51: Chapter 51 Shen Fen's Deadly Search!

The air suddenly congealed.

Dozens of Red Lotus Guards clad in crimson armor exchanged glances, but under the almost tangible killing intent radiating from Shen Fen, no one dared to utter a single word.

"Get down!"

Another violent shout followed, laced with scorching ripples of spiritual power, causing the carriage window frames to creak.

Ye Feng, mingling among several guards, kept his head low and shuffled off the carriage with the crowd.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, a wave of heat drilled straight from the soles of his shoes into his Yongquan acupoints.

The ground at the city gate had been scorched by subterranean fire for so long that it felt like a branding iron.

"Line up and pass the Li Fire Mirror one by one."

Beside Shen Fen, a Disciple of the Refining Fire Sect sneered and raised a bronze mirror.

The mirror's surface was not smooth but surged with a mass of dark red liquid; with every movement, it emitted a visible crimson beam of light.

The first few guards walked past trembling; as the beam swept over them, they showed no abnormalities other than being slightly pale.

It was Ye Feng's turn.

He tried his best to restrain his aura, pushed the fragment of the broken heavy sword into the deepest part of his storage ring, and stepped forward with a submissive expression.

The moment the crimson beam shone on him, Ye Feng's pupils constricted sharply.

It wasn't heat.

It was an incredibly domineering power of pure Yang, like a red-hot steel needle, ignoring his skin and flesh to pierce directly toward his Dantian.

Damn it.

The "Chaos Sword Core" that had just begun to form within him was condensed from devouring thousands of Sword Qi, making it extremely Yin and sharp.

Now, provoked by this pure Yang power, it was like a venomous snake with its tail stepped on, trembling frantically within his Qi Sea, on the verge of erupting with a sky-piercing Sword Intent.

Once the Sword Intent leaked out, at this Red Lotus City gate filled with fire-element Cultivators, it would be no different from lighting a lamp in the dead of night.

It would mean certain death.

"Hmm?"

Shen Fen, who had been sitting on the grand chair with his eyes half-closed, suddenly opened them.

As a Golden Core Cultivator, his sensitivity to changes in energy flow was extremely acute.

Just a moment ago, he felt a minute distortion in the space around that thin, head-bowed guard.

That was the precursor to spiritual power spiraling out of control.

"Stop."

Shen Fen flashed, appearing before Ye Feng like a ghost.

Without wasting words, his hand, withered like a chicken claw, clamped directly onto Ye Feng's right shoulder.

"You look very unfamiliar."

Before his voice even faded, an extremely violent "True Fire Spiritual Power" surged through his fingertips, crashing into Ye Feng's body like a bursting flood.

This was not a test.

This was a lethal strike.

If the opponent were an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator, their Meridians would be instantly burned to ashes by this True Fire; if the opponent were hiding something, they would inevitably mobilize their spiritual power to resist.

Regardless of the outcome, it was exactly what Shen Fen wanted to see.

A bone-piercing, heart-wrenching pain.

Ye Feng felt the Meridians in half of his body wailing; the True Fire rampaged recklessly within him, heading straight for the restless Sword Core in his Dantian.

Resist?

No. As soon as he mobilized his Sword Qi, Shen Fen would immediately detect it.

Then the only option was... to eat it!

A flash of ruthlessness crossed under Ye Feng's lowered eyelids.

Chaos Devouring Sword Body, activate!

The Meridian barriers within him, which had been frantically issuing warnings, suddenly became as soft as a sponge at this moment.

The Golden Core True Fire, capable of melting metal and boiling the sea, encountered no resistance the instant it rushed to the entrance of his Dantian; instead, it was pulled directly inside by a strange suction force.

Attribute conversion, reverse!

Ye Feng roared inwardly, channeling the violent fire spiritual power he had swallowed in a large circle within his body, avoiding the Sword Core, and guiding it all to the soles of his feet.

Crack.

An extremely faint crisp sound.

The incredibly hard basalt floor beneath Ye Feng's feet collapsed by half an inch without warning.

Following that, the hard stone, as if it had endured millions of years of weathering, instantly turned into a pile of gray-white powder, drifting away with the hot wind.

In Shen Fen's perception, the small guard's body was empty, with only a trace of mixed and weak fire-attribute spiritual power trembling; there was no sign of a Sword Cultivator anywhere.

