You Have a Story, and Hey, I Have Wine!

"Eight pills?" Inside the Four Symbols Cauldron, eight crimson, blood-red pills floated quietly. Luo Chen was very surprised. Having put in four sets of raw materials this time, succeeding with only one furnace was completely normal. But yielding eight pills instead of seven was genuinely unexpected. He subconsciously raised his hand, gazing at his slender fingers in thought. "Did using the Washing Brook Hand to process the violent ape demon blood eliminate some of the impurities, thereby increasing the pill yield? "Which means there's still room for improvement in the recipe for the Blood Burning Pill!" Just now, while concocting the Blood Burning Pill, he had recalled that violent ape demon blood was also a liquid-type material. Thus, he had tried using the newly learned Washing Brook Hand to process it. He had never expected such an unexpected windfall. After the pleasant surprise came a feeling of awe. Sure enough, the Dao of Alchemy was vast and profound. When he first started, he had thought himself exceptionally gifted. Achieving a little success, he had felt worthy of being called a master of his generation. But as he worked with more kinds of pills and mastered more alchemical arts, he realized there was only more he did not know. "This way, I don't need to refine another furnace." He now held fifty-eight Blood Burning Pills, fulfilling Tianxingzi's requirement. He would keep eight as reserves for the Luotian Association, and in a few days, he would deliver the remaining fifty! At the same time, he could see whether the Zhenlong Black Market had gathered double the medicinal herbs for him. Stepping out of the alchemy chamber, he found Gu Caiyi already waiting outside. "Have you been waiting long?" "Not really." "Is something the matter?" "It's about the Jade Marrow Pill yield again. The Duan family came pressing for delivery. Also, supplies for the rogue cultivator market are falling short." Gu Caiyi looked quite hesitant as she said this. Luo Chen paused, then frowned. "Why does the Duan family need so many pills? Are they following the Nangong family's example and going into seclusion?" "No, they haven't done that. But their monthly demand for pills is indeed double that of the Li and Chen families." Gu Caiyi was equally perplexed. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she blurted out, "Lately, the Duan family seems to be sending people to contact Duan Feng frequently." Contact Duan Feng? What was that about? Luo Chen remembered very clearly that Duan Feng, an abandoned scion of the Duan family, harbored a deep, bitter hatred toward the Duan family ancestor. Back during the struggle over the Golden Core ruins, he had recklessly tried to venture into the mountains in search of opportunity—all to increase his strength so he could return to his family to take revenge. Luo Chen still vividly remembered that line: *That old dog doesn't have many years left to live!* What kind of hatred would drive a Qi Refinement cultivator to address a blood-related Foundation Establishment True Cultivator as an old dog? As for the "old dog" in Duan Feng's words, Luo Chen was actually quite "familiar" with him. Duan Qiankun! Instead of cultivating properly day after day, he ran off to the Zhenlong Black Market every few days. His figure could be seen at almost every market opening. Luo Chen even remembered the many resources he had won at auction—mostly things related to cultivation and combat. Seen this way, Duan Qiankun knew his days were numbered, so he was making long-term preparations for his clan. Pills, talismans, medicinal herbs, puppets, artifacts... and now, they were even reaching out to Duan Feng, whom they had cast aside in the past. Presumably, he wanted to dissolve the enmity between them and bring Duan Feng back into the clan. Duan Feng was no nobody. He had previously gained fame on the Dao Discussion Platform with his formidable strength. In truth, however, his talent for artifact forging was even superior. He had only shifted toward combat for the sake of revenge. Now, Duan Feng was an elder in the Luotian Association's Battle Hall, and there was a high likelihood he would branch out in the future to establish an Artifact Hall. Luo Chen was hardly willing to let such a talent return to the Duan family. "Don't worry about the Jade Marrow Pills. Have Zeng Wen deal with them evasively. In any case, there's only the normal quota for this month." Gu Caiyi nodded. She was indeed not suited to turning people away too often. Zeng Wen was a perfect fit for this. His current role was largely to handle the dirty work. "Alright, then I'll use the excuse of insufficient production and have Zeng Wen send the Duan family