished.

"The Ye Family Saintess is actually Senior Sister Chu Lingyun? Doesn't she bear the surname Chu?"

"A Saint-grade superior Ice-Heart Sword!"

"And so many Saint-grade pills! If I could consume just a few of them, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm would be effortless."

"Forget Foundation Establishment, even the Golden Core realm would be within reach."

"None of that matters. This person just said that Senior Sister Lingyun can inherit the position of the head of the Ye Family in the future!"

"An ancient clan is on par with the sacred grounds. Becoming the head of an ancient clan is equivalent to being the sect master of a sacred ground."

"Senior Sister Lingyun is too fortunate. Not only is she the sect master's first disciple, but she is also the future successor of an ancient clan. We cannot hope to compare."

"Senior Sister must take care of us in the future."

The disciples looked at Chu Lingyun with immense envy.

Not only was she Chen Xuan's direct disciple, but she was also the future heir of an ancient clan. Who wouldn't envy such status?

However, Chu Lingyun's next words caught everyone completely off guard.

"Bah!"

Chu Lingyun curled her lip. "Some damned Saintess—I couldn't care less. In this life and all lifetimes to come, I am only my master's disciple. Besides, as I said at the Immortal Sword Sect, whatever the Ye Family owes our Profound Elixir Sect must be repaid with interest. For every day they fail to repay it, I will kill a member of the Ye Family."

"Consider these items as part of what you owe my master. Put the things down and get lost."

Everyone was dumbfounded.

"Did I hear that right? Senior Sister Lingyun actually rejected them."

"That's the Ye Family of the ancient clan, an existence comparable to the sacred grounds, yet Senior Sister Lingyun refused the chance to become the head of an ancient clan."

"To live only as her master's disciple... I never imagined Chu Lingyun was so deeply devoted to the sect master..."

"If it were me, even if they made me kneel and killed my own parents, I wouldn't be able to give up such lavish conditions."

"Who's to say otherwise? That's the patriarch of an ancient clan!"

Ye Ji and the others were equally stunned.

Having offered such favorable terms, they never expected Chu Lingyun to reject them. One had to know that collateral members of the Ye Family would stop at nothing for a shot at the patriarch's seat.

Yet Chu Lingyun was voluntarily giving it up.

Not to mention these Saint-grade artifacts and pills—even the saints of the sacred grounds could not acquire them so easily.

"Miss Lingyun,"

Ye Ji said anxiously, remembering Ye Kaishan's strict instruction to bring Chu Lingyun back to the Ye Family at all costs. "Did you not hear clearly? The Patriarch said you can participate in the Holy Court Grand Tournament and succeed to the position of patriarch."

"I said, I don't care for it," Chu Lingyun repeated coldly.

"Why?"

Ye Ji was utterly baffled. "From what I understand, the Profound Elixir Sect is merely a declining sect that only achieved its current scale due to a fluke. Yet the entire sect has fewer than twelve hundred people, and its highest cultivation is only at the early Enlightenment realm."

"Meanwhile, my Ye Family has over ten thousand disciples. The patriarch is at the Ascension realm, with dozens of experts in the Enlightenment realm, and countless others in the Deity Transformation and Nascent Soul realms."

"With Miss Lingyun's natural talent, remaining here will cap your cultivation at best in the Enlightenment realm."

"It is a complete waste of your potential."

"Only by returning to the Ye Family can you enter the 'Enlightenment Mountain' to comprehend the Great Dao and attain the Ascension realm."

"Could it be that in Miss Lingyun's eyes, Chen Xuan is more important than achieving Ascension?"

Ye Ji pleaded earnestly, laying out the pros and cons.

"Precisely."

Chu Lingyun nodded. "Born in this world where the strong prey on the weak, everyone pursues immortality. But a human life always has an end, and there are things far more important than immortality."

"To me, Master is far more important than immortality."

Chu Lingyun's tone was sincere.

Chen Xuan was taken aback.

He had not expected Chu Lingyun's filial piety score, even before reaching the maximum of one hundred, to be already so fiercely loyal to him. If her score ever hit one hundred, he shuddered to think what kind of crazy things she might do for him.

"Hmph, emotions are truly the greatest obstacle on the path of cultivation."

At his side, clad in crimson armor and gripping a silver dragon spear, Ye Jiang sneered. "Just kill him, and the most important thing for Miss Lingyun will naturally become immortality. Why waste so many words?"

"Miss Lingyun!"

Ye Ji was startled. He knew that while killing Chen Xuan might force Chu Lingyun to leave with them, it would also fill her with resentment toward them. Since Chu Lingyun was destined to become the future patriarch of the Ye Family, he quickly intervened:

"Ye Jiang is among the top ten experts in terms of strength within the Ye Family. A millennium ago, his cultivation had already reached the peak of the Enlightenment realm. Wielding a superior Saint-grade artifact, the Silver Dragon Spear, he once fought three peak Enlightenment experts alone, killing one and wounding two. He has never been defeated below the Ascension realm."

"If he makes a move, the Profound Elixir Sect will surely be annihilated."

"Miss Lingyun, since you respect him so much, surely you wouldn't bear to watch the Profound Elixir Sect destroyed because of this, would you?"

"Come with us now."

Everyone's complexion changed drastically.

They had not expected Ye Jiang and the others to suddenly turn hostile and threaten to attack the Profound Elixir Sect.

A peak Enlightenment expert wielding a superior Saint-grade artifact, undefeated below the Ascension realm.

Such power was simply too terrifying to fathom.

Liyang Zi and Yao Mei felt their hearts tremble. They knew Chen Xuan's cultivation level—he had only just broken through to the Enlightenment realm.

Yet their opponent was at the peak of Enlightenment.

They were not in the same league at all.

Among the disciples of the Joyful Peak, Ruyan clenched her fists tightly.

"Ruyan, I believe Master will be fine," Li Ergou comforted her, though his own heart was filled with anxiety.

"We're finished, we're completely finished."

White Fur ball felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He had only joined the Profound Elixir Sect a few days ago, and he never expected to run into such a catastrophe. Today, he was likely going to lose his life here.

I need to run fast.

Without a second thought, White Fur ball turned and tried to flee in the opposite direction.

"Trying to run!"

Ye Jiang sneered, flicking his wrist as the Silver Dragon Spear shot toward White Fur ball like a streak of lightning. "Without my permission, not a single person leaves today."

"Awoo~!"

The Silver Dragon Spear struck White Fur ball squarely in the rear, bouncing off with a resounding clang as it clattered to the ground. Yipping in pain, White Fur ball scampered right back in a panic.

It was truly over.

There was nowhere to run.

Ye Jiang, however, paused, his expression frozen in bewilderment.

Chen Xuan also looked strangely at White Fur ball, seeming to have discovered something rather amusing.

"How dare you!"

Chu Lingyun flew into a rage, glaring fiercely at Ye Jiang.

Her greatest taboo was anyone attempting to use Chen Xuan to threaten her, for in her heart, Chen Xuan outweighed all else.