The most shameless alchemist in history

It brandished its fangs, determined to contend with the icy landscape. The molten lava, which had subsided, became even hotter once more, the air suddenly heated up, and more lava spewed out. It would fight the entire snow-capped mountain single-handedly; its roar was deafening, and the sky darkened.

It strode towards the towering snow-capped peak, its powerful strike capable of creating a massive crater in the mountain. This chain reaction triggered an avalanche, sending a massive cascade of snow crashing down upon it, reaching heights of tens of meters. The deafening roar shook the entire earth.

But it stood firm and fearless, bracing itself against the avalanche, smashing a massive crater into it. Any snow that came near was instantly melted and evaporated. The magma on its surface remained scorching hot, and it continued to ravage this land. With its actions, it declared itself the ruler of this place, the king of this land.

But the swirling snow has lingered here for tens of millions of years. No matter how ferocious a beast is, the moment it steps into the icy realm, its life is no longer in its own hands. No matter how it roars or how arrogant it is, the snow falls softly, and the evaporated water vapor rises into the air.

The sudden drop in temperature, accompanied by gusts of wind, brought a blizzard crashing down from the sky. Like a vicious dragon coiled on a snow-capped mountain, this was its territory, and it couldn't tolerate the roar of a mere hellish beast. It pounced on the lava demon, biting its neck with the coldest fangs in the world.

The moment lava met ice and snow, the ice and snow melted and vaporized, but under the influence of the icy domain, the vaporized water droplets quickly condensed back into ice and snow. The entire snow mountain was the evil dragon's weapon, its very body; how could a mere lava demon possibly harm it?

On the other hand, the lava demon seemed to have the upper hand in every battle with the ice and snow, but with each collision, the temperature dropped a bit. The lava was gradually encased in ice and snow, turning into something as cold as the snow and ice, and soon it merged with the huge snow mountain.

Time, in the end, is the poison that kills it. With a mournful cry of despair, it finally collapsed to the ground, pushed back into the abyss of the North Mountain by the blizzard. Large chunks of snow crashed into it, causing a massive collapse near the abyss, affecting an area hundreds of meters in diameter.

"Is it finally over? Is this thing even alive? Every move it makes can shake the entire snow mountain. It's terrifying." Dure had been watching from a distance until the Lava Demon collapsed into the abyss, at which point the battle was over, and the blizzard quickly subsided into the vast snow-covered mountains.

"As expected, this world is much bigger than we imagined. In its presence, we are too small and too vulnerable." Black Wind stood behind Du Lei and sighed repeatedly. Even their escape from the underground was a near-death experience, and that was only a side effect of the awakening of the Lava Demon.

If we were to truly stand on the opposite side of them, perhaps even a single breath from them would be enough to make them disappear from this world completely.

"With such a commotion, is everything really alright in the village?" Tongshan was still worried about Wenquan Village, where his relatives were.

"Don't worry, the lava only spread outwards for a maximum of two kilometers before stopping. It's still far from the village. At most, the village will only be affected by the earthquake. It won't be swallowed by the lava or damaged by the avalanche. I think the only problem is..." Du Lei hesitated before continuing.

"What's the problem?" Black Wind asked curiously.

"The volcano's extinction means the hot springs have lost their heat source, so I'm afraid we'll have to change the name of our hot spring village," Du Lei said with some helplessness.

"I see, that's a real shame." Black Wind sighed.

044 Just pretend you were never here

Just as Dure had said, on the third day after the volcanic eruption, the hot springs that the village was so proud of began to dry up. The first person to notice this was Hart, the owner of the mountaintop bath. He initially thought that someone had cut off the hot spring water source and was furious about it, but he soon discovered that this was a common phenomenon.

The village, which was large and had dozens of hot springs of all sizes, had all dried up, leaving only bare puddles. Soon, even these puddles were covered by drifting snow. This worried Hart greatly, and he hurriedly asked the village elders, who believed that the gods were angry and had taken back the hot springs.

Only a handful of people, including Du Lei, knew that the hot spring had dried up because the lava lake beneath Beishan was completely covered by wind and snow. Without the heat from the star stone, the lava lake went berserk and collapsed. No matter how brightly a fire burns, it will eventually go out without fuel.

Over the next few days, mercenaries gradually returned to Hot Spring Village. Many were injured, but compared to the massive crowd that had left the village, it was nothing. Only about twenty people managed to return safely; most perished in the vast snow-covered mountains.

