The Blood Furnace Won't Let You Go

Lu Fan immediately activated the Evergreen Formula, and a massive amount of force surged forth from the Force Vortex within his Qi Sea.

As he threw a punch, all of it poured forward.

The fist formed from that vast force shot toward Ghost Ape in an instant.

Facing such a head-on clash of force, Ghost Ape naturally felt no fear. He mobilized his force and threw a punch as well.

From merely their earlier exchanges, he had already realized that this masked man's force was far inferior to his own—at most, he was at the Early Transformation Force Stage, nearing the Late Transformation Force Stage.

Boom!

Force erupted, blasting away more than half the entire courtyard.

Amid the billowing dust and smoke, Lu Fan had long since vanished.

"Ran?"

Ghost Ape's face darkened as he immediately sensed for any aura.

Yet to his surprise, he could not sense the aura of any martial artist nearby at all.

That masked man from the Early Transformation Force Stage... had his aura vanished?

After freezing for a moment, Ghost Ape sensed again, but still found nothing. There were only large numbers of ordinary people gathered around; not a single martial artist could be found.

Dead? No, he had run.

Ghost Ape realized that the masked man likely possessed some technique for concealing his aura. Even if he slaughtered every ordinary person in the vicinity, he might not be able to find him.

All he could do now was report the masked man he had just encountered to Shang Qi.

At the same time, at the mouth of an alley near the burning Thunder Martial Hall, Lu Fan raised his head and glanced at the flames soaring into the sky. Only after confirming that fellow had not chased after him did he finally let out a breath.

That fellow had wiped out Thunder Martial Hall. Could the Feng Household have been pulling strings behind the scenes?

No matter what, Chi City was becoming increasingly dangerous.

The wisest course was to leave Chi City as quickly as possible.

But before that, he had planned to visit the Feng Household and investigate the situation.

Since that fellow just now could not detect him after he concealed his aura with the Tortoise Breath Formula,

then as long as he did not actively use his force, he would not easily expose himself.

However, just as he was about to reach the Feng residence, terrifying flames rose from deep within the Feng compound. The blaze was fierce and spread rapidly, soon engulfing the entire Feng Household.

This left Lu Fan dumbfounded.

What... was going on?

The Feng Household was on fire too?

Wasn't that Transformation Grandmaster who looked like a brown bear at Thunder Martial Hall just now an Attendant of the Feng Household?

What exactly had happened??

Had the fire at the Feng Household also been started by that fellow just now?

No. No matter how fast that fellow was, he could not possibly have arrived so quickly.

Besides, along the way, Lu Fan had not sensed that fellow's aura either.

That meant someone else had burned the Feng Household down.

For all he knew, it might have been that Transformation Grandmaster's companion.

The situation in Chi City was truly bizarre now.

Lu Fan frowned tightly and sank into thought.

First Thunder Martial Hall had been set ablaze, and right on its heels, even the Feng Household had caught fire.

One had to know that the Feng Household was currently the most powerful force in Chi City. It had a large number of Dark Force martial artists as Attendants, and might even have Transformation Force Attendants hidden away.

Under such circumstances, who would dare make a move against the Feng Household?

Or rather, just who had the Feng Household provoked, to the point that even Thunder Martial Hall had been wiped out alongside it?

Wait, could it be related to...

Lu Fan thought of something, and his hand instinctively reached toward the jade bottle in his clothes.

That strange pill containing an unimaginably vast amount of qi and blood.

"Forget it. None of this has anything to do with me."

Lu Fan shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Since the Feng Household had been destroyed, he no longer needed to worry about Zhang Yao and the others being hunted down.

With that in mind, he prepared to leave.

Just then, a hurried set of footsteps came from the rear gate of the Feng residence.

Immediately afterward, a figure ran out from within, stumbling as he fled toward the depths of the alley ahead.

Lu Fan hesitated for a moment, but ultimately followed.

That person was not emitting any strong martial artist aura.

In other words, he was most likely an ordinary person.

As he pursued him, Lu Fan noticed the scent of blood drifting through the air.

After walking only a few steps, he saw the man bracing himself against a wall, slumped by the roadside and gasping for breath. His left hand hung limply at his side, blood dripping without end.

At that moment, Lu Fan no longer concealed his aura and deliberately let his footsteps be heard.

The person slumped there was startled and immediately turned his head.

When he saw Lu Fan, a flash of shock appeared on his face.

"Could you be... Chen Liu?"

The person who had escaped from the Feng Household's rear gate was none other than Feng Wanqian, the Feng Household's former patriarch.

"I am."

"So, what exactly happened to the Feng Household?"

Lu Fan asked curiously.

He had originally intended to leave directly, but now that someone had escaped from the Feng Household, he naturally had to ask about the situation.

"The Feng Household is finished."

"You killed Li Xiao. The people of the Blood Furnace will not let you go."

"This... please accept it."

With his still-bleeding left hand, Feng Wanqian pulled a manuscript from his clothes and handed it to Lu Fan.

"It contains research records on the Blood Embryo Pill."

"If it is you, perhaps you can bring the Blood..."

Before Feng Wanqian could finish, a terrifying force struck from behind at astonishing speed.

Relying almost entirely on instinct, Lu Fan swiftly dodged aside.

He evaded it, but Feng Wanqian, collapsed there, could not.

Splurt.

Feng Wanqian's body split into two down the middle, and blood dyed the walls on both sides crimson.

"You talked a little too much, old man."

Shang Qi strolled over from the mouth of the alley, unhurried. After coldly sweeping a glance over Feng Wanqian's corpse, his gaze settled on Lu Fan.

"Wearing a mask... are you the Chen Liu the young master of the Feng Household mentioned?"

"Then I can save myself the trouble of looking for you."

"Hand over the Blood Embryo Pill and that manuscript."

"Then leave behind one arm, and I'll let you go."

Shang Qi waved a hand and spoke as though it were nothing at all.

"What a big mouth."

Lu Fan snorted coldly. Naturally, he would not be frightened by such words.

He could sense that this fellow's force was weaker than that brown bear-like man from before, but his aura was just as incomparably dense. He was likely at the Late Transformation Force Stage as well.

But if Lu Fan wanted to flee, this fellow would not be able to stop him either.

"A mere Early Transformation Force Stage martial artist, refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit—then don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

The smile on Shang Qi's face froze as icy killing intent swept out from his body.

Then he raised a hand. His force flew out like scythes, swiftly carving neat cuts into the walls on both sides of the alley.

If that hit, a body would likely be split in two on the spot.

Lu Fan gathered his force and was just about to meet the attack when he suddenly sensed something. His pupils contracted sharply.

Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and leaped onto the wall at the alley entrance, then spun around and fled toward the city gates.

Almost as soon as he had run off, a black shadow landed beside Shang Qi.

It was Ghost Ape, who had been at Thunder Martial Hall not long ago.