23: Chapter 23: Dogs Fighting, a Mouthful of Fur

At the very same time Xiao Yuan began his secluded cultivation, on the other side of the Sect, a storm triggered by him was violently erupting.

That Qi Refining Stage 8 Disciple who had narrowly escaped with his life from the hands of the disguised Chen Yin was named Sun Hao. Right now, he was crawling and stumbling, kneeling with a face full of terror in front of an Immortal Cave brimming with dense Spiritual Qi.

"Elder... Elder Zhao! This is bad! Something huge has happened!" Sun Hao said with a crying tone, his entire body trembling.

The stone door of the Immortal Cave swung open with a bang, and a young man walked out whose facial features bore a six to seven-tenths similarity to Zhao Mingfang, but whose demeanor was much colder and more majestic, dressed in Outer Sect Elder attire.

He was none other than Zhao Mingfang's biological older brother, the Enforcement Hall Elder of the Outer Sect—Zhao Tianlei, whose cultivation was at the Early Foundation Establishment!

"What is there to panic about? Speak, where is Mingfang?" Zhao Tianlei furrowed his brows, harboring an ominous premonition.

"Senior Brother... Senior Brother Zhao... He was assassinated by Chen Yin!" Tears and snot streaming down his face, Sun Hao exaggeratedly recounted the process of encountering an ambush by "Chen Yin" in the mountain forest, where Zhao Mingfang was instantly killed by ten terrifying Talismans and a sharp sword art, while he himself narrowly escaped back with severe injuries.

"Chen Yin—!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianlei's eyes instantly turned crimson, and a violent Foundation Establishment pressure abruptly erupted, directly flattening the kneeling Sun Hao onto the ground, while the surrounding flowers, plants, and stones were shattered into powder!

"How dare you kill my younger brother! I want you to pay with your life!" Zhao Tianlei roared, his figure transforming into a bloody thunderbolt as he bolted straight toward Chen Yin's residence! His younger brother's death made him completely lose his sanity!

At this moment, Chen Yin was in his own courtyard, pondering how to kill Xiao Yuan as soon as possible and obtain the "jade talisman treasure".

Suddenly!

"Chen Yin! Get out here and accept your death!" A roar like thunder exploded above the courtyard!

Before Chen Yin could even react, the courtyard gate along with the defensive Restriction were blasted into smithereens by an unmatchably fierce, blood-colored fist print!

Zhao Tianlei rushed in like an enraged lion. Seeing Chen Yin, the killing intent in his eyes nearly condensed into substance. Without another word, the terrifying Spiritual Qi of the Foundation Establishment Stage crushed downward without reservation, raising his hand to deliver a fatal strike!

"Zhao Tianlei! Have you lost your mind?!" Chen Yin was so frightened that it caused Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, frantically sacrificing a defensive Spiritual Artifact while shouting in shock and anger.

He was only at the Peak of Qi Refining Level 9, how could he possibly be a match for an enraged Foundation Establishment Cultivator?

"Boom! Crack!"

Chen Yin's defense was like paper, shattering instantly!

He was sent flying by a single punch, smashing half of the wall down. Blood spewed wildly from his mouth, and it was unknown how many ribs were broken. His aura instantly withered to the extreme, and it looked like he was about to be obliterated by a second punch!

At this life-or-death juncture, Chen Yin fiercely crushed a jade pendant on his chest—that was the trump card given to him by his grandfather to save his life!

A layer of thick golden light protective barrier instantly enveloped him.

"Bang!" Zhao Tianlei's second punch slammed into the barrier, causing the golden light to ripple violently, yet it did not shatter.

Taking advantage of this breathing space, Chen Yin, like a stray dog, crawled and stumbled as he fled desperately toward his grandfather's Immortal Cave, running while screaming miserably, "Grandfather! Save me! Zhao Tianlei is going to kill me!"

How could Zhao Tianlei let him off? Roaring angrily, he pursued him relentlessly.

The two of them fleeing and chasing caused a huge commotion, startling quite a few Disciples and stewards along the way. However, seeing that an enraged Foundation Establishment Elder was hunting down the Grand Elder's grandson of the Inner Sect, no one dared to step forward to stop them.

Chen Yin's grandfather, Elder Chen Mo, was the Outer Sect Dharma Transmission Elder, with a cultivation of Peak Foundation Establishment, a half-step False Core!

At this moment, he was quietly cultivating in his Immortal Cave. Hearing his grandson's cries for help and the commotion outside, he instantly appeared outside the Immortal Cave.