cultivators away!" "Yes. You can also mention that the Nangong family took too many Jade Marrow Pills." Gu Caiyi's eyes lit up. Right! By shifting the pressure onto the Nangong family, the Luotian Association wouldn't offend people as much. The Nangong family's clan seclusion was common knowledge throughout Dahe Market right now. Even if the Duan family wanted to negotiate, they wouldn't find anyone to talk to. After sorting out this matter, Luo Chen hesitated for a moment, then decisively walked out of the Pill Hall. *** Outside Crescent Moon Valley, a new cluster of buildings stood in neat rows along a spacious battle platform. This was the headquarters of the Battle Hall, where most of the Battle Hall cultivators currently resided. From time to time, Wang Yuan would organize small-scale sparring sessions. The Luotian Association paid them such high stipends not merely for escorting pills and patrolling on guard duty. Strengthening their combat prowess to prepare for conflicts that could erupt at any moment was their top priority. Luo Chen arrived silently. With steady steps, he gradually approached a large building with a massive chimney towering above it. Before stepping inside, he could hear the clanging sounds coming from within. About five mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators were inside processing various ores and metals. A foul, sweltering stench was distinct despite the winter season. A massive exhaust fan produced a rumbling drone. Luo Chen frowned and looked toward the equally massive forge. Bare-chested, Duan Feng was hammering away at a metal ingot stroke after stroke. His streamlined muscles were not nearly as eye-catching right now as the foul expression on his face. His expression was dark. With every strike, it seemed less like he was forging a metal ingot and more like he was beating someone to death. Yet it was not purely an emotional vent. Luo Chen could sense spiritual power circulating with every rise and fall of the hammer. "This is an unconventional method of tempering spiritual power." Luo Chen's eyes brightened as he faintly recognized the ingenuity behind it. With every rise and fall of the hammer, spiritual power flowed in and out. During the forging, impurities seemed to be hammered out just like in the metal ingot. In the end, the spiritual power drawn back into the body was exceptionally pure. *Still, why haven't I seen Duan Feng use this method before?* "Guild Master!" "Greetings, Guild Master!" While Luo Chen was wondering, the cultivators in the room finally noticed him. After all, he was standing right at the entrance without any disguise. Duan Feng paused his work and turned to look at Luo Chen. Setting down his iron hammer, he wiped his hands with a rag, grabbed an outer garment, and walked out. *** Below the battle platform, Luo Chen in his snow-white fox-fur coat and Duan Feng wearing only a thin outer shirt looked as though they lived in entirely different seasons—one in winter, one in summer. Yet their moods seemed completely the opposite. Luo Chen chatted with him warmly, while Duan Feng remained cold and curt as usual. Used to this way of speaking, Luo Chen had his own ways of getting the other man to open up. *Playing the clam with me, are you, boy?* "How are the people you've been training lately doing?" Duan Feng finally showed a trace of interest. "Not bad. When it comes to processing basic ores and metals, they can already act as my assistants." "What about artifacts?" "We're still at the stage of maintenance and repairs. Forging brand-new artifacts is still too difficult." Duan Feng said with annoyance, "I only have two diagrams for flying swords on hand—one low-grade, one mid-grade. In your words, taking them out to sell wouldn't be competitive in the market at all. At most, we can forge them to satisfy internal use." Refining pills required recipes, and forging artifacts naturally required diagrams—unless one reached the level of Master Huyan Zhuo of Tianfan City, who could innovate and develop all kinds of magical artifacts and treasures. But evidently, Duan Feng was far from that level. Luo Chen did not have such high expectations of him either. Bringing this up was merely meant to get him talking. By starting with what he was best at and enjoyed most, he would talk endlessly without needing much prompting. "That batch of secondhand artifacts reclaimed beneath Mount Qinghe has basically been repaired. Selling them off will be enough to recover your costs and make a modest profit." Luo Chen smiled. "You still remember that?" Duan Feng scratched his head. "For that Fenghai Duan Forge stall, you invested two or three thousand spirit stones no matter how you look at it, yet in the end only a