Chapter 48: Snatching the Prize!

Following the command of the young Beast Tamer, the energy within the grand formation shifted rapidly. Lu Jin, who was charging toward the original position of the Gate of Life, suddenly felt his eyes sharpen.

“Is this… the Gate of Life?”

Long Xiwei spoke quickly: “They must have realized we brought the Huangque Pharmacist out. They are opening the path! The demonic beasts in the formation are in total chaos; let us go!”

Lu Jin nodded. The two of them flickered through the air, heading toward the newly opened exit at high speed.

Sure enough, the path was clear. The great demons had vanished into the mist; there was nothing left to block them. They emerged from the formation in a matter of moments. However, they were surprised to find Song Wen and his two protectors following close behind. Though they looked battered and disheveled, they had managed to break through the horde of beasts to reach the outside.

Lu Jin glanced at the two elders accompanying Song Wen. Their faces were pale: they had clearly used some desperate, hidden methods to escape the slaughter. Song Wen, on the other hand, had been protected perfectly. Lu Jin was slightly surprised by the absolute loyalty of those two elders. To serve a first-grade Jindan playboy with such devotion suggested there was a deep reason behind their service.

Still, he did not care. The group of Beast Tamers was already standing before them, watching the Huangque Pharmacist like a pack of hungry tigers.

“You actually captured him alive!” The young Beast Tamer’s face was filled with a mix of surprise and delight, though his eyes also smoldered with a frantic killing intent.

“So, do you intend to slaughter him?” Lu Jin asked indifferently.

The young man laughed coldly. “Correct!” His gaze locked onto the pharmacist. His voice was thick with hatred and grit: “You killed my mother! Old dog! Today, I will kill you to appease her spirit in the heavens!”

As he finished speaking, his palms clenched. Two massive fangs appeared in his hands like twin daggers. He prepared to run the pharmacist through.

“Wait a moment.”

Lu Jin shifted his weight, pulling the bound pharmacist out of reach. “I caught him for you. How do you intend to reward me?”

Long Xiwei’s expression shifted. She hadn’t expected Lu Jin to demand a reward at a time like this. The wisest move was to drop the prisoner and flee before the thousand demons turned on them. But Lu Jin wanted payment. If the boy decided to command his beasts to attack, did Lu Jin truly have a way to escape? Especially with the Song family lingering like vultures nearby.

“My son!”

Before the young man could answer Lu Jin, the Huangque Pharmacist let out a tragic, wailing cry. His aged eyes were fixed on the youth. “I am your father!”

The declaration left everyone on the field stunned.

What? Lu Jin frowned. He hadn’t expected a twisted family drama to be hidden beneath the surface.

“Old dog! Stop your nonsense! I will kill you right now!” The youth roared, charging forward with his fangs raised.

“You cannot kill him!”

Before Lu Jin could act, Song Wen intercepted the youth. “If you kill him, what happens to my father? I came for the pharmacist because I need him to refine a pill to save my father’s life! If you kill him now, my father is dead! You will not have your way today!”

Following Song Wen’s shout, the two elders stepped forward. Suddenly, a new group of figures landed in the clearing: more experts from the Song family had arrived to reinforce their young master.

“How interesting…” Lu Jin noted. Among the newcomers, there was even a fifth-grade Jindan expert. His gaze shifted, but he showed no sign of fear.

“What? You dare block me!” The young Beast Tamer’s face grew even more savage. “Today, he must die!”

His voice was absolute, yet the Huangque Pharmacist’s expression became one of utter desolation.

“My son! I truly am your father! You were raised by my enemy! The man you should be killing is the one you call your father!”

Buzz!

A figure in gray robes walked out from the edge of the formation. Seeing him, the Beast Tamers bowed respectfully.

“Huangque! Stop your flowery lies and your attempts to bewitch my son!” The newcomer’s eyes were blood-red with killing intent as he glared at the pharmacist. He looked as if he wanted to devour the man.

When the pharmacist saw the gray-robed man, his own eyes erupted with a murderous fire. “Let me go! Let me go! I want to kill him! I’ll give my life to kill him!” He roared with such desperation that even Lu Jin felt a trace of complexity in his heart.

“Let you go?” Lu Jin asked. “You are in my hands. Anyone who touches you must have my permission. If I let you go now, you’ll be dead in seconds.”

The pharmacist continued to howl: “That man raped my wife years ago! He stole my son! He destroyed my home! I want to kill him! I want to kill him!”

The young man’s brow furrowed tightly at these cries, but his eyes remained frozen and cold. “You were the one who killed my mother! Stop your filth!”

The gray-robed man laughed coldly. “Exactly. Li’er, he is the one who took your mother’s life. You have remained in seclusion here for years just to avenge her. You mastered the Supreme Beast-Taming Formation just for this day: to settle this debt of blood!”

The gray-robed man then turned to Lu Jin. “Young friend, I wonder if these three hundred demon cores are enough for you to release the man?” He tossed a spatial ring toward Lu Jin.

Lu Jin’s mental power swept through the ring. He saw three hundred cores radiating pure demonic Qi. The energy was massive: even the Heaven Burial Coffin vibrated slightly in response to the aura.

“Fine. I’ll release him.” Lu Jin caught the ring and prepared to hand over the prisoner.

“Do not release him!”

“Brat, you dare!”

Seeing Lu Jin about to hand the pharmacist to the Beast Tamers, the Song family was enraged. Song Wen shouted: “If Huangque dies, my father’s life is lost! Snatch him!”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The Song family experts moved as one, attempting to intercept the transfer.

“Brat, hand him over to me and I might spare your life!” The fifth-grade Jindan expert’s aura crushed down toward Lu Jin. Other experts surrounded them, and someone even threw a handful of powder into the air, attempting to shroud Lu Jin and Long Xiwei in a disabling mist.

“You dare snatch what I intend to kill?”

As the Song family charged, several powerful figures from the Beast Tamer camp, including the youth, also struck out. The scene dissolved into a total, chaotic melee.

“Miss Long, we’re leaving!”

Seeing both sides surging forward, Lu Jin grabbed Long Xiwei’s hand. He dropped a massive, black Explosive Pill on the ground and fled instantly!