The Nameless Well

The return of the Bladeback Giant Crocodile came as a pleasant surprise to Li Tianming. The chaos it created worked even more in his favor.

At this moment, the Bladeback Giant Crocodile definitely regarded Liu Qianyang as the thief, so it wanted to kill Liu Qianyang and the Lightning Leopard. As for Li Tianming within the lake, no one had noticed him at all.

The Bladeback Giant Crocodile was also part of Thunder Lord Manor's trial, so Li Yanfeng and the others were not yet in a position to intervene. Thus, Liu Qianyang was definitely about to take a beating.

"Serves you right!" The battle outside had already grown deafening. Li Tianming seized the moment, ignored the commotion outside, and plunged straight into the depths of the lake!

Diving into the lake's depths, he kept descending.

Li Tianming had memorized the well's location. This time, after diving down, he found his target directly.

The battle outside raged fiercely, but Li Tianming turned a deaf ear to it. He came before the well again without another word, took the long, narrow stone divine source from his clothes, and inserted it directly into the groove.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, the groove fit perfectly.

That proved this divine source truly was the key to this well!

The key and the well were in the same lake. It seemed this well was rather eager for an outsider to open it.

"What happens next?" Little Yellow Chick asked curiously.

Li Tianming was just as curious, though he also felt some awe. The well was dark and unfathomable; no one knew whether it held treasure within, or some kind of monster.

In the very next instant, the bronze stone slab split open down the middle, cracking into two halves and swiftly opening. Li Tianming suddenly saw a vortex beneath the well. The black vortex possessed a surging force of suction, and before he could react, it swallowed him directly.

Afterward, the two bronze stone slabs swiftly joined together again. The well mouth sealed once more. Everything fell silent, as though nothing had happened.

Only, Li Tianming had completely vanished from the lake. Even if they turned the entire lake upside down, they would never find him again.

As long as he did not come out, he would have plenty of time to refine the divine source.

"Sis, save me!" Liu Qianyang was practically on the verge of tears. The Bladeback Giant Crocodile had its eyes fixed on the Lightning Leopard as though they were sworn enemies, beating the man and beast until they were battered and scattered. The Lightning Leopard in particular was covered in wounds carved by the crocodile's blade-like back, nearly drenched in blood.

"There's no choice. We have to intervene." Seeing her younger brother in such a bedraggled state, Liu Qing's heart ached as well.

According to Thunder Lord Manor's rules, the moment they appeared and intervened, the disciples under their charge would be eliminated. Unless it was absolutely necessary, they would not act. But no one was supervising them now, and the divine source was not on the Bladeback Giant Crocodile either. In such an extreme situation, if they did not intervene, Liu Qianyang would lose his life.

"Mm." Li Yanfeng nodded.

He presided over Lihuo City and was a renowned expert in the southern frontier of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, a master-level figure with heaven-reaching cultivation. Before him, the Bladeback Giant Crocodile was no different from a little chick.

He extended a finger. A wisp of white flame suddenly appeared at the tip of his index finger. The white flame shot forth, piercing through the Bladeback Giant Crocodile's head in an instant at a terrifying speed.

The Bladeback Giant Crocodile had been viciously pursuing the Lightning Leopard when it suddenly collapsed. Its massive body continued charging forward from inertia, but as it rushed ahead, white flames began pouring out from its head. In an instant, they engulfed its entire body. About ten breaths later, the enormous Third-Order vicious beast had been burned by the white flames until not even bones remained. Yet strangely, the surrounding flowers, grass, and trees were completely unharmed, as though those white flames did not burn them at all.

"Brother Feng, you're amazing," Liu Qing said shyly.

"Just a trifling matter. I'll go look for that 'person of Princess Qing' first. You treat Qianyang's wounds." After giving his instructions, Li Yanfeng turned and left. Before this, he had not dared use his own abilities to search for Li Tianming, for fear of breaking the rules. But now, Li Tianming's trail had completely vanished, and he had already violated the rules by killing the Bladeback Giant Crocodile. He might as well break them to the bitter end.

"Brother Feng, go ahead and act. There shouldn't be any problem. These rules were made for us within Thunder Lord Manor. Now that an outsider has taken the divine source, get it back first," Liu Qing hurriedly said.

