Chapter 70: Chapter 70: To Follow
"If... within three years, you can obtain a Divine-grade Pill Formula and provide me with all sorts of Top-Grade Alchemy Materials, I will swear to follow you!"
Leng Yao spoke slowly in her usual cool but pleasant voice, then added, "Aside from the portion I use myself, any Elixirs we create will be yours to command!"
Hu took a deep look at Qin Li, then suddenly bowed low. "Qin, this will be the last time I call you that. From now on, you are my lord!"
"That’s not right, Hu. No matter what happens, I’ll always consider you my good brother! Besides, I have nothing to my name right now. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider? And Leng Yao, I can agree to your conditions, but I’ll say it again: I hope you’ll think it over, too. It’s easy for me to say yes—that’s just words—but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to fulfill the promise. But I will give it my all!" Qin Li said with sincerity as he helped Hu up.
Hu smiled and said, "I’m already in my thirties. My mother and adoptive father have long been provided for, but... I want to give them something better! I hope that one day, those who looked down on my parents will feel uneasy and reverent just hearing their names! I want them to live with more dignity and status than they have now! And those things... I can’t give them in this lifetime. Besides money, I can’t give them anything else."
Hu was getting emotional. The rims of the thirty-something-year-old man’s eyes reddened as he continued, "But I believe you can!"
Qin Li was moved. "Hu, for this trust you’ve shown me... I, Qin Li, will never let you down in this life! And from now on, just keep calling me Qin. We’ve been through thick and thin together, which is fundamentally different from those who come later!"
Qin Li’s words warmed the hearts of all three of them. Who doesn’t want to be respected and valued?
Leng Yao looked at Qin Li and said coolly, "Since I’ve made a promise to you, I won’t change my mind. And since I’ve made that promise, it’s natural that I believe in you!"
"You’re crazy. You’re all crazy!" Bu Yunyan muttered, staring at the blazing bonfire. "I might as well go crazy with you... Little Brother Qin, can I keep calling you that from now on? It feels so intimate!"
Qin Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Suit yourself!"
"You said it! Don’t you forget it, hehe..." Bu Yunyan laughed like a triumphant little vixen. This beautiful woman, only in her early twenties, was a natural-born siren.
Qin Li looked at Leng Yao and asked, "Leng Yao, if we want to concoct a Primordial Power Pill, what else do we need besides this One-leaf Centennial Grass we have?"
Leng Yao answered without hesitation, "Besides that, we need a few supplementary medicinal herbs. None of them are too hard to find. As long as we have the One-leaf Centennial Grass, concocting a Primordial Power Pill isn’t a problem. But... are you sure you really want to make a Primordial Power Pill?"
Leng Yao’s question left Qin Li a bit confused. "Is making a Primordial Power Pill a bad thing? At least it would allow the few of us to greatly increase our strength in a short amount of time!"
Hu and Bu Yunyan both nodded at the same time. They were all pragmatic people; there was no need for pretense. What Martial Artist doesn’t want to improve their strength? Anyone who says you must rely solely on your own hard training to get stronger either can’t afford Elixirs or has something wrong with their head.
Not taking a shortcut when one is right in front of you? If that’s not crazy, what is?
Leng Yao said coolly, "Improving our strength is a good thing, of course. But I think it would be a shame to use up this One-leaf Centennial Grass just like that. When I was young, I read some books passed down from Ancient Times. One of them mentioned the One-leaf Centennial Grass, saying it’s a primary ingredient for many Divine-grade Elixirs! So, I think we should hold onto it for now and cultivate it. If we still haven’t obtained a Divine-grade Pill Formula in a few years, it won’t be too late to concoct it into a Primordial Power Pill then."
Qin Li and the others nodded upon hearing this, agreeing with her reasoning. However, Qin Li was sharp enough to read between the lines of Leng Yao’s words. For example, not even Hu and Bu Yunyan knew the origins of this icy beauty. For another, her speech and mannerisms were nothing like those of a child from an ordinary family. Besides, where would a child from an ordinary family even get a chance to read books from Ancient Times?
But these things were ultimately Leng Yao’s private matters. If she didn’t want to talk about them, no one would press her for answers.
Since the three of them had already decided to follow Qin Li, they naturally looked to him to take the lead. Besides, they all wanted to check out Phoenix Lake anyway. Even if they didn’t gain anything from it, it would still be a great experience! After all, an opportunity like this didn’t come by often. You could even say it was once in a lifetime!
In the past, the royal family would typically dispatch a few experts to search the country in secret. But for the emperor to personally send a large number of masters and participate so openly in the fight for a treasure—this was truly a first since the founding of the Cyan Dragon Kingdom!
Therefore, the road to Phoenix Lake would be anything but lonely.
The next morning, after paying their respects to Lao San and Li Jian, the four of them left with a hint of melancholy and continued their journey toward Phoenix Lake.
In truth, the straight-line distance from Yellow Sand City to Phoenix Lake wasn’t particularly far, only a few hundred li. However, several towering mountains pierced the clouds between them, along with two wide rivers, making a direct route to Phoenix Lake an almost impossible task. Fortunately, they had a detailed map, and with the experienced Hunter, Hu, among them, the four of them collected medicinal herbs along the way, making their way toward Phoenix Lake at a steady pace.
Along the way, they encountered some lone Martial Artists and a few groups, but they all just passed each other by. Clearly, everyone’s minds were set on the ruins at Phoenix Lake, and they had little interest in anything else.
Bu Yunyan and Leng Yao had both used Disguise Pills to make their faces considerably less attractive. As a result, their group of four traveled without any trouble, and three days later, they saw the mountain range outside Phoenix Lake.
"Ah, we’re finally here! It looks like there are benefits to having so many people around. They’ve practically carved out a road for us! We didn’t even run into a single decent Spirit Beast along the way!" Bu Yunyan said with some relief.
"It might not be as good as you think," said Qin Li, who had been bickering with her for much of the journey. He squinted, his gaze flickering as he looked ahead thoughtfully.
"Looks like there are a lot of people up ahead," Hu also said softly, squinting his eyes.
Bu Yunyan looked at the two of them in confusion, not quite understanding what they meant. This wasn’t her area of expertise, after all. She had always been in charge of the team’s logistics, sales, and finances.
"Let’s go take a look," Qin Li said, leading them a bit further. Just then, the clamor of many voices gradually reached them.
Qin Li and Hu exchanged a look, both wearing ’I knew it’ expressions. Seeing that Bu Yunyan was still confused, Qin Li smiled and said, "The emperor sent his people here to search for treasure so openly. Why would he just let anyone else walk right in?"
Bu Yunyan froze. People of the Martial World were used to thinking in the ways of the Martial World. She had forgotten that the biggest player vying for the treasure in the Phoenix Lake ruins this time was the royal family!
