Chapter 1267: then translation of chapter title

"Master, are you leaving?"

After a long while, the spent Han Su went limp in Lin Feng's embrace, lacking strength, she lifted her head to look at the man's chin, and spoke weakly.

Upon hearing that, Lin Feng immediately lowered his head to glance at the mature woman in his arms, then lightly nodded, saying, "Mm, I still have things to do; I can't leave!"

While speaking, Lin Feng reluctantly pinched the beauty in his arms.

If possible, he naturally also wanted to live a life surrounded by countless beauties every day, leisurely and tranquil.

But alas, some things are not up to him to decide.

Now, if he cannot survive this affair of the Soul Heaven Emperor's thousand-year plan, let alone happily living with his wives and concubines, even the safety of his entire family would be uncertain.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng kissed each of the more than sixty beautiful maidservants in turn, then, amidst their reluctant gazes, left Lin Realm and headed for Approaching River City.

However, just as Lin Feng was doing aerobic exercises with over sixty beauties, the outside Dou Qi Continent had already exploded into chaos.

Because the news that hundreds of Stone Clan members had simultaneously vanished from the Stone Realm in a single day, as time fermented, has now spread throughout the Zhongzhou Continent.

After all, along with the people of the Stone Clan and Stone Realm who vanished, there were also the millions of residents of Rock City; these people mostly had their own relatives and friends, and now that they have disappeared, those relatives and friends living elsewhere would certainly go investigate.

And through this investigation, they discovered that anyone who had lived in Rock City more than a month ago has now completely vanished from this world together with the Stone Clan people.

And even their soul jade pendants were almost all shattered at roughly the same time.

And the deaths of millions in Rock City, as well as the Stone Clan's disappearance, each alone would be enough to shock the entire Zhongzhou Continent as a heaven-shaking event, let alone the two pieces of news exploding simultaneously.

Thus one can imagine how shocked the people of the Zhongzhou Continent are now!

Of course, as the news of this matter continued to spread, many top experts of the Zhongzhou Continent, upon learning of it, rushed to Rock City and the Stone Realm at once to check the situation.

However, when these people arrived at that place, all they saw was an empty Rock City and an empty Stone Realm.

As for the news of those millions of people, no matter how they sensed, they found nothing at all.

And faced with this bizarre scene, those experts who had gone to Rock City and the Stone Realm to investigate suddenly felt an intense chill surge up from the soles of their feet and rush straight to the crown of their heads.

You should know, the Stone Clan, which after the Spirit Clan's disappearance is the second ancient race to vanish, possesses a comprehensive strength far beyond that of its predecessor.

After all, the Spirit Clan relied only on its patriarch and his spirit beast to stand, while the other Dou Saints were all at four-star or lower.

Aside from its clan chief who is a seven-star Dou Saint, they also have a Second Elder who is a six-star Dou Saint, a Third Elder who is a five-star Dou Saint, several other four-star Dou Saints, and a bunch of one- to three-star low-ranking Dou Saints.

Therefore, in both numbers and quality, the Stone Clan surpasses the Spirit Clan by a whole tier.

Yet such a towering behemoth standing above the continent has now vanished completely in just a day, as if it had never existed.

Faced with such a scene that chills one to the bone, how many people could remain calm?

Because the fall of the Stone Clan Great Elder is kept highly secret within the clan, few outsiders know about it.

However, unlike the baseless speculation of outsiders, the Soul and Ancient clans now both suspect each other's actions.

Previously, the Ancient Clan was already deeply suspicious of the Soul Clan; now that the Stone Clan has vanished again, their suspicion naturally grew stronger.

For this reason, Gu Yuan specially personally invited the chiefs of the Flame and Medicine clans to come discuss the matter.

Of course, those who finally came were certainly not the chiefs of the two clans, but rather Dou Saint experts authorized by them.

After all, at such a critical moment, the Medicine and Flame clans also feared that if their chiefs went out, they could be wiped out in one sweep, ending up following the Spirit and Stone clans into oblivion.

As for the Soul Clan side, although they confirmed that the Elder of the Thunder Clan was indeed killed by the Ancient Clan's Elder.

But even so, the Soul Clan's higher-ups still felt uneasy in their hearts.

Because they always felt that the Ancient Clan lacked the resolve to wipe out the Stone Clan in one fell swoop.

Moreover, the reason they dared to annihilate the Spirit Clan was because of the existence of Wu Nie Tun Yan, which could silently swallow the Spirit Realm into its belly, preventing outsiders from noticing any movement within the Spirit Realm, or anyone from the Spirit Realm escaping.

