Chapter 667: Stumbling Upon a Scheme

Inside the Village Chief’s room in Peach Blossom Stronghold.

CRASH!

A beautiful vase was smashed to smithereens.

Lin Guangdong’s expression was twisted with rage.

“You wet-behind-the-ears punk! Do you really think you can act so high and mighty just because you suppressed a Quasi-Saint Level True Dragon? I gave you an out, but you spat in my face! That Innate Dragon Pill…”

BANG! BANG!

A wave of furious power surged out, spreading like quicksilver and instantly blasting countless objects in the study into flying shards.

As he recalled the uses of the Innate Dragon Pill, a look of indescribable, twisted fury contorted Lin Guangdong’s sparsely-bearded face.

‘Innate Primordial Energy…’

This was a Supreme Treasure that only appeared when a Large Cave Heaven was born.

With a wisp of Innate Poisonous Essence Qi, the formation of his Extreme Poison Saint Path would be just around the corner.

“Qin Feng, I don’t care what backing you have. If you dare stand in my way, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” A chillingly vicious smile spread across his face.

Gazing in the direction of Fubo Cave, he suddenly let out a sinister sneer.

It took more than just strength to establish a firm foothold in Peach Blossom Stronghold; he also possessed extraordinary cunning.

‘That’s right! Isn’t the Cold Light Divine General from Little Cang Mountain already going after Qin Feng? Perfect. Maybe I can use him to take care of everything!’

As the idea took shape, his expression changed. Like a streak of light, he shot off in the direction of Tongling Stronghold.

…

BOOM!

In the vast sky, a streak of light shot forth.

The Red-eyed Scorpion was fleeing into the depths of the Barbaric Wilderness, pushing his speed at a near self-destructive pace.

He shot across the sky like a startling crimson rainbow, bursting out of the Demon Cave and covering hundreds of miles in the blink of an eye.

‘Damn it! The Five Poison Stronghold’s Array didn’t slow him down at all!’ Within the crimson streak, the Red-eyed Scorpion’s face was pale. For one, he had burned a significant amount of his Essence Blood.

For another, he was utterly terrified.

He had witnessed Qin Feng suppress the Iron Back King with a mere wave of his hand. He had lived for thousands of years, and he hadn’t reached his current level of Cultivation on talent alone; he also possessed an extremely cautious nature.

He knew he was no match for that terrifying entity.

His own Yin God Level Law was completely incapable of resisting the kind of power his opponent wielded.

‘He’s sharp enough to know when to run, but it’s still futile.’ Ripping through the Void, Qin Feng appeared silently in the Red-eyed Scorpion’s path.

His black hair fluttered in a gentle breeze, making him look like a King of the Void who held dominion over this empty space.

His Cave Heaven Power locked down the entire Void, turning it into a massive cage with the Red-eyed Scorpion as its sole prisoner.

A flicker of terror crossed the red-haired youth’s eyes. The next moment, he abruptly dropped to one knee in the Void.

“My lord, I, the Red-eyed Scorpion, am willing to serve you as my master and swear the Blood River Oath!”

The roiling Cave Heaven Power, which had been bearing down on the Red-eyed Scorpion, froze in place. Qin Feng appeared in silence, looking at the demon with surprise in his eyes.

It was clear that the Red-eyed Scorpion’s surrender was genuine.

Yet, this sincerity only surprised Qin Feng further.

The demon’s decisiveness was beyond his imagination. To surrender the moment he realized he couldn’t win, and to even willingly swear the unbreakable Blood River Oath… this was a level of resolve most Martial Dao experts did not possess.

One moment, he was a high and mighty Xiaoyao Demon King, ruling over countless Little Demons; the next, he was surrendering without a moment’s hesitation.

‘A clever one, is he?’

Qin Feng nodded. As a Loose Cultivator, he truly admired the Red-eyed Scorpion Demon King’s decisiveness. In his past life, Qin Feng had also been backed into corners, at the mercy of others. But in the end, he was the one who survived while his enemies died.

As the saying goes, discretion is the better part of valor.

One must yield when necessary. As long as you’re alive, there’s hope—hope for a comeback.

Qin Feng could also tell that a Poisonous Spike was already materializing behind the Red-eyed Scorpion’s back. If he were to reject the demon’s allegiance and insist on a killing blow, that spike would strike in a final, desperate struggle.

Qin Feng saw through the Red-eyed Scorpion’s little trick, but he didn’t care. He was confident he could keep the demon suppressed forever, forcing his eternal submission.

