Heavenly Fire Venerable

But this also played right into the second trap he had laid. Even if Huang Tian said nothing, Qin Yun would offer to lead the way and explore with him.

After all, Zi Yan only recognized Qin Yun. If he did not go, the plan would fall apart halfway through.

Still, the greatest uncertainty in the entire plan was how to find Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave.

Although he already knew it was in the underground Magma World beneath Jia Nan Academy,

the Magma World was so vast that who knew how long the search would take? He could only leave that part somewhat to luck.

Besides, the Magma World contained plenty of powerful beings from other races. Even Heavenly Fire Venerable, a Dou Zun, had met his downfall there.

To ensure their safety, they would need at least a Dou Sheng to escort them. It was precisely because of these uncertainties

that Qin Yun had not taken some of the other people involved straight there to search for the Old Dragon Emperor.

With the strength they currently possessed, they might die inside before even finding the cave.

Huang Tian could also be considered a powerhouse of a hired fist. Qin Yun had lured him over not merely to get rid of him,

but also to use his strength to gain entry. After all, a Five-Star Dou Sheng was a ceiling-level existence even in the Magma World.

"Stop spacing out. Hurry up and get to work. All the pressure is on Uncle Fei now. Asking him to stall any longer would really be putting him in a difficult position."

Qin Yun patted Feng Qing'er on the shoulder, pulling her out of the battle between the two halves of her brain.

"Huh? Oh." Feng Qing'er nodded in bewilderment, but after looking around, she found herself confused about their current situation.

"Is there anything else we need to do? Didn't we come here for this little girl? We've already taken care of that."

"You really need to use your brain more. Let me ask you: where are we right now? What's all around us?" Qin Yun patiently explained some everyday knowledge to Feng Qing'er.

"We're in the Medicinal Herb Repository. All around us are medicinal herbs Jia Nan Academy has collected over a long time."

Feng Qing'er blurted out the answer, then seemed to realize something a moment later.

"You mean we should take some back?"

"Exactly. You're finally learning." Qin Yun nodded in satisfaction.

"We'll just say Zi Yan took them. I gave her so many fourth- and fifth-tier pills; I ought to recoup at least a little of the cost, right? We can put all of this on her tab."

"Th-that doesn't seem right. We only just managed to win her favor. Won't this make her hold a grudge?"

Feng Qing'er still thought it seemed a little dubious. After all, she had never done anything this thrilling before.

"Listen, I'm doing this so she'll remember us for good. If we don't teach her a lesson she'll never forget, and she only agrees verbally, what if she forgets after enough time passes?

"Besides, don't you know that little brat is a glutton? We can just give her some more tasty things to coax her around later. I guarantee that, with her personality, she won't hold a grudge."

Qin Yun had Zi Yan's temperament completely figured out. The more serious and solemnly someone treated this Brute Force King,

the more uncomfortable she became. When it came to truly getting along with her, this kind of roller-coaster process actually worked better.

"But are you sure she won't get beaten too badly? Just now, it looked like her bottom was about to get beaten raw..."

"Stop, stop, stop. That's where you're wrong." Qin Yun cut her off. "Then let me ask you: if we don't take anything, will she get beaten when she goes back?"

"Probably. After all, she'd already stolen a lot of medicinal herbs by the time we arrived," Feng Qing'er said cautiously.

"There you go. Think about it. Even if we don't take the herbs, she'll get a good beating. If we do take them, she'll still get a beating.

"In that case, why not take more? If we don't take anything, wouldn't that mean she got beaten for nothing?" Qin Yun began guiding Feng Qing'er step by step.

"Relax, it'll be fine. As far as I know, there was once a monkey-type magical beast that ate ten tons of pills and two thousand mu of peaches of immortality in a single day.

"In the end, he was only locked up for a while, then came bouncing out full of life once enough time had passed. This little Ancient Void Dragon has even less to worry about."

"..." Feng Qing'er's eyelids twitched. She had to admit that his words actually sounded somewhat reasonable.

"Besides, even when we take things, we need to have limits. Naturally, we can't take all their medicinal herbs.

"I'll only take enough to cover the cost of the pills I just gave her. That means I'm still taking a loss." Qin Yun spoke with righteous conviction.

"All right, all right. We'll do it your way." Although Feng Qing'er did not entirely agree,

when she thought about it, everything he had done lately seemed to have been for her sake.

And she thoroughly hated all those twists and turns anyway.

From now on, she could simply do whatever Qin Yun told her. At least one thing was certain: he would not harm her.

Soon, the two had packed up some medicinal herbs, deliberately leaving the protective barriers around them intact. In short, they made everything point back to Zi Yan.

As for whether she would get beaten, or how badly, that was none of his business.

He was doing all this for Zi Yan's own good, too. If Jia Nan Academy still felt it had suffered a considerable loss,

it could ask the Ancient Void Dragon Clan or the Old Dragon Emperor to pay later. After the plan succeeded, both would owe him an enormous favor anyway.

Helping him silence the academy's complaints would be a mere trifle for them.

"In that case, let's head back. Fei Tian probably can't hold out much longer."

After finishing what they had just discussed, Feng Qing'er prepared to leave. If they dragged things out any further, Fei Tian would be under tremendous pressure.

"Sure... Wait, let me think. I feel like I've forgotten something."

Just as Qin Yun was about to agree to head back with her, he suddenly felt that he had overlooked something important.

But he could not quite remember what it was right away.

"Oh! Damn! I almost forgot about that Old Man Huo.

"Although he only has a tiny bit of Soul Origin left now,

"he still has all his Dou Zun-level experience. He should be useful if we pack him up and take him back."

Following his principle of letting nothing go to waste, Qin Yun decided to bring his soul back to the Wind and Lightning Pavilion.

Even if he could not restore the man's physical body anytime soon,

he could at least give him a safe environment. As for how the man could repay him,

he could take on a role resembling that of a teacher at the Wind and Lightning Pavilion

and help train the other members of the younger generation.

"Qing'er, there's been a change of plans. We need to spend a little more time sneaking beneath the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.

"There's a Magma World beneath that tower, and I have something to take care of there."

Qin Yun changed his plan on the spot. He had nearly left Heavenly Fire Venerable stuck in that place where not even birds bothered to shit for another few years.