thousand was returned to you. How could I not remember?" That was true. The Fenghai Duan Forge was one of the few businesses on which Luo Chen had lost money. Because the Heaven's Craft Spirit Stealing Array in the Golden Core ruins in the Guyuan Mountain Range had contracted, rogue cultivators fought chaotically, triggering a beast rampage. In the end, it impacted the business of that forging stall. To this day, Luo Chen had not made back his capital. "In addition, I've been working overtime to repair the many artifacts collected from the battle at Crescent Moon Valley and the battle against the Fu family. Before long, you can take them for your own use." Among those artifacts were quite a few fine pieces, including over a dozen high-grade artifacts. Several among them were high-grade artifacts with defensive attributes. However, Luo Chen merely smiled and shook his head. "How could I possibly use that many artifacts by myself?" Duan Feng froze, only then realizing the truth. Indeed, while artifacts were good, more was not necessarily better. A person's energy and spiritual power were limited. With too many artifacts, one simply lacked the energy to become thoroughly familiar with them. In combat, constraints on spiritual power also meant one could not simply deploy multiple artifacts at will. Generally speaking, cultivators at any realm would choose the artifacts best suited to them. The overall setup typically consisted of one or two offensive artifacts, a defensive artifact, and a movement artifact, at most paired with a few esoteric artifacts. Even then, only late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators with relatively high cultivation could barely manage such a load. Early and mid-stage cultivators did not have enough spiritual power to manipulate that many artifacts. Luo Chen knew he could requisition many high-grade artifacts. Those items could loosely be counted as part of his assets. Yet throughout it all, his gear had remained his original set; only recently had he obtained a sword pill to make up for his deficiency in offensive power. Even with the sword pill, he had chosen it because it did not consume much spiritual power. Duan Feng naturally understood this principle; he just hadn't thought of it in the moment. After a moment of thought, he said, "If you can't use them, you can use them as rewards for the cultivators of the Luotian Association!" Luo Chen shook his head. Under Duan Feng's puzzled gaze, he said slowly, "You should know that I didn't seek you out to talk about these things." Silence. He fell silent again. Luo Chen sighed. "I know the Duan family has been sending people to contact you lately. Could you tell me what your thoughts are?" "Thoughts? Heh..." A self-deprecating smile appeared on the man's resolute face. He opened his mouth, then finally mumbled, "Do you want to hear my story?" "I have wine!" "Uh..." Without realizing it, the two had walked to Duan Feng's room. Luo Chen followed him inside, only to discover that the modest room was arranged in immaculate order. Tea cups sat on the table, and clothes hung in the wardrobe. A few flowers and plants rarely seen in winter rested by the sunny window. Faintly, the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen. This hardly looked like the residence of a solitary bachelor. At the very least, Luo Chen's own stone house was austere to the extreme. Seeing Luo Chen sniff the air, Duan Feng said rather uncomfortably, "Sister Xia left the food before going out, for me to eat at noon." "Oh..." The elongated tone caused an uncharacteristic flush to rise on Duan Feng's face. He hurried into the kitchen and brought out several small dishes: spiced beef, stir-fried vegetables, and... "Skip the rice! We're drinking, big brother." Duan Feng sheepishly returned the small wooden tub of rice to the iron pot, letting the steam keep it warm. By the time he came out, Luo Chen had already retrieved a yellowing gourd and poured him a cup of translucent, pale-yellow wine. "Is this Xiaoyue's family's yellow pear wine?" "Yes." Luo Chen nodded, a look of sorrow surfacing on his face. As the inner city became a ghost town, Yuan Xiaoyue's grandfather had vanished without a trace. Remembering that he had been crippled to begin with, in that chaotic upheaval, he had likely already become one of the thousands of yin ghosts of Dahe. Every cup of this yellow pear wine truly was one less in the world. The atmosphere that Luo Chen had managed to warm with banter suddenly turned heavy again amid this sorrow. At the same time, Duan Feng's deep voice began to recount his memories. "My story isn't actually that complicated." *** Through his narration, Luo Chen gradually learned everything he had gone