196: Each with their own ulterior motives

Li Feiyu pointed at Lin Feng, his finger trembling slightly. "Good! Very good! If that teleportation Formation hadn't completely collapsed after you used it back then, I would have ground your bones to dust long ago. How could I have allowed you to live until today! Perfect, we can settle our old and new debts together!"

Evil Qi erupted from his entire body as black mist churned. The pitch-black soul defilement banner appeared in his hand, and the ferocious ghost faces on the banner seemed to come alive, letting out shrill wails.

Li Feiyu's unrestrained, furious roar, filled with undisguised killing intent, immediately drew the attention of everyone present.

Liu Mingxuan raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling upon the ghostly, pitch-black banner in Li Feiyu's hand, a flash of realization in his eyes.

Although he had never seen the soul defilement banner, the signature Magic Treasure of Xuan Yin Valley, with his own eyes, it had long been recorded in his Sect's classics, so he could not possibly mistake it.

Looking at the young man holding the banner, his body filled with Evil Qi and his conduct eccentric, he was exactly as the rumored Young Lord Li Feiyu was described.

The Heavenly Fire Sect and Xuan Yin Valley had never had any dealings, so the other party naturally would not recognize him.

He observed from the sidelines with his arms crossed, re-evaluating Lin Feng. This Core Formation Cultivator dressed as a Loose Cultivator had actually formed an old grudge with the madman from Xuan Yin Valley. Seeing Li Feiyu's flustered and exasperated appearance, he had likely suffered a significant loss at the other's hands in the past.

This was interesting; he would take this Opportunity to see what capabilities this newcomer had to make Li Feiyu lose his composure to such an extent.

He was happy to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, even secretly hoping that the two would fight until both were injured, which would mean two fewer competitors for the treasure.

Therefore, he showed nothing on his face, merely stepping back half a pace, adopting a stance of non-interference, while secretly covering the entire scene with his Divine Sense, ready to deal with any variables at any time.

As for Old Mo of the Black Fiend Alliance, his eyes darted rapidly between Li Feiyu and Lin Feng, a cold sneer curling his lips.

Xuan Yin Valley wants to make a move? Perfect, let this mad dog test the quality of that newcomer.

Regardless of who wins or loses, they would inevitably expend a lot of energy, and perhaps one of them could even be heavily injured.

At that time... Spiritual Qi surged within him, and he was already prepared to reap the benefits or slip away.

However, Li Feiyu was not a complete fool after all.

In his rage, his peripheral vision keenly caught the look of anticipation on Liu Mingxuan's face and the fleeting greed in Old Mo's eyes.

His heart sank. Damn it! These two old foxes!

He suddenly remembered that his main purpose for coming here was to track the nine nether earth yin fiend. If he fought to the death with Lin Feng here, even if he won, it would inevitably be a pyrrhic victory. How could he then compete with the predatory Liu Mingxuan and the insidious Old Mo?

Furthermore... He scanned the two with suspicion. They had gathered here; could it be that they had also received news of the nine nether earth yin fiend? Were they thinking of snatching his Opportunity?

Killing Lin Feng was certainly important, but the nine nether earth yin fiend was related to the promotion of his Lifebound Treasure, so it could not be lost.

In a flash of lightning, Li Feiyu forcibly suppressed his boiling killing intent. The surging Evil Qi around him receded like a tide, and the soul defilement banner also drooped slightly.

He snorted heavily. "Hmph! Consider yourself lucky! Right now, this Young Lord has important matters to attend to and no time to deal with a piece of trash like you. Once I obtain the Opportunity here, it won't be too late to take your dog life."

After speaking, he retreated a few steps, forming a triangular standoff with Liu Mingxuan and Old Mo. Most of his attention was focused on the direction of the valley entrance, clearly locking the main threat onto the other two.

Facing Li Feiyu's sudden explosion of killing intent and its abrupt retraction, as well as the watching stance of Liu Mingxuan and Old Mo, Lin Feng remained calm from beginning to end.

He did not even adopt any defensive stance, merely stepping forward half a pace, shielding Fang Lingyao, whose breathing was slightly disordered due to the scorching Spiritual Pressure at the valley entrance and the impact of Li Feiyu's Evil Qi, more securely behind him.

