Man Yuan had started following their group since the moment they left the Ancient City of Hallows, but he didn’t act impatiently because Nether Maiden was there. He hadn’t acted within Nameless City just now because there were too many people watching, and Nether Maiden would definitely be alarmed if he couldn’t finish Yang Ye with one blow.

So, he had no choice but to wait bitterly for an opportunity. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait for long.

“Yang Man, do you know what these flags are?” He felt that victory was within his grasps, so he wasn’t impatient to act, and he started explaining instead, “These are barrier flags. So long as there are sufficient extreme-grade energy stones to power them, then not to mention an ordinary Half-Saint, it can even trap a mid-grade Half-Saint. So, it’s impossible for you to escape today!”

“A mid-grade Half-Saint?” Yang Ye who was about to attack instantly stopped himself, and then he frowned as he asked, “Half-Saints are divided into grades?”

At this moment, Man Yuan was clearly in a good mood, so he explained, “They weren’t. But there are no Saints on Profounder Continent while Half-Saints are the strongest, and there are differences in strength between Half-Saints. So, our ancestors divided themselves into 3 grades. The initial-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade.”

“What grade is the patriarch of the Fire Spirit Race at?” asked Yang Ye.

“The Fire Spirit Race’s patriarch can barely be considered a mid-grade Half-Saint,” said Man Yuan.

He’s barely a mid-grade Half-Saint!? Yang Ye frowned slightly. If the patriarch of the Fire Spirit Race is only barely a mid-grade Half-Saint, then Elder Mu and Lu Yan can only be considered to be mid-grade Half-Saints. If there’s a difference between them, then it’s because Elder Mu and Lu Yan are true mid-grade Half-Saints and not barely able to be considered as being at such a grade.

But it’s very likely that high-grade Half-Saints exist in the Hallowed Grounds!

“Alright, are you going to take your own life, or should I do it for you?” Man Yuan spoke abruptly, “Don’t bother trying to beg for your life because you have to die no matter what. Not only do you have to die, I’ll even be hanging your corpse outside the Ancient City of Hallows once I’ve finished studying the secrets of your body. Only then will I be able to show the world what the consequences of insulting my Man Clan are!”

Yang Ye suddenly said, “Are you really sure that it’s impossible for the outside world to know about anything that occurs here?”

Man Yuan laughed coldly and said, “You can forget about seeking help from Nether Maiden. So long as they are provided with sufficient energy stones, then these barrier flags can even trap mid-grade Half-Saints, let alone a tiny Monarch Realm profounder.”

“Great!” Yang Ye nodded, and then the Stone of Suppression appeared in his grasp. An invisible force instantly appeared in the room, and then Man Yuan was instantaneously suppressed to the ninth rank of the Monarch Realm. At the same time, a black robed old man suddenly appeared by Yang Ye’s side. The black robed old man was Guardian Lin from the Fire Spirit Race, and he was the only Half-Saint Sword Servant which Yang Ye possessed right now!

This sudden change of events utterly stunned Man Yuan.

After all, his cultivation had suddenly dropped to the Monarch Realm while another Half-Saint had suddenly appeared in the room. Moreover, the aura of that Half-Saint even surpassed his own.

“How… how could this be possible? How could this be possible?” Man Yuan seemed to have lost his soul as he gazed at Yang Ye. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something, and his expression changed drastically as he cried out involuntarily, “You… you’re Yang Ye! You’re that Yang Ye who annihilated the Fire Spirit Race! You….”

Man Yuan intended to remove the barrier while he spoke as he was prepared to flee. What sort of existence was Yang Ye? He was one who’d killed numerous elders of the Hallowed Halls and even destroyed the Fire Spirit Race! Even though Yang Ye was only at the Monarch Realm, Man Yuan was very clearly aware that it was absolutely impossible for him to kill Yang Ye on his own. It was even to the extent that his life was in danger. Especially because there was another Half-Saint here, and he was only at the Monarch Realm now!

