“Hmm?”
Ryūsei Jun'ichirō didn't expect Ye Bufan to dodge the hidden projectile, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.
“Break for me!” Ye Bufan pushed forward with all his might, compressing his true energy and the Violet Nether Cold Fire, attacking Ryūsei Jun'ichirō. The latter made a few quick sword movements, and an invisible wall of energy appeared before him.
“Crack—”
A crisp sound echoed, and a layer of battle intent, like armor, suddenly covered Ryūsei Jun'ichirō's body. The compressed sphere of Violet Nether Cold Fire and true energy struck Ryūsei Jun'ichirō but was reflected back by his armor.
“Damn it!” Ye Bufan was shocked. He turned in mid-air and then used his suction palm to hurl the compressed fireball of Violet Nether Cold Fire and true energy towards Ryūsei Jun'ichirō again.
“Explode!” Ye Bufan roared. This time, just as the fireball was about to collide with Ryūsei Jun'ichirō, Ye Bufan sent a sword energy into the fireball. The fireball instantly exploded, and the entire bar was engulfed in flames.
“Not good!” Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin vanished from their spots instantly.
During the explosion, Ryūsei Jun'ichirō had escaped the bar in the chaos. Song Mingqin was in the lead, with Ye Bufan following behind.
“This guy is too cunning!”
Song Mingqin shouted. After turning a corner, he couldn't see any trace of Ryūsei Jun'ichirō.
Ye Bufan followed Song Mingqin. From the beginning, the opponent had no intention of genuinely fighting Ye Bufan. When he summoned his defensive magical artifact earlier, Ye Bufan should have realized he was preparing to escape and conserve his energy.
“Sigh!” Song Mingqin pounded the wall heavily, filled with regret.
“I should have sealed off the entire bar just now!” Song Mingqin said.
Ye Bufan frowned deeply and said, “They have another hiding place.”
“They know we are investigating them. That place is probably empty by now,” Song Mingqin replied.
“The more it's like this, the more we need to check,” Ye Bufan said. “These Sakura Country people are very cunning. It's possible they are using the 'darkness under the lamp' strategy. After all, the most dangerous place is also the safest place.”
Song Mingqin sighed and said, “Then let’s go. I hope we can gain something.”
…
Jin Fang Jin Street.
In a very ordinary Chinese herbal medicine shop.
“Hiss—Damn Ye Bufan, possessing a domain at the Foundation Establishment stage! This brat cannot be spared, absolutely cannot be spared. With him around, our Sakura Island’s plan cannot proceed smoothly. In the future cultivation era, we will also be suppressed by the Jiuzhou Continent!”
Ryūsei Jun'ichirō sat in the back room of the shop, while an old man was bandaging his wounds.
Although Ryūsei Jun'ichirō had escaped the previous battle, he was still injured.
Standing nearby were four or five masked men in black clothes, each with a samurai sword strapped to their backs.
“Pass my orders!” Ryūsei Jun'ichirō said.
One of the masked men stepped forward and knelt on the floor. Ryūsei Jun'ichirō took a breath and continued, “Contact the Core Formation stage seniors from Sakura Island who can come to the Jiuzhou Continent to assassinate Ye Bufan!”
“Yes!” The masked man nodded, stood up, and left the herbal medicine shop.
“Also, contact Sato Seikū and tell him to keep a low profile with Blood Snake. The Jiuzhou Continent will be conducting strict checks recently, and the previous strongholds are no longer usable. I will find a way to transfer them to other cities,” Ryūsei Jun'ichirō said. “Tell them that during this period, there must be no mistakes, and no independent actions.”
“Yes!”
…
Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin rushed towards the last address left by the瓊英 Divine Nun.
When they reached the location, it was already deserted. Traces of recent activity could be seen.
“We’re still a step too late,” Song Mingqin sighed, looking somewhat dejected.
“Senior Song, don't be discouraged. We haven’t gained nothing,” Ye Bufan comforted Song Mingqin. “At least we now know Sakura Island’s plan, so we have a direction for investigation. This way, various places in the Jiuzhou Continent will take corresponding actions, starting with Sakura Island using the descendants of Yamata no Orochi to cause trouble.”
Hearing Ye Bufan’s words, Song Mingqin felt slightly better.
“Let’s hope other cities can find something,” Song Mingqin said.
“Ye Bufan,” Song Mingqin turned to Ye Bufan. “Today, you revealed your Sword Domain in front of Ryūsei Jun'ichirō. You might be considered the greatest enemy by the younger generation of Sakura Island. You need to be careful in the coming days.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Senior,” Ye Bufan replied.
Ye Bufan had already considered Song Mingqin’s concern. The energy of the Dragon Emperor Token protected Ye Bufan, which was his trump card and enough to support him in escaping under certain circumstances.
In the following days, Song Mingqin, along with the warriors of the Martial Alliance, searched Jinhe everywhere for news of Blood Snake but found nothing.
Concurrently, news came from the Northwest that the restrictions of the ancient cultivation ruins were weakening, and they were expected to disappear in the next few days, attracting a large number of cultivators.
“Ye Bufan, the ancient cultivation ruins in the Northwest are becoming less restricted. Do you want to go?” Ye Qingcheng called Ye Bufan. “I plan to go with my sister to take a look.”
“The Sakura Island issue hasn’t been resolved yet. I’ll set off a few days later,” Ye Bufan replied.
As long as the people from Sakura Island remained in Jinhe City, Chu Mengyao could be in danger. Ye Bufan was waiting for Huangfu Yujia to return and was also preparing some protective items for the Chu family, Zhu Zizhen, Wang Xinyan, and others.
Ye Bufan asked Chu Mengyao to find him a large piece of high-quality jade. Ye Bufan used his sword energy to cut the jade into pieces the size of mahjong tiles, about five millimeters thick.
After half a day, Ye Bufan had cut forty-nine jade tablets. The next step was carving.
Ye Bufan planned to carve formation runes on these jade tablets that could store energy. When encountering danger, the jade tablets would be activated to provide self-protection.
The carving work was the most complex. After carving forty-nine pieces, only thirty-one remained due to the energy Ye Bufan stored in them, which took him a full three days.
“Hoo—”
Ye Bufan let out a long sigh. Making these jade tablets was also a form of cultivation for Ye Bufan. With a slight movement, his entire body made “crunching” sounds.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
Someone knocked on the door of the Xiangshan Villa. Chu Mengyao and Huangfu Yujia stood at the villa entrance.
Ye Bufan and Chu Mengyao exchanged smiles. Ye Bufan then looked at Huangfu Yujia, noticing her aura had changed again.
“About to break through?” Ye Bufan asked.
Huangfu Yujia nodded and said, “Grandfather gave me some pills. After returning, I entered the family’s secret realm to cultivate and achieved some success.”
“Very good.”
Ye Bufan took out the jade tablets he held.
“There are thirty-one jade tablets here that can protect you at critical moments. I hope these jade tablets will not be needed…”