Oh Look, the Calabash Brothers Trying to Save Grandpa!

tln: Calabash is a chinese animation, i dont know why the author uses it, but you can google it calabash brothers

The moment He Ange plunged that syringe full of poison into Ye Qingchuan’s nerves, he instantly lost consciousness within the illusionary world.

But this wasn’t just some physical toxin. This poison He Ange concocted? It was refined from a special Mind Confusing Mushroom found deep in the Abyss. Delivered as a spiritual liquid, it directly infected the victim’s soul – working remarkably similar to He Ange’s Phoenix Marks and other soul-manipulation techniques.

So, even though Ye Qingchuan’s physical body back in reality was unharmed, that single injection meant his soul was now deeply tainted by the evil poison, incredibly difficult to heal on his own.

And just like that, He Ange could easily control Ye Qingchuan.

“Cough! Cough cough—!”

Back in the real world, Ye Qingchuan’s consciousness snapped back. He dropped to one knee, face pale, coughing violently.

Nearby, his two Azure Dragon Clan bodyguards saw this and rushed over, concerned.

“Young Master Ye?”
“Young Master, what’s wrong?”
“Is it an enemy attack?”
“I thought I just detected a faint trace of illusion magic fluctuation!”

Seeing Ye Qingchuan suddenly collapse in such a strange way, the two Azure Dragon protectors looked grim. In just a split second, they were already on high alert, scanning their surroundings. Moments before, Ye Qingchuan had shown no issues. They had been diligently standing guard, constantly scouting for suspicious individuals. Everything in the Cherry Sea Secret Realm had seemed peaceful.

But now, Ye Qingchuan collapsing without warning? Something was clearly, deeply wrong.

One of the guards, the one primarily responsible for reconnaissance, had already picked up on subtle clues – a faint demonic aura lingering in the air. He immediately drew his sword, his expression grave as he scanned the area. “Careful! The Young Master has likely fallen victim to a Fox Clan illusion!”

“What?! Have the Fox Clan betrayed the Dragon Dynasty?” the other guard exclaimed.

“I don’t know! The Fox Clan are cunning and treacherous by nature. Even in the Upper Realms, their illusion magic is top-tier among demon spirits. We must be extremely vigilant! Ah Yan, protect the Young Master!”

“Got it! I’ll notify the other guards right now!”

After a brief exchange, the two Azure Dragon protectors decided on their tactic. The reconnaissance guard took an offensive stance at the front of the path. The other, the bodyguard named Ah Yan, stayed close to Ye Qingchuan, monitoring his condition while attempting to call for reinforcements.

A light breeze whispered past, carrying the unique floral scent of the Cherry Sea Secret Realm… mixed with a faint, sinister demonic aura and killing intent. The two guards grew even more cautious.

“Damn it! The signal’s blocked! I can’t get through! This has to be an illusion barrier cast by a Fox Clan Void God Realm ancestor!” The guard trying to call for help exclaimed, instinctively shielding Ye Qingchuan more firmly behind him.

The Young Master’s condition was unknown, the enemy refused to show themselves, hidden while they were exposed… This was undoubtedly a terrible situation for the two protectors.

But just as both guards were warily scanning their surroundings, hyper-alert… Ye Qingchuan, the one they were protecting behind them, shakily stumbled to his feet.

Ye Qingchuan trembled violently, his face contorted in pain, as if battling some internal consciousness. He knew… if he didn’t do something now, the soul poison would completely consume him.

In this moment of crisis, a primal, instinctual thought surfaced in Ye Qingchuan’s mind – expel the poison by infecting someone else!

“N-No… I don’t want to die…” In this life-or-death struggle, Ye Qingchuan couldn’t think straight anymore. All he knew was that passing the poison onto someone else would alleviate his own symptoms.

At the same time, the close-guard protector, Ah Yan, noticed Ye Qingchuan standing up and turned around, curious— “Young Master, what are you— Wha?!”

Too late. Before the guard could react, Ye Qingchuan, with sudden, blinding speed, plunged a Dragon Blade Dagger  tainted with soul poison deep into the protector’s chest.

Puchi!

Instantly, the Void God Realm Azure Dragon protector spat out a mouthful of old blood. “H-How… How could you…”

His eyes widened as he looked up at Ye Qingchuan, the one holding the dagger that stabbed him, his old eyes filled with disbelief and utter despair. Vigilant against outsiders, day and night… but betrayed from within! As an Azure Dragon protector, he’d fought countless battles. When he sensed an enemy attack, he’d already run through ten thousand possible assassination methods in his head. But never in his wildest dreams did he imagine the real enemy would be Ye Qingchuan, the very person he was shielding…

Blech— Another mouthful of blood. The Azure Dragon protector’s soul was now also infected by the soul poison. His body went limp, his consciousness fading. However, being a Void God expert at full strength, he wouldn’t succumb as quickly as the half-crippled Ye Qingchuan.

