“What!”

Lin Zhengzheng’s voice suddenly rose by three octaves. Although the old ancestor was not the strongest in the clan, he had dedicated his entire life to the family, and young True Immortals like Lin Zhengzheng, who were relatively inexperienced, had all received the old ancestor’s kindness.

“Thud”

Lin Zhengzheng’s legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, crawling like a mortal to the coffin’s side, looking at the kindly face of the old ancestor lying within. A trace of clear tears involuntarily welled up in his eyes.

“I’m Lin Chen, the Lin Family Patriarch. Dare I ask who you are?” Lin Chen spoke cautiously, unable to gauge Chen Jiuge’s cultivation level.

“He is a Heavenly Immortal from the Five Elements Sect. I called him back to help investigate that ghost monster,” Lin Zhengzheng introduced, forcibly holding back grief. To prevent Lin Chen from offending Chen Jiuge, he subtly conveyed some signals.

Lin Chen’s pupils shrank, and he offered a smile, saying, “So, it’s the Heavenly Immortal from the Five Elements Sect!”

Chen Jiuge waved his hand, and the third Heavenly Eye on his forehead opened, scanning the people present. He frowned and said, “Strange!”

“Heavenly Immortal, what’s wrong?” Lin Zhengzheng asked nervously.

Though saddened by the old ancestor’s passing, the remaining family members were more important as they were the family’s hope!

“Nothing. Take me to the guest room first; I need to make some preparations,” Chen Jiuge replied without elaborating.

“Alright!”

The Lin Family wasn’t large, and even the best guest room was just so-so.

Sitting on a bed made of Qingxiang Wood, Chen Jiuge began to recall the scene he had just witnessed.

In the sight of the Heavenly Eye, everyone from the Lin family—or rather, everyone in the Spirit Hall—was shrouded in a layer of Yin Qi, with some faces even starting to show black patterns.

“I always have a feeling of unease!”

…….

In the Spirit Hall, as night fell and darkness set in, the Lin family members gradually left, leaving only Lin Zhengzheng, who insisted on keeping vigil for the old ancestor, and Lin Chen, the Clan Leader.

“What’s going on?” Lin Chen asked, his expression slightly off after setting up a simple array.

“What do you mean by ‘what’s going on’?” Lin Zhengzheng feigned ignorance.

Lin Chen’s eyes widened, emitting the aura unique to a Heavenly Immortal. Surprisingly, he wasn’t a True Immortal but a Heavenly Immortal, even at the cultivation level of a Two Flowers Celestial Immortal!

“Don’t say you did it on purpose. Why bring a Heavenly Immortal? Don’t you know that such high cultivation is easy to expose?”

Lin Zhengzheng stopped pretending and stood up in frustration, saying, “You’ve already become a Heavenly Immortal; I have no objections to you being the Clan Leader. But why should the second position go to that old undying one? Haven’t my contributions over these years justified my own cultivation improvement?”

Lin Chen’s imposing manner relaxed as he soothed, “It’s not that we won’t enhance your cultivation; it’s just that your role in seeking help is indispensable. If you suddenly ascend to a Heavenly Immortal, it would arouse suspicion!”

“But isn’t there a Secret Technique to conceal cultivation?” Lin Zhengzheng grumbled.

“The Five Elements Sect is not like our Lin family. In their Sect, let alone Heavenly Immortal, even Golden Immortals and Daluo are commonplace. A slight mishap, and we could be exposed. You wouldn’t want any surprises, right?” Lin Chen explained patiently.

Lin Zhengzheng, somewhat angered, pointed at the old ancestor Lin Yi, then sighed heavily and turned to leave.

“Crack”

The already closed coffin lid was suddenly lifted. Lin Yi propped up his upper body, looking at Lin Chen with his cloudy eyes, saying, “Lin Zhengzheng has developed ambitions he shouldn’t have. It’s time to replace him!”

Lin Chen frowned and asked, “Do we really have to replace him?”

“The crimes we committed are enough to wipe out the Lin family countless times!” Lin Yi said blandly.

“Alright, I understand!” Lin Chen nodded.

“Do it quickly. Leave no traces. Send a ghost monster to chase away that disciple of the Five Elements Sect, and send him away!” Lin Yi lay back into the coffin.

Lin Chen looked on expressionlessly for a few moments, then turned and left. In the darkness, Lin Chen lamented, “Lin Zhengzheng, what a pity!”

Finding such a capable and intelligent subordinate is indeed hard!

In a corner, a pitch-black shadow slowly disappeared into the dark, stealthily moving toward Chen Jiuge’s small courtyard.

“Xiao Ying, you’re back?” Chen Jiuge vaguely sensed a slight movement.

