The floating apparition of an old man emerged.

This apparition was filled with a menacing aura, likely related to the sinister energy of this burial ground.

The old man’s facial features appeared somewhat blurred, making it hard to discern his appearance in life.

"Hogging everything yourself is not a good habit. As the saying goes, finders keepers. It’s been such a long time since anyone dared to enter Ice Lion Valley, and now the intruder isn’t even one of our Nine Nether Ice Lion Clan. This leaves me feeling even less guilty."

"This boy’s vitality is extremely vigorous, and his flesh must be incredibly tender. It’s such a rare delicacy that we’ve found. We should divide up the parts of his body first, or else no one will be happy if they get less than others."

"Indeed, it’s very reasonable. We should fairly divide this entire delicacy, or who knows when we’ll get to taste the flavor of flesh and blood again?"

... 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The white mist around Ye Chenfeng continued to twist, as one by one, apparitions of old men appeared. A stream of ancient voices reached Ye Chenfeng’s ears, and in just a short moment, there were over twenty apparitions of old men surrounding him. All of them emitted a peculiar energy fluctuation, and the strongest among them seemed comparable to the level of a Divine Venerable Realm.

These apparitions were the soul-like entities that Old Bai and Old Hei described, essentially the ancestors of the deceased Nine Nether Ice Lions, formed through prolonged nourishment in this unique burial ground.

For Ye Chenfeng to deal with these apparitions was impossible with his strength. Given the relationship between the Nine Nether Ice Lions and the Dragon Clan, he hoped these apparitions would give some respect to him as the Dragon Clan’s Clan Leader. After all, these apparitions retained the memories from their past lives.

Clearing his throat, Ye Chenfeng said, "Everyone, my intrusion into Ice Lion Valley this time is..."

Before Ye Chenfeng could finish speaking, the apparitions waved their arms, and waves of energy swept through Ye Chenfeng, causing his body to instantly become rigid and immobile. The Spiritual Qi River within his meridians was blocked, and he couldn’t utter a single sound from his throat.

"Such a chatterbox. As our food, you should feel honored. We can devour your flesh and blood and make you a part of our energy. This is indeed your great fortune."

"I believe this boy has fled to Ice Lion Valley, and he might even be an enemy of our Nine Nether Ice Lions."

"Alright, why so much unnecessary talk? In the Initial Stage of the Ancient Era, our Nine Nether Ice Lions had significant ties with the Dragon Clan. Even the Clan Leader of the Dragon Clan visited our ancestral land many times. You, this boy, should feel satisfied to become our food, shouldn’t you?"

"I can’t wait any longer. Let’s quickly divide up the parts of his body!"

...

Around him, those twenty or so apparitions were speaking one after another, completely disregarding Ye Chenfeng.

Despite being restrained, Ye Chenfeng’s expression remained mostly unchanged because he heard the apparitions’ conversation. He understood that although these apparitions were not quite souls anymore, they seemed to still hold Dragon Clan in high respect. As long as he revealed his identity as the Dragon Clan Leader, he should be able to acquire the Rejuvenation Elixir smoothly.

However, since those apparitions simultaneously imposed a restriction on Ye Chenfeng, and none of their powers were below the Divine King Realm, he could barely dream of breaking free from the restraint enacted by over twenty of them at once with his current strength!

Ye Chenfeng asked in his mind, "Old Bai, Old Hei, can you help me shatter the shirt on my back? I wish I hadn’t changed into a new one after defeating the Dark Demon."

As soon as the Dragon Clan Leader’s mark was revealed, these apparitions would definitely recognize his identity. The issue was, at present, he couldn’t even muster the strength to shatter the shirt on his back.

Old Bai, Wu Fengxian, replied, "If it’s just shattering the shirt on your back, Old Hei and I should manage."

As soon as Wu Fengxian finished speaking.

It appeared that those twenty or more apparitions had reached a consensus. One that seemed the oldest stepped forward; this apparition was the first Clan Leader of the Lion King Lineage, who said, "Let me divide this boy’s body. I will be absolutely fair."

The aura emanating from this first Clan Leader of the Lion King Lineage was comparable to a Mid Divine Honor Realm expert. His apparition floated in front of Ye Chenfeng, and the other apparitions seemed to hold him in great respect.

The first Clan Leader looked at Ye Chenfeng in front of him and said, "Ice Lion Valley is a forbidden land of our Nine Nether Ice Lions. Even our own people become our food if they intrude, let alone someone like you without our Nine Nether Ice Lion aura."

As the first Clan Leader of the Lion King Lineage prepared to dismember Ye Chenfeng and evenly distribute his body parts among the remaining apparitions,

the powers of Old Bai and Old Hei suddenly surged from within Ye Chenfeng’s body. Their powers could only be exerted through Ye Chenfeng’s body.

Under the impact of Old White and Old Black’s power.

The sound of "rip! rip! rip!" echoed.

The clothes on Ye Chenfeng’s back were torn open again, which made the first Clan Leader of the Nine Nether Ice Lion, who was about to make a move, slightly stunned. Seeing that the clothes on Ye Chenfeng’s back were ripped apart, the surging momentum subsided immediately. He shook his head with a smile and said, "So it was just a dying struggle. I thought we might have seen it wrong. Your power was only enough to shatter the clothes on your back."