Right now, Ye Qingchuan had completely lost his own consciousness. Driven by the primal instinct corrupted by the soul poison, he continued to forcefully inject his own poison into the guard. But in reality, infecting others wouldn’t actually lessen his symptoms at all. This urge was merely a product of the soul poison eroding his mind, subconsciously triggering the darkest aspects hidden deep within Ye Qingchuan.

Thud! Within ten seconds, the Azure Dragon protector collapsed to one knee, losing all combat capability.

“Ah Long! The Young Master is poisoned! Run!” he tried to warn his companion.

But the instant he shouted, the white fox saintess, wielding her icy moon demonic blade, lunged out! Following close behind was the silver-haired fairy, now adorned with holy golden dragon horns atop her head and draped in dark gold phoenix feathers.

One was late-stage Void Refining, the other peak Soul Transformation. Their cultivation levels might seem modest, but both carried immense Heavenly Fate, capable of easily fighting opponents a whole major realm above their own!

Facing this overwhelming numbers and firepower, the single remaining Azure Dragon protector was completely outmatched, unable to handle them alone.

However, if it were just an even fight, there might still be a sliver of hope for the Azure Dragon side. If they could just stall for time, make enough commotion within the illusion barrier, maybe the other Azure Dragon guards at the other two checkpoints would notice the disturbance and rush to support them.

A nice fantasy. Reality, however, was cruel.

When the tall, imposing figure of the sacred-robed young man emerged from the end of the path, the old, soul-poisoned protector kneeling on the ground felt his heart die completely.

“It’s over…” “It’s all over…”

Seeing the moon-white robes adorned with embroidered phoenix patterns resembling the Map of Mountains and Rivers , the old protector instantly recognized the insignia of an utterly terrifying demonic organization.

The Spirit Phoenix Sect! Their fearsome reputation was known not just in the main world, but even in the higher dimensions above the Nine Heavens! And… Phoenixes and Dragons were mortal enemies. This sacred-robed youth… had to be the recently famous Saint Son of the Spirit Phoenix Sect who’d made waves on the northern border!

Dragon encountering Phoenix meant a fight to the death!

Just as despair consumed the old protector’s dragon eyes, he saw the sacred-robed young man make his move.

He raised his hand, palm striking outwards— Abyssal Dust Palm  —the void ripped apart, the heavens and earth hummed, and the mighty Azure Dragon was forced to bow its head…

With the Dragon-Phoenix fairy and the Nine-Tailed White Fox coordinating to suppress the target, He Ange’s palm strike landed flawlessly, squarely on the Azure Dragon protector’s forehead. To ensure maximum shock and awe, He Ange had poured a massive amount of his stored energy into this palm. His peak Soul Transformation cultivation was forcefully pushed to unleash the suppressive power of Ninth Heaven Void Refining!

Of course, this was largely thanks to He Ange’s high-intensity dual cultivation last night. First, the routine ‘rent collection’ from An Luo Yi, then a major ‘harvest’ from Xia Ranyue, and finally, completely enslaving and sharing the demonic power of the Fox Saintess Xia Zhiyue… With so many buffs stacked, even a useless bum could achieve extraordinary bursts of power, let alone someone like He Ange.

BOOOOOOM!!!!

The palm landed with a deafening explosion! Even the mighty Azure Dragon protector, enveloped in the Abyssal Dust Palm’s power, was slammed face-first into the ground, driving his head so deep that the ground beneath him cratered ten centimeters! Abyssal demonic energy radiated outwards, stunning everyone nearby, making it impossible to even open their eyes for a moment.

A few moments later, the Azure Dragon protector lay sprawled on the ground, pupils dilated, his fighting spirit completely shattered.

“Such… power…”

This scene didn’t just stun Ye Qingchuan and the old protector; even the silver-haired fairy and the white fox saintess standing nearby shuddered, feeling genuine awe at the might of the Saint Son’s palm strike. The closer you were, the more shocking it felt.

An Luo Yi and Xia Zhiyue couldn’t help but think: if they ever disobeyed and He Ange got really angry, giving them a slap like that… Even a Void God Realm Azure Dragon protector couldn’t take it! They couldn’t even imagine what would happen to their smaller frames. Gulp… Thinking this, Xia Zhiyue secretly swallowed hard, becoming much more obedient deep down. Looked at this way, He Ange had actually been quite gentle with her last night. At most, he just bullied her during sex, branded her with a Phoenix Mark, maybe made her wear a pet collar… Compared to how he treated enemies? He’d shown incredible mercy!

“…”

At the front, He Ange stood with his hands behind his back, observing everyone’s subtle reactions. He let out a quiet breath, satisfied. That burst of stored energy wasn’t wasted.

Truth be told, He Ange managing to smash a Void God Azure Dragon protector into the ground with one palm owed a lot to An Luo Yi and Xia Zhiyue weakening him beforehand and creating such a perfect opening. With them controlling the enemy, He Ange didn’t need to worry about aiming or predicting movements; he could focus everything on maximizing the power of that single palm strike. When it came to kill-stealing? He Ange was a pro. With perfect timing, location, and support of the people, his palm strike was bound to shake the heavens!

