The little purple creature grinned its foolish grin, a picture of unconcern. It lifted its injured leg and stretched it with a show of ease — as if to say there was nothing wrong, it was fine, nothing to worry about — but flinched sharply from the pain.

Ye Fan quickly stopped it from moving further. The little one was clearly not lightly injured at all, yet it wore that look of pure and innocent sweetness — trying to please him — which made one’s heart ache all the more.

“Who hurt you like this? Who came here?” He asked gently, his expression calm, but with fury surging beneath.

It was covered in filth — impossible to say how many days it had been wandering outside. The lustrous purple gleam of its fur, once like purple silk, had dimmed considerably. It had clearly gone through a great fright — otherwise it would not have come rushing toward him the moment it saw him, nor would it have been trembling ever so slightly.

Its injured leg had been cut by a sharp blade or weapon. Had it not been for this little creature’s deep cultivation, the leg would surely have already been severed. The one who had struck had done so with vicious precision. As Ye Fan carefully tended to its wound, he found thin threads of dark light moving within — corrosive in nature. No wonder it had not healed after so long.

He channeled his spiritual power to dissolve the dark light while retrieving a bottle of the divine spring water he had brought back from the Forbidden Zone of Life. With this he cleansed the wound, then bandaged it carefully.

Throughout the whole process, Xiao Song trembled continuously from the pain, but it did not struggle or cry out. It bore it in silence, doing its best to appear unaffected — making one feel deeply sorry for it.

With Ye Fan personally attending to it, such a wound was nothing at all. The divine spring from the primordial forbidden ground carried tremendous life essence, and before long its leg began to recover.

The little one blinked its large eyes and looked down at its injured leg with an expression of utter bewilderment. It had been suffering from the pain for so many days — yet now it was healing rapidly. This filled it with overwhelming delight, and in an instant it forgot every bit of the hurt.

Ye Fan pressed it carefully for what had happened. He could not simply let this pass — someone had come to strike a killing blow against Xiao Song, and if he did not retaliate, that was not his way.

In the years when he had faced countless great enemies across the Northern Dipper star domain, he had left their bodies beneath his feet — carving out a fearsome reputation forged in blood and bone. Now he had returned to Earth in the Age of Decline, and instead someone had bullied and wronged him here. How could he endure it.

Xiao Song was gentle and fragile, but also kind. It recounted what had happened that day.

Ye Fan had been gone for half a month. During that time, someone had found their way to this place. The little purple creature was very shy around strangers and had stayed inside the house without going out — which was exactly what Ye Fan had told it before leaving: do not wander off.

The one who had come was a peculiar young man with the air of a cultivator — and he appeared to have a wound, for he spat up blood. Xiao Song, in its simple and kind-hearted way, had bitten off a small piece of the Red Moon Fruit that Ye Fan had given it and held it out to the young man. And it had nearly been killed for that.

The young man had released a divine spike, wounding the little creature’s leg. Then he had unleashed wave after wave of crashing lightning to cut off Xiao Song’s path back into the house.

Xiao Song had always had a deep fear of lightning — something that seemed almost innate. Long ago, its mother had been gravely wounded while protecting it and had perished amid a storm of thunder and lightning. And once, Xiao Song itself had nearly been struck dead on a rocky mountain.

Because of this, when the peculiar young man attacked it, it had nearly suffered a catastrophic fate. In a blind and terrified panic, it had fled this place.

It had waited many days, hiding in the underground drainage passages and beside the rubbish bins, frightened and anxious, until Ye Fan returned.

After hearing all of this, Ye Fan said nothing more. He gently stroked its head. This little creature had a nature pure as a blank page. In the past, it had had only a small stone Buddha for company, alone facing the moon as it breathed in the essence of heaven and earth, never having any contact with human beings at all. After Ye Fan had brought it out of the Tibetan region, it had always assumed everyone was like him — it had no knowledge of the cruelty that could lurk in the human heart. It looked upon every person through its own kind and guileless eyes.

Even now, the little one was confused and puzzled, asking Ye Fan in all sincerity: why had that person treated it the way he did? What had it done wrong?

“You did nothing wrong. The only fault lies in how complex the human heart can be. You will come to understand it slowly, in time.”

“Oh.” The little purple creature gave a soft sound of acknowledgment, its large eyes blinking. Its heart was still a tangle of questions, full of bewilderment.

