Chapter 104: Found the Former Dynasty Ruins! Is That Yang Han

“Jiang Elder, let’s go lend a hand!”

Zheng Feng gazed at the distant stalemate; the Tianqing Sect disciples were clearly falling behind, scattered by the brute-force disciples charging through their lines, and a sharp glint flashed across his brow.

Though he had always disliked the conduct of those two elders from Jincheng Peak, before an external enemy, they were still of the same Tianqing Sect.

“Hmm.”

Jiang Ye gave a slight nod, turning to Chen Lili behind him: “Chen girl, you take charge of these outer-disciple recruits. I’ll go ahead with Zheng Zhuanzhuan—hold the line, don’t rush forward.”

“Yes, Jiang Elder!”

Chen Lili replied solemnly, her eyes filled with both tension and eager excitement.

“ Xiao Hui, stay behind the others and don’t enter the fight.”

Zheng Feng whispered to his sister, his tone firm and unyielding.

“Ah… then all my strength goes to waste…”

Zheng Hui widened her dark eyes, ready to argue—then caught her brother’s stern glance and swallowed her words.

She pouted and muttered under her breath: “Fine… almost forgot I’m non-combatant…”

Before her words faded, Jiang Ye and Zheng Feng both activated their true qi, channeling it into their leg meridians.

Two figures instantly became blurs, streaking toward the battle with astonishing speed, leaving only faint trails of dust behind them.

“Bad! Tianqing Sect reinforcements are coming!”

“Two more Golden Core cultivators!”

The two Hanjian Sect elders—one fat, one thin—who had been dueling the Jincheng Peak elders now both paled.

Both radiated sharp golden true qi, evenly matched against Jincheng Peak’s fighters—but now with two fresh reinforcements arriving, the balance shattered.

They exchanged a glance, their expressions darkening.

“Hán Xīn Jiàn!!!”

With a roar, golden true qi surged from their bodies, coalescing above their heads into two golden swords, each over a zhang long.

The blades solidified like real steel, edges gleaming with icy light; the surrounding air froze, misting with fine white vapor.

The chill was piercing, intertwined with the sharpness of true qi, creating an uncanny, unnatural aura.

Then, they slashed.

The two golden swords screamed through the air, lancing toward the two Jincheng Peak elders.

“Wanna die, huh?!”

The bushy-browed Jincheng Peak elder sneered, advancing instead of retreating.

“Reinforcements are here—hold them off!”

The other lean elder roared in unison; both unleashed golden true qi, forming a massive shield before them, its surface etched with golden patterns, as solid as a mountain.

They had seen Zheng Feng and Jiang Ye rushing in—and their hearts steadied.

No need to fight to the death; just hold them for a moment, and victory would be theirs.

*CLANG—!!!*

The instant the golden swords struck the shield, a deafening metallic crash exploded through the mountains, making nearby disciples’ eardrums ache.

A violent surge of energy erupted from the impact, hurling shattered rocks and dead leaves into the air, thickening the dust.

The two Hanjian Sect elders used the recoil to leap backward, shouting: “All Hanjian disciples—fall back!”

At once, the Hanjian disciples withdrew in perfect order, swift and precise—clearly well-trained.

Especially that burly disciple who practiced brute-force arts—muscular, seemingly dim-witted.

In truth, he was sharp as a blade.

The moment he spotted Tianqing’s reinforcements, he’d been retreating even while fighting, shouting loudly but never stopping his steps.

Now, hearing the elders’ order, he bolted faster than anyone—*whoosh!*—slipping behind the two elders.

“Think you can run now?”

“Too late!”

The two Jincheng Peak elders sneered, stepping forward, true qi gathering in their palms.

“If you want to die, come on then!”

The two Hanjian elders simultaneously pulled out a crystal-clear pearl from their robes—about the size of a dragon’s eye, pure white, radiating a chilling aura.

The moment it appeared, the temperature dropped several degrees; everyone shivered.

“Cold Jade Pearl?!”

The two Jincheng Peak elders paled, halting instantly, their eyes filled with deep wariness.

At that moment,

Jiang Ye and Zheng Feng arrived at the battlefield.

Zheng Feng swept his gaze over the scene, understanding it at a glance.

He turned slightly and whispered to Jiang Ye:

“Jiang Elder, those are Hanjian Sect’s specialty—Cold Jade Pearls.”

“One detonated releases power equivalent to a Golden Core cultivator’s full true qi strike.”

He paused, his expression growing graver:

“Worse still, after detonation, they emit a chilling aura—even Golden Core cultivators can get hurt if unprepared.”

“Even if we can withstand it, our outer-disciple recruits behind us will likely suffer casualties.”

