Chapter 4626: Taking Action

Yan Gong had already found an excuse to send Qian Ling away, allowing Yan Zhong to enter the region and search for the Third Sequence.

As for Yan Gong himself, he could not move, as doing so would be too conspicuous. There were simply too many enemies watching him. In contrast, Yan Zhong was a much smaller target, which made it the best person to search for the Third Sequence.

Yan Zhong was only going to try to awaken the Third Sequence, not fight or kill anyone. By all reason, there was no reason for Yan Gong to feel so uneasy.

Just as he was thinking about this, the altar ahead of him suddenly trembled. A being was contacting him.

Although Yan Gong was a Void Realm god, he was still unable to refuse when beings reached out through the altars. As long as someone was willing to pay the corresponding price, even hiring him as an assassin was possible.

"What do you seek?" Yan Gong sat upon the altar and looked down upon an illusory figure. A cold light flashed through his eyes because the being below him was actually not kneeling in worship. Where did this being find the courage to not kneel before a god?

The being down below raised its head to look at Yan Gong and then slowly said, "Qian Ling's territory."

Yan Gong's gaze contracted. "What did you say?"

"Your son is in Qian Ling's territory, isn't it?"

"Who are you?" Yan Gong grew even more uneasy. He now knew why he had been feeling restless. Someone was scheming against him.

The being below sneered. "Yan Gong, there is still time to save your son if you go now. Any longer, and you may not even see his corpse."

"Are you Gong Xia?" Yan Gong roared.

The being continued, "You both seem to greatly enjoy eating. Do not worry, I will send your son's bones to you to let you taste him."

Yan Gong's face twisted with rage as he glared at the being below. "Gong Xia, come at me if you are so capable! If you dare touch my son, I will take your life!"

"Who said that I was Gong Xia?" The being laughed smugly, took a few steps back, and then vanished.

Yan Gong howled, but there was no one to answer him.

His vision returned to normal, and he stared into the depths of outer space. He instinctively wanted to go to Qian Ling's territory through the altars, but he suddenly stopped himself. He was clearly the target of this plot, and there was no doubt that Gong Xia was behind this. Other than Gong Xia, who else would try to deal with Yan Gong in a manner like this?

Gong Xia did not care whether Yan Gong’s son lived or died. It merely wanted to use his son to lure him out. That much was also very clear.

If he went, Yan Gong might not be able to return.

With the Third Sequence missing, he had no trustworthy friends within the Divine Palace. There was no one who could help him. That was why he always stayed near the Divine Palace. That way, even if Gong Xia wanted to target Yan Gong, it would not be easy. He had not anticipated Gong Xia luring his son away.

It was Lü.

Yan Gong's eyes turned bloodred. It had to be Lü. Other than Lü, no one else could have lured Yan Zhong away. Both the father and the son trusted Lü more than any other creature.

How hateful! This trap must have been laid long ago.

Save him? Or not?

If Yan Gong saved his son, he would almost certainly die. If he did not, he would have to watch as his son was killed or even devoured.

Thinking of this, Yan Gong’s heart bled. There were some beings in the cosmos who were truly emotionless while others felt strong emotions.

It was precisely because Gong Xia had seen this strong emotional bond that it had been able to scheme against Yan Zhong. If Yan Gong were some emotionless being, there would be no choice at all; he would simply abandon his son.

Yan Gong let out a keep growl, his breathing growing ragged. Pressure radiated from him, pushing through the void. A ferocious expression covered his face.

At the same time, in Qian Ling's territory, Yan Zhong and Lü arrived at a megaverse that had already been reset. Not too far away was an altar.

They easily crossed the distance and entered the megaverse, but what awaited them was an enormous creature: Qian Ling.

Yan Zhong stared at Qian Ling in shock. "High God Qian Ling?"

This enormous creature was the master of this territory, High God Qian Ling.

Wasn’t it lured away by Father? Yan Zhong grew uneasy.

