Chapter 70

"This is absolutely impossible."

Chen Fei's expression changed as he said, "Before I left, I made a military oath to the Marquis, vowing to protect the Young Master and the Lady with my life."

Long Chen shook his head and said, "Although you are a late-stage Blood Condensation expert, you can no longer protect me. When I was injured on the arena, you did not intervene, which shows that you have significant concerns.

"In other words, you will only act when my life is in danger, but by then, even if you do act, it will be too late to solve the problem, right?"

Chen Fei remained silent, not responding, because Long Chen was telling the truth, leaving him no room to argue.

"Who in the capital could make you so cautious? It must be the Marquis of Ying, right?" Long Chen asked.

Chen Fei sighed and nodded, "Indeed, the Marquis warned me repeatedly before I left, not to let the Marquis of Ying discover me, or my life would be in danger.

"Chen Fei is not afraid of death, but I fear ruining the Marquis's plans. That's why I have not intervened even though the Young Master has been bullied for so long. I hope you can understand."

"Does my father have a grudge with the Marquis of Ying?" Long Chen asked.

"The Marquis of Ying's finger was severed by your father," Chen Fei said with a smile.

Long Chen's expression turned strange. No wonder the Marquis of Ying was targeting him. His father was indeed formidable, but he wasn't far behind. His father had severed one of the Marquis's fingers, while he had almost bankrupted him.

"When did you come to the capital?" Long Chen asked.

"Three years ago."

"How many experts like you are there around my father?"

"Originally, there were seven, but one died in battle last year, so there are only six now."

"How far have you advanced in the Blood Condensation realm?"

"Nine stages, but I have been unable to break through that barrier." Chen Fei sighed. He was already thirty-seven years old, and if he couldn't break through by forty, he would have no hope for the rest of his life.

Long Chen was not surprised. Although Chen Fei had hidden his strength deeply, the blood qi surging from his forehead clearly indicated that his blood had been condensed to a substantial state.

This meant that Chen Fei was a peak Blood Condensation expert, but he was stuck at this bottleneck.

Breaking through from the Blood Condensation realm to the Sinew Transformation realm was incredibly difficult. In the entire Phoenix Cry Empire, there were thousands of Blood Condensation experts, but only three Great Marquises had reached the Sinew Transformation realm. This barrier was like an insurmountable chasm, making people tremble with fear.

"Chen Fei, I will refine a few pills tonight. You take them to my father," Long Chen said after a moment of thought.

"Your Highness, this..."

Long Chen waved his hand to cut Chen Fei off, "Although your concealment skills are formidable and can avoid the Marquis of Ying's notice, secretly protecting the Long family,

"However, the capital is now filled with hidden currents, indicating that the entire Phoenix Cry Empire might be on the verge of change. Whether you stay or leave is meaningless.

"Imagine if the Long family is truly in great danger, can you turn the tide with your abilities?"

"I can help you break through the encirclement," Chen Fei said.

Long Chen's face turned cold, and he said sternly, "What about my mother?"

Chen Fei was speechless. His concealment skills were strong, and his escape skills were even stronger. He was confident that even if the Marquis of Ying acted, he had an eighty percent chance of taking Long Chen away.

But now, Long Chen's words left him speechless. He could only take one person, which meant sacrificing Lady Long.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. This is the Marquis's order, and I can only follow it," Chen Fei said, shaking his head.

Long Chen was both shocked and angry. His father was willing to save him by abandoning his mother. His eyes turned red, perhaps out of excessive love, but he could not accept it.

Taking a deep breath to suppress his anger, he said coldly, "Chen Fei, I am not asking you, but ordering you to return.

"Don't let that foolish order harm both of us. I will go to the Alchemist Guild to buy some herbs and refine the pills tonight. You take them to my father.

"Don't talk about protecting us with such foolish words. I can kill you effortlessly now, and don't talk about it being an accident.

"I can protect the Long family for now, but the situation will change rapidly in the future, and I will need my father's help. Time is of the essence.

"So I give you two choices: either listen to me and return to my father, or die here. Without the antidote, the poison in your body will still be fatal."

Chen Fei's face turned pale. From Long Chen's tone, he was truly angry. He could see the imposing figure of Long Tianxiao, and he knew that if he dared to defy Long Chen, Long Chen would indeed kill him.

He was not afraid of death, but dying without a clear reason was not worth it. Besides, this was a family matter, and he could only bitterly agree, though his heart was filled with bitterness, unsure how to face the Marquis upon his return.

Long Chen went to the guild that night. With a full purse, he no longer needed to buy on credit and bought a pile of herbs directly.

