That same day, Qin Fen returned to Zhongzhou City, and before long he—along with several others—was summoned by Yuan Hong.
Upon hearing that Zhang Shun and Zhang Jie had been killed, Yuan Hong flew into a rare rage.
He demanded, "You're certain you didn't mistake the attacker? The one who struck… was truly Lie Feng?"
"Absolutely. It was definitely him. If you don't believe me, ask him."
The man pointed at Qin Fen, and Yuan Hong's gaze immediately locked onto him.
Facing Yuan Hong's furious glare, Qin Fen felt fear crawl up his spine. Afraid Yuan Hong would pin the blame on him, he forced himself to answer timidly,
"It… it was indeed Lie Feng. I saw it very clearly."
Yuan Hong was already enraged to the extreme, but he knew he must not act recklessly. He gripped the armrests of his chair tightly, suppressing his fury as he asked,
"Speak. Describe exactly what happened."
So Qin Fen recounted the entire incident truthfully.
After listening, Yuan Hong was shocked. He never expected Lie Feng's obsession to run so deep—that he would actually turn into a demonic cultivator.
He asked, "What was his cultivation level at the time?"
"After absorbing Zhang Shun's cultivation, he reached late-stage third realm."
"That makes no sense." Yuan Hong frowned.
"That means when he fought Zhang Shun, he was only mid-stage third realm. Based on their previous exchange, how could he defeat Zhang Shun in just four strikes?
Even someone like me might not be able to defeat Zhang Shun in four moves. For him to show such overwhelming strength—he'd need at least sixth-realm power."
Not just Yuan Hong—everyone present found it impossible to believe.
Body cultivators were known for their monstrous defense and overwhelming physical strength.
In battle, they had tremendous tolerance for mistakes, while their opponents could be defeated with a single close-range hit. Many cultivators believed that body cultivators were nearly invincible within the same realm.
For someone to defeat Zhang Shun so easily… that meant Lie Feng's strength had surpassed even the fifth realm.
Yuan Hong clenched his fists, as if coming to a decision.
He commanded, "Increase security throughout the entire city immediately. Stay alert for any enemy movement. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Dismiss."
Once everyone had left, Yuan Hong took out the Xuantian Pill that Xiao Ji had given him.
He thought, Lie Feng turned to demonic cultivation just to increase his strength. It seems he'll come for me soon. There's no time for slow cultivation. I must rely on this pill.
I cannot allow him to grow stronger. Otherwise… I will die for sure.
He swallowed the Xuantian Pill and sat to meditate.
He could feel his spiritual power rising at an astounding rate. From afternoon until dusk, his cultivation finally broke through to late-stage sixth realm.
Meanwhile, Qin Fen was pacing anxiously in a corner of the city, worrying about his future.
Lie Feng had forced him to help kill Yuan Hong. But Qin Fen had signed a slave contract with Yuan Hong—if Yuan Hong wished, he could kill him instantly with a mere thought.
Besides, Lie Feng might not even be able to kill Yuan Hong. And if he failed, Qin Fen would certainly be implicated.
Even if Lie Feng did kill Yuan Hong, Qin Fen doubted he would be spared.
He had originally intended to steal the contract one day and use the teleportation jade to escape. But now that plan was ruined.
Thinking of how Lie Feng had left him no path to survival, Qin Fen gritted his teeth in hatred.
Lie Feng was utterly ruthless.
Qin Fen thought, Why not tell Yuan Hong about Lie Feng's plan to use me as an informant? It would show my loyalty—and help me get rid of Lie Feng at the same time.
After so much unfair treatment, combined with years of resentment toward Lie Feng and fear for his own life, Qin Fen's mentality had become twisted.
At this moment, he had only one thought:
If I'm doomed… you're not getting away either.
Just then, he sensed a strong surge of spiritual energy nearby.
He focused and realized the source was coming from the direction of Yuan Hong's residence.
Yuan Hong has broken through?
The sudden news strengthened Qin Fen's resolve. He decided to seek an audience immediately.
Yuan Hong had barely finished stabilizing his breakthrough when someone requested entry.
He allowed the visitor inside—and to his surprise, it was Qin Fen.
Qin Fen rushed in and bowed deeply.
"Congratulations, my lord, on advancing to a higher realm!"
Yuan Hong was not moved by the flattery. His expression remained stern as he asked,
"Why are you here instead of patrolling the city?"
"My lord, I have an urgent matter to report."
"What matter?"
"Lie Feng wants me to act as an informant to harm you, my lord."
"What!?"
Yuan Hong had been about to raise his teacup, but upon hearing this, he slammed it heavily onto the table.
He stared at Qin Fen with wide eyes, but seeing that Qin Fen remained calm, Yuan Hong's mind unexpectedly steadied.
He asked coldly, "So you've come to betray him?"
"My lord, I am loyal to you. Besides, he and I have been at odds since childhood. How could I possibly help him harm you?"
Yuan Hong narrowed his eyes and studied him.
This man is greedy for life and afraid of death… he must be trying to save his own skin.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"My lord, I only pretended to agree to him because I was forced. But thinking about it now… this might be an opportunity."
"Opportunity?"
"Yes. My lord, think about it. He wants me to provide information. So why don't we use that to lure him into a trap we prepare in advance?"
Yuan Hong thought for a moment and nodded.
"That makes sense. But are you sure he'll believe you?"
"Lie Feng became a demonic cultivator to increase his strength. When I saw him, he already seemed half-insane—his mind focused only on getting revenge on you.
And I know his personality. If he sees a chance, he'll jump in even if he knows it's a trap."
"Did he tell you what he plans to do next?"
"Not yet. He only said he'd contact me later. Should I reach out to him now?"
"No." Yuan Hong rejected the idea immediately.
"You were forced to cooperate with him. If you act too eagerly, he'll become suspicious. Then not only would we fail to kill him, he might escape entirely."
"My lord is wise. What should I do, then?"
Yuan Hong thought for a moment before replying,
"Wait one day and observe. If anything happens, notify me immediately."
"Yes, my lord."
The next day, Qin Fen stayed alert the entire time, afraid that Lie Feng might appear suddenly.
But by late night, there was still no movement.
He reported the day's situation to Yuan Hong and then returned to his room.
He didn't rest immediately but sat down to cultivate as usual.
It was a long-standing habit—thanks to his persistence, he had reached his current realm despite lacking resources.
As he cultivated, he suddenly heard two faint sounds.
The first was something bumping lightly against the door.
The second was that object falling to the ground.
Qin Fen opened the door—and found a paper crane lying on the floor.
He picked it up and unfolded it.
There were a few words written inside:
"Meet at yesterday's forest outside the city."