Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Framing and Shifting the Blame

"And look, there seems to be a hole beneath the stalk of the Seven-Colored Lotus. Legend says its roots and stem aren’t in the same place. Could its roots be down in that hole?"

"The roots of the Seven-Colored Lotus may not be as miraculous as its flower, but they’re still a Tier Seven Spirit Medicine."

"But a Seven-Colored Lotus isn’t supposed to have Fire Element properties. Could there be some other kind of fire-related treasure here?"

"Could it be an Earth Fire?"

Many of the Martial Artists searching for the Little Purple Mink immediately discovered the hole that had been dug into the ground.

After sensing the fiery aura from within, the knowledgeable crowd immediately realized something was amiss.

The commotion here also attracted the three great Profound Beasts.

Instantly, both human Martial Artists and Profound Beasts began to search underground.

Deep within the underground cavern, a figure already stood before the altar where Ye Xuan had subdued the Endless Molten Flame.

This person was none other than Luan Hong, who had discovered a clue pointing to a Celestial Fire.

’What a rich fire aura,’ he thought. ’Not long ago, there must have been some kind of terrifying flame here. Judging by the intensity of the lingering aura, that flame was at least at the level of an Earth Fire.’

Sensing the fiery aura left on the altar, Luan Hong’s expression became a mixture of shock and anger.

He then looked up and saw the holes left behind by the roots of the Seven-Colored Lotus.

’This life aura is so rich... This must be where the roots of the Seven-Colored Lotus used to be.’

A fresh wave of shock and anger washed over Luan Hong’s face.

’Who was it? Who beat me here and took both the Earth Fire and the Seven-Colored Lotus roots? Who was it?!’

Luan Hong seethed with rage, so furious he nearly coughed up blood.

He felt as though he had spent all his energy on a painstaking treasure hunt, endured countless hardships to find the treasure chest, and then discovered it was empty. The feeling made his entire body tremble with rage, and he was so incensed he could barely breathe.

Unwilling to accept this, he carefully searched the cave, trying to find any trace or clue left behind.

But Ye Xuan had cleared away all traces before he left, leaving Luan Hong with no valuable clues to find.

Suddenly, a look of alarm crossed Luan Hong’s face. ’This is bad.’ He immediately turned to leave.

But before he could get away, with a loud RUMBLE, the rock wall to the side shattered. One after another, powerful humans and Demon Beasts appeared in the deep underground cavern.

Ye Fanxing’s earlier words had alerted everyone.

This was especially true for the two great Profound Beasts who had come away empty-handed. They thought, ’Even if we can’t get the flower of the Seven-Colored Lotus, obtaining the roots would make this long wait worthwhile.’

But when they arrived deep underground, they were all stunned by what they saw.

"There’s a mysterious altar here."

"What a rich fiery aura. Could there have been some powerful flame in this altar?"

"Hm? Look at the top of the altar. There’s an incredibly rich life aura, very similar to the source energy of the Seven-Colored Lotus. This must be where its roots were."

"No wonder that Seven-Colored Lotus possessed such powerful flame energy! So that’s why. At its roots, there was a flame powerful enough to turn rock into lava. A flame that could nurture the Seven-Colored Lotus is definitely at the level of an Earth Fire."

"Damn it, there was an Earth Fire here."

Everything they saw stunned the assembled Profound Beasts, Demon Beasts, and human Martial Artists.

At the same time, they also noticed the only person in the underground cave.

In an instant, all eyes fell upon him.

"Luan Hong?!" A wave of surprise came from the ranks of the Human Race.

"Well, look at this kid. He’s the only one here. The Earth Fire and the Seven-Colored Lotus roots must be on him."

Instantly, the eyes of both the human Martial Artists and the Profound Beasts turned red with greed.

’It’s over.’

Luan Hong’s heart turned to ash. He was well and truly sunk; there was no way he could explain his way out of this one.

"Senior Brother?"

Ye Fanxing and his two companions had bitter looks on their faces. They never imagined their Senior Brother would be here all alone.

If they had known their words would expose their Senior Brother to everyone, they never would have spoken.

But it was too late for regrets now.

"Human, hand over the Earth Fire and the Seven-Colored Lotus roots!"

All the Demon Beasts instantly surrounded Luan Hong, their expressions a mixture of fury and burning desire.

’That bastard,’ they thought. ’We were up there fighting the Demon Beasts for our lives, and this Luan Hong was down here snatching up all the treasure. He just swooped in and took the prize while we were busy!’

It wasn’t just the Demon Beasts; many of the human Martial Artists felt the same sense of injustice.

"You’re mistaken. I haven’t gotten anything. When I arrived, the treasures were already gone."

Luan Hong explained with a frown.

He wasn’t the type to simply bow his head and surrender. He had always been immensely proud, often too proud to bother with explanations. But this time, he had to speak up. He absolutely refused to be an innocent scapegoat.

"Human, stop your quibbling! Hand over the treasures you got from here, now!"

"You humans are the most cunning of all. If you don’t hand over the treasures, don’t even think about leaving here today."

The Profound Beasts roared furiously.

