Chapter 89: Chapter 88: Chain Reaction
Qin Li’s shout was like a lion’s roar. Nearly everyone hiding on all sides of Phoenix Mountain heard it; it was even audible for miles from the South Shore.
Standing atop a peak on the East Shore, Hu frowned and said, "I think I heard the Young Master’s voice. Did you guys hear anything?"
In private, Hu and the others all addressed Qin Li respectfully as "Young Master." Nothing can be accomplished without standards. If Qin Li became powerful in the future and they were still casually calling him "little bro," others would surely take offense, even if Qin Li himself didn’t mind. As adults, they all understood this well.
Leng Yao’s brow furrowed slightly as she gazed southward. "That sounded like him! Could he be in danger?"
"Then what should we do?" Bu Yunyan asked, a little nervous.
She had good reason to be nervous. Throughout the night, they had seen at least ten different groups of people flying toward the Ancient Ruins at Phoenix Lake. At the same time, they could occasionally hear the sounds of fierce battles echoing from the surrounding mountains.
There were probably at least a thousand people gathered around Phoenix Lake by now!
The Spirit Beasts on Phoenix Mountain were terrifying, but the power humans could unleash when driven by obsession was equally formidable. They could always find some way to reach the Phoenix Lake Shore.
"Let’s go," Hu said thoughtfully. "We’ll leave here and head back to Yellow Sand City. We’ll lay low for a while. I told the Young Master where we’re staying, so he’ll know where to find us when he gets back."
"That’s right. There’s no benefit to staying here, and I suspect our journey back won’t be very peaceful," Leng Yao analyzed calmly.
"I have what it takes to avoid them," Hu said confidently. The group glanced once more toward the distant south, but they couldn’t see a thing.
"Follow them. Escort these humans all the way out of the Forest," a peerlessly beautiful girl ordered the Celestial Level Spirit Beast, the Iron-armed Ape, from the shadows.
The Iron-armed Ape’s shadow flickered and vanished. The White Fox glanced worriedly to the south. That was the territory of her sworn enemy. He was the one who had inflicted her current injuries. For her to go there now would be suicide.
After a long hesitation, a troubled expression crossed the girl’s face. She sat down cross-legged and thought, ’If he dies, I will avenge him!’
As for Chen Yihan, he had already ordered the Royal Martial Artists guarding the valley entrance to stand down and let the other Martial Artists from various regions enter. If they wanted to court death, he might as well oblige them.
No one had anticipated just how dangerous these Ancient Ruins would be. It was danger at every turn!
He couldn’t imagine which depraved, twisted ancestor from Ancient Times had been so perverse as to lay all sorts of Illusion Skills in every single room. They were so powerful it was absurd! Even Celestial Level Martial Artists who encountered them would have their minds thrown into turmoil. If not for the fact that his people were exceptionally powerful with incredibly resilient souls, they would have either died or been driven mad.
Even so, of the nine remaining Royal Tributors, five had basically lost all their Combat Power. Chen Yihan knew this mission was a total failure. He might as well lift the blockade. In truth, he couldn’t have maintained it any longer anyway. Whoever had the skill could go down and try their luck.
After a night of insanity and devastating losses, even an expert at the ninth stage of the Celestial Level like Chen Yihan felt utterly dejected and exhausted. He couldn’t remember the last time he had experienced such a resounding failure.
As the sky began to brighten, a roar filled with grief and fury suddenly echoed from the distant South Shore. The four words—"Yellow Sand City... Qin Family"—reached Chen Yihan’s ears clearly. His heart stirred, and he muttered, "The Qin Family?"
After a moment of hesitation, Chen Yihan waved his hand. "We’re leaving! Back to Yellow Sand City to regroup!"
At the same time, countless powerful Martial Artists who heard the roar found complicated thoughts stirring within them. This was especially true for the factions that had suffered losses in the ruins. Upon hearing the two words "Qin Family," they couldn’t help but feel a surge of intense resentment and jealousy.
’Damn it! We’re here fighting for our lives, and some bastard just stumbled upon a heavenly treasure on the south side?’
At this point, few people bothered to analyze whether the grief-stricken roar was genuine or not. Even if there was only a one-in-a-thousand chance of it being true, they would still take it. Besides, the possibility of it being a hoax was minuscule. What bored Martial Artist with a death wish would dare to provoke Celestial Level experts?
Common people might not understand, but anyone with the slightest bit of status knew all about the supreme treasures within the Ancient Ruins at Phoenix Lake. The various artifacts that an Adventurer had luckily brought out years ago were now mostly in the imperial palace. Even His Majesty the Emperor was reluctant to use them lightly. Why? Because every single one possessed a spatial storage function! What’s more, things like fresh fruit stored inside wouldn’t spoil for a year or two!
These... these were true treasures!
The brilliant and glorious civilization of the Ancient Era was simply incomparable to the present age. That was why relics from Ancient Times were so alluring and why they were pursued with such fanaticism!
The Qin Family, the Qin Family!
At that moment, the minds of the vast majority were no longer on Phoenix Lake; their thoughts had already flown back to Yellow Sand City. The Royal Family had brought such a powerful force and still came away with nothing. What hope did the rest of them have?
"Let’s go! Back to Yellow Sand City!" In an instant, countless people were giving the order. Their new destination: Yellow Sand City.
...
Qin Hongyuan was furious. Utterly, incandescently furious! His rage was simply uncontrollable.
Right now, he was filled with regret. He regretted so many things. He regretted not sending someone to crush that little bastard years ago! He regretted being too lenient with the brothers Qin Feng and Qin Hu all these years. He regretted letting Qin Feng and Qin Hu take men to Phoenix Lake to "broaden their horizons"...
There were so many more regrets. In his entire life, the iron-fisted patriarch had never felt such intense regret and seething hatred.
Qin Hongyuan first learned of the incident because of the Mo Family.
Lord Mo, whose daughter had suffered a terrible injustice, had not been blinded by hatred. He knew that his family’s power was absolutely no match for the Qin Family. With two Celestial Level experts in their ranks, the Qin Family was an existence the Mo Family could not afford to provoke.
But the brutal deaths of over a dozen Profound Level Martial Artists and the humiliation his daughter had endured—that could not simply be forgotten!
Otherwise, even if no one else found out, how would his own daughter view him as a father from now on?
Thus, a calmly worded letter was delivered to Patriarch Qin Hongyuan’s desk.
To be fair, Lord Mo had written the letter with stark objectivity. Devoid of any personal emotion, it simply recounted the events of that day to Qin Hongyuan in a calm, narrative tone.
When it came down to it, whether it was Mo Feifei or Qin Feng and Qin Hu, none of them could shirk their responsibility. If they hadn’t been overcome by greed, if they hadn’t been trying to scheme against Qin Li, none of this would ever have happened!
But the problem was that after Qin Li appeared, the performance of the two brothers, Qin Feng and Qin Hu, had been utterly disappointing!
