34: Chapter 34 You want justice? I'll give you death.

The boot embroidered with golden cloud patterns did not budge even an inch because of the charred lump of rotten flesh beneath it.

The owner of the boot was a woman in military attire, with twin swords hanging at her waist and eyes as cold as icicles in the dead of winter.

"Save… save me…"

The "charcoal" on the ground struggled to squirm, and on that face where features could no longer be distinguished, the mouth opened and closed, emitting a roar like a broken bellows: "He is… he is that Servant… Kill him! Chop him into meat paste for me!"

That was the voice of the Ninth Prince, Xia Yan.

Even after being burned into such a ghastly state, the resentment carved into his very bones had not diminished in the slightest.

Following this command, the air suddenly tightened.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Dozens of Black Armored Guards moved instantly.

Cold iron halberds fell in an interlocking pattern, forming a steel cage through which not even a fly could pass, tightly sealing off all of Ye Feng's escape routes.

The Killing Intent was chilling.

Ye Feng stopped in his tracks, holding the broken sword that had just drunk its fill of the earth vein's fire Qi, and tilted his head.

There was no fear, not even a trace of surprise.

In this man-eating world, if you beat a dog and its master comes out to bite back, it is only natural.

"Did you swallow the Earth Core Fire Lotus?"

The woman in military attire, Xiao Yue, finally spoke, her voice cold and carrying the scrutiny of one in a high position: "That is the medicinal ingredient used to sustain the life of Your Highness. Hand it over, and I will leave your corpse intact."

Ye Feng sneered.

"You want it? Go into the pool and fish it out yourself."

"You have a death wish."

Xiao Yue did not even lift her eyelids; she only tapped the hilt of her sword lightly.

Three extremely faint sounds of mechanical triggers snapping rang out amidst the noisy crowd.

Those were armor-piercing crossbows used by the military, capable of piercing metal and stone within a hundred paces.

The angles were tricky, aiming separately for his brow, throat, and heart.

Ye Feng's body swayed slightly, like a willow catkin blown by the wind; by a hair's breadth, three crossbow bolts emitting a deep blue luster flew past his hair.

At the same time, he grasped with his fingers in the air.

The violent heat current he had just swallowed, which had not yet fully settled, surged out along his Meridians.

"Whoosh!"

A cluster of grayish-white flames exploded in his palm, and he swung his hand backhand.

Those three crossbow bolts made of refined steel were instantly engulfed by this overbearing Sword Qi fire in mid-air, melting into three pools of molten iron that dripped onto the ground, scorching several pitch-black pits.

"Devouring Sword Qi fire?"

Just then, Xia Yan, who was lying on the ground, found strength from who knows where and suddenly pulled a blood-red token from his bosom, roaring with a twisted face: "Why are you still wasting words! Activate the formation! Use the 'Royal Blood Token' to deploy the Forbidden Guard Killing Formation! I want to refine him into…"

Before he could finish his sentence.

Ye Feng's figure vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already standing behind Xia Yan.

As fast as a gray streak of lightning.

"Too much nonsense."

Ye Feng was expressionless as he raised his right foot and stomped heavily onto that section of Xia Yan's spine, which had already been burned to a state of extreme fragility.

"Crack!"

The sound of shattering bone was crisp and hair-raising.

The spiritual energy that Xia Yan had been condensing instantly dissipated, and his entire body, like a shrimp with its tendons pulled out, suddenly bent backward.

The scream that was about to burst from his throat was forced back by the intense pain, leaving only the gurgling sound of blood bubbles in his windpipe.

A cultivator's spine is the Great Dragon, the hub for the circulation of spiritual energy.

This stomp did not just break his bones; it completely destroyed his Foundation.

Even if the royal family possessed heaven-defying Spirit Medicine, he would be nothing more than a cripple who could only lie in bed and drool for the rest of his life.

The entire scene was deathly silent.

The hands of those Black Armored Guards holding their halberds were trembling slightly.

To cripple the current Ninth Prince right in front of the daughter of the Great Xia's military family?

This wasn't just a madman; this was a complete Devil Head!

Xiao Yue's hand on her sword froze in mid-air; the contempt in her eyes finally dissipated, replaced by a hint of gravity.

She did not draw her sword, but instead fished a broken sword talisman from her bosom and tossed it over casually.

"Good skills. No wonder you were able to survive in the fire pool."

Xiao Yue's tone was indifferent, as if the person who had just been crippled was not a prince, but an insignificant stray dog: "Lu Zhen has already led men to seal off the entire city, saying he is searching for the remnants of the Ye family. You should recognize this thing."

Ye Feng raised his hand and caught the sword talisman.

It was an ordinary-looking bronze talisman, with the character "Lu" engraved on it in clerical script.

It appeared to be a token of the Lu family.

But the moment Ye Feng gripped the sword talisman, his pupils suddenly contracted into pinpoints.

Gray Sword Qi flickered at his fingertips, instantly shredding the disguise mark on the surface of the sword talisman.

The character "Lu" drifted away with the wind.

Revealing the character "Ye" hidden underneath, written with vigor and strength, radiating endless sharpness!

This was his father's relic!

How could the life-bound sword talisman that his father wore before he went missing all those years ago be in Lu Zhen's hands?

Unless…

Ye Feng looked up abruptly, his gaze passing over Xiao Yue's shoulder toward the center of the capital in the distance.

There, a brilliant signal firework was slowly rising into the sky, exploding into a blood-red skull pattern.

That was the Lu family's kill order to purge their house.

"He is fishing for me."

Ye Feng's voice was icy cold as he gripped the sword talisman in his palm; its sharp edges pierced his skin, and fresh blood seeped into it.

"That is a dead end." Xiao Yue looked at him, "If you turn back now, I can pretend I saw nothing."

"Turn back?"

A ruthless arc curled at the corner of Ye Feng's mouth, as if he had heard some huge joke.

He bent down and grabbed the back of Xia Yan's neck, who had passed out like a dead dog, and lifted this noble Ninth Prince up like a bag of trash.

"In my dictionary, there is only a path of death, no path of turning back."

"Since he wants to go fishing, then I will blow this fish pond to smithereens."

Ye Feng did not look at Xiao Yue again; his figure flickered, turning into a gray afterimage, dragging the half-dead Xia Yan as he charged straight toward the valley entrance.

Xiao Yue watched his departing back and slowly released her hand from the sword hilt.

"Young Miss, do we not need to stop him?" a personal guard asked in a low voice.

"Stop him?" Xiao Yue sneered, "A madman who dares to use a prince as a human shield—that old tiger Lu Zhen is likely to break a few teeth this time."

Outside the valley entrance was a dense forest of black pines.

The wind passed through the forest, emitting a wailing sound.

Ye Feng slowed his pace.

It was too quiet.

Usually, this forest was filled with the constant chirping of birds and roaring of beasts, but today it was eerily silent.

In the air, besides the fresh scent of pine resin, there was also a trace of an extremely faint, pungent smell of horse sweat, and…

That was the bone-chilling cold emitted when hundreds upon hundreds of weapons were drawn from their sheaths.