54: Chapter 54 Eighth Level of Qi Gathering

Another killing move, carrying a bone-chilling wind, struck down toward Ye Tian, who was lying on the ground!

If this palm strike landed, Ye Tian would surely die!

Ye Tian endured the intense pain, but there was no trace of fear in his eyes.

He struggled to get up, but his injuries were too severe and his movements were slow; he watched as the palm wind was about to descend.

At this critical moment!

"Yan Sha! You dare!"

An angry shout rang out!

A green figure instantly appeared in front of Ye Tian, blocking the path between him and Yan Sha!

Without a word, the newcomer struck out with a palm. The palm force was thick and majestic, arriving first despite being launched later, meeting Yan Sha's sinister Black Shamanic Palm!

Boom!!!

Another even more violent collision!

This time, at the center of the energy explosion, Yan Sha's face turned pale. He groaned and stumbled back more than ten steps, each step leaving a deep pit in the ground. Finally, he barely managed to stand firm, but a trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were filled with horror!

Meanwhile, the green figure stood in place, as steady as Mount Tai.

The dust slowly dispersed, revealing the newcomer's face.

"Second Elder!" Ye Tian was pleasantly surprised when he saw the figure standing in front of him.

The person was indeed Second Elder Ye Wenshan!

Ye Wenshan did not look back, his eyes coldly staring at the grim-faced Yan Sha. "Yan Sha! You are the Third Chief of Black Cloud Stronghold, a famous figure, yet you disregard your status to strike so viciously against a Junior of my Ye family!"

"If word of this gets out, aren't you afraid of being ridiculed by the world?!"

Yan Sha clutched his aching chest, feeling the powerful aura of the Qi Gathering Tenth Level Peak from Ye Wenshan, his heart filled with shock and anger.

He never expected that Ye Wenshan would appear at this moment!

With Ye Wenshan here, it was impossible for him to kill Ye Tian today.

"Ye Wenshan! Stop acting so self-righteous!" Yan Sha snorted, his bluster masking his fear. "This kid has repeatedly opposed my Black Cloud Stronghold and killed my brothers. Since he fell into my hands today, his life should end here!"

"If your Ye family wants to protect him, then bring it on; my Black Cloud Stronghold will take you on!"

Despite his words, his eyes flickered, clearly showing his intent to retreat.

He had no chance of winning in a head-on fight against Ye Wenshan in his Peak state.

How could Ye Wenshan not see through his bluff? He sneered, "Hmph, right and wrong will be judged by the public!"

"The deeds your Black Cloud Stronghold has done will be settled sooner or later!"

"The Ye family will remember today's events! Get lost!"

The reason Ye Wenshan did not continue to attack was not out of kindness.

It was because this was, after all, the territory of the Black Cloud Stronghold, and Yan Sha was also in the Qi Gathering Ninth Stage. If he resisted to the death, Ye Wenshan wouldn't be able to take him down in a short time.

Instead, it might attract others from the Black Cloud Stronghold. He wasn't afraid for himself, but protecting Ye Tian at the same time might be beyond his capabilities.

Yan Sha's face was ashen, knowing that staying any longer would only bring more humiliation.

He glared viciously at Ye Tian, then without another word, he moved and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.

Ye Wenshan did not pursue. He understood the principle of not cornering a desperate foe, and the priority was to check Ye Tian's injuries.

He turned around, walked quickly to Ye Tian's side, knelt down, and asked with concern, "Ye Tian, how are you? Are your injuries serious?"

At the same time, a stream of pure and gentle True Qi was funneled into Ye Tian's body to help stabilize his injuries.

Feeling that warm current, Ye Tian's injuries eased significantly. He struggled to sit up and said gratefully, "Thank you, Second Elder, for saving me in time!"

"I only suffered some internal organ tremors; I'll be fine after a few days of meditation."

Ye Wenshan inspected him carefully and found that although Ye Tian had coughed up blood, his Foundation was not damaged. He breathed a sigh of relief, then a look of reproach appeared on his face: "You child!"

"How can you be so reckless!"

"To actually run into the depths of the Black Cloud Mountains alone?"

"Do you know that your mother was worried sick when she saw you hadn't returned for a long time? She begged me to help, and I hurriedly followed the clues to find you!"

"If I had been a step later..."

Hearing this, Ye Tian immediately felt guilty and said in a low voice, "It was my lack of consideration that made Second Elder and Mother worry."

Ye Wenshan looked at his pale face, felt the aura of the Qi Gathering Seventh Level Peak within him, and then noticed the sharp, murderous air around him; a stormy wave of shock had already risen in his heart!

"How long has it been?"

"From the Clan Sacrifice Ceremony until now, it's only been a few months!"

"This kid actually soared all the way from the Qi Gathering Fifth Level to the Seventh Level Peak!"