"This subordinate... this subordinate is just a Servant, cultivating the most Low Grade 'Fierce Fire Art'..."

Ye Feng's face turned ghastly pale, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his voice trembled just right.

Shen Fen frowned tightly.

Could that fluctuation just now really have been an illusion?

He increased the force in his palm, preparing to probe deeper, willing to cripple this ant if necessary.

"Shen Fen! You are presumptuous!"

A sharp, girlish cry came from beside the carriage.

Princess Hong Ling had somehow already disembarked, her pretty face covered in frost, clutching a crimson jade pendant carved with nine circling Dragons.

"This is a personal guard I newly recruited on the road. To save me, he even destroyed his life-bound Magical Artifact! As the brother of the State Preceptor, is this how you treat a benefactor of the Royal Family?"

Shen Fen's eye twitched, his gaze lingering for an instant on the jade pendant that represented royal authority, and the hand clamped on Ye Feng's shoulder finally released slowly.

"Princess, you speak too seriously. With the current turbulent situation, this subordinate is just following protocol."

He pulled his lips into a smile that didn't reach his eyes and stepped aside half a step.

"Since he is the Princess's person, then naturally there is no problem. However, this Li Fire Mirror is the hub of the city-protecting formation, and its fire power is too intense; I fear this little brother might not be able to withstand it."

Princess Hong Ling snorted coldly, walked quickly to Ye Feng, and under the guise of helping him, stuffed a bead the size of a dragon's eye, emitting a warm red glow, into Ye Feng's palm.

"Take this! This is the 'Fire-Avoiding Bead' bestowed by my Imperial Father. With this bead protecting your body, the mere Li Fire Mirror cannot harm you."

Ye Feng took the bead, it felt warm to the touch.

Good stuff.

Inside it was sealed a wisp of extremely pure Earth Core Fire source, a supreme treasure of the fire element.

The moment his fingers touched the bead, the pores in Ye Feng's palm slightly opened.

Slurp.

That wisp of pure fire source, which would take others years to refine, was instantly extracted by the Chaos Devouring Sword Body like drinking water and swallowed directly into his abdomen.

Once this fire source entered his body, it immediately formed a thin-as-cicada-wings yet incredibly real layer of flame membrane on the surface of Ye Feng's skin.

Looking at the Li Fire Mirror again, the reflection in the bronze mirror had turned into a mass of burning fire, with no Impurities left.

"Many thanks for the Princess's reward."

Ye Feng tucked the bead, which had already turned into a useless stone, into his bosom, feigning a look of being flattered, and bowed to salute.

This time, even the Li Fire Mirror showed no reaction.

Shen Fen stared fixedly at Ye Feng's back until the group got back onto the carriage and drove into the city gate, which looked like the mouth of a giant beast; the suspicion in his eyes still did not dissipate.

Intuition told him something was wrong.

Although that little guard's aura was hidden perfectly, just a moment ago, he had smelled an extremely faint scent on him.

It was the scent of prey.

"Someone come."

Shen Fen did not turn around, just beckoned to the air.

A confidant of the Refining Fire Sect, dressed in black robes with a flame totem tattooed on his face, appeared silently in the shadows.

"Elder Shen."

"Go, notify the post house. At the banquet tonight to welcome the Princess, bring out that jar of 'Drunken Immortal Brew' buried for sixty years."

Shen Fen stuck out his scarlet tongue and licked his dry lips.

"Remember, in the wine for those guards, even for the Servants who feed the horses, add something. Add that 'Sword-Dissolving Powder' that can make even a Golden Core Cultivator's Meridians flow in reverse."

"If that brat is truly a Sword Cultivator, as long as he touches a single drop, the Sword Qi in his body will explode like boiling water."

"By then, I won't need to do anything; he will blow himself up into a firework."

The confidant took the order and left.

Inside the carriage, Ye Feng leaned against the carriage wall, closing his eyes to rest.

As the carriage drove further and further away, his hands, which had been hidden in his sleeves, gently spread open; in his palm, the originally crystal-clear Fire-Avoiding Bead had turned into a handful of gray powder.

He tilted his head slightly, his ears twitched, and a subtle, imperceptible sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

Sword-Dissolving Powder?

Want to see fireworks?

Fine, then I'll let you see enough.

I just hope that when the time comes, your Shen family can afford the price.