So, he’d decisively chosen to retreat. Because Yang Ye would definitely die if he could escape!

Unfortunately, it was still too late!

First, the Half-Saint Sword Servant utilized its aura to forcefully restrain him on the spot, causing his speed to become extremely slow. After that, a ray of light that was swift to the limit flashed by. It was swift to the point it was practically impossible to see, and if a hole hadn’t been pierced open on Man Yuan’s stomach, they one might even think that the ray of light hadn’t even existed.

Even though such speed could pose a threat to him while he was at the Half-Saint Realm, it wasn’t sufficient to kill him. However, his cultivation had been suppressed and Yang Ye was even assisted by a Half-Saint.

So, Man Yuan wasn’t able to counterattack at all.

Man Yuan was dead. He’d died from a single swing of Yang Ye’s sword.

Yang Ye walked over to Man Yuan, waved his right hand, and then placed Man Yuan’s corpse within the Primordial Pagoda. Even though the Sword Spirit wasn’t able to refine Sword Servants for him right now, he could because she’d given him the method before she fell into deep sleep.

Another Half-Saint Sword Servant!

“Master, I feel that I’m on the verge of advancing in my cultivation!” Meanwhile, Guardian Lin spoke abruptly.

“Advancing?” Yang Ye was slightly stunned and said, “Are you sure?”

Guardian Lin said, “To tell Master the truth, I was at the peak of the initial-grade of the Half-Saint Realm. But I wasn’t able to obtain any fortuitous encounters throughout these years and have been stuck at the initial-grade. However, there’s abundant energy within Master’s pagoda, and I even sense that the spirit energy there is slightly unusual. In any case, I really yearn to obtain even more of that type of spirit energy. I’ve been ceaselessly absorbing it and cultivating lately, and then I noticed that I was on the verge of advancement!”

It’s because of the Primordial Violet Energy!

When he heard Guardian Lin, Yang Ye instantly realized that while there was a pitiably tiny amount of true Primordial Violet Energy within the Primordial Pagoda, the spirit energy within the pagoda wasn’t something that the spirit energy of the outside world could compare to. Moreover, while there wasn’t much true Primordial Violet Energy in there, there was still some. So long as Guardian Lin absorbed just a little bit, then even that tiny bit would be a huge fortune to him!

Guardian Lin’s advancement was a good thing to Yang Ye, a very good thing!

So long as Guardian Lin broke through and became a mid-grade Half-Saint, then Guardian Lin would still have a chance even in battle with Half-Saints like the patriarch of the Fire Spirit Race! Moreover, if he had a mid-grade Half-Saint Sword Servant, then his chances of succeeding at rescuing the Sword Spirit would definitely grow much greater. In short, there would be numerous benefits from Guardian Lin’s advancement into the mid-grade of the Half-Saint Realm!

“How long will it take?” asked Yang Ye.

He replied, “It might take more than 10 days, or it might happen tomorrow. I can’t say for sure.”

Yang Ye pondered deeply for a moment and said, “It’s fine, I won’t make you leave the pagoda for some time. Just rest at ease and complete your advancement.”

“Yes!” Guardian Lin bowed slightly to Yang Ye, and then Yang Ye waved his hand and instantly sent Guardian Lin into the Primordial Pagoda.

After that, he looked at the barrier around him, and then he hesitated for a moment before he waved his sword lightly. A strand of sword energy shot forward and blasted against the barrier.

Not a single sound resounded from the collision, and the barrier merely trembled slightly!

Yang Ye was delighted when he witnessed this scene and said, “Not bad! Not bad! Man Yuan wasn’t exaggerating. It really is an precious treasure.”

Yang Ye waved his right hand, and then 4 black flags instantly flew into his grasp. He studied them for a while and discovered how to utilize them. They were just like the Herculean Armor, and they needed his Blood Essence as well. Once he dropped his Blood Essence onto them, a connection was immediately formed between him and the flags.

