I'm invincible once I descend the mountain; the beautiful CEO is forcing me to get our marriage

These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over the heads of everyone in the Hu family.

The color drained from Hu's mother's face, and she swayed, almost fainting.

Old Master Hu froze, the last trace of color draining from his face, leaving only ashen despair.

Yeah, why would they save you?

You just treated someone like a follower of a conman, making sarcastic remarks, and then when disaster strikes, you expect them to forgive and forget and risk their lives to save you.

There's no such logic in the world.

"but,"

Just as the Hu family was completely plunged into despair, Ye An changed the subject.

"Before I leave, I might as well let you frogs in a well open your eyes and see what real 'supernatural power' really is!"

Before he could finish speaking, Ye An suddenly stomped his foot.

"go!"

An invisible, sharp wave spread out from him instantly.

Shattering Divine Light!

The mandrill, which was swaggering and roaring, suddenly stopped moving.

"Whoa—!"

It seemed to have been struck by something heavy, and suddenly clutched its head, letting out a roar that was more piercing and painful than ever before.

Those scarlet vertical pupils instantly filled with madness and chaos, and they began to charge around indiscriminately, without distinguishing friend from foe.

"Bang!"

A large tree that required two people to hug was hit by it and shook violently, leaving a deep dent in its trunk.

"This is...losing their mind? It's Master Ye's secret technique!"

Master Guan looked at Ye An with eyes full of admiration.

Amidst the horrified and bewildered gazes of the crowd, Ye An didn't even glance at the crazed mountain demon again.

He slowly raised his right hand, facing the clear sky above, and calmly uttered two words.

"Lei Lai."

These two words were spoken lightly, without the strained shouting of Master Zhou during his rituals, and without any superfluous movements.

Hu Yu stared blankly at Ye An's profile, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

Could it be that……

Master Guan held his breath, his eyes fixed on Ye An's hand. He knew that the real show was about to begin.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted above everyone's heads!

A crack, visible to the naked eye, suddenly appeared in the clear, cloudless sky!

A bolt of blue-purple lightning, thicker than a bucket, resembled a dragon's claw reaching out from the heavens.

It tore through the sky and cleaved straight down!

The lightning did not strike anything in the valley.

Instead, under everyone's gaze, it inexplicably converged and compressed...

Finally, it landed on Ye An's outstretched palm!

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

Blinding lightning crackled wildly in his palm, making a teeth-grinding sound.

His entire being was so striking that he resembled a god who held the power of heaven and earth.

Hu Yu was utterly shocked!

Master Ye is indeed as legendary as they say, possessing divine abilities in Taoism.

Asking Ye An to help was definitely the best decision he had ever made in his life.

"This is... authentic Celestial Master Thunder Magic?!"

Upon witnessing this astonishing scene, the dying Master Zhou uttered the greatest exclamation of his life.

"Master Zhou, what is the Celestial Master Thunder Magic?"

Someone, barely managing to recover from the shock, couldn't help but ask upon hearing this.

Master Zhou's gaze was unfocused, as if he were deeply shocked and unable to extricate himself.

He muttered to himself, as if answering a question, or perhaps questioning himself:

"The Celestial Master Thunder Technique... I thought its lineage had long been severed... Could this person actually be a direct descendant of the Celestial Masters sect of Longhu Mountain?!"

Compared to the earth-shattering scene before them, the explosion of Master Zhou's lightning-summoning talisman was nothing more than a child's firecracker.

Grandpa Hu, Grandma Hu, and the surviving herb gatherers were all frozen in place.

Their mouths were agape, their eyes widened, their minds went blank, and they completely lost the ability to think.

"What's going on? Isn't this guy just a conman that Hu Yu randomly hired? He actually has real skills?"

"Oh no, oh no, I even rolled my eyes at him earlier..."

Shock, stunned, regret, fervor...

A complex array of emotions, frozen on their faces.

At that moment, the berserk mandrill also noticed the commotion.

It seemed to sense a deadly threat from the lightning and abandoned its attempt to crash into the tree.

Its scarlet eyes were fixed on Ye An. It roared and charged forward in a black blur, using all four limbs!

