Upon entering the underground laboratory, the first things that caught Chen Fei's eye were containers filled with various colored liquids. They had been knocked over and were now scattered across the floor. Fortunately, these glass vessels were made of an incredibly tough, high-hardness glass, so none were damaged. The scene simply looked messy.

As for the item Chen Fei was most concerned about, the Mid Grade Human Level Spiritual Herb—the Jinchan Moon Fruit—it was rooted peacefully in a square glass vessel. Beneath it lay a thick layer of soil, and under the soil, tubes connected to what looked like a nutrient solution were slowly feeding it.

Seeing this, Chen Fei's brows furrowed deeply.

CLANG!

He waved his hand, and a Yanf Sword shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, streaking straight toward the square glass vessel. With a clang, the shockingly hard special glass shattered. The Yanf Sword then transformed into wisps of crimson flame. The flames protected the Jinchan Moon Fruit from harm while gently carrying it back into Chen Fei's hand.

Once the Jinchan Moon Fruit was back in his hand, Chen Fei channeled his Spiritual Energy into it. After sensing it for a moment with a blank expression, he finally gave a cold snort. "Hmph. Utterly superfluous."

He understood that the man's method was an attempt to make the miraculous spiritual herb even more potent. The problem was, it wasn't nearly that simple. After all, everything in this world has a carrying capacity. The principle that a container overflows when filled with water is elementary. How could he not understand that? So shallow, and so greedy. If it weren't for his greed, for his desire to make the already astonishingly potent Jinchan Moon Fruit even stronger, why would Zhou Ye have devised such a perfunctory and superfluous method?

Still, he had to thank the man for his greed. Otherwise, how would the Jinchan Moon Fruit have found its way back to him? It's all luck, all fate.

"Yes, yes… it was me who was being superfluous, I was ignorant. So, um, can I leave now?" Hearing Chen Fei's words, Zhou Ye's voice trembled as he couldn't help but rush out the question. Clearly, all he wanted was to get away from this devil, Chen Fei, as quickly and as far as possible.

"Leave?" Chen Fei shook his head with a cold smile. "Where do you think you're going? And why would you be allowed to leave now?"

"You…"

Hearing this, Zhou Ye's face stiffened, turning somewhat pale as he looked at Chen Fei. "You… you said you were willing to let me go, didn't you?" He hadn't expected Chen Fei to deceive him at the last moment. He had seemed willing to let him go before.

"Willing to let you go? Is there something wrong with your ears, or did you mishear? I only said that the death penalty can be waived, but punishment cannot be escaped. Besides, a guy like you might not be a threat to me, but it would still be a hassle if you decided to go after my family or friends out of malice. If you were in my shoes, would you let the tiger return to the mountain?" Chen Fei's gaze was cold as he stared at him.

"I…" Zhou Ye's face froze. He knew Chen Fei was right.

With his Innate Middle Stage strength, he posed no real threat to Chen Fei himself. However, if he harbored malicious intent and went after Chen Fei's relatives or friends, he would be a significant menace. If their roles were reversed, he certainly wouldn't let the tiger return to the mountain.

"Then… what will it take for you to let me go? To spare my life?" Zhou Ye, still terrified of death, hurriedly asked.

"Very simple. I'll give you two options."

Chen Fei held up two fingers and spoke slowly. "One: I plant a poison in your body. It will gradually corrode you, and only I will have the antidote. So, if you ever feel like seeking death, this option is perfect for you."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "Two: Cripple your cultivation to below the Innate Realm, and you can walk away. If you no longer possess the strength of the Innate Realm, those restless thoughts of yours probably won't surface so easily, don't you think?" Chen Fei's dark, glass-clear eyes watched him calmly, but his tone was laced with a chilling cold.

"I…"

Hearing the two choices Chen Fei offered, Zhou Ye's expression changed drastically as he wrestled with indecision.

The first option might allow me to keep my current strength, but poison… The very thought of my life being completely in someone else's hands is suffocating. But the second option, crippling my cultivation to below the Innate Level, is also incredibly difficult to accept. After all these decades, after all the hardship and suffering I endured to get to where I am today… how could I just give it all up?

"You have ten seconds to decide. After ten seconds, you won't have to choose either path. I'll send you on your way myself." Chen Fei's icy voice suddenly rang out, causing Zhou Ye's aged body to tremble violently. I won't have to choose either path… he'll send me on my way? Are you kidding me!?

