Li Yundong glanced down, only to see a familiar figure standing below, dressed in clothing far too fashionable and revealing for the current scene. The moment Li Yundong recognized the face, he was stunned: “Ding Nan? Why are you here? You’ve reached Foundation Establishment?”
But quickly, Li Yundong noticed the brown-haired, blue-eyed woman Ding Nan was gripping. It was Orba, the one who had been clamoring with Chris and the others to take him as a master!
Li Yundong was startled again: “What is she doing here? Ding Nan, have you lost your mind? Let her go now!”
Ding Nan was trembling violently. Her greatest fear was being disliked by Li Yundong, her deepest dread being his contempt. Yet, before her, Li Yundong’s gaze—a mixture of fury and shock—felt like sharp blades, carving into her heart one cut at a time.
Gritting her teeth, Ding Nan choked out, “Li Yundong, if you don’t want her to die, hand over the Earth Spirit Elixir!”
Li Yundong could scarcely believe his eyes. He exclaimed, “Ding Nan! Have you been with Zheng Yuan for too long and lost your humanity? You’re using an innocent person as a hostage? Are you even the Ding Nan I knew?”
Ding Nan suddenly felt a sharp dagger pierce her chest. She shook uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face as she let out a strange, brittle laugh. “Yes, I am no longer the Ding Nan you knew! Hurry up and choose. This person’s life or death is in your single thought!”
Although Orba didn't understand Chinese, she wasn't foolish. Seeing the situation, she guessed the core of the issue. Filled with terror, she screamed at Li Yundong in English, “Help me, Master, save me!”
Orba was a rare beauty, tall and voluptuous, radiating a strong South American allure. Her desperate pleas were enough to soften the hardest heart, and many cultivators turned their faces away, unable to watch.
A flicker of pity crossed Li Yundong’s eyes. He secretly shook his head and spoke coldly to Ding Nan, “Ding Nan, you have fallen into the demonic path! Furthermore, if this Earth Spirit Elixir falls to you, it will inevitably reach Zheng Yuan! Zheng Yuan is a beast in human skin, capable of every wickedness. If the Elixir is in his hands, countless more innocents will perish. To perform a small kindness now only nurtures a greater evil. Saving Orba by letting more innocents die at Zheng Yuan’s hands would not be benevolence, but aiding a tyrant—the greatest wickedness on earth!”
Li Yundong’s gaze grew colder, his voice chilling. “However, I must tell you this: if you dare to kill her, from this moment on, you will no longer be my friend, no longer my classmate—you will be my enemy! The next time I see you, I will show no mercy and will certainly carry out heaven’s justice! Anyone who dares harm those close to me, I will hunt them to the ends of the earth. No matter how vast the sky, there will be no place for them to hide; no matter how wide the land, there will be nowhere for them to conceal themselves!!”
Li Yundong’s words were decisive, brimming with a chilling killing intent that made the onlookers feel sick. For a moment, the entire Tiandu Peak fell silent. Some watched Ding Nan and Li Yundong intently, observing the unfolding situation, while others, stunned by Li Yundong’s power, even began to waver in their resolve.
Ding Nan, too, was momentarily subdued by Li Yundong’s overwhelming aura. She instinctively took a step back, her grip on Orba’s throat loosening slightly.
The moment Ding Nan eased her hold, Orba sensed it and struggled frantically. Distracted, Ding Nan accidentally let go, allowing Orba to break free and stumble a couple of steps away.
Zheng Yuan, hidden in the shadows, saw Ding Nan’s failure to react. Enraged, he flicked his whisk, sending the delicate fibers out like a whip, snatching Orba back in an instant.
Ding Nan snapped back to reality, swiftly retreating to Zheng Yuan’s side. She forced a smile. “Master, Li Yundong isn't taking the bait. What now?”
Zheng Yuan sneered, “Then kill her. It will serve to disrupt Li Yundong’s state of mind just as well!”
Saying this, Zheng Yuan raised his hand, preparing to strike Orba’s crown of the head.
Orba let out a shriek of sheer terror. Ding Nan trembled violently and quickly stepped in front of Zheng Yuan. “Master, no!”
Zheng Yuan turned his face, his gaze icy and suspicious, studying Ding Nan word by word in a chilling tone. “Are you the Ping'er I know?”