Energy stones were required to activate the barrier, and the barriers created by the flags were separated into varying grades. There was the Heaven Grade, Earth Grade, and Profound Grade. The barrier Man Yuan created earlier was the lowest grade barrier, the Profound Grade. So, it exhausted a comparatively smaller amount of energy stones. It needed around 1,000 extreme-grade energy stones to be created.

However, that was extremely terrifying to Yang Ye. Because those 1,000 extreme-grade energy stones were only capable of creating the barrier, and maintaining it required a huge amount of energy stones. For example, just less than 100 breaths of time had passed earlier, but Man Yuan had exhausted at least 5,000 extreme-grade energy stones!

Of course, it was quite a small amount when compared to the Earth Grade and Heaven Grade. Just creating an Earth Grade barrier required 5,000 extreme-grade energy stones, and then it consumed 100 every second. As for the Heaven Grade, it was even more terrifying. It required 20,000 extreme-grade energy stones to be activated, and it consumed around 1,000 every second. 10 seconds was 10,000, 100 seconds consumed 100,000….

Yang Ye had decided that unless he had no other choice, he would absolutely not set up a Heaven Grade barrier because he truly couldn’t afford to do so!

Yang Ye put the flags away, and then looked through the contents of Man Yuan’s spatial ring. He gained quite abundant gains from it. There were a few Dao Rank weapons and techniques. Even though he had no use of most of them, they would fetch a good price if sold. Besides that, there were around 5,000 extreme-grade energy stones within the spatial ring, and that was definitely the most important resource to Yang Ye!

After all, he’d just lost 5,000 a while ago….

Yang Ye’s heart still hurt when he thought about those 5,000 energy stones. Fortunately, he’d indirectly regained them.

In the past, he had a few tens of thousands of extreme-grade energy stones, and he felt that it would be sufficient for him to use throughout his lifetime. But once he arrived at the Hallowed Grounds, Yang Ye realized that it was only a dream.

Presently, he had around 10,000 extreme-grade energy stones and 7 1,000 year old Firecrystals. But he was very clearly aware that it wasn’t enough. The slightest mishap might cause him to lose all of them. So, the important matter at hand for him wasn’t just to earn points but to earn money as well!

Yang Ye refined Man Yuan throughout the night. It was quite new to him in the beginning, and he’d almost destroyed Man Yuan’s corpse. Fortunately, he slowly gained a grasp of the technique, so he gained a completely new Sword Servant at the Half-Saint Realm.

Early in the morning on the next day, Nether Maiden arrived before Yang Ye’s room, “I have it. We can set out now!”

Yang Ye emerged from behind the door and said, “Let’s go!”

She asked, “Was everything alright last night?”

Yang Ye glanced at her, and then he shook his head, “It was fine. I slept until dawn!”

She gazed at him for a while before she nodded, “Let’s go!”

As soon as they walked out of the tower, Yang Ye saw Qing Ming and Wang Yan, and both of them nodded lightly to him before withdrawing their gazes.

Meanwhile, Yang Ye’s expression changed because a young girl was standing not too far away from them. That young girl was exactly Yin’yin.

Yin’yin saw Yang Ye emerge from the tower, and a faint smile instantly appeared on her face. She said, “Big Brother, you’re here as well!”

Yang Ye revealed an unsightly smile as he said, “What a coincidence….”

Wang Yan, Qing Ming, and Nether Maiden shot bewildered gazes at him when they heard him speak.

Yang Ye gulped down a mouthful of saliva when he noticed their gazes and said, “Don’t… don’t tell me that all of you can’t see her as well!”

Wang Yan and Qing Ming’s brows knit together even more tightly while the bewilderment in their eyes grew deeper.

The corners of Yang Ye’s mouth twitched, and then he gazed at Nether Maiden, “What about you? You can’t see her as well?”

Nether Maiden looked along the direction of Yang Ye’s gaze. A short while passed before she said, “Are you sure that someone is there?”

Yang Ye was at a loss for words.