143: Chapter 143 A Gold-Stamped Challenge, A Choice with the Lin Family

She did not hesitate in the slightest, turning around and walking quickly toward the depths of the Spiritual Vein.

The torches in the corridor cast long shadows behind her, which were mercilessly left behind by her determined strides.

This path to the Meditation Room of the Spiritual Vein, she had walked countless times, but never before had she felt as if every step was treading on the edge of a blade.

The invitation in her hand was clearly made of cold metal, yet it felt like a red-hot iron, the searing heat spreading from her fingertips all the way to her heart.

The stone door of the Meditation Room sensed her aura and slid open silently to both sides.

A rich, almost liquefied Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi rushed to meet her, carrying a gentle yet overbearing warmth.

In the center of the Meditation Room, Lin Chen sat cross-legged, his aura steady and long, clearly having completely stabilized the benefits brought by his recent promotion of the Spiritual Vein.

He slowly opened his eyes, his deep gaze landing on Qin Ruowei's habitually cold face, capturing a rare trace of gravity.

"Clan Chief." Qin Ruowei didn't waste words, stepping forward quickly to hand the gold-leafed invitation to Lin Chen.

Her fingertips pinched a corner of the invitation, the force so great that her knuckles turned slightly white.

"Elder Wu Qinian of the Tianji Pavilion just sent this. It is a debate invitation jointly signed by the seven major Sects of the Southern Region."

Lin Chen's gaze fell on the invitation; those Sect emblems, some overbearing and others elegant, were like watchful eyes branded onto the red-gold background, exuding an undeniable pressure.

"This is not an invitation," Qin Ruowei's voice was very low, like a taut string. "It is a war letter. If we go, we become targets, left to be judged in the name of 'righteousness'; if we don't, we confirm our guilt, giving the True Blood Temple and those behind it an excuse to attack us."

No sooner had she finished speaking than two figures walked in from outside the door.

It was Su Qingyao and Liu Ruxu, who had just finished their tasks and arrived after sensing that the atmosphere was wrong.

Liu Ruxu, dressed in a water-green long dress, was filled with worry. She walked quickly to Qin Ruowei's side, glanced at the glaring invitation, and couldn't help but speak: "Clan Chief, the Black Wind Valley Spiritual Vein has just been promoted to quasi-third rank, and the power of the mountain-protecting Formation is no longer what it used to be. As long as we hold our ground and do not leave, and recall all our clansmen, even if a Nascent Soul Cultivator comes in person, they might not be able to break through easily. There is no need for us to walk into a trap."

Her point was clear: defending was the safest choice for now.

The Lin Family's Foundation was still shallow; it was truly inappropriate to clash head-on with the entire Sect power of the Southern Region.

However, Su Qingyao, in her plain white Alchemist robe, shook her head.

She walked to the stone table on the side of the Meditation Room and gently placed a freshly refined cyan jade medicine bottle on the table.

With a soft "clack," the sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet Meditation Room, attracting everyone's attention.

"This Devilish Qi is like a plague; blocking it is not a solution." Su Qingyao's voice remained cold, but it carried a trace of irrefutable firmness. "We can lay down a net in Black Wind Valley, but what about those clansmen training outside? What about the affiliated Families that are on good terms with us? If we cannot find the source of this Devilish Qi and the true method to restrain it, we can guard for a moment, but not for a lifetime. One day, this plague will spread to every corner we cannot look after."

Her gaze turned to Lin Chen, her cold eyes reflecting her husband's calm figure.

She knew that he must also understand this principle.

For a moment, the Meditation Room fell into silence.

To defend is to bury one's head in the sand and hand one's fate to others.

To attack is to enter the game alone and face the monstrous waves head-on.

Lin Chen's gaze shifted from Qin Ruowei's tense face to Liu Ruxu's worried brows, and finally landed on Su Qingyao's determined eyes.

He didn't make a decision immediately but raised his hand and waved gently toward the outside of the Meditation Room.

A flash of Spiritual Qi passed, and a moment later, a tall and straight youth walked in. It was Lin Haoyu.

"Father." Lin Haoyu bowed in salute. He could feel the heavy atmosphere in the Meditation Room, but there was no panic on his face; he just quietly waited for his father's instructions.

Lin Chen remained silent, taking out the jade box that sealed the Devilish Blood of the True Blood Temple's Palace Master from his storage ring.

"Click."

His slender fingers gently flicked the latch of the jade box, prying the lid open by an imperceptible crack.

In an instant, a cold, violent black gas, full of destruction and pollution, like a poisonous snake that had been imprisoned for ten thousand years, suddenly poked its head out from the crack!

The temperature in the Meditation Room seemed to drop by a dozen degrees instantly. That pure malice made both Liu Ruxu and Qin Ruowei subconsciously tense their bodies and circulate their spiritual power to resist.

"Haoyu, circulate your Cultivation Technique." Lin Chen's voice was calm and waveless.

"Yes."

Lin Haoyu did not hesitate in the slightest. He took a deep breath, and the Chaos Golden Core in his body vibrated slightly. A pure and thick power instantly flowed to his right palm.

He extended his palm, and above his palm, a faint yet incredibly solid earth-yellow halo emerged. That halo seemed to contain the most original vitality and carrying power of the earth.

The trace of escaping Devilish Qi, the moment it approached within three feet of his palm, made a soundless, shrill shriek like ice meeting a scorching sun!