“Red-eyed Scorpion, you truly are a clever one. Very decisive. Had you hesitated for even a moment longer, you would have ended up like the other four demons—refined into one of my Demon Puppets.”

Unconcerned with the demon’s little ploy, Qin Feng descended step by step. The Red-eyed Scorpion bowed his head even lower, retracting the Poisonous Spike on his back as he noticed Qin Feng’s gaze land on the spot behind his tail.

“You’ve saved your own life, and in doing so, you’ve saved the other four demons from their fate. Relax. I, Qin Feng, am not a petty man. I know that it is in the nature of Demon Kings to yearn for freedom. I can promise you this: as long as you all submit to me, serve me faithfully, and accumulate enough merits, I will grant you your freedom in two hundred years.”

Qin Feng was well-versed in the art of managing subordinates. A man with no hope is a dangerous one. Forcing such a person into service might offer short-term benefits, but it would inevitably become a huge liability down the road.

Sure enough, upon hearing Qin Feng’s words, the Red-eyed Scorpion’s last reservations vanished.

“Thank you, my lord!”

Still on one knee, he did not hesitate, beginning to swear an oath with an ancient rite.

“I, the Red-eyed Scorpion, swear upon the Blood River to submit to my lord with all my heart. Should I ever rebel, may I be annihilated by the heavens and the earth and suffer a torturous death!”

As he spoke, countless wisps of Blood Qi swirled together in the Void. The next moment, they condensed into a Blood River sigil and slammed into the Red-eyed Scorpion’s forehead.

In fact, submitting to Qin Feng posed no psychological barrier for the Red-eyed Scorpion. Ever since he began his cultivation as a demon, the law of the jungle had been carved into his very bones.

Among the Demon Race, it was a fundamental law of nature for the strong to seize everything from the weak.

Submitting to a powerhouse was not considered shameful among the Demon Race.

Within the Demon Race, Little Demons followed Great Demons, Great Demons answered to Demon Kings, Demon Kings served Demon Saints, and Demon Saints were utilized by Demon Gods. This was the most ancient of hierarchies.

To survive before he had grown powerful, the Red-eyed Scorpion himself had once served a mighty Ancient Demon King.

What’s more, the terms Qin Feng offered were very lenient. A mere two hundred years would pass in the blink of an eye.

“Very good, Red-eyed Scorpion. Let me ask you: are you confident you can persuade those brothers of yours?”

Seeing how readily the Red-eyed Scorpion had pledged his allegiance, Qin Feng’s thoughts turned to the other four Demon Kings. If he could bring them all under his command, it would be a significant boon.

An image of the scene inside his Grotto Heaven appeared above Qin Feng’s palm. The four captured Demon Kings, having been suppressed, were now just shouting an endless and utterly foul stream of curses.

The Red-eyed Scorpion was inwardly stunned. ‘Just as I thought,’ he mused. He had already guessed that the others from the Five Poison Stronghold wouldn’t be able to escape, and now he saw they had all been captured alive.

Though inwardly shaken by Qin Feng’s power, he spoke with a solemn tone.

“I am willing to try for you, Master!”

Qin Feng nodded and with a casual wave of his hand, brought the Red-eyed Scorpion into the Grotto Heaven.

His gaze shifted toward Tongling Stronghold. Next, it was time to get his revenge on the Cold Light Divine General of Little Cang Mountain.

The Cold Light Divine General had tried to ambush him with a Yin Dragon, so he would use the Five Poison Demon Kings to return the favor. An eye for an eye.

The Cold Light Divine General wanted to use the Yin Dragon to destroy Fubo Cave, so he would use the Five Poison Demon Kings to destroy Little Cang Mountain.

Without Little Cang Mountain, the Cold Light Divine General would be nothing.

His body flickered and shot off like a streak of light, covering hundreds of miles in an instant. But as he passed by Peach Blossom Stronghold, his expression shifted, and his figure silently vanished into the depths of the Void.

At this very moment, from within Peach Blossom Stronghold, an Escape Light shot into the sky and vanished over the horizon in the blink of an eye.

A moment later, Qin Feng reappeared silently in the Void. He gazed toward the distant horizon, his expression unreadable. Sensing a familiar aura, he wondered, ‘That’s Lin Guangdong… and that direction is Tongling Stronghold… What is he doing going there?’

After a moment of thought, Qin Feng silently followed him.

‘The Cold Light Divine General’s Little Cang Mountain is under Tongling Stronghold’s jurisdiction, so it’s on the way anyway.’