High God Qian Ling looked at Yan Zhong and Lü from the distance. "Such audacity. You trespass into my territory without even greeting me, Qian Ling? Yan Zhong, do you really think that your father can suppress me?"

Yan Zhong quickly said, "High God Qian Ling, please calm your anger. My father—"

Before he could finish speaking, a heavy blow struck his back, and he was blasted forward by tremendous force.

Yan Zhong spat out a mouthful of blood and looked back, only to be met by a completely unrecognizable expression on Lü's face. Its eyes were filled with a mocking light and killing intent. Why?

Ahead of Yan Zhong, Qian Ling raised its enormous claws and seized Yan Zhong.

He wanted to resist, but Qian Ling was much stronger. Moreover, after being ambushed by Lü, Yan Zhong was completely unable to even react. By the time he returned to his senses and wanted to fight back, it was already too late.

"There is no need to resist. All of my cultivation is contained in my sharp claws. Let alone you, but if I managed to catch your father, Yan Gong, even he would struggle greatly to escape." Qian Ling sneered.

Yan Zhong struggled as he glared at Lü. "You betrayed me!"

Lü shook its head. "The truth is, I never followed you at all."

"The news about the Third Sequence was fake. Who put you to scheme against me?" Yan Zhong realized the truth.

Lü laughed. Behind Yan Zhong, Qian Ling also laughed. "You father and son once relied on the might of the Third Sequence to seize all kinds of generous resources from the Divine Palace, and you even managed to obtain such a vast territory for yourself. With your strength, you are not qualified to have anything close to that kind of territory. It is even larger than mine. What gives you the right?

"Do you know how many gods in the Divine Palace are frustrated by the pair of you father and son? You two are desperate to find the Third Sequence because you have already realized this, haven’t you? Unfortunately, you’ve run out of chances."

Yan Zhong's body was held tightly in place. His bones started to break, and his skin started to split open. Blood seeped out, dyeing Qian Ling's sharp claws red.

A cruel smile appeared on its face. "Find a way to lure Yan Gong here. If not, you will die a very miserable death."

Yan Zhong roared angrily, "Kill me! My father will not come. Once he breaks through and becomes an Origin Realm god, all of you will die!"

"Hahahaha! Do you still think that he stands a chance? Even if Yan Gong does not come, when he sees your bones, will he be able to continue cultivating? Hatred will seal off his heart. Do you know what is the most important thing when cultivating the power of Origin?" Qian Ling laughed loudly. "I will tell you! The power of Origin relies on one's state of mind the most. Overcoming Dukkha through the power of Origin is a shortcut to breaking through to the Immortal realm.

"Yan Gong stands no chance! Hatred will leave him unable to ever overcome Dukkha!"

After saying this, the claws tightened even further. Yan Zhong let out a howl of pain, completely overcome with despair. What he saw was Lü's mocking eyes, and what he heard was Qian Ling's laughter. His father would indeed be doomed beyond redemption.

There was a gust of wind.

Bang!

A deafening impact rang through the void. Yan Zhong only felt his body being flung away by a massive blast. He fell limply, his strength gone. His vision had been slowly growing darker, but it started to brighten back up now. Something caught him. He barely managed to open his eyes, and what he saw was a mass of mist. He was being held by that mist.

What is this?

"Who are you?" Qian Ling sharply demanded. It stared at the being that had suddenly appeared before. Such speed. Such great strength!

Lü had not expected such an abrupt reversal either, and it also warily eyed the mist.

Lu Yin was hidden within the mist. At this moment, he was using his clone that had not cultivated anything. Only the Immortal Lord's power of growth had nourished the body, and aside from that, it had only cultivated the Divine Palace's powers. To enter the Divine Palace, this clone was the most suitable one. After all, the divine energy of one clone would be easily noticed, and the skeleton clone did not even need to be mentioned.

Lu Yin's voice came out from the mist. "You’ve truly upset me, treating my rescuer like this. You deserve to die!"

