Extracting all things: My attributes grow infinitely.

Deep within the cave, a cold pool is shrouded in a thin mist.

Long Yuan sat cross-legged by the pool, his dark golden dragon scales flickering in and out of focus. The two crimson-gold dragon horns on his head were half an inch thicker than when he was in the Origin Realm, and the tips of the horns shimmered with a faint flame.

He held his palms up to the sky, each palm holding a fist-sized ball of emerald-green flame.

The spark was only the size of a bean, its flame pulsating, faintly transforming into a thin, hair-like phantom dragon that coiled endlessly within its heart.

This is a cultivation technique bestowed by the Ye family, the "Azure Wood Dragon Transformation Technique".

Today it is today.

He has been in the Heavenly Chapter Realm for over a year.

Longyuan used this method to temper his body every day, attempting to purify and refine the trace of impure true dragon bloodline within his body.

but……

Progress, however, has been incredibly slow.

Long Yuan opened his vertical pupils, glanced down at the cyan flame in his palm, and a barely perceptible hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes.

According to the Ye family, he was born into a different race and was not suited to cultivate human cultivation methods.

It is normal for cultivation to proceed slowly.

But a whole year.

His cultivation level has not made any progress.

He was still stuck at the point where Jiang Chuan had forcibly promoted him to the Perfected Body Tempering stage.

This can't be explained away as just being slow.

With the Ye family's resources, a few pills could easily increase his cultivation speed by more than tenfold.

The current situation is clearly a deliberate act by the Ye family to slow down his cultivation progress!

It's like...

Be wary of him.

Long Yuan swallowed the cyan flame in his palm back into his stomach and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He was Jiang Chuan's servant, and the Ye family should have been completely unaware of this from beginning to end.

But during this year.

He always had a feeling of being watched, like a thorn in his side.

The feeling was extremely subtle, yet omnipresent, as if a pair of eyes were always hanging above his head, coldly watching his every move.

He dared not contact Jiang Chuan, nor did he dare to make any unusual moves. He could only stay here, refining the half-dead cyan flame day after day, playing the role of a docile guardian spirit beast.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the cave.

Long Yuan narrowed his vertical pupils slightly, but did not turn around. His footsteps stopped at the entrance of the cave. A servant of the Ye family dressed in a green robe bowed and said, "Young Master Long Yuan, the patriarch has summoned you."

Long Yuan slowly stood up, his dark golden scales gleaming coldly in the reflection of the fluorite on the cave wall.

one Year.

The head of the Ye family is finally going to meet him.

He brushed the water off his robes, strode out of the cave with the servant.

Outside the cave.

The scene of the Ye family's sacred land unfolded in the morning light.

Several green peaks surround a suspended jade palace. Waterfalls and streams cascade down from the peaks, turning into a misty haze in mid-air. Flocks of cranes soar across the sky, their cries piercing the clouds and landing in the bamboo forest that stretches for miles on the mountainside, startling a few colorful phoenixes that were pecking at spiritual fruits in the forest.

Long Yuan followed the servant, walking along the bluestone path through the bamboo forest, around a semi-circular jade platform, and finally stopped in front of a cave dwelling made entirely of blue jade.

……

At the same moment, deep within Green Bamboo Peak, in a jade palace suspended above a sea of ​​clouds.

Ye Wanxia stood with her hands behind her back before the palace railing, her green robe fluttering in the wind. Her face was serene and otherworldly, her long hair casually tied back with a jade hairpin, a few strands falling onto her snow-white neck, making her already exquisite face appear even more ethereal and otherworldly.

Behind her was a huge crystal wall, reflecting the view of the vast bamboo forest. The mountain breeze swept through the treetops, stirring up layers of emerald waves. Several cranes were taking flight from the forest, heading towards the distant, suspended, emerald-green platform.

An old voice suddenly rang out from behind her, but no one was in sight.

"Do you know why I have summoned you here today?"

"Master of the family."

Ye Wanxia cupped her hands in greeting, her black hair cascading over her shoulders, revealing a section of her fair, jade-like neck. She nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "The patriarch must be concerned about that dragon-man."

"good."

The aged voice seemed to chuckle: "The Crimson Blaze True Monarch, that was a Golden Core True Monarch who attained the Primordial Chaos Realm in ancient times. His Fire-Separating Divine Power dominated the world. His lineage has been in the Origin Realm for so many years, and it was actually obtained by a mixed-blood dragon. It's quite a twist of fate."

Ye Wanxia lowered her eyes slightly: "Although the trace of true dragon bloodline in Long Yuan's body is thin, it is just right to carry the lineage of True Monarch Chiming. In the ancient cultivation world, the true dragon clan was the pinnacle of fire magic. True Monarch Chiming himself is said to have refined a true dragon's reverse scale. The cultivation method he left behind is naturally compatible with the true dragon bloodline."