through in the Duan family. In truth, he had already gleaned bits and pieces from Duan Feng and Feng Xia previously; now, hearing it directly from Duan Feng's mouth, the picture was complete. As the oldest local cultivation clan in Dahe Market, the Duan family's growth had always been lukewarm. They had never suffered a break in their Foundation Establishment lineage; over several hundred years, including the current ancestor Duan Qiankun, three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators had emerged. During this time, they had considered expanding outward, but due to various factors, they had ultimately remained confined to one place. Although Dahe Market had no second-tier spirit land on the surface, the Ice-Fire Spiritual Spring the Duan family had claimed early on could briefly form a second-tier spirit land using a special secret technique, which was sufficient for Foundation Establishment cultivators to cultivate. Their inability to expand outward was partly because they were unwilling to part with this spiritual spring. As a local power, the Duan family held considerable status in Dahe Market. Consequently, the clan's cultivators often carried themselves with an air of superiority. Even when it came to marriage, they rarely married outsiders, practicing endogamy within the clan for generations. Duan Feng's father had once made quite a name for himself, even joining the Falling Cloud Sect and becoming an inner disciple. Unfortunately, he later failed his attempt at Foundation Establishment and was relegated to an outer disciple. With his Dao path cut short, Duan Feng's father handled affairs for the Falling Cloud Sect while returning to the clan to support the Duan family. During that time, he married an exceptionally gifted woman from within the clan, who gave birth to Duan Feng. "Unfortunately, my father later died in a conflict between the Duan family and a cultivation clan from Liuguang Market, leaving only my mother and me to depend on each other." "Depend on each other?" Luo Chen was puzzled. "As far as I know, your branch still had other clansmen!" "There were, but a genius later emerged from that branch." "A genius?" "Yes. My cousin, Duan Rui." Mentioning this name, Duan Feng's face showed clear indignation. *Him!* Luo Chen had a sudden realization; he had heard this name before. A cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement! It was just that because he came from a cultivation clan, he was rarely ranked alongside the likes of Han Dang and Fu Xiuxiu from back then. After all, he did not belong to the rogue cultivator crowd. "When my father died, our family's connection with the Falling Cloud Sect was severed. "As for me, I was particularly passionate about artifact forging back then." Duan Feng gave a wry smile. "After all, that was our clan's inherited craft. Furthermore, one of the requirements to inherit the clan head position was possessing superb artifact forging skills. "Choosing that path seemed completely right at the time. Given enough time, I could have restored my father's prestige and even inherited the position of Duan family head. "However, at some point, the clan stopped valuing artifact forging as much and began placing more emphasis on cultivation realm." As Duan Feng continued his story, Luo Chen learned why that branch of the family had gradually grown cold toward Duan Feng, instead pouring all their cultivation resources into his cousin, Duan Rui. Duan Rui possessed water-fire dual spiritual roots! Originally, he should have been sent to a major sect just like Duan Feng's father. But precisely because he had water-fire dual spiritual roots, and the clan possessed the Ice-Fire Spiritual Spring, the environment was ideal for his cultivation. The Duan family ancestor had specifically sought out a cultivation technique for him that practiced both water and fire simultaneously. Thus, for the sake of the clan and for his own sake, Duan Rui remained within the family. He cultivated diligently, eventually surpassing Duan Feng and reaching the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement early on. "Perhaps it was also related to the Duan family ancestor's dwindling lifespan," Luo Chen remarked, smacking his lips. Duan Feng drained the yellow pear wine in his cup. *Thud!* Slamming the wine cup onto the table, he took a deep breath. "Indeed! But back then, I didn't know! "That old dog has always been tight-lipped about his lifespan. My mother and I were far removed from the clan's upper echelons, so we had no inkling of such secrets. "Only later did I learn that the clan valued Duan Rui so highly because they wanted to help him reach Foundation Establishment as quickly as possible, to preserve the Duan family's glory." Luo Chen's lips twitched. *A mere Foundation Establishment clan speaking of glory?