Yang Ye seemed as if he’d evaporated into thin air and completely vanished from the mountain range.

10 black clothed figures were gathered somewhere in the area.

One of the sixth rank Exalt Realm experts from the central territory spoke in a low voice. “A boundless plain it right after this mountain range. So, he should be still within this mountain range. Let’s search this place inch by inch.”

“Then wouldn’t we have to split up?” Hong frowned.

That sixth rank Exalt Realm expert glanced coldly at her and said, “If your An Clan is afraid of a Spirit Realm profounder, then you can join forces and search together. We aren’t afraid!” As soon as he finished speaking, he and the other four black clothed figures from the Exalted Han Empire had split up towards different directions.

Hong and the others had quite unsightly expressions as they stood on the spot. All of them were assassins, yet those assassins from the Exalted Han Empire weren’t afraid while the assassins from her An Clan were afraid of a Spirit Realm profounder and intended to form a group of five. Truthfully speaking, even she felt quite embarrassed by this. However, she was very well aware of how terrifying Yang Ye’s strength was, and the slightest bit of carelessness against him might even put her life in danger!

After remaining silent for a short while, Hong shook her head helplessly and said, “Split up and search for him. Don’t act rashly upon encountering him and notify everyone first!”

The other four assassins by Hong’s side nodded, and then they vanished on the spot.

Hong was just about to leave as well but an unexpected event suddenly occurred here. A golden rope shot through space and instantly arrived before her.

Hong’s expression changed violently!

Her reaction wasn’t slow at all, and she swiftly swiped her dagger at the golden rope.

Clang!

The golden rope was blasted flying, but her pupils constricted at the same time because four rays of light were shooting violently towards her at a speed that she couldn’t avoid at all.

Dao Artifacts! Four Dao Artifacts!

Hong discerned their quality with a single glance. So, how could she dare to act carelessly against them? She was just about to react to them when Yang Ye’s voice suddenly resounded here. “Rapid Shift!”

In just a blink of the eye, Yang Ye had appeared in front of Hong. A wisp of a savage expression arose on the corners of his mouth as he gazed at her. The latter was shocked by this development and was about to teleport away when Yang Ye suddenly stomped his right foot on the ground and shouted. “Sword Domain!”

An indescribably force instantly pressed down upon Hong, and it caused her countenance to instantly turn ghastly pale. Meanwhile, the four Dao Artifacts had entered into Yang Ye’s Sword Domain. However, they didn’t strike down onto Hong, and they just circled around her instead, causing her to dare not move in the slightest!

“Yang Ye….” Hong seemed to intend to say something, but Yang Ye suddenly shook his head and waved his right hand. The four swords transformed into four rays of light that pierced through Hong’s body. The latter instantly opened her eyes wide while unwillingness filled her eyes. She’d thought that Yang Ye wouldn’t kill her. After all, they weren’t complete strangers and knew each other. However, she hadn’t expected that Yang Ye would even refuse to give her a chance to speak….

Yang Ye glanced at Hong’s corpse while there wasn’t even the slightest ripple in his eyes. Truthfully speaking, he was slightly hesitant just now. He was hesitant about whether he should kill this woman who stood in front of him. After all, they’d worked together in the past, and there was some friendship between them in the end. However, Yang Ye stopped hesitating completely when he thought about how she’d attacked him mercilessly during their first encounter that day.

He wasn’t one to return enmity with kindness, and he was determined to kill anyone who wanted to take his life. Even if it was An Biru.

Yang Ye waved his right hand and Hong’s corpse was taken into the ancient sheath. Even though he’d killed her, her strength was really not bad, and if he hadn’t relied on the five Dao Artifacts he possessed, the Sword Domain, and launching a surprise attack against her, then it would be utterly impossible for him to kill her.

Such a person was suitable to be refined into a Sword Servant!

Yang Ye swept the surroundings with his gaze, withdrew an extreme-grade energy stone and placed it within his pocket before his figure flashed and vanished on the spot. If he didn’t possess these extreme-grade energy stones, then he wouldn’t dare to utilize five Dao Artifacts at once, no matter what. After all, utilizing all five of them at once just now had almost sucked him dry!

I’m still too weak! Yang Ye’s soft voice drifted through the air.

...

The central territory.

“Hong’s Soul Plate has burnt up. She’s dead!” said the black clothed woman in a low voice.

An Biru fell silent for a moment before she said, “Looks like he has already taken our An Clan to be a sworn enemy of his. Otherwise, he wouldn’t act completely ruthlessly as he has now.”

“Should we send even more forces over?” said the black clothed woman.

An Biru glanced at the black clothed woman and said, “Aunt, don’t interfere in the matters of the An Clan from now on, and don’t interfere in the matters between us as well. If you’re unable to do that, then I can only ask you to leave the An Clan.”

The black clothed woman’s expression changed, and then she laughed bitterly. At this moment, how could she be unable to understand An Biru’s thoughts?

“Biru, you’re even discarding you Aunt for him?” said the black clothed woman.

