Chapter 393: Feng Lin and Feng Ying's Anger and Fear
In Longfeng Tian, within the ancestral grounds of the True Phoenix Clan, Feng Lin staggered back into the clan's protective formation, coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood.
His aura weakened visibly, and his body swayed precariously. If not for a nearby guard supporting him, he would have collapsed to the ground.
"Elder Feng Lin, are you all right?" the guard asked anxiously, his face filled with worry.
As a member of the True Phoenix Clan, the guard knew all too well how powerful Feng Lin was as the clan's Enforcement Elder. Seeing someone of his caliber so gravely injured was nothing short of shocking.
"I'm… fine. Don't make a fuss. Just help me back to my quarters to rest," Feng Lin said weakly, waving his hand to dismiss further concern.
"But "
"No buts," Feng Lin interrupted sharply. "Just help me back."
"Yes, Elder Feng Lin." The guard refrained from saying more and quickly assisted Feng Lin toward his residence.
Once they arrived, the guard asked respectfully, "Elder Feng Lin, shall I fetch some healing medicine for you from the pharmacy?"
"No need. Instead, summon Elder Feng Ying for me immediately. And remember, do not speak a word of my injuries to anyone else. Understood?" Feng Lin instructed as he struggled to sit down in a chair.
"Yes, I understand." The guard bowed and left promptly.
Roughly ten minutes later, an elderly man hurried into Feng Lin's room. The sight of Feng Lin's weak and bloodied state immediately caused Feng Ying to frown.
"What happened? How did you end up like this? Did the True Phoenix Clan attack you?" Feng Ying asked, his voice carrying both surprise and suspicion.
Feng Ying, an elder at the peak of Lower Earthly Supreme and the ancestor of Feng Zhen, treated Feng Lin as an equal rather than a superior.
Feng Lin waved his hand weakly. "It wasn't the True Phoenix Clan. Someone else. I didn't expect to encounter such a tough opponent on Longfeng Tian.
Don't worry about it. I'll recover with some rest. By the way, while I was away, nothing happened to the two prisoners in the dungeon, right?"
Feng Ying paused for a moment before nodding. "Rest assured, the dungeon is inspected daily. No incidents have occurred.
But… given your condition, can you still handle the bloodline extraction for Zhen'er and Shan'er? Should I ask the clan ancestor to step in? This matter is critical any mishap could put their lives at risk. We can't take any chances."
"It's fine. There's enough time. The bloodline extraction from those two still needs a few more days to complete. By then, I should be almost fully recovered, even if I'm not at my peak.
Shan'er is my only surviving bloodline. I wouldn't gamble with his life," Feng Lin replied firmly. "By the way, you oversee intelligence in the clan. Have you heard of anyone in the Grand Thousand Worlds wielding an exceptionally powerful flame?"
"An exceptionally powerful flame?" Feng Ying considered this before responding. "Could it be someone from the Fire Spirit Clan? Their flames are the most terrifying in the Grand Thousand Worlds. Are you talking about the person you fought earlier?"
"Yes, the one I fought. But this person is definitely not from the Fire Spirit Clan. I've attended the Fire Spirit Clan's grand ancestor's birthday banquet and met all their Earthly Supreme experts and above.
The one I fought was a young woman likely in her early years with the power of a peak Earthly Supreme. Her flame was so fearsome that even a Spirit grade Heavenly Supreme would hesitate to touch it.
There was also a man with her, another peak Earthly Supreme, with an incredibly powerful body and a puppet rivaling an Upper Earthly Supreme.
Investigate these two individuals. Find out which faction they belong to," Feng Lin instructed, grimacing as the pain of his injuries resurfaced.
As Feng Lin recalled his battle, his heart filled with unease. Initially, he had believed Xiao Xuan and Xun'er to be talented but manageable opponents. With his Divine Beast's physical prowess, he had assumed he could easily overpower them and perhaps capture them to serve as bodyguards for his grandson, Feng Shan.
However, the fight proved far more challenging than he had anticipated. The two fought him to a standstill, even when he unleashed his full physical strength.
In the end, he narrowly escaped being incinerated by the Emperor Flame.
While Feng Lin reflected on this, Feng Ying suddenly trembled. Turning to Feng Lin, he asked urgently, "Did you say the one using flames was a young woman, and the man had a powerful puppet?"
Feng Lin frowned but nodded. "Yes. Do you know who they are?"
"It's him… it must be him," Feng Ying muttered, his voice trembling with fear.
"Who?" Feng Lin demanded, his voice laced with confusion.
"Xiao Tiance's people!" Feng Ying exclaimed, panic creeping into his tone. "There have been reports of two peak Earthly Supremes around Xiao Tiance a man named Xiao Xuan, his cousin, and a young woman named Gu Xun'er, who wields a flame called Emperor Flame."
"Xiao Tiance? Xiao Xuan? Gu Xun'er? Are you saying they're connected to those two young prisoners in the dungeon?" Feng Lin asked in shock.
Before Feng Ying could confirm, Feng Lin interjected, "But didn't you say Xiao Tiance is already a Spirit grade Heavenly Supreme and has fought against the Western Battle Emperor?
When I fought those two, I nearly killed Xiao Xuan. Yet Xiao Tiance never appeared. How does that make sense?"
"No… Xiao Tiance must have been here. He must have been!" Feng Ying said, shaking his head as though trying to convince himself. His expression darkened as a dreadful thought struck him.
"Zhen'er!"
Without another word, Feng Ying flew toward Feng Zhen's quarters.
Despite his injuries, Feng Lin forced himself to follow, his curiosity piqued by Feng Ying's sudden alarm.
Moments later, the two arrived at Feng Zhen's door.
