Chapter Ninety-Two: Burning with Anxiety

The Red Fire Glazed Tree!

At the mere mention of that name, Ling Yunfei was shaken to the core.

This thing could only be described as a priceless treasure.

For the leaves of the Red Fire Glazed Tree were the main ingredient used to refine the Red Fire Glazed Pill.

And that pill possessed an astonishing effect.

Any warrior below the level of Martial King, upon taking one Red Fire Glazed Pill, could instantly advance by a full stage in cultivation.

For example, if Qin Feiyang were to take one right now, he would immediately break through to the rank of five-star martial master.

Who could remain unmoved by such a miracle?

It was no exaggeration to say that if news of this Red Fire Glazed Tree spread, it would almost certainly stir up a storm of bloodshed in Black Bear City.

However, nothing in this world could ever be perfect.

A person could only ever take one Red Fire Glazed Pill in their entire life. If they took a second, it would be useless and nothing more than waste.

Even so, it was enough to drive anyone mad.

Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei crouched beside the sapling, their eyes gleaming.

Neither had ever imagined they would encounter such a treasure.

The fortunes of life were indeed impossible to predict.

If Ling Yunfei had not, in a fit of rage, hurled away the Sawtooth Crocodile King’s old carapace just moments ago, they would have definitely passed right by this little tree.

No one would have guessed that beneath that carapace lay such a heaven-defying treasure.

“Roar!”

A thunderous beast howl suddenly rang out.

Had the Sawtooth Crocodile King returned?

The two of them exchanged startled glances.

Ling Yunfei hurriedly said, “Pull it out now, and get moving!”

Qin Feiyang grabbed the trunk, yanked it out by the roots, and stuffed it into his cosmos sack.

Then the two of them leaped out of the pit and fled into the forest without looking back.

Boom!

Amid a series of crashing detonations, the Sawtooth Crocodile King truly did return, bringing with it the four king-level sawtooth crocodiles.

But when it got back to the pit and discovered that the Red Fire Glazed Tree was gone as well, it flew into a towering rage, its roars shaking the heavens.

Hearing those roars, Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei broke out in a cold sweat. Terrified that the Sawtooth Crocodile King would give chase, they ran for their lives.

They did not stop until they reached the riverbank.

Only then did they collapse gracelessly onto the ground, drenched in sweat and gasping like bulls.

“Tell me,” Ling Yunfei said, “do you think the people from the Jiang and Mu families are all dead?”

“Do you even need to ask? Not one of them should be left,” Qin Feiyang replied.

“Even if we were ambushed, getting a Red Fire Glazed Tree out of it was still worth it,” Ling Yunfei laughed.

“Indeed,” Qin Feiyang said with a nod, smiling broadly as well.

When all was said and done, the one they ought to thank was the City Lord. If he had not schemed so hard to kill them, how could they possibly have obtained such a treasure?

As the saying went, one must repay kindness.

In the future, he would certainly “repay” that man properly.

Ling Yunfei let out a long breath, moved closer to Qin Feiyang, and asked, “When we go back, who are you planning to have refine the Red Fire Glazed Pill for us?”

Qin Feiyang blinked, then said with irritation, “I can refine pills myself. Why would I need anyone else? Besides, do you think other people would refine pills for you for free? Naive.”

If they really asked someone else for help, that person would surely take a cut. How could that possibly be worth it?

“You?” Ling Yunfei looked at him skeptically, clearly not believing Qin Feiyang could refine pills.

“What’s wrong with me?” Qin Feiyang asked, puzzled.

Ling Yunfei said disdainfully, “You’ve only been in the Pill Hall for a month. I’d bet you can’t even refine a Body Tempering Pill, let alone a Red Fire Glazed Pill. Don’t go ruining the leaves of the Red Fire Glazed Tree.”

Qin Feiyang’s face twitched.

So in this fellow’s eyes, he was really that incompetent?

Fine.

He could not be bothered to argue. In the end, he would simply prove it with action.

Ling Yunfei chuckled. “Don’t be angry, brother. I’m only being objective. By the way, let me ask you something.”

“What is it?” Qin Feiyang said.

Ling Yunfei asked curiously, “That supreme-grade pill the fat man sold last time—who refined it, exactly?”

“No idea,” Qin Feiyang said, shaking his head.

Ling Yunfei narrowed his eyes. “No idea, or pretending not to know?”

Qin Feiyang’s eyes rolled, and he said, “Then let me tell you it was me. Would you believe that?”

“Believe you? Only a ghost would,” Ling Yunfei said, rolling his eyes hard. He had never seen such a self-absorbed person. Rising to his feet, he added, “I haven’t been back for several days. My mother must already be worried sick about me. Come on, let’s head back.”

“I’m not planning to go back right now,” Qin Feiyang said, shaking his head.

“Not going back? Then where are you going?” Ling Yunfei looked at him in confusion.

“If we go back now, once the City Lord discovers we’re still alive, he’ll surely come after us again with every trick he has. Rather than suffer through that, we might as well hide out first and cultivate in peace for a month. We can return after the people from the Pill King Hall arrive,” Qin Feiyang said.

He had no intention of wasting time on some irrelevant man.

“That does make sense,” Ling Yunfei said after a moment’s hesitation. Gritting his teeth, he added, “All right. If I don’t go back, my mother will... Forget it. Worst case, I’ll apologize properly when I return.”

So the two of them slipped into the old fortress and began their secluded cultivation.

Meanwhile, the Sawtooth Crocodile King continued rampaging through the mountain range, throwing an area of several thousand meters into utter chaos.

Anyone hunting nearby was swept up in this unwelcome disaster.