These mercenaries remained silent about what had happened to Xue Ling and left the village in silence, because they knew that the star stone hidden in the sealed cave had been taken away. As for who would have the last laugh, no one could say for sure, and they could only blame their bad luck. Staying any longer would be pointless.

After three days and three nights of continuous snowfall, the sun finally came out on this morning. The warm morning light shone on the balcony of the village inn on the second floor. As the mercenaries gradually left, the village became deserted again, but this also made the air much fresher, which put me in a good mood.

The girl on the balcony looked up at the North Mountain. On the day she returned to the village, she saw that the top of the North Mountain was a large, bare area, a hole that had been smashed open by the lava demon. However, after three days of wind and snow, everything returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

With a series of knocks, she began tidying up her room, opened the door, nodded to the young man waiting for her outside, and the two walked up the old wooden stairs to the entrance of the inn. At the entrance, the old man had already settled the travel expenses for the past few days and exchanged pleasantries with the innkeeper.

The old man saw the young woman and man come down from the shop and say goodbye to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper came out from behind the counter and saw the three of them all the way to the door. He and the old man got along quite well. He had originally intended to tell them he hoped they would come again, but then he thought to himself, "The hot springs are gone, who would come to this run-down place again?"

"Miss, are we really going to leave like this? But Xing Shi is still in that brat's hands. If we leave like this, he'll just play us for fools. It's so frustrating!" Duanmu recalled the events that had happened with Xing Shi three days ago, and she still gritted her teeth, filled with deep hatred.

"There's more than one Star Stone in this world. It's a pity we didn't get this Fire Attribute Star Stone, but if we keep searching, we'll definitely find a more suitable one. Don't give up! As for him, let's call it even, we're even now."

Nan Yin gently shook her head. Just thinking of that guy's face made her look dejected. She completely understood Duanmu's feelings. In fact, she was struggling and in pain even more than Duanmu. After all, Duanmu was only unwilling, while she had been deceived and betrayed.

"Hey, old man Teng, why don't you try to persuade Miss? Even if we don't kill that wretched brat, we should at least teach him a lesson and then take the Star Stone. Only we'll know it's in his hands. As long as we're careful, we definitely won't fall for it this time."

The "detestable brat" that Duanmu was referring to was naturally Du Lei, a young man from the hot spring village. A large number of mercenaries marched into the North Mountain in an attempt to seize the Star Stone. Among them were many experienced and ruthless characters. However, no one expected that Du Lei would outmaneuver them in the end.

"Duanmu, no matter what the reason, we were outmaneuvered and lost. Moreover, if that young man hadn't turned around and rescued us, we would probably be buried underground. We wouldn't be standing here now. Miss did the right thing."

Old Man Teng shook his head. Although he was very upset about missing out on the Star Stone, he was a reasonable man. After sighing, he agreed with Nan Yin's opinion and decided to leave Hot Spring Village to continue searching for the Star Stone elsewhere. He was already very lucky to have escaped death.

"But don't forget, it was that wretched brat who led us to this dead end. He harmed us and then saved us, but it was all just an act. Old man Teng, you're such a shrewd person, are you going to fall for his tricks too?" Duanmu was young and impetuous, and he still had a lot of anger inside him.

"Then let me ask you, if it were you, would you choose to come back to save people?" Old Man Teng did not directly answer Duanmu's question, but asked him a question in return.

"If it were me, of course I would," Duanmu originally wanted to give a straightforward answer, but after careful consideration, he ultimately did not continue. This was because when he changed his perspective, he realized that it was indeed a difficult decision, and he might not have been able to make it if he were in his shoes.

"Alright, let's pretend we were never here. This world is vast, and I'm sure we can find other star stones. Let's leave this village now." Nan Yin gently shook her head, indicating to Duanmu and Old Man Teng that they didn't need to argue anymore. She had made up her mind to continue her journey to find star stones.

"Tch, since you've made your decision, Miss, there's nothing I can do about it. Let's just let that kid off the hook for now. But whatever you do, don't let me see him again, or I'll definitely kill him to vent my anger. I've lived for so many years and I've never suffered such a loss before," Duanmu said indignantly, uttering a harsh threat.

"Let's leave the village quickly while the weather is clear today. That way, we can reach Snow Eagle Town at the foot of the mountain by evening. We'll rest there for the night and take the train to the next city early tomorrow morning to continue inquiring about Star Stone. It would be bad if we were delayed and encountered another blizzard."