"Alright." Even now, Li Yanfeng had never imagined that the person who took the divine source was Li Tianming.

"Sis, don't let that person escape, or I'll have no chance at all!" Liu Qianyang said as he looked painfully at his companion beast. If not for that person who had appeared out of nowhere, how could the Lightning Leopard have been injured so badly by the Bladeback Giant Crocodile? The crocodile had surely vented its rage at that person upon the Lightning Leopard.

"Don't worry. Your brother-in-law has gone to find him," Liu Qing said sympathetically.

This time, Li Yanfeng was gone for nearly half a day before returning. When he came back, his expression was livid as well.

"Brother Feng, where is he?" Liu Qing asked in confusion.

"He's gone," Li Yanfeng said darkly.

"How is that possible? Brother-in-law, you know Fire Sash Mountain so well. How could you fail to find a young man? Aren't you familiar with this place like the back of your hand?" Liu Qianyang cried excitedly. He was still waiting for the divine source! Still waiting for revenge!

"Calm down!" Liu Qing glared at Liu Qianyang. For the divine source, Liu Qianyang had already begun losing his reason. If he learned who had taken the divine source, and that the person had been in the lake just now, he would probably be so furious he spat blood.

"I've searched all around, yet I truly couldn't find him. That means this person really has some ability. Or there's another possibility: this person was fabricated by Jiang Tao. There is no such person at all. Jiang Tao deceived us," Li Yanfeng said, narrowing his eyes.

He truly could not understand it. If that youth really existed, with his familiarity with Fire Sash Mountain and his own strength, how could he fail to find him?

"Impossible. Jiang Tao doesn't have that kind of nerve. He wouldn't dare play such tricks. That would be what truly breaks the rules," Liu Qing said, shaking her head.

As they spoke, Liu Qianyang was beside himself with grief and indignation. "Then what are we still doing here? Keep searching!"

They had not found the divine source, nor had they found Princess Qing's person. On top of that, he had taken a beating for nothing. He even had grievances against Li Yanfeng. Unfortunately, he could not say anything about Li Yanfeng, or Liu Qing would definitely scold him. That was what made him feel most stifled inside.

This divine source could allow the Lightning Leopard to evolve. So long as he obtained it, he would be guaranteed entry into Yanhuang Academy, and might even have a chance to enter the Heavenly Court!

Now, the divine source had slipped through his fingers. It would have been one thing if someone else from Thunder Lord Manor had obtained it, since there would still be a chance to compete. But now, everything was a complete fog.

"Let's find Jiang Tao and Jiang Yilin again and get to the bottom of it. What exactly are that youth's characteristics?" Li Yanfeng finally made his decision.

"Alright."

With their hearts full of frustration, they could only leave and seek out Jiang Yilin and the others first.

If they knew Li Tianming was in the lake right before their eyes, they would probably go completely mad with rage.

And Li Yanfeng had killed the Bladeback Giant Crocodile, conveniently solving Li Tianming's problem of leaving safely as well...

Half a day later, Li Yanfeng encountered "Jiang Tao" and the others. After an argument, the three of them had no choice but to believe that such a "person of Princess Qing" truly existed. This person had taken the divine source and even evaded Li Yanfeng's search.

A day later, the six of them encountered another group: a family of three, "Zhang Chong and his wife," along with Zhang Zixuan.

"Why do you all look so grim? Who got the divine source?" Zhang Chong asked with a puzzled expression. By all rights, Liu Qianyang had been the most likely to obtain the divine source. Seeing him so dejected now clearly meant someone else had gotten it.

"Jiang Tao?" When no one answered, Zhang Chong could only ask Jiang Tao, since they had a fairly good relationship.

"The divine source was at Round Mirror Lake in Fire Sash Mountain, guarded by a Third-Order vicious beast, the Bladeback Giant Crocodile. Before we arrived, an outsider youth had already taken the divine source first," Jiang Tao said helplessly.

"An outsider youth? If the juniors couldn't defeat him, we could have acted and seized it back ourselves! Who dares touch Thunder Lord Manor's treasure? Why didn't you act?" Zhang Chong stared in disbelief.