Ever since Xiao Ying broke through to a Three Flowers Heavenly Immortal, its naturally strong concealment abilities had become even more exceptional. If Xiao Ying fully concealed itself, Chen Jiuge wouldn’t notice it at all!

“Master!” Xiao Ying’s body moved like a pool of black liquid, softly resting on Chen Jiuge’s back, recounting everything it had just seen.

“So that’s how it is!”

Chen Jiuge realized with a start that they were all sacrifices!

“It seems the entire Lin family has been unknowingly eroded, aiming ultimately for cultivation enhancement. However, the beneficiaries are very few, with Lin Zhengzheng likely being a pawn aware of the internal matters!”

“Gurgle gurgle!”

Weird noises emanated from the small courtyard as the Shadow Demon took the initiative. Soon, a rather unsightly creature came over.

“What is this? A slime?” Chen Jiuge exclaimed, somewhat speechless.

This small creature had a peculiar appearance, roughly the size of a basketball, with a soft and flexible body. Its attempt at a fierce look ended up looking rather naïve and cute, especially with its tongue that couldn’t fit back into its mouth, making its overall appearance somewhat foolish.

“Could this be their idea of sending a ghost monster for me to expel?”

Reaching out to poke at it, its jelly-like flesh rippled in waves, swaying back and forth.

“Awoo!”

This adorably innocent sound sent a shiver down Chen Jiuge’s spine: “Did it make that sound?”

The Shadow Demon scratched its head, hesitatingly saying, “It seems it really did.”

Giving it a light slap, Chen Jiuge felt as if he were hitting cotton.

“Wait, could this be a Spiritual Beast?” Chen Jiuge suddenly speculated.

Communicating with the Chaos Pearl, a thread of Chaotic Power circulated through the creature and returned to him. Processing the newly acquired information in his Sea of Consciousness, Chen Jiuge was stunned: “So it really is a Spiritual Beast, no, a Yin Beast!”

Glancing curiously at the slime-like Yin Beast, Chen Jiuge couldn’t understand why such a non-threatening ghost monster was sent. Who could they possibly fool with this?

In the Lin family’s study

Lin Chen felt exasperated. According to Lin Yi’s requirements, he planned to abandon a ghost monster to dismiss the disciple from the Five Elements Sect. Despite feeling a bit regretful, it seemed worthwhile.

Naturally, Lin Chen wouldn’t personally handle such trivial matters. As a leader, he couldn’t stoop too low.

Thus, the task fell into the hands of Lin Yi’s grandson.

However, Lin Chen never expected that, after drinking too much tonight, Lin Yi would receive the order and directly toss a Yin Mud Beast into Chen Jiuge’s courtyard!

What is a Yin Mud Beast?

This creature has virtually zero combat power, with its sole function being to clean up stone debris and garbage, unqualified even as food in the Underworld.

If not for being in the Yang World where other Yin Beasts can’t be easily fed, and also not wanting to expose too soon, it would be impossible to use Yin Mud Beasts as food for those ghost monsters.

“What were you thinking!” Lin Chen exclaimed in frustration!

Lin Xin yawned, completely indifferent, saying, “Isn’t he just a Heavenly Immortal? Even if he’s from the Five Elements Sect, he’s still just a Heavenly Immortal!”

“Just kill him. It’s not like we haven’t killed before!”

Lin Chen’s expression turned somber. If not for this guy’s grandfather being Lin Yi, he would certainly have smacked him to death!

Taking a deep breath to barely calm himself, Lin Chen began explaining!

“If this disciple from the Five Elements Sect has a background or is highly regarded by his Golden Immortal Master, his mishap would spell doom for the Lin family, you understand?”

“The Heavenly Concealing Technique can’t fully block a Golden Immortal’s investigation, do you get it?”

“Can’t block it?” Lin Xin was dumbfounded.

Recalling the mysterious person who visited the Lin family, their boasting about the Heavenly Concealing Technique being unique in both heaven and earth, Lin Chen now informing him it couldn’t block a Golden Immortal’s probing seemed like a betrayal!

“Then… what should I do now?” Lin Xin asked in panic.

“Go and find a ghost monster with extremely strong concealment abilities, ideally with power at the Heavenly Immortal level. The sudden appearance of the Yin Mud Beast has surely aroused his suspicions. Just go ahead and kill him!”

“Even if it can’t kill him, having a ghost monster of such power can serve as an excuse!” Lin Chen’s emergency response was indeed impressive.

“Alright, alright, I’ll go right away!”

Watching Lin Xin’s departing figure, Lin Chen couldn’t help but sigh, “Truly useless!”

His regret for Lin Zhengzheng deepened, “Capable talent is truly hard to find!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep