Chapter 336: Catching a Turtle in a Jar!

In truth, from the moment Blue Leopard and his men appeared, Ye Yuan had been racking his brains for a way to escape.

Once he saw Blue Leopard's strength, he knew it was impossible to take everyone away.

Ye Yuan was not a fool; he would not knowingly go to his death when he couldn't win.

That wasn't courage; that was stupidity!

Staying behind to die with Mei Zhen and the others would be the most foolish choice.

Moreover... if he were also thrown in, then there would truly be no hope at all.

As long as he, Ye Yuan, did not die, there would always be a chance to save everyone.

So from that moment on, Ye Yuan had prepared to escape alone.

Ye Yuan had long made up his mind: if anything happened to Mei Zhen, Mo Yuntian, and the others,

one day, he would make the entire Gale Realm pay with their lives!

This might be as difficult as reaching heaven for others, but for Ye Yuan, it was not far off.

Ye Yuan did not utter any threats before leaving, because at that moment his threats were too feeble and would only enrage Blue Leopard to no avail.

Ye Yuan hurried along, the rooms and corridors of the second floor clearly mapped in his mind.

There was only one exit on the second floor, so where was his path to survival?

There was only one path to survival: the third floor!

From the very beginning, Ye Yuan had never considered using the entrance from the first floor to escape!

After Blue Leopard came up, Ye Yuan quietly entered the state of心如止水, seeking the entrance to the third floor!

Thus, Ye Yuan desperately recalled the entire treasure-hunting process on the second floor, and finally he found a clue!

The second floor had many rooms of various sizes, and naturally many corridors of various sizes as well.

When Ye Yuan clearly mapped all the paths he had taken in his mind, he was suddenly enlightened!

The layout of the second floor was nothing less than a formation!

This formation was not a trapping or killing formation, but one arranged to conceal the entrance to the third floor!

Starting from the entrance, if you didn't understand formations, no matter how you walked, you would never find the entrance to the third floor.

To find the entrance to the third floor, one had to break this formation and find the correct path!

Realizing this, Ye Yuan couldn't help but marvel at the ingenuity of the one who designed the Yonghua Palace.

And this Yonghua Palace was the legacy left by Lu Linfeng; hiding the entrance to the third floor in this way was only fitting.

But entering the second floor had no obstacles, so everyone who entered the formation was trapped in the game.

As the saying goes, the onlooker sees the game best; that was no joke.

For those within the game to see through the maze was extremely difficult.

Even for a ninth-rank formation master like Ye Yuan, without entering the state of心如止水, he was also at a loss.

Perhaps the designer of the Yonghua Palace was Lu Linfeng himself!

From that moment on, Ye Yuan began to plan his escape!

Ye Yuan did not flee immediately, because he simply couldn't escape; Blue Leopard's movement technique was definitely much faster than his.

He provoked Lin Chao into a duel, then lured the other three to attack, and the ultimate goal was to provoke Blue Leopard into attacking him!

This was Ye Yuan's method of finding life in death, a solution when there was no solution.

When Blue Leopard struck, Ye Yuan was still in the state of心如止水, barely able to keep up with his movements.

So he released the Four Directions Cauldron, took Blue Leopard's blow head-on, and used the recoil force from that blow to escape quickly!

The Four Directions Cauldron was a profound artifact; no matter how strong Blue Leopard's attack was, it could hardly shake it.

Even the escape route had been planned by Ye Yuan in advance. Blue Leopard's blow, precisely and without deviation, sent Ye Yuan exactly along the route he had pre-planned to the entrance of the third floor!

And the recoil force would inevitably hinder Blue Leopard's pursuit speed. Plus, considering Wu Zhao and the others, they might not choose to chase immediately!

Everything, everything, was within Ye Yuan's calculations!

He succeeded!

Ye Yuan moved extremely fast, mobilizing all the primal energy in his body, not daring to pause for a moment, afraid that Blue Leopard and the others would catch up.

With his current strength, he was no match for Blue Leopard.

“Almost there, almost there, just a little more!”

Ye Yuan felt a sweetness in his throat; a mouthful of blood surged to his chest but he forced it down.

Blue Leopard's palm strike was no joke; it numbed even his own hand, showing how great the force was!

Even though the Four Directions Cauldron absorbed much of the force, the impact still severely injured Ye Yuan!

In fact, when he took that strike, his internal organs had already been heavily damaged, feeling as if they had shifted out of place.

But Ye Yuan had no time to feel pain; he had to escape immediately, so he held on with a single breath until now!

Now, Ye Yuan was barely holding on by his last shred of will.

Yet fully mobilizing his primal energy only worsened his injuries; his consciousness was growing increasingly blurred.

Ye Yuan had already deciphered the formation in his mind and deduced the route, but now walking it felt so distant.

He had no chance to start over, nor time to fall asleep; he had to find the entrance and enter the third floor!

Finally, Ye Yuan saw a beam of light ahead—the entrance to the third floor!

But... by now, Ye Yuan had reached his limit!

“Is this the end...”

Ye Yuan struggled to move his steps, but his feet grew heavier and heavier.

A distance of a few zhang felt like an endless chasm.

“Pfft...”

Ye Yuan's injuries could no longer be suppressed; they burst forth!

Blood soaked the front of his clothes, and the scenery before Ye Yuan's eyes grew increasingly blurry.

He reached out, desperately trying to grasp the beam of light ahead, but... he finally collapsed.

In a daze, Ye Yuan saw a stunningly beautiful woman emerge from the void, extending a pair of jade arms to embrace him, and a faint fragrance assailed his nostrils.

Then... he knew nothing more.

Li'er sighed softly and said, “You've done well enough!”

...

About half an hour later, Wu Zhao and the others had their dantians sealed and their primal energy restrained.

At that moment, many people emerged from the underground passage.

Most of these people were Condensation Crystal Realm martial artists. Blue Leopard handed over the prisoners from the eight sects to them and ordered Blue Cloud to lead them in escorting the prisoners into the Gale Realm!

Once Blue Cloud left, Blue Leopard said in a deep voice, “Blue Tiger, Blue Wind, take men to guard the entrance. If Ye Yuan appears, kill him without mercy!”

“Yes!” Blue Tiger and Blue Wind acknowledged the order and blocked the entrance tightly.

“Lin Chao, come with me and take men to dig up this second floor three feet deep! Let's see where that brat can hide!” Blue Leopard added.

From the moment Ye Yuan escaped, Blue Leopard's heart had been raging. If not for the urgency of the passage matter, he would have taken men to find Ye Yuan long ago.

Now, with everything taken care of, he was going to catch the turtle in the jar.