Chapter 20: I Promised Not to Kill You, but My Mount Didn’t!

"Then I shall trouble you!"

Li Xuanfeng subtly exchanged glances with Wei Qingyan before smiling at the House of a Hundred Matters manager.

"Doing what I'm paid for—it's only right, only right!"

The manager said with a beaming smile.

The three of them headed out.

Li Xuanfeng and Wei Qingyan mounted their steeds.

As for the manager, he could only rely on his own two legs to walk.

Neither Wei Qingyan nor Li Xuanfeng had any intention of inviting him to ride with them.

For a Cultivator with immense strength and a robust physique, walking hundreds of miles in a day was nothing at all!

Though the manager appeared calm on the surface, he was feeling very disgruntled in his heart.

"Damn it, I'll endure you for just a bit longer. Soon, this Black Swift-Steed will be my mount!"

"It's a pity about this little lady; she's as pretty as a flower but can't be touched—she has to be saved as blood food for the master's Elder brother!"

The manager strode ahead.

He stayed one pace ahead of Li Xuanfeng and Wei Qingyan.

The previous smiling facade was long gone, replaced by a gaze as cold and sinister as a venomous snake.

However, since his back was to them, neither Li Xuanfeng nor Wei Qingyan could see it.

Along the way, the group spoke very little.

The manager only said a few words when giving directions or changing course.

Li Xuanfeng used the System to check the fate colors of the three people.

Mhm, he was still Chaos-colored—no bad luck, no danger.

Looking at Wei Qingyan, she was shrouded in golden light, still that Daughter of Destiny.

Finally, he looked at the manager in front.

A dense black light enveloped him—an omen of death!

Li Xuanfeng remembered that when he first entered the House of a Hundred Matters, the manager was surrounded by a faint blue light.

Now, his fate had undergone a massive change.

This person was not far from death!

An hour passed, and the group had already traveled dozens of miles.

They were now in the outer regions of the Snake Fang Mountain Range.

Mountains stretched endlessly, ancient trees stood tall, shadows loomed, vines intertwined, and moss covered the ground.

It looked exactly like a primitive, deep mountain range.

As they moved through the deep mountains, their speed naturally slowed down.

Another hour passed, and they finally reached the heart of the Snake Fang Mountain Range.

“The Snake Fang Mountain Range is filled with miasma and Yao Beasts. Even Cultivators in the Body Tempering Realm or Spirit Aperture Realm could get lost here!”

“If your luck is a bit worse and you run into a second or third-tier Yao Beast, or a large pack of them, it’s even more dangerous!”

Arriving at a relatively wide valley, the manager regained his smiling appearance.

He intentionally or unintentionally slowed his pace, unknowingly closing the distance between himself and the Black Swift-Steed.

At the same time, he continued to talk incessantly, attempting to distract the two and lower their guard.

“As I said before, it’s best to have someone familiar with the area to lead the way!”

“If it weren’t for me, you two might have already blundered into a Yao Beast's territory. Those five Low-Grade Spirit Stones were well worth it, wouldn't you say?”

“The Great Formation is located about four or five miles ahead, so…”

At this point, the manager’s gaze suddenly turned fierce.

Surging Qi condensed on his fist as he smashed it toward the neck of the Black Swift-Steed.

BOOM!!!

A startling explosion rang out.

The ground was directly blasted into a large pit by the powerful force.

The manager lay in the pit, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his chest caved in where Li Xuanfeng’s foot was treading on it.

“So what?”

“So you picked this place as your own grave?”

Li Xuanfeng looked down at him indifferently.

“You… you…”

The manager’s mouth was full of blood, and his eyes were wide with disbelief as he stared at Li Xuanfeng.

In the instant he had thrown his punch, Li Xuanfeng had leapt from the back of the Black Swift-Steed and descended upon him, pinning him to the ground with a single stomp.

The erupting Qi had directly blasted a large pit into the earth!

It was also in that moment that the manager realized Li Xuanfeng's Realm.

Sixth Level of the Qi Cyclone Realm!

Two levels higher than himself!

