On the northern side of Burning Wind Ridge.
A narrow mountain pass lay between two precipitous cliffs. Its treacherous terrain formed the only route out of Burning Wind Ridge.
Ning Duanjiang sat cross-legged in the center of the pass.
A bloodstained saber rested across his knees, and his blue robes snapped in the burning wind.
He had already suffered serious injuries while surrounding and killing the Crimson Flame Earth Dragon earlier. Then he had pursued Lu Chen into Burning Wind Ridge, allowing fire poison to invade his lungs and organs.
Even now, every breath sent a faint burning pain through the depths of his chest.
Fortunately, the five organs of an Organ-Nourishing Realm martial artist were robust.
After regulating his breathing for a while, he had forced out most of the fire poison that had invaded his body.
Behind him, two Bone-Forging Realm martial artists of the Ning family sheltered beneath an outcrop, their faces covered with wet cloths to block the fire poison carried by the burning wind.
One of them, a thin martial artist, glanced into the depths of Burning Wind Ridge.
Crimson waves of wind rolled over one another.
At a glance, nothing was visible except scorched black rocks.
"Elder."
"That brat has been in there for almost two hours."
The thin martial artist hesitated. "The fire poison in Burning Wind Ridge is so potent, and he was wounded. Could he already have died in there?"
A glint of greed immediately flashed through the other man's eyes.
Lu Chen carried more than just a single superior-grade Spirit Essence.
He had killed the Ning family's second young master, then several more of their martial artists in succession. He must have seized a considerable haul of pills, gold notes, and martial manuals.
If Lu Chen had already died in