60: Chapter 60 Dark Night Murder, Mass Grave

The blood-written letter, with its hideous handwriting, seemed to carry a cold mockery, piercing deep into his heart.

A towering murderous intent, like a physical cold current, swept out, and the air inside the bamboo hut instantly dropped to the freezing point.

Even the candle flames flickered unsteadily, nearly on the verge of being extinguished.

Lin Qingxue's face turned pale as she looked at the shocking blood-red characters on the table.

She then looked at Ye Chen's eyes, which had suddenly turned blood-red as if he wanted to devour someone, and a great wave of shock rose in her heart as well.

Xiao Yu—that well-behaved, sensible little girl who always sweetly called him "Brother"—had been taken by the Black Wind Stockade?

How did they know about this place?

Was it Wang Mang? Or Ye Hu?

Or was there a mole?

"Black Wind Stockade! I'm going to tear you all into ten thousand pieces!"

Scarface smashed his fist onto the table, wood chips flying, his eyes crimson.

Lin Dong, Chen Feng, and Liu Yiyi were all filled with righteous indignation, both shocked and furious.

Ye Chen stared fixedly at the blood letter, his knuckles turning white from clenching. His nails dug deep into his palms, drawing blood, yet he seemed completely unaware of it.

He forced himself to calm down, his mind spinning rapidly.

How did the Black Wind Stockade know Xiao Yu was here?

Did they know when they were ambushed at the valley entrance, or did they find out later?

What was their purpose in kidnapping Xiao Yu? To force him to show himself?

To extort treasures?

Or was it related to the person behind the scenes?

"Ye Chen, calm down!"

Lin Qingxue suppressed the panic in her heart, took a step forward, and pressed down on Ye Chen's clenched fist.

Her hand was icy, yet it carried a trace of unquestionable firmness.

"Since the Black Wind Stockade left a blood letter and took Xiao Yu as a hostage, it means Xiao Yu should be safe for the time being. Their true target is you and the things you carry. Being impulsive now will only lead you into their trap!"

Ye Chen slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the blood-red color in his eyes had slightly receded.

Replacing it was a bottomless coldness and madness.

Ye Chen loosened his hand; his palm was already a bloody mess.

He spoke word by word, his voice hoarse yet clear.

"Big Brother Scarface, besides Uncle Lin and you, who else knows about this base? Have any outsiders been here recently?"

Scarface's expression was grim as he said in a heavy voice,

"This place is a property the Master secretly set up years ago. Very few people know about it. Besides the Master, the Young Miss, and me, only a few trusted core Elders know its specific location."

"As for recently... Young Miss, before we came out, did you ever mention it to anyone else?"

Lin Qingxue frowned and shook her head.

"I only mentioned to my father that if things went poorly, we could meet here. Father would certainly not leak it. Unless something went wrong with the messenger, or there is a mole within the Lin Family."

She spoke the last few words very softly, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.

The Lin Family was not a monolithic entity.

Although the Grand Elder's faction had lost power, it was hard to guarantee there weren't others with ulterior motives.

Ye Chen remained silent.

A mole... that was the worst-case scenario.

But now was not the time to investigate. The priority was to rescue Xiao Yu.

"In three days, the mass grave."

Ye Chen looked out at the pitch-black night, his gaze sharp as a blade.

"They gave me three days because they calculated that I would need time to recover and time to consider. They also want to see if I have any helpers. But they won't expect that I recover faster than they think."

He turned to look at everyone.

"Big Brother Scarface, I need you to return to Qingyun City immediately. Use every possible means to secretly investigate the exact location where Xiao Yu is being held, how many people the Black Wind Stockade brought this time, who the leader is, and what their strength is."

"Remember, do not alert anyone, especially those within the Lin Family. Clear Snow, your injuries haven't healed, and you attract attention easily. Stay here for now with Lin Dong, Miss Liu, and Brother Chen. Guard this place and protect yourselves."