"That outsider youth had Princess Qing's jade pendant in his hand. He is Princess Qing's person. Would you dare act?" Jiang Tao curled his lip.

"Princess Qing!" Zhang Zixuan cried out.

"What, did you encounter Princess Qing?" Hearing Zhang Zixuan's shocked cry, Liu Qianyang and the other five all stared at him.

"We did. What did you just say? One of Princess Qing's people had Princess Qing's jade pendant?" Zhang Chong looked at them in great shock.

"You know this person?" Li Yanfeng asked in a low voice.

"It was like this. A few days ago, we encountered a youth..." Zhang Chong recounted the conflict between Li Tianming and Zhang Zixuan.

"Princess Qing took this youth away in the end. I suppose she later gave him the jade pendant? That youth was utterly ordinary, so why was Princess Qing so good to him?" Zhang Chong asked, deeply puzzled.

A wild mountain villager had gained Princess Qing's favor. Not only had she saved his life, she had even given him her own jade pendant? Princess Qing stood so high above the masses that it sounded rather inconceivable.

"You've seen this youth? What are his characteristics? Could he really be a nearby wild mountain villager?" Li Yanfeng asked with a frown.

"His appearance is hard to describe." Jiang Tao and Jiang Yilin had seen him as well.

"That fellow's companion beast was a little chick. Yellow. You could take it down with one slap," Zhang Zixuan said irritably from the side.

"What!"

The moment those words left his mouth, Li Yanfeng, Liu Qing, and Liu Qianyang were utterly stunned. A month ago, the performance of a Little Yellow Chick had left a fairly deep impression on them.

There could not possibly be another companion beast so unusual in all the world.

"Are you certain?" Liu Qianyang asked, enunciating every word.

"Tell us more about that youth's appearance and attire."

Jiang Tao, Zhang Chong, and the others each described him. Combined with the uniqueness of the companion beast, everything matched now.

"Li Tianming, it was definitely him! Li Tianming!" Liu Qianyang had never expected that someone he had looked down upon, someone whose existence he had practically forgotten, would ruin his grand plans like this and make his journey to Fire Sash Mountain so miserable!

"Hadn't he only possessed the strength of the Seventh Layer of Beast Pulse Realm before? How did he defeat Zixuan and Yilin?" Liu Qing's face was filled with suspicion. All the evidence pointed to that person being Li Tianming, yet everything was unbelievable.

"He was once at the Spirit Source Realm and has some battle experience. He probably used a clever method to take the divine source." Li Yanfeng's gaze was indifferent. Truthfully, when he had just confirmed Li Tianming's identity, his mind had gone blank for a moment. Even now, his voice had grown much darker, because he had never expected it to be Li Tianming—his own son—who had ruined his affairs time and time again.

He had sworn with utmost confidence to help Liu Qianyang obtain the divine source. Yet Li Tianming had unexpectedly emerged to cause trouble and taken Liu Qianyang's divine source. How was he, as the new brother-in-law, supposed to explain himself to the siblings?

The unexpected was what made people even more furious.

Causing trouble once was enough. Was he here to cause trouble a second time too?

"Brother-in-law, what do we do?" Liu Qianyang was so enraged that he did not bother controlling his tone.

"He should be returning to Lihuo City. We can catch him on the way. Don't worry. Anyone can obtain the divine source, but not him." Li Yanfeng looked indifferently in Lihuo City's direction. When he said this, it was as though he had no relationship with Li Tianming at all.

"He's already gotten the divine source. Why would he return to Lihuo City?" Liu Qianyang asked.

Li Yanfeng did not answer. He could not exactly tell Liu Qianyang that Wei Jing was still in Lihuo City, that Wei Jing was already gravely ill, and that Li Tianming would definitely return soon.

"You said just now that the vicious beast this person contracted with through the Blood God Contract was only First-Order?" Jiang Tao asked.

"Yes."

"Then I'm relieved. A First-Order Companion Beast couldn't refine a divine source even if it burst itself trying. That brat's efforts are futile."

Hearing this, Liu Qianyang finally felt somewhat reassured.

"If we don't find him on the road, we'll wait for him in Lihuo City. He will definitely return within seven days."

After Li Yanfeng said this, everyone finally felt much more at ease.