CHAPTER 550: CHAPTER 543: THE OLD MAN IN BLACK_1

Could this be it? Qin Feiyang frowned. He swung his hand in mid-air, and his Battle Intent transformed into a streak of energy that blasted the lakeshore.

BOOM!

With a loud noise, a gap was immediately blasted open in the shore, and lake water surged through it towards the jungle.

As the lake water receded, the true nature of the lakebed gradually emerged. Unexpectedly, there were five horizontal trenches within it! Qin Feiyang extended his arm, splaying his five fingers, and mentally aligned them with the five trenches. He discovered that his five fingers perfectly corresponded to the five trenches! In other words, this was a palm print!

ROAR!!

Just then, accompanied by a series of bestial roars, four Water Beasts charged out of the lake. Qin Feiyang’s pupils constricted. Without hesitation, he activated Phantom Step and fled. The four Water Beasts all possessed the strength of Nine-Star War Emperors! Had he been at his peak, he wouldn’t have feared them in the least. But now, physically and mentally exhausted, merely accompanying Fatty to Falling Phoenix Mountain was already pushing his limits. How could he dare to confront them directly?

The four Water Beasts pursued him for a distance but didn’t continue. They sealed the gap in the shore and returned to the lake.

"PHEW!" Qin Feiyang let out a long breath. He took out an Image Crystal Stone and sent a message to Fatty, sharing his coordinates.

Soon after, Fatty appeared beside Qin Feiyang, visibly excited. He asked urgently, "Where is it?"

"Follow me." Qin Feiyang led Fatty back over the lake. Fatty looked down and was immediately ecstatic. It really was a palm print!

"Human, you dare return!"

"Die!"

The four Water Beasts reappeared, roaring ferociously as they lunged towards the two of them.

"Courting death!" Fatty’s eyes turned cold.

ROAR!

With a resounding dragon’s cry, a divine dragon a hundred meters long erupted from behind him. It was entirely black, its body covered with Dragon Scales, and an immense dragon’s power surged out, sweeping in all directions. This was his Battle Soul, the Black Dragon Soul!

"What?" The four Water Beasts were terrified and turned to flee in a panic.

"Die!" Fatty snarled. His Dragon Soul let out a heaven-shaking roar and streaked across the sky. Blood instantly splattered as the four Water Beasts were struck down.

"Hmph, ignorant fools." Fatty sneered, retracted his Black Dragon Soul, and continued to observe the lake.

「A moment later.」

His body trembled slightly, and he nodded. "This palm print is about the same size as the one I remember."

Qin Feiyang said, "Then it must be it. Let’s go down and look."

Before Qin Feiyang could finish speaking, Fatty had already flown downwards.

Qin Feiyang waved his hand, and Lin Yiyi, Lo Qianxue, the Wear Mountain Beast, and Lu Hong appeared one after another.

Qin Feiyang smiled. "This place is too big. Help Fatty search."

"Alright." The three women and the Wear Mountain Beast nodded and swept downwards.

Qin Feiyang was also about to descend. But suddenly, he turned abruptly to look at a low hill not far away. The hill was tens of zhang high, its summit covered in wild grass and a few lush, green trees. As he scanned the hilltop, a flicker of doubt entered Qin Feiyang’s eyes. Just a moment ago, he’d felt as if someone was watching him from there. But when he looked, he found nothing. After a moment of thought, he dismissed it as an illusion. He landed on the lakeshore and began to search carefully.

「An hour later.」

They had thoroughly searched the lakeshore but found no traces. So, they expanded their search area, splitting up to enter the surrounding jungle.

Time slipped away like sand through fingers.

「Noon arrived.」

The Furious Sun blazed in the sky, its light dazzling, making the jungle feel somewhat muggy. Despite the lack of clues, Qin Feiyang and the others remained relatively calm, but Fatty was beginning to grow agitated.

"Brother Feiyang, save me..."

Suddenly, a panicked cry for help echoed from the northern jungle.

"Hm?" Qin Feiyang, who was in the southern jungle, immediately paled. That cry for help was from Yiyi.

WHOOSH!

He immediately activated Phantom Step, sweeping towards the north.

"Feiyang..."

However, just a moment later, another cry of alarm came from the northwest.

"Aunt Xue!" Qin Feiyang flew out of the jungle and hovered in the air, looking down with a heart full of burning anxiety.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Fatty and the Wear Mountain Beast also flew out from the eastern and western jungles. They looked at Qin Feiyang from a distance and asked in surprise, "What’s going on?"

"I don’t know." Qin Feiyang’s expression was grim. His face changed again as he asked, "Where’s Lu Hong?"

Fatty said, "I think I saw her head northeast."

"Ah..."

Before he could finish speaking, another scream echoed from the northeast.

"Damn it!" Qin Feiyang roared, his anger flaring. "Who is it? Show yourself!"

Fatty asked, "Could it be a savage beast?"

"Impossible. A savage beast wouldn’t hide. It must be a human!" the Wear Mountain Beast stated firmly.

A human? Qin Feiyang raised his eyebrows. This is deep in the mountains; how could there be people here? But then, his eyes turned cold as ice. He said, "No matter who it is, if they dare to harm them, they will die! Follow me!"

With that, Qin Feiyang took out a healing pill, swallowed it, and flew towards the northeast. Fatty and the Wear Mountain Beast hurriedly followed.