“Heh…” Smirking inwardly, He Ange walked forward. With a flick of his fingers, he summoned another syringe filled with soul poison and threw it like a dart—THWIP!—injecting the poison into the neck of the Azure Dragon protector he’d just knocked unconscious.

And just like that, Ye Qingchuan and both his protectors were deeply infected with soul poison, reduced to pawns on He Ange’s chessboard. Of course, He Ange wouldn’t kill them. Keeping them alive was far more useful than simply eliminating them!

“Ye Qingchuan, oh Ye Qingchuan,” He Ange walked up to the now mind-wiped, unconscious Azure Dragon, patting his shoulder with a meaningful smile. “Helping the Fox Clan crusade against the Ghost Controlling Sect from now on… I’ll be relying on you to command those Dragon Dynasty attendants~”

***

Meanwhile, back in the Cherry Cluster Secret Realm…

By the time the White Dragon Saintess, Yan Ruyu , arrived, it was already five in the morning. Dawn was breaking.

Yan Ruyu was frantic. She knew that in just a few hours, the True Dragon Princess, Chen Sheng, under direct orders from the Empress, would personally arrive in the Fox Clan’s territory to execute Ye Qingchuan.

To the Empress, the already half-crippled Ye Qingchuan had little remaining value. Plus, he had past crimes hanging over his head. Now, showing no remorse, defying the Empress’s will, and running off to the Fox Clan to act on his own… Adding crime upon crime, naturally, the Empress would find it much less troublesome if Ye Qingchuan were simply dead.

But Yan Ruyu couldn’t just stand by and watch her childhood friend be killed. As a Saintess, although Yan Ruyu had a cold and aloof personality, her kindness was truly worthy of the Dragon Clan’s ‘Saintess’ title. No matter how depraved Ye Qingchuan had become, if Yan Ruyu had the ability, she couldn’t bear to watch him die before her eyes.

Last night, Yan Ruyu had practically torn the Cherry Cluster Secret Realm apart searching, but found no trace of Ye Qingchuan. Finally, after inquiring with several Fox Clan elders, she learned that early this morning, Ye Qingchuan had taken several Azure Dragon protectors deep into the Cherry Sea Secret Realm to search for ‘Dragon Dynasty special envoys’.

According to the Fox elders, the reason Ye Qingchuan went to the Cherry Sea Secret Realm was because late last night, two ‘Dragon Dynasty special envoys’ had secretly abducted the Fox Clan’s Nine-Tailed bloodline princess, Xia Ranyue…

This information immediately raised several red flags for Yan Ruyu.

First, why was Ye Qingchuan searching for Dragon Dynasty special envoys? Why specifically go to the desolate and dangerous Cherry Sea Secret Realm in the middle of the night?

Second, who were these people claiming to be ‘Dragon Dynasty special envoys’? Yan Ruyu had no knowledge of the Empress dispatching any other envoys to the Fox Clan before Chen Sheng.

Finally, why would these ‘envoys’ be in the Cherry Sea Secret Realm at the very edge of the Fox territory?

This contradictory intelligence from the Fox Clan gave Yan Ruyu a headache. The more she thought, the more bizarre it seemed.

“Could it be… someone is impersonating Dragon Dynasty envoys to steal the Nine-Tailed bloodline princess from the Fox Clan…?” “And Ye Qingchuan… just happens to also be targeting the Fox Clan’s Nine-Tailed bloodline? He had a conflict of interest with the impostors – dog eat dog – so Ye Qingchuan went to the Cherry Sea Realm late at night to hunt them down and eliminate the competition?”

“That seems highly likely!” Figuring this out, Yan Ruyu’s pale golden dragon eyes widened in realization.

At the same time, standing atop an ancient cherry tree, gazing into the distance, the White Dragon Saintess frowned slightly, murmuring with apprehension, “The internal situation in the Fox Clan territory is chaotic… The waters run deep and dangerous. I need to get Ye Qingchuan out of here quickly, take him back to the safety of the Azure Dragon Clan in the Upper Realms…”

“Once he’s under the Azure Dragon Clan’s protection, even if the Empress assigns blame, Uncle won’t just sit idly by!”

Her plan decided, in an instant, Yan Ruyu transformed into a streak of silver-white dragon light—WHOOSH!—and flew towards the Cherry Sea Secret Realm.

Back in the Cherry Sea Secret Realm…

“Audacious villain! What are you doing to Ye Qingchuan!”

“Truly fearless! How dare you impersonate Dragon Dynasty envoys!”

Just as He Ange was finishing his ‘work’ on Ye Qingchuan, suddenly, a curtain of silver-white light descended from the distant sky! A stunningly beautiful Dragon Maiden in a sacred dress landed nearby.

When her eyes met the sacred-robed young man’s… both froze, momentarily stunned by the unexpected encounter.

After a moment, He Ange snapped out of his surprise. A ‘kindly’, calculating smile spread across his lips.

“Well now…”

“Never thought such a good deal existed in this world… buy one, get one free~”

—