Rewarding and Fruitful

When the people of the Burning Heaven Palace followed the spiritual energy fluctuations and arrived, the first thing that caught their eyes wasn't traces of a fierce battle, but Lie Tianxiong lying on a scorched black rock in an extremely indecent posture.

His burly body was twisted like a fried dough twist, his rear end sticking high up in the air, and a large purplish bruise swelling on the back of his head.

The residual blood at the corner of his mouth had coagulated into dark red, and even the hand that had been grasping the fire still maintained its gripping posture. He was clearly out cold.

"Palace Master!"

First Elder Yan Cangyun almost staggered forward. Just as he was about to help him up, his gaze swept over the fleshy lump and caught a glimpse of Lie Tianxiong's high-raised rear. The corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. He quickly tightened his face and reached trembling fingers under Lie Tianxiong's nose.

Feeling a steady breath, his tense shoulders relaxed a fraction, only to hear a very light snort from beside him.

Turning his head, he saw the Third Elder pressing a fist against his mouth, though the corners of his eyes were secretly curving upward.

Seeing Yan Cangyun look over, he quickly lowered his head to stroke his beard, but in his panic, his fingertips accidentally plucked out two hairs. The pain made him gasp, allowing him to barely suppress his laughter and put on a straight face.

"This thief's actions are despicable, daring to ambush the Palace Master. We must get to the bottom of this!"

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at the Second Elder, only to see the other party looking calm, staring solemnly at the spiritual energy traces on the ground.

Little did he know, the Second Elder was currently holding back his laughter so hard that his stomach hurt. Lie Tianxiong's raised posture and the fleshy lump hat on the back of his head had long since made him burst into laughter inwardly.

Hearing the Third Elder's feigned serious words, the Second Elder chuckled inwardly, Competing with me in holding back laughter? You're still too green. I'm a professional.

The Burning Heaven Palace disciples behind them also gathered around. Seeing their usually majestic Palace Master lying on the ground without any power to resist, they all showed expressions of shock and anger.

"Just who beat the Palace Master like this? See if there are any clues at the scene!"

Several disciples skilled in tracking immediately scattered, their fingertips condensing pale red spiritual energy as they carefully investigated the surrounding traces.

However, apart from Lie Tianxiong's residual flame spiritual energy, they couldn't find a single footprint or a trace of unfamiliar aura, as if the attackers had never appeared.

"First Elder, no tracks were found!"

A disciple replied with a solemn face.

"Not only was the other party ruthless, but they also wiped the traces clean!"

"It's all our fault! If we had been a step faster, the Palace Master wouldn't have..."

An elder said with a face full of remorse, his voice trembling.

Yan Cangyun closed his eyes, suppressing the anxiety in his heart.

"Saying this now is useless! Wake the Palace Master up first and see if he remembers what the other party looked like!"

Yan Cangyun ordered with a dark face. Two disciples carefully turned Lie Tianxiong over. As soon as they helped him sit up, Lie Tianxiong let out an Ouch and his head tilted to the side, clearly showing that the pain in the back of his head hadn't passed yet.

Yan Cangyun took out an Awakening Pill from his robe, crushed it, and sprinkled the medicinal powder under Lie Tianxiong's nose.

The pale cyan medicinal mist slowly seeped in. Lie Tianxiong's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and a muffled groan came from his throat.

"The P-Palace Master is awake!"

As everyone crowded forward, they saw Lie Tianxiong slowly open his eyes. His gaze was as confused as a child who had just woken up. He stared at Yan Cangyun for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice.

"First Elder... why, why does the back of my head hurt so much?"

Xiao Ruobai's club strike had been too ruthless, directly causing Lie Tianxiong's brain to blank out, and he hadn't recovered his senses yet.

He raised his hand to touch it. The moment his fingertips brushed the swelling, he gasped in pain. He hurriedly retracted his hand, only to hit his waist, making him grimace in pain.

"And my back..."

Yan Cangyun hurriedly asked, "Palace Master, what happened just now? Who injured you like this?"

Lie Tianxiong finally sobered up a bit. Frowning as he recalled, his mind only retained the severe pain of his back being smashed by a heavy blow and his wrist being pierced by sword qi.

And the final heavy strike to the back of his head. As for the attackers' appearances, he only vaguely remembered two figures; he hadn't even seen their faces clearly.

"They were very fast, I didn't see their faces clearly..."

Lie Tianxiong gritted his teeth, his tone full of grievance.

He was the master of a palace, after all! To think he didn't fall to the strange fire, but rather to two guys hiding in the dark!

If they had the skill, they should have fought him openly. What kind of heroes hit someone from behind?!

