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Zeng Fan narrowed his eyes slightly. Yao Ling'er's words stirred something in his heart. Looks like this guy has been pushed to the brink. I'll hear what this opportunity is first.

The strength in Zeng Fan's grip eased slightly, and he moved a little farther away from Yao Ling'er. "What opportunity are you talking about? Don't try to fool me, or I really will consummate our marriage with you, little beauty." Zeng Fan smiled at Yao Ling'er with a hint of menace in his voice.

Seeing that her words had piqued Zeng Fan's interest, Yao Ling'er breathed a sigh of relief. She truly had been afraid that Zeng Fan might act on impulse and do something. After hearing his words, embarrassment and anger appeared in her eyes, but given the current situation, she didn't dare provoke the man any further.

After composing herself, Yao Ling'er slowly began, "When I went out gathering herbs with a senior sister before, we discovered a cliff. Body Tempering Fruits were growing on it. Those Body Tempering Fruits can be refined into Body Tempering Pills, which can help someone in the Body Tempering Realm break through one minor stage. If taken when breaking through a major realm, they can also increase the efficiency of the breakthrough. When we discovered them before, they hadn't matured yet, but they should be nearly ripe by now. Come with me to pick them, and I'll give you one Body Tempering Pill afterward. How about it?"

Zeng Fan's heart stirred when he heard this, but he quickly realized something was off. "Then why didn't the two of you go pick them yourselves? Why do you need someone to accompany you? There must be some danger involved." After speaking, Zeng Fan stared fixedly at Yao Ling'er.

Yao Ling'er guiltily looked away and said, "There is a little danger. A Scorpion Tiger is guarding them. The two of us couldn't beat it, so we had to retreat."

"Hiss—" When Zeng Fan heard this, he almost wanted to beat Yao Ling'er to death. A Scorpion Tiger was a demonic beast shaped like a tiger, with immense strength. Its tail had evolved into a scorpion's tail laced with deadly venom, making it extremely troublesome to deal with. Moreover, an adult Scorpion Tiger was equivalent to a cultivator in the Spirit Gathering Realm. How could anyone in the Body Tempering Bone Realm possibly provoke it?

"Are you playing me? With that thing guarding the fruits, how are we supposed to get them? Are you trying to get me killed? Or should we just consummate our marriage?" Zeng Fan tightened his grip again and glared viciously at Yao Ling'er.

Yao Ling'er's wrist hurt from being squeezed, and her lovely brows drew together slightly. She hurriedly fired off an explanation like a string of cannonballs. "The Scorpion Tiger isn't fully grown yet. Judging by its cultivation, it should be roughly at the Body Tempering Bone Realm's peak. It's probably guarding the Body Tempering Fruits to break through. That senior sister and I agreed to each bring a disciple at the Body Tempering Bone Realm's peak. After we deal with the Scorpion Tiger, everyone can receive a Body Tempering Pill. What do you think? Gao Shi wanted to come with me before, but I couldn't stand him, so I told him to find you."

Yao Ling'er was truly a little afraid of Zeng Fan now. She stopped speaking in riddles and quickly explained the whole matter to him.

Zeng Fan frowned. "The temptation of Body Tempering Fruits is certainly great, but the Scorpion Tiger isn't a pushover. One careless move could cost us our lives. Still, the other disciple will also bring someone at the peak of the Body Tempering Bone Realm. Although Alchemy Hall disciples have relatively poor combat strength, that still amounts to four people in the Body Tempering Bone Realm. Our odds are fairly good. At worst, we can run as soon as things go bad. Better a dead ally than a dead self!"

Zeng Fan made up his mind, then lowered his head and looked at Yao Ling'er. "Deal. Don't try any more little tricks on me when the time comes!"

Yao Ling'er let out a sigh of relief when Zeng Fan agreed, though her cheeks puffed up angrily. "Can you let me go now? Is this how you treat your ally? Don't worry. I needed to find someone to come with me anyway. Since you defeated Gao Shi, that proves you're stronger than him, so our chances of dealing with the Scorpion Tiger are naturally higher. I'm not stupid."

