Three Meet, a Senior Brother's Care for His Junior Brother

With Yao Lao's immense Soul Perception blanketing all of Maple City, Xiao Yan had almost effortlessly pinpointed Han Feng's location.

Han Feng was alone at that moment, in a bamboo grove deep within the manor. A Medicine Cauldron sat before him, and he seemed to be refining some Pills.

For some reason, his right eyelid had been twitching nonstop for the past few days, and it was getting worse by the day.

He had never experienced such inexplicable unease and irritation in his entire life, and he couldn't even focus on the alchemy he had always taken pride in.

Another batch of Pills had turned into a pile of charred dregs after he lost control at the final moment.

Han Feng stared at the wisps of black smoke rising from the cauldron. At last, he could no longer restrain his agitation. He swept his palm across the table before him, sending all the Medicinal Herbs crashing to the ground, and cursed, "Damn it!"

His chest heaved violently, his eyes bloodshot. His furious voice echoed through the empty bamboo grove:

"That damned old man... If he'd just passed the Flame Mantra on to me sooner! Then I wouldn't have had to lay a hand on him, and I wouldn't have to keep living like a coward, hiding everywhere!"

He laid all the blame on Yao Lao.

In his twisted logic, if Yao Lao hadn't kept secrets from him and had taught him the Flame Mantra sooner, why would he have joined forces with the Soul Hall to murder his mentor? And why would he have had to flee to the Black-Corner Region to avoid Venerable Feng?

A person this selfish would always shift every bit of blame onto others, never once considering that he might be at fault.

What Han Feng didn't know was that while he ranted and cursed hysterically, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao had already slipped silently into the bamboo grove and heard every word he'd just said.

Xiao Yan's expression had already darkened, undisguised fury surging in his eyes.

He had lived two lifetimes and thought he'd seen his share of shameless scoundrels, but he had never encountered such a shameless beast.

Yao Lao remained silent inside the ring, not saying a word.

The figure he had once regarded as his own son and painstakingly raised had finally revealed his true colors before his eyes.

At that moment, the old man's heart turned completely cold. There was no pain, no anger, only icy disappointment.

He turned to look at Xiao Yan beside him. The sight of the young man's face, taut with anger, warmed his chilled heart a little.

At least this time, he hadn't misjudged someone.

"A beast will always be a beast. Raise it as much as you like, and you still won't make a human of it." Xiao Yan muttered under his breath. He flipped his palm, and the Three-Colored Fire Lotus, long primed to strike, flew without hesitation toward Han Feng.

Han Feng was still cursing when his perception suddenly caught something terrifying beyond measure breaking in.

His twitching eyelid spasmed as if it were about to tear. He whipped around, and his pupils contracted. "No!"

"Explode!" Xiao Yan gently clenched his hand. The three-colored light around the Fire Lotus suddenly blazed, and in the next instant it exploded violently right before Han Feng.

Amid a deafening roar, an enormous lotus formed from destructive energy slowly bloomed in the bamboo grove.

The terrifying shockwave swept in every direction, reducing everything in its path to dust. The entire manor was razed to the ground by the blast.

Xiao Yan stood perfectly steady at the very center of the explosion, not even the hem of his clothes stirred.

With the Horse Talisman and Dog Talisman's two life-saving abilities protecting him, the shockwave couldn't even scrape his skin.

"That brat's body is way too tough." Yao Lao looked over his disciple. Even he, for all his experience, couldn't help but marvel.

"Looks like your senior brother can take a blast pretty well too," Xiao Yan said with a sudden smile, gazing at the billowing smoke at the center of the explosion.

At the instant of the blast, he had clearly sensed the aura of a Heavenly Flame.

That must have been the fluctuation of the Sea Heart Flame.

It seemed Han Feng had managed to keep himself alive for now with the help of the Heavenly Flame.

Sure enough, a figure in a wretched state slowly emerged from the churning smoke.

Han Feng no longer looked like the Medicine Emperor. His robes had been blown to shreds, and burns covered his exposed skin. Blood streamed down over his charred clothing.

His aura had also weakened considerably.

"Who... are you?" Han Feng braced his nearly shattered body and stared hard at the young-looking boy before him.

He was certain he had never seen that face before.

Yet during the explosion just now, he had caught a trace of a familiar aura.

"My dear senior brother, how do you like the welcome gift I prepared for you?" Xiao Yan's lips curled up, a bright, innocent smile on his face.

At the word "senior brother," Han Feng took a step back, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"You... That's impossible! Absolutely impossible! I clearly..."

"Clearly saw me die, right?" Yao Lao's voice came from the ring.

Then Yao Lao's spirit form slowly floated out of the Bone Flame Ring.

He stood with his hands behind his back in midair. That face, more familiar than any other, wore a cold, indifferent expression.

"You... You really aren't dead! How... how can you be so strong?" The moment Han Feng saw Yao Lao, he could barely stay on his feet.

He finally understood where the familiar soul fluctuation in the explosion had come from: it was Yao Lao's Ancient Spirit Cold Flame.

What he found even harder to believe was that Yao Lao's aura, now that he was a spirit, was astonishingly powerful.

Han Feng immediately realized he was trapped in a desperate situation. His eyes darted rapidly as he looked back and forth between Xiao Yan and Yao Lao, then settled on Xiao Yan.

His perception wouldn't deceive him. This kid was only a Dou Ling.

If he could catch the kid off guard and take him hostage, he might be able to bargain with Yao Lao for a way out.

Before the thought had even fully formed, Han Feng began putting on an act.

"Teacher, I didn't want to harm you. It was Mu Gu... that beast Mu Gu forced me.

I've regretted it day and night all these years. I wake up from nightmares every single day..."

Xiao Yan and Yao Lao simply stood where they were, watching Han Feng kneel and weep.

Neither bothered to expose him. Their faces even carried a hint of relaxed amusement as they watched the show.

"Teacher, your disciple truly knows he was wrong! Please..." Han Feng pleaded as he crawled forward on his knees, inch by inch closing the distance between himself and Xiao Yan.

The moment he got close enough, the remorse and humility on his face twisted into a fierce, vicious expression.

"Please hand your precious disciple over to me!"

The Dou Qi he had left erupted without reserve in the final instant, and he pounced on Xiao Yan like a hungry wolf.

The aura of a Peak Dou Emperor bore down on Xiao Yan like a solid iron wall.

As Han Feng saw it, even though he was badly injured, dealing with a mere Dou Ling would take no more than a lift of his finger. He could squeeze the kid in his palm.

Yet Xiao Yan showed none of the fear Han Feng had expected.

The boy wasn't the least bit flustered, and Yao Lao remained calmly floating where he was.

There was even a trace of pity on their faces, the pity one felt for an ant that had brought its death upon itself.

A foreboding feeling stirred in Han Feng's heart, but before he could figure out what was wrong, he saw the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth slowly curl upward.

Xiao Yan smiled and teased, "My dear senior brother, you're putting on quite a show."