At last, after failing to find the thieves who had stolen the Red Fire Glazed Tree, it gave up in frustration and returned to its lair.

That night.

Two one-armed old men, covered head to toe in blood and scarred all over, appeared outside the gates of Black Bear City.

They were the grand elders of the Mu family and the Jiang family.

Of the more than twenty men who had gone in, only the two of them had escaped alive. The rest had all died beneath the jaws of the Sawtooth Crocodile King.

Though they had barely survived, they had each lost an arm.

This mission to enter the mountains and kill Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei had left the Jiang and Mu families with a crushing loss.

Their appearance caused no great stir.

The two city guards stationed at the gate immediately escorted them to the City Lord’s residence.

Seeing their miserable state, the City Lord was also greatly shocked. But what concerned him most was whether Qin Feiyang had died.

The two of them swore up and down that Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei were dead.

After all, they had personally seen the two of them run in the direction of the Sawtooth Crocodile King.

After that, they had never seen them again, which was proof enough that the two had been swallowed alive.

Though no corpse had been seen, the City Lord believed it without question.

The two grand elders were no weaklings; they could not possibly have failed.

Moreover, he firmly believed they would not dare lie before him.

The next day, a notice appeared at the four city gates.

Its general content stated that the true culprit behind the massacre of the Ling family had already been brought to justice and had died in prison, and that everyone should stop discussing the matter.

However, no name was given for the culprit.

As for what the culprit looked like, no one knew at all.

Some who remained skeptical only dared to discuss it in private.

Still, once the notice went up, the matter of the Ling family massacre was finally brought to rest.

Black Bear City gradually settled back into calm.

But that was only surface-level calm.

In the darkness, the great families were still locked in fierce struggle.

Yet clashes among families happened every day, as common as eating and drinking. So long as things did not grow too loud, no one cared.

Day after day passed.

Still no sign of Qin Feiyang or Ling Yunfei returning, and both Luo Xiong and the Hall Master of the Martial Hall began to feel uneasy.

On this day, the Martial Hall Master personally came to the Pill Hall to discuss countermeasures with Luo Xiong.

After eliminating every possible explanation, the two of them led their men in a citywide search.

After searching the city, they searched beyond it.

But in the end, the two major forces turned over every inch of land within several hundred miles and still could not find Qin Feiyang or Ling Yunfei.

At this point, Luo Xiong and the other man could only begin to suspect that the two might already be dead somewhere.

It was even possible they had been harmed by villains.

However, with no evidence, they did not dare question anyone directly. They could only send people to investigate in secret, hoping to find some trace.

But even after the people from the Martial King Hall and the Pill King Hall arrived in Black Bear City, there was still no news.

The reception hall of the Pill Hall.

At the highest seat, which should have belonged to Luo Xiong, sat a young man in purple robes.

He looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six.

Tall and upright.

Elegant, refined, and courteous.

His handsome face wore a warm and approachable smile.

This man was from the Pill King Hall, and he was in full charge of this assessment.

At present, however, only Elder Mo was receiving him. Luo Xiong and Feng Cheng were nowhere to be seen.

A moment later, the purple-robed youth set down his teacup, turned to Elder Mo, and asked with a smile, “Elder Mo, half an hour has already passed. Why has Hall Master Luo still not arrived? If he is busy, then there is no need to disturb him. Just bring me the list yourself.”

“This...” Elder Mo hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Should I go and take a look?”

“That would be fine. Go quickly and return quickly,” the purple-robed youth said with a smile.

Elder Mo rose to his feet and quickly arrived outside Luo Xiong’s side residence. Without even knocking, he pushed straight in.

Luo Xiong and Feng Cheng were sitting on the stone stools in the courtyard, both with dark expressions, silent and unmoving.

The atmosphere here was especially heavy.

Elder Mo strode over and frowned. “What are you two still sitting here for? That Lin Chen is already growing impatient. And the list of candidates for tomorrow’s assessment—have you decided on it yet or not?”

Feng Cheng immediately looked up and snapped, “We haven’t even found Jiang Haotian. What list are you asking for?”

“Are we supposed to keep dragging this out for the rest of our lives if we never find Jiang Haotian?”

“I admit Jiang Haotian’s talent in alchemy is unmatched.”

“But we cannot break the rules because of him!”

“And we certainly cannot delay the future of the other disciples because of him!”

“You are all important figures in the Pill Hall. Do I really need to remind you of that?”

Elder Mo barked.

Feng Cheng glared furiously at Elder Mo.

Luo Xiong, however, remained silent.

After a long while, Luo Xiong let out a faint sigh and said, “Old Feng, since Jiang Haotian still hasn’t returned by now, the chances are he has met with grave misfortune. Let’s just assume he never existed.”

Feng Cheng shook his head. “No. That boy is so clever—how could he possibly die outside? I refuse to believe it.”

After thinking for a while longer, Luo Xiong nodded. “All right. Go search again. If you still haven’t found him by tomorrow morning, I’ll have to give the reserved spot to Cheng Yi.”

Elder Mo frowned. “Hall Master, Lin Chen wants the list right now.”

Luo Xiong waved a hand. “It’s fine. I’ll go speak with him. I’ll give him the list tomorrow instead. He should still grant me that much face. Old Mo, you go with Old Feng and keep searching.”

“Understood.”

Elder Mo nodded.

Luo Xiong stood up, left the side residence, and strode toward the reception hall, his brows knitted in worry all the way.

“That damn brat. If I ever find you, I’ll skin you alive!”

Inside the courtyard, Feng Cheng grew angrier the more he thought about it. He slammed his palm hard onto the stone table before him, then sprang to his feet with a gloomy face and left the Pill Hall with Elder Mo to continue investigating outside.