Joining the Alchemist Guild was the wisest decision Long Chen had made. He found all the herbs he needed.

He asked Chen Fei to guard outside while he started the fire and began refining the pills. This time, Long Chen was refining a pill called the Barrier-Breaking Pill.

This was a very common second-stage pill used to break through bottlenecks, increasing the chances of success.

However, the Barrier-Breaking Pill formula in Long Chen's possession came from the memory of the Pill Emperor. The same herbs, when combined in different proportions, produced vastly different effects.

Moreover, Long Chen added Dragon Bone Grass, a potent herb, which intensified the effects, making it more than just a simple Barrier-Breaking Pill.

This pill was designed to break through the Sinew Transformation realm barrier. A low-grade Barrier-Breaking Pill could increase the success rate by ten percent when breaking through the Sinew Transformation realm.

Long Chen's goal was a high-grade pill, which could increase the success rate by a full thirty percent. If this were known, it would shock the world.

Such a pill would be far more sensational than the Muscle Regeneration Pill that was auctioned. That pill had significant flaws, though Long Chen had not mentioned them.

For ordinary people, if a limb was severed, taking the pill could regenerate it, and it was generally harmless.

However, for cultivators, it would unconsciously consume the true essence in their spiritual roots, shortening their growth potential.

When Long Chen cut Fu Gui, it had no effect on him, but when Yao Nianqian cut "Zaoyang," well... it wasn't him who did the cutting. As the saying goes, in the world of martial arts, who can avoid being cut? Besides, who could resist Yao Nianqian's beauty?

...

"Boom"

A loud explosion, and the last batch of pills was completed. Opening the furnace, he saw three round pills with a faint glow. A smile appeared on Long Chen's tired face.

This was the third batch. The first batch was successful with three pills, but the second batch failed due to a momentary distraction, almost destroying the furnace, and all the pills turned to ash.

Refining pills was like this. Even with all the techniques from the Pill Emperor's memory, a slight mistake could still lead to an accident.

Originally, two batches would have been enough, but the explosion forced Long Chen to continue refining the third batch despite his exhaustion.

Adding Dragon Bone Grass made the Barrier-Breaking Pill extremely difficult to refine. Even with Long Chen's powerful soul strength, he felt utterly exhausted.

However, seeing the six round pills, all the fatigue was worth it. He handed the pills to the shocked Chen Fei and gave him a letter to take to his father.

Chen Fei left before dawn, and Long Chen took a short nap. When he woke up, feeling refreshed, his mood improved significantly.

The news about his father was like a heavy stone lifted from his heart. Now that he knew his father's recent situation, he was filled with anticipation.

The only regret was that Chen Fei did not know who was targeting his father, and Long Tianxiao had never mentioned it.

However, this was no longer important. Having news of his father was the best news he could have. He was now full of determination.

After getting up, he took out Xiao Xue, the name Long Chen gave to the Crimson Flame Snow Wolf, as it was a female cub.

Xiao Xue was still closed-eyed, whimpering. Long Chen smiled, bit his finger, and a drop of fresh blood slowly dripped into the Crimson Flame Snow Wolf's mouth.

The little cub licked the blood, and its eyes, which had been tightly closed, slowly opened, looking at Long Chen with curiosity. Its bright eyes, paired with a red tuft of fur on its forehead, were incredibly cute.

Usually, when a magical beast is born, the first drop of blood it tastes will be remembered forever, and it will consider the owner of that blood as family, except for cold-blooded magical beasts, which require special methods.

After the Crimson Flame Snow Wolf opened its eyes, it started to crawl toward Long Chen. Although its steps were unsteady, it kept trying to move forward.

Seeing the little cub, Long Chen felt a warm feeling in his heart. With his powerful soul strength, he could clearly sense the deep attachment in the cub's soul.

After the cub recognized Long Chen, he should have used the secret technique given by Lu Fang'er to plant a slave mark in the cub's soul, ensuring it would never betray him.

However, after much hesitation, Long Chen did not plant the slave mark. He couldn't bear to treat such a cute cub as a slave.

As he was lost in thought, his face became wet. The little cub had somehow climbed onto him and was enthusiastically licking his face.

Long Chen laughed and picked up the cub, leaving the Long family and heading straight for the outskirts. Now that the cub had opened its eyes, it was time to take it out and explore.

Magical beasts have extremely strong vitality. Once they open their eyes, they can start eating on their own and no longer need nutritional fluids.

Now that Long Chen was going out, taking the cub with him would help it grow faster.

However, before leaving, he needed to find someone to take along. Within an hour, Long Chen arrived at a pasture.

"Roar"

Suddenly, a roar shook the earth, and Long Chen's lips curved into a smile.