As the crowd pursued, they didn't forget to launch attacks. The Roc Demon, busy fleeing for its life, couldn't defend itself with full strength, so it could only grit its teeth and endure.
Finally, after taking another spell from Zi Yun, the Roc Demon's body plummeted straight down.
The crowd was initially quite happy to finally have subdued the Roc Demon, but when they realized it had crashed onto Xianyu Peak, their faces instantly changed!
At the summit of Xianyu Peak.
After Li Mingbai finished cleaning, Ye Fan's meal was served.
"Junior Brother Li, don't bother yourself, wash your hands and eat," Ye Fan said as he arranged the dishes.
Li Mingbai ate with great joy.
Putting aside other things, Senior Brother Ye's cooking was truly delicious!
"Senior Brother Ye, will you participate in the upcoming exchange大会?" Li Mingbai suddenly asked while chatting.
"No," Ye Fan replied decisively.
Besides the Zi Yun Sect, there were several other sects in this region. These sects held an exchange大会 every few decades.
The content of the exchange大会 was simple: each sect would send young disciples to spar and compete.
While it was called an exchange, frankly, it was just a flamboyant display of prowess...
It felt similar to how, before his first transmigration, parents would inevitably bring up their children during casual conversations.
For example, discussing how many points someone's child scored on an exam, or how much salary someone's child earned...
After each competition, they would create a so-called ranking, which could be used later when recruiting disciples.
Look, our sect was ranked number X last exchange大会, so choosing our sect guarantees a bright future!
Ye Fan, who had sworn never to cultivate, naturally wouldn't participate in such matters.
Let others handle the fighting and killing; he just wanted to lie down peacefully and be a salted fish.
For instance, having a meal and chatting with his junior brother from the sect like this felt very comfortable.
"Junior Brother Li, please eat first. I'll go get the soup," Ye Fan instructed and turned towards the kitchen.
He had made a soup earlier, and judging by the time, it should be almost ready.
"Senior Brother Ye, I'll go with you," Li Mingbai quickly put down his chopsticks and followed.
As someone aspiring to be Ye Fan's number one loyal follower, such perceptiveness was basic instinct.
"It smells so good!" Li Mingbai exclaimed as he reached the kitchen door.
Ye Fan smiled slightly.
During his previous ninety-nine lives, his mind was solely focused on cultivation, and eating was merely to sustain bodily functions.
So, in the two months since his transmigration, he had dedicated himself to studying local recipes: to enjoy life as a salted fish, one must first treat their stomach well!
Perhaps due to his intelligence or talent.
His cooking skills, honed over two months, already surpassed most chefs.
Furthermore, Ye Fan combined the local recipes of the cultivation world with some cooking methods from his original Blue Star, creating many new dishes.
This soup was his latest research achievement.
Smelling the aroma filling the kitchen, Ye Fan knew he had succeeded.
Next, he just needed to add a few eggs to the soup, and it would be perfectly finished!
Even though it was just a few small eggs, this step was the masterstroke!
At that time, the deliciousness of this soup would be elevated to a much higher level!
"BANG—!"
Just as Ye Fan was about to complete the final step, a violent tremor suddenly shook the courtyard!
Before Ye Fan could even react, a strong gust of air blew in!
"CRASH!"
"CLANG CLANG!"
"CRACKLE CRACKLE!"
...
The room instantly became like an earthquake, with pots and pans falling to the floor.
And Ye Fan's most prized soup also met with misfortune...
"Demonic... demonic energy..." Li Mingbai exclaimed.
The next moment, an even stronger gust of air swept the two of them outside.
Upon seeing the Roc Demon's colossal body, more than three zhang tall, Li Mingbai almost peed himself in fright!
"If you dare to come closer, I will kill these two people!" the Roc Demon shouted at Zhenren Zi Yun and the others, while holding them hostage.
Zhenren Zi Yun and the others immediately stopped advancing.
The disciples who had already been killed by the residual battle energy were one thing, but if they sacrificed disciples now to kill the Roc Demon, they would have difficulty recruiting in the future.
Moreover, Ye Fan, their precious gem, was among the hostages!
They admitted that Ye Fan reaching the Nascent Soul realm in just two months was indeed monstrous.
Ye Fan could afford to progress slower than others in cultivation, but he absolutely couldn't hide his cultivation techniques and skills from others.
This meant that Ye Fan currently possessed cultivation but no offensive means, making him an easy target for the Roc Demon to kill...
Of course, it was possible that his Innate Dao Physique allowed him to cultivate techniques and skills without others noticing.
But they dared not gamble!
If they lost the gamble, Ye Fan would be gone!
Seeing that Zhenren Zi Yun and the others truly hesitated to advance, the Roc Demon's eyes lit up!
It had initially held Ye Fan and the other captive on a whim, not expecting any results.
But now, it seemed the effect was exceptionally good!
"Release them, and we can let you go," Zhenren Zi Yun conceded.
"Do you think I would believe you?" the Roc Demon sneered. "I will take them away now. If you dare to follow even half a step, I will kill them immediately!"
The Roc Demon felt that it had this situation under control.
Now, it seemed these two people could not only serve as its shield but could also be used later to coerce the other party into handing over the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox!
Zhenren Zi Yun and the others fell silent.
They believed that if they pursued, the Roc Demon would definitely kill Ye Fan!
But if they didn't pursue...
They didn't believe the Roc Demon would be kind enough to release Ye Fan, whose fate would likely be grim.
A dilemma!
"Senior Brother Ye... aren't you scared..." Li Mingbai was trembling uncontrollably.
At the same time, he was filled with admiration: Truly my idol, such a calm demeanor in the face of danger is something I can never learn!
Ye Fan's expression showed no panic; he was even incredibly calm.
In his previous ninety-nine lives, he had been constantly cultivating and fighting for survival, having encountered countless strange and bizarre demonic beasts.
Compared to those, this Roc Demon looked much more normal.
However, he was very annoyed right now!
What right did they have to mess with him while he was peacefully cooking at home?
They were fighting, what did it have to do with him?
His hard-earned culinary masterpiece was ruined like this!
[Detecting... Great Majestic Heavenly Dragon preparation complete...]
As soon as the system's voice fell, an incomparably powerful energy fluctuation emanated from Ye Fan.
Sensing that something was wrong, the Roc Demon quickly turned its head.
It saw light.
Golden light...
Golden dragon-shaped light...
Then.
There was no then...
"Thump!"
The Roc Demon's corpse fell heavily to the ground, its eyes still filled with confusion and unwillingness...
Zhenren Zi Yun and the others were utterly astonished!
The golden dragon energy emanating from Ye Fan earlier felt more formidable than the Roc Demon at its peak!
It was no exaggeration to say that if that golden dragon energy had been directed at them, they would be the ones lying on the ground now.
Absolutely, thoroughly dead!
At this moment, they realized they had underestimated Ye Fan's monstrousness!
Before, they thought that no matter how monstrous Ye Fan was, he would at most be at the first level of the Nascent Soul realm.
But looking at it now, he was at least at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul realm, starting!
This meant that Ye Fan was currently the most formidable existence in the Zi Yun Sect!
The first to recover was Zhenren Zi Yun, the master.
Zhenren Zi Yun immediately flew towards Ye Fan, shouting excitedly:
"Good disciple, still dare to say you have no cultivation?!"