Lightning flashed in his eyes

Initially, while Ye Dong was concerned about the safety of his family, he later realized that he had consecutively crippled two experts from the Luo and Lin families with eight-fold spirit marks. This was a significant blow to them. Additionally, with the favor of Lord Dongfang Bai, the head of the city, towards the Ye family, he believed that the two major families wouldn't dare to act recklessly against the Ye family before he appeared in person.

However, if they were to discover that he was still alive and appeared, then he believed that the two major families might act cautiously, possibly joining forces again to deal with the Ye family.

Therefore, Ye Dong was determined to quickly elevate his own cultivation and strive to eliminate the threats posed by these two major families to the Ye family before he went to the Tianxin Sect.

There was also the matter of the masked man that day. What Ye Dong remembered most clearly were the dazzling eyes of that masked man. Although he felt they were familiar, he couldn't recall where he had seen them. Thus, he didn't dwell on it further.

In addition to his cultivation, Ye Dong didn't forget his duty of taking care of Xiang'er. After completing his day's cultivation, he would spend time chatting with Xiang'er, sharing their thoughts.

Although Xiang'er was a girl and a year younger than Ye Dong, her experiences from accompanying her grandfather since childhood far surpassed Ye Dong's. Therefore, Ye Dong heard many interesting stories from Xiang'er.

However, what surprised Ye Dong the most was Xiang'er's profound knowledge of various plants and herbs. Even with an inconspicuous weed, Xiang'er could explain its properties and characteristics.

According to Xiang'er, she had become knowledgeable about herbs due to her chronic illness and the various medicinal soups she had to consume.

As for Xiang'er's cultivation, Ye Dong had asked once, but Xiang'er changed the subject, and since then, Ye Dong hadn't brought it up again.

Through their daily interactions, their relationship gradually became closer, and even their way of addressing each other changed. Time passed by imperceptibly...

In the Lord's Mansion of Yifeng City, Dongfang Bai stood silently in the tranquil courtyard, dressed in white. His eyes were closed, motionless, resembling a statue. However, there was a person kneeling before him, the elderly man who had always been by his side. At this moment, the old man wore an expression of fear, trembling slightly. "My lord, I am incompetent. So far, I have been unable to find Ye Dong's whereabouts."

It seemed Dongfang Bai hadn't heard him at all. After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes, and two lightning-like beams shot out from his eyes.

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, the old man's body was instantly struck by the two lightning bolts, accompanied by a burst of green smoke, leaving him charred.

Even though he was struck by lightning, the old man remained kneeling there, not moving a muscle or making a sound, enduring the pain.

Finally, Dongfang Bai spoke, "Useless! You can't even handle such a small matter. If it weren't for your years of service by my side, I would have killed you. Now, tell me, what should we do?"

The old man trembled and said, "My lord, please give me another chance. I am willing to redeem myself."

"Fine, I'll give you one more chance. But you should know, the faction behind the real Dongfang Bai has already noticed the incident of me impersonating him. So, if you haven't found Ye Dong within a month, then you will annihilate the Ye family and then end your own life!"

The old man shivered uncontrollably, expressing his gratitude, and after a deep bow, he retreated from the courtyard. Dongfang Bai closed his eyes again, murmuring to himself, "Ye Dong, Ye Dong, your dantian was crippled by Bai Wuchang. However, not only has it healed, but your cultivation has also made rapid progress. It seems that the phenomenon in the sky that day must be related to you. I can't rest until I unravel this secret!"

...

With a month's time approaching, Ye Dong's heart became increasingly tense. He remembered that Grandpa Liu had said that Xiang'er's poison would flare up once a month. This meant that Xiang'er could be poisoned at any time. Without Grandpa Liu by her side, if Xiang'er were to be poisoned, Ye Dong would only be able to watch helplessly as she died.

Seeing that tomorrow would mark a full month, Ye Dong was so worried that he couldn't even concentrate on cultivation, let alone eat. However, Xiang'er seemed calmer than him. She even comforted him, saying, "Brother Ye, you don't need to worry about me. In fact, I should have died fifteen years ago. Living until today, I've already been lucky for fifteen years!"

The more Xiang'er said this, the more uncomfortable Ye Dong felt. But all he could do was smile and say, "I'm not worried. Grandpa Liu will definitely come back in time, and the poison in your body will definitely be cured."

Aside from finding his father, Ye Dong had another task in mind: to find the antidote for the three strange poisons within three years.

As night fell, Xiang'er had already fallen asleep, but Ye Dong couldn't find any sleep. He sat on a stone chair in the courtyard, his eyes wide open, gazing outside.

After a month of cultivation, although he hadn't opened any acupoints, the special method of absorbing spiritual energy and the exploration of his entire body's acupoints from "Blood Sea Battle Heavenly Path" had improved Ye Dong's senses significantly.

Within a radius of three hundred meters, even if a mosquito flapped its wings, he could sense it. Now, he was eagerly awaiting Grandpa Liu's return.

As time passed, when the moon was in the middle of the sky, suddenly, a low, sinister laugh sounded in Ye Dong's ears, startling him. The next moment, he shot out like a hunting leopard, swift and agile.

The sinister laughter definitely didn't come from Grandpa Liu. Thus, regardless of who it was, Ye Dong couldn't allow them to enter the range of the house!

"Who goes there? Show yourself!"

Ye Dong leaped out like a hunting leopard, ready to confront the intruder head-on.

"Boom!"

The roof of the wooden house was suddenly lifted, and a dark figure dashed out, holding a person in his arms.

In the moonlight, Ye Dong could clearly see that the figure was a middle-aged man, and the person he was holding was none other than Xiang'er!