* Well, being a solitary rogue cultivator, he truly didn't understand the mindset of clan cultivators. "Still, what does this have to do with your mother's grudge?" It seemed to be nothing more than unfair resource allocation. Of course, considering that Duan Feng's father had died in battle for the clan, treating the surviving widow and orphan with such disparity was indeed deeply disappointing. Yet Duan Feng wasn't merely disappointed—he was furious. "He failed! "Duan Rui failed his Foundation Establishment attempt! "The old dog purchased vast amounts of resources for him and even used a Foundation Establishment Pill that my father had exchanged for with a lifetime of merits from the Falling Cloud Sect. "Even with everything prepared, he still failed to establish his foundation." Luo Chen asked in surprise, "A Foundation Establishment Pill your father exchanged for with merits?" "Yes. That was supposed to be left for me, kept in that old dog's safekeeping all along." Luo Chen shook his head. That was severing someone's Dao path! Duan Feng's cultivation talent was by no means weak; it had merely been overshadowed by his talent for artifact forging in his early years. Given enough time, the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement would have posed no problem for him. In other words, he would definitely have needed that Foundation Establishment Pill. Yet putting himself in the ancestor's shoes, with his lifespan running out and no successor in sight, Luo Chen would nine times out of ten have given the Foundation Establishment Pill to Duan Rui, who held the greatest promise! For the sake of the clan, it was hard to speak of right and wrong. It might even have been the absolutely correct choice. Only if Duan Rui succeeded in Foundation Establishment could the Duan family continue to stand firm in Dahe Market, rather than lingering on its last legs like the Chen family, or being effortlessly wiped out like the Fu family when Luo Chen led the Luotian Association against them. A Foundation Establishment clan without high-end combat strength was a fat piece of meat that everyone wanted a bite of. Their situation would hardly be better than that of Luo Chen, who possessed master-level alchemy skills. Yet when such a thing fell upon Duan Feng and his mother, it was simply too cruel. And to make matters worse, Duan Rui had failed! That was far too ironic. *** While Luo Chen was finding it ironic, the hostility radiating from Duan Feng grew increasingly distinct. He gripped his wine cup, the veins on his hand bulging. The cup in his hand silently crumbled to powder. "Duan Rui failed his Foundation Establishment attempt and was severely injured. Around the same time, the Dahe Market Dao Discussion Platform opened, attracting three major cultivation clans. "The Duan family's standing became precarious overnight. "In this situation, the old dog attempted to form an alliance with Mi Shuhua of the Mountain Breaker Gang, but was politely declined." Listening to this, Luo Chen began to sense something off. How had this gotten tangled up with the Mountain Breaker Gang? Besides, given Mi Shuhua's character, why would he refuse an alliance with the Duan family? Piecing together the timeline, Luo Chen suddenly felt a bit awkward. That period of time was roughly when he had begun to shine in the Mountain Breaker Gang, refining large quantities of Jade Marrow Pills. By then, Mi Shuhua had likely already hooked up with Miao Wen. Since he already had to hand over a share of the pill profits to Miao Wen, he was naturally unwilling to ally with the Duan family. That would only leave him with an even smaller cut of the profits. "After being rejected by Mi Shuhua, the old dog desperately turned to the idea of a marriage alliance." Duan Feng smiled bitterly. "You probably wouldn't guess—the intended partner was Nangong Qin of the Nangong family, and the candidate chosen from our Duan family was my mother." This time, Luo Chen truly couldn't keep his composure. He blurted out, "Has that old bastard Duan Qiankun gone mad?!" He couldn't be blamed for thinking so. In Duan Feng's family, the father had died in battle for the clan, and Duan Feng himself possessed remarkable forging talent. On top of that, they had contributed a Foundation Establishment Pill. No matter how cold-blooded a person was, they wouldn't commit such a thorough betrayal of a fallen clansman's legacy! The father gave his life, his most important legacy was misappropriated, and now they wanted to marry off his widow purely for a clan alliance to solidify the family's standing in Dahe Market. What was