"It seemed like one used a black club and the other used a sword."

"I had just grabbed the Netherworld Ice Flame. Before I could even be happy, I was ambushed by them from behind!"

"If it were a head-on battle, I guarantee I would beat them black and blue," Lie Tianxiong said stubbornly.

At this moment, he suddenly looked at his finger, his pupils shrinking abruptly. He fiercely lowered his head and rubbed it repeatedly. After confirming that his storage ring was truly gone, he suddenly began to wail.

"My storage ring! Inside was over a hundred years of my accumulation, the sect's core cultivation techniques, and all my harvests from the secret realm. It was all stolen by those two bastards!"

Yan Cangyun and the three black-robed martial uncles' expressions changed drastically. Unable to suppress the flame spiritual energy around their bodies, their black robes fluttered loudly.

The Second Elder spoke up at the right time, his tone steady. "First Elder, why don't we have the disciples lock down the surroundings first? We can take the Palace Master to rest nearby. Once he recovers, we can carefully ask for the attackers' characteristics to avoid alerting the enemy."

As he said this, his face showed no ripples whatsoever. If it weren't for the fact that the extremely faint trace of a smile in his eyes was hidden quickly, even Yan Cangyun would have been deceived by his steady appearance.

"To dare touch the Burning Heaven Palace's inherited mind techniques! Even if we have to dig through the entire secret realm, we must tear them to pieces!"

Lie Tianxiong panted heavily, veins bulging on his forehead. "Search for them! These two are incredibly cunning and possess astonishing means. Ordinary disciples are no match for them, so I must trouble the three martial uncles to take charge!"

The people of the Burning Heaven Palace did not dare to be negligent and immediately scattered. Flame spiritual energy swept through the surrounding dense forest like a tide, illuminating even the depths of the spiritual mist.

Meanwhile, in a karst cave on the other side, Xiao Ruobai was rummaging through Lie Tianxiong's storage ring.

The space inside the ring was extremely large. Piles of top-grade spiritual stones were stacked like small mountains, and dozens of wooden chests contained various medicinal pills, along with stacks of Burning Heaven Palace sect records and artifact refinement materials.

There was even a King-tier fire-attribute long saber glowing with red light hidden inside. Although there were no top-tier supreme treasures, this quantity and quality was already a massive harvest for cultivators in the Cave Heaven and Celestial Realm.

Xiao Ruobai's fingertips brushed past a pile of treasures, his gaze suddenly attracted by a porcelain bottle carved with a fierce tiger pattern in the corner.

He took out the porcelain bottle. The moment he uncorked it, a medicinal fragrance carrying a dry heat rushed against his face. The bottom of the bottle was engraved with five small characters: Fierce Tiger Blazing Sun Pill.

"To think he actually kept this kind of aphrodisiac?"

Xiao Ruobai froze for a moment before bursting into laughter, casually shaking the porcelain bottle. "It's a good item, though."

As soon as these words left his mouth, Fang Hanyu beside him immediately cast a strange glance over, his eyes carrying an inquiring look of You're actually interested in this?

Xiao Ruobai's scalp instantly went numb from this gaze, and he quickly waved his hands.

"What nonsense are you thinking! I have no use for this!"

He paused, suddenly struck by an idea. "Why don't we... offer it to Master as a tribute?"

Fang Hanyu raised an eyebrow and didn't speak, but his eyes signaled, Are you sure?

Reminded by this look, Xiao Ruobai suddenly remembered Gu Changge's usual aloof demeanor. If he were to hand over this "Fierce Tiger Blazing Sun Pill," he might end up getting a severe whipping from his master.

He immediately shivered and repeatedly shook his head. "Forget it, forget it! I don't want to die yet!"

After pondering for a moment, his eyes lit up.

"I'll take it back to the Azure Profound Sect for Martial Uncle Shi later. I guarantee he'll love it, hehehe!"

Fang Hanyu then withdrew his peculiar gaze, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. "If Martial Uncle Shi gets his hands on it, he'll probably thank Lie Tianxiong a hundred times over."

Xiao Ruobai casually picked up a top-grade spirit stone. Feeling the pure spiritual energy within it, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

"As expected of a sect master, his wealth is truly substantial."

Fang Hanyu took out the Netherworld Ice Flame wrapped in primal chaos sword qi. The sword qi around his fingertips tightened a bit more to prevent the strange fire's chill from leaking out and being detected by the people of the Burning Heaven Palace.

"We can't use this strange fire for now. Let's put it in the storage ring first and take it back to the Azure Profound Sect later for the Sect Master Martial Uncle to handle."