25: A branch! A calamity?

The aftershocks of the Heaven Vault Grand Meeting had not yet subsided, and the name of the Lin Family of Qingfeng County had swept through the entire Qingzhou like a gale, even spreading to the surrounding prefectures.

The deeds of Lin Dao obliterating a Heavenly Soul Realm expert with a flick of his finger, and the three sons of the Lin Family sweeping the top three spots of the Spirit Sea Realm, were spread with legendary exaggeration, inciting countless discussions and prying eyes.

Inside the Lin Family, however, it was unusually calm.

Inside the Listening Bamboo Pavilion, Lin Hao and the other two were in seclusion, digesting the gains from the grand meeting; their Realms were becoming increasingly stable, and their aura was profound and steady.

Lin Dao sat in the command center, on one hand stabilizing his cultivation at the Peak of the Heavenly Soul Realm, and on the other, using the System's Territory Luck Map to silently organize the newly formed power map of the Lin Family, Black Rock City, and Sky Wilderness City. On it, massive amounts of resource points and talent light spots flickered, showing infinite potential.

He could feel that he was only separated from the Spirit Tribulation Realm by a thin veil, but this step required an opportunity and could not be broken through by mere accumulation of power.

Just on the seventh day after the grand meeting ended.

A hundred miles outside of Qingfeng County, the space suddenly rippled abnormally. A stream of light, appearing somewhat hurried and even a bit disheveled, tumbled out from within and landed on the ground, transforming into a Lin Family deacon with a panicked expression and blood-stained clothes.

It was Lin Yuan, whom Lin Dao had previously secretly sent to Yunzhou to search for that branch of displaced clansmen.

He did not care to regulate his breathing, desperately urging his movement technique, rushing toward the Lin Family manor like a madman. His voice carried a crying tone and urgency, as he roared with all his might:

"Old Ancestor! Old Ancestor! The Yunzhou... the Yunzhou clansmen have been found! But... but they are being entangled by the people of the 'Blood Fiend Gang'! They are at Luoying Stream, three thousand miles away! The enemy has a Life Soul Realm expert! Hurry and save them..."

Before his voice had faded, a gentle yet irresistible force had already lifted him up. At the same time, a Medicinal Pill was stuffed into his mouth, and the massive medicinal power instantly dissolved, nourishing his nearly exhausted body.

Lin Dao's figure had appeared before him, no one knew when. His expression was calm, but his eyes were as deep as an abyss: "Explain in detail."

Lin Yuan gasped for breath and quickly reported: "The leader of that Yunzhou branch is Acting Clan Head Lin Xuan; it is said he has the cultivation of the Third Level of the Life Soul Realm. There is also a Senior Lin Tian, who is at the First Level of the Heavenly Soul Realm! They were originally established in a small city in Yunzhou, but were coveted for their resources by the local bully, the Blood Fiend Gang, who chased them all the way! When this subordinate found them, they were already surrounded at Luoying Stream. This subordinate risked his life to break through and report the news..."

Third Level of the Life Soul Realm, First Level of the Heavenly Soul Realm! The strength of this branch of Yunzhou clansmen far exceeded expectations!

A flash of light shone in Lin Dao's eyes, and he did not hesitate at all.

"Lead the way."

He flicked his sleeves, took Lin Yuan, and took a step forward. His figure had already merged into the Void Realm, shuttling toward the direction of Luoying Stream! The speed was so fast that it far exceeded that of a Cloud-Piercing Boat!

At the Peak of the Heavenly Soul Realm, the mastery of the power of space had already reached the Transcendent level; ten thousand miles was but a stone's throw away.

Luoying Stream had treacherous terrain, and Evil Qi permeated the area.

At this moment, a fierce battle was erupting at the bottom of the stream. Dozens of Cultivators dressed in blood-colored clothing formed a battle Formation, surrounding a small group of people who were struggling to hold on.

The leader was a one-eyed burly man holding a blood saber, his aura fierce and brutal; he was shockingly at the Fifth Level of the Life Soul Realm! He was the leader of the Blood Fiend Gang!

The side being besieged was led by an elderly man with white hair but eyes as sharp as an eagle, and a middle-aged man with a slightly weaker aura but a resolute face. There were also more than ten scarred Lin Family disciples, all wearing expressions of grief and indignation, struggling to hold on. The defensive light screen they had set up was already tottering, and it looked like it was about to collapse completely.