Ye An held the Thunder in his hand, not even glancing at the mountain demon charging towards him.

He hurled the ball of violent lightning in his hand forward with a swift motion.

Lightning bolts flew from his hand.

It traced a dazzling serpentine trail in the air, striking the mandrill's body instantly despite being slower than it could have been.

There were no screams, and no struggles.

Before that bolt of lightning containing destructive power,

That mountain demon, which filled everyone with despair and was referred to by Master Zhou as an "entry-level spirit,"

Its body, which was harder than steel, was as hard as paper.

It was blasted in two on the spot.

The broken edge was charred black and emitted a strange smell of burning protein.

The surrounding trees were directly shattered by the lightning and turned into dust.

At this moment, the valley returned to silence.

"It's thunder magic from Taoist arts!"

Master Zhou's hair stood on end from the electric shock, his hands were covered in black ash, and he couldn't stop exclaiming in surprise.

The way he looked at Ye An was like that of prey seeing its predator.

Master Zhou no longer cared about his otherworldly demeanor or the air of a master.

Terrified, he scrambled to his knees and prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Master Ye, spare my life! This disciple will never dare to do it again, never dare to do it again!"

Master Zhou was so badly injured by Ye An's attack that he had no power to resist and could only keep kowtowing and begging for mercy.

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence. Everyone seemed to have been struck by an invisible thunderbolt, frozen in place.

All eyes were fixed on the two focal points.

One was a young man whose palms were still crackling with electricity and whose clothes were spotless, like a god descended to earth.

The other was the charred remains on the ground, no longer recognizable as human.

Hu Yu's mind was in turmoil.

This mountain demon, which could have become a legendary tale in the deep mountains for centuries, was killed so easily by Master Ye with a single blow.

He increasingly felt that Mr. Ye was unfathomable, and at the same time, he was extremely grateful for his initial persistence.

Choosing him was absolutely the best decision he ever made.

Hu Jianguo, standing to the side, felt his face burning with shame and was filled with regret for his shortsightedness.

But then he smiled bitterly to himself, there was nothing he could do...

Anyone who sees Ye An's age and thinks about their own son's unreliable behavior would probably misjudge him.

Just as everyone was lost in thought and still in shock, Ye An broke the silence.

He took a step forward, his voice calmly piercing the deathly silence:

"The monster has been exorcised; we hope Boss Hu will keep his promise."

Hu Yu seemed to snap out of a daze and hurriedly nodded and bowed in agreement.

Having received the reply, Ye An said no more. He and Master Guan turned around, took the blackened corpse of the mountain demon, and disappeared into the deep forest in a flash, vanishing without a trace.

Only after the two figures had completely disappeared from sight did Master Zhou, who had been silent all along, finally breathe a sigh of relief.

His face held a mixture of awe and bitterness as he exclaimed in genuine amazement:

"This is truly the skill of a Celestial Master...truly breathtaking!"

At this moment, he was completely convinced of his defeat.

Recalling that thunderous strike, he even suspected that this Master Ye was not a young man at all, but an old monster who had preserved his youth and lived for hundreds of years!

Otherwise, how could such extraordinary abilities exist in the world?

In the end, the more excited the Hu family was when they arrived, the more disheveled they became when they left.

But tonight's miraculous scene is destined to become an unforgettable mark on them.

……

In the mountains and forests.

Master Guan carried half of the mandrill's corpse and followed closely behind Ye An, not daring to breathe too loudly.

The two walked quickly, making the rugged mountain path seem like flat ground.

"Master Ye," Master Guan finally couldn't help but ask, "Are we... going further in? How do we find the warm jade?"

Ye An didn't turn around, but simply raised the severed arm of the mountain demon he was carrying.

"It smells like that thing."

After he finished speaking, he stopped and closed his eyes, as if sensing something.

Master Guan looked at Ye An, and his heart churned again.

Can the source be traced just by the faint scent left on the corpse?

What an amazing technique!

A moment later, Ye An opened his eyes and pointed in a direction deeper into the valley.

"Over there."