Ding Nan’s heart tightened. She managed a weak smile. “Master, what are you saying? If I am not Ping’er, then who am I?”
Zheng Yuan’s eyes were like electricity, fixing intently on Ding Nan’s face, as if trying to see straight through her soul. “The Ping’er I knew was not such a sentimental fool! Such a nobody—killing her is nothing. Especially a foreigner? Hmph, you dare speak for her?”
Cold sweat beaded on Ding Nan’s forehead. Her thoughts raced. She quickly explained, “Master, you always taught your disciple: before entering the city gate, first consider the road ahead. What if we seize the Earth Spirit Elixir, but Li Yundong refuses to let us go? Or what if we fail to seize it and end up in a severely disadvantageous position, and Li Yundong comes after us again? In that case, having a shield is better than having nothing, isn't it?”
Zheng Yuan stared at Ding Nan for a long time, so intensely that she almost couldn't remain standing. Finally, he let out a humph and retracted his hand, stating coldly, “Then let this foreigner live a while longer!”
With that, he stood with his hands behind his back, looking sinisterly at Li Yundong, and muttered quietly, “This fellow is indeed tricky, relying on his high cultivation to hold the line up there! If this alchemy chamber remains besieged for too long, and the commotion grows too loud, attracting wider attention, what then?”
As he spoke, Li Yundong, positioned above the alchemy chamber, was also feeling anxious. Though his imposing stance had momentarily deterred Ding Nan and caused the surrounding cultivators to pause, resulting in a brief, profound silence on Tiandu Peak, he was far from relaxed.
Li Yundong surveyed the surroundings. Through the thick night curtain, he could vaguely make out several figures moving, while countless others remained hidden in the shadows, clearly waiting for the optimal moment to deliver a decisive blow.
But he, Zi Yuan, and Zhou Qin stood directly above the alchemy chamber, bathed in a halo of seven-colored light—as exposed as stars under a stage spotlight, every detail visible!
This situation infuriated Li Yundong to the core!
Zhou Qin noticed Li Yundong frowning and mistakenly assumed he was worried about Orba being used as a hostage. She secretly blamed herself, thinking this tragedy wouldn't have occurred if she hadn't been so willful. Feeling heavy-hearted, she quietly said, “Master, I need to apologize to you…”
Li Yundong paused. “For what?”
Zhou Qin hesitated, biting her lip, about to speak softly when Li Yundong raised a hand to stop her. “We’ll discuss it when we get back. For now, let’s figure out how to escape this wretched place. We’ve been set up by that scoundrel Wan Zhenyuan and are caught in an impossible situation!”
Zi Yuan gave a wry smile. “Three Earth Spirit Elixirs! He’s truly making a massive sacrifice! I can hardly imagine it—such a massive hot potato. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of anything like it. We might just get burned to death by it!”
Li Yundong snorted coldly. “To give is to receive beforehand! One Earth Spirit Elixir is enough for a cultivator to break through a bottleneck; why would anyone need so many? Unless he plans to mass-produce Golden Immortal experts!”
Zhou Qin felt a slight relief that Li Yundong wasn't dwelling on her mistake for the moment. She managed a smile and tried to comfort him. “Master, why don’t we just consume these three Earth Spirit Elixirs right now and let the rest of these guys stare angrily?”
Li Yundong chuckled darkly. “There are four of us, and only three Earth Spirit Elixirs here. How do we divide them?”
Zhou Qin paused, but quickly responded, “Of course, you, Zi Yuan, and Su Chan will take them.”
Li Yundong looked at her. “And you? You don’t want one?”
Zhou Qin smiled and shook her head. “I just consumed the Human Essence Golden Pill. How can I take an Earth Spirit Elixir right after? No matter how blessed a person is, there’s no precedent for taking two immortal pills in succession—won’t that shorten one’s lifespan?”
Li Yundong looked deeply at Zhou Qin, nodding silently in approval. He changed the subject abruptly. “By the way, where is Chan’er? I heard her voice just now, but where is she?”
Zi Yuan sighed ruefully. “When Su Chan spoke up earlier, she alerted the other cultivators, drawing the fire of their magic treasures. In her panic, she vanished without a trace. I honestly don’t know where she is now.”