"Lin Xuan! Lin Tian! If you are sensible, hand over the title deed to that black iron mine, and then cripple your own cultivation. This gang leader might spare the lives of you old, weak, women, and children!"

The Blood Fiend Gang leader grinned hideously, his blood saber hacking down, causing the light screen to tremble violently.

"Bah! Don't even think about it! That is the Foundation of our Lin Family's existence! Even if we exhaust our last drop of blood, we will never give it to you scoundrels!"

Blood spilled from the corner of Lin Xuan's mouth, and he roared hoarsely, his eyes filled with despair and unwillingness.

He had not expected to be targeted by such vicious thugs while migrating, and even less did he expect the enemy's strength to be so formidable.

Lin Tian was also pale, gritting his teeth to hold on: "Uncle Xuan, let's fight them to the death!"

Just at this moment of despair—

"Oh? Who needs to cripple their own cultivation?"

A calm and indifferent voice, as if coming from above the Nine Heavens, clearly echoed over the Luoying Stream, where the sounds of battle were shaking the sky.

Everyone's movements suddenly stalled, and they looked up in horror.

They saw that above the high sky, a figure in white had appeared, no one knew when. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the scene below with indifferent eyes, like a god overlooking the struggle between ants.

Beside him stood Lin Yuan, who had just escaped.

"Old Ancestor! It is the Old Ancestor of our main Family who has come!" Lin Yuan shouted excitedly toward the people below.

Lin Xuan, Lin Tian, and the others were stunned. The Old Ancestor of the main Family?

That small branch in Qingfeng County? When they were forced to leave the ancestral land, the strongest person there seemed to be only in the Spirit Sea Realm, right? What could they do even if they came? Just to throw their lives away?

The Blood Fiend Gang leader was also taken aback, but then he sensed the "plain and unremarkable" aura on Lin Dao and immediately sneered: "I wondered who it was; turns out it's just another one coming to die! A mere..."

His words were not yet finished.

Lin Dao slowly raised a finger, pointed it at him, and pressed down gently.

The movement was casual, as if brushing away dust.

Boom—!!!

An indescribable and terrifying pressure, as if the entire sky had collapsed, descended with a roar!

It focused on the Blood Fiend Gang leader and his core henchmen around him!

"Thump!" "Thump!"

Those Blood Fiend Gang members with weaker cultivation could not even let out a scream before they were directly crushed into blood mist by this pressure!

And the Blood Fiend Gang leader, at the Fifth Level of the Life Soul Realm, saw the sneer on his face instantly turn into extreme fear and despair!

He felt like a fallen leaf in a gale, his entire body's bones emitting groans of unbearable strain, and his protective spiritual light shattered instantly!

"Heavenly Soul... Ninth Level?! No—!!!"

He let out a final, shrill, and unwilling howl. The next moment, his entire body was forcibly crushed by that invisible, terrifying power, turning into a puddle of flesh and mud!

One finger! Pressing a Fifth Level Life Soul Realm expert to death! Along with dozens of elite henchmen, all turned to ashes!

The remaining Blood Fiend Gang members were scared out of their wits. With a shout, they scattered like birds and beasts, wishing they had grown a few more legs to run faster.

The bottom of Luoying Stream was instantly dead silent.

Lin Xuan, Lin Tian, and all the Yunzhou clansmen looked at the figure in white in the air, dumbfounded, as if petrified.

The smell of blood permeating the air and that glaring puddle of flesh and mud told them with absolute reality that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.

That Old Ancestor from the main Family, whom they had regarded as coming from a "small branch"... had, with a flick of his finger... annihilated the main force of the Blood Fiend Gang that had chased them to the point where they had no way to heaven or earth?!

Ninth Level of the Heavenly Soul Realm?!

The weapon in Lin Xuan's hand fell to the ground with a "clang." His old face flushed red, his breathing was rapid, and as he looked at the slowly descending Lin Dao, his lips trembled, and for a moment, he did not know what to say.

Lin Tian even bowed subconsciously, his face filled with awe and disbelief.

Lin Dao's gaze swept over these ragged, scarred, yet stubborn-eyed clansmen, and he nodded slightly: "You have worked hard. Follow me back to the Family to heal your injuries first."