Zeng Fan slowly released her and stepped back several paces, folding his arms across his chest. Yao Ling'er hurriedly rubbed her hands and muttered, "Bastard, you have no idea how to show consideration to a woman!"

"Hmm?" Zeng Fan's gaze turned menacing again. Yao Ling'er shuddered and immediately said, "I won't say anything else!"

Only then did Zeng Fan let it go. Since he had already decided to do this, he would not hesitate.

"When are we leaving?" Zeng Fan looked at Yao Ling'er and began asking about the exact timing.

"In the next few days. I need to wait until that senior sister has chosen her candidate. Then we'll set out." As they discussed this, Yao Ling'er's expression returned to normal. After all, the deal had been struck, and she had acknowledged Zeng Fan's strength. Now they only needed to focus on preparing. Obtaining the Body Tempering Fruits was the most important thing.

Several days later, deep within a verdant mountain range, four figures were trudging forward with difficulty. Under the blazing sun, one of them sighed, "How did you discover a place like this? There isn't even a ghost in sight. It's a wonder you managed to find any herbs."

"Hmph! Our cultivation isn't high enough yet, and we don't have enough Spirit Stones to exchange for medicinal ingredients. Sometimes we can only come out and gather herbs ourselves. What do you know? Places like this are exactly where we can find what we need." Another figure answered in a voice as crisp as silver bells. She was clearly a woman.

Zeng Fan shook his head and said nothing more, following behind the two women. The one who had answered him was Yao Ling'er, who was currently speaking with another woman ahead of him. Today, Yao Ling'er was no longer wearing an alchemist's robe. Instead, she wore a well-fitted outfit, since they might have to fight later and robes were unsuitable for movement. The clothes were not especially tight, but on Yao Ling'er, certain parts appeared taut. As her body moved constantly, the fabric pulled evenly to either side, like a series of parallel lines.

Beside Yao Ling'er was a delicate-looking young woman who appeared to be about the same age as the others. She was a fellow disciple of the Alchemy Hall named Chen Yan. She was the one who had discovered the Body Tempering Fruit with Yao Ling'er when they went out together.

Beside Zeng Fan was a cold-faced young man dressed in black named Wang Ying. He was taciturn, and whenever Zeng Fan spoke to him, he received only a simple reply. However, his gaze toward Chen Yan was exceptionally gentle. There was definitely something between the two of them, but Zeng Fan did not pry. As long as Wang Ying was reliable and didn't cause any trouble when the time came, that was enough.

After trudging onward, the four reached a cliff deep within the mountain range. A small tree grew atop it, entirely scarlet from roots to crown. The spiritual energy around the tree was also denser than elsewhere, and several little red fruits hung from its branches. These should be the target of their journey.

Yao Ling'er and Chen Yan signaled for the two men to be careful. Zeng Fan looked around but saw no sign of the Scorpion Tiger. Could we really be this lucky? Did the demonic beast go out? he wondered. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Zeng Fan turned his head and saw Yao Ling'er gesture toward a certain direction. Looking carefully, he spotted a cave entrance half-hidden among the weeds below the cliff.

"So it was hiding here." Zeng Fan's gaze sharpened. If Yao Ling'er hadn't warned him and he had rushed straight toward the cliff, tempted by the Body Tempering Fruits, the Scorpion Tiger might have secretly struck from inside the cave. In that case, he probably wouldn't have been able to leave.

The four discussed their plan. First, they would lure the demonic beast out and use the prepared powder to see whether they could weaken its strength. Then Zeng Fan and Wang Ying would work together to kill or drive away the Scorpion Tiger. If anything went wrong, they would retreat and look for another opportunity.

The plan was temporarily settled, and they would adapt to any changes along the way. The four exchanged glances, nodded at one another, and began to act!

At the same time the four set into motion, three figures were also racing through the mountains. Judging by their direction, they were clearly heading for the cliff as well.