26: Chapter 26 Inside the Prince's Residence, I'll Use Your Life as Firewood

Clang—!

A deafening boom echoed, and even the stone slabs beneath his feet trembled violently for a moment.

As that three-foot-thick iron gate, radiating a chilling aura, fell heavily, the last sliver of natural light was completely swallowed.

The surrounding walls glinted with a cold metallic luster, and the air was thick with a suffocating smell of sulfur.

Only the dark red firelight peeking through the cracks in the floor managed to illuminate this steamer-like cage, a dry heat so intense it distorted one's vision.

This was the Alchemy Room at the deepest part of the Earth Fire Hall, built directly above the main vein of underground magma; it was usually only opened when refining Tier 3 or higher Medicinal Pills.

No Spirit Stones.

Ye Feng glanced at the empty Alchemy platforms around him. His fingertips brushed across a surface, finding only a layer of scalding ash, and a mocking sneer curled the corner of his mouth.

Under normal circumstances, using Earth Fire for Alchemy required a large number of High-Grade Spirit Stones to construct a spiritual energy shield. Otherwise, the Alchemist's mind would be eroded by violent fire toxins, leading to Qi Deviation at best, or severed Meridians at worst.

A harsh metallic scraping sound came from outside the door—the sound of chains locking—followed by the cold snort of a shrill voice, dripping with the petty malice of a sycophant.

Chief Steward Lu, Lu Chen.

He was the middle-aged fat man from the escort journey who had been all smiles, but whose eyes had constantly flickered toward Master Ling Xu's battered medicine chest.

They want the horse to run, but won't give it any grass.

They intended to force him to burn his essence blood to refine this batch of pills, clearly planning to make Ye Feng trade his life for that Nine Yang Restoration Pill.

An indescribable dry heat surged from the soles of his feet straight to his crown, as if he were stepping on a branding iron.

Without a spiritual energy shield to isolate it, the underground fire toxin was like countless invisible ants, carrying a burning sting as they frantically bored into his pores.

Master Ling Xu had already collapsed onto the floor, his face as pale as paper. He gasped for breath, his throat making a sound like a broken bellows, his body soaked in sweat that clung to him as if he had just been fished out of a river.

The old man's purple lips trembled as he pointed to a pile of shriveled, moldy herbs on the ground, which Lu Chen had just casually tossed in.

The air was suddenly filled with the stench of rot and mold.

These weren't herbs; they were clearly medicinal dregs.

Half of the fifty-year-old Red Sun Grass was rotten, oozing black fluid, while the Raging Fire Flowers had lost all their petals, leaving only a few brittle stalks that crumbled at a touch.

This was the Third Prince's sincerity?

He wanted the pill to save his life, yet was unwilling to pay the cost, and even wanted to eliminate the Alchemist in the process.

This scheme was so calculated that even the magma underground would laugh in anger.

Ye Feng walked to the pitch-black Earth Fire Well in the center of the Alchemy room.

The mouth of the well was sealed by a complex runic Formation, leaving only a few finger-thick vents that were spewing scorching red light.

How is this little bit of fire enough to eat?

A flash of madness crossed Ye Feng's eyes. He suddenly thrust out his right hand, fingers like claws, and directly gripped the Seal rune that was hot enough to melt gold and iron.

The moment his fingertips touched it, his flesh let out a 'sizzle' of searing heat.

Open for me!

The Chaos Devouring Sword Body within him roared into action. The originally indestructible spiritual energy Seal, upon meeting that overbearing devouring power, was like snow meeting boiling oil.

Srrrrip—

A tooth-aching tearing sound rang out, as if silk were being forcibly shredded.

Ye Feng had actually torn a hole in that sealing Formation with his bare hands.

The long-suppressed earth vein magma instantly found an outlet. A crimson pillar of fire, like a furious flame Dragon, roared toward the ceiling amidst the rumbling of the earth, instantly swallowing Ye Feng's figure.

Insane! This is suicide!

Cowering in the corner, Master Ling Xu's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. A scream was stuck in his throat, but before he could let it out, he saw the youth within the firelight suddenly turn his head.

Those eyes were hotter and more crazed than the magma itself.

Ye Feng's figure blurred, appearing behind Master Ling Xu like a ghost, and he delivered a palm strike to the old man's carotid artery.

There are some things the dead can see, but the living cannot.

Rather than letting him be scared to death, it was better to let him sleep for a while.

Having settled Master Ling Xu, Ye Feng stood back at the edge of the fire well.

The terrifying heat, capable of instantly vaporizing a Golden Core Cultivator, blasted against him, curling his eyebrows and hair. But in his eyes, it was a rare gluttonous feast.

Come.

He opened his mouth and took a powerful breath toward the surging pillar of magma fire.

Whoosh—

The originally wild and scattering flames seemed to be caught by some massive attraction, transforming into a crimson vortex that continuously poured into Ye Feng's mouth.

Exhilarating.

The scalding fire toxin entered his body like a gulp of molten iron. It was instantly crushed by the black Sword Qi in his Dantian, refined to its essence, and transformed into strands of extremely pure fire-attribute Sword Essence that frantically nourished his parched Meridians.

His skin turned crimson like a cooked shrimp, and his bones emitted a series of crackling pops—a rapid metamorphosis under the tempering of the high heat.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn passed.

The red light in Ye Feng's eyes gradually receded, and the once-violent Earth Fire was now as docile as a lamb.

The time has come.

He grabbed the pile of rotten herbs from the floor, not even bothering to wipe off the mold, and stuffed them into his mouth like he was chewing broad beans.

The dry, bitter, and moldy taste exploded in his mouth. If anyone else saw this, they would surely think the youth had gone mad.