"Indeed."

The aged voice sighed softly, then fell silent for a long while before slowly saying, "But if we can't find the person hiding behind him, even if this boy possesses immense fortune, he will ultimately remain a hidden danger. Do you understand this principle?"

Ye Wanxia remained silent for a moment, then cupped her hands and said, "This disciple understands."

Although the Ye family has gradually declined over the past thousand years, it is still a fourth-level family with a Foundation Establishment True Person in charge.

The current patriarch is a Great True Person who has reached the third stage of Foundation Establishment, and the enslavement mark on Long Yuan's body cannot be hidden from their discerning eyes.

But that's where things get weird.

With the discerning eye of the Ye family patriarch, he could naturally tell that the enslavement mark was not a particularly sophisticated method.

But he just couldn't figure out the origin of the person hidden behind Longyuan.

It is precisely because of this that, although the Ye family coveted the Golden Core True Monarch inheritance in Long Yuan's body, they never dared to use any means against him, for fear that he was a pawn placed by some important figure.

Until a few months ago.

Ip Man-sang's calculations finally found a direction.

But the result was even more unbelievable to him. The strands of cause and effect wrapped around Long Yuan's body actually pointed to a minor cultivator who was only at the Body Tempering Realm!

This situation.

This only made Ip Man more hesitant to act rashly.

The fact that a mere cultivator in the Body Tempering Realm could master a method that even he couldn't predict is itself suspicious!

Therefore, Ip Man naturally believed that Jiang Chuan was a bait deliberately thrown out by the true owner behind that mark.

It was all to lure him in!

in this way.

This frightened him so much that he didn't dare to make a move against Long Yuan for several months...

Ye Wanxia knew about all these things, but even though she had seen Jiang Chuan in person, she couldn't connect Long Yuan's affairs with Jiang Chuan.

She had no idea that Jiang Chuan had already found a way to reach the upper realm and had arrived in the Heavenly Chapter Realm on that strange train.

but.

Ye Wanxia had some guesses about the purpose of the family head's summons to her today.

Upon hearing this, she hesitated and asked, "Master, are you planning to give him away?"

The aged voice replied irrelevantly: "Just now, I suddenly lost the sense of the enslavement mark on that little dragon."

Ye Wanxia widened her eyes slightly: "What do you mean by 'can't sense it anymore'?"

Ip Man said, "Two possibilities."

"The first possibility is that the person behind it has already perished, and the mark of enslavement he left on that little dragon has naturally vanished."

"But given their audacity and methods in plotting against the Golden Core lineage, they won't perish so easily..."

Furthermore...

"It's highly likely that the opponent is already preparing to activate this piece!"

Ye Wanxia's heart skipped a beat.

She instantly grasped the hidden meaning in Ip Man-sang's words.

If the Ye family were at its peak, it would naturally not fear any external enemies, much less any schemes.

But the situation is different now.

Several Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Ye family have fallen into the cycle of reincarnation, yet they have not yet awakened their past life wisdom.

Currently, only Ip Man-sang, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, is holding the fort.

But his time was also coming to an end.

It was already a struggle to keep the family from falling into poverty.

Provoking another powerful enemy would likely only hasten the demise of the entire family.

"You mean...?"

"Hasn't the Crimson Lotus Sect always wanted to reclaim that little dragon? They even slandered my Ye family in court, accusing us of plotting to revive the Crimson Bright Dao lineage and harboring treasonous intentions!"

"In that case, why not hand him over?"

"I'd like to see."

"Who is stronger, them or the person behind that little dragon?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Wanxia frowned slightly. "Patriarch, but this is, after all, the inheritance of a Golden Core True Monarch..."

Ip Man said, "It's alright. The Crimson Lotus Sect has a rare treasure called the Nine-Rank Lotus Platform, which is of great help to cultivators. We can take this opportunity to get it for you. With you in the future, the Ip family will be secure."

Ye Wanxia was slightly taken aback, then fell silent.

She then asked, "Patriarch, what about the matter of the Zhou family mentioning opening a passage to the lower realm?"

Ip Man-sang pondered for a moment: "According to what you said when you returned from the Origin Realm last time, a true cultivator was actually born in that Immortal Absolute Land."

"Although he is just a minor cultivator who has reached the peak of Body Tempering, this may be some kind of special omen."

"This indicates that cultivation can now proceed normally in the Source Realm..."

"If this is true."

"Our Ye family absolutely cannot miss this opportunity to descend to the mortal realm and select the best talents!"

"However, you don't need to worry about this. Once you get the ninth-grade lotus platform, focus on your cultivation and break through to the Foundation Establishment stage first!"