Chapter 374: The Fall of the Three Heroes

The towering figure of the Ancestor, shrouded in endless holy radiance, though its true visage cannot be seen, exudes a supreme authority and cold will that seems to stem from the very beginning of Open Heaven and Split Earth, towering above all ages, and this alone explains everything.

This true creator of the Ye Clan and its supreme Guardian has already reached a realm beyond comprehension.

How could any affair within the Ye Clan—especially those concerning the core bloodline, the ancestral divine blood, or the clan's future fortunes—be concealed from his perception, already tightly linked to the Primordial Fate River of the Ye Clan?

From Ye Wuque's forceful return, to a single palm suppressing the Ye Clan Three Heroes, from the frenzied counter‑strikes of Ye Zhenyue's three lineages, to the arrival of Wu Qian Jue and Dao Ancestor Ziwei, and further to the emergence of the Avatar of the divine‑demon‑immortal battle intent and the protection of the Seven Yu Elder… all these thrilling, heart‑pounding scenes have inevitably unfolded under the silent gaze of the Ancestor.

It is precisely because he comprehended all causes and consequences, understood the injustices and grievances Ye Wuque had endured over the years, and saw how Ye Zhenyue, Ye Jiuyuan and Ye Qiankun colluded with external foes for personal gain, corrupted the clan's customs, and nearly dragged the Ye Clan into an irrecoverable calamity, that the Ancestor manifested at the final moment and, with the might of Lei Dian, set the heavens and earth!

His single word "Should be killed" was not only the ultimate verdict on the three of Ye Zhenyue, but also a total repudiation and thunderous wrath against those twisted years and the petty scheming of the past!

Even now, the Ancestor's fury has not been quelled by the execution of the three of Ye Zhenyue.

That cold, murderous gaze, like the most precise scan of the Heavenly Dao Law, instantly pierced every barrier and concealment on the Ye Clan's ancestral star and the many subsidiary stars, locking onto all core figures tightly linked to Ye Zhenyue, Ye Jiuyuan, and Ye Qiankun, who had participated in the persecution of Ye Wuque or fanned the flames of this incident!

Buzz—!

A colossal holy light hand, indescribably massive, emerged from the towering figure of the Ancestor.

This hand was not a solid body, but a condensation of the purest Ancestor's law and the Ye Clan's millennial qi, crystal‑clear, its palm pattern like the veins of the Star River, radiating the Supreme Will to purify all sins and cleanse all decay.

With a gentle grasp, the light hand seemed to cross the boundaries of space and illusion.

No! Ancestor, spare me!

We have erred! Beg the Ancestor for mercy!

Ah—!!

A wailing, desperate plea for mercy rang out suddenly from every corner of the Ye Clan Star Domain, then abruptly fell silent!

One after another, figures were forcibly seized from their Dongfu, palaces, even hidden secret realms by an unseen force, compelled to fly toward the starry sky, ultimately converging above the palm of the Ancestor's holy light hand.

A rough glance revealed no fewer than several hundred people!

Among them were direct descendants of Ye Zhenyue, Ye Jiuyuan and Ye Qiankun, the core branches tightly allied by marriage, the executors and accomplices of the ancient plot to strip Ye Wuque of his ancestral divine blood, as well as the elders and stewards who covertly transmitted messages and attempted inside‑outside collusion this time…

Two figures stood out among them.

They were two still‑graceful yet now expressionless beautiful women—the mother of Ye Langya, Madam Xuan, and the mother of Ye Miaoxin, Madam Ji!

Born of eminent families with great clan influence, they usually lived in luxury and high status within the clan, but now they lay like lambs awaiting slaughter, limp beneath the light hand, trembling, their eyes filled with boundless terror and remorse.

The Ancestor's gaze indifferently swept over these hundreds of familiar or unfamiliar terrified faces, without a word of extra comment, without any hesitation.

The holy light hand gently… grasped.

Puff…!

It was not an explosion nor a shatter, but a far more thorough, cleaner annihilation!

Within the light hand, the purest glow of the Ancestor's law flickered faintly.

The hundreds of seized figures, together with their protective divine light, personal talismans, and even the lingering echoes of their screams, melted silently and completely within that glow like ice under a scorching sun, turning into the most Primordial heaven‑and‑earth spiritual qi and law‑light specks!

No trace remained, no residue, as if they had never existed in this world.

Clean, swift, merciless!

Such is the Ancestor's method! Erasure beyond mortal comprehension!

Sss—!

All who witnessed this—whether Elder or junior—felt their scalp tingle, their spines grow cold, and their reverence for the Ancestor reached an unparalleled height, while they also gained the most direct, terrifying understanding of the clan's strict rules and the price of betrayal!

The Ancestor's act was not only to give Ye Wuque an answer, but also to issue this blood‑soaked warning, deterring every clan member: any act that harms the clan's fundamental interests or betrays one's kin will face the harshest, most ruthless purge!

Having completed this, the Ancestor's radiant figure, still cloaked in holy brilliance, turned slightly, as if directing his gaze toward the Fourth Ancestor who had stood silently beside him since his manifestation, his expression complex.

Sensing the Ancestor's stare, the Fourth Ancestor's battered body quivered imperceptibly.

The old ancestor of the Ye Clan slowly lifted his head.

His weather‑worn, bark‑like face now intertwined guilt, relief, and a deep exhaustion.

He drew a deep breath, as if making a resolve, and, under countless shocked gazes, bowed slightly toward the direction of Ye Wuque.

Though the movement was slight, for one of the Fourth Ancestor's stature and seniority, it was a gesture worthy of a stone‑splitting sky shock!