The black gas twisted and rolled violently, trying to escape, but it was firmly adsorbed by the aura emitted by the earth-yellow halo, and then, amidst an invisible "hissing" sound, it was completely purified and dissolved, leaving not even a trace behind.

This intuitive, almost brute-force relationship of restraint made everyone's breathing stall for a moment!

In the eyes of Liu Ruxu and Qin Ruowei, a look of disbelief erupted simultaneously.

Was this the power of the Wu Earth True Source?

Was this the Foundation that the Clan Chief had forged for his eldest son at the cost of consuming his own Origin?

This was no longer a simple Five Elements mutual restriction, but an absolute suppression from a higher level, from the Origin of life!

A flash of realization also crossed Su Qingyao's eyes. She instantly understood the true deep meaning of Lin Chen's previous series of layouts.

Lin Chen slowly closed the jade box, completely sealing the Devilish Qi.

His right hand subconsciously rubbed the rough stone ring on his thumb. The warm touch of the ring surface allowed the swaying wind and rain outside and the waves in his heart to completely settle down.

He looked up, his gaze as calm as an abyss, sweeping over everyone present.

"Passive defense has never been the style of my Lin Family."

He spoke in a low voice; it wasn't loud, but it was like a boulder, clearly reaching every corner of the Meditation Room and striking everyone's heart.

"If they want to hold a grand meeting, we will go. But we are not going as defendants to accept judgment, but as plaintiffs holding evidence to expose the truth."

Lin Chen stood up, an invisible momentum radiating from him. It was no longer the calmness of his seclusion, but a sharpness about to be unsheathed.

"Before the meeting starts, I need to make a trip to Tianshu City first."

His gaze swept over the crowd one by one, and he began to issue thunderous orders.

"Ruowei, from now on, use every resource we can mobilize, open up the secret trade route provided by Cave Master Yue Ji, and contact Baicao Valley. At all costs, exchange for every Spiritual plant and Pill Formula that can purify Heart Demons and remove evil filth! If the money is not enough, sell Magical Artifacts! If the manpower is not enough, draw from the affiliated Families!"

"Yes!" Qin Ruowei agreed without hesitation, the confusion in her eyes swept away, replaced by cold determination.

"Ruxu," Lin Chen's gaze turned to Liu Ruxu, "Integrate all the Formation classics regarding purification, calming the mind, and dispelling evil in the Family's Scripture Pavilion, and lead the team to deduce them yourself. I want you to make our Black Wind Valley's purification Formation able to cover every inch of land in the valley within three months. Even a moth must not be able to carry a trace of evil aura inside!"

"This Disciple understands!" Liu Ruxu nodded heavily, her worry turning into immense pressure and motivation.

Finally, Lin Chen's gaze fell on Su Qingyao.

"Qing Yao, the value of Sect Master Tie Kuang and Cave Master Yue Ji is more than just intelligence. I want you... to squeeze them dry. Whether it is the Cultivation Technique they practice, the mysteries of their Divine Soul, or their reaction to that Devilish Qi, I want the most detailed report."

There was no ripple on Su Qingyao's cold face; she just nodded gently: "Leave it to me."

An internal meeting concerning the survival of the Family had unified their thoughts in a very short time and determined the thunderous strategy of taking the initiative.

After Qin Ruowei, Su Qingyao, and Liu Ruxu received their orders, they didn't stay for a moment and turned to leave immediately. The whole Family, like a precision war machine, began to operate at high speed under Lin Chen's will.

In the Meditation Room, only Lin Chen remained again.

He exhaled a long breath of turbid air, preparing to enter the inner room to use the last bit of time before departure to completely refine that drop of Devilish Blood, making full preparations for the upcoming trip to Central Province.

However, the moment he turned around, the stone ring on his thumb suddenly vibrated very slightly, and a cold touch flashed and disappeared.

Almost instinctively, the new System ability unlocked by the promotion of the Spiritual Vein — [Earth Pulse Perception] — was triggered instantly!

In an instant, Lin Chen's feeling became incredibly wonderful.

His "vision" was no longer limited to this Meditation Room, but seemed to have merged with the land of the entire Black Wind Valley, penetrating the thick mountain rock and layers of Formations, extending infinitely toward the outside world.

The spies lurking outside the valley, the low roars of Yao Beasts in the distance, and even the breathing of the Spiritual Vein deep underground... countless information surged into his perception like a tide.

His mind moved, condensing his perception, and traced back in the direction where Elder Wu Qinian of the Tianji Pavilion had left.

A hundred miles away, a cyan, leaf-shaped flying boat was traveling at high speed in the clouds.

Wu Qinian sat at the front of the flying boat, his expression calm.

Lin Chen's "vision" easily locked onto the flying boat.

At the very tail of the flying boat, in an extremely hidden corner, he clearly "saw" a strand of energy mark, thinner than a hair and resembling a pale cyan moth, firmly attached to it, traveling far away with the flying boat.

The aura of that mark was completely different from the aura emitted by Wu Qinian himself, full of a certain sense of peeping and surveillance, yet hidden seamlessly.

If it weren't for the fact that he possessed this Earth Pulse Perception, even if a Nascent Soul Cultivator were present, they might not have been able to detect it.

In the Meditation Room, Lin Chen slowly withdrew his perception, his eyes cold.

He recalled that strand of pale cyan energy mark, and his heart sank.

The Tianji Pavilion, or rather, this Elder Wu, did not seem as neutral as he appeared on the surface.

Or perhaps, behind him, there was another pair of invisible eyes.