“Songling and Ziyang have a.s.signed men to search for him. However, since Su Junqing succeeded in slipping past the tight security in the Capital, it will be even harder for us to catch him now.” Luo Tian was skeptical.

Ye Jiuge thought about it for a moment. She asked Luo Tian, “Can you breed a Legendary Venomous Insect that specializes in pursuing trails of Black Magic Aura?”

“That is beyond my capability. Little Master is the only one who can rear Legendary Venomous Insects. However, he is still in the middle of his Enclosed Cultivation now. I reckon that he will only be available in another two days.” Luo Tian shook his head. It was not easy to purify the Bloodthirsty Patriarch's blood essence.

“You should stay here and wait for him. When he completes his Enclosed Cultivation, I want you to ask him to breed a Venomous Hunting Insect.” Ye Jiuge made up her mind very quickly then said, “We will return to the Capital first.”

“Alright.” Luo Tian nodded solemnly. He'd made a personal decision to help his Little Master speed up the blood essence's purification process.

Meanwhile, at Bloodcloud Peak, three thousand miles from the Capital…

The Bloodthirsty Patriarch was lying on a large, mahogany bed dozing with his eyes closed.

Four gorgeous Blood Slaves wearing clothing made from thin, transparent silk surrounded him in various elegant poses, attending to him.

Two of these lovely Blood Slaves ma.s.saged his leg lightly.

The other two Blood Slaves, who were older, held heavy feather fans and fanned the Bloodthirsty Patriarch.

The Blood Slave fanning on his left had a red mole between her eyebrows. She was Ye Yu's older sister, Ye Yunzhi.

Since many young and pretty Blood Slaves had recently arrived, the Patriarch had lost interest in her.

If Liu Yunfei hadn't asked for Ye Yunzhi's skin before leaving, she would have most likely been sent to the Blood Brothel and used as a Human Cauldron.

All this while, she had behaved in an acquiescent manner to gain the privilege of serving the Bloodthirsty Patriarch as a fanner.

The cave-dwelling was quiet, except for the swis.h.i.+ng sounds from the upward and downward movement of the feather fans.

The Bloodthirsty Patriarch's eyes were completely shut. He looked like an old, shriveled tangerine with wrinkles all over his aged face.

He opened his eyes abruptly. They blazed with fierce viciousness.

“Patriarch?” The two Blood Slaves who were ma.s.saging his legs lifted their heads, puzzled.

They never expected the Bloodthirsty Patriarch to send them flying with a kick.

Bang! The force from the kick blew the two Blood Slaves apart. Their body parts flew everywhere, splattering blood.

Ye Yunzhi's fell to the ground immediately. She did not dare utter a single word.

“Patriarch, please spare my life.” The other Blood Slave's beautiful face was tear-stained. She looked ravis.h.i.+ng as she begged for mercy.

The gossamer fabric she was wearing slid down her body, revealing a considerable area of pale skin. This made her appear very seductive.

However, the Bloodthirsty Patriarch did not even spare her a glance. He was so furious that he could not think straight.

He never thought that his Life's Origin Blood Essence would be purified by someone else. To him, this was extraordinarily shameful and humiliating.

Just then, Shou Hou entered the place with a panicked expression. He reported, “Patriarch, we have a problem. The fire in Senior Xiong's Soul Lantern has gone out.”

“A bunch of useless good-for-nothings.” The Bloodthirsty Patriarch flew into a rage and struck that alluring Blood Slave with his palm, killing her.

Ye Yunzhi lowered her body even further. She shot Shou Hou a very pitiful gaze.

Shou Hou had already noticed that Ye Yunzhi was in a dangerous situation. Therefore, he told the Bloodthirsty Patriarch hurriedly, “Patriarch, although Senior Xiong is dead, the flame in Su Junqing's Soul Lantern is still burning.”

When Ye Yunzhi heard that Su Junqing was still alive, the grudge that she held against him immediately reflected in her eyes.

She'd never thought that the cruel and unscrupulous man would still be alive, just like she wanted him to be.

There would eventually come a day when she would dismember Su Junqing's body into ten thousand pieces.

Ye Yunzhi's forehead was pressed close to the ground. It took every ounce of strength she possessed to suppress the emotions stirred up by Shou Hou's words.

“Everyone is dead, except for him. This is quite impressive!” As expected, the Bloodthirsty Patriarch's attention was diverted. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Do we have anyone else in the Capital right now?”

“Patriarch, we still have one person in the Ye Residence and two in the imperial palace,” Shou Hou answered respectfully.

