After dashing out of the city gates, Zhu Bufan fully exerted his Thunderbolt Step and charged in a certain direction. With a special connection to Emperor Yan and Emperor Yan's army, Zhu Bufan had no worries about not being able to locate them. About ten minutes later, Zhu Bufan arrived at a small grove outside the city and darted into it following the link to Emperor Yan.

At this moment, within Heiyan City, the Family Head of the Lian Family, Lian Xie, was treating his son Lian Hao with a grim face. Their Lian Family's cultivation technique, the Green Corpse Training Claw, relies on absorbing the corpse energy and corpse poison from dead bodies. Poison Fire, especially fond of sinister poisons like corpse poison, relentlessly burrowed into Lian Hao's body like an incurable disease.

After numerous unsuccessful attempts to drive out the Poison Fire, Lian Xie's complexion was no longer just deathly pale; it was ashen. Lian Hao was the most promising of his sons, as none of his other sons had broken through the Fifth Layer Heaven. Naturally, Lian Xie was extremely fond of this son.

Seeing Lian Hao's increasingly weak wails, Lian Xie became like an ant on a hot pot. In hindsight, Lian Hao also regretted his greediness, which had led to his current plight. The Poison Fire was slowly consuming his life, and what's terrifying is that he was feeling it throughout the process, bringing him endless agony every second, to the point where he couldn't even faint.

Feeling his life slowly slipping away, Lian Hao finally understood that the greatest torment for a person is to clearly feel their own life slowly departing. At this moment, he was undergoing just that.

Trying once again to input Primordial Qi to drive out the Poison Fire from Lian Hao only for it to be devoured again, Lian Xie was so agitated he almost vomited blood. His cultivation of the Green Corpse Training Claw, like Lian Hao, drew strength from Poison Fire, which was impossible to expel with their energy, and no one else's power was sufficient except for his at the Bone Forging Realm, but his Primordial Qi was exactly what the Poison Fire suppressed.

As for seeking help from the heads of the Gu Family and Zhou Family? Lian Xie didn't even consider it; those families would rather see his line wiped out.

"Go! Call for Commander Lin in my name," Lian Xie gritted his teeth and ordered his guard as he observed Lian Hao's weakening life force. "Tell him the Lian Family has uncovered a Water Mysterious Silver Clothing to be given to Commander Lin!" Upon hearing Lian Xie's words, the guard by his side paused, then hurriedly nodded and dashed out.

"Hao'er, rest assured, dad will save you!" Seeing the miserable condition of Lian Hao, Lian Xie's hands clenched until they bled.

Having crossed through the bushes, Zhu Bufan finally located Emperor Yan and Huo Ling following Emperor Yan's guidance. It turned out that after darting into the grove, Emperor Yan quickly found a secluded spot to lay down Huo Ling and instructed her to sit cross-legged and enter a Cultivation state.

When Zhu Bufan saw Huo Ling, his first reaction was to be shocked by her appearance at that moment!

At this time, Huo Ling, her veil already removed, revealed a stunning beauty capable of toppling cities and kingdoms. Currently, she was closing her beautiful eyes, her perfect face alternating between shades of green and red, while her cultivation level frighteningly fluctuated, soaring to the peak of Body Tempering and then dropping to as low as just having entered the Body Tempering Realm.

"She must have felt the need to breakthrough after killing the demon," observed Emperor Yan, wiping the sweat off his forehead as Huo Ling's face continued to shift between green, red, and white. "That explains why she was reluctant to act earlier and just stood by watching."

"Curses! It's all my fault! I should have realized the problem when I felt her cultivation level fluctuating around the First Layer of Body Tempering. I thought she had something that concealed her cultivation level, so I didn't pay attention! If only I had realized sooner, we wouldn't have left the range of Lanyue Pavilion and found accommodations there for her to break through comfortably," Zhu Bufan realized upon hearing Emperor Yan's words, recalling Huo Ling's earlier abnormal behavior, filling him with self-blame.

"Stop blaming yourself. How could anyone know if she didn't say? Not just you, even I was confused by her tricks. Thankfully, we found out early. It would have been troublesome if it occurred when we were at a critical point of life and death," Emperor Yan shook his head and said, "You need to go outside and guard. Don't let anyone approach. This emperor needs to assist her breakthrough now; otherwise, her current state might prevent her from succeeding."

"Understood!" Zhu Bufan nodded solemnly, then turned around with Emperor Yan's reminder echoing, "Remember, don't let anyone in to disturb, or the little girl's life will be in danger."

"Rest assured, no one will get past me," Zhu Bufan declared, stepping out boldly.

Meanwhile, at the East Gate of Heiyan City, it was already sealed by the Black Dam Army. Unlike the mixed-quality City Guard Army, they were the real battle force under the command of the City Lord, each soldier's strength at least at the Body Tempering Second Layer Heaven, with the four commanders of the Black Dam Army having reached the Bone Forging Realm.

"His life has been saved, but I'm afraid his cultivation may never be restored," said a man clad in dark, beast-devouring purple gold armor, slowly withdrawing his Primordial Qi before speaking expressionlessly to the utterly exhausted Lian Xie.

