Chapter 172: The Black Crow Arrives!

"You... you are... how..."

Fang Yaojiang lay on the ground, charred and dying, still unable to believe what had just happened.

Ye Yuan looked at Fang Yaojiang innocently and smiled: "Are you talking about this?"

As he spoke, Ye Yuan gestured with one hand, and the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus once again emitted its primordial essence fire.

But the primordial essence fire did not attack Ye Yuan; instead, it surrounded him, as if trying to please him and beg for mercy.

Fang Yaojiang could not move, but seeing this, his eyes nearly popped out.

This guy had been faking it all along!

Only then did Fang Yaojiang realize that Ye Yuan had not intended to help him collect the primal fire at all; he had simply dug a pit for him to fall into!

And he had jumped in with great enthusiasm...

But how was this possible?

That was a fourth-rank primal fire! Even a Sea Transformation realm expert would be terrified and cautious when collecting it.

Even if this kid came from a reclusive clan and had advanced fire-controlling seals, with his strength, how could he make the Pure Sandalwood Sacred Fire behave like this?

This Pure Sandalwood Sacred Fire actually seemed to be afraid of this kid!

This... how could this be? What background did this kid have?

"Pfft!"

Fang Yaojiang could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood. His charred body, now stained with bright red blood, looked utterly miserable.

"I, Fang Yaojiang, have spent my life scheming against others, but in the end, I was schemed against by a young brat. What karma!" Fang Yaojiang lamented inwardly.

Fang Yaojiang had always kept a low profile among beast hunters, never showing his true colors, but with his superb concealment skills, he had indeed tricked many fellow hunters.

It was precisely through such trickery that Fang Yaojiang had amassed a vast fortune, which he used to break through to the Crystal Condensation realm and become a Grand Alchemist.

But who would have thought that today, when he had planned to trick Ye Yuan, he would instead be tricked by Ye Yuan?

And this trick would cost him his life.

Ye Yuan no longer paid attention to Fang Yaojiang and prepared to collect the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus.

With Ye Yuan's level of alchemy, he could easily judge Fang Yaojiang's injuries; the man no longer had the ability to threaten him.

Because of Fang Yaojiang, too much time had been wasted. Ye Yuan had to hurry up and refine the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus to avoid any unforeseen complications.

Ye Yuan's hands formed seals like phantoms, and the primordial essence fire was immediately trapped by him again.

But this time, Ye Yuan showed no pain at all; instead, he appeared completely at ease.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Fang Yaojiang was still so enraged that he spat blood again.

The Pure Sandalwood Sacred Fire, trapped by Ye Yuan, made a squeaking sound, as if begging Ye Yuan to let it go.

Ye Yuan smiled and said: "No need for that. Follow me, and in the future, you will become renowned across the nine heavens! Even if you stay here, you will eventually be taken by someone. Rather than becoming a slave to those fools, it's better to follow me. Perhaps one day, you will not only gain your freedom but also become even stronger!"

As if understanding Ye Yuan's words, the Pure Sandalwood Sacred Fire stopped struggling and allowed itself to be trapped by Ye Yuan.

Seeing this, Ye Yuan merely smiled faintly and began to refine the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus.

The Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus was a spiritual object of heaven and earth, and it could naturally sense Ye Yuan's uniqueness.

Although Ye Yuan's strength was not great, the Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus could feel the power deep within his soul.

Moreover, from Ye Yuan's spirit, it could vaguely sense a presence that made its heart tremble.

Thus, instinct told it that submitting to Ye Yuan was its best choice.

……

At the bottom of the valley, the battle between the Black Crow Elder and the Golden Sword Eagle had reached a white-hot stage.

"Hmm? What's going on? The fluctuations of the treasure deep in the cave have become unstable! Could it be... someone has sneaked in?"

The Black Crow Elder gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "How dare someone cut in on my, Black Crow's, turf? They must be tired of living!"

With that, the Black Crow raised his staff, and with a wave of both hands, the primal energy of the entire valley floor was thrown into chaos.

The staff in the Black Crow's hand emitted a pale green light, and as more and more primal energy gathered, the staff became even more terrifying.

"You feathered beast, how dare you ruin my plans! Do you really think I can't do anything to you? Take this Primal Wave—die!" the Black Crow roared angrily.

The Black Crow was now furious. Someone had slipped in right under his nose to snatch the supreme treasure that rightfully belonged to him. How could he not be enraged?

In the Black Crow's heart, the treasure born in Lian Yue Valley had long been his, and he would never allow anyone else to touch it.

And now someone truly dared to stroke his whiskers—they must be tired of living!

The Primal Wave emitted an extremely powerful fluctuation, as if it would turn everything into nothingness.

The Golden Sword Eagle was also a fourth-tier beast, and as the master of Lian Yue Valley, its thoughts were much the same as the Black Crow's. Naturally, it refused to back down.

It opened its beak and shot out an extremely powerful beam of primal energy.

In the blink of an eye, the two powerful attacks collided.

"Boom!"

In an instant, sand and rocks flew everywhere across the valley floor, and the area between the Black Crow and the Golden Sword Eagle was nearly leveled.

A piercing bird cry echoed through the valley, and the Golden Sword Eagle actually flew away!

So the Black Crow Elder had the upper hand after all. It seemed that over the years, he had encountered many fortuitous opportunities! His strength had grown to such a level!

"Yes! Normally, a fourth-rank initial-stage demon beast is stronger than a human martial artist at the first level of the Sea of Transformation, but Black Crow actually overpowered Golden Sword Eagle—truly terrifying!"

"The battle between the fourth rank and the Sea of Transformation is indeed earth-shattering! It's on a completely different level from martial artists in the Crystal Condensation realm!"

Many onlookers watched this battle from a distance. Seeing that Black Crow had actually driven off Golden Sword Eagle, they were greatly astonished and even more discouraged from trying to take advantage of the situation.

Although he had driven off Golden Sword Eagle, Black Crow was not in good shape. His clothes were already tattered, and he had suffered serious internal injuries.

But compared to the supreme treasure, what were these injuries?

Black Crow did not want to go through a great battle only to end up benefiting someone else.

He adjusted his breathing for a moment, then plunged into the cave, speeding toward the depths as fast as he could.

At that moment, Ye Yuan's refinement was also in its final stage.

He was fully operating the "Fire Source True Scripture"; although he was a full major realm lower than Fang Yaojiang, his speed was several times faster!

Seeing this, the anger in Fang Yaojiang's eyes turned to resentment.

They were simply not on the same level! You can't pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger like this!

If I had known this kid was so strong and so uncanny, I would have just retreated!

Fang Yaojiang's intestines were now green with regret; he truly wanted to cry but had no tears.

Just then, he suddenly sensed an extremely powerful aura rapidly approaching.

Fang Yaojiang broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed the battle outside had been decided. He wondered whether it was Old Man Black Crow or Golden Sword Eagle.

But either way, the result seemed the same.

Fang Yaojiang couldn't help but glance at Ye Yuan, a strong sneer appearing in his eyes.

Kid, you tricked me, but in the end, you're still going to die. I don't believe you can escape from the hands of a Sea of Transformation expert!