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"Let's go back up."
Looking at the vast underground magma world before him, Lin Feng sighed, his voice tinged with helplessness.
Qing Lin also understood the situation—if even a Dou Ling-level Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent couldn't retrieve the Heavenly Flame, then there was no way she or Lin Feng could.
With a hint of disappointment, she nodded silently, then quickly burrowed into Lin Feng's arms.
Holding Qing Lin tightly, Lin Feng leaped upward, landing precisely back into the passage.
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the surface.
Once they emerged from the underground, Lin Feng carefully concealed the cave entrance.
Then, he had Qing Lin command two Dou Shi-level magic beasts to remain inside and stand guard.
After making all the necessary preparations, Lin Feng did not return to Rock Desert City.
Instead, under the guidance of the magic beasts, he headed toward an oasis.
His plan was to stay there for half a month.
If the Mo Clan didn't show any movement by then, it would mean they had not discovered Qing Lin's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. At that point, Lin Feng could safely return to the city.
However, if the Mo Clan did come after Qing Lin… then fighting them in the desert would be much easier.
Killing them in such a remote place meant no one would ever find out.
Tagore Desert – A Remote Oasis
"Young Master, we've been living here for almost ten days now. Do you think the Mo Clan failed to discover my Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils? If so, should we let the Horned Vipers return to their clan?"
By the lakeside of the oasis, Qing Lin gazed at Lin Feng, who was lounging on a wooden recliner, and asked softly.
A few days ago, she and Lin Feng had led away a large number of the Desert Horned Viper Clan's Rank 1 and above vipers.
Now, those magic beasts had been following them the entire time, and the Horned Viper King was starting to worry about the safety of its territory.
Lin Feng pondered for a moment before deciding to wait a little longer.
Flipping onto his side lazily, he responded casually, "Let's wait another five days. Then we can let them return."
"Besides, didn't I use pills to forcefully raise two peak Rank 2 Desert Horned Vipers to Rank 3 a few days ago?"
"With them there, the territory should be well-protected."
At the mention of pills, Lin Feng instinctively touched the storage ring on his hand.
During these past days, he had not only broken through to a Two-Star Dou Shi…
But thanks to the efforts of many magic beasts in collecting herbs, he had obtained a considerable amount of alchemical ingredients.
Of course, he hadn't mistreated these beasts either.
By force-feeding them various pills, their strength had increased significantly.
Some first-rank magic beasts were now very close to reaching second-rank, thanks to the massive supply of Breaking Qi Pills.
If they were humans, Lin Feng wouldn't dare stuff them with pills like this.
Otherwise, their bodies would have exploded from excess energy, shattering into pieces.
As for whether this would ruin their foundations?
That wasn't even a concern.
After all, these low-rank magic beasts could only ever hope to reach Rank 2 at best. What foundations were there to preserve?
"Hmm… Young Master is right."
Hearing Lin Feng's reasoning, Qing Lin nodded in agreement without hesitation.
She then turned away and began soothing the restless Horned Viper King.
Just then, Xiao Yan, the first Desert Rock Serpent that Qing Lin had ever controlled, came slithering rapidly across the oasis.
It darted straight to Qing Lin's side, hissing anxiously.
"Young Master, something's wrong!"
After a brief exchange with the snake, Qing Lin hurriedly ran to Lin Feng and shook him awake.
"Young Master! Xiao Yan says that since this morning, a large group of people has appeared not far from here. They're searching the area intensely!"
"Mm?"
Lin Feng, who had been sleeping soundly, sat up groggily.
But when he processed Qing Lin's words, his expression immediately darkened.
"So… the Mo Clan has finally come."
He muttered to himself, then turned to the nervous-looking Qing Lin and reassured her:
"Don't worry, we've spent the past several days preparing for this, we'll be fine."
"As long as Young Master is here, Qing Lin isn't afraid."
Hearing Lin Feng's words, Qing Lin raised her small fist, her tone resolute.
Lin Feng smiled gently and patted the little girl's head before instructing,
"Qing Lin, gather all the magic beasts together and give them the antidote pills I specially prepared. Otherwise, when we use the poison powder later, they might get caught in it by mistake."
Upon hearing this, Qing Lin quickly summoned the three magic beasts under her control.
At the same time, following the Horned Viper King's hiss, all the nearby Desert Horned Vipers rapidly gathered in one place.
Once Lin Feng fed them the antidote pills, he had Qing Lin command them to carry out their plan.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Tagore Desert, a white-haired elder in luxurious Luo Bues led a team of dozens, searching the area relentlessly.
Apart from the two men following closely behind the elder, the rest were all mercenaries wearing the same uniform.
From the looks of it, they all belonged to the same mercenary group.
"Grand Elder, we've been searching for three days already… Could it be that—"
A man who seemed to be the leader of the mercenary group cautiously approached the elder and spoke in a hesitant tone.
"You doubt me?"
Hearing Luo Bu's words, Mo Cheng's expression instantly darkened. His sharp eyes locked onto Luo Bu, and he spoke in an eerily calm voice.
Before coming to Rock Desert City, he had done extensive investigation and confirmed Qing Lin's existence.
At the time, he had believed the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils were already within his grasp.
Yet, to his frustration, he discovered that the girl had left for the Tagore Desert over half a month ago.
That unexpected twist had shattered his initial excitement and filled him with disappointment.
And now, after searching for days without results, his patience was already wearing thin.
If Luo Bu dared to question him further, Mo Cheng would not hesitate to kill him on the spot and continue the search with the rest of the mercenary group.
"N-No! I wouldn't dare! I was only concerned about the Grand Elder's well-being in this harsh desert."
Feeling Mo Cheng's murderous intent, Luo Bu's body trembled, and he immediately smiled obsequiously.
"Hmph! Keep searching!"
Mo Cheng flicked his sleeve and snorted coldly, his tone full of warning.
"Once my business here is finished, I promise to help your Sand Mercenary Group take control of Rock Desert City."
"But if you dare try to deceive me, you know the consequences!"
Upon hearing Mo Cheng's promise, greed flashed in Luo Bu's eyes, and he immediately perked up.
"Yes, yes! It is our honor to serve the Grand Elder! I will push my men to work harder right away!"
With that, he hurriedly ran ahead, shouting orders to urge the other mercenaries to search faster.
"Grand Elder, are we really going to help him unify Rock Desert City?"
After Luo Bu left, Mo Cheng's confidant—Mo Ran, the man who had first informed Mo Cheng about Qing Lin, asked in a low voice.
"Of course, we'll help…"
"But we'll be sending them straight to hell!"
A cruel smirk slowly formed on Mo Cheng's lips.
He hadn't even informed the Mo Clan's Patriarch about his plan.
Instead, he had used a random excuse, claiming that the Mo Clan's business interests in the region were being threatened by the Snake People.
That way, he could use "protecting clan assets" as a reason for coming here.
Once he found his target, how could he possibly allow anyone who had seen the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to live?
"I understand."
Mo Ran chuckled coldly and slowed his pace, following closely behind Mo Cheng.
"AHHHH!"
Just as they advanced a bit further, a sudden miserable scream rang out, echoing across the desert.
Immediately after, as if a chain reaction had been triggered, a series of agonized cries erupted one after another.
It was as if a domino effect of death had begun.
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