Using one's Body as a Furnace was a legendary ancient forbidden technique that had long been lost, and it required Heaven And Earth Treasures for protection.

What was the difference between swallowing waste medicine and braving Earth Fire like this, and seeking death?

But in Ye Feng's logic, everything in the world could be a sword.

Medicinal power is a sword, fire toxin is a sword, and even this rotten world is a stone for grinding his sword.

His internal organs felt like they were burning as the medicinal power, driven by Sword Qi, collided and fused frantically.

Outside the door.

Lu Chen paced back and forth in the corridor with his hands behind his back, his brow furrowed.

Something's not right.

Logically, with the Spirit Stone supply cut off, the screams from inside should have been heard long ago.

But now, it was eerily quiet behind that iron door, and even the heat radiating through it seemed to be weakening.

Could that kid be dead?

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat.

It didn't matter if a Servant died, but if that Nine Yang Restoration Pill wasn't refined, he wouldn't be able to withstand the Third Prince's wrath.

No more waiting.

The iron-cast gate swung open with a boom, and a scorching wave of air laden with a heavy sulfur smell and the scent of char blasted outward.

Before Lu Chen could see the situation inside clearly, he saw a crimson figure sitting cross-legged by the fire well. A ball of piercing red light glowed in the figure's chest and abdomen, as if he were cradling a rising sun.

Is that... the sign of pill Formation?

How is that possible! No Pill Furnace, no Spirit Stones—how did this kid do it?

In the instant Lu Chen was dazed, Ye Feng snapped his eyes open.

Those were not the eyes of a human, but of a Vicious Beast whose meal had been disturbed, his pupils reflecting a chilling killing intent.

Ye Feng opened his mouth and exhaled.

It wasn't a pill, but a breath of waste air that had been pent up in his chest, fused with earth vein fire toxins and herbal Impurities.

The moment this waste air left his body, it was seized by his sharp Sword Intent and transformed into a visible black-red gas arrow, tearing through the air and flying straight for Lu Chen's face.

It was too fast.

At such close range, and with Lu Chen having just burst through the door, he had no time to dodge.

The gas arrow exploded on Lu Chen's chest.

There was no earth-shaking boom, only a muffled flare-up, like oil dripping onto hot coals.

The Protective Aura Lu Chen was so proud of was punctured instantly like a sheet of paper. The expensive dark iron heart-protecting mirror on his chest shattered into countless pieces, clattering to the floor.

His head suffered the worst.

The high-temperature fire toxin swept over him. Before Lu Chen could even scream, he smelled a pungent stench of charring.

His full head of black hair instantly turned to ash, his entire face was scorched black as coal, and his eyebrows and beard were burned clean away.

Thud.

Lu Chen stumbled back several steps and collapsed onto his buttocks. His chest heaved violently as he spat out a mouthful of blood, which was vaporized into a cloud of red mist by the heat before it could even hit the ground.

A Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator was nearly crippled by a single breath of waste air!

Just as Lu Chen was filled with shock and rage, preparing to draw his blade and kill, a clear sword chime suddenly rang out from Ye Feng's palm.

Buzz—

The red light dissipated, and a blood-red pill the size of a longan floated in mid-air.

Nine golden veins flowed across the pill's surface, and a faint sound of sword humming could be heard—a sign that the medicinal power had reached the absolute peak of purity.

Top Grade!

Lu Chen's smoke-reddened eyes went wide, and the killing intent that had been on the tip of his tongue was instantly replaced by greed.

If he presented this pill, not only could he be absolved of today's failure, but he might even gain the Third Prince's favor and be granted the 'Jade Shattering Technique' he had always dreamed of!

As for this kid... humph, once he had the pill, there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with him.

Give it here!

Ignoring the intense pain in his chest and his bald head, Lu Chen lunged forward like a hungry dog and grabbed the still-scalding pill in his hand.

So hot!

It was like holding a red-hot branding iron, and the skin of his palm instantly felt a searing sting. But the rich medicinal fragrance that wafted into his nose made all his pores dilate in pleasure.

It's done! It's really done!

Lu Chen was ecstatic, completely failing to notice the eerie smile now hanging on Ye Feng's slightly pale face.

He noticed even less that at the very core of that blood-red pill, a strand of gray mist, thin as a silk thread, was slowly moving.

That was the Chaos Devouring Sword Intent.

It was medicine, but also a death warrant.

Ye Feng slowly closed his eyes, pretending to be exhausted. He slumped over beside Master Ling Xu, gasping for air.

Well done.

Lu Chen tossed out a lukewarm compliment, didn't spare Ye Feng another look, and turned to run out, clutching his chest and holding the pill.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded.

Ye Feng reopened his eyes. There wasn't a trace of weakness in them, only a coldness as deep as an abyss.

Whatever you take from me, you'll have to spit it back out sooner or later.

With interest.

Fifteen minutes later.

Inside a luxurious study, the floor heating was burning bright and a warm fragrance filled the air, a stark contrast to the stifling heat of the Earth Fire Hall.

Lu Chen, with his bald head, knelt on the floor, holding up the jade box containing the Nine Yang Restoration Pill with both hands, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Before him, on a soft couch covered with snow-white fox fur, Xia Yunting reclined lazily.

Beside him, a woman in thin gauze with a seductive figure peeled a crystalline grape and fed it into his mouth.

That was Su Man, the childhood friend Ye Feng had once risked his life to protect in the Servant quarters, but who was now the most favored maid in the Third Prince's mansion.

Xia Yunting pushed Su Man's hand away, his gaze falling on the jade box, a playful curve touching the corner of his mouth.

He actually refined it?

In that case, let's have a taste of this Trash's handiwork.

He reached out with his slender fingers and slowly picked up the crimson pill.