The first Clan Leader of the Lion King Lineage, he intriguingly turned his gaze to the back of Ye Chenfeng. When he saw the shining golden Dragon Clan Clan Leader’s mark on Ye Chenfeng’s back, his eyes instantly froze, and his movements halted, transforming him into a stone statue.

The other shadowy elders, upon witnessing the first Clan Leader’s strange behavior, urged and approached eagerly, longing to savor the taste of flesh and blood. But as their gaze followed that of the first Clan Leader and fell upon the Dragon Clan Clan Leader’s mark on Ye Chenfeng’s back,

These shadowy elders mirrored the first Clan Leader’s expression instantly. Among them, some had lived through the early stages of the Ancient Era, witnessing the Dragon Clan at its most glorious. They had even seen the Dragon Clan Clan Leader’s mark before. For these Nine Nether Ice Lions, the Dragon Clan had bestowed great kindness upon them, an eternal gratitude that their ancestors would never forget in this lifetime or any other. They would never forget that supreme mark.

Even though they had died, and could hardly be considered souls, as long as they retained their memories, they would always hold immense respect for the Dragon Clan—a respect that time could not erase, a reverence that death could not dissolve.

All these shadowy elders stared unblinkingly at the Dragon Clan Clan Leader’s mark on Ye Chenfeng’s back.

After a long moment.

The first Clan Leader was the first to regain his senses. With a wave of his arm, he directly lifted the restrictions on Ye Chenfeng. He asked, puzzled, "Are you the current Dragon Clan Leader?"

Ye Chenfeng, whose body regained freedom, said, "I am the third Clan Leader of the Dragon Clan. Some of you should have seen the Dragon Clan Leader’s mark in person. Can this mark be faked?"

As he spoke,

Ye Chenfeng fiercely activated the Dragon Clan Clan Leader’s mark on his back, and an overwhelming dragon might immediately emanated from his body.

Upon feeling the unmistakable and overwhelming dragon might, the first Clan Leader was the first to kneel and bow to Ye Chenfeng. The other shadowy elders also immediately bowed to Ye Chenfeng.

Among these shadowy elders, some had indeed lived through the early stages of the Ancient Era, when the Dragon Clan was the leader of all clans. It was basic etiquette to kneel and bow upon meeting the Dragon Clan Leader, but now, Zhao Wenyu, Zhao Shenghong, and others within the Nine Nether Ice Lions, who had not experienced the early Ancient Era, were not very familiar with such etiquette.

Kneeling on the ground, the first Clan Leader of the Nine Nether Ice Lions said respectfully, "I was unaware of your presence, Clan Leader. I deeply apologize for my earlier offenses and ask for your forgiveness."

In the early stages of the Ancient Era, the Dragon Clan was the leader of all clans, and those races who submitted to the Dragon Clan all uniformly addressed the Dragon Clan Leader as the Clan Leader.

In the eyes of these Nine Nether Ice Lion ancestors, the Dragon Clan Leader was more important than their own lives, more important than their entire clan. Thus, upon learning of Ye Chenfeng’s identity, they knelt immediately. They had sworn to forever follow the Dragon Clan.

Therefore, they extremely restrained their inner desire to devour flesh and blood. The Dragon Clan could be said to be their unwavering faith. In the face of faith and inner desire, faith clearly won.

Ye Chenfeng’s main goal was to obtain the Rejuvenation Elixir, so he said, "Enough, those who were unaware are not guilty. You may all stand up! I heard that you have an ancestor called Beichen among the Nine Nether Ice Lions? There are supposedly two bottles of Rejuvenation Elixir buried with him. I have come this time for the Rejuvenation Elixir, which is currently very important to me."

Upon learning of Ye Chenfeng’s purpose, the first Clan Leader and the other shadowy elders all stood up, finally focusing their attention on an elder in black shadow. It seemed this elder was the Ancestor Beichen.

Upon feeling everyone’s attention, Beichen chuckled bitterly, "Everyone, don’t look at me like that. Would I refuse the Clan Leader? To be able to see the Dragon Clan Leader even after death is truly a blessing from above! I believe that with the Dragon Clan Leader, the Dragon Clan will one day reach its peak again."

"It’s just two bottles of Rejuvenation Elixir. I’ll give them to you, Clan Leader, right away."

The first Clan Leader of the Nine Nether Ice Lions and the others casually dispersed the surrounding mist a little, instantly clearing their vision, and they saw an enormous mountain wall not far away. A rectangular recess was dug into the mountain wall, with a coffin placed in each recess.

With a wave of Beichen’s hand, a coffin rushed from one of the recesses into the air, and the coffin lid opened, releasing two blue porcelain bottles that eventually floated before Ye Chenfeng.

Beichen said respectfully, "Clan Leader, these are the two bottles of Rejuvenation Elixir."

"Thank you!" Ye Chenfeng expressed his gratitude, taking the two bottles of Rejuvenation Elixir in hand. Now that he had the Rejuvenation Elixir, could Old White and Old Black’s damaged souls be restored?

...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote for it with recommendation tickets or monthly tickets on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)