"The events of those years…" the Fourth Ancestor began, his voice hoarse like metal grinding yet unusually clear, "it is I… who acted wrongly."

He offered no further defense, nor claimed he had permitted certain deeds for the clan's balance.

Just that single admission of fault carried more weight than a thousand explanations, reflecting his current mindset—acknowledging error and facing it calmly.

Ye Huanyu, the Seventh Ancestor, Ye Jinghong and others now looked at the Fourth Ancestor with complicated eyes.

They knew the Fourth Ancestor's upright, even stubborn nature, and that for him to speak this publicly and bow to a junior carried significance beyond the ordinary.

It was both a confession for the past and a veiled endorsement, recognizing Ye Wuque's status and worth.

Ye Wuque watched the bowing, apologetic Fourth Ancestor quietly, his expression calm and unruffled, neither immediately accepting nor replying coldly.

When the ancestral divine blood was stripped, the Fourth Ancestor was not the mastermind, yet his indifferent attitude left an indelible scar and chill in the young Ye Wuque's heart.

Some wounds cannot be soothed merely by an apology.

Sensing the lingering gap beneath Ye Wuque's calm, or perhaps the lingering anger over the Fourth Ancestor's past folly, the towering figure of the Ancestor suddenly emitted a cold snort:

Hmph!

That snort slammed directly at the bowing Fourth Ancestor!

Buzz—!!

The space around the Fourth Ancestor jolted violently; his battered body was struck as if by an invisible hammer, trembling fiercely!

His already pallid complexion turned even whiter, a faint golden thread of blood spilling from his mouth, his breath instantly chaotic!

Yet he clenched his teeth and endured, neither falling nor channeling energy to resist, clearly willing to bear the Ancestor's wrath.

Fool!

The Ancestor's cold voice rang out, like a judgment of the Heavenly Dao, leaving no room for doubt:

"Myopic vision, clinging to the old ways, nearly strangled the eternal dawn of our Ye Clan!"

"Considering your past merits, the death penalty may be spared, but the living penalty cannot be escaped!"

From this moment, I strip you of all clan authority and resource offerings; go at once to the cosmic border wasteland and guard the "Chaos Liewen"!

Without the Founding Ancestor's command… you shall never return to the clan for eternity!

Cosmic border wasteland! Chaos Liewen!

Upon hearing those words, countless Ye Clan Elders' faces changed abruptly!

That is one of the most dangerous, most desolate, and also most chaotic deadlands among the Nine Heavens Ten Earths and even the Zhutian Wanjie!

Year after year battling unknown Chaos creatures, Time‑Space Turbulence, and even incursions from other hostile great worlds, the environment is extremely harsh, and the casualty rate of the guardians is exceedingly high!

Even for someone of Fourth Ancestor's cultivation, going there means endless danger, solitude, and exile!

This punishment cannot be said to be light! It is almost a disguised exile!

The Fourth Ancestor's body trembled again, he slowly rose to his feet, with no resentment on his face, but rather a calm as if a burden had been lifted.

He faced the direction of the Founding Ancestor's silhouette, bowed deeply once more, and said in a low yet firm voice:

I shall strictly follow the Founding Ancestor's Edict.

Thank you, Founding Ancestor… for the mercy of not killing.

Having said that, he gave Ye Wuque one last glance, his eyes complex, then without further hesitation turned, stepped forward, and his form merged into the Void, disappearing.

That direction was the distant starry sky leading to the cosmic border wasteland.

His back, at the instant of departure, seemed to instantly age countless years, bearing a sorrowful and resolute aura of a hero's final path and atonement journey.

The Founding Ancestor's handling of the Fourth Ancestor once again displayed his iron fist and fairness.

Merits are merits, faults are faults; rewards and punishments are clear, never lenient because of seniority or past deeds.

This also firmly set the tone of this reckoning: impartial justice, to serve as a warning to others.

After dealing with the Fourth Ancestor, the Founding Ancestor's vast gaze fell again upon the starry sky below, upon those three clumps rescued by the Dark Guard, still limp as rotten mud, retaining only a faint spark of life… Ye Xuanji, Ye Langya, and Ye Miaoxin.

These three are the direct beneficiaries of the events of that year, as well as the fuse of today's conflict and the core reliance of Ye Zhenyue's three‑branch ambition.

Their very existence is living evidence of that unjust history, and also the embodiment of the thorn in Ye Wuque's heart.

Ye Wuque read the meaning in the Founding Ancestor's gaze; this is the Causality left for him to settle personally.

He took a step forward, and his figure instantly appeared before those three clumps of rotten flesh.

The Dark Guard had already slipped away quietly, offering no obstruction.

Looking down upon those three once lofty, who had regarded him as an ant, now not even a complete human shape, Ye Wuque felt no pity, only a cold calm.

He slowly raised his right hand, without invoking any divine power, merely gathering his own vast, boundless, time‑space Great Power‑infused pure Yang Blood Qi into his palm.

Then, toward below, he gently… pressed down.

"Puff!" "Puff!" "Puff!"

The three light sounds were like puncturing three rotten blisters.

No resistance, no screams.

Those three clumps, already unconscious, their rotten flesh kept alive only by divine pills and Dark Guard power, under Ye Wuque's supreme Yang, supreme firmness, uniquely pure Blood Qi, were flushed as if remaining snow met scorching sun—instantly vaporized and melted, together with the faint Soul Seals within, turning into wisps of blue smoke that dispersed into the starry sky, returning wholly to the Void.

The Ye Clan Three Heroes, from this point… are utterly annihilated, Body and Spirit Annihilation, leaving no trace.