「A moment later.」

They stopped above a stretch of jungle. After scanning below for a moment, they descended into it.

"Find them quickly," Qin Feiyang said. "But don’t go too far. It’s best if you stay within my line of sight."

Fatty and the Wear Mountain Beast nodded. The two men and the beast split up, remaining highly vigilant.

「Moments later.」

The Wear Mountain Beast’s surprised cry rang out. "Come quickly! There are footprints here!"

Qin Feiyang and Fatty immediately rushed towards the Wear Mountain Beast. When they arrived beside it and looked where it indicated, their expressions instantly darkened. The ground was damp and clearly marked with a trail of footprints.

Fatty squatted beside a footprint, measured it with his hand, and said grimly, "These are Lu Hong’s footprints."

Qin Feiyang clenched his fists. He scanned the surrounding area but found only Lu Hong’s footprints.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a terrifying aura surged forth. Qin Feiyang whipped his head around and saw a brilliant wave of Battle Intent roaring out from the jungle to their left. Everything in its path—flowers, grass, and trees—was annihilated. Its target was the three of them!

"Show yourself, you coward!" Fatty roared. He stepped forward and waved his large hand. Battle Intent gushed out, forming a furious wave that clashed head-on with the incoming attack.

BOOM! CRACK!

The area was instantly razed to the ground! Dust billowed, obscuring the sky! At the same time, Fatty coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale.

"Huh?" The Wear Mountain Beast was astonished. Fatty is a Seven-star War Emperor now, yet even he isn’t a match for this opponent?

"After them!" Qin Feiyang waved his hand, leading Fatty and the Wear Mountain Beast in swift pursuit.

But after chasing for several miles, they still saw no sign of anyone. The two men and the Wear Mountain Beast halted by a riverbank, their faces as grim as a stormy sea.

"Boss, it’s all my fault," Fatty said, blaming himself. If I hadn’t been so insistent on finding the steward, none of this would have happened. If anything truly happened to Lu Hong and the others, I don’t know how I could ever face Qin Feiyang. Lu Hong, Yiyi, Lo Qianxue... they’re all like family to him, irreplaceable.

Qin Feiyang said, "It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I shouldn’t have let them come out."

"Now is not the time to assign blame," the Wear Mountain Beast said. "We were at the scene earlier, and there were no signs of a struggle or blood. This suggests they might still be alive. Finding them is what’s most important."

Fatty’s body trembled. He nodded and said, "Yes, they must still be alive. But where should we look for them?"

"Well..." The Wear Mountain Beast looked at the jungle, hesitating.

Qin Feiyang said, "Let’s check the north and northwest." He had no other leads, so he could only try searching in the directions Yiyi and Lo Qianxue had gone.

The two men and the Wear Mountain Beast first headed northwest but found nothing. Then, they continued their search due north.

BOOM!

After a moment, the same terrifying aura they had encountered before reappeared. Immediately following it, a stream of Battle Intent, carrying devastating power, surged towards the two men and the Wear Mountain Beast.

WHOOSH!

A cold light flashed in Qin Feiyang’s eyes. He immediately shot into the sky, looking towards the forest ahead. Suddenly, he spotted a figure several hundred meters away in the woods.

You won’t escape this time! Qin Feiyang activated Phantom Step, leaving a trail of afterimages as he furiously pursued the figure.

Fatty neutralized the incoming Battle Intent and quickly followed with the Wear Mountain Beast. The figure was fast, but still seemed a step slower than Qin Feiyang. The distance between them was rapidly closing.

「Moments later.」

Qin Feiyang finally caught up to the figure, swooping down to block its path.

"Now that I’ve seen you, you have no chance of escaping!" Qin Feiyang shouted. "Speak! Where are they?!"

It was an extremely elderly man dressed in black. He was as gaunt as a skeleton, with stark white hair and a face deeply etched with dry wrinkles. But his eyes were particularly sinister!

"They’re already dead," the black-clad elder said, his voice hoarse and carrying a bone-chilling coldness. "You’d best leave immediately, or this place will be your grave!"

"Dead!" Qin Feiyang trembled from head to toe. His hands clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked.

"If they’re dead, you’ll accompany them!"

Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of Evil Qi erupted from his body. In an instant, his long hair and eyes turned blood red. He then lunged forward like a crazed beast, his large hand shooting out, fingers curled like an eagle’s talon, clawing at the elder’s head!

The black-clad elder’s pupils contracted, and he hastily retreated. But Qin Feiyang took just one step, leaving an afterimage, and appeared behind the elder, striking his back with a palm.

"AHH—" The elder screamed. Like a meteor, he crashed through ancient tree after ancient tree, his agonized cry echoing through the sky.

Finally, with a loud THUD, he smashed onto a massive black boulder dozens of meters away. The boulder instantly shattered! The black-clad elder collapsed to the ground, repeatedly coughing up blood.

WHOOSH!

Qin Feiyang strode forward and landed in front of the black-clad elder. "I’ll give you one more chance," he said, his voice deadly. "Are they dead or not?"

At this moment, he resembled a demon descended upon the mortal realm, his blood-red hair dancing in the wind, his entire being exuding a terrifying, baleful aura!

The black-clad elder struggled to his feet, his eyes glinting with malice. "They’re all dead," he snarled, "and not even their corpses remain intact!"