The two set off again, their figures weaving through the forest at a speed several times faster than before, quickly leaving the chaos behind them completely behind.

Looking at Ye An's calm back, Master Guan felt a deep sense of awe that was ingrained in his very bones.

After an unknown amount of time, a loud splashing sound came from ahead.

Ye An stopped in front of a cliff face that was partially obscured by a waterfall.

The waterfall cascades down a cliff tens of meters high, the water rushing and roaring like thunder. The spray spreads out, forming a small rainbow in the sunlight.

Ordinary people who come here will only think that it is a dead end, and will never think that there is a hidden paradise behind it.

Ye An looked at the waterfall in front of him, his expression unchanged.

He stretched out his finger and flicked it lightly at the thick curtain of water.

An invisible burst of energy shot out.

"Splash—"

The cascading waterfall seemed to have been cleaved in two by an invisible giant blade, the water flowing to both sides, revealing a deep cave entrance behind it.

A rich, warm scent wafted from the cave entrance.

Master Guan stared blankly at the scene, his mouth slightly open, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Diverting the water and stopping the flow—that's simply divine intervention!

Ignoring his shock, Ye An took the lead and entered the cave.

Master Guan was startled and quickly followed him inside.

As soon as the two entered, the water curtain behind them closed again, submerging the cave entrance once more.

The cave was not completely dark.

Upon entering, Master Guan was so astonished by the sight before him that he stopped in his tracks.

The entire inner wall of the cave is densely inlaid with countless crimson crystals of varying sizes.

These crystals emitted a warm, soft red glow in the darkness, illuminating the entire cave like the glow of the evening sun, making it incredibly beautiful.

This... this is the "warm jade" passed down through generations of the Hu family?

Fire Spirit Crystal!

The Hu family treasured it as a family heirloom, daring only to pry off a small piece.

But here, there's a whole cave!

Master Guan had never seen so many rare and precious herbs in his life, and his breathing became heavy.

He subconsciously reached out, wanting to touch the fire spirit crystal closest to him.

"Don't move."

Ye Anqing's cold voice suddenly rang out.

Master Guan's hand froze in mid-air before he suddenly came to his senses.

Just then, a sickening sizzling sound came from the shadows deep inside the cave.

Several shadowy figures, even more imposing than the mandrill outside, suddenly darted out of the darkness!

There are three in total!

Each one was nearly three meters tall, with black fur standing on end like steel needles, and scarlet vertical pupils locked onto the two intruders.

They let out low growls from their throats, and foul-smelling saliva dripped from their mouths, which were torn to the roots of their ears, corroding small pits into the hard rocks.

Master Guan's scalp tingled instantly.

One mandrill almost wiped out everyone, and now there are three even bigger ones here!

Finished!

A wave of despair washed over me.

But the next moment, without thinking, he took a step to the side, opened his arms, and shielded Ye An tightly behind him.

"Master Ye! I'll hold them off!"

Master Guan's voice trembled slightly, but he stood ramrod straight, without backing down an inch.

Ye An looked at his broad back, a subtle emotion flashing in his eyes.

He simply reached out and gently patted Master Guan on the shoulder.

"Step back."

Immediately, Ye An pointed his fingers like a sword, facing the empty space in front of him, and uttered a single word.

"Sword, come!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the long, narrow sword case he always carried on his back emitted a clear, melodious sword sound.

A streak of light flew out on its own and hovered in front of Ye An.

It was an ancient longsword, its blade clear and bright, shimmering with a faint glow, and exuding a sharp killing intent.

"roar--!"

The three giant mandrills seemed to sense the threat and roared at the same time. Using all four limbs, they transformed into three black shadows and pounced from different directions!

Ye An's expression remained unchanged, but a thought flickered in his mind.

The flying sword hovering in front of him instantly transformed into three silver bolts of lightning, drawing three mysterious trajectories in the cave.

It's almost at its limit.

Master Guan only felt a blur before his eyes, and the three silver lights had already vanished in a flash.

The three mandrills, which were halfway to pounce, suddenly froze in mid-air.

Their movements were fluid and seamless.

The next second, a thin, long blood hole appeared simultaneously between the eyebrows of all three mandrills.