Old Man Teng had already arranged the itinerary. The three of them arrived at the village entrance and looked down at the foot of the mountain. After crossing the three snow-capped mountains, they would reach Snow Eagle Town at the foot of the mountain. He urged Duanmu to leave quickly, otherwise he was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would cause trouble.

"Let's go, let's go. Who knows when we'll find the next star stone? Let's just consider it a bargain for that kid." Duanmu left Hot Spring Village with his hands behind his head, extremely unwilling. After all, they had already expended a lot of effort just to find out information about the star stone in Hot Spring Village.

Now they are leaving empty-handed, which means that all their hard work over the past few months has gone to waste.

045 Let's go back and steal the star stones!

Just as Nan Yin and her group walked more than a hundred meters out of the hot spring village, they stopped again. It wasn't that they had changed their minds and wanted to go back to the village to teach Du Lei a lesson, but rather that someone had called them back. In the few days they had stayed in the village, they hadn't met many people, except for Hei Feng.

Of course, Hei Feng left a bad impression on them. For example, in Duanmu's mind, Hei Feng was labeled as "that despicable lackey of that wretched boy." During the Star Stone incident, Du Lei's plan was perfectly implemented thanks to Hei Feng's cooperation, and he made a significant contribution.

"Hey, what are you doing calling us? Do you regret rescuing us from underground and now you want to kill us?" Duanmu harbored strong hostility towards Heifeng. He casually flicked the long spear "Thunder Beast" he was carrying on his shoulder, pinning it to the ground, and looked at Heifeng with a provocative expression.

"Your name is Duanmu, right? You know I'm only this weak, I can't beat you at all, so don't make jokes like that. And even if I could beat you, I wouldn't make a move. Du Lei said you should leave, so I will follow his advice and let you leave Hot Spring Village safely."

Hei Feng waved his hand, his rusty longsword hanging at his waist, not in his hand. He expressed his sincerity to Duanmu and his group, showing that he was not there to cause trouble. As for Duanmu's provocative words, he did not take them to heart and would not bother with Duanmu.

"Then what are you doing here? Are you here to mock us losers? Humph, it's only because Miss said so that we have to accept our losses. Otherwise, I would have killed that bastard. Where is he?" Duanmu looked around, trying to find Du Lei's whereabouts, but he didn't see him. He only saw Hei Feng.

"Duanmu, calm down. This young man called us over, there must be something he wants to say. We, the people of the Phoenix Kingdom, are not people who can't accept defeat. Don't let people look down on us. So, young man, what brings you here?" Old Man Teng scolded Duanmu, signaling him not to get too agitated.

"I came because Du Lei asked me to bring you something." Hei Feng took a few steps forward. Duanmu originally wanted to stop him, but Nan Yin gently shook her head, signaling Duanmu to step aside. She went forward herself and took a black package from Hei Feng's hand, not knowing what was inside.

"That bastard wouldn't be so kind, would he? Does he want to give us some local specialties before we leave? I bet it's some kind of powder or a rat or something. Miss, you better watch out, that guy's got a lot of bad intentions."

Duanmu harbored deep prejudice against Du Lei and reminded Nan Yin that this was definitely a trap, while also looking warily at Hei Feng.

"Take it or leave it. If you don't want it, just throw it in the snow. These are Du Lei's exact words. I did what he asked me to do. I'm going back now. Don't bother seeing me out." Hei Feng didn't like Duanmu's harsh words either. He waved his hand and turned to leave.

"What kind of attitude is this? As expected, people who deal with that bastard are all bad news. He's so arrogant. Who does he think he is? If you hadn't told me not to cause any more trouble, I would have broken his legs. What a piece of trash." Duanmu scoffed at Hei Feng's attitude.

He watched Hei Feng's figure disappear completely, making sure he wouldn't suddenly turn back, before slowly turning his gaze back to the black package Nan Yin was holding. The package was only the size of a palm, which Nan Yin could easily hold, indicating that it wasn't very heavy.

"Alright, Duanmu, your conversation with that young man was quite heated, so it's understandable that he's unhappy. But Miss, what exactly is going on?" Old Man Teng was much more composed than Duanmu and knew that Duanmu's words were barbed and offensive. However, considering their experiences over the past few days...

It's understandable that Duanmu was so angry. At this moment, Nanyin opened the package. Inside was a rectangular wooden box with openwork patterns on the outside, which looked quite exquisite. Nanyin looked at the box with suspicion, wondering what was inside.