But if the Stone Clan was wiped out by the Ancient Clan, how could they have accomplished that?

However, the Soul Clan's suspicion didn't last long; when they found that the Thunder Clan stubbornly believed the Stone Clan incident was the Ancient Clan's doing, they stopped opposing the Soul Clan's clamor to destroy an ally of the Ancient Clan alliance, and the Soul Clan's thoughts immediately became active.

After all, pinning this matter entirely on the Ancient Clan's head would, for the Soul Clan, bring only benefits and no drawbacks.

Thinking this through, the Soul Clan's higher-ups immediately shifted their stance; although they continued to investigate the Stone Clan matter in secret, outwardly they began to denounce the Ancient Clan's cruelty before the Thunder Clan.

Furthermore, seeing the opportunity ripe, the Soul Clan even suggested to the Thunder Clan that, since the Ancient Clan had meddled with their ally, they might as well stir up something at this Medicine Clan's pharmacopoeia gathering as well.

After all, the Ancient Clan is so vicious and arrogant; if they dare to act against the Stone Clan today, they will surely dare to act against the Thunder Clan tomorrow, and the day after they might even think of killing their ally, the Soul Clan, to extinction.

And upon hearing the Soul Clan's revenge plan, the Thunder Clan hesitated a moment, then finally agreed to it.

After all, the affairs of the Spirit Clan and Stone Clan have left the Thunder Clan unable to sleep soundly.

This time at the pharmacopoeia gathering, the Thunder Clan will definitely stir up something, to give the Ancient Clan alliance a shake.

To let the world know that the Thunder Clan is not a soft persimmon like the Spirit and Stone Clans!

Of course, they also want to take the opportunity to check the situation of the Soul Clan, see how they act, observe the Ancient Clan's reaction, and finally analyze the matters of the Stone and Spirit Clans.

After all, everyone is an old fox from last year; how could they possibly be so reassured about their allies?

In the hearts of the Thunder Clan's higher-ups, toward the Soul Clan there also exists a hint of suspicion.

As for the Soul Clan, they naturally also felt this suspicion, but regarding this matter they simply chose to turn a blind eye.

After all, this time they were merely trying to use the pharmacopoeia gathering to weaken the Thunder Clan a bit.

Because even the Soul Heaven Emperor, while ensuring he himself wouldn't suffer too great a loss, had little confidence in annihilating the Thunder Clan in the Thunder Realm.

And if the Soul Clan's high-end forces suffer too great a loss, especially the four living dead and Wu Nie Tun Yan being harmed, then later dealing with the Ancient Clan would become troublesome for them.

After all, without deploying the four living dead, relying solely on the weakened Wu Nie Tun Yan, which must maintain the seal of the small world, together with the Soul Clan's Four Demonic Saints, would simply be like going to the Thunder Realm to offer up heads.

The Thunder Clan's chief, an eight-star peak Dou Saint, upon summoning the ancestral spirit and then mobilizing the whole clan to cast the great protective formation, could with a single slap make the distracted and greatly weakened Wu Nie Tun Yan cry out 'dad'.

After all, the Thunder Clan differs from the Spirit and Stone Clans, whose strength has greatly declined due to exhausted bloodlines; the Thunder Clan's Dou Emperor bloodline is thriving, and this line has produced a genius with divine-grade bloodline named Lei Dong, who is in no way inferior to the Ancient Clan's Gu Xun'er.

At the same time, the Thunder Clan's strong individuals are not lacking compared to the Flame Clan.

Besides the Thunder Clan's chief, who is an eight-star peak Dou Saint, they also have a seven-star Dou Saint expert, as well as a host of other Dou Saints.

For Wu Nie Tun Yan to think it could wipe them out is pure fantasy.

As for the Soul Clan's Four Demonic Saints, if they go, once Wu Nie Tun Yan falls, the Thunder Clan's chief won't even need the ancestral spirit; he alone could easily handle them.

And it is also because of the Thunder Clan's strength that the Soul Clan's higher-ups have no choice but to greatly value this "ally", while also seeking every way to weaken the Thunder Clan's power.

Because there is only a weak Thunder Clan, it serves the interests of the Soul Clan.

Amid the various external speculations, after leaving the Lin Realm, Lin Feng went out for a while and gathered some information.

After confirming the outside speculation and rumors about the disappearance of the Stone Clan, he swiftly headed toward Linjiang City.

Whoosh!

A short time after taking flight, Lin Feng's figure instantly appeared in his home in Linjiang City.