"Ten, nine, eight, seven…" Chen Fei couldn't be bothered with him and began counting down.

"Wait, wait…" Hearing the countdown, Zhou Ye's old face broke out in a sweat. He began to panic, stuttering.

However, Chen Fei paid him no mind, his expression cold as he continued, "Six, five, four, three…"

He counted down quickly, each number landing like a swift, heavy hammer blow on Zhou Ye's heart. The old man's face grew even paler, his withered fingers trembling uncontrollably.

"Two, one…"

As Chen Fei's countdown ended, a faint flicker of flame gradually appeared in the dim laboratory. At the sight of it, Zhou Ye's pupils constricted and his eyelids twitched. He bellowed, "Wait, wait! I… I choose the second option!" As he spoke, he actually gritted his teeth and shattered the source of True Qi within his body. Instantly, his cultivation plummeted from the Innate Middle Stage to below the Innate Realm.

"…Cough, cough… Now… now can I go? Cough, cough…" Zhou Ye asked, his face ashen and his lips trembling as he coughed up blood.

"Yes, go."

Chen Fei nodded expressionlessly. Zhou Ye, as if granted a pardon, immediately turned and fled, clearly never wanting to be in Chen Fei's presence ever again.

Just like that, the now extremely weak Zhou Ye vanished from Chen Fei's sight.

"Tsk, tsk, you've got quite a way with things, kid. Making an Innate Middle Stage Ancient Martial Artist willingly shatter his own True Qi source… compared to you, this old man is far too lacking. But why didn't you just kill him and be done with it?" Just then, a cold, mocking laugh echoed from the darkness.

Chen Fei showed no surprise at this. He calmly shifted his gaze toward the laboratory entrance, where an elder in a yellow robe had appeared at some point. "Elder Huang," he said politely, offering a slight bow.

This yellow-robed elder was none other than the backup he had asked Old Master Xuu to arrange for him in the Capital City, just in case. The elder's name was Huang Xing, a veteran figure in the Central Guard Bureau who possessed terrifying strength on par with Elder Xunn Lun. Peak of Innate Late Stage Grand Perfection!

Perhaps half the credit for successfully bluffing the Qi Refining Seventh Layer expert from the Black Demon Palace belonged to him.

After all, in the secular world, an expert at the Innate Late Stage Grand Perfection was exceedingly rare—enough to make people overthink things.

"Heh heh, you'd better not call me that. It makes me feel a bit uneasy," Old Man Huang Xing said, shaking his head with a chuckle.

Clearly, Chen Fei's actions today had left a deep impression on him; otherwise, he would never have said such a thing. Hearing this, Chen Fei touched his nose in slight embarrassment.

Seeing this, Old Man Huang Xing glanced at him before shaking his head with another smile. "Speaking of which, I didn't really help much today. I just stood by and watched the show, so I feel a bit awkward. How about this? Later, have Flying Leopard hand over the remnants of the Tiger Leopard Hall to our Central Guard Bureau. Flying Leopard is a local unit, after all; their level is a bit low, so there are some things they probably can't handle."

Pausing here, Old Man Huang Xing smiled again. "However, you deserve the lion's share of the credit for taking down a major cancer like the Tiger Leopard Hall. I'll report this truthfully up the chain. I expect it won't be long before the higher-ups show their appreciation."

Chen Fei nodded as he listened to the first half of the statement. Although I'm not skilled at navigating these sorts of intricacies, I can see that Flying Leopard is indeed on a much lower level than the Central Guard Bureau. Handing the aftermath over to them is definitely a better choice than leaving it with Flying Leopard. As for the credit? I don't think I'm interested in that at all.

Though that was his inner thought, Chen Fei smiled warmly and said, "Then thank you, Elder Huang. In any case, I'm very grateful for your help this time."

Old Man Huang Xing rolled his eyes at him. "I did this for Old Master Xuu, not for a young whippersnapper like you. But eliminating a scourge on the country is the right thing to do. It's part of our Central Guard Bureau's job, after all."

"Um… Elder Huang, did you already know that Luo Zun was involved with the Black Demon Palace?" Chen Fei asked suddenly.

Hearing this, Huang Xing's expression faltered slightly.

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