“Why are there so few left? How can we achieve things on a greater scale with only three of them?” The Bloodthirsty Patriarch furrowed his brow. The creases were so deep that it was as if someone had carved them in his skin.

“Patriarch, you are very observant. Our remaining members in the Capital are all old hands. We can still use them,” Shou Hou replied after a moment of careful consideration.

“Alright.” The Bloodthirsty Patriarch nodded. He commanded, “Send some of our members to the Capital and ask them to get to the bottom of this. They should be extra careful around that brat, Su Junqing.”

At this point, the Bloodthirsty Patriarch paused for a moment. After he changed his mind, he said swiftly, “I retract my previous order. If you find him, bring him back to me immediately. I want to interrogate him personally.”

“Yes.” Shou Hou breathed a sigh of relief.

Three people had died during this a.s.signment. All of them were highly-skilled members of the Sect.

Everyone in the Sect felt like the Sword of Damocles was hanging over them. No one dared to voice their thoughts. They were afraid that they would be sent on a mission. Fortunately, the Patriarch did not mention them at all.

“Everyone, you may leave!” The Bloodthirsty Patriarch tiredly waved them away.

When Shou Hou retreated from the room with his body bent, he gestured discreetly to Ye Yunzhi with his hand.

After that, Ye Yunzhi followed Shou Hou out of the room without attracting any attention.

When Shou Hou left the Patriarch's cave-dwelling, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He wiped his sweat forcefully, before speaking to Ye Yunzhi in a relieved manner, “At first, when I a.s.signed you to fan the Patriarch, I thought that it was a cushy job. I did not expect you to have a brush with death. You were quite lucky.”

“It's all thanks to you, Shou Hou. Otherwise, it is very likely that I would have ended up dead today.” Ye Yunzhi's endearing face was filled with grat.i.tude.

“Don't mention it.”

Shou Hou said in a lowered voice, “Right now, the Sect is an unsafe place. During this time, you should be more careful. Stay in the Hundred Flower Palace and try not to leave. I will help smooth things out so that you won't have to attend to the Patriarch for the time being.”

“Shou Hou, I will listen to your advice,” Ye Yunzhi said in a gentle voice.

Her voice was very pleasing to the ears. It was not sugary sweet in a sickening way. Instead, it was pure. When matched with her docile nature, he felt an itch in his heart.

“When I am promoted to Rank Two Blood Guard, I will ask the Patriarch to reward me with you. Then, you won't need to be afraid anymore!”

Shou Hou stared at Ye Yunzhi's gaunt face with an aching heart. He said tenderly, “Before that happens, you'll have to put up with this for a while longer!”

“As long as I am not sent to the Blood Brothel, I can tolerate anything.” Fear flashed across Ye Yunzhi's pretty face. Her extremely delicate and vulnerable position made him feel affection for her.

“You can rest a.s.sured that I will never let you end up in that filthy Blood Brothel.” When Shou Hou saw that the little beauty was still very scared, he said softly, “Since the Patriarch's plan to murder Great Master Dongfang has been thwarted, he's not in the mood to focus on that right now. You do not need to worry.”

“Really?” Ye Yunzhi blinked her large eyes and stared helplessly at Shou Hou.

“Of course. I am telling the truth. Brother Jiang, Xiong and Liu Yunfei failed in their mission. They both died at Medicine Refinery City. The members of the Spiritual Pract.i.tioner Alliance will inevitably come to take us down. However, you do not need to lose sleep over this. As long as the Patriarch is still here, no one can come near Bloodcloud Peak.”

Shou Hou looked left and right before taking a Blood Pill from a pouch on his belt and pressing it into Ye Yunzhi's palm. He told her in a soft voice, “Consume this Blood Pill in private. Never let the others find out. Right then, let's stop talking for now. You should hurry up and return to the Hundred Flower Palace!”

“Shou Hou, you should also take care. Please do not make me worry about you,” Ye Yunzhi told Shou Hou, reluctant to part from him.

“Rest a.s.sured. I will be fine.” Shou Hou kept urging Ye Yunzhi to leave.

He stared at the back of her lithe body, and a small, stupid smile appeared on his face.

Since he had worked for the Patriarch for many years, he had seen all of the most attractive Blood Slaves.

However, for him, Ye Yunzhi was the only one who stood out.

Most of all, he loved Ye Yunzhi's voice when she told him to be careful and to take care of himself. It made him feel warm in his heart.

To hold onto this feeling, he needed to put more effort into his cultivation. He had to save Ye Yunzhi before the Patriarch annihilated her.