Li Yundong was both exasperated and amused. He shook his head. “That girl… Forget it. Although Chan’er’s magic power isn't great, her ability to protect herself is exceptional. She must have shaken them off and is currently hidden in the shadows like the others, waiting for a chance to help me. If the enemy had truly captured Su Chan, they would have used her to threaten me by now.”
Zi Yuan nodded in agreement. She glanced around and whispered, “But… if we just drag this out…”
Li Yundong interrupted decisively. “Drag it out for as long as we can! Better yet, drag it until dawn! I’m sure these people are all concealing their sect identities because they all intend to swallow these three Earth Spirit Elixirs themselves. Once daylight breaks, hmph, let’s see how they can stay hidden then!”
As Li Yundong finished speaking, a raspy voice echoed from the darkness. “Venerable Li, what an appetite you have, wanting to swallow three Earth Spirit Elixirs alone?”
Li Yundong sneered coldly. “Who are you? Care to state your sect and name?”
The voice immediately fell silent, but then another, belonging to a middle-aged man, rang out in the night. “Venerable Li, do you truly believe you can absorb three Earth Spirit Elixirs by yourself? Aren't you afraid of choking?”
Soon, another voice spoke indignantly, “Exactly! You greedy brat, aren’t you afraid of heavenly retribution for being too avaricious?”
Li Yundong burst into loud laughter. “The only reason Wan Zhenyuan could refine the Earth Spirit Elixirs was because I provided the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus! If he only needed one Elixir, then the remaining three naturally belong to me! This should have been mine from the start—on what grounds do you claim them?”
A hush fell over the crowd; no one could retort. Those unconvinced jutted their necks out and argued, “Such spiritual elixirs naturally go to whoever sees them first, whoever is capable gets them. On what basis does a mere child like you claim all three Earth Spirit Elixirs?”
Zheng Yuan, unwilling to be left out, stepped forward and boomed, “Venerable Li, why don’t you offer two of them up, and we can all share? That would be better than spoiling our camaraderie, wouldn't it?”
The moment Li Yundong saw Zheng Yuan, he gritted his teeth. “Zheng Yuan, you actually have the nerve to say something like that? Let me tell you, I would rather feed these Earth Spirit Elixirs to the dogs than give them to you!”
Zheng Yuan’s face changed dramatically, becoming utterly ferocious. “Then don’t blame me! Li Yundong, don't regret this!”
Li Yundong roared with laughter. “Come at me if you dare!”
Although Zheng Yuan possessed the Netherworld Five-Zhang Soul-Hooking Jade, Li Yundong’s recent display of divine power had instilled a deep fear in him, dampening his initial certainty of victory. He thought to himself: A gentleman’s revenge is not too late even after ten years! This brat is arrogant now, but once I secure the Earth Spirit Elixirs and strengthen the Netherworld Five-Zhang Soul-Hooking Jade further, I will torture him until he is neither man nor ghost!
While cursing Li Yundong viciously in his mind, Zheng Yuan slowly retreated, melting back into the darkness.
Tiandu Peak settled into silence once more. Everyone seemed wary of something; even hushed whispers ceased, creating an unnerving quiet.
Li Yundong frowned, feeling a subtle strangeness. “Are they… trying to drag this out too? Surely not?”
Zi Yuan tilted her head slightly. “I think I hear something strange…”
Li Yundong immediately countered, “What sound?”
Zi Yuan frowned. “Listen, it sounds like a rustling noise.”
Li Yundong listened carefully, momentarily stunned. “There does seem to be a sound… Where is it coming from?”
Zhou Qin listened intently as well. After a moment of hesitation, she suddenly said, “It seems to be coming from… right beneath our feet?”
The instant her words ended, the seven-colored light inside the alchemy chamber beneath them vanished in a flash!
Li Yundong whipped his head down and saw a figure dart out within the chamber, snatching the remaining three Earth Spirit Elixirs, and then quickly diving toward the medicinal pool!
Li Yundong erupted in fury. “How dare you dig under the feet of the Great Sage—you’re courting death!!” With that, his figure instantly transformed into a streak of green light, giving chase!
============================================== Still owe you one chapter; I really can't catch up today... A pity...