When Ye Qin mentioned the Ancestor of the Lu Family, the complexions of the four or five Foundation Establishment cultivators fiercely battling in the stone cave shifted. The awe they held for the Ancestor was like a basin of cold water doused over their heads, finally tempering the fervent impulse in their hearts somewhat.

This was the Lu Family Fort, the lair of a formidable Golden Core Grand Cultivator renowned throughout the Spirit Mist Cultivation World. It was not a chaotic place where they could act recklessly. Causing trouble here was easy, but enraging the Ancestor of the Lu Family meant leaving alive would be far from simple.

“My lifespan is dwindling, only thirty or forty years left. If I cannot form a Core, death is not far off. Whether I live or die today matters little to me. Your lifespans are much longer than mine—are you truly willing to die here? If you don't cease this fighting, you might as well join me in burial,” Shi Hanyang retracted the Silver Moon Sickle, using only the Golden Ring artifact to parry the attacks of the others, his voice cold. “If you agree to stop, once we are outside, I will keep only one Spirit Fruit for my lineage, and the rest you may divide as you wish. How about that?”

Chu Hui and Miao Hai, unable to subdue Shi Hanyang quickly, finally ceased their fight with angry snorts upon hearing the fierce combat echoing from the cave passage. They each recalled their magical artifacts.

“Sect Leader Shi, if you had offered the Spirit Fruit earlier, how could we possibly be trapped here?! Even if you offer it now, how are we supposed to leave this place?” Miao Hai roared in fury.

“No need to worry. I am proficient in the arts of earth and mechanism. Long before entering, I meticulously studied the terrain of the Lu Family Fort. The Fort is built atop a sheer, towering mountain gorge, beside which flows the Bian River of the Southern Liang Kingdom. This stone cave is about a hundred zhang deep within the Fort. If we dig toward one side, we can punch through the stone wall and emerge directly from the great gorge! This wall faces southeast, leading precisely toward the Bian River,” Shi Hanyang calculated, his expression filled with confidence. “However, we must start immediately, or the numerous cultivators of the Lu Family Fort will soon arrive, and we won't be able to hold out much longer in this cave.”

All the cultivators gazed at Shi Hanyang in astonishment. The breadth of knowledge possessed by this Sect Leader left them completely humbled. They had all assumed they were likely to be trapped and perish in this cave, yet Shi Hanyang had resolved the problem in an instant.

“Let’s move!”

Ye Qin spoke directly, already manifesting a flying sword and driving it toward the stone wall. With a resounding ‘Boom,’ debris sprayed outward, and the sword gouged a large cavity several zhang deep into the rock. He already held a branch from the Spirit Fruit tree in his hand; his objective for this foray was achieved. The sooner they could exit the cave, the greater their chance of survival.

Two cultivators guarded the cave entrance, holding off the fierce assault from the Lu Family cultivators, while the other five unleashed their sharp flying sword artifacts, rapidly pounding the stone wall. Five flying swords danced swiftly within the cavern.

Being deep underground, none dared to use Earth Evasion techniques. If that technique were mishandled, failing to emerge would risk being buried alive, suffocating slowly. They preferred digging a passage with flying swords, which felt significantly safer. Five high-tier Foundation Establishment cultivators working together to excavate the tunnel made progress no slower than Earth Evasion.

“Boom!”

In just a moment, with a crisp, resonant crash, the tunnel extending several hundred zhang was finally breached.

A fierce, sharp gale from the canyon immediately poured into the cave entrance.

The hundreds of zhang of mountain wall had been penetrated, opening into the canyon river valley.

Those trapped within the cave rejoiced, summoning their flying swords and soaring out in a rush.

Shi Hanyang took the lead, fleeing toward the northwest. The remaining four or five cultivators, including Ma Dongyan and Chu Hui, chased closely behind. They dared not let Shi Hanyang escape alone, lest the good Spirit Fruits decidedly wouldn't be shared with them.

Ye Qin also trailed behind this group.

In truth, he had hoped to slip away alone, but a sweep of his divine sense revealed numerous Lu Family cultivators already surrounding the gorge, causing him immense frustration. Going solo would make him an easier target for interception by the Lu Family forces.

Inside the Lu Family Fort, the highest level of alert had already been sounded.

The Young Master of the Lu Family, Fang Lü Yuanhong, not only dispatched over a dozen Lu Family Foundation Establishment cultivators to forcefully assault the secret chamber stone cave but also sent other Foundation Establishment cultivators, leading large retinues of weaker Qi Refining disciples, to blockade the ten-li radius surrounding the Fort to prevent the invading enemies from escaping. Even the newlywed Second Young Master Lü Yuanpeng and Wang Hanzhi, along with several visiting Wang Family cultivators, had joined the search for the intruders.

Currently, the combined Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Lu and Wang families present at the Lu Family Fort numbered around fifty. This constituted a sizable and awe-inspiring force. Considering that the Green Pill Sect, renowned for having the largest number of cultivators, only boasted just over two hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Lu and Wang families here already accounted for a tenth of that number.

However, an even more critical point was the large contingent of guests currently staying at the Lu Family Fort, among whom were fully one hundred cultivators at or above the Foundation Establishment stage.

These guests were either friends and acquaintances allied with the Lu Family, or core disciples of the younger generation representing the Seven Great Immortal Sects, bound to the Lu Family by inextricable ties. Even if only a small fraction of these individuals chose to lend a hand, it would form an immensely powerful force.

