Qin Ning was truly far too arrogant!
"My Lady, the three of us will slaughter him on your behalf. I don't believe he won't hand it over!"
Ye Liang stepped forward once more.
"Ye Feng, Ye Shuang, let's strike together! We'll capture him alive and torture him. I refuse to believe he won't hand it over!"
"Alright!"
"Alright!"
Instantly, the three figures lunged forward, surrounding Qin Ning to kill him.
"Three brats who have only reached the Eight Gates Realm think they can capture me?"
Qin Ning snorted, took a step back, and then pulled back his fist before punching outward.
"Dragon Transformation Stance!"
The seventh stance of the Tiger Roar Dragon Cry Fist was unleashed.
Spiritual energy transformed into a massive, roaring dragon that charged toward the three of them.
Bang, bang, bang...
In that instant, before the three of them could even get close, they were sent flying backward by the phantom image. They let out muffled groans, each spitting up a mouthful of blood.
Too strong!
Seeing this, Ye Yuanyuan's heart sank.
Qin Ning had reached the Death Gate Realm; she could naturally tell.
However, she had never expected that someone in the Death Gate Realm could unleash such terrifying power.
"You are Ye Yuanyuan, right?"
Qin Ning spoke again, "I will give you one last chance: become my maidservant. If you refuse, I will leave. If you agree, I will reward you with a Heavenly Fire Spiritual Crystal!"
Reward!
Hearing this, Ye Liang's trio was utterly infuriated.
"Qin Ning, who do you think you are? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"
"Oh? Then do you know who you are talking to?"
Killing intent flashed in Qin Ning's eyes.
He stepped forward and threw a punch toward Ye Liang.
Naturally, Ye Yuanyuan could not stand by and watch her subordinate die in vain. She took a step forward, her hand transforming into a blade as she chopped down.
Bang...
Fist and palm collided. The moment they clashed, the two figures immediately recoiled from each other.
"Huh?"
Ye Yuanyuan was startled.
Too strong!
Only by fighting Qin Ning directly did she realize just how powerful he was.
"The Heavenly Gate Realm, not bad, not bad!"
Qin Ning smiled faintly and said, "If you agree to be my maidservant, I can help you immediately break through to the first layer of the Spiritual Sea Realm!"
Hearing this, Ye Yuanyuan froze.
"What? Still hesitating?"
Qin Ning said smugly, "Ye Yuanyuan, your looks are decent, but you must know that in the world of martial artists, you cannot rely on appearances."
Decent looks?
Hearing this, the faces of Ye Liang's trio turned pale.
Ye Yuanyuan was a renowned beauty in the Northern Nether Empire, yet Qin Ning dared to say her looks were merely "decent"...
"Who on earth are you?"
"You don't know?" Qin Ning clicked his tongue and said, "The Third Young Master of the Qin family in Lingyun City, Qin Ning!"
Ye Yuanyuan was locked in an internal struggle.
Elder Ku was not here at the moment. This secret realm was highly unusual, and Elder Ku was currently searching for something elsewhere.
But from their brief clash just now, she knew she had no way of keeping Qin Ning here.
Yet if she let him escape, once he hid himself deep within the mountains, finding him again would be harder than ascending to the heavens!
She desperately needed the Heavenly Fire Spiritual Crystal. It was a matter of life and death for her mother, and time was running out.
"Alright!"
Ye Yuanyuan suddenly said.
"My Lady!"
"My Lady!"
Instantly, the faces of her three subordinates paled.
Ye Yuanyuan's status was so noble; how could she possibly become Qin Ning's maidservant?
If word of this got out, it would cause a massive uproar throughout the entire Northern Nether Empire.
"My mind is made up!"
"Not bad, not bad."
Qin Ning smiled and said, "As my maidservant, you should know what you're supposed to do, right?"
"You brat, don't push your luck!" Ye Liang barked in a low voice.
"What does my conversation with my maidservant have to do with you?"
