Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

After leaving the Patriarch’s residence, Lin Zheng headed straight for the Lin family’s back mountain.

At first, he was exceptionally vigilant, but gradually, he began to relax.

In the Lin family, on the surface, aside from his old man Lin Tianhao—an Elemental Realm expert—his cultivation was the strongest.

Lin Zheng didn’t believe anyone in the Lin family could follow him without being discovered.

Lin Zheng walked faster and faster. A quarter of an hour later, he came to a sudden halt.

Lin Hao, who was following him, hadn’t let his guard down for even a moment. The instant Lin Zheng stopped, Lin Hao concealed himself even better.

At first, Lin Hao thought he had been discovered. But upon closer inspection, he dismissed the thought.

Lin Zheng was staring blankly ahead, as if he had suddenly frozen in a daze.

Puzzled, Lin Hao circulated his Cultivation Technique and looked over. In front of Lin Zheng was a patch of overgrown weeds, and about a hundred meters away, there was only a steep cliff face.

Lin Zheng had reached the very end of the Lin family’s back mountain.

’There’s nothing here. What is Lin Zheng doing? Could it be that Lin Tianhao discovered me long ago, and Lin Zheng’s actions are just a ploy to lure the tiger out of the mountains?’

Doubt surged in Lin Hao’s heart.

However, in the next moment, he was suddenly startled.

He watched as Lin Zheng took several dozen steps forward, then suddenly bowed with extreme reverence and announced, "Lin Zheng pays his respects to the two Elders."

As his voice fell, two terrifying auras erupted from the cliff face.

Even from a great distance, Lin Hao was horrified. These aura fluctuations definitely belonged to Elemental Realm experts, and they were far more tyrannical than Lin Tianhao’s own aura.

The Lin family actually had Elemental Realm elders here!

Lin Hao was greatly shocked.

As a direct descendant of the Lin family, he had never even known about them. It was clear how deeply they were hidden.

"What are you doing here so late at night!" a hoarse, elderly voice called out, tinged with irritation.

"Reporting to the Elders, Father obtained a few Body Forging Blood Coagulation Pills. With the martial competition imminent, Father has decided to put aside past grievances and let Third Brother and Fourth Brother each take one," Lin Zheng answered respectfully.

The elderly voice from the cliff sighed. "Big Brother is far away in the capital, and Old Third has gone missing, yet his line actually plotted a rebellion! The fact that Tianhao didn’t resort to killing them, but merely placed them under house arrest, is already a sign of his benevolence. And now, he is even willing to disregard past grudges. For Tianhao to have such magnanimity is truly a blessing for the Lin family."

"As long as it is for the Lin family, Father has always been so righteous. He has always been my role model," Lin Zheng said with an air of self-righteousness.

From a distance, Lin Hao sneered repeatedly as he listened to their exchange.

’So this elder actually knows about the imprisonment of our family members.’ A wave of sorrow had washed over him at first, but now he was beginning to understand what had happened.

’These two elders must have been in seclusion here for years, completely out of touch with the family’s affairs. They’ve definitely been deceived by Lin Tianhao.’

’Plotting a rebellion... What a heavy accusation!’

Moreover, from that conversation, Lin Hao had already figured out the identities of the two elders.

His grandfather had three brothers. Among the four of them, his grandfather was the third-born, while Lin Zheng’s grandfather was the eldest.

The one who spoke must be his Second Granduncle, whom he had never met, and the other must be his Fourth Granduncle.

Although Lin Hao had never met them, his grandfather had always spoken highly of them, describing them as men of integrity...

Just as Lin Hao was lost in thought, a rumbling sound from the distance interrupted his contemplation.

He looked up to see the cliff face splitting apart, revealing a fissure. Lin Zheng slipped inside, and the rock wall immediately closed behind him.

Lin Hao remained prostrate on the ground, his heart calm, feeling neither sorrow nor joy.

