Since Xiao Fei's last battle with Daoist Mu Xin, the cultivators in Jiuyang Cave avoided him like the plague, fearing any interaction that might lead to misunderstanding with Boss He and his group.
Xiao Fei, however, was not overly concerned. He was eager to witness the combined might of Boss He and his four companions, perhaps to glean some insights.
The worst outcome would be dying once and ascending again.
It was Song Yao and Hong Wende who did not abandon Xiao Fei, following him closely.
Xiao Fei wasn't particularly moved by this. They were merely following him because they saw tangible benefits.
Having been trapped in Jiuyang Cave for thousands upon thousands of years, the fire poison within them had deepened. Relying solely on exchanging small amounts of Heavenly Fire Golden Lotuses with cultivators from Yingyue Cave for fire-clearing and detoxifying pills, they could barely sustain themselves.
In the past few days, following Xiao Fei, they had tasted some of the advantages.
The large ice pops provided by Xiao Fei had significantly reduced the fire poison in their bodies, greatly improving their physical condition.
Both of them saw hope for survival in Xiao Fei.
The benefits they gained from following and consuming Xiao Fei's offerings were evident. They were all Earth Immortals, and they weren't the only ones with courage.
One day, another gaunt middle-aged man proactively sought out Xiao Fei. After showering him with flattery, he expressed his desire to follow him.
Xiao Fei readily accepted him, rewarding him with a large ice pop on the spot.
The gaunt middle-aged man took the ice pop and ate it with relish.
With the gaunt middle-aged man's exemplary demonstration, over the next period, three more individuals came to pledge their allegiance to Xiao Fei.
Xiao Fei accepted them all without reservation and rewarded them with ice pops.
By then, Xiao Fei had gathered six Earth Immortals under his command.
Just as everyone assumed Xiao Fei was a fool willing to be exploited for food and drink, Xiao Fei did something that made everyone hesitate once more.
It wasn't anything major, really. He simply led these six individuals to seize a Heavenly Fire Golden Lotus.
And this Heavenly Fire Golden Lotus happened to belong to Daoist Mu Xin.
This was outrageous, tantamount to declaring war on the overlord of Jiuyang Cave.
A newly joined Earth Immortal was so terrified that he immediately wanted to withdraw and stop following Xiao Fei. The other few also felt a bit shaken.
These people had a rather selfish plan: they initially sought benefits from Xiao Fei, and now, having taken their fill, they wished to leave.
However, they had overestimated Xiao Fei's kindness; how could he let them profit for free?
Song Yao and Hong Wende had followed Xiao Fei the longest and were already bound to him. Now, with someone attempting to retreat at the last moment, at Xiao Fei's signal, they acted without hesitation.
They struck immediately, with swift and decisive methods, joining forces to kill this wavering individual.
With their combined strength and Xiao Fei's assistance from the side, they easily killed the person on the spot.
Xiao Fei made it clear to everyone that his benefits were not so easily obtained.
Seeing this, the remaining three dared not harbor any further dissent and could only follow Xiao Fei to the bitter end with absolute loyalty.
The five people now following Xiao Fei had all offended Daoist Mu Xin.
Given Boss He's overbearing style, if they left Xiao Fei, they would likely find it difficult to establish themselves in Jiuyang Cave.
Now that they were considered their own, Xiao Fei no longer held back and became more generous with them.
"Daoist Hong, try this pill and see how effective it is."
Xiao Fei suddenly produced a white pill in his hand. It was shaped like an ice crystal and looked incredibly cooling.
Hong Wende gratefully accepted the pill from Xiao Fei, wondering where he had obtained it.
Before entering Jiuyang Cave, everyone had their belongings confiscated, making it impossible to possess any pills.
However, he also knew that it was best not to ask questions; knowing too much could be fatal.
Hong Wende unhesitatingly popped the pill into his mouth, and an immediate wave of coolness spread through him.
"The fire poison in my body has been suppressed!"
"By how much, approximately?"
"By about ten percent."
Xiao Fei nodded, then took out a few more pills, distributing one to each person.
The depth of fire poison each person suffered from varied, so the overall efficacy of the pills would differ.
Compared to the detoxifying pills provided by Yingyue Cave, Xiao Fei's pills were about half as effective.
Xiao Fei's space, with his clones working diligently for over a hundred years, enduring countless failures and wasting many materials, had finally refined this immortal pill capable of clearing fire poison.
This pill used mutated water spirit fruits as its primary ingredient, serving to clear heat and reduce fire.
With a small amount of Jianmu tree leaves, it could repair the vitality damaged by the fire poison.
Furthermore, by using the immortal energy he decomposed and condensed from immortal herbs as a carrier, and by harmonizing various primary and secondary medicinal ingredients, he had ultimately refined this immortal pill for clearing fire and detoxifying.
Although the efficiency of clearing fire was slightly less than that of Yingyue Cave's detoxifying immortal pills, it was not important. Insufficient quality could be compensated for by quantity.
Taking two pills would be equivalent to one pill from Yingyue Cave.
Moreover, the pills consumed not only cleared fire but also repaired damaged vitality, something Yingyue Cave's detoxifying pills could not achieve.
Xiao Fei had subdued these five Earth Immortals and successfully bound them together. Now, he began providing them with fire-clearing and detoxifying pills to eliminate the fire poison within them and enhance their combat strength.
...
Deep within Jiuyang Cave, in a secluded corner where the heat was slightly weaker, an entrance was forcefully dug out beneath the ground.
Beneath the entrance was a man-made underground stone chamber.
Boss He and his four companions usually hid here to avoid the fire poison.
This was a place they had painstakingly established over thousands of years in Jiuyang Cave.
Although the interior was like a large oven, if one were to sprinkle spices outside and wrap it in a few layers of lotus leaves, it might become crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
However, compared to being directly exposed to the scorching flames, it was far better.
With this secret stronghold, the five of them could preserve over thirty percent more of their strength than others.
As for the Heavenly Fire Golden Lotuses outside, leaving one person to manage them was sufficient.
Given their status as overlords of Jiuyang Cave, no one dared to touch their possessions.
At this moment, Daoist Mu Xin arrived at the underground entrance. He glanced around, saw no one else, and then cast a rune into the ground.
A moment later, the entrance opened, and Mu Xin slipped inside, the entrance closing behind him.
"Bang!"
After listening to Daoist Mu Xin's account, Boss He was furious. He slammed his palm onto the ground, cracking the hard surface and causing flames to erupt from within.
"In this Jiuyang Cave, only we five brothers rob others. How dare someone dare to rob us!"
"Hmph! These people must die!"
Just as Boss He was about to rally his companions to go out and fight, the only woman among the five walked over and stopped him.
"Big Brother! This person can use the Law of Water to create large quantities of ice pops to help people reduce fire poison.
This is something I, your little sister, cannot achieve. Why not spare his life and keep him captive, to exclusively make ice pops for us five in the future."
"Hahaha... I was blinded by my anger. Little Sister Shui, your plan is excellent!"