âElder, have you obtained what you want?â Chu Feng asked.
âI have, but thereâs a problem.â Long Lin suddenly changed his tone and asked, âSpeaking of which, do you know how I found you?â
âI have been wondering about that,â Chu Feng replied.
When the Heaven-devouring Qilin told him that someone was spying on him from the shadows, he thought it was Taishi Xingzhong. From the looks of it now, it was likely Long Lin instead. The latter must have discovered him and decided to secretly follow him.
But Chu Feng had already disguised himself then. He was confident in his disguise, given that he had inherited Qin Jiuâs legacy, so Long Lin shouldnât have known that it was him at that point. What could have prompted Long Lin to spy on him from the shadows despite not knowing it was him?
âWe can slowly talk things through. Donât you need to save your friend? Should we head over now?â Long Lin asked.
âThereâs no rush, elder,â Chu Feng replied.
He didnât fully trust Long Lin, given that he didnât know the latter that well and the latter had staged a revolt. He would be inclined to help Long Lin if his story about Long Xue was true, since Chu Feng thought that he would have done the same too.
However, there was no way to verify Long Linâs story, so he didnât want to expose Bai Yunqingâs whereabouts yet.
Even though Bai Yunqing was severely injured, Chu Feng had stabilized his condition for the time being. He should quickly recover once he regained his bloodline, so there was no rush for this matter.
âAre you sure?â Long Lin asked.
âYes, we can settle this matter first,â Chu Feng replied.
âVery well. Sit down. Letâs talk.â
Long Lin sat down cross-legged on the floor, not putting on airs despite being the overlord of the Totem Galaxy. His attitude was so casual that he felt like an old friend.
Chu Feng did the same too.
Long Lin took out a peculiar but exquisite compass, and the compass was pointing toward Chu Feng.
âElder, whatâs this?â Chu Feng asked.
âI have obtained the ancestral dragonâs dragon essence, but its energy is violent. Iâll have to refine it before I can feed it to Xueâer, and it has to be refined via a human,â Long Lin replied.
âPlease go on,â Chu Feng said.
âMost people canât withstand the power of the dragon essence, and that includes me and the Totem Dragon Clansmen. I consulted an expert, who told me that only someone whose soul has reached a certain level of resilience can withstand the dragon essenceâs energy. He gave me this compass to gauge a personâs soul resilience, saying that Iâll have to find a person pointed out by the compass to even have a chance at successfully refining the dragon essence. So far, I have never seen this compass move till you came along,â Long Lin said.
âElder, youâre thinking that Iâll be able to help you refine the dragon essence?â Chu Feng asked.
âThatâs right,â Long Lin replied with a nod.
âHow do I go about it?â Chu Feng asked.
âIâll first use a treasure to disguise you as a possessor of our Totem Dragon Bloodline before infusing the dragon essence into the fake Totem Dragon Bloodline. Youâll be able to use your body to refine the dragon essence then. Itâll be tough. The energy inside the dragon essence is extremely violent; youâll have to adapt to it. The energy will slowly calm down as you adapt to it, and once it fully mellows down, Iâll be able to feed it to Xueâer,â Long Lin said.
âElder, will you promise to return the position of the Totem Dragon Clanâs Clan Chief to its previous owner if I help you refine the dragon essence?â Chu Feng asked.
âOf course. Thatâs my original intention,â Long Lin replied.
âYou might be willing, but what about those who participated in the revolt too? Are they willing to do the same as well?â Chu Feng asked.
âRest assured. I have my way of dealing with them,â Long Lin replied.
âElder, I hope that you arenât lying to me,â Chu Feng remarked with a smile.
âI have no reason to lie to you, young friend Chu Feng,â Long Lin said.
âElder, can I meet them?â Chu Feng was referring to Long Chengyu and the others.
âNot now.â
âJust a quick meeting will do.â
âYoung friend Chu Feng, Iâll let them go once you help me refine the dragon essence,â Long Lin said those words with a smile, but there was a threatening edge to his voice.
He was using Long Chengyu and the others as hostages to force Chu Feng to help him.
Chu Feng knew that he was in no position to refuse; Long Lin definitely had other means to threaten him too. While the atmosphere between them had been harmonious, just the disparity in their strength meant that they werenât on equal negotiating terms.
On the one hand, it could be said that Long Lin had invited Chu Feng to their forbidden land as a guest, but to put it in another perspective, Chu Feng was currently a prisoner here.
âWhereâs Elder Long Xue? May I meet her?â Chu Feng asked.
âSheâs here as well. I was just about to bring you to meet her,â Long Lin said.
He brought Chu Feng above the clouds, where they quickly arrived before a formidable recovery formation sustained by countless natural oddities and treasures. At the center of the recovery formation, where all of the formationâs energy was channeled toward, was a pavilion.
Long Lin brought Chu Feng into the pavilion, where an unconscious grandmother lay on a bed. The grandmother was emaciated, her body was covered in wrinkles, and her hair had fallen off. However, she was dressed in a beautiful white dress that was elaborately embroidered.
Chu Feng could tell right away the grandmother was Long Xue.
However, Long Xueâs condition was worse than Chu Feng had imagined.
âElder, may I inspect Elder Long Xueâs condition?â Chu Feng asked.
âOf course,â Long Lin replied.
Chu Feng placed his fingers on Long Xueâs pulse. The latterâs illness was extremely tricky to deal with. It was a problem with her bloodline, and it had spread to her entire body. At this rate, not even the exorbitant recovery formation could sustain her health.
Her days were numbered. She only had a year left, at the very most. Long Lin didnât lie about the severity of her condition.
âElder, I am willing to give it a try, but Iâll be candid with you. I will give up if the refining process poses a threat to my life,â Chu Feng said.
âYoung friend Chu Feng, Iâm already grateful to you for your help. If the refining process proves to be dangerous, Iâll stop you myself even if you wish to continue,â Long Lin said.
Following that, he brought Chu Feng back to where Long Chengyu and the others were imprisoned and told the latter to wait there for him while he gathered the ingredients required to refine the dragon essence.
âNot bad, lad. The Totem Dragon Clanâs Clan Chief is actually your friend,â the Heaven-devouring Qilin said as soon as Long Lin left.
âWas it the dragon essence that you sensed earlier?â Chu Feng asked.
âIâm not sure, but itâs very, very close to us now. It should be right here.â
âYou should be able to tell once we see the dragon essence later on.â
âWonderful! I didnât expect you to be so well-connected. I didnât misjudge you!â
What Chu Feng didnât know was that Long Lin didnât prepare the ingredients for refining the dragon essence right away. Instead, he headed to a palace, settled down on a main seat, and grandly waved his sleeves. The palace doors opened.
Taishi Xingzhong was kneeling outside the palace.