The fierce light in their eyes quickly dimmed, and before they could even utter a scream, their massive bodies crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The cave returned to silence.

Ye An waved his hand, and the flying sword transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the sword box on his back.

He walked to the three mandrill corpses, waved his hand, and the four enormous corpses, including the one outside, vanished into thin air.

After doing all this, he turned around, looked at Master Guan who was completely dumbfounded, and gave a brief explanation.

"The flesh, blood, tendons, and bones of advanced spirits are all good materials for refining weapons."

Master Guan stared blankly at Ye An, then at the empty ground, his mind completely blank.

Storage magic treasures... Flying swords to kill enemies...

Master Ye actually had this skill?

Ye An ignored him and walked straight into the depths of the cave.

After passing through this area studded with fire spirit crystals, a bright and open view suddenly appeared before us.

Inside was a medicinal herb garden that had been artificially created.

The garden is planted with more than a dozen different kinds of plants. Even though they have been neglected for a long time, they still grow vigorously and are full of vitality.

Ye An's gaze swept over them, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.

He immediately recognized that several of them were actually auxiliary medicinal materials needed to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill: "Red Sun Grass" and "Blood Coagulation Flower".

"I see," Ye An looked at the spiritual herbs and understood. "These mountain demons stole the spiritual herbs here and were nourished by the spiritual energy of the fire spirit crystals over the years, which is why they developed intelligence and transformed into spirits."

Now, the cause and effect of everything became clear.

At the end of the herb garden, the two discovered a stone chamber.

The stone chamber was small and simply furnished.

In the very center, a skeleton sits cross-legged, silently facing the stone wall.

The bones were as clear as jade, but they were covered with strange black cracks like a spider web.

Ye An stepped forward, examined the area for a moment, and then made a judgment.

"This person should be an ancient cultivator who failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm after consuming the Foundation Establishment Pill, suffered a qi deviation, and ultimately died from his spiritual energy exploding."

Beside the remains lay a prayer mat and several booklets made of tanned animal hides.

Ye An casually picked up the futon, weighed it in his hand, and sensed that it contained a faint calming and tranquilizing array.

"It can barely be considered a low-level magic artifact, but it's better than nothing."

He made a casual comment and then tossed the prayer mat aside.

Master Guan's gaze was fixed on the few animal-hide booklets, and his breathing became rapid.

He knew that it was very likely the complete cultivation technique left behind by this ancient cultivator!

For a martial artist like him, whose acquired cultivation techniques are incomplete, this is nothing short of a meteoric rise to immortality!

Ye An picked up the booklet and casually flipped through a few pages.

The above contains a cultivation method that can only be cultivated to the highest level of the Innate Perfection stage, as well as some basic magical insights.

He looked at the almost overflowing longing in Master Guan's eyes and felt a slight stirring in his heart.

"You've been with me for a while now, and you've done a pretty good job."

Ye An's voice remained calm.

He stretched out his finger, using his true essence as ink, and quickly traced it across the animal skin book, correcting some of the errors and obscure parts one by one.

After doing all this, he casually tossed the revised manual to Master Guan.

"This cultivation technique had some flaws, which I've optimized for you and filled in the upper limit. How far you can go depends on your own destiny. You can take that futon with you too."

Master Guan hurriedly took the booklet, feeling as if these few thin pages of animal hide were incredibly heavy.

His hands trembled as he turned to the first page, and after just one glance, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

In addition to the original handwriting, the booklet now features faintly glowing golden markings.

Those obstacles that he originally found obscure and difficult to understand suddenly became clear and pointed directly to the Great Way under the annotation of these marks!

"thump!"

"Thank you, Master Ye!"

Master Guan could no longer control his emotions. His knees buckled, and he was about to kneel down and kowtow to express his gratitude.

A gentle force held him firmly in place, preventing him from kneeling down.

"No need for such formalities."

Ye An waved his hand, signaling him to go aside and ponder it on his own.

He then turned around and began to collect the fire spirit crystals that filled the cave and the spiritual herbs in the herb garden.

This is the real, enormous gain.