Immediately afterward, he swept the entire Lin Family Fortress with his soul power, and then, without anyone noticing, entered a cultivation chamber inside the fortress.

Boom!

As Lin Feng entered the cultivation chamber, half a day later a vast Battle Qi wave suddenly materialized out of thin air in a part of the sky within the Lin Family Fortress, then rapidly spread, violently striking the formation walls surrounding the fortress and generating a series of transparent ripples.

This sudden Battle Qi wave naturally alarmed Gu Xun'er, who was still inside the Lin Family Fortress, unable to leave and anxiously awaiting Lin Feng's "emergence".

When she sensed the change, her expression shifted instantly, and she hurried out of her room, standing under the corridor's eave, her gaze solemnly fixed on the nearby celestial disturbance.

"That bastard Lin Feng has successfully broken through to Five-Star Battle Saint."

After lingering for a while, Gu Xun'er finally sighed helplessly, her silver teeth grinding in the dark.

After all, her and Brother Xiao Yan's mutual breakthrough success was not exactly good news for her.

Although in every respect Lin Feng was her man, Gu Xun'er spent every day pondering how to kill that scoundrel Lin Feng.

Nevertheless, no matter how much hatred Gu Xun'er harbored, it could not stop Lin Feng's successful promotion to Five-Star Battle Saint.

The Battle Qi wave in the sky persisted for about an hour before gradually subsiding.

Immediately afterward, a figure swooped from that spot and, in the blink of an eye, stood before Gu Xun'er.

"Hehe, is this how you conduct business—without keeping your word? The agreed time between us has already passed by almost half a month. By calculation, you have breached the contract."

Looking at the Lin Feng before her, whose aura had changed from before, Gu Xun'er slightly furrowed her dark brows and then asked.

He shook his head at the words, his expression calm, and replied, "No, no, no. Come to think of it, I haven't touched you for over a month, and your… also suffered less than a month of punishment, so by that count, you profited."

At that point, Lin Feng waved his hand and removed the restriction he had placed inside her body.

Boom!

With the restriction lifted, Gu Xun'er's Three-Star Battle Saint aura instantly poured out like a long‑blocked flood, spreading throughout the Lin Family Fortress.

Of course, this Three-Star Battle Saint aura had no effect on Lin Feng at all.

But then, as if recalling something, he quickly reached into his bosom, casually retrieved the binding ring that Gu Xun'er had left with him for safekeeping.

At the same time he tossed the ring, he asked, "Our deal is now nearing its end; you should tell me how to join that Medicine Classic, right? According to the information I previously obtained, the day of the Medicine Clan's Medicine Classic is less than a month away, and I'm planning to vie for the title of the continent's First Alchemist."

"Hmph, with your three‑legged cat alchemy, you still dream of snatching the continent's First Alchemist title. I think you're just dreaming nonsense!"

As she took the binding ring and heard his words, Gu Xun'er instantly curled a cold smile at the corner of her mouth and began to mock him.

Of course, after the mockery, she thought for a moment and did not consider using any other means.

After inspecting the binding ring and confirming that its Soul Shield bore no signs of having been opened, she suddenly conceived an idea, and a wisp of light appeared before her.

The moment the light cluster appeared, Gu Xun'er snapped her fingers, and the cluster swiftly transformed into a jade tablet of pure emerald, shooting toward Lin Feng.

At the same time, Gu Xun'er lightly parting her pink lips, explained, "This is the invitation to the Medicine Clan's Medicine Classic. I've already told the Medicine Clan that you wish to compete for the continent's First Alchemist title. Upon hearing that, they were very 'delighted' and specifically asked me to invite you to the Medicine Realm to attend the Classic, saying they hope to 'properly' spar with you, hehe."

Speaking further, Gu Xun'er seemed to recall something and couldn't help letting out a few light laughs.

"That woman must have said something reckless to the Medicine Clan, right?"

Now that Lin Feng's soul power was so formidable, as he received the ring he also sensed the other's mental and subtle facial changes, causing his brows to knit slightly and muttering inwardly about the woman's meddling. Though he wasn't afraid of the Medicine Clan, being set up by Gu Xun'er for no reason certainly wasn't something to be happy about.

However, he then slightly lifted the corner of his mouth, slipped the jade tablet into the binding ring, and chuckled, "I think you should stop laughing and hurry to persuade those old stubborn ones in your clan to see whether they'll let your brother Xiao Yan enter to seek opportunities."