Ye Fan made a decision: from now on, he would bring it along as he went through things. Only that way would it come to understand.

Xiao Song washed away the dirt and grime and drank some of the divine spring water. At last it recovered and was lively and spirited again. It shelled a small dish of pine nuts and offered them carefully to Ye Fan.

Ye Fan accepted them with a smile and passed it a stalk of jade serpent orchid — its life essence overflowing, its fragrance drifting gently through the air. That day, when he and Pang Bo had been about to leave, they had spent a great amount of source stone to purchase it, bringing many spiritual medicines back with them.

The little purple creature’s large eyes lit up. It hugged the orchid to its chest with boundless delight, instantly forgetting every bit of hurt, laughing with a carefree simplicity — easily satisfied.

Ye Fan did not need to think hard to guess the connection: it almost certainly had something to do with the jade cleansing vase that had been auctioned. That alone was what could have drawn cultivators to their door. And as expected, leads emerged quickly. The culprit was a peculiar young man who had made successful bids at the auction three times. The auction house held detailed records about him. After Ye Fan showed Xiao Song the photograph and received confirmation, it was clear who had struck the blow.

“Already left City B… Run to the ends of the earth and it will make no difference.” Ye Fan murmured softly.

That same day he traveled south, arriving at Jiujiang in Jiangxi province.

It was a villa district — not far from Mount Lu, the mountains and waters complementing each other in beautiful scenery. An ordinary person would absolutely not be able to afford any property there. Every last villa was priced beyond imagination.

Ye Fan observed from a distance, an unusual expression on his face. He was not only a cultivator — he had also studied source arts, and the lay of mountain terrain and earth-vein currents was his particular expertise.

This place had a faint and barely perceptible dragon energy, drawing in a thread of vital essence from the purple dragon vein rising within the distant Mount Lu and channeling it here. In the Age of Decline, something like this was immensely valuable — it could aid cultivation.

Moreover, after examining carefully, he detected something peculiar in the layout of the villa district itself. Unless he was mistaken, this whole area belonged to a single family clan.

Perhaps when viewed from the outside, each villa was independently registered — different surnames, nothing obviously connecting them. But he was certain this was a single clan, living here in seclusion, with a carefully designed arrangement underlying everything.

“There is a faint trace of demon energy…” Ye Fan murmured to himself, then strode forward.

Xiao Song tilted its head and peered curiously at the villa district. To it, the scenery here was simply beautiful — the mountains and water, the flowing essence of heaven and earth drifting through the air for the taking.

Ye Fan moved in a series of disappearing steps and arrived at the innermost part of the villa district, where he stopped before the villa at its center — the one from which the demon energy was heaviest. It had the finest view of all, and beneath it ran the thickest concentration of the underground purple dragon vein.

“Master of this place — come out and meet me.”

His words immediately stirred the entire villa district. With his powerful divine sense, he could clearly perceive that at least several dozen pairs of eyes swept toward him, watching from the shadows.

And the central villa immediately had someone step out — an elderly man, his complexion as rosy and smooth as an infant’s, his hair a brilliant, snow-white. His color was excellent, his spirit sharp and vigorous.

Ye Fan’s expression remained unchanged. This man was undoubtedly a cultivator of considerable depth — someone who had reached the third minor realm of the first secret realm, the Sea of Bitterness: the Divine Bridge.

“What can I do for you, young man?” He asked with a smile.

“We are both cultivators — there is no need for pretense. Since I was able to find my way here, no words meant to mislead will do any good.” Ye Fan said.

The elderly man’s expression immediately became grave and solemn. He made a gesture of invitation and asked Ye Fan to come inside to speak. As he did so, he examined closely the little purple squirrel on Ye Fan’s shoulder.

Ye Fan’s expression was calm as he followed him in. Through what he had observed here, he had come to understand more about where those with cultivation lived in the present age. This place was adjacent to Mount Lu, which allowed for cultivation to be sustained.

With his celestial eye, he could see directly into the elderly man’s true nature. A few threads of demon blood flowed within him — not entirely pure — indicating that this line was descended from an ancient demon clan.

After entering the main hall, the elderly man invited Ye Fan to be seated and had tea brought out. His manner of speech was courteous, and he asked what had brought Ye Fan to call on them.

