Xiao Fei and Fei Yu stood by the iron cage, his immortal sense probing outwards silently.
Upon touching the four iron chains and the cage, his immortal sense was repelled by a powerful force. It turned out that the cage and chains were covered with a powerful formation, which he found difficult to break with his current strength. Not far from the four pillars, five Earth Immortals were patrolling, and any slight disturbance would be detected. This place was only a few hundred zhang from the City Lord's mansion gate. If a battle were to occur here, the powerful experts in the City Lord's mansion would quickly arrive. It was rumored that the City Lord of Qingqiu City was a Heavenly Immortal, at the same level as the master of Jin Xia Cave. Besides the City Lord, the City Lord's mansion also had a group of True Immortal realm experts, whom Xiao Fei could not deal with. Xiao Fei was looking around, trying to find a way to break free. Just then, an Earth Immortal of the demon race passed by the iron cage. He unhooked a flaming long whip hanging on the pillar and lashed it fiercely at the iron cage. As the whip was drawn, a ball of scorching flame immediately engulfed the entire iron cage. "Woof woof woof... woof... woo..." The iron cage trembled violently, and Xiao Hei's mournful cries could be heard from within. Xiao Fei couldn't help but walk up to the demon Earth Immortal and block the second whip that was about to be struck. "I think this black dog is miserable enough! Why are you so bored, Daoist friend, to add insult to injury?" The Earth Immortal, blocked by Xiao Fei, did not get angry. He smiled and explained. "Daoist friend, you might be new here and unaware. This black dog betrayed its master and the dog race. It is a disgrace to the entire black dog tribe, and it is not tolerated by heaven and earth. Everyone is free to punish it!" The demon Earth Immortal lowered his voice as he spoke. "Let me tell you a little secret. I'm here to pay taxes, but if I whip it a few times here, the City Lord's mansion can usually waive a few immortal stones." No wonder there is no love for no reason, nor hatred for no reason in this world. This demon Earth Immortal was willing to whip Xiao Hei a few times just to waive a few immortal stones. Pitifully, Xiao Hei's immortal power was sealed, and he could not resist at all. He could only bear the pain with his physical body, which made him tremble with pain. The Earth Immortal's body made him not die easily, but it also made him endure more pain. "Daoist friend, this is a bottle of spiritual liquid. I'll give it to you. Please be merciful. I've liked dogs since I was young and can't bear to see dogs suffer." Xiao Fei grabbed the demon immortal's hand and handed him a delicate jade bottle containing a bottle of "Zhu Yan Bai Gu." "What is this? It smells quite good." The demon immortal opened the bottle cap and sniffed it. He felt it was quite good. "This is called Zhu Yan. Taking it can make one feel comfortable all over, as if in a dream." "Thank you!" The demon immortal took a breath from the bottle. He didn't feel anything wrong; instead, he felt comfortable all over. He immediately took a sip, threw away the whip in his hand, and strode away. Seeing the demon immortal leave, a moment later, the flames in the iron cage gradually extinguished. Xiao Hei had been burned to a crisp. Xiao Fei used his divine powers to send a stream of water rich in vitality towards the iron cage. As this water fell on Xiao Hei, his injuries quickly healed, and it also replenished a small amount of energy. Xiao Hei, in extreme pain, trembled slightly with comfort as he absorbed this stream of water. "Woof woof woof..." After Xiao Hei regained a bit of strength, he first bared his teeth at Xiao Fei, looking as if he wanted to devour him. "Scram! I don't need your sympathy!" "Get lost, you black grandpa!" Xiao Hei stood up in the iron cage and slammed against it, making a banging sound. However, Xiao Fei did not stop his divine powers and continued to pour water containing vitality onto Xiao Hei. The commotion here had already alerted the nearby patrol team. Five Earth Immortals immediately walked towards them. "Stop!" "Stop! This is a traitor who betrayed Lord Heavenly Demon Guard. Do you want to save him?" The patrolling Earth Immortals quickly shouted to stop them. Fei Yu also tugged at Xiao Fei's robe and pulled him back. Fei Yu had to step forward and explain to the patrolling team for a while. Then, Fei Yu pulled the still somewhat emotional Xiao Fei away from the square. Returning to their temporary residence, Fei Yu opened the cave dwelling's formation and said, "Master, you almost exposed yourself today!" Now that Fei Yu said this, Xiao Fei also came to his senses. "I was indeed a bit reckless today!" "With your intelligence, you should be able to guess that the Heavenly Demon Guard imprisoned Xiao Hei here and deliberately tortured him, it's definitely not just to punish a traitor." Fei Yu, having finally surpassed Xiao Fei in intelligence once, analyzed the situation thoroughly. "The Heavenly Demon Guard did not kill Xiao Hei because his life is still useful. The greatest use of Xiao Hei's life is his connection with you. I guess the Heavenly Demon Guard's move is just a chess move. If one day you reach the Immortal Realm, they can lure you out. Now, all forces in the Heavenly Realm are searching for your whereabouts in the lower realm, but so far, they have gained nothing except losses. If one day, you willingly walk into their trap because of Xiao Hei, the Heavenly Demon Guard will capture you without any effort." "You didn't see that Xiao Hei would rather endure great pain than acknowledge you, precisely because he was afraid of your identity being exposed. He only needed to shout and reveal your identity to atone for his sins, but he didn't do so. Instead, Xiao Hei pretended to be angry and urged you to leave quickly." Fei Yu spoke rapidly whenever he got a chance. Xiao Fei could only nod silently. What Fei Yu said made sense. If Xiao Fei was never caught by the Heavenly Demon Guard, Xiao Hei would always have value and could probably live on. However, if he exposed his identity here, with so many experts in the city, he would definitely not be able to escape. Once he fell into the hands of the Heavenly Demon Guard, Xiao Hei's life would lose its value and he would be immediately killed. Rationally, this was the case, but his emotions made it difficult for him to overcome this hurdle. Xiao Hei was now locked in the iron cage, enduring pain day and night, while he could only watch from the side, powerless to help. If it weren't for Xiao Hei and Fei Yu stopping him in time today, his actions of healing Xiao Hei would have quickly attracted attention. Thinking back, Xiao Hei's repeated help to him was also a series of irrational actions. If we only consider profit and harm, Xiao Hei's best choice should be to find an opportunity to betray Xiao Fei. It would be best to get the Creation Jade Disk from Xiao Fei and then keep it all for himself. Doing so would not only be guilt-free but also a great merit, and he would receive rewards from the Heavenly Demon Guard. But Xiao Hei did not choose this way; instead, he helped Xiao Fei escape time and time again.