more, the Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Nangong family was in the prime of his life with plenty of years left. Wasn't this inviting a wolf into the house? Duan Feng sneered and moved to take a hearty drink of wine. Only when his hand reached his lips did he realize he held a handful of porcelain powder. Luo Chen immediately pushed his own cup over. After downing it in one gulp, Duan Feng panted heavily and said, "Of course he hadn't gone mad. "The Nangong family was newly arrived and eager to establish a foothold. If my Duan family became related to them through marriage, they could firmly secure their standing. "Besides, our Duan family still had some lingering connection with the Falling Cloud Sect. For at least a century, it wouldn't count as inviting a wolf into the house." Luo Chen couldn't help asking, "They agreed?" "Yes, the Nangong family agreed." Luo Chen hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue. Didn't that mean that kid Nangong Qin had nearly become Duan Feng's stepfather? What kind of bizarre twist was that?! "At the time, both the Duan family and the Nangong family had agreed. "Only my mother was adamantly opposed. Later, under the old dog's coercion, my mother took her own life to prove her resolve, completely cutting off his hopes. "It was also at that point that I broke away from the Duan family and entered the inner city alone to make my own way." Luo Chen took out a fresh cup and poured himself some wine. After taking a long drink, he sighed. "No wonder you call him an old dog with every breath. Duan Qiankun truly didn't act like a human being!" He had truly squeezed Duan Feng's family dry. "Back then, I realized that whether it was artifact forging or alchemy, they were just means to an end. "Only one's cultivation realm, only true strength, is absolute!" When Duan Feng said this, he glanced at Luo Chen. There was an implied meaning there! Luo Chen shook his head. He wasn't truly obsessed with alchemy. He had realized long ago that alchemy was merely a means of accumulating cultivation resources. Were it not so, he wouldn't have set aside the Jade Marrow Pills lately to focus on refining Nether-Passage Pills—because Nether-Passage Pills could genuinely enhance his strength. It was just that finding joy in the process always alleviated some of the fatigue. Duan Feng nodded. He knew Luo Chen was smarter than him and saw things more clearly. He sneered, "After my mother died, I fought the newly arrived Nangong Qin on the Dao Discussion Platform in my fury. "I won that battle. "After coming down, I met with him, and the two of us talked. "He told me that the marriage alliance was merely a tool. If not him, it would have been any other clansman from the Nangong family. "On the Duan family's side, however, it had to be my mother and no one else." Luo Chen was stunned. "What did he mean by that?" Following his shock, before Duan Feng could explain, Luo Chen immediately grasped the logic. "Duan Rui?" "Yes!" Duan Feng took a deep breath. "Duan Rui had only failed his Foundation Establishment attempt; once his injuries healed, he could completely try again. "Therefore, he remained that old dog's most treasured protégé. "Under those circumstances, the only person in the Duan family who posed a threat to him was me, as I had begun to awaken and my cultivation speed was growing faster and faster. "He couldn't touch me directly, so he applied pressure to my mother. As long as my mother was married off, I would truly be left isolated and helpless within the clan." Luo Chen looked at him with mixed emotions. The underhanded schemes behind it all were so sordid. It seemed the interior of a cultivation clan was by no means a harmonious, unified monolith! "With the marriage falling through and me rebelling against the Duan family, the old dog pinned almost all his hopes on Duan Rui. "He didn't even hesitate to purchase another Foundation Establishment Pill for him at an auction." *An auction? A Foundation Establishment Pill!* Luo Chen had a sudden realization. Back at the Yuding Auction, Mi Shuhua had refrained from bidding, letting four factions divide the Foundation Establishment Pills among themselves. Excluding Wang Haichao, the Li family, and the Kang family from Taishan Market, the remaining party must have been Duan Qiankun. Then with this second Foundation Establishment Pill, did Duan Rui...? "He failed again, didn't he?" Luo Chen asked. This wasn't wild speculation, because to this day, no second Foundation Establishment cultivator had emerged from the Duan family. "Hahaha..." Duan Feng laughed heartily. "Yes! That foolish cousin of mine failed again! Haha! "Water and fire are incompatible. Cultivating both methods at once certainly grants formidable combat power, but breaking through realms is exceptionally difficult! "Good that he failed! "If he had succeeded, how could I ever hope to take my revenge!" Dual spiritual roots could definitely be considered heaven-sent talent, second only to heavenly spiritual roots or individuals with special constitutions. However, it also depended on which two spiritual roots they were. Spiritual roots that countered each other, like water and fire, would not accelerate cultivation speed; instead, they would drag the cultivator down. The Duan family happened to possess an Ice-Fire Spiritual Spring, and Duan Qiankun had managed to procure a complementary dual-cultivation method; otherwise, Duan Rui might never have reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement in his lifetime. Even though he had attained that realm, the difficulty of breaking through was far greater than for other cultivators who practiced only a single element. Two Foundation Establishment Pills had been consumed, and neither had succeeded. Calculating by the timeline, he was likely still nursing his injuries even now! The backlash from failing a Foundation Establishment breakthrough was far from as mild as it appeared on the surface. From what Luo Chen knew, his former neighbor Fu Xiuxiu had only slowly recovered with the help of her Dao companion and her unique constitution. Even with Duan Qiankun's assistance, Duan Rui was bound to be having a terrible time. And with Duan Rui having a terrible time while Duan Qiankun himself was running out of time, didn't that mean the Duan clan was in dire straits?! "No wonder they've been sending people to find you so frequently lately!" Luo Chen remarked with a sigh. Cultivating within a clan still entailed so much intrigue, not a bit easier than his life as a rogue cultivator. Duan Feng nodded. "Naturally they'd come looking for me. After all, I've accomplished a few things over the past year." On the Dao Discussion Platform, he had one win and one loss against Nangong Qin, maintaining a long-term spot in the top three. Within the Luotian Association, he held an important post and enjoyed Luo Chen's trust. In the battle against the Fu family, he had held his own against the Fu family head, Fu Zhang, during the early stage. The strength Duan Feng displayed was no longer that of the weak, isolated orphan of the past. "They've contacted me repeatedly, not only making numerous promises, but even offering some benefits in advance. "Hmph, truth be told, I accepted every single one of those benefits! "Cultivation pills, Duan family secret techniques for tempering spiritual power, and so forth. "It's not that I'm ungrateful—these were things that belonged to me in the first place!" Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. "Meaning, you don't intend to return to the Duan family?" Duan Feng looked at Luo Chen speechlessly. "I knew you came looking for me today out of concern over this." "Heh heh..." Luo Chen chuckled openly, making no attempt to hide his intention. A gentleman could be approached squarely; laying such matters out in the open wouldn't affect anything. Duan Feng shook his head. "It's impossible for me to go back. "Even if I do, it will be to claim a life!" Inside the room, the hearth fire blazed, pleasantly warm. Luo Chen tugged at his collar and advised, "Duan Qiankun's lifespan is nearly exhausted; he only has a few years left to live. Why bother contending with him over the short term?" *Wouldn't it be better to wait for him to die of old age? When the time comes, going to dance on his grave wouldn't diminish our style.* "No, you don't understand. I cannot forget the way my mother severed her own heart meridian and died horribly in our home." Speaking to this point, Duan Feng looked as though he would bite through his teeth. His whole body trembled uncontrollably. "I must have his life; he cannot be allowed to pass away peacefully at the end of his years. "My father's life, my mother's life, and the years of unfair treatment my family endured... "He must pay for all of it with his life! "Even if I must grind his bones to dust and scatter his ashes, I will not hesitate!" Word by word, every syllable bled with grief. Luo Chen sighed, knowing he couldn't dissuade him. Yet as a mere ninth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator, how could Duan Feng contend with a Foundation Establishment cultivator? He still had a ways to go before even reaching the Great Perfection. Suddenly, a scene surfaced in Luo Chen's memory. He almost spoke up instinctively, but upon seeing the ravenous, predatory look in Duan Feng's eyes, he forcefully swallowed the words back down. *I can't say it!* *Saying it would only harm Duan Feng!*