“What good stuff could there be in such a remote and impoverished place? Besides, he stole the Star Stone and gained a huge advantage. No matter what we give him, even a box of gold, it won’t make up for our loss. I think we should just throw it away and not be grateful to that bastard.” Duanmu was very dissatisfied.

He was in the prime of his life, full of youthful vigor. In his mind, Du Lei was an unforgivable villain, and he wished he could poke a few holes in him.

"Let's open it and take a look. Since he turned back and took us out that day without taking the opportunity to harm us, he won't harm us this time either. No matter what he gives us, we're not coming back anyway, so let's consider it a lesson learned." Nan Yin originally wanted to say "commemoration".

But upon careful consideration, she realized she would never see that guy again in her life. His actions had broken her heart. What kind of remembrance could she possibly have? At most, it would be a lesson etched into her very bones, a painful reminder in the most bloody way that she should never make the same mistake again.

“Miss, you don’t need to be too sad. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Besides, that young man did nothing wrong. We were all just looking out for our own interests. Hmm, this magical energy fluctuation, could it be?” Old Man Teng was about to say a few words of comfort to Nan Yin when Nan Yin opened the box and tore off a corner of it.

At this moment, a violent energy fluctuation overflowed from the box. Old Man Teng was startled and his expression turned serious. Nan Yin, who was slow to realize what was happening, immediately closed the box. Based on the magical energy fluctuation, she could already guess what was inside.

At this moment, Nan Yin was also filled with disbelief. She suddenly turned her head to look in the direction of the hot spring village, and stood there blankly for a long time without saying a word.

"What's wrong with you two? And that magical energy fluctuation just now, it must have been from the star stone retrieved from the sealed cave. That wretched brat must have deliberately exposed the star stone nearby and released the energy fluctuations to mock us. How despicable!"

Duanmu also sensed the magical energy fluctuations from the star stone, though only for a fleeting moment. However, his reaction differed from that of Old Man Teng and Nanyin. He assumed the magical energy fluctuations originated from a nearby mountain and was filled with resentment.

"Why did he go to such lengths just to get his hands on the Star Stone, but he..." Nan Yin's hands trembled slightly, her chest heaved violently, and tears welled up in her eyes. She stared in astonishment at the hot spring village, even though from her position she could only see the outline of the village.

She couldn't see the person she wanted to see at all. In that brief moment, her emotions were in turmoil. She thought she had learned her lesson and become cold and ruthless, but now the fortress she had built collapsed in an instant because she realized she was wrong.

And it's ridiculously wrong.

"Miss, shall we go back?" Old Man Teng asked with a look of surprise and doubt. He considered himself to be experienced and never made a mistake, but he really couldn't figure out that ordinary mountain village boy.

"Alright, let's go back and snatch the Star Stone back now. Old man Teng, you've finally said something sensible." Duanmu rubbed his hands together, thinking that they were going back to snatch the Star Stone. He couldn't wait to fly back and beat Du Lei to a pulp.

"No, no need. He must have his reasons for doing this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Black Wind to deliver it; he would have come himself." Nan Yin's eyes sparkled with excitement, but quickly dimmed again. She bit her lip, her mood as cold as a melting ice river.

“What you say is true, Miss. He doesn’t want to show his face, so even if we go back, we won’t be able to see him. I never thought I would misjudge him. Such a young man is truly…” Old Man Teng sighed deeply. Even someone as experienced as him could not have predicted such a change.

"Hey, old man Teng, young lady, what's going on between you two? You're saying all this nonsense, I don't understand a word you're saying. Should we still go back and steal the star stone?" Duanmu was still confused and caught in a dilemma.

“Let’s go. I misunderstood him. Du Lei, wait until I finish things in the Phoenix Kingdom, I…” Nan Yin bit her lip, not saying the rest of her sentence, but her fists were clenched tightly, as if she had made up her mind.

"Hey, didn't you just say you were going to go back and beat him up to get the Star Stone back? Why are you leaving now?" Duanmu was confused.

"Stop babbling and leave. Also, don't speak ill of Brother Du Lei again, or I won't let you off the hook," Old Man Teng scolded.

"Hey old man Teng, are you betraying me? Why do I have to say bad things about that bastard instead of badmouthing him? Ouch, you actually hit me! You think I'm afraid of you? Waaah! How come you even hit me, Miss? What's going on? Why are you all siding with outsiders?"