"If I fail to return in three days, return to the Lin Family on your own and tell Uncle Lin everything."

"No! I want to go with you!" Lin Qingxue said urgently.

"If you go, it will only distract me."

Ye Chen looked at her, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

"The Black Wind Stockade wants me to go alone. If you appear, they might get desperate and harm Xiao Yu. Don't worry, I won't be reckless. Since they want to play, I'll play with them until the end."

He looked at the bloody wolf head emblem on the table, his lips curling into an extremely cold arc.

"Want my life? Want the things on me? Fine. Exchange them with all of your lives."

At this moment, Ye Chen's entire body emitted a heart-palpitating cold murderous intent, as if he were an Asura returning from Hell.

Scarface and the others felt a chill in their hearts, knowing this youth was truly enraged and had developed a killing intent.

"Young Master Ye, I will go with you!" Scarface gritted his teeth.

"One more person means more help."

"No need. You going back to gather information is more useful than following me."

Ye Chen shook his head.

"Moreover, I need you to protect Clear Snow."

Seeing Ye Chen's determined attitude, Scarface said no more and nodded heavily.

"Young Master Ye, take care! I will definitely find out the truth!"

"There's no time to lose. Set off immediately and act cautiously."

Scarface didn't delay any longer. He bowed to Lin Qingxue and turned to vanish into the night.

After Scarface left, the atmosphere in the bamboo hut became even more solemn.

Lin Qingxue looked at Ye Chen, her beautiful eyes filled with worry and frustration.

But she also knew that following him now would indeed be a burden.

She bit her lip and took out the profound ice token from her robe, pressing it into Ye Chen's hand.

"Take this, it might be useful. Also, I have some life-saving Medicinal Pills and Talismans given by my father..."

She handed a small silk pouch to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen did not refuse and took the pouch and the profound ice token.

Feeling the faint fragrance and the cool touch belonging to her remaining on the token, his heart warmed slightly.

"Don't worry, I will bring Xiao Yu back, and I will... return safely."

He spoke no more, sat down cross-legged on the spot, and began to recover with all his strength.

In the previous battle, Ye Chen seemed to have killed the Violent Bear easily.

In reality, the consumption was enormous, especially using the prototype of the Ice Fire Reincarnation Seal, which was no small burden on his mind.

He wanted to use these three days not only to recover his strength,

but also to attempt to completely master the power he had just broken through, and even charge toward the Wheel Sea Realm!

Only with stronger power could he deal with a greater crisis.

Lin Qingxue and the others also quietly dispersed to handle the funeral of Old Man Wu and his grandson and to guard the surroundings.

For the next two days and nights, Ye Chen did not sleep or rest, immersing himself in Cultivation.

He swallowed the precious Medicinal Pills given by Lin Qingxue.

He then took out the mass of fire spirit marrow that had not been fully refined yet, absorbing the pure and gentle earth fire Origin within it.

Combined with the Ice Lotus Imprint, he further tempered his Physical Body and stabilized the balance between ice and fire.

Inside his Dantian, the ice-fire cyclone spun faster and faster, becoming more solid, and his Meridian Opening Sixth Level Peak cultivation was completely stabilized.

He even faintly touched the deepest part of that invisible barrier.

On the evening of the third day, the setting sun was like blood, dyeing the edge of the sky red.

Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes. Deep in his pupils, flashes of ice-blue and golden-red light vanished in an instant. His aura was as heavy and calm as an abyss, deeper and more restrained than before.

Although he hadn't broken through to the Wheel Sea Realm, he felt that

his power, control, and understanding of the power of ice and fire had reached a brand-new height.

Facing the Violent Bear again now, Ye Chen was confident he could take its life within ten moves.

"It's time."

He stood up and stretched his limbs, his body making crisp popping sounds.

Lin Qingxue and the others had been guarding nearby. Seeing him wake up, they hurriedly came forward.