"Zhao Tianlei! Stop! What do you want to do?!" Elder Chen Mo's beard and hair bristled slightly, releasing the pressure of Peak Foundation Establishment. Although he didn't directly suppress others with his momentum because they were both Elders, he nevertheless forced Zhao Tianlei to stop a few zhang away.

"Elder Chen! Your grandson, Chen Yin, assassinated my younger brother Zhao Mingfang, and the evidence is conclusive! Today, I will definitely take his life to avenge my younger brother!" Zhao Tianlei's eyes spewed fire as he pointed at Chen Yin, who was protected behind Elder Chen Mo, looking disheveled and at his last gasp, roaring furiously.

"Nonsense! When did my grandson kill Zhao Mingfang? You are simply making false accusations!" Elder Chen Mo was both shocked and angry.

He understood his own grandson; although he was somewhat tyrannical, would he kill Zhao Mingfang, who was equally an Outer Sect Genius and had a background?

He did not believe Chen Yin was that foolish, nor was there any need for it!

"Making false accusations? Sun Hao! Come here and repeat it in front of Elder Chen!" Zhao Tianlei dragged the shivering Sun Hao over.

Facing the pressure of the two Foundation Establishment Elders, Sun Hao's legs went soft, but he still stubbornly insisted:

"Disciple... Disciple saw it with my own eyes! It was Senior Brother Chen Yin... no, it was Chen Yin! He used many powerful Talismans and a very fast sword to kill Senior Brother Zhao! Disciple almost died in his hands too!"

Thinking of "Chen Yin"'s icy gaze and terrifying attacks, he still had lingering fear to this day, speaking with absolute certainty.

"You're lying! I've never seen Zhao Mingfang at all! I've never even been there!" Chen Yin was so angered that he spat out another mouthful of blood, shouting in refutation. He felt even more wronged than Dou E!

"The human witness is right here, what else do you have to say?!" Zhao Tianlei didn't believe Chen Yin's defense at all; he only wanted to kill.

Elder Chen Mo's expression darkened. He looked at the certain Sun Hao, then at his severely injured grandson, feeling doubtful and suspicious in his heart.

Sun Hao didn't look like he was lying, but his grandson's appearance didn't look like he was faking it either... Could there really be a hidden story?

But right now, protecting his grandson was paramount.

"This matter is fishy. How can we conclude that my grandson committed murder based solely on one person's words? Wait until the Sect investigates clearly before speaking!" Elder Chen Mo was eager to protect his calf and refused to budge an inch.

"Investigate? My younger brother's corpse is still in that mountain! This is ironclad proof! Elder Chen Mo, if you insist on shielding him today, don't blame me, Zhao Tianlei, for being disrespectful to an Elder!" Zhao Tianlei's killing intent boiled, and it looked as though he was about to strike again.

Just as both sides were at daggers drawn and a battle between Foundation Establishment Elders was about to erupt, the higher-ups of the Sect were finally alarmed. Several higher-level Elders and a Golden Core Stage Inner Sect Elder rushed over, forcefully separating both sides and promising to immediately dispatch people to investigate.

Finally, under the mediation and pressure of the Sect's higher-ups, in order to temporarily calm the situation, Elder Chen Mo had to represent Chen Yin and compensate Zhao Tianlei with a large sum of precious Cultivation resources and Advanced Medicinal Pills, which counted as "pacification" and a "preliminary account".

As for Chen Yin, he had been beaten into severe injuries by Zhao Tianlei, and wouldn't think of recovering for a few months, which could be considered paying a painful price.

The storm temporarily subsided, but the clouds of doubt did not disperse.

Afterwards, Zhao Tianlei, who had calmed down slightly, felt more and more that something wasn't right the more he thought about it.

"If Chen Yin really killed Mingfang, why would he let Sun Hao return to deliver the message? With his strength and ruthlessness, was it difficult to hunt down a severely injured Qi Refining Stage 8? Or... did he fail to catch up?"

His brows were locked tightly, "I always feel... this matter reeks of an indescribable oddity."

On the other side, inside Elder Chen Mo's Immortal Cave.

"Grandfather, your grandson really didn't kill Zhao Mingfang!" Chen Yin lay on the couch, his complexion pale, feeling both aggrieved and furious.

Elder Chen Mo stroked his beard and pondered aloud, "That Sun Hao spoke with absolute certainty, not looking like he fabricated it out of thin air... Could someone really have impersonated your appearance to frame you?"

The grandfather and grandson duo simultaneously thought of one person—Xiao Yuan.