With a mournful cry, Duanmu and the three of them gradually left the snow-capped mountain, leaving only three shallow tracks on the pristine white snow. The footprints would soon be buried by the next snowfall, but she knew that the traces of her arrival and his presence would never be erased.

046 Why didn't you deliver it yourself?

Du Lei stood on a small hill near the village, watching the village entrance. Once you leave the hot spring village, you descend the mountain, and the terrain gets lower and lower. From his vantage point, he had a commanding view and a wide field of vision. He clearly saw Nan Yin and her group leave the village, and saw Hei Feng catch up with them and hand over the items to Nan Yin.

He also saw Nan Yin turn around and stare at the hot spring village for a long time. From Nan Yin's position, he could see and hear nothing except the vast snow-capped mountains, until she slowly left, looking lost and dejected, leaving only long footprints on the snow. At this time, Hei Feng also returned to the hillside.

"Du Lei, everything has been done as you said, and you've given her everything. I really don't understand. You went to so much trouble to get the Star Stone; it must be very precious. You rescued them, and then you just handed it over to them. Wasn't that all for nothing?"

Although Hei Feng had known Du Lei for over ten years and they had grown up together since childhood, he knew very well that Du Lei was the kind of person who would use any means necessary to achieve his goals. In his understanding, he wasn't too surprised that Du Lei would choose to turn back to save Nan Yin and the others when they were in the sealed cave.

Because he could see that Nan Yin and the other two were people of principle who would never repay kindness with enmity. Even if they hated Du Lei, they would not try to kill Du Lei and take away the Star Stone after escaping with their lives. This was indeed proven, but he really couldn't understand why Du Lei would give away the Star Stone.

"Why would I be reluctant to part with you?" Du Lei didn't answer Hei Feng's question directly, but instead asked him a question in return, while slowly turning around and returning.

"What could I possibly be reluctant to part with? If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have gotten the Star Stone either. Besides, haven't you been the one making all the decisions all these years? Speaking of which, we made quite a bit of money this time in Beishan, so we've already made a profit." Hei Feng weighed the money pouch at his waist, which jingled loudly.

It was filled with silver coins, some earned from mercenaries and some taken from the bodies of dead mercenaries. In Du Lei's words, resources should not be wasted. After all, mercenaries are buried underground after they die, and it would be a pity for the silver coins to be buried with them.

In fact, over the years, when the three of them went into the snow-capped mountains, they often dug out things from the bodies of corpses that had been frozen stiff for who knows how many years. The village elders accused them of blasphemy against the spirits of the dead and disrespect for the snow mountain gods, but Du Lei was fearless and didn't care about any of that.

"But Du Lei, if you've got your eye on that girl named Nan Yin, right? You want to win her heart, why don't you go and deliver it yourself? If I go, what if she takes a liking to me, given how handsome I am?" Seeing that Du Lei was silent, Hei Feng immediately said something to attract his attention.

"Bullshit! Who would want her? She's unreasonable and has a terrible temper. I can't handle that kind of spoiled brat. I feel uncomfortable standing next to her. Besides, a man's handsomeness isn't about his looks, it's about his aura. My aura is something you can never imitate. How could she possibly be interested in you?"

Du Lei kicked Hei Feng while cursing. Although Hei Feng was a bit older than him, Du Lei was the quickest-witted among the trio of scoundrels. Several times when they got lost in the vast snowy mountains, they survived thanks to Du Lei. Both Hei Feng and Tong Shan deeply respected him.

"I heard them say they're going back to the Porcelain Kingdom or the Phoenix Kingdom in the Eastern Continent. Du Lei, that must be a very far place." Black Wind breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Du Lei's appearance. He was really afraid that this guy would suddenly become depressed, so he deliberately said something to provoke him. It seems that he was just overthinking it.

"I don't know where it is. I haven't seen it in any books, at least not in the ones I'm looking at right now. I guess it must be as far as crossing ten thousand snow-capped mountains." Du Lei shook his head. Although he was intelligent, he could only rely on the knowledge he had.

He had no concept of anything beyond his knowledge. He only knew that the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent were two completely different continents with different customs and cultures. It was only through the advent of the railway that the two continents were connected. It was a concept that was too far away for him to understand.

"Ten thousand snow-capped mountains, even just one of them would keep us busy, and there are ten thousand of them! Hey, Du Lei, why don't you hurry up and catch up? Otherwise, when you meet again, you'll both be old grandpas and grandmas." Hei Feng pushed Du Lei, signaling him to go after Nan Yin.