"Ye Chen, you..."

"Wait for my news."

Ye Chen interrupted her, leaving behind the profound ice token and the remaining pills and Talismans.

He only took the ice scar sword and the jade box containing the fire spirit marrow.

He then changed into a set of black tight-fitting clothes suitable for night action.

"If by this time tomorrow I haven't returned and no news has been sent back, you must leave here immediately, return to Qingyun City, and tell Uncle Lin everything so he can make plans early."

"Brother Ye, I'll go with you!"

Lin Dong said with red eyes.

"No. With more people, it's easier for things to go wrong. Trust me."

Ye Chen patted Lin Dong's shoulder and gave Lin Qingxue a deep look.

Without further hesitation, he turned and, like a shadow merging into the night, quietly left the bamboo hut.

He sped off toward the mass grave west of Qingyun City.

The sun completely sank below the horizon, and darkness enveloped the land.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one.

...

West of Qingyun City, the mass grave.

This was the most desolate and gloomy place outside the city, with graves everywhere, overgrown wild grass, crying night owls, and flickering phosphorus fires.

On ordinary days, even beggars were unwilling to spend the night here.

Tonight, deep within the mass grave, on a relatively open patch of wasteland, several bonfires weirdly lit up.

Under the firelight, dozens of ferocious bandits from the Black Wind Stockade

were sitting in small groups, drinking wine, eating meat, and laughing loudly.

It was as if this weren't a graveyard, but their own stockade.

The air was filled with the smell of wine, meat, and a faint scent of blood.

In the center of the crowd, tied to a crooked withered tree, was a small figure.

It was Xiao Yu!

Her small face was dirty, her lips were dry and cracked, and her clothes were somewhat tattered.

But in her large eyes, there wasn't much fear, only stubbornness and worry.

Her mouth was stuffed with a piece of rag, preventing her from making a sound.

She could only stare fixedly at the man sitting on a tiger-skin chair by the bonfire, his build as burly as an iron tower.

This was a one-eyed middle-aged man with a hideous scar on his face and one blind eye.

He was the Chieftain of the Black Wind Stockade, the Black Wind Fiend!

A master at the Lun Hai Jing Fourth Level!

Beside him stood several trusted subordinates with decent auras.

One of them was the Ghost Old Man who had previously escaped from the Molten Fire Abyss!

The Ghost Old Man's eyes were filled with venom as he occasionally looked toward Qingyun City.

"Damn it, does that kid even dare to come? The moon is already high in the sky!"

A bandit took a swig of wine and cursed impatiently.

"What's the rush? The Chieftain is brilliant; that kid cares most about his sister, he'll definitely come!"

Another bandit flattered.

The Black Wind Fiend's single eye flickered with a murderous light as he toyed with a heavy nine-ring ghost head saber in his hand, his voice sounding like sandpaper rubbing together.

"Whether he comes or not, he has to die. Daring to kill my second and third brothers and snatching my Opportunity—if I don't skin him alive, I won't be able to quench the hatred in my heart! Ghost Old Man, are you sure that kid really has the ice lotus and earth core fire crystal treasures on him?"

The Ghost Old Man said sinisterly,

"Rest assured, Chieftain, I saw it with my own eyes. That kid obtained a great Opportunity deep in the Molten Fire Abyss. Not only can he control cold qi, but he later also absorbed the power of the earth core fire crystal, causing his strength to skyrocket."

"As long as we catch him and force out the secret, or refine him, your cultivation will surely reach the next level! Even breaking through to the Wheel Sea Realm Late Stage won't be difficult!"

"Hehe, that's good!"

The Black Wind Fiend gave a cruel laugh.

"Once we catch that kid and find out the secret, we'll do this to the little girl right in front of him..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his single eye suddenly narrowed, looking into the depths of the dark mass grave.

An ice-cold, bone-chilling murderous intent, like a tide in the dark night, silently spread toward them.

"He's here."