An Biru stood up and walked slowly towards the door, and she stood upon reaching it and said, “Do you still not understand? Besides arousing his hatred and future vengeance, what other benefits has your actions given the An Clan? None. Not only are there no benefits from your actions of dispatching assassins to take his life, you’ve even caused the past relationship between him and the An Clan to be destroyed. I know that Aunt thinks that our An Clan is powerful and is unafraid of his revenge. However, we didn’t have to endure his revenge in the first place. Moreover, the relationship we had with him in the past would be equivalent to providing the An Clan with another way out. But it’s all gone now.”

As soon as she finished speaking, An Biru took a deep breath and said, “Ask the others to return immediately. Don’t make unnecessary sacrifices!”

…

Yang Ye sat cross-legged within a cave, and both Mo Qingyu and Mu Jun were standing in front of him. Mo Qingyu had attained the third rank of the Spirit Realm while Mu Jun was at the fourth rank of the Spirit Realm. However, the strengths of these two Sword Servants were too weak in Yang Ye’s opinion. They were definitely capable of sweeping through opponents in the same realm of cultivation, but they were worthless against Exalt Realm experts.

However, Yang Ye didn’t give up on them because they possessed enormous potential. Once they advanced into the Exalt Realm, then their strengths would definitely be much more formidable than ordinary Exalt Realm experts.

Yang Ye pondered deeply for a moment before he waved his hand, and he placed both of them within the tiny vortex. There was ample energy within the tiny vortex, so their natural talent would definitely allow them to improve swiftly while cultivating within there.

After that, Yang Ye gave Hong’s corpse to the Sword Spirit. He naturally didn’t intend to give up on a Exalt Realm Sword Servant who was an assassin. It was slightly risky because there was quite a gap between him and the Exalt Realm, and he might not be able to control such a Sword Servant. However, it was worth a try.

Once he finished all of this, Yang Ye sat down cross-legged, and then he withdrew two extreme-grade energy stones and placed them on his lap before he started cultivating. His current cultivation was too low, and he was utterly incapable of resisting Exalt Realm experts if he didn’t rely on the tiny vortex. The reason he was able to kill Exalt Realm experts was because he could utilize Dao Artifacts and bring forth a certain amount of their strength.

But if it were any other Spirit Realm profounder or even An Nanjing, it would probably be impossible for them to utilize Dao Artifacts like he did. After all, the amount of profound energy Spirit Realm profounders could store was too little. Even if some monstrous genius were able to store much more profound energy when compared to others, but it wasn’t that much more!

So, Yang Ye’s strength was bound to be sources from the tiny vortex. Only by improving the tiny vortex could his strength improve greatly, and if he wanted to improve the tiny vortex, then he had to work hard on his cultivation. Because the tiny vortex improved alongside him with every rank of cultivation he gained.

Besides cultivating, Yang Ye did go around the area in search of Exalt Realm assassins who were all alone during the next few days. He’d encountered two such targets during this period, but Yang Ye hadn’t attacked them. Because while they were all alone, they were at the fifth rank and sixth rank of the Exalt Realm. He was truly not confident in his ability to instantly annihilate such an expert.

No, it should be said that he wasn’t even confident in his ability to defeat such an opponent. He was only at the Spirit Realm and not the Exalt Realm right now. If he were at the Exalt Realm, then perhaps he could give it a try, but he was only at the Spirit Realm, so he truly didn’t want to court death right now.

Night slowly descended and enveloped the entire mountain range in darkness.

Yang Ye opened his eyes within the cave, and then his lips parted slightly as he spat out a mouthful of foul energy. A wisp of delight flashed through Yang Ye’s eyes because his ceaselessly cultivation for a few days and night had allowed him to advance into the second rank of the Spirit Realm. Moreover, he was pleasantly surprised to notice that the profound energy pool within the tiny vortex had grown slightly larger as well. Besides that, the space within the tiny vortex had grown much larger as well.

Something else that shocked Yang Ye was that both Mo Qingyu and Mu Jun had advanced in their cultivations. Mo Qingyu was at the fourth rank of the Spirit Realm now while Mu Jun was at the fifth rank of the Spirit Realm. Moreover, the aura they emanated right now showed that they seemed to be on the verge of undergoing another advancement.

How abnormal! Yang Ye chuckled. He was naturally aware that it was definitely because of the tiny vortex. After the energy within the white dragon’s abode had been absorbed into the tiny vortex, it had simply been transformed into a paradise of cultivation. The energy within it was so abundant to the point it had become material. So, even a pig would probably be able to cultivate to the point of taking human form if it cultivated in such a place.

Yang Ye was slightly envious and depressed. Because he couldn’t enter the tiny vortex to cultivate. Anyone else could but only he couldn’t as he couldn’t enter the tiny vortex himself….

If he could enter the tiny vortex to cultivate, then it wouldn’t even take long for him to advance into the Exalt Realm with the natural talent he possessed. But he couldn’t!

Yang Ye shook his head and stopped thinking about such depressing things. He waved his right hand and made the Sword Spirit appear before him with Hong by her side. Of course, Hong had been refined into a Sword Servant now.

Yang Ye took a deep breath as he gazed at Hong, and then his soul shot into the center of her forehead. His task at hand was to subdue this Sword Spirit and place his brand onto its soul. If he succeeded, then it would represent that he would possess an extraordinary goon from that moment onward! If he failed….

Yang Ye had never considered failure to be an option….