"Thank you, Commander Lin, for lending a hand." As if aged decades in an instant, the words uttered by Lian Xie carried a twilight weariness. Although he had been mentally prepared, the arrival of this moment still brought Lian Xie immense agony. The word 'cripple' circulated in his mind, and he now harbored intense hatred towards Zhu Bufan, who had injured Lian Hao.

"Family Head Lian, I have fulfilled the task you asked of me. Now, isn't it time for the Family Head Lian to keep his promise?" Commander Lin coldly stared at the significantly more haggard Lian Xie. He wasn't particularly interested in whether Lian Hao was alive or dead, restored in cultivation or crippled; his greatest interest was the Water Mystical Silver Robe.

Thinking of that treasure worn on the body, capable of deflecting Primordial Qi from an opponent of the same level, even the impassive Commander Lin couldn't help feeling a fervent desire. He did not hold much respect for the family head of the Lian Family, since the most powerful figure within Heiyan City was the City Lord. As the commander of the Black Dam Army, serving directly under the City Lord, he saw no need to curry favor with a mere local family head.

However, the Water Mystical Silver Robe truly stirred Commander Lin's heart. When he heard that the head of the Lian Family could offer the robe, Commander Lin didn't hesitate a moment to lead nearly a hundred of the Black Dam Army there. And, he firmly believed that even with ten times the daring, Lian Xie wouldn't dare to deceive him.

"Commander Lin, rest assured! I, Lian Xie, would certainly not deceive you! The one wearing the Water Mystical Silver Robe is the very person who hurt my son. He has now escaped Heiyan City. We of the Lian Family are willing to work with you to capture this bastard; then, the Water Mystical Silver Robe will be yours, while I only want that scoundrel!" After speaking, boundless killing intent and venom erupted in Lian Xie's eyes.

Seeing the unleashed killing intent and venom from Lian Xie, Commander Lin fell silent. After all, seeing one's talented son cruelly crippled would drive anyone mad; Commander Lin naturally understood why Lian Xie was so irate, such that he no longer cared about anything else.

"Very well, since Young Master Lian has been harmed by a villain, it is my duty as a commander to apprehend the criminal. However, I wonder how Family Head Lian plans to find this person, as he must have been gone from the city for quite some time?" Commander Lin could hardly refuse Lian Xie's request, though he still needed to find a seemingly honorable pretext for himself.

"Of course." After saying this, Lian Xie approached the Body Tempering Eighth Layer Heaven guard who had recently clashed with Zhu Bufan and pointing to this guard, he said to Commander Lin, "His name is Xiong Jin, and the cultivation technique he practices is somewhat unique. Xiong Jin, explain it to Commander Lin."

"Yes, Commander Lin. The cultivation technique I practice can attach a trace of Primordial Qi onto the opponent's body. Even someone possessing the Water Mystical Silver Robe cannot remove it. This trace of Primordial Qi remains connected to me, allowing me to track down the person's location just by following this connection!"

"Excellent! Then there's no time to lose, let's set out immediately! Hei Wei, mobilize six of the Black Dam Army Guards to accompany me and immediately pursue those who dared commit murder at the East Gate of Heiyan City!" Hearing Xiong Jin's explanation, a fierce glint flashed across Commander Lin's eyes. With the Water Mystical Silver Robe, he could stand out among the four commanders!

Hearing Commander Lin's words, those present wasted no time. Commander Lin, along with six members of the Black Dam Army Guards, and the Lian family, including Lian Xie, Xiong Jin, the Fifth Layer Heaven guard who had participated in the attack on Zhu Bufan, and two peak Body Tempering Eighth Layer Heaven Guard Captains, it could be said that the Lian Family had brought out ninety percent of its elite strength. If they failed, Lian Family would have to be removed from Heiyan City, as neither the Gu Family nor the Zhou Family would let go of the opportunity to kick someone who's down.

In fact, initially having six Guard Captains, each suffering losses in the hands of Huo Ling and Emperor Yan, was already a heavy blow for Lian Xie. Taking all remaining Guard Captains was a desperate gamble.

Indeed, it might seem excessive just to capture three individuals, but neither Lian Xie nor Commander Lin would voice the actual reason, appearing to others as if they aimed to prevent any escape, but who truly knows.

In a small woods, Zhu Bufan was sitting cross-legged, slowly cultivating while also keeping his awareness spread to its maximum range, guarding against the pursuers from the Lian Family, for he knew full well that they would never let him go, be it because of his injuring Lian Hao or the Water Mystical Silver Robe on him.

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Zhu Bufan slowly opened his eyes. At that moment, both his body and Primordial Qi were in their peak states. Taking out the Storage Ring he had just snatched from Lian Hao, Zhu Bufan found that it didn't contain much.

Nearly a thousand black lustrous jade coins, two Martial Arts white jade tokens, and a bottle of small elixirs. Taking a quick look at the tokens, one of them was Beast King Howl, which Lian Hao had spent two thousand jade coins to acquire!

"Have they come?" As Zhu Bufan was studying Lian Hao's belongings, he suddenly sensed a surge of malice-filled Qi approaching. Instantly, Zhu Bufan's expression darkened as he hastily stored all the items back into the Storage Ring.

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