Alert! The Dragon Lord has emerged from seclusion!

Two hours later.

The group changed into casual clothes and drove into the winding mountain roads in the heart of Jiangnan.

The deeper you go, the stronger the medicinal fragrance in the air becomes.

On both sides of the road are terraced fields, planted with various medicinal herbs: Panax notoginseng, Angelica sinensis, Coptis chinensis... Many farmers are working in the fields.

"The Shen family has a history of three hundred years and is a leading figure in the Jiangnan medical community."

Ling Feng explained, "Their family not only supplies one-third of the nation's precious medicinal herbs, but also operates thirteen traditional Chinese medicine hospitals."

The car was stopped at the entrance to the valley.

Four men in security uniforms stepped forward. The one in the lead was a burly man with a square face and sharp eyes—it was Zhao Si from the intelligence report.

"Gentlemen, the area ahead is the Shen family's private medicinal herb garden, which is not open to the public." Zhao Si's hand rested casually on his waist.

The bulges there clearly indicate weapons.

Lin Chen got out of the car and took out a joint letter of introduction from Qin Huaigu and Ye Zhenhai: "We were introduced by the Qin and Ye families. We have important business to discuss with Old Master Shen."

Zhao Si took the letter, carefully examined the seal, and a barely perceptible shadow of gloom flashed in his eyes.

"Letters from Old Master Qin and Old Master Ye... Please wait a moment, I need to consult with them." He turned and walked to the side, his back to the crowd, to make a phone call.

Ye Qingcheng whispered to Lin Chen, "He's stalling for time. Look at the order in which he dials—it's not the normal rhythm of making a phone call at all; it's more like some kind of code."

Lin Chen felt a chill run down his spine.

Ye Qingcheng's long-term involvement in extreme sports has indeed given her keen observation skills.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, when Zhao Si returned, his smile was so fake it was sickening: "Sorry, the old master is in seclusion refining medicine and will not be receiving guests for the time being."

"Why don't you gentlemen rest in the guest rooms first and wait for the old master to emerge from seclusion?"

"Seclusion?" Lin Chen looked directly into his eyes. "Old Master Shen is seventy-two this year, and he stopped personally refining medicine three years ago."

"Are you lying to me, or do you simply not know the rules of the Shen family?"

Zhao Si's expression changed.

Just then, an explosion suddenly came from deep within the valley!

boom--

The muffled thud brought with it an earth-shaking tremor, startling birds that flew all over the mountain.

"Towards the laboratory!" Ling Feng shouted in a low voice.

Without further hesitation, Lin Chen flashed past Zhao Si and sped toward the direction from which the explosion had come!

"Stop them!" Zhao Si ordered sharply, drawing a silenced pistol from his waist.

But before he could even aim, Ling Feng and the three ice guards had already moved.

The Ice Guards moved like ghosts, the four of them turning into four afterimages, instantly closing in on the four guards.

Zhao Si felt a sharp pain in his wrist; his pistol had been taken away, and a cold dagger was pressed against his neck.

"Don't move if you don't want to die." Ling Feng's voice rang in his ear. "Tell me, what happened in the valley?"

Zhao Si gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Ye Qingcheng stepped forward and took out a portable syringe from her backpack—a sedative she had taken from the yacht's medical cabin.

"I'll count to three." She aimed the needle at Zhao Si's carotid artery, "One, two—"

"I'll tell you!" Zhao Si was sweating profusely. "It's...it's the Netherworld Sect! They're here to capture Miss Shen Qingqiu! The explosion was to distract the guards!"

"How many people? What are their cultivation levels?"

"Eight in total. The leader is called Ghost Hand, an outer sect deacon of the Netherworld Sect, in the early Foundation Establishment stage! There are also seven Qi Refining stage disciples!" Zhao Si spoke extremely quickly:

"They disguised themselves as herbal medicine merchants and infiltrated the area three days ago. Their target is Miss Shen and the Qingxin Liuli Grass!"

