Chapter 530: Blackmail

Elemental Stone! It was definitely an Elemental stone!

His Elemental Bracelet began to vibrate crazily, demanding to receive the stone. His arm was even pulled in its direction by some strange force. 

Yiren grinned seeing his shocked expression and put the stone in his palm. "Hehe, this is my apology for getting lost. I hope it's enough to avoid scolding."

She acted cute, not realizing how big of a favor she gave him. 

"Yiren! You are amazing!" Xuefeng called out excitedly, hugging her tightly and instantly pulled up his sleeve, exposing the Elemental Bracelet. 

One of the round sockets was shining with white light, giving him a hint of where to place it. He didn't hesitate and neared the stone to the bracelet, following the suction force. 

Click!

Wind Elemental Stone secured! 

Xuefeng didn't know what he expected but there were no fireworks, no explosions, nothing. He touched the stone to check if it sit correctly in the socket when his mind went blank.

His surroundings changed. He hovered in the sky, rain fell heavily but he could still see the outline of the place. An island on the lake that had a lake in the middle of it. To his surprise, that small lake also had an island inside of it. 

Swoosh!

A sudden blue beam shot to the sky, right from the bottom of the small lake. 

'Huh? What was that?'

Right after that scene, his mind returned to the Hidden Realm, making him realize it was just a vision. 

"Did you just see the location of the next Stone?!" Drakos called out first, pushing to the middle of the group. "Don't forget! That's our next destination!" 

"I think I did see it…" Xuefeng muttered, the picture of the island still vivid in his mind. "It should be Water Elemental Stone." 

"Of course it is. Now that you secured Wind Elemental Stone, you have to follow the visions to find the next stones. Depending on which Stone you start from, you have to follow a certain pattern else the Bracelet won't accept the stones. Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Blood, Metal, Spirit, Ether. Not sure why but it has always been like this," Drakos explained. 

"I see." 

It would definitely complicate his plan on completing the whole Bracelet but at least he had some type of guide he had to follow. He only wondered how come no one ever finished it, knowing the exact location of the next stone. 

"Xuefeng! I forgot to tell you something." Yiren suddenly called out. "That old man wanted to get your bracelet to live longer which is why he stayed here, wanting to lure you with the stone I stole. He won't leave us if he learns you have it." 

At that very moment, Tianshi's eyes widened and she turned around to Yi and Wu who covered the back. "Watch ou—"

Bang!

The earth underneath the two erupted and a figure appeared behind them. Yi quickly jumped away on instinct, aiming her sword at the intruder while Wu was the unlucky one, having a blade put up her throat. 

"Don't move or I will kill her!" 

No one wanted to risk Wu getting hurt so they froze, glaring at the old man. 

"So many Fate Holders in one group. You almost discovered me. I guess you are not that bad after all," The old man commented as he observed Tianshi with interest. "Too bad, all your abilities combined can't compare to mine."

"He can control time," Yiren exposed him before he could finish, angering the old man.

"No one asked you!" the old man shouted, pressing the blade further to Wu's throat. "But well, that is indeed my power. Impressive, right? You know what I want. I will trade this girls' life for it." 

"Don't!" Wu denied sternly. "Attack all together and kill him instead!" 

"Shut up!" the old man barked. "One more word and I will—"

"Stop! You win!" Xuefeng bellowed, stopping the old man's movements. 

He could already see a bloody line on Wu's throat made by the blade. 

"Is this what you want?" Xuefeng asked as he displayed the golden bracelet to the old man, making his eyes shine. 

"Yes! Give it to me!" 

The desire in the old man's eyes was clear. 

"But don't you know I will need to kill myself to give it to you?" Xuefeng questioned. 

"No, you don't need to. Just cut off your arm and pass it to me. I will let your woman go once I have it," the old man explained excitedly, his gaze glued to the bracelet. 

"Xuefeng…" Yiren muttered worriedly only to have her lips locked by his hand. 

"I already decided," he announced, staring into her eyes with an assuring gaze and ordered, "Go stand with Tianshi."

"But���" Yiren wanted to complain but stopped when he repeated himself. 

"Go stand with Tianshi." 

With their connection, once he loses his arm, she would suffer as well. He understood it very well. 

Yiren walked towards Tianshi who immediately grabbed Yiren's hand, pulling her head into her chest. No one saw it but Yiren's expression changed for a second. It returned to a worried one after Tianshi let go of her. 

The old man seemed to enjoy Xuefeng's act, all of it pointing to only one decision. 

"Fine, I agree," Xuefeng called out. 

"Haha! Good! I always thought that women only hold you back! This is a perfect example," the old man laughed and extended his free hand. "Give it to me." 

Xuefeng would never leave anyone behind but losing an arm wasn't an option for him. That wasn't the only solution they had though. 

No one should ever underestimate the power of their group. 

"I will cut it off now," Xuefeng muttered, putting his Dragon Edge on his arm. 

He paused. 

"I wonder, why do you want it so badly? If I'm going to lose my arm anyway, I might as well know why?" Xuefeng asked curiously, hovering the blade as if he was ready to cut. "You want power?" 

"Pfft! Power is just a bonus! I want to be immortal!" the old man sneered. "Give me the bracelet! Don't waste my time!" 

"I thought it wasn't confirmed? No one collected all stones yet," Xuefeng pushed the line to get more information but the old man became even more impatient. 

"I will bet anything to live longer! Give me the bracelet!" 

Wu clenched her teeth, blood streaming on her neck. 

"You know, if you just left and didn't bother us anymore, I would let you leave but you threatened to kill my wife. That's unforgivable," Xuefeng said sternly, no longer risking Wu's life. 

'Now!'

At his call, they unleashed the bloodline power of the three Royal Elves, immobilizing the old man. Even if just for a moment, it was enough for Wu to escape. 

"Wha—" the old man struggled, causing their souls to hurt but they didn't give up easily, buying time for Xuefeng while the rest distanced themselves, hiding next to the Phoenix. He didn't want to risk anyone approaching the man, now knowing the full extent of his strength. 

It was time to test the new power of the Elemental Bracelet. So far he could only block Fate Qi attacks using his gauntlet but now he could use the real power of it. 

The Mastery of Elements.