"The City Lord of Flame Dragon City, Zhao Songzhai?"
After entering Flame Dragon City, a thoughtful look flickered in Ning Chuan's eyes.
Once he recognized the god-devouring gu poison in Luo Luo's body, he had guessed who she and Zhao Songzhai were. After all, almost everyone in Flame Dragon City knew about the god-devouring gu poison.
Everyone knew that the Old City Lord's only beloved granddaughter had contracted the god-devouring gu poison. Zhao Songzhai had sought physicians and remedies for years, yet no one had been able to cure her!
Ning Chuan had stepped in to treat Luo Luo partly to win favor with the City Lord of Flame Dragon City!
Besides, he was not doing it for nothing.
Among the hundred-plus spirit herbs and poisonous insects he had listed, he had quietly slipped in quite a few precious spirit herbs. Even with spirit stones, those items were not necessarily available for purchase.
They were also things Ning Chuan needed for his upcoming cultivation.
He would consider them his payment for treating Luo Luo!
Only two days until the Spirit-Seizing Battle! When I astonish everyone and sweep aside all opposition, what kind of expression will Qianxun have?
Mischievous amusement filled Ning Chuan's heart. His steps grew lighter, and he soon returned to the Shen Residence.
What Ning Chuan did not know was that, at that very moment, a pair of beautiful eyes atop a tall building was watching his every move.
"Pavilion Master, we have finished investigating... That mysterious Alchemist left the Treasure Pavilion that day and returned to the Shen family. Not long afterward, he left Flame Dragon City. Judging by his build and aura, he is very likely this man, the Shen Family's Son-in-Law, Ning Chuan!"
An old man in black robes stood respectfully behind Huo Xiyan and delivered his report.
He was the steward who had received Ning Chuan that day. Even now, he was utterly shocked. The mysterious Alchemist the Treasure Pavilion was searching for was actually the Shen family's useless son-in-law?
It was simply unbelievable!
"Ning Chuan? Interesting! He has reached the second level of the spirit sea realm. For his severed meridians to have healed completely, it must have been the Perfect Marrow-Cleansing Pill!"
Huo Xiyan wore a red dress. She was tall and slender, with skin as white as jade, and her breathtakingly beautiful face bore a languid expression.
Her large, limpid eyes followed Ning Chuan all the way into the Shen family's residence.
After seeing Ning Chuan's cultivation and recalling the Perfect Marrow-Cleansing Pill that the mysterious Alchemist had refined at the Treasure Pavilion that day, she was certain.
That mysterious Alchemist was Ning Chuan!
The Perfect Marrow-Cleansing Pill! If I can successfully refine one, I'm certain to win this Trial! This Ning Chuan really hides himself well. Everyone thinks he's a useless son-in-law, never imagining that it's merely his disguise. He actually became an Alchemist without making a sound? Interesting. Far too interesting!
Huo Xiyan thought to herself, her interest in Ning Chuan growing immensely.
"The Spirit-Seizing Battle between the Shen family and the Li Family is in two days, isn't it?"
Huo Xiyan suddenly asked.
"That's right! Both the Li Family and the Shen family sent invitations, but you declined them, Pavilion Master!"
The black-robed old man nodded.
"I've changed my mind! Tell them I will attend the Spirit-Seizing Battle!"
Huo Xiyan said calmly.
"Yes!"
The black-robed old man shuddered and hurriedly nodded.
It seemed the Pavilion Master was going because of Ning Chuan!
"You've done well. Go collect a hundred spirit stones as your reward. Continue watching Ning Chuan, and report any news about him to me!"
Huo Xiyan waved her slender, jade-white hand.
"Yes, thank you, Pavilion Master!"
Overjoyed, the black-robed old man bowed respectfully, then turned and left.
The Li Family.
Li Yan, the Li Family Head, sat at the head of the hall, with the family's many elders below him. Everyone wore an ugly expression, and the atmosphere was oppressive.
Three bodies lay below them.
They were Li Yunfei and his two spirit sea realm guards.
Towering fury surged in Li Yan's eyes, his hatred reaching its limit. "Who killed my son? I'll tear them into ten thousand pieces and make sure their souls never find rebirth!"
Li Yunfei, the Second Young Master of the Li Family, had been missing for three days.
Although Li Yan knew that Li Yunfei had gone out to search for Purple Spirit Lake, he still could not rest easy and had sent people with a map to look for him.
Only today, after demonic beasts ran rampant in the Great Wilderness Mountains outside Flame Dragon City, had the Li Family elders found that valley and discovered the three bodies in the deep pool.
Li Yunfei's throat had been crushed.
Of the two spirit sea realm guards, one had had his internal organs shattered, while the other's head had been smashed apart.
Almost all had been killed with a single blow!
This left Li Yan consumed by fury and hatred.
"Family Head, although we have no evidence, I suspect someone from the Shen family must have done this! After all, the Second Young Master only recently went to the Shen family to ask for Shen Qianxun's hand, and now this has happened. They must have something to do with it!"
"Exactly! The Shen family may well have sent someone to kill the Second Young Master!"
"Family Head, the Shen family must have killed the Second Young Master because of the Spirit-Seizing Battle in two days. They deserve to die!"
The elders offered their suspicions one after another, each seething with anger and murderous intent.
"The Shen family has gone too far!"
Li Yan slammed his palm onto the table and rose to his feet. Terrifying spiritual energy surged around him, and the table shattered beneath his strike.
Naturally, he suspected the Shen family as well!
After all, in all of Flame Dragon City, only the Shen family bore a grudge against the Li Family.
What was more, the Spirit-Seizing Battle over the Spirit Stone Mine was imminent. Li Yunfei had been killed at such a time, and even the purple spirit spring had been taken. Who else could it be but the Shen family?
"Family Head, someone just discovered that Ning Chuan left Flame Dragon City for three days and has only just returned to the Shen family! Could it have been him?"
Someone suddenly spoke up.
"Ning Chuan? Impossible! He's a useless son-in-law with every meridian severed and no cultivation whatsoever. How could he have killed the Second Young Master? Still, he may have been a smokescreen for the Shen family. We must make them give us an explanation!"
A Li Family elder shook his head.
"It probably wasn't Ning Chuan, but it must have been the Shen family! Those wretches deserve to die. Originally, I only wanted the Spirit Stone Mine. As long as they married Shen Qianxun to Yunfei, I could have left them a way to survive! But now, it seems there's no need to leave any of the Shen family alive!"
Li Yan spoke with murderous intent.
"Family Head, should we go to the Shen family and demand an accounting?"
A Li Family elder asked coldly.
"No need! The Spirit-Seizing Battle is in two days. Zhenfei will return from the Black Tortoise Academy by then. When that time comes, I won't just take the Spirit Stone Mine. I'll wipe out the entire Shen family-not even a chicken or dog will be spared!"
Li Yan's eyes were blood-red, filled with towering killing intent.
"The Eldest Young Master is coming back?"
"Hahaha... The Eldest Young Master is a genius of the Black Tortoise Academy! If he returns to take part in the Spirit-Seizing Battle, no one in the entire Shen family can match him. We're certain to win!"
"When the Eldest Young Master returns, even the City Lord will have to show him respect as a disciple of the Black Tortoise Academy. It will be the perfect time to destroy the Shen family!"
The Li Family elders spoke with excitement and elation, brimming with confidence in the Spirit-Seizing Battle two days away.
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