Before long, the rumbling sound started again. Lin Zheng emerged, and with him were two disheveled figures in ragged clothes.

Lin Hao’s fists clenched instantly. ’If I’m not mistaken, those must be my Third Brother and Fourth Brother.’

’If it weren’t for me, they would be living comfortable lives, attended by servants.’

But because of him, they were imprisoned in that sunless place. Hot tears welled up in Lin Hao’s eyes.

’Don’t worry, I will save you. I will repay you double for the suffering you’ve endured on my behalf!’ Lin Hao gave them one last deep look before quietly retreating.

He could have waited for Lin Zheng to leave and then, as a disciple of the Lin family, revealed the truth to the two elders. However, he had no proof. If he acted rashly now, he might make things worse, and by then, the situation would likely be irreversible.

Lin Hao was meticulous. On this matter, he would not act rashly without absolute certainty.

The most important thing now was to find out if Shi Bai’s pills were poisoned. If they were, he needed to know what kind of poison it was. He didn’t want his two older brothers to suffer any longer.

Retreating to the rockery, Lin Hao sat cross-legged once more, using his mysterious True Qi to connect with the energies of heaven and earth. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

After waiting for half an hour, Lin Hao finally saw Lin Zheng appear with his two brothers, who now looked completely refreshed.

Not long after they went inside, Lin Hao saw Shi Bai’s figure appear at the doorway.

A moment later, Lin Tianhao’s furious roar came from inside the room, followed by Shi Bai’s loud laughter as he pushed the door open and walked in...

"Zheng’er!" Seeing the fallen Lin Zheng, Lin Tianhao moved to help him up. As for the other two, Lin Tianhao couldn’t care less if they lived or died.

Just then, he felt his own legs give way, and he slumped limply into his chair, his entire body powerless.

Lin Tianhao was horrified.

He couldn’t figure it out, even if it killed him. He had already swapped the pill Lin Zheng took with the one Yi Mingcheng had brought back to the family. He himself hadn’t taken any pill at all, so how could he also be poisoned?

Just as he was pondering this, Shi Bai pushed the door open and entered, a smug look on his face.

"Master Shi, what is the meaning of this?" Lin Tianhao forced a smile.

Shi Bai snorted coldly and sneered, "Someone wants to deal with your Lin family!"

"That brute Wu Tianli? You’re with the Wu family?!" Lin Tianhao’s face was a mask of despair.

Shi Bai nodded, then shook his head. "It is indeed Wu Tianli, but I am not one of the Wu family."

"Whatever he offered you, I can give you double—no, triple!" Lin Tianhao said hurriedly, as if he had just seen a glimmer of hope.

Shi Bai shook his head. "This isn’t a matter of what’s on offer. A servant of your family offended someone they shouldn’t have."

"Who was it! I’ll hand him over to you right now."

"He is insignificant. What that person wants is the Alchemy Hand Seal for the Rejuvenation Blood Pill! Of course, I want it too!" Shi Bai finally revealed the purpose of his visit.

Lin Tianhao’s face soured. "This... I don’t know either... Right, Lin Hao! Go find that little bastard Lin Hao."

"Him? Of course I’ll go find him. However, I’ve now discovered something even more tempting than that hand seal." Shi Bai stared at Lin Tianhao, his eyes glinting with greed.

Power!

The allure of that one word was immense.

Lin Tianhao was simply too easy to deal with. After taking him down, and with the support of the Wu family, Shi Bai was confident that the Lin family of War Dragon City would soon be renamed the Shi family.

"Shi Bai, the respect I’ve shown you wasn’t out of fear. You don’t actually believe that my father and I have turned against each other, do you?" Lin Tianhao’s tone suddenly hardened.

"Hmm..." Shi Bai’s expression changed slightly.

A year ago, Lin Tianhao, the Patriarch of the War Dragon City Lin family, had been defeated by his own nephew. In a fit of rage, he had declared he would disown him.