While speaking, Lin Feng walked up to Gu Xun'er and, without a word, bowed his head.

As for her, the reflection of Lin Feng's head rapidly enlarged within her eyes, and she stood there, stunned.

But soon, she felt a warm, moist sensation on her tender lips.

Even worse, a mischievous fellow brazenly forced his way into her mouth, scrubbing wildly and even pulling out her pink tongue to toy with.

"Bastard, what are you doing!"

But she quickly pushed Lin Feng away, then swiftly leapt ten zhang away, her face flushed with shame and anger as she stared at him.

"I'm not a bastard, but—!"

Hearing his "invitation", Lin Feng replied without hesitation.

"You!"

Seeing his shameless face, Gu Xun'er clenched both fists, nearly grinding her teeth to the point of breaking them.

But considering the disparity in strength between them, she had to release her fists.

Then, recalling her brother Xiao Yan's advancement to Imperial Soul, she gritted her teeth and said, "Bastard, the Medicine Classic is less than a month away. Even if time inside Tian Mu runs five times faster than the outside, that's only a little over two months. Does Xiao Yan really have enough time to ascend to Imperial Soul?"

As she spoke, Gu Xun'er's dark brows slightly furrowed, a hint of doubt in her heart.

Normally, advancing to Imperial Soul is counted by years, but even inside Tian Mu, it's less than three months—really enough?

Hearing this, Lin Feng immediately pounded his chest and said, "Don't worry. As long as the old stubborn ones in your clan don't stall, I guarantee it's enough. Also, that earlier kiss counts as your clan's compensation to me. I originally thought they'd bring out two five‑grade treasure pills and one five‑grade mysterious pill to redeem you, but they just acted like ostriches—damn, a bunch of petty old foxes."

"You!"

And Gu Xun'er, hearing Lin Feng's words, became so angry that the granary before her wildly trembled.

Earlier when you spoke to me, you only said the clan would bring two treasure pills to redeem me, then return them, never mentioning any mysterious pill!

At that moment, Gu Xun'er realized that he was trying to use this as an opportunity to extort a hefty sum from the ancient clan.

Understanding his malicious intent, she gritted her teeth and said, "You bastard, Gu Xun'er will never give up on you!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Gu Xun'er without hesitation turned and flew away from the spot.

Lin Feng was truly insidious; she thought it best to keep a greater distance.

Lest, when the heavens later unleash a thunderbolt, she might also be caught in it.

"Damn, already running away?"

Seeing the former's swiftly departing back, Lin Feng immediately curled his lips.

Since this woman dared to scheme against him, he would certainly seek to regain face.

However, thinking that he had failed to obtain a Nine‑Star Mystic Pill from the ancient clan, he immediately shook his head in disappointment.

But thinking that less than a month remained until the Medicine Canon, and with Gu Xun'er already gone, Lin Feng couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Looks like I too should go prepare to boost my Dou Qi strength."

As his inner murmur faded, Lin Feng's figure instantly vanished from the spot and shot toward the region where the Tian clan resided.

Of course, on the way there Lin Feng couldn't resist testing the might of his Emperor-realm soul.

As for the result, it left him astonished, for at a distance of several hundred li, a casual strike of Lin Feng's soul power could produce a powerful soul impact that even a four-star Dou Sheng could not withstand.

However, worried about encountering other ancient forces, after a simple test Lin Feng immediately left and continued toward his destination.

However, when he arrived at the Tian clan, he received news that Tian Yan, shortly after breaking through to Dou Sheng that day, had begun secluded cultivation and had not appeared for a long time.

As for the Method of Controlling Elixirs, the other side seemed to know he would come back for it, so they had the clan prepare it in advance; thus when Lin Feng arrived, they readily gave it to him.

Seeing this, Lin Feng, who had originally wanted to ask Tian Yan whether he would join his manor, could only return disappointed.

Of course, before leaving he also obtained the long‑coveted Method of Controlling Elixirs, and from the Tian clan's storehouse he swept clean all medicinal ingredients capable of refining precious and mystic elixirs.

Even the medicinal herbs in the fields, Lin Feng did not let go; if they met the required age, he took them directly.

As the Tian clan members watched the fruits of their centuries of hard work being swept away by Lin Feng, they felt heart‑broken and could only remain silent.

After all, during the previous transaction they had also promised to provide the other side with over a hundred years' worth of medicinal herbs.

However, to somewhat ease their minds, before leaving Lin Feng gave them some eight-star peak-grade elixirs, saying they should use them to boost the clan's top strength, as the continent had recently become unsettled.