His voice was peaceful, yet carried a power that put one's heart at ease.

"Return to the Family..."

Lin Xuan repeated it in a murmur, looking at Lin Dao's unfathomable cultivation, and thinking of the various rumors he had heard about the main Family in Qingfeng County, a huge sense of excitement and belonging instantly surged into his heart.

Their branch had drifted for many years, enduring all kinds of bullying, and now finally... they had found a powerful reliance!

"Yunzhou branch's Lin Xuan (Lin Tian), leading the clansmen, pays respects to the Old Ancestor! Thank you, Old Ancestor, for saving our lives!"

Lin Xuan was the first to react. Pulling Lin Tian and the clansmen behind him, they were about to kneel down in great excitement.

A gentle force held them up.

"No need for such formalities; let's go back first." Lin Dao flicked his sleeves, and a vast force enveloped all the Yunzhou clansmen. He took a step forward, and space shifted.

The next moment, everyone had already appeared above the Lin Family manor in Qingfeng County.

Looking at the vast manor below, with its majestic atmosphere, abundant Spiritual Qi, and the ceaselessly flowing light screens of the Formation, as well as the auras of the Lin Family disciples in the manor—some strong, some weak, but all full of vigor—Lin Xuan, Lin Tian, and the others were shocked once again.

This... how could this be a small county-level Family? This atmosphere, this Foundation, was simply comparable to some of the overlords of the big cities in Yunzhou!

Especially when they felt the massive Luck above the manor, which was light purple and almost about to emit a deep purple radiance, they were so excited that their whole bodies trembled!

With such prosperous Luck, how could the Family not flourish!

Lin Zhen had already received the news and brought a group of Elders to welcome them excitedly.

"Welcome back, Old Ancestor! Welcome home, Yunzhou clansmen!"

When Lin Xuan and Lin Tian, these two experts of the Life Soul Realm and Heavenly Soul Realm, led the dozens of Yunzhou clansmen who had weathered the storms but still had good Foundations to officially enter the Lin Family ancestral hall and complete the ceremony of returning to the ancestors—

【Ding! The Yunzhou branch (possessing one person each at the Third Level of the Life Soul Realm and First Level of the Heavenly Soul Realm, nine in the Spirit Sea Realm, and several others) has officially returned to the ancestors. The Family's strength, population, and Foundation have increased significantly! The Family's Luck has grown substantially!】

【Ding! Detected that the Family has a member in the Heavenly Soul Realm; the effect of the Vassal function has been slightly increased!】

【Ding! Obtained a massive amount of cultivation feedback! Triggered a Limit Critical Hit!】

Rumbling—!!!

A torrent of feedback, far more massive and pure than when he had subdued Black Rock and Sky Wilderness cities, and which seemed to contain the power of the Bloodline Origin, erupted from the deepest part of Lin Dao's body like a rushing galaxy!

Under the impact of this feedback, which originated from the return of the same Bloodline and the unprecedented strengthening of the Family, that solid barrier of his cultivation at the Peak of the Heavenly Soul Realm—which had already reached the point where he could progress no further—finally emitted the sound of shattering under unbearable strain!

Inside his Sea of Consciousness, that incomparably brilliant Heavenly Soul, which had almost materialized, vibrated violently. At its core, a point of Chaos light containing the breath of tribulation and new life was suddenly born!

The Laws between heaven and earth instantly became violent and clear! Within a radius of ten thousand miles, the wind and clouds changed suddenly. Endless dark clouds gathered from all directions, and lightning rolled and roared in the cloud layer!

A terrifying Heavenly Might, interwoven with destruction and new life, suddenly descended, enveloping the entire Qingfeng County!

Spirit Tribulation Realm! The Heavenly Tribulation is coming!

Lin Dao opened his eyes suddenly, and within his pupils, it seemed as if Chaos was being created, and the Universe was being born and destroyed!

He stood up, took a step, and was already at a height of ten thousand feet, facing that rolling Heavenly Might!

"Spirit Tribulation... come!"

He was actually going to trigger the Heavenly Tribulation right here and charge toward the Spirit Tribulation Realm!

Below, all the Lin Family clansmen, whether from the main Family or the Yunzhou branch, looked up in horror, their hearts filled with excitement, worry, and boundless awe!

The Old Ancestor... is going to undergo the tribulation!