"Such cultivation speed is simply unheard of!"

"Moreover, looking at his fight with Yan Sha just now, his actual combat capability is probably not inferior to an ordinary Qi Gathering Eighth Layer Martial Artist!"

"This kid... what exactly did he experience in the Black Cloud Mountains?"

Ye Wenshan was incredibly shocked, but he remained calm on the surface. He simply patted Ye Tian's shoulder and his tone softened: "It's good that you're okay. This place is not safe; let's go home first."

"Yes."

Under Ye Wenshan's escort, Ye Tian embarked on his return journey.

This trip to the Black Cloud Mountains, though a brush with death, yielded immense gains.

Not only did his cultivation soar and his combat experience increase greatly, but he also obtained the Seven-Leaf Mystic Ice Grass and some other Heaven And Earth Treasures.

However, Ye Tian knew clearly that Yan Sha's assassination attempt was no accident!

The Black Cloud Stronghold and the Lin family probably have their eyes completely fixed on him.

After returning to the Ye family, Ye Tian first went to see his mother.

Seeing her son return safely, Lady Liu's hanging heart finally settled. She hugged Ye Tian and wept with joy.

Ye Tian felt guilty and quickly comforted her, promising that he would be careful about the time when he went out in the future and would not let her worry again.

After settling his mother, Ye Tian did not delay and immediately went to the market. He exchanged the large amount of Vicious Beast Materials and other Spiritual Plants and fruits—except for the Seven-Leaf Mystic Ice Grass—for the Medicinal Pills needed for cultivation.

The harvest this time was extremely bountiful. The Medicinal Pills he exchanged for filled more than half of his Spatial Ring, enough for him to use for a long time.

Returning to his own courtyard, Ye Tian immediately began his secluded cultivation.

He first swallowed several high-quality Ningyuan Pills. With the help of the powerful refining ability of the Nine Revolutions Purple Heart Art and the chaos bead, the pure medicinal power was quickly transformed into True Qi, striking at the Bottleneck of the Qi Gathering Seventh Level Peak.

Accumulating steadily and breaking through!

Having experienced life-and-death battles in the Black Cloud Mountains, his Foundation had long been polished to be incredibly solid. At this moment, with the assistance of the Medicinal Pills, the Breakthrough was as natural as water forming a channel.

A few days later, in the quiet room, Ye Tian's aura suddenly surged, breaking through to the Qi Gathering Eighth Layer in one go!

The moment he broke through, Ye Tian felt his Dantian Qi Sea expand again, and the True Qi in his body was two or three times thicker than at the seventh level!

A sense of power filled his entire body!

But he didn't stop!

Feeling the still-rich medicinal power in his body, Ye Tian pressed on, swallowing the remaining pills as if they cost nothing, putting all his effort into striking for the Qi Gathering Ninth Stage!

The chaos bead grew slightly warm, helping him refine and expel all the Impurities and dryness contained in the massive amount of pills, leaving only the purest energy to nourish himself.

If not for this extraordinary treasure, taking pills so crazily would have long ago caused his True Qi to become superficial, his Foundation to become unstable, or even led to Qi Deviation.

Another few days passed. When more than half of the pills in the Spatial Ring were consumed, Ye Tian's cultivation had already stabilized at the Qi Gathering Eighth Layer Late Stage!

He slowly opened his eyes, the sharp light in them restrained.

Lightly clenching his fist and feeling the majestic True Qi in his body, Ye Tian was filled with confidence.

"With my current strength, if I encounter that Yan Sha again, even in his Peak state, I can defeat him head-on!"

The improvement in strength brought absolute confidence!

However, when he tried to continue taking pills to strike for the Qi Gathering Ninth Stage, he found that the effect was greatly reduced.

These common medicines exchanged from the market had already become thin in medicinal power for him at the Qi Gathering Eighth Layer Late Stage; he would need to consume a massive amount to see even a hint of progress.

Furthermore, all medicine has some toxicity. Even with the purification of the chaos bead, long-term consumption of large quantities was not a good strategy.

"It seems that conventional Medicinal Pills no longer have much effect on me."

"To break through to the Qi Gathering Ninth Stage or even strike for the Ningyuan Realm, I must find higher-grade Medicinal Pills or spiritual items of heaven and earth like the Seven-Leaf Mystic Ice Grass."

Ye Tian understood this in his heart.

As for the thought of going to the Black Cloud Mountains again to seek opportunities, he temporarily suppressed it.

Firstly, he didn't want to make his mother worry and fear again.

Secondly, after Yan Sha's assassination attempt, the Black Cloud Stronghold must have targeted him. He feared that the outskirts of the mountains were already crawling with scouts, just waiting for him to walk into their trap.

It's easy to dodge an open spear but hard to guard against a hidden arrow. Before having enough strength to protect himself, it was not advisable to take risks easily again.