Chapter 688: Zhou Yan

Ye Yuan's expression changed, and he instantly withdrew his divine sense.

Xue Hongfei let out a miserable scream, then his legs kicked and he lay still.

Clearly, Xue Hongfei was dead beyond dead.

In that instant, Ye Yuan had wanted to use the soul-searching technique on Xue Hongfei, but Xue Hongfei's soul emitted an extremely terrifying aura.

Then, his soul was directly shattered.

If Ye Yuan hadn't withdrawn in time, he might have been caught in the blast.

"Ye Yuan, what's wrong?" Ye Qing and Yue Mengli sensed something amiss and came forward to ask.

Ye Yuan frowned and said, "I wanted to search his soul to see if there was any news of my parents. But his soul had a prohibition placed on it. As soon as I used the soul-searching technique, it triggered the prohibition, and his soul scattered."

Yue Mengli was slightly surprised and said, "This man's strength is definitely at the peak in the lower realm. How could he willingly accept such a prohibition?"

Soul scattering means one cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation. Even if there is a sliver of hope for survival, a martial artist would never willingly accept such a prohibition.

Moreover, Xue Hongfei's strength surpassed that of an average Divine Travel ninth layer. Who could force him to accept such a prohibition?

Ye Yuan shook his head and said, "He must have had the prohibition placed on him without his knowledge! This method is extremely subtle, and with his strength, he couldn't detect it."

Yue Mengli was startled and said, "To silently plant a prohibition in the soul of a Divine Travel eighth layer—even that Zhao Tianyin couldn't do that, right?"

Ye Yuan nodded, confirming Yue Mengli's guess.

Although Zhao Tianyin was a Boundless realm expert, he couldn't possibly place such a prohibition in Xue Hongfei's soul without being noticed.

"Heh, it seems the upper echelons of the Hurricane Realm have long been manipulated behind the scenes! If I'm not mistaken, Zhao Tianyin is nothing more than a pawn," Ye Yuan said with a cold laugh.

"This... Zhao Tianyin is a Boundless realm martial artist. If even he is controlled..." Yue Mengli was astonished by Ye Yuan's speculation.

Ye Yuan nodded and said, "This matter is likely inseparable from the Divine Realm. I just don't know which force is behind it and what their purpose is. These people have stirred up so much trouble in the lower realm; their ambitions must be great. It seems the Divine Realm hasn't been peaceful these years either!"

In his past life, during Ye Yuan's years in the Divine Realm, the major top-tier forces were mostly in a state of balance.

Even if there were occasional conflicts, they were limited to small-scale incidents.

The destruction of the Medicine King Hall was probably the most sensational event in the Divine Realm in recent years.

Yet someone incited a war between two realms to gather blood and baleful energy—their ambitions must be far from small!

Ye Yuan speculated that such events between the Hurricane Realm and the Boundless Realm were probably not isolated.

In other small worlds, similar things might have happened.

But even with these speculations, Ye Yuan was currently powerless.

His strength had nearly reached its peak in the lower realm, but in the Divine Realm, he was just starting out.

The road ahead was long and arduous!

...

Three days later, the battle came to an end!

The army led by Chu Shi from the Nethercloud Sect pursued for ten thousand li and killed nearly half of the Hurricane Realm martial artists!

When a sovereign is angered, corpses float for ten thousand li!

Now, Ye Yuan was the undisputed sovereign of the Boundless Realm!

After this battle, the Nethercloud Sect became famous throughout the Boundless Realm, spreading across the entire realm.

Annihilating over twenty Divine Travel realm experts from the Hurricane Realm and defeating a million-strong army with forty thousand troops!

In the Boundless Realm, who else but Ye Yuan could achieve such a glorious feat?

And as Ye Yuan had expected, after this battle, the confidence of the Boundless Realm martial artists was restored, and forces of all sizes sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain.

These forces launched a frenzied counterattack against the Hurricane Realm, and for a time, battlefields appeared everywhere in the Boundless Realm.

Of course, this battle also made the Nethercloud Sect famous, attracting countless forces and independent cultivators to join.

However, Ye Yuan was not concerned with these mundane affairs; he left them to Chu Shi and the others to handle.

Luming City was only a temporary residence; Ye Yuan's mind was still set on Boundless City.

After a few days of rest, Ye Yuan ordered the army to march, heading straight for Boundless City!

On the night before the army's departure, the moon was bright and the stars sparse. Ye Yuan was enjoying this rare moment of tranquility.

"Ye Yuan, don't worry. Your parents are blessed by heaven and will be fine!"

Yue Mengli was a perceptive girl. Although Ye Yuan hadn't shown it these past days, she knew his heart was restless.

If not for that, given Ye Yuan's personality, he wouldn't have let Chu Shi and the others deal such heavy blows to the Hurricane Realm army.

Ye Yuan shook his head and sighed, "I once made a silent vow not to let my loved ones be harmed again, but... in the end, I failed."

Yue Mengli said, "You've done more than enough! Zhao Tianyin and the others are the real culprits! It's all my fault. If I had known, I would have killed him directly!"

Ye Yuan turned to look at Yue Mengli and smiled, "Li'er, you're so understanding. How could this be your fault? I know you wanted to leave Zhao Tianyin for me to deal with personally. I'm grateful for that, so how could I blame you?"

Yue Mengli blushed and said, "Seeing you so distracted these days, I'm really worried for you. Sometimes, speaking out makes things lighter."

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Li'er. I'm fine."

Ye Yuan looked directly at Yue Mengli, causing a shy blush to spread across her face, and she couldn't help but lower her head.

Under the moonlight, Yue Mengli was breathtakingly beautiful.

Even Ye Yuan had to admit that this woman stirred something in him.

For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat ambiguous.

"Heh, daring to steal my woman, Zhou Yan—you're really asking for trouble!"

Not far away, a young man tore through the void and appeared, shattering the ambiguous atmosphere completely.

The jealousy and killing intent in his words were impossible to hide.

Ye Yuan and Yue Mengli's expressions changed simultaneously. Someone had been spying on them from the void, and neither of them had noticed!

"Zhou Yan! Why is it you!" Yue Mengli exclaimed in shock.

Zhou Yan ignored Yue Mengli, his gaze fixed firmly on Ye Yuan.

Facing this Zhou Yan, Ye Yuan almost felt suffocated. The other's strength was far beyond what Ye Yuan could contend with now!

Zhou Yan looked at Ye Yuan, and suddenly a flame leaped in his eyes!

"No!"

Yue Mengli cried out and activated the power of the Moonlight Eye without hesitation!

"Boom!"

Even with the offset of the Moonlight Eye's power, it couldn't block Zhou Yan's attack. The air around Ye Yuan suddenly exploded, sending him flying.

"Pfft!"

Ye Yuan clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.