Chapter 78: Battle with the Imperial Rank Warrior, the Ancestor of the He Family, He Lian (Part 1)

"He Family's Ancestor, huh?"

Xiao Bei thought to himself, nodding. Xiao Bei knew that the old man who had just appeared must be the Ancestor of the He Family.

Just as Xiao Bei's gaze focused, the Imperial Rank Warrior, the Ancestor of the He Family, had already stepped through the air and quickly moved toward Xiao Bei.

This old man was dressed in a light green robe, with a straight and slightly robust figure. His face was pale, his hair as white as snow, and the most striking feature was his white beard, which extended over twenty centimeters below his chin, giving him a somewhat ethereal and dignified aura.

At this moment, the old man's face was filled with anger, his eyes emitting a cold light as he stared directly at Xiao Bei!

"Ancestor, save me, save me..."

The middle-aged man named He Cuo, whom Xiao Bei was about to attack, immediately shouted upon seeing the newcomer, and then quickly broke free.

Xiao Bei did not chase after him, allowing this person to escape.

Xiao Bei's gaze was now completely focused on the Ancestor of the He Family.

In Xiao Bei's mind, the following information surfaced: This Ancestor of the He Family, who had long faded from people's sight, was originally named He Lian, a contemporary of Xiao Bei's great-grandfather, Xiao Ting!

However, according to rumors, this Ancestor of the He Family, He Lian, had made a mistake in his cultivation a few years ago, causing his veins to be blocked, his cultivation to go astray, and his lifespan to be nearly at its limit. Without a breakthrough, his lifespan could not be extended, and he could not live much longer. Therefore, on that day, the惨叫声 that could be heard clearly for several miles around the He Family estate, and then the rumor that the Ancestor of the He Family had died an unnatural death!

"Why is the Ancestor of the He Family appearing again today? It must be He Lian, as he seems to be the last of the older generation of the He Family to die. There can't be another person called the Ancestor of the He Family... But He Lian is actually still alive? And from the aura, He Lian has indeed reached the Imperial Rank Warrior level. When the news of his death was spread, He Lian was only a Royal Rank Warrior..."

These thoughts flashed through Xiao Bei's mind. He stared at He Lian with a puzzled look for a while, and then suddenly noticed that He Lian's aura seemed off!

Although the aura revealed immense power, indicating that He Lian was indeed an Imperial Rank Warrior, it also contained a faint but significant sign of life decay!

Yes, that's it, the aura of life decay, much more pronounced than in ordinary people!

Xiao Bei frowned.

This kind of aura... indicates that the lifespan is rapidly depleting, meaning the life essence energy is flowing away much faster than other experts of the same level.

Similarly, it means that a person with this aura will die much earlier than others of the same level!

This aura is a clear sign—just as Xiao Bei knew, using cultivation techniques like "Blood Sacrifice Technique" would cause the life aura to deplete first, similarly damaging the essence. The heavy aura of life decay in a warrior's martial qi indicates that the warrior's lifespan has been severely damaged!

Given how badly his essence has been damaged, it seems his lifespan is indeed very limited... Could it be the cultivation technique?... Could it be that he broke through and survived because of the cultivation technique?

Or, to put it simply, a cheating method? A method with significant flaws?

Could it be that the extremely evil and powerful cultivation techniques, more so than "Blood Sacrifice Technique," have created the current Imperial Rank Warrior, the Ancestor of the He Family, He Lian?

Could it be that at the moment He Lian most needed to break through, when he was just a little short of the required power, he used a small push to successfully reach the Imperial Rank Warrior level? And after the push, when his lifespan should have increased due to the breakthrough, it was drastically reduced again because of the evil cultivation technique, resulting in the current aura of accelerated life decay?

These thoughts shook Xiao Bei's mind, making him think of many things he had never considered before... He thought about why the Zhou Family dared to urgently plan to overthrow the increasingly powerful Xiao Family, about the possible trump card the Zhou Family might have, which could be an Imperial Rank Warrior cultivated in this way... He thought about why the Ancestor of the He Family, He Lian, appeared after the He Family allied with the Zhou Family... He thought about why Xiao Yun, now only a Fifth Rank Later Heaven Warrior, had the audacity to force Xiao Sa and threaten him, pretending to be an Eighth Rank Later Heaven Warrior, when he didn't dare to do so before... All these reasons could be due to this cultivation technique with significant flaws!

"It seems this Ancestor of the He Family is definitely one of the rebels. I can confirm that, so let me accelerate your lifespan depletion."

After confirming that He Lian was also a rebel, Xiao Bei's actions naturally became more decisive.

The middle-aged man named He Cuo, now pale-faced, had already run to He Lian's side. He immediately pointed at the black-robed, muscular man that Xiao Bei had transformed into, saying, "Ancestor, you finally came! Ancestor, he... killed countless members of our He Family! Ancestor, you must avenge us!"

"Ancestor, avenge our fallen He Family members..."

"Ancestor, kill him, use his blood to honor our fallen clan members!"

"Yes, Ancestor, kill him!"

All the injured and frightened people on the ground were shouting at He Lian.

Of course, except for the military deputy commander who did not have much faith in the Ancestor of the He Family, He Lian. The deputy commander neither shouted nor fled, but remained seated in a daze...

"Don't worry, I will keep this man's life, and I will use his blood to honor..." the Ancestor of the He Family, He Lian, chuckled.

The face that had previously looked ethereal and dignified was completely ruined by this chuckle.

Especially, Xiao Bei noticed that He Lian's eyes turned crimson for a moment when he laughed, just like the yellow-robed man he encountered in the mountains behind the Xiao Family estate when he was抢夺星石, who went mad and drank the blood of the defeated beast after defeating it. The crimson color was identical.

"You, are not capable."

Shaking his head, Xiao Bei said to the smug Ancestor of the He Family, He Lian.

Then, pointing at He Cuo, he said, "I said, you must die—"

With a movement, the black-robed, muscular man that Xiao Bei had transformed into appeared not far from He Lian almost instantly!

The Ancestor of the He Family, He Lian, his laughter turning into a roar, shouted, "You are too overbearing, take this!"

Using his martial qi to push He Cuo away, He Lian's body directly rushed toward Xiao Bei, who had arrived in an instant. In the process, He Lian struck out with a single palm, releasing a wave of martial qi, while his other hand made a strange gesture.

Xiao Bei, of course, was not concerned about He Lian's martial qi power, but he closely watched the gesture He Lian made, feeling puzzled.

It was a bizarre palm technique! Xiao Bei quickly made a judgment!

In a very short time, Xiao Bei noticed that He Lian had made forty-nine changes, and the movements of his hand, such as bending and extending, undoubtedly gathered and layered martial qi, thereby mobilizing more of the power of the elements.

"This technique, which specializes in layered attacks, has some similarities to my 'Star Rain.' Unfortunately, although we are of the same rank, my realm is much higher than yours, so you will still lose."

Xiao Bei's martial qi transformed into countless swords, which struck at He Lian...