Jiang Ye nodded slowly, thoughtful.

No wonder the Jincheng Peak elders looked so hesitant.

His gaze slipped past the crowd, subtly landing on the burly disciple.

The boy was crouched behind the two elders, eyes darting, panting as he observed the situation—his face showed no fear at all.

He’d seen clearly: the moment the boy noticed Jiang Ye and Zheng Feng approaching, he’d turned and fled without a word, faster than anyone.

Such sharp instincts.

Hmm. This boy cannot be allowed to live.

Jiang Ye withdrew his gaze and turned to Zheng Feng, asking softly: “Zheng Zhuanzhuan, if Hanjian Sect can produce Cold Jade Pearls, aren’t they invincible?”

Zheng Feng shook his head slightly: “Jiang Elder, Cold Jade Pearls are extremely rare—even rarer than our Tianqing Sect’s Tianqing Spirit Liquid. The ones they’ve managed to gather are even fewer; otherwise, they wouldn’t have held onto them this long without using them.”

“I see.”

Jiang Ye gave a slight nod.

“Your Tianqing Sect people only know how to overwhelm with numbers, don’t you?!”

The two Hanjian Sect elders, watching Jiang Ye and Zheng Feng arrive, flickered with wariness before shouting sharply.

Jiang Ye smiled but said nothing, standing still, his ancient eyes calm as still water, betraying no emotion.

Zheng Feng sneered, retorting without mercy: “Martial sect disputes? Don’t talk about ‘overwhelming with numbers’—it only makes you look foolish.”

“So you’re trying to provoke a deadly war between Tianqing Sect and Hanjian Sect?!”

The fat Hanjian elder’s voice rose shrilly, veins bulging on his forehead—he was losing patience.

“You invaded Tianqing Sect’s territory—that’s asking for death! Killing you is perfectly justified!”

The Jincheng Peak elder replied without hesitation.

“What invasion?”

The lean Hanjian elder spoke coldly: “Taishan Mountain lies on the border between two prefectures—it’s unclaimed territory! Why can you Tianqing Sect come, but we Hanjian Sect cannot?”

Before his words faded, several more whistling sounds pierced the air.

Elders from other peaks arrived in turn, silently surrounding the Hanjian Sect members.

Seeing this,

“Tianqing Sect sent out so many people…”

The two Hanjian elders turned ashen.

The disciples behind them grew pale with fear.

Everyone realized: under the encirclement of so many Golden Core cultivators,

even the threat of Cold Jade Pearls wouldn’t save them.

Yet no one moved yet.

They were waiting for Hua Qingshui.

If killing these Hanjian members triggered a full-scale war between the two sects,

none of them could bear the responsibility.

Soon after, a figure drifted forward as lightly and unhurriedly as a breeze.

Hua Qingshui still wore his cheerful smile, his silver hair fluttering gently in the wind, his aura calm and tranquil, like an old man strolling through the hills.

The Hanjian Sect members’ hearts tightened.

They knew the person who would decide their fate had arrived.

The fat Hanjian elder, clearly having met the veteran Hua Qingshui before, forced a stiff smile:

“Elder Hua, we heard rumors of Yao people from the Seven Kill Cult lurking near Taishan Mountain…”

“Eliminating demonic cults is everyone’s duty… so we came with our disciples…”

“But we never expected your sect to surround us the moment we arrived—this will spread poorly, won’t it?”

Hua Qingshui smiled faintly, his expression unreadable: “Oh? Is that so?”

He glanced toward the distance, adding cheerfully: “You brought quite a few people too.”

Moments later, six more Cultivation Base practitioners clad in Hanjian Sect robes sped toward them from afar, their true qi churning violently, radiating fierce momentum.

Behind them came a vast horde of Hanjian Sect disciples dressed in tight-fitting attire, dark and dense as a storm cloud—no fewer than a thousand in number.

“They’ve finally arrived.”

The two Hanjian Sect Elders immediately exhaled in relief, their tense shoulders finally relaxing.

The disciples behind them also felt the weight lift; some even secretly wiped sweat from their brows.

Except for Jiang Ye, the expressions of the Tianqing Sect’s Elders all shifted slightly.

The Hanjian Sect had secretly sent so many Cultivation Base practitioners—and with their Cold Jade Pearls in hand, they no longer held absolute superiority.

The six arriving Cultivation Base practitioners swiftly joined the two already present, facing off against the Tianqing Sect group.

The atmosphere crackled with tension.

Hua Qingshui still wore his cheerful smile, as if utterly oblivious to the mounting tension.

He glanced at those beside him and asked softly, “Have you found any leads these past days?”