He met Li Feiyu's gaze indifferently, the corners of his mouth curling slightly. "Li Feiyu, long time no see. I have always remembered the favor of your sneak attack outside Zen Sound Temple. Whenever you want to settle it, I am ready at any time."

This absolute calm and composure in the face of killing intent made Liu Mingxuan's eyes narrow once again, and he put away the last shred of contempt in his heart. Old Mo's squinted eyes also flashed with a sharp light, as he re-evaluated the threat posed by Lin Feng.

The four parties each had their own hidden agendas, and no one was willing to be the first to enter deeply, becoming a target or a pawn to scout the path.

After a moment of stalemate, Liu Mingxuan broke the silence first. He sneered, and soft firelight rose around him, turning into a stream of fire. He rushed into the churning heat waves at the valley entrance without hesitation, his figure quickly swallowed by the red mist.

Relying on the natural affinity for fire Spiritual Qi from his Heavenly Fire Sect Cultivation Technique, he was confident he could handle the danger.

Seeing this, Old Mo's eyes rolled, and his body blended into the ground's shadows like a ghost, sliding silently into the valley. It was some kind of advanced earth-escaping technique, and his presence vanished along with it.

Li Feiyu snorted coldly, his body wrapped in Evil Qi to form a barrier, barely resisting the scorching heat, and cautiously flew inside.

However, he did not pursue the two in front with all his might, but instead deliberately slowed down, his peripheral vision always locked onto Lin Feng, who had not yet moved.

Lin Feng was not in a hurry. He looked at Fang Lingyao beside him; the scorching heat radiating from the valley entrance made her face slightly pale. His thoughts stirred, and the dou su sword, nurtured in his Dantian, emitted a low hum. A pure and vast power of Mysterious Underworld Heavy Water permeated his body, transforming into a dark blue water curtain that, like a huge bubble, enveloped them both.

Once the water curtain formed, the suffocating heat waves around them were immediately cut off, and a cool, moist aura spread out, even forcing back and dissolving the invisible soul-eroding fire fiends in the air.

Fang Lingyao felt a lightness all over her body, and the stinging pain of burning Meridians suddenly disappeared. She couldn't help but let out a soft sigh of relief, her gaze towards Lin Feng carrying a hint of gratitude and amazement.

"Let's go." Lin Feng gave a low shout, unleashed his Escaping Light, and followed at the back with Fang Lingyao, neither fast nor slow.

To maintain the stability and strength of the water curtain, the two needed to be very close. Fang Lingyao could almost feel the faint water-element aura and steady Spiritual Qi fluctuations coming from Lin Feng's body.

However, he did not follow the tracks left by Liu Mingxuan and the others to go straight in, but instead maneuvered his Escaping Light in a detour, skirting along the red rock wall on the left. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his Divine Sense probed forward, carefully scanning the rushing trajectory of the lava river, the intermittent patterns of the earth fire eruptions, and even the flow direction of the invisible soul-eroding fire fiends.

Suddenly, his figure paused, stopping in front of a patch of red rock that appeared no different from the other rock walls. He extended his right hand, a trace of extremely subtle Ren Water Spiritual Qi condensed at his fingertips, and he lightly tapped the air in front of him, which was slightly distorted by the high heat.

Where his Spiritual Qi touched, a ripple actually appeared. Lin Feng's eyes narrowed, and he whispered, "As expected, there is something fishy."

He immediately reached back with his left hand, accurately gripping Fang Lingyao's wrist, and gently pulled her.

"Zen Sound Temple." His lips moved slightly, his voice so low it was almost just a breath.

Fang Lingyao was startled when her wrist was gripped, but upon hearing these three words, a flash of realization crossed her eyes.

The experience of being secretly attacked by Li Feiyu and Flower Without Shadow while breaking the Formation at Zen Sound Temple, where both had nearly been heavily injured, immediately flooded her mind.

She took a step forward, almost pressing her entire body against Lin Feng's side.

There was no need for words; she already understood that Lin Feng intended to break the hidden Formation before them.

Seeing that she was ready, Lin Feng had the heaven-stealing vine in his Sea of Consciousness reach out, intending to follow the network of ripples deep inside to outline and break the nodes of this hidden Formation.

However, just at this moment, his heart jumped violently, and a strong sense of unease washed over him.