The Ghost Venerable standing amidst the ruins.

As soon as he arrived at the valley, he sensed the entire place. The aura of the Ice-Fire Blue Flame had completely vanished, and there was no sign of life inside the valley. The Ice-Fire Blue Flame had long recognized him as its master, so it was absolutely impossible for someone to take it away. It must have been devoured by another Heaven and Earth Flame or destroyed by someone.

The Ghost Venerable was surrounded by layer upon layer of black spiritual energy. His arm twitched slightly, and the black aura around him immediately dispersed. He wore a long black robe and a hood that completely concealed his face.

A cold wind blew, knocking the hood off the Ghost Venerable’s head.

The Ghost Venerable’s entire face was gloomy and eerie, covered with protruding black bumps, and his eyes were green, giving an extremely uncomfortable feeling.

The Ghost Venerable practiced an extremely evil cultivation technique, which gradually transformed his appearance into this over time. He stepped into the realm of Half-step Divine Venerable hundreds of years ago, and since then, he made a name for himself in the Ancient Realm. Due to his appearance, he was called the Ghost Venerable.

The Ice-Fire Blue Flame was also something the Ghost Venerable subdued after reaching the level of Half-step Divine Venerable. When he subdued it, it was only at the Earth God Realm temperature, and he personally nurtured it over time.

But three years ago.

The Ghost Venerable felt signs of a breakthrough, with the possibility of stepping into the Early Divine Venerate Realm. He also found a very suitable place for his retreat, but that place was very unsuitable for the Heaven and Earth Flame.

So, the Ghost Venerable crafted a secluded valley especially for the Ice-Fire Blue Flame here. He sealed it off, and the Ice and Fire attribute spirit grasses inside were all prepared for the Ice-Fire Blue Flame.

Although the Ice-Fire Blue Flame was subdued by the Ghost Venerable, it wasn’t born within his body. Unlike Ye Chenfeng’s Green Flame, which listened to Ye Chenfeng’s every command.

Over three years, the Ice-Fire Blue Flame finally managed to remove the concealment formation of the valley on its own. Although the Ghost Venerable had set up the valley’s arrangements cleverly, even without the concealment formation, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to reach the hall where the Ice-Fire Blue Flame resided.

Ye Chenfeng could reach the hall because the Ice-Fire Blue Flame deliberately allowed him. It wanted to devour the Green Flame when it sensed it, but in the end, it was devoured by the Green Flame, a consequence of its own actions.

The Ghost Venerable’s reputation in the Ancient Realm had always been terrible. Ruthless and cold-blooded, he had many cultivators die by his hands. Now that his Ice-Fire Blue Flame was gone, how could he swallow this anger? Moreover, as a Seventh Rank Alchemist, the Ice-Fire Blue Flame was extremely important to him.

It was precisely because of his status as an Alchemist that, despite his notoriety, the Ghost Venerable managed to befriend some powerful entities.

The Ghost Venerable’s green eyes stared into the sky, and he coldly muttered, "No matter who you are, you will know the consequences of offending me, the Ghost Venerable."

As his words fell.

Only a ghostly afterimage of the Ghost Venerable was left above the ruins.

A moment later, even that afterimage disappeared, and the Ghost Venerable’s whereabouts became unknown.

On the Spirit Boat controlled by Cheng Yuanmu.

The entire Spirit Boat advanced steadily and swiftly. Even if the Ghost Venerable passed by, he wouldn’t know it was Ye Chenfeng’s Green Flame that devoured the Ice-Fire Blue Flame unless he saw the current four-colored flame of the Green Flame with his own eyes.

At the current speed of the Spirit Boat, it would take about five to six days to return to the Chengs.

Since boarding the Spirit Boat, Cheng Yuanmu had an unwavering furrow on his brow, feeling restless. Perhaps it was the intuition of a Divine King Realm expert, but he always felt something unusual about the valley.

By now, Zhu Zhize and his group hadn’t caught up, which likely meant they still hadn’t left that valley. Cheng Yuanmu and the others would’ve found it extremely difficult, if not nearly impossible, to leave without Ye Chenfeng’s intervention.

This time, Cheng Yuanmu personally came to this valley hoping to find a presentable gift. After all, a Zhou family disciple had previously taken a liking to Cheng Yiyao, and he had directly declined the proposal.

As the Chengs relied on the Zhous’ power, the Zhous couldn’t act excessively. Besides, the Zhou family disciple who admired Cheng Yiyao, despite some talent, wasn’t the most gifted in the Zhous. Therefore, the Zhous didn’t act against the Chengs over this trivial matter, which Cheng Yuanmu had anticipated.

However, what Cheng Yuanmu didn’t expect was that the direct patriarch of that Zhou family disciple recently broke through to Half-step Divine Venerable.

Initially, there was only one Half-step Divine Venerable in the Zhous. Now, with the direct patriarch of the Zhou family disciple attaining this level, the Zhous’ power had greatly increased.

In the Ancient Realm, a Half-step Divine Venerable is considered a notable figure.

Now, with the backup of a Half-step Divine Venerable, that past incident would certainly be revisited during the Zhou family’s banquet when the Zhou patriarch solidifies his authority, potentially using the Chengs as a warning to others.

Offending the direct ancestor of the Zhou’s juniors, the Chengs seemed the perfect target to demonstrate authority.

Thus, Cheng Yuanmu desperately wanted a sufficiently grand gift to satisfy the Half-step Divine Venerable, hoping for a turning point in this matter.

But having found nothing in the valley, Cheng Yuanmu was quite anxious.

Time passed day by day.

Soon, three days passed.

In these three days, the Spirit Boat traveled without incident.

Of course, during these three days, Ye Chenfeng became more familiar with Cheng Yiyao and the others.

Constantly longing for the Hundred-Heart Grass, Ye Chenfeng casually asked Cheng Yiyao about it during a chat yesterday.

Though Cheng Yiyao was unsure why, she felt an inexplicable trust and fondness toward Ye Chenfeng, who had no spiritual energy.

It just so happened that Cheng Yiyao had heard of the Hundred-Heart Grass and had even seen it before.

According to Cheng Yiyao, there seemed to be a few Hundred-Heart Grass plants in the Zhous’ herb garden. Although rare, the Hundred-Heart Grass wasn’t commonly used.

The Zhous had accidentally acquired six Hundred-Heart Grass plants and eventually transplanted them into their herb garden.

Cheng Yiyao had visited the Zhous’ herb garden a long time ago and happened to have seen them.

As the saying goes, some things come when you least expect them.

Ye Chenfeng was asking casually, but he had indeed stumbled upon a lead regarding the Hundred-Heart Grass. It seemed he needed to stay with Cheng Yuanmu’s group, and he must visit the Zhous, for the Hundred-Heart Grass was something he absolutely needed.

... (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote and give monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)