Chapter 766

Chapter 766: Clash of Beasts

Before long, Ye Yun sensed people gathering behind him. Though he lacked no Immortal Spirit Stones, he recalled bets were placed on these beast battles and decided to participate.

He turned to the red-clothed female attendant. "When do the wagers begin?"

Unfazed, she answered plainly: "The Nine-Headed Insect versus Golden Lion Roar—both First Level Earth Immortal realm. Hua Luan against Earth Evil Insect—second layer Earth Immortal realm. Demon Ghost versus Golden Winged Roc—Third Level Earth Immortal realm."

Ye Yun paused, then sighed. "Which beasts have higher odds of winning? Advise me."

"If you insist," the attendant dipped her head slightly, eyes gleaming. "For easy wins: the Nine-Headed Insect, captured by the city lord himself, surpasses the Golden Lion. Hua Luan’s divine beast blood counters the Earth Evil Insect…"

Ye Yun chuckled. "Choose for me. We split gains fifty-fifty. Losses are mine."

"Truly, sir?" Her hand trembled as she accepted a hundred top-tier Immortal Spirit Stones. Winning could grant her three hundred such stones—a fortune compared to her meager savings of low-grade ones.

"Where’d you get this Storage Treasure?" Ye Yun eyed the cloth bag the Ancestor conjured.

"Child’s play," the Ancestor snorted. "At my level, crafting trinkets is beneath me. Recall the Xumi Treasure and Celestial-Demon battlefield’s spatial gates? Made by Heavenly Immortals. My methods are simpler."

Ye Yun frowned. Though his spatial laws allowed teleportation and opening spatial gates, he couldn’t store spaces or forge Storage Treasures from rags like the Ancestor—techniques that defied decay.

"The first match starts," the Ancestor said as beasts emerged onto the battle platform. "Pathetic Nine-Headed Insect! I once battled a Nine-Headed Dragon. One Sword borrowed heaven’s radiance to slay it beneath Lingyao Continent’s Northern Sea!"

"Was it truly a dragon?" Ye Yun raised an eyebrow.

"Close enough! Horned dragons and demon dragons share lineage. Had it fully transformed, I’d have slain it regardless!"

The humanoid golden lion roared, charging the green-haired man. The ground crumbled as it lunged, aiming to devour him.

The green-haired man sighed. A phantom Nine-Headed Insect loomed behind him. With a whisper, the lion exploded into gore mid-charge.

Unfazed, Ye Yun knew from the attendant’s words: divine beast bloodlines granted unmatched talent. Such beings radiated crushing despair in battle.

"Your first bet succeeded," Ye Yun remarked as the attendant beamed.

She nodded eagerly. Victory granted her a hundred top-tier stones—unimaginable wealth. Three hundred would transform her life.

The Hua Luan’s victory was swifter. Soaring high, it incinerated the Earth Evil Insect. Ye Yun felt nothing, but the attendant gasped, exhilarated.

The third match shocked Ye Yun. The Golden Winged Roc, underestimated, unleashed sudden speed and divine power to kill the Demon Ghost, drawing cheers.

Losers cursed their defeated beast but dared not disrupt Red City’s order. All knew its lord’s temper.

Stay obedient, and no harm follows. Cause trouble, and endure Red City’s eighteen tortures—agonies even Earth Immortals couldn’t withstand, cementing the lord’s ruthless fame.

Nascent Soul stage souls resist physical pain. Earth Immortals might ignore it entirely. Yet victims emerged broken, nearly mad. One misspoken sentence had caused such torment. Greater crimes invited worse.

The Red City lord, an Eighth Level Earth Immortal, rivaled ancient sect elders. Her charm ensnared all who saw her—except Ye Yun.

Upon seeing the Falling Phoenix girl, he’d felt awe but no infatuation. Perhaps his mind, tempered by the succubus clan’s demon god in the Celestial Tower, resisted. Her beauty bordered on unnatural, her power matching her allure—demon god realm.

Such women demanded distant reverence. Before her image seared his sea of consciousness, Ye Yun sealed his vision. A necessary precaution.

Had he faltered, he’d be dead. Yet she likely needed him against the Heavenly Demon, ensuring his safety—for now.

He refused to gamble his fate on others’ whims, though sometimes choice vanished.

As matches escalated, a Seventh Level Earth Immortal beast king emerged. Ye Yun grimaced. Unleashed, such a creature could raze a kilometer-high city within an incense stick’s burn. How could the Falling Phoenix girl suppress two beast kings while reinforcing the array beyond their breach?