“No.”

Jiang Ye and the others all shook their heads slightly.

“Then so be it...”

Hua Qingshui smiled warmly at the Hanjian Sect group, his voice neither loud nor soft, yet crystal clear to every ear:

“Since you’ve come here to slay the demonic sect’s heretics, I’ll believe you.”

“Let’s search together—more hands, more strength.”

At these words, the Hanjian Sect members exchanged bewildered glances, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

The Tianqing Sect’s Cultivation Base practitioners looked equally confused; even the usually composed Xie Tang grew impatient, lowering his voice to say, “Master Hua, why must we...”

Hua Qingshui smiled faintly, waving a dismissive hand with quiet confidence, cutting him off.

“Don’t worry—if we truly find a hidden treasure, I won’t let these Hanjian Sect people lay a finger on it.”

His voice drifted like a gentle breeze, calm and unhurried, yet carrying an unshakable assurance that strangely calmed them.

“Right now, the most important thing is...”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

“Find the former dynasty’s ruins!”

At this, all present paused in surprise, then fell silent—no one objected.

Xie Tang still felt puzzled, but he no longer pressed further, only nodding silently.

“Where does this old man get such confidence...”

Jiang Ye cast a subtle glance at Hua Qingshui, a flicker of surprise passing through his aged eyes.

Soon after, the Hanjian Sect’s Cultivation Base practitioners gathered in a huddle, whispering for a long while—frowning, shaking their heads—until finally seeming to reach an agreement.

The fat Elder stepped forward, bowing to Hua Qingshui with a formal salute, his voice strained:

“Then we’ll follow Master Hua’s words—our two sects shall jointly search for the Qisha Sect’s heretics!”

The tense atmosphere slowly dissipated, like receding tides.

The two sects set aside their disputes and began searching together.

Yet to prevent the other side from finding the former dynasty’s ruins first, both secretly dispatched many spies to monitor each other’s movements—cooperating openly, competing covertly.

Three days passed swiftly.

On this day at noon, the sun blazed overhead; Jiang Ye sat atop the crown of a towering tree, eyes half-closed, breathing slow and deep, cultivating fire qi.

Below, Chen Lili led the outer disciples through the forest, their footsteps, murmurs, and rustling leaves weaving into a continuous hum.

Suddenly—

Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!

Three brilliant flares shot into the sky from afar, exploding against the azure expanse and leaving three vivid red smears that lingered long after.

Jiang Ye’s eyes snapped open, a flicker of hidden shock flashing through his aged gaze, then transforming into uncontrollable elation.

Three flares—that was the agreed signal for finding the former dynasty’s ruins!

Without hesitation, he leapt from the treetop and shouted downward: “Go! We’ve found the ruins!”

Chen Lili and the disciples froze for a moment, then erupted into thunderous cheers; the group surged after Jiang Ye in a flood, racing toward the signal’s source.

By the time they arrived, many others had already gathered.

The Elders of Houtu Peak and Qingmu Peak had arrived with their disciples; a large crowd from the Hanjian Sect also thronged the mountainside, dark and chaotic.

Jiang Ye listened closely, piecing together the events from the babbling chatter.

The Hanjian Sect had been the first to discover the former dynasty’s ruins.

While searching the mountainside, one of their disciples had accidentally brushed aside a curtain of vines, revealing a stone door behind.

Before they could celebrate, the Qingmu Peak Elder, who had been watching secretly, caught them red-handed.

Thus, the three flares had been launched, summoning everyone.

Now, every eye was fixed on the stone door hidden on the mountainside.

The door stood about a zhang tall, carved from a single block of blue stone, its surface weathered by time, streaked with moss, dew still clinging to its cracks.

Its surface bore intricate carvings of mythical beasts: a phoenix ready to take flight, a five-clawed golden dragon coiled atop a peak, a qilin striding on clouds, and a celestial crane holding a lingzhi mushroom in its beak.

The craftsmanship was exquisite, lifelike—each line flowed with power, as if the divine beasts might leap free at any moment.

Along the door’s edge, a complex pattern of cloud motifs spiraled in overlapping waves, like surging tides—the distinctive style of the former dynasty, ancient and mysterious.

Undoubtedly, this was the entrance to the former dynasty’s ruins.

“What could the hidden treasure be?”

Jiang Ye stared at the ancient, mysterious stone door, his eyes half-lidded.

Suddenly, a purple figure flashed through his mind.

Come to think of it, since arriving at Tai’an Mountain, he had not seen the Yang family’s Young Lady—or any other Yang family member—at all.

“Could she be hiding somewhere nearby?”

Jiang Ye casually scanned the surroundings.