Lü Yuanhong now knew that this group of invaders had entered the Ancestor’s secret chamber and were numerous. A shiver of dread ran through him; he feared incurring the Ancestor’s wrath. Casting aside all concern for his dignity, he formally requested aid from the disciples of the Seven Great Sects. Lü Yuanhong understood clearly that he must capture every single invading enemy to account for his failure to the Ancestor; otherwise, he could not predict the extent of the punishment awaiting him.

Upon Lü Yuanhong's request for support, the disciples of the Seven Great Sects found themselves unable to remain idle bystanders in such a situation and agreed to lend their strength to the Lu Family.

Shi Hanyang, Ye Qin, and the other five burst out of the fractured gorge wall only to be immediately spotted by three Lu Family Foundation Establishment cultivators soaring overhead on their swords. They instantly let out piercing screeches as a signal, alerting other Lu Family cultivators to converge, while simultaneously plunging down at grave risk to forcibly intercept Shi Hanyang and his group of six or seven.

If they could hold the group up for just a short while, a massive wave of Lu Family Foundation Establishment cultivators would soon arrive, at which point Shi Hanyang and the others would find escape impossible, even with wings.

“How dare you be so audacious as to cause trouble in my Lu Family Fort! See where you think you can run!” Lü Yuanhong shrieked, standing astride a gleaming golden sword light, leading a large contingent of pursuers from the Fort.

“Split up and run, stop lingering!”

Shi Hanyang, Ma Dongyan, and the others glanced back, their faces draining of color. Good heavens, there were forty to fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators charging at them! If they were surrounded by such a massive horde, they would all be ground into meat paste. At this point, they had no inclination to tangle with the three intercepting Lu Family cultivators; they immediately scattered, fleeing at top speed. If they couldn't escape, this day next year would be their death anniversary.

The seven figures transformed into seven streaks of colored light, fleeing in different directions.

The three intercepting Lu Family cultivators clearly froze for a moment, unsure which streak of light to pursue first.

However, their reaction time was swift, and they quickly devised a plan: they split up to intercept the three individuals with the highest cultivation—Shi Hanyang, Ma Dongyan, and Chu Hui. Higher cultivation likely meant higher leadership status; capturing the ringleaders of the invasion was far more valuable than seizing one or two minor cultivators.

Ye Qin, by contrast, gained a small, unintended advantage. Being in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, his cultivation was visibly the weakest, and the three intercepting Lu Family cultivators unhesitatingly abandoned their pursuit of him.

But Ye Qin felt no joy; his expression grew even colder.

The large mass of pursuers behind him had also split into seven groups, each tracking one of the seven escapees.

Ye Qin, wearing a grey bamboo hat and riding a low-grade golden sword artifact, glanced back, feeling utterly dejected. The group chasing him consisted of a full six or seven Foundation Establishment cultivators, each possessing cultivation equal to or greater than his own.

“I can no longer hide my strength. If I am caught, a desperate fight will ensue, and being captured would be a major disaster.”

Ye Qin slapped his storage pouch, tossing out a palm-sized mass of Dark Cloud Screen, which rapidly expanded into a cloud dozens of zhang wide. He plunged into the cloud, and his flying speed instantly surged dramatically, widening the distance between himself and his pursuers.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators chasing Ye Qin displayed obvious shock.

Cloud-and-mist type artifacts belonged to the category of Supreme-Grade artifacts. Such artifacts usually possessed immense divine power, were unpredictable in transformation, and flew at extreme speeds—only Golden Core Ancestors could typically wield them. How could this mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator wearing a bamboo hat possess such an artifact?

Among the six or seven pursuers, several exchanged glances, their faces a mixture of confusion and helplessness. They halted their chase and turned back to pursue the others. The flying swords of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators simply could not keep up with someone possessing a cloud-and-mist artifact; chasing was a waste of effort.

However, two Foundation Establishment cultivators continued to pursue Ye Qin.

One of them was Yan Wei, a core disciple of the Green Pill Sect.

Yan Wei had initially pursued Ye Qin purely by chance. Seeing Ye Qin closest to him, he intended to take him down in one swift move, demonstrating his superior skill before Huangfu Bing'er and the core disciples of the Seven Great Sects.

If possible, he was even interested in questioning Ye Qin and the others about what they had done inside the Lu Family Fort to cause Young Master Lü such frantic panic.

But Ye Qin’s escape using the Dark Cloud Screen artifact, shaking off the other pursuers, felt like a severe provocation to Yan Wei, instead sparking his competitive spirit. As a core disciple of a major family, he would not tolerate being outshone by another Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Yan Wei did not possess a Dark Cloud Screen artifact, but he had a Flying Sky Fire Wheel, which was also a high-grade artifact specialized for flight, with a speed comparable to the cloud-and-mist artifact. Furthermore, he possessed a secret flying technique of the Yan family, which consumed a small amount of vital blood to drastically increase flying speed for a short period. His flight speed was not significantly slower than Ye Qin's.

Moreover, Ye Qin had meticulously disguised his identity and aura while surveying the restricted area. Yan Wei had failed to recognize Ye Qin as a fellow Green Pill Sect disciple, instead treating him as an aberrant cultivator, thus showing him absolutely no mercy in the pursuit.