Later, when Lin Wei stepped in, he also defended his nephew. Lin Tianhao, furious, had even attacked Lin Wei, leading to a rupture between father and son.

Lin Wei had then, on behalf of the capital’s Lin family, announced that they were severing all ties with the War Dragon City Lin family. Now, it seemed there was more to that story.

"My groveling just now was merely to get you to reveal the purpose of your visit. If you don’t produce the antidote, I guarantee you will die a miserable death!"

So, Lin Tianhao’s actions just now had all been an act, intended to lull Shi Bai into a false sense of security.

"A year ago, you and your father went to such great lengths to stage this play. What for?" Shi Bai’s face changed as he couldn’t help but ask.

Lin Tianhao snorted coldly and said nonchalantly, "For the same thing you’re after!"

Shi Bai’s eyes flickered as he stared at Lin Tianhao in utter disbelief.

The people of the Lin family were truly not as simple as they appeared on the surface.

"Shi Bai, do you believe that if I just give the word, you will be torn to pieces?!" Murderous intent flashed in Lin Tianhao’s eyes.

Shi Bai had no choice but to believe him. Lin Tianhao had revealed such a crucial piece of information to him, leaving him with only two paths: death or submission!

Although someone had instigated his visit to the War Dragon City Lin family, that person was not his master. They were merely using each other for their own gains.

At this moment, although he seemed to have the upper hand, he didn’t dare take the risk.

Shi Bai’s eyes darted about, his mind racing as he weighed his options.

"The capital’s Lin family is one of the four great families. My nephew, Lin Wu, is a peerless genius. At only sixteen, he is already an Elemental Realm expert. He is destined to be the future master of the Lin family! My son, Lin Zheng, has a bloodline that surpasses a Spirit Body and has already reached the Eighth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm. He is likewise destined for greatness!"

After the threats came the enticements.

Lin Tianhao’s words were extremely tempting.

"Although you are an Alchemy Master, with an esteemed status in War Dragon City, there are many Alchemy Masters like you in the capital. If I wanted one, it would not be difficult to find."

Seeing that Shi Bai was wavering, Lin Tianhao pressed his advantage.

"Shi Bai is at Master’s disposal!" After a long moment of hesitation, Shi Bai finally made his choice and knelt before Lin Tianhao.

A smile appeared on Lin Tianhao’s face as he nodded.

Shi Bai quickly got up, took out a few pills, and handed them over.

Lin Tianhao gave a meaningful look, and two of the pills were fed to the two so-called family disciples.

A short while later, after confirming the antidote worked, Lin Tianhao and his son both swallowed their pills...

"Shi Bai, I’m very curious. How did you poison us?" Having been cured, Lin Tianhao voiced the question on his mind.

Then, he watched as Shi Bai peeled a cicada-wing-thin layer of skin from his hand.

Not only were the pills poisoned, but even the box containing them was toxic. Although Lin Tianhao hadn’t taken a pill, he had touched the box.

"What a brilliant method!" Lin Tianhao applauded, then asked, "You said someone wanted the Alchemy Hand Seal for the Rejuvenation Blood Pill. Who was it?"

"The son of the City Lord of Red Beauty City. I have a fondness for fine wine, and he promised me an unlimited supply of ’Worldly Smile.’ Plus, the allure of that Alchemy Hand Seal is immense for us Alchemy Masters, so I agreed to act," Shi Bai did not hide anything.

Perhaps to show his loyalty, Shi Bai continued, "Master, is there anything else you need to know?"

"No. However, I do need you to—die!"

As his voice fell, Lin Tianhao suddenly lunged forward. With a single palm strike, he killed Shi Bai, whose eyes remained wide open in death.

Even in death, Shi Bai couldn’t understand why Lin Tianhao would kill him.

"You knew too much..." Lin Tianhao’s gaze was ice-cold as he stared at Shi Bai’s corpse.