Ye Yun hid his worries as he watched the gigantic beast king on the battle platform, while the red-clothed female attendant beside him gazed at the scene with intense excitement. When the two beasts clashed, the attendant’s cheeks flushed crimson with fervor, her legs beginning to rub together unconsciously. Ye Yun pretended not to notice, observing the increasingly frenzied crowd of cultivators around him as his own suppressed violence threatened to surface.

His expression darkened slightly. He’d been consciously avoiding such infectious fanaticism, knowing it clouded judgment and caused missed opportunities. Ancient texts spoke of cultivators exploiting this fervor to detect weaknesses, but Ye Yun remained skeptical – perhaps because he’d never mastered such techniques himself. He understood too well how immersion in this madness could corrode one’s consciousness through impulsive decay.

Having tasted true madness before, he recognized this desperate fervor that burned through lifeblood to fulfill desires. The Cleansing Immortal Heart Technique’s replenishment of true qi and spiritual power had reached unprecedented speeds during such states, yet Ye Yun’s wariness persisted. Though this frenzy amplified power tremendously, it remained a deadly gamble – one he’d only take when cornered beyond recourse.

His ultimate safeguard remained the Ancestor. While Ye Yun normally refused to rely on the old one’s interventions, even in dire straits, he’d abandon all principles if those he cherished were endangered. Forging his own path mattered, but not at the cost of losing what truly mattered. Rules meant nothing without the things they were meant to protect.

The Ancestor naturally comprehended these thoughts. This understanding stayed his hand whenever he considered intervening, despite viewing Ye Yun as an unseasoned child. Their relationship transcended mentor and pupil – Ye Yun being his only remaining companion. Though it pained him, the Ancestor would ultimately respect the youth’s decisions with resigned acceptance.

One couldn’t force such matters. When the moment came, the Ancestor would act without hesitation despite misgivings, for delay meant catastrophe. Life and death balanced on knife’s edge.

Demonic pressure shook the earth as two beast kings emerged through violet mist. The white elephant’s trunk lashed out like a whip, only to recoil when striking the Blood Lion’s crimson mane. A vertical fissure split the lion’s forehead, revealing a scarlet eyeball rolling within. Not to be outdone, the elephant’s ivory tusks elongated grotesquely. Their clashing auras made the very air tremble, whipping the audience into roaring frenzy.

The beasts’ thunderous cries held bitter resentment. These proud monarchs should be commanding legions, not dancing as puppets for human amusement. Even Red City’s lord would struggle against their combined might if freed. Yet here they slaughtered kin under compulsion, reduced to tragic entertainment.

Blood light erupted from the lion’s third eye as white beams shot from the elephant’s tusks. At the final moment, both attacks veered slightly – not toward each other, but their casters. Neither beast resisted, their eyes filled with bleak acceptance of this mutual annihilation.

The abrupt suicide stunned the crowd into silence. Ripples spread across the battle platform like rain-pocked water, heralding a petite figure radiating terrifying aura.

"Fascinating," murmured the Ancestor as both beast kings collapsed. "To obtain such rare bloodlines… Red City’s master proves formidable indeed." This mutual destruction suited their pride better than continued servitude, though escaping the control circle should’ve been impossible. Even at Earth Immortal of the Seventh Level, their beastly nature persisted beneath human-like intelligence.

A girlish voice cut through the silence. "I share your disappointment at this abrupt conclusion to Red Stained Pavilion’s spectacle." The speaker’s robes glittered with supreme Immortal artifacts, golden sand patterns swirling across the fabric. A water spirit jade adorned her forehead beneath hair arrayed with mortal-style ornaments, presenting absurd opulence on her childlike frame.

"Thousands of winters old yet still preening like a maiden," the Ancestor scoffed privately. "Who’s the audience for this farce?"

Ye Yun suppressed a smile. Vanity transcended age and gender – while he cared little for appearances, even he preferred maintaining his youthful visage rather than sporting an elder’s wrinkles. At merely twenty winters, straddling Nascent Soul stage and Earth Immortal realm, he remained a prodigy with immeasurable potential. Compared to millennium-old monsters or the ancient demon god from Celestial Tower memories, he was but a speck in existence’s vastness.

As the Falling Phoenix girl appeared, the crowd’s noise died instantly. Even the most vocal protesters fell silent, their earlier bravado evaporating before true authority.