Chapter 346: Iron Ox’s Conditions

Hearing that somewhat familiar voice, Ye Feng turned toward its source.
“So it’s you, kid!” Seeing who it was, Ye Feng shook his head lightly with a smile.
“I’ll never go back on my word!” said a man who was even taller than Ye Feng, with arms as thick as Ye Feng’s thighs, his gaze resolute. “That powerful member of the Black Witch Clan forced you to be taken away, but our bet isn’t over yet.”
“Iron Ox, since you say so, you must have made up your mind.” Ye Feng had already learned about Iron Ox’s character from Xue Sha and didn’t intend to waste words in refusal. “I happen to need help these days—your arrival is just in time.”
Iron Ox wasn’t expecting Ye Feng to agree so readily. He had lost the fight against Ye Feng earlier, and the bet was to ensure Ye Feng’s safety. Unexpectedly, a few days later, those powerful members of the Black Witch Clan appeared and kidnapped Ye Feng, leaving him frustrated for quite some time.
Several months had passed since then. He had been searching for news about Dao Feng and the Black Witch Clan but found nothing. A few days ago, he heard that someone named Dao Feng had appeared and killed seven top-tier experts in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, which immediately made him think of the Dao Feng he knew. So, he rushed here as fast as he could.
As a renowned warrior for some time now, Iron Ox had a certain reputation in the Demon Realm, and many recognized him at first glance.
Voices of discussion arose from the crowd:
“Is that guy Iron Ox?”
“Legend has it he’s already reached the peak of the Absolute Demon realm…”
“Surely one of the strongest independent cultivators…”
“He’s even teamed up with Dao Feng—who exactly is this Dao Feng?” Among the discussions, this question attracted the most attention.
“I’ve been in the house all day—come, walk with me!” Ye Feng wasn’t bothered by what the crowd was thinking and headed in a chosen direction.
Iron Ox immediately followed behind him.
After walking around for a while, the crowd gradually dispersed. Iron Ox looked around but saw nothing unusual before asking, “How did you escape from the Black Witch Clan?”
“Can you escape from the notice of a semi-god-level warrior?” Ye Feng countered.
“Well… if there’s just one, there’s a 10% chance of escaping successfully, a 40% chance of being captured alive, and a 50% chance of being killed on the spot.”
“What if there are more than one?” Ye Feng asked, a hint of mockery in his smile.

“This…” Tie Niu was stunned for a moment before answering seriously, “There’s no way to escape that. If it’s just one person, there might be moments of carelessness. But if it’s two people, it’s impossible for both of them to be careless at the same time. Where did you come from…”
“No, I was released by them…” Ye Feng shook his head. If he gave any other answer, he didn’t know how long Tie Niu would keep asking before giving up.
“Could it be that the Black Witch Clan has many demi-god-level strongmen?” Tie Niu also picked up some information from Ye Feng’s words. Although he wasn’t extremely intelligent, reaching the Absolute Demon level couldn’t be achieved solely through talent.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore…” Ye Feng shifted the topic aside without giving a definite answer. “What about Xue Sha?”
“Not long after you were captured, she went into seclusion, saying she wanted to strive to reach the demi-god realm.” Seeing that Ye Feng didn’t bring up the Black Witch Clan again, Tie Niu wisely stopped asking further. He thought Ye Feng might have experienced something traumatic within the clan and thus didn’t want to discuss it. Though curious, he wouldn’t expose others’ privacy just to satisfy his own curiosity, especially something that might touch on their painful memories.
But what he didn’t know was that Ye Feng didn’t want to talk about the Black Witch Clan because he regarded their members as friends and didn’t want to reveal too much about them to the outside world. The more information about the clan was exposed, the greater the risk of its destruction. To avoid such a disaster, he tried to avoid such topics as much as possible.
“Why stay at the demi-god realm?” Ye Feng shook his head helplessly. “With her cultivation level, she could have already triggered a heavenly calamity to ascend to the divine realm. Most of those who reach the demi-god realm do so because their cultivation methods require this step. As far as I know, Xue Sha’s method doesn’t require that, right?”
“She still has unfinished wishes in this realm, but she doesn’t want her cultivation to stop progressing, so she…” Tie Niu hesitated here, seemingly knowing quite a lot about Xue Sha.
“If she’s in seclusion, she won’t be able to come out for a while.” Ye Feng sighed softly.
“You just said you needed my help. What do you want me to do?” Tie Niu remained silent for a moment before asking.
“You know the uniqueness of my cultivation method.” A sly look flashed in Ye Feng’s eyes. “Now that I’ve sealed myself again, I’ll have to rely on you to take care of things during this time.”

“I promised to be this bodyguard before. But there’s one thing I don’t understand…” Tie Niu looked at Ye Feng with a puzzled expression. “Weren’t you always low-key? Why make such a big fuss this time, as if you want everyone to know you’re here? Killing seven Demon-Extermination-level experts in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea—isn’t this some kind of joke?”
“I have a friend who just ascended to the Demon Realm not long ago. With her current strength, it’s hard for her to protect herself. And since I can’t find her, I had to create some attention to let her know I’m in this city.”
“Your friend is a woman, right?” Tie Niu joked with a smile.
Ye Feng flipped his palm, and a photo of Pearl appeared in his hand. He handed the photo to Tie Niu. “It’s her…”
“I was right!” Tie Niu took the photo, examined Pearl in it, and nodded with a smile. “She’s indeed a beauty.”
“I must find her as soon as possible. Otherwise, given her personality, something bad will happen sooner or later!” Ye Feng took back the photo, his expression turning gloomy once again.
He claimed that Pearl had just ascended to hide the matter of the Refinement Realm. If the Refinement Realm was involved, even the matters of the Virtual Realm might be exposed. That wasn’t what he wanted to see.
“So, are we just going to wait like this?” Tie Niu asked hesitantly.
“Do you have any other ideas?” Ye Feng raised his eyebrows. At this moment, he actually hoped Tie Niu could come up with a better solution.
“You know, the Demon Realm is huge. Not to mention whether she can receive your messages. Even if she does, with her current strength after just ascending, it would be difficult for her to reach a city far from here. The magic crystals required for teleportation arrays alone are a serious obstacle, not to mention encountering bandits along the way.”
Ye Feng had thought about these issues, which was why he had asked Babu at the beginning to use Xing Jun’s influence to track down Pearl.
“I think we can’t do nothing while waiting!” Tie Niu continued. “I’ve been in the Demon Realm for so many years and have some connections. How about I ask my friends in the martial world to help search too? That way, the chances of success will be much higher.”
“That would be perfect!” Ye Feng nodded. “Then I’ll leave it to you…”
“However, my task is only to protect you. It’s not that I can’t help you with this, but you have to agree to one condition of mine!” Tie Niu finally revealed his purpose.

“Conditions?” Ye Feng raised his eyebrows slightly. He hadn’t expected Tie Niu, who seemed honest and simple, to know how to demand benefits at critical moments. “What are they? Tell me!”