Qin Ning snorted.
"You..."
"Shut up!"
Ye Yuanyuan stopped the other three, looked at Qin Ning, and said, "You just said that as long as I agree to be your maidservant, you will give me the Heavenly Fire Spirit Crystal and help me immediately break through to the first level of the Spirit Sea realm. Can you actually do that?"
"Of course!"
Qin Ning said nonchalantly, "However, I need to test your loyalty first."
Leaving it at that, Qin Ning clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked forward.
Ye Yuanyuan hesitated for a moment before following him, and Ye Liang's group of three followed as well.
"Do you know what this place is?" Qin Ning asked suddenly.
"It is the ruins left behind by the Jiuyou Great Emperor."
"Oh?"
Qin Ning said in surprise, "I didn't expect you to actually know. However, this place isn't a ruin. It's just that the Jiuyou Great Emperor once stayed here for a while and left a few things behind."
"Qin Ning!"
Ye Yuanyuan looked at Qin Ning and said seriously, "I, Ye Yuanyuan, am a woman of my word. I hope you can keep yours as well!"
"Don't worry, I won't break my promise."
Qin Ning looked at Ye Yuanyuan and asked, "Why do you need the Heavenly Fire Spirit Crystal so urgently anyway?"
"To save someone!"
"To save someone?"
Qin Ning frowned, looking at Ye Yuanyuan.
"Yes."
Ye Yuanyuan said slowly, "My mother is severely poisoned by the Jiuyou Scorpion. It is a cold poison, and she needs the Heavenly Fire Spirit Crystal to cure it."
Hearing this, Qin Ning was taken aback.
"Who told you that?"
"Grandmaster Chu Fangzheng!"
"Haha..."
"What are you laughing at?" Ye Yuanyuan frowned as Qin Ning suddenly burst into laughter.
She couldn't see through Qin Ning at all. Although he had only reached the Gate of Death realm, his strength was incredibly formidable, making him an utterly bizarre individual.
Moreover, his way of doing things was clearly not that of a sixteen-year-old youth.
"You've been tricked!" Qin Ning said. "The Jiuyou Scorpion is a highly venomous spiritual beast native to the Jiuyou Continent. Its venom is indeed extremely cold, but it also contains latent fire energy. If you use the Heavenly Fire Spirit Crystal to dispel the cold poison, I'm afraid that the moment the cold poison is gone, a fire poison will flare up in its place!"
"Impossible!"
Ye Yuanyuan immediately retorted, "Grandmaster Chu Fangzheng is a third-grade alchemist. How could he possibly lie to me?"
"You don't believe me?"
Qin Ning couldn't be bothered to explain any further.
With a wave of his hand, a piece of Heavenly Fire Spirit Crystal flew toward Ye Yuanyuan.
"Here is the Heavenly Fire Spirit Crystal. I'm giving it to you, so consider the first condition I promised you fulfilled!"
"As for the second condition, it lies in here!"
As they spoke, the five of them arrived at a swamp.
A foul stench wafted from the swamp, yet a subtle hint of fragrance lingered within it.
"You're Ye Liang, right?"
Qin Ning looked at Ye Liang and ordered, "Dig a path ten meters long through this swamp for me!"
"You dare order me around?" Ye Liang snapped in anger.
"So what?"
Glancing at Ye Liang, Qin Ning said nonchalantly, "Your young lady is my maidservant. She has to serve me tea, pour my water, and massage my back and shoulders. As her subordinate, is it so wrong for me to order you around?"
"You..."
"Do as he says," Ye Yuanyuan spoke up, carefully putting away the Heavenly Fire Spirit Crystal.
She grew increasingly curious about Qin Ning.
Ye Liang's trio had no choice but to bend down, using the weapons in their hands to begin digging from the edge of the swamp.
Yet, bizarrely, after they had dug a path about a foot deep, the mud on both sides seemed to be held back by an invisible force, not sliding down at all.