"Hmph. I said I didn’t get anything, and I mean it. I, Luan Hong, would not stoop to lying about something like this. If I had actually gotten the treasure, why would I still be here for you to catch?"

"Human, do you take us for idiots? The fiery aura from above only just vanished. In such a short time, who else could it have been but you? As for why you haven’t left, it must be because you spent a great deal of time subduing the Earth Fire."

"Yes, that must be it."

"Chief Red Flame is truly brilliant. He got to the heart of the matter in a single sentence."

Luan Hong’s expression soured. These Profound Beasts were complete morons, yet he had no way to refute their logic.

SWOOSH!

Luan Hong shot directly toward Zhu Tianlan and his group.

"Human! Where do you think you’re going?"

The great Profound Beasts instantly surrounded Luan Hong.

"President Zhu Tianlan! Everyone! We are all part of the Thirteen Nations Alliance. Surely you won’t just stand by and watch?" Luan Hong called out.

"Humans, we can forget what happened earlier. But this person, we absolutely cannot hand him over to you. We don’t want his life. As long as he can hand over the Celestial Fire and the Seven-Colored Lotus roots from this place, we will absolutely let him live."

The Profound Beast, Red Flame, spoke with a rumbling voice.

"Red Flame, are you really going to let these humans go?" White Elephant and the other Profound Beasts sent a mental message, their tone glacial. They possessed an innate killing intent toward the Human Race.

"You idiots, I’m just tricking them," Red Flame snorted back. "First, we get the things from this kid. As for whether we let these humans go or not, that will be up to us later." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Brilliant."

"Red Flame, when did you get so smart?"

Black Netherworld and White Elephant, the two Demon Beasts, were full of admiration.

Finding Red Flame’s idea to be excellent, they immediately spoke up as well. "Humans, what Red Flame said is what we all think. As long as this kid hands over the treasures he got from here, we of the Demon Race can let bygones be bygones."

"Hand over the treasures!"

The many Profound Beasts roared in unison.

Luan Hong turned to look at Zhu Tianlan, and then at Tai Xin, the president of the Soul Master Tower from his own Wushang Kingdom.

"President Zhu Tianlan, Luan Hong is a member of our Thirteen Nations Alliance, after all. We can’t just watch him die, can we?"

The Wushang Kingdom had rarely produced such a genius; naturally, Tai Xin was unwilling to let him die here.

"Is he really one of us in the Thirteen Nations Alliance? I think that’s debatable,"

Xuu Xin Hua sneered.

"Xuu Xin Hua, what do you mean by that?"

"Isn’t my meaning clear?" Xuu Xin Hua scoffed. "Tai Xin, are you telling me that with your level of talent, you could train a genius like Luan Hong? Let me be honest. You might see him as your disciple, but he doesn’t necessarily see you as an elder. The fact that Luan Hong showed up here means he was obviously lurking nearby for a while. But did you see him seek you out, his own President? I don’t care if you want to save him, but I’m warning you, be careful you aren’t helping an ungrateful traitor. Just ask President Zuo Yi, I’m sure he knows exactly what I’m talking about!"

"Xuu Xin Hua, you don’t need to worry about the Dongsheng Kingdom’s affairs,"

Zuo Yi Alliance’s face was grim. Ye Fanxing’s recent actions were like a thorn buried deep in his heart, causing a dull ache from time to time.

President Zhu Tianlan’s face showed his hesitation.

In truth, they had long since noticed something was off about Luan Hong and his three companions, they just hadn’t said it aloud. The group’s actions in the Floating Light Secret Realm had also made it clear that they weren’t truly loyal to their respective kingdoms.

Moreover, Luan Hong’s behavior had also made him quite furious.

He had worked so hard, leading so many disciples of the alliance to fight against the Demon Beasts in hopes of obtaining treasure.

But who would have thought that Luan Hong and his group would just lie in wait, do nothing, and then swoop in for the prize at the end? Anyone in his position would be upset.

Still, Zhu Tianlan couldn’t bear the thought of abandoning Luan Hong just like that.

Seeing his hesitation, the other Martial Artists around him couldn’t help but speak up.

"President Zhu Tianlan, this Luan Hong never acted with us. Instead, he snuck down to this underground cave while we were fighting for our lives and took all the treasure for himself. Now he wants to drag us into his mess? We absolutely refuse."

"That’s right! Why should we, who fought and died, suffering heavy casualties only to come away empty-handed, have to protect this kid who reaped all the rewards by himself?"

"President Zhu Tianlan, I know you are a merciful person, but being merciful to him is being cruel to the rest of us!"

"Even if we were willing to help him, President Zhu Tianlan, are you certain we could withstand the frenzied assault of so many Profound Beasts and Demon Beasts?"

The words of the many Martial Artists finally made Zhu Tianlan come to a decision.

He sighed. "Luan Hong, just hand over the treasures you got from here. I promise these Demon Beasts won’t harm you."

"I really didn’t get anything! If I had, would I still be waiting around here obediently?"

Luan Hong was so aggrieved he could have coughed up blood. He inwardly cursed the person who had made off with all the treasure. Someone else had made a mess, and he was the one being forced to clean it up. He was hopelessly stuck in the muck with no way to explain himself, so furious he was practically fuming.