Wasn't he at the Ninth Level of the Spirit Aperture Realm?

Could the Formation used steadily in the House of a Hundred Matters for years really make a mistake in detecting Realms?

And how was his reaction so fast? Had he been on guard against me all along?

How could this happen?

“Surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery, you certainly picked a good spot.”

Qi condensed on Li Xuanfeng’s foot; with just a light stomp, the manager would be completely finished.

It was only thanks to the strong physique of a Qi Cyclone Realm Cultivator that he wasn't dead already; an ordinary person would have perished instantly.

No, it should be said that they would have been stomped into a bloody mist, leaving no remains at all!

“Wait! Wait a moment!”

Ignoring the blood gushing from his mouth, the manager shouted with eyes wide with terror.

However, the Qi condensed on Li Xuanfeng's foot did not dissipate.

“I know many secrets! I know many secrets!”

“I can tell you everything! I’ll tell you everything!”

The manager could not face the terror of death.

That single stomp just now had severely wounded him, nearly crushing the life out of him and stripping him of any ability to resist.

“Speak!”

Li Xuanfeng’s expression was cold; he had actually been waiting for this moment.

“Promise not to kill me first!”

The manager looked at Li Xuanfeng with a face full of fear.

“You are in no position to negotiate!”

Li Xuanfeng said flatly.

“If I’m going to die anyway, why should I say anything!”

The manager gritted his teeth.

“Fine!”

Li Xuanfeng finally nodded.

“She can't kill me either!”

The manager looked toward Wei Qingyan.

“Deal.”

Li Xuanfeng promised on Wei Qingyan's behalf.

“I will ask, and you will answer. If I feel you are lying even once, our agreement is void!”

“If your answers are satisfactory, both she and I guarantee not to kill you!”

Li Xuanfeng looked down at the bloodied manager.

The manager nodded hurriedly.

“Is the news about the Nine-Star Sword Grass real?”

This was the question Li Xuanfeng cared about most.

“It’s real, the Nine-Star Sword Grass is indeed inside the Great Formation!”

The manager did not dare to hide anything.

Li Xuanfeng stared into his eyes, carefully observing his expression; the manager didn't seem to be lying.

This answer satisfied Li Xuanfeng, and Wei Qingyan, standing nearby, couldn't help but feel excited.

“Does the Great Formation really exist?”

Li Xuanfeng asked again.

“It exists! It’s about four or five miles due west of here. However, it wasn’t discovered a month ago; it was found three years ago. The Great Formation has already been occupied by the master’s Elder brother!”

“Master?”

“The owner of the House of a Hundred Matters, who is also my master!”

“What is your master’s Realm? Who is his Elder brother? What is his cultivation level? Why did he occupy the Great Formation?”

“The master is named Yuan Ting, at the Ninth Level of the Spirit Sea Realm. His Elder brother is Yuan Xiao, at the Peak of the Ninth Level of the Spirit Sea Realm. Since occupying the Great Formation, he has been in seclusion, trying to Breakthrough to the Core Condensation Realm!”

The manager said it all in one breath.

“Why did you know we were Disciples of Hundred Sword Mountain as soon as I mentioned the Nine-Star Sword Grass?”

Li Xuanfeng stared into the manager's eyes.

As he spoke, the pressure from his foot gradually increased.

The manager was instantly scared out of his wits and hurriedly spoke: “Because we have a partnership with some Sect Elders who provide us with young Cultivators through various means!”

“Fan Jie from Hundred Sword Mountain is one of those partners. As long as he brings thirty Spirit Aperture Realm Disciples within three years, the master promised to help him Breakthrough in his Realm.”

“We agreed on several code words, and the Nine-Star Sword Grass is the current one.”

The manager’s answer confirmed Li Xuanfeng’s suspicions.

It seemed Fan Jie was posting various tasks to lead Hundred Sword Mountain Disciples to their deaths.

And the so-called code word was placed within the task details.

In any Sect, it was perfectly normal for Disciples to die or go missing while out on missions.

If Fan Jie only did this once in a while, it wouldn't attract much attention.