"Zhen'er! Zhen'er!" Feng Ying called out urgently, knocking repeatedly.
After three calls, there was no response. Feng Ying's unease grew, and without hesitation, he pushed the door open.
As soon as they entered the room, the strong smell of blood assaulted their senses. Fresh blood was splattered across the floor, with furniture and decor scattered in disarray from some violent force.
"Zhen'er?"
Feng Ying called out softly, his voice trembling. But as he surveyed the bloody scene, his aura as a peak Lower Earthly Supreme burst forth, and he roared, "Zhen'er!"
His voice was filled with sorrow and anguish, so heart wrenching that it could bring tears to those who heard it.
The roar caught the attention of many powerful members of the True Phoenix Clan, who began converging toward the source, unsure of what had occurred.
"Damn it! Damn it! This must be Xiao Tiance! It has to be him! He's a Grandmaster of Spirit Arrays only someone with his skills could bypass the protective formation and infiltrate this place undetected!"
Feng Ying's expression twisted with rage as he paced the room, muttering to himself before shouting in fury.
"Calm down " Feng Lin began, intending to placate him, but he suddenly froze mid sentence, his expression turning grim.
"This is bad the dungeon!"
Without waiting for Feng Ying to respond, Feng Lin grabbed his shoulder and rushed toward the dungeon.
Moments later, they arrived at the dungeon's entrance.
"Elder Feng Lin! Elder Feng Ying!" The guards immediately bowed upon recognizing them.
"No need for formalities," Feng Lin snapped. "Has anything unusual happened in the dungeon over the past few days?"
The guards exchanged puzzled glances before one of them replied honestly, "None at all, Elder. Everything has been normal."
"Open the gate!" Feng Lin barked.
"Yes, Elder!"
The gate swung open, and the two elders rushed toward the cells where Huang Min and Ling Yun had been held.
But when they arrived, they found the cells empty. The prisoners were gone, and the cell doors had been melted down into pools of molten metal on the ground.
"Damn it! This is what you call 'nothing unusual'?!" Feng Lin shouted in fury, slapping one of the guards so hard that he was sent flying.
Feng Lin stormed into the cell, examining the hidden compartments that had been used to collect Huang Min and Ling Yun's bloodline. But they were empty completely cleaned out.
"Damn it! Someone broke in and took them away," Feng Lin growled, his pale face growing even more ashen. His injuries, coupled with his rage, made his body tremble and unsteady.
Feng Ying, quick to react, grabbed Feng Lin to steady him. His expression mirrored Feng Lin's fury and despair. "It was him it had to be Xiao Tiance! Only he has the ability to sneak into the ancestral grounds undetected. He must have infiltrated while you were away."
Feng Lin nodded grimly. "It must be. We need to check on Shan'er immediately. If something has happened to him too, I'll chase Xiao Tiance to the ends of the earth and make him pay with his life."
Just as Feng Lin finished speaking, a young man hurried into the dungeon.
"Grandfather, Elder Feng Ying," he greeted respectfully.
"Shan'er! You're unharmed!" Relief washed over Feng Lin's face as he rushed forward to check on his grandson, his tone brimming with joy.
But Feng Ying's expression darkened as he looked at Feng Shan. A flicker of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
The sight of Feng Shan, safe and sound, only fueled Feng Ying's anger. His granddaughter Feng Zhen had been killed her body not even left behind while Feng Shan remained untouched.
To Feng Ying, it felt unjust, like being punished alone for their shared wrongdoing.
"Grandfather, I heard you returned, so I came to see you right away," Feng Shan said innocently, unaware of the bloodline replacement plans or the storm brewing around him.
"It's good you're safe," Feng Lin said, patting him on the shoulder with relief.
But Feng Ying's icy tone cut through the moment. "Shan'er may be fine, but Zhen'er is gone. What are you planning to do about it?"
Feng Lin stiffened, his mind flashing back to the gruesome scene in Feng Zhen's room. He quickly replied, "Feng Ying, calm down. The most important thing now is to determine whether Xiao Tiance has escaped or is still hiding within the ancestral grounds."
"And how do you propose we find him?" Feng Ying retorted coldly. "There are six Heavenly Supremes in the ancestral grounds. Yet he managed to kill Zhen'er and rescue those two prisoners without being noticed. Even if he's still here, how do you expect to locate him?"
Feng Ying's words were bitter and cutting, his frustration spilling over. It had been several hours since Feng Zhen's death. If Xiao Tiance had been able to infiltrate so easily, what guarantee was there that he hadn't already left?
"Then what do you suggest?" Feng Lin snapped back, irritation creeping into his voice.
Before Feng Ying could respond, Feng Shan interjected, confused. "Grandfather, what's going on? What happened to Feng Zhen? And why is the dungeon in this state?"
Neither Feng Lin nor Feng Ying had an immediate answer. But as they hesitated, a guard came rushing toward them, shouting, "Elder Feng Lin! Something terrible has happened the northernmost cell has been broken into!"
"What?!"
Both Feng Lin and Feng Ying exclaimed in shock.
They knew exactly who had been imprisoned in the northernmost cell. The very purpose of the dungeon's construction had been to contain those three individuals.
Without another word, the two elders raced to the northernmost cell.
When they arrived, their worst fears were confirmed. The cell door had been melted down, leaving behind pools of molten metal. Inside, the cell was empty save for the broken chains that had once restrained the three captives.
Feng Ying and Feng Lin both felt a chill run down their spines. They knew all too well the significance of the three individuals who had been imprisoned there.
"What… what do we do now?" Feng Lin stammered, his voice trembling. "The clan leader will surely hold us accountable. What should we do?"
(End of Chapter)
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