The black shadow disappeared from its original spot, its senses expanding to search the entire villa for Ye Bufan's whereabouts.
"Hmm?" The black shadow searched from upstairs to downstairs, finding no trace of Ye Bufan. It then reactivated its senses and found Ye Bufan and the entire Yang family gathered on the first floor.
The black shadow shifted its form and appeared on the first floor. Ye Bufan sat on the sofa, surrounded by members of the Yang family. Even Yang Xiuwen, who had been previously expelled by Yang Xuancheng, had been brought back by Ye Bufan. Everyone sat motionlessly on the floor like mummies.
"Master Wan Gu, quickly save us! He! He is the one who killed your disciple." Yang Xuancheng, upon seeing the arrival of Wan Gu Laoren, immediately shouted.
"So you are Wan Gu Laoren, Yin Yi's master." Hearing Yang Xuancheng's words, Ye Bufan finally identified the man before him.
"So you killed my disciple," Wan Gu Laoren's voice was filled with killing intent. "Today, I will make you pay with blood."
"Ridiculous!" Ye Bufan looked at Wan Gu Laoren. "Since you chose to be an assassin, you should have the awareness of being one. What right do you have to seek revenge for your master when you are no match for your opponent and were killed?"
"That's none of your business! That's the way it is." Wan Gu Laoren hissed, and then his entire body emitted a dark gas. From behind him, a black spider emerged, nearly half his size.
Ye Bufan observed the man. He was in his fifties, but his appearance was like that of a seventy or eighty-year-old, likely due to his constant association with Gu insects.
"Hiss—"
The black spider spat out a strand of white silk. Ye Bufan drew his sword finger, and an invisible sword qi intertwined with the spider silk. However, the silk was not severed.
Ye Bufan was startled. He hadn't expected the black spider's silk to be so strong. He then conjured a purple flame in his palm and sent it towards the spider silk.
This purple flame was called the Violet Nether Cold Fire, a gift from Lin Xiaoyao to Ye Bufan. Its nourishment came from the purple qi that Ye Bufan absorbed into his body every morning. This flame was born from the void, traceless and formless. However, Ye Bufan's current abilities were insufficient to unleash its full power.
The Violet Nether Cold Fire attached itself to the spider silk, burning from end to end, yet only leaving a scorched mark on the silk.
Ye Bufan narrowed his eyes. This spider was likely Wan Gu Laoren's natal Gu. Although Wan Gu Laoren's cultivation was at the late stage of Qi Refining, the spider's silk was indeed tricky.
"Go!" The spider behind Wan Gu Laoren suddenly flew up and spat a spider web towards Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan unleashed his sword qi, sending another sword strike towards the spider web. He then vanished from his original spot. Wan Gu Laoren was greatly alarmed, as he could not sense Ye Bufan's precise location.
"Two Sleeves of Green Snakes!"
Ye Bufan appeared on the spider's back. When he reappeared, he was holding a broken half-sword.
This sword erupted with two streams of purple sword qi. These streams, like two giant snakes, instantly pierced into the spider's back. The spider, sensing danger, quickly somersaulted in mid-air, attempting to shake Ye Bufan off.
Ye Bufan stomped his foot and effortlessly plunged the long sword into the spider's body.
"No!" Wan Gu Laoren cried out, producing a long whip from his hand and lashing it towards Ye Bufan's body.
Ye Bufan leaped up, drew his long sword from the spider's body, and two streams of sword qi exploded from within the spider. The spider crashed heavily onto the floor.
"Pfft—" Wan Gu Laoren coughed up a mouthful of blood. Enduring the intense pain, he controlled his long whip and roared, "Crimson Cloud Nine Flashes!"
Wan Gu Laoren's long whip whistled through the air, striking in front of Ye Bufan. The sound of it breaking the air boomed like thunder from the clouds, and a white light instantly exploded.
Ye Bufan injected his true qi into the broken sword and unleashed the move 'Sword Chant of the Nine Heavens'. As the broken sword swung, accompanied by a roar, Wan Gu Laoren's long whip was instantly shattered into several pieces.
"Boom—" With another dull thud, the roar of the broken sword grew louder and louder. Wan Gu Laoren turned to flee, but Ye Bufan's spiritual force completely locked onto him.
Ye Bufan formed seals with his hands, and the broken sword hovered in the air, its hum escalating. Finally, it flew towards Wan Gu Laoren.
At this moment, the spider lying on the floor leaped up and spat silk towards Ye Bufan.
"Die!" Ye Bufan commanded with his sword finger, and a surging sword intent erupted from his entire body. With the sword in his hand, Ye Bufan was like a deity controlling life and death at this moment.
The broken sword swept across the spider's head. In an instant, the spider was cleaved in two.
"You are in the Foundation Establishment stage! You are actually in the Foundation Establishment stage!" Wan Gu Laoren's eyes were filled with despair. "I should have realized you were Foundation Establishment. No! No! No!"
The broken sword plunged into Wan Gu Laoren's body. His body instantly exploded, blood splattering everywhere. Ye Bufan immediately activated his qi shield with his true qi, isolating the blood from his body.
However, the Yang family members were not so fortunate. Wan Gu Laoren's blood, having been used as a cultivation medium for Gu insects for many years, was highly toxic. After his body exploded, some of the blood splattered onto the Yang family members, causing them to grimace in pain.
"What?" Inside the spider's body, a red object the size of a ping-pong ball appeared.
"It's actually a demon beast inner core!" Ye Bufan was greatly surprised. He hadn't expected Wan Gu Laoren to cultivate a fully formed spider into his natal Gu. This explained the incredibly tough spider silk.
Ye Bufan quickly collected the inner core into his spatial jade pendant. This battle had yielded significant gains, and Ye Bufan had also discovered a suitable weapon.
During the fight, Ye Bufan's spiritual sense had entered the jade pendant, searching for a suitable weapon. To his surprise, only a broken sword within the pendant was compatible with his Violet Void Sword Art. Ye Bufan had no other choice. It was only when he held this broken sword that he realized how powerful its fractured blade could be.
"Save... save me..."
At this moment, Yang Xiuwen's voice was heard from behind.
Ye Bufan turned to look at Yang Xiuwen and said, "I don't think I have any reason to save you."
"Save me! I'll give you the Yang family's entire fortune." Yang Xiuwen spoke with difficulty to Ye Bufan.
"You scoundrel! The Yang family's fortune is not something you can just give away." Yang Xuancheng, hearing Yang Xiuwen willing to give away the family's assets for his life, was furious.
Yang Weiguo, seeing this, was so angered that he almost fainted.
Yang Xiuwen looked at Yang Xuancheng and said, "Father, you taught me, 'As long as the green hills remain, there will be wood to burn.'"
"Fool!" Yang Xuancheng's old face flushed with anger.
"Considering the current situation of your Yang family, it probably isn't worth much anymore, is it?" Ye Bufan retorted. "How about this, I'll give you all a chance. Only one person from your entire Yang family can survive. You discuss it amongst yourselves."