“Is the reason you need so many Spirit Aperture Realm Disciples related to Yuan Xiao’s Breakthrough?”

Li Xuanfeng’s indifferent gaze looked down at the manager.

“Yes, he Cultivates a bizarre Cultivation Technique that can forcibly extract and refine other people’s blood and Qi to increase his own strength!”

“Perhaps his Cultivation Technique has a flaw, as he can only absorb the blood and Qi of Spirit Aperture Realm Cultivators at most!”

“The Cultivators provided for him to absorb are called ‘blood food’.”

The manager replied.

“You’ve done a pretty good job of keeping this a secret!”

Li Xuanfeng gave a cold laugh.

“That Great Formation can isolate auras, and few Cultivators usually come to the Snake Fang Mountain Range. Even if someone occasionally discovers the Great Formation, they are killed or captured by the guards to prevent leaks.”

“Yuan Xiao cannot absorb too much blood food at once. If word of the Great Formation spread, it would attract a swarm of Cultivators, which would be bad for him.”

“He chose to cooperate with some Sect Elders to regularly send him Spirit Aperture Realm Cultivators. Since everyone’s interests are aligned, they help keep it hidden, so it hasn't been exposed for three years.”

The manager figured that since he had already said so much, he might as well spill everything he could.

Moreover, Li Xuanfeng was constantly watching his expressions, and the moment he sensed any sign of lying, he would increase the pressure on his foot.

Between the pain and the threat of death, the manager couldn't care about anything else.

“How many guards are at the Great Formation, what is their strength, and what is Yuan Xiao’s current state?”

Li Xuanfeng continued to ask.

“There are three guards, all at the First Level of the Spirit Sea Realm.”

“Yuan Xiao might be breaking through soon. Whenever I bring blood food, the guards help deliver them into the Great Formation; he shouldn't be able to easily act himself before the Breakthrough.”

The manager said.

“Can you enter the Great Formation?”

“I don't have the clearance to enter.”

The manager shook his head.

“Then what about your master? Why did he send you instead of coming himself?”

Li Xuanfeng asked the final question.

“I’ve always been the one handling these matters, and I’ve never made a mistake until I met you…”

“The master has been wary of someone—the woman who was the last to enter the building after you left the House of a Hundred Matters the day before yesterday.”

“One of her younger kinswomen went missing, and she came to the House of a Hundred Matters to buy some clues.”

“But based on her description, that kinswoman has likely already been absorbed and refined as blood food by Yuan Xiao.”

“The master could only use some vague information to mislead her, but she’ll eventually realize it and come back to settle the score.”

After hearing the manager's words, Li Xuanfeng nodded.

He knew that woman was the second Daughter of Destiny he was bound to, Xu Miaozhen.

He removed his foot from the manager’s caved-in chest.

Li Xuanfeng was a man of his word and did not kill him.

The manager immediately breathed a massive sigh of relief.

That feeling of being shrouded by the threat of death was truly too painful and terrifying; he never wanted to experience it again.

The manager was afraid Li Xuanfeng would change his mind.

He forced his heavily injured body up and backed away while clutching his chest.

“Finish him!”

Li Xuanfeng walked over to the Black Swift-Steed and patted it gently.

The Black Swift-Steed understood immediately, its four hooves striking the ground as it charged out at high speed.

“You!”

“You went back on your word!”

The manager’s face was twisted with rage as he turned to flee.

At the same time, a longsword flew out from his hand, stabbing toward Li Xuanfeng.

Li Xuanfeng had long been on guard; he knew the manager had a Storage Ring.

At this moment, the manager finally couldn't help but take the longsword out of his Storage Ring to attack Li Xuanfeng.

“I did promise not to kill you, but my mount didn't!”

Li Xuanfeng watched his fleeing back, calmly knocking the longsword down and pinning it under his foot.

In the manager's severely injured state, his attack posed no threat to Li Xuanfeng whatsoever.

“Pfft!”

The manager was so enraged he spat out another large mouthful of blood.

With his heavily injured body, how could he possibly outrun the Black Swift-Steed!

Its front hooves came down like heavy hammers, and the manager was stomped to death.