“I think you already know why I am here. Have that young man come out — there is nothing more to be said.” Ye Fan sipped his tea and spoke quietly.

“Friend, please calm yourself. Let us not be hasty.” The elderly man, seeing that Ye Fan had come with ill intent and was pressing in so aggressively, quickly offered a conciliatory expression.

He called the young man his worthless grandson, said the boy had acted rashly and brought this calamity upon himself, and that he now knew he had been in the wrong. The family was willing to offer compensation and asked that Ye Fan show magnanimity and overlook what had happened.

“Fine words, indeed. Acting on rash impulse? Without cause or reason, striking with lethal intent — wanting to kill Xiao Song. With a nature like that, what good is keeping him? Have him come out and face me.” Ye Fan replied with a cold expression.

Xiao Song, meanwhile, was entirely curious, hopping about the room and examining the antiques and other objects with a look of pure, wide-eyed innocence.

The elderly man’s expression became pained. “I hope you will find it in yourself to forgive us,” he said. “We are in the wrong — but I ask that you show forbearance. Can we let this matter pass here?”

“I only want to ask once: are you going to have him come out or not? Or shall I find him myself?” Ye Fan took a small sip of the fragrant tea, set down the cup, and his expression cooled slightly.

“My grandson saw a spirit beast and was naturally curious, so he acted to try to tame it. But he did not harm any person — it was only a beast companion. You are making too much of this, friend.” The elderly man was beginning to show some displeasure.

“You mean Xiao Song? In my view, many people have far less humanity than it does. What I am actually curious about is what your grandson used to injure it. Telling you about it — he is not worth your knowing.” Ye Fan replied with a cold laugh.

“You… you are going too far!” The elderly man’s face darkened. Then in a sharp motion he produced a divine spike, its dark light radiating with a faint shimmer, bearing the marks of long ages past.

“A sect-leader-level sacred artifact.” Ye Fan was surprised. To encounter such a formidable weapon in this Age of Decline was truly rare.

Very quickly he understood. In the ancient era, the Earth had been filled with sects and schools standing everywhere, powerful figures as numerous as clouds. Great masters of all kinds had naturally left behind many such weapons. Finding a remnant artifact from one of them was not so remarkable.

“This is the weapon.” The elderly man said. Clearly, by displaying this artifact, he intended to make a show of intimidation.

Upon seeing this divine spike with its flickering dark radiance, Xiao Song’s body gave an immediate shudder — evidently reliving the events of that day. Ye Fan gently stroked its head and said: “I’ll have it refined into a small knife for you. Use it to trim your claws.”

The elderly man changed color at once. “Young man, you are arrogant beyond measure — utterly reckless!” he said.

At that same moment, a door was pushed open and another elderly man walked out — a cultivator who had reached the Divine Palace secret realm — his voice cold: “You should know that there are those in this world you cannot afford to provoke. Our clan has been passed down since the ancient era and has never fallen. Who dares come here and act with such impudence?!”

“By that reckoning, you consider yourselves an ancient, undying lineage?” Ye Fan smiled.

“Alas. After so many years, no one has ever dared come to our territory and make trouble. Young man, you are far too young and ignorant. Have you not heard what kind of place Jiujiang is? It is not somewhere you can provoke.” The second elderly man shook his head.

At the same moment, a young man walked out — the very peculiar young man Ye Fan had come looking for — and dropped himself casually into a seat nearby.

Xiao Song’s body gave another immediate shudder. The injury it had suffered last time had clearly left a deep impression. It had given a piece of spiritual medicine in kindness, only to nearly be killed for it. Even now it did not understand what it had done wrong.

Ye Fan pointed a finger. The young man was instantly pinned to the wall. With a light sweep of his hand through the air, five finger marks appeared on the young man’s face — followed by a sharp, crisp crack.

“You… this is outrageous! How dare you make trouble in Jiujiang?!” Both elderly men changed color.

“Is that so? I am exactly what you say — reckless and ignorant of my place. I came here precisely to stir things up, just to see what you will do about it. Provoke me enough, and I will tear Jiujiang apart and turn it upside down!”

“You are not walking out of here today. You will regret this!” The two elderly men roared, calling out through the door for their disciples to go and summon reinforcements — clearly they had already realized by now that Ye Fan was not to be trifled with.