Storm

Over the next three days, aside from accompanying Liu Wenyin to buy groceries each day, Su Ze spent all his time in the courtyard diligently practicing his dance moves.

Since Liu Wenyin and Aunt Yun had already seen him dance, Su Ze no longer felt embarrassed and practiced openly.

The results were quite good. With the Swan Dance and Body Conditioning and Digestion Tablets, at his current pace, he would fully digest the Immortal Salamander extract in another four or five days.

However, practicing the Swan Dance for too long put a heavy strain on his body, causing back pain, sore hips, and leg cramps. Su Ze would stop once he reached a reasonable point and spend the remaining time learning some Evolutionary Science knowledge from Liu Wenyin.

Worth noting, during this period, Liu Wenyin successfully completed her second evolution, becoming a Cocoon Breaking Stage evolver.

Of course, without any Combat Skills, she was still a complete weakling.

Additionally, while out buying groceries these past few days, Su Ze and the others kept hearing about anomalies in the Black Rock Mountain Range.

Aside from people constantly finding dead beast corpses, some claimed to have encountered a stinking madman on the mountain.

Su Ze and the others immediately thought of Feng Buqing.

From this, it wasn't hard to guess that most of the dead beasts in the Black Rock Mountain Range were killed by Feng Buqing.

Although Feng Buqing seemed hostile to no one in his madness, beasts would actively attack humans. Feng Buqing wandering around the Black Rock Mountain Range would inevitably provoke many beast attacks, only for him to kill them in return.

No traces of Tier 4 or higher beasts had ever been found in the Black Rock Mountain Range, so Feng Buqing could roam freely there.

Su Ze and Liu Wenyin exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of worry in each other's eyes.

They sensed that the area near the Black Rock Mountain Range would not remain peaceful.

If Feng Buqing continued like this, he would eventually cause a bigger commotion, drawing the attention of the Mu Kingdom and Luofan Kingdom authorities. Meanwhile, the Netherworld Organization, having lost a Saint-level elder, would certainly not give up searching for him.

At that point, with these three forces converging around Feng Buqing, a major storm might erupt.

And Black Rock City and Mengka City, nestled right next to the Black Rock Mountain Range, would undoubtedly be at the storm's center.

Su Ze said, "Once Aunt Yun has recovered enough, we'll leave Mengka City immediately."

Liu Wenyin's expression darkened. "Aunt Yun feels the same way. Her time is running out. She wants to escort us back to the Dongli Kingdom before she goes."

Su Ze was taken aback, then asked, "How much longer?"

"About two months." Liu Wenyin sighed. "Using the Dream Weaver's Eye caused irreversible damage to her body. Her life force has been heavily drained. She has at most two months left."

"Isn't there any way to help?"

"Almost none."

"Almost none? That means there is one."

Liu Wenyin was silent for a moment, then said, "The best and most direct way is for Aunt Yun to complete her fourth evolution and break through to the Saint level. That would naturally extend her lifespan."

The first three evolutions only enhanced a human's physical abilities, making the body healthier, but they didn't directly extend lifespan.

Only by completing the fourth evolution and becoming a Saint-level lifeform would one gain extended life. A Saint-level lifeform could live at least two hundred years.

In other words, if Aunt Yun could break through to the Saint level, she could gain at least another hundred years of life.

"What stage of the Butterfly Transformation Stage is Aunt Yun at now?" Su Ze asked, unwilling to give up.

"She's absorbed two vials of extract," Liu Wenyin replied.

Su Ze fell silent.

To evolve from the Butterfly Transformation Stage to the Saint level, one needed to absorb a Tier 4 extract, meaning extract from a Saint-level beast.

Aunt Yun had absorbed two vials of Tier 4 extract so far, with one more to go.

This level of extract was already incredibly hard to come by, impossible to buy even with money, but that wasn't the main issue.

Su Ze believed that although Tier 4 extracts were rare, the Dongli Kingdom could still provide them. If not, he himself had a million Evolution Technology points, enough to purchase one vial of Tier 4 extract. He'd consider it an investment and wouldn't mind giving it to Aunt Yun.

Even setting aside personal ties, spending a million points to gain a Saint-level backer would be absolutely worth it.

But the problem was that Aunt Yun only had two months left. That wasn't enough time to even digest the extract, let alone attempt a fourth evolution.

Su Ze could only say, "Once we're back in the Dongli Kingdom, maybe they'll have a way there."

"Mm." Liu Wenyin nodded, but deep down, neither she nor Su Ze held much hope.

The thing Su Ze and Liu Wenyin feared still came to pass.

The very next day, a shocking piece of news spread through the evolver circles of Mengka City.

A team of Hunters went into the mountains to hunt and stumbled upon the legendary madman reeking of stench. They saw that the ring on his finger was a treasure and tried to take it by force.

The result was a total wipeout.

Only one female evolver from the team survived. Since she was a healing-type evolver and never participated in the battle, the madman didn't kill her.

It was this survivor who brought back the news, and she also confirmed the madman's strength: a fourth-evolution Saint level!

To ordinary people, Saint-level experts were supreme beings. Being told that one had gone mad and was slaughtering in the Black Rock Mountain Range was like a fairy tale, and many couldn't believe it.

But the deaths were real.

The news spread like wildfire through Mengka City and Black Rock City, making Hunters on both sides too afraid to enter the mountains.

As the news spread further and the incident grew bigger, more details and deeper information were dug up.

The Tainted Ones—cursed by the God of Evolution for absorbing extracts of their own kind, their bodies reeking with a foul stench—entered the public eye for the first time.

Ordinary citizens knew that the laws of every kingdom strictly forbade the absorption of human extracts, but they had no idea that doing so would also leave one tainted with that stench. Until now, only higher-level evolvers had been privy to that information.

When word spread that the mad Saint-level being in the Black Rock Mountain Range was a Tainted One—a symbol of evil—the people of both cities were gripped by fear, terrified that Feng Buqing might descend upon their towns and slaughter indiscriminately.

Neither Black Rock City nor Mengka City had a Saint-level powerhouse stationed there. If Feng Buqing attacked, no one could stop him.

In no time, those who could afford it fled with their entire families to other cities. Those who couldn't could only plead for help online, begging the kingdom to send a Saint-level expert to eliminate Feng Buqing and restore peace to both cities.

The Hunters of the two cities also began pressuring the authorities through their own channels.

If Feng Buqing wasn't eradicated, they wouldn't dare enter the mountains to hunt, cutting off their income. And the various evolutionary materials produced by the Black Rock Mountain Range were a vital economic pillar for both cities.

Overwhelmed by the surging public pressure, the official authorities of the Mu Kingdom and the Luofan Kingdom had no choice but to act.

Both kingdoms immediately declared that they would dispatch Saint-level experts to the Black Rock Mountain Range.