A cold glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes: "Ling Feng, I'm leaving this to you. I'm going to the lab!"

"My lord, you're all alone in the early stages of Foundation Establishment—"

"I know what I'm doing," Lin Chen interrupted him, then turned to Ye Qingcheng and said, "You stay here and help Ling Feng control the situation."

"I want to go with you," Ye Qingcheng said stubbornly.

"You can barely walk now, are you going to your death?" Lin Chen's tone was unusually stern. "Staying here is the greatest help you can give me."

Ye Qingcheng bit her lip and finally nodded.

Without further delay, Lin Chen channeled his Nine Yang True Qi into his legs, and shot into the depths of the valley like an arrow released from a bow.

The scenery along the way rushed past.

He could sense that in addition to the fragrance of medicine, there was also a chilling, malevolent aura in the air—the Netherworld Sect had already made their move.

Five minutes later, he arrived at a section of mountainside that had been blasted down.

This place should have been the entrance to the medicinal herb garden, but now it is filled with piles of rocks and the smell of gunpowder.

Several Shen family guards lay dead in pools of blood, their fates unknown.

Lin Chenyang activated his spiritual eye and, through the cracks in the rubble, saw that inside was a huge laboratory converted from a natural cave.

In the center of the cave, a woman in a white coat is being attacked by five men in black robes.

The woman was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing goggles, and her long hair was simply tied back.

Even when surrounded, her movements remained calm and precise—a silver scalpel flew up and down in her hand, each stroke precisely repelling the enemy's vital attacks.

What surprised Lin Chen even more was that she was surrounded by a faint bluish-green halo.

The aura resonated with the various herbs planted in the cave. Whenever the black-robed men approached, the herbs would release pungent, numbing, or hallucinogenic scents, interfering with their movements.

"The Medicine Spirit Body is indeed profound," Lin Chen thought to himself.

However, the situation is not optimistic.

Although the woman was able to protect herself for the time being, her breathing was already disordered, and there were many tears in her white coat, with blood seeping through.

The five black-robed men who were besieging her included three late-stage Qi Refining experts and two peak Qi Refining experts!

Deep inside the cave, there were three more people—a gaunt old man standing in front of a herb that was as clear as glass, his eyes filled with greed.

The other two guarded the cave entrance, vigilantly observing the outside.

The herb was thirteen feet tall, with seven leaves that looked like they were carved from glass, and a pale golden flower blooming in the center—it was the century-old Pure Heart Glass Grass!

"Ghost Hand, hurry up!" the gaunt old man shouted sharply. "That old bastard Shen Wanlin will be here with his men soon!"

One of the men in black robes who was besieging the woman chuckled sinisterly, "Third Elder, don't worry, this girl won't last three minutes. A medicinal spirit body... capturing her and presenting her to the Sect Master would be a great achievement!"

Shen Qingqiu gritted his teeth, his scalpel drawing a strange arc to force back the enemy in front of him, and said coldly, "Don't even think about it."

"Even if the Pure Heart Glazed Grass is destroyed, I won't give it to you evil cultivators!"

"That's not up to you!" Ghost Hand suddenly pulled out a black bone nail from his pocket, bit his tongue, and spat out a mouthful of blood essence.

The bone nail suddenly surged with black energy, emitted a shrill whistle, and transformed into a beam of black light that shot towards Shen Qingqiu!

This attack was insidious and ruthless, locking down all her evasive routes!

Shen Qingqiu's pupils contracted sharply, knowing that he couldn't escape.

She closed her eyes, preparing to fight to the death—

Just then, a golden figure crashed through the rocks at the cave entrance like a meteor and burst into the cave!

"Who dares to touch her!"

Lin Chen let out a sharp shout, and with his right hand, he grabbed at the air. The Nine Yang True Qi transformed into a golden hand, forcefully pinching the black bone nail in mid-air!