Faced with this unexpected surprise, the Tian clan members, while grateful, also prepared to use these elixirs to boost their clan's top strength.

After all, even the massive ancient clans are now encountering one mishap after another.

The Dou Qi continent, indeed, is beginning to become unsettled as Lin Feng said.

As for Lin Feng, he had no leisure to worry about whether the Tian clan members had heeded his warning.

After obtaining what he wanted, he immediately flew toward the Earth-Walking Sect.

After all, he knew what the Dou Qi continent was about to face, and as time grew more pressing, his urgency to increase his strength only intensified.

Therefore, whenever there was a chance to obtain high‑level cultivation resources, he would not let it pass, for he was now desperately lacking such things.

When he arrived at the Earth-Walking Sect, this sect that now relied on his protection naturally dared not slight Lin Feng's dignity.

Moreover, Lin Feng was still using elixirs as trade.

After a discussion, Lin Feng paid some eight-star peak-grade elixirs and one of the two Nine-Star Precious Pills he had taken from Qiu Yue and others, then took away the vast majority of the medicinal ingredients needed to refine Nine-Star Precious Pills and Nine-Star Mystic Pills within the Earth-Walking Sect.

After all, the energy inside that precious pill had been partially used, making its effect inferior to a normal Nine-Star Precious Pill, so Lin Feng was quite willing to put it up for trade.

However, the Earth-Walking Sect was clearly no match for the Tian clan, which specialized in cultivating medicinal herbs for a living.

The amount of medicinal ingredients obtained for refining Nine-Star Precious Pills was only about half of what the Tian clan possessed.

As for the medicinal ingredients needed to refine Nine-Star Mystic Pills, there were only a pitiful few stalks.

Even this was the result of the Earth-Walking Sect's accumulation over thousands of years.

One can imagine how scarce such top-grade medicinal herbs are on the Zhongzhou Continent today.

"Looks like I should make a trip to the Xiao Dan Tower; the only forces I can think of that store many top-grade herbs are the Xiao Dan Tower."

Thinking of the Xiao Dan Tower, Lin Feng immediately made up his mind to go there.

At the very least, that place offers the highest chance of obtaining top-grade herbs.

Of course, the natal families of Chen Er and Ying Er, he also did not intend to let off.

After all, he knew that place also had some of the medicinal ingredients needed to refine Nine-Star Precious Pills.

And Lin Feng, who urgently needed these things, didn't care about the quantity; he figured the more he could get, the better.

"Screech!"

Following Lin Feng's disappearance, not long after, within an independent small world somewhere in Sacred Pill City, a black spatial rift suddenly appeared in the sky without any omen.

"Who goes there? Why have you suddenly come to my Xiao Dan Tower!!"

At the instant that spatial rift appeared in the sky, a loud shout rang out across the horizon.

At the same moment that the explosive shout sounded, dozens of figures darted out from the big and small mountains of the Xiao Dan Tower.

Subsequently, those figures all came to the front of that spatial rift, gazing warily at the black crack.

Leading them was an old man clad in coarse hemp clothing, his expression calm and unwavering.

And when this person appeared, the surrounding space also showed slight distortion.

As for the soul pressure that unconsciously seeped out, it even made the surrounding eighth-grade alchemy masters feel considerable pressure.

From what had been seen so far, this old man's strength was clearly not ordinary.

However, Lin Feng was not unfamiliar with this person; he was none other than the great elder of the Xiao Dan Tower whom Lin Feng had seen before, one of only two Dou Sheng powerhouses in the Xiao Dan Tower.

"Heh heh, everyone, although I haven't returned to the Xiao Dan Tower in a long while, there's no need to arrange such a grand welcome."

As the people inside the Xiao Dan Tower stood ready, a faint laugh came from within the spatial rift.

As the sound spread, a young man slowly stepped out from within and entered everyone's view.

"Lin Feng?!"

Upon seeing the visitor clearly, the group of solemn figures in the sky froze for a moment, then exclaimed in astonishment.

Obviously, no one had expected that this guy would actually come to the Xiao Dan Tower.

Hearing that, Lin Feng nodded and said, "That's right, it's me."

While speaking, Lin Feng's gaze swept around the surroundings, and he then sighed, "I never thought that after being away for so long, nothing here has changed."

"You little brat, after not returning to the Xiao Dan Tower for so long, you're actually feeling sentimental."

Seeing his appearance, even the Xiao Dan Tower's great elder couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth a few times, then spoke in an annoyed tone. (End of chapter)