Qian Ling and Lü subconsciously exchanged glances. Rescuer?

Yan Zhong's vision cleared. He stared at the mist that was so close to him. Rescuer? Me? When?

"What is this nonsense? When did Yan Zhong ever save you? Who are you?" Lü demanded. It had followed Yan Zhong all along, and Yan Zhong had never saved anyone.

Lu Yin slowly said, "Wu Shan’s territory, Tide Sea, Named Island."

Qian Ling did not understand.

Yan Zhong cried out in surprise. "You were there back then?"

Lu Yin turned to face the beast and slowly bowed. "Thank you for saving my life. Back then, if not for you, Senior, this junior would have died."

Qian Ling grew increasingly puzzled and looked over at Lü, who explained, "Long ago, in order to find a territory that was suitable for Yan Zhong, High God Yan Gong circled through the Divine Palace’s territories. On that journey, he passed through Wu Shan’s territory. High God Wu Shan was disrespectful to High God Yan Gong, so High God Yan Gong taught it a lesson, casually releasing the creatures that High God Wu Shan had been planning to test his battle technique on.

"Were you among them?"

Lu Yin answered, "Correct."

He had learned of this matter from Wu Shan's memories. Wu Shan was a Return Realm god that Lu Yin had Possessed, and it had once crossed paths with Yan Gong. After Possessing Lü, Lu Yin had discovered that Yan Zhong looked very similar to Yan Gong, according to Wu Shan's memories. Later, through Lü, Lu Yin had learned that Yan Zhong was Yan Gong's son and that there was a plot against Yan Gong. All of that knowledge combined had led to the current situation, with Lu Yin working to advance the scheme.

He had disguised himself as Gong Xia and sent the signal to Lü to begin things. While preparing to take action, Lü had contacted Gong Xia, who had assumed that Lü had found a suitable opportunity. Naturally, that had prompted Gong Xia to reach out to Yan Gong.

If Gong Xia and Lü had discussed everything face to face, they would have quickly learned that some hidden being was pushing them to take action early.

But they were destined to be unable to meet in person.

Yan Zhong gasped heavily. "You misunderstand. The one who saved you was my father, not me."

Lu Yin was surprised. "Your father?"

"My father, Yan Gong, a Void Realm god. Back then, he released all of you in Wu Shan’s territory. Because of that, Wu Shan has always held a grudge against my father, but it was only a Return Realm god and did not dare to seek revenge."

Lu Yin nodded. "So that’s what happened. That’s also fine. Your father saved my life, so now I will save yours."

"Arrogant!" Qian Ling's enormous figure charged out.

Yan Zhong cried out in alarm, "Careful!"

Lu Yin looked at the sharp claws that were headed straight for him. Behind him, Lü also attacked.

Although this clone had not cultivated any particular power, its physical strength was more than enough to easily deal with these two.

Still, there was no need to be too excessive, as that would easily make Yan Gong wary.

Mountain moon illuminates the evening's return. Tide rivers return to the empty plain.

Lu Yin looked up and took one step forward while raising his hand. Qian Ling's sharp claws fell, and the edge of Return was fully revealed, all of it gathered on its sharp claws.

Just as the claws were about to reach Lu Yin, they abruptly stopped moving. The power of Return had been completely restrained. Lu Yin lightly tapped the claws and then turned around. The sharp claws suddenly aimed at Lü.

By using Qian Ling's power of Return, guided by his own power of Return, Lu Yin sent the attack right through Lü's body.

Lü stared down at its wound in disbelief. One move?

Qian Ling swept its sharp claws sideways, and Lu Yin dodged this attack.

Qian Ling was just as shocked as Lü. It had not expected Lu Yin to actually be capable of utilizing its own power. This creature’s mastery of Return far surpassed Qian Ling’s own.

Yan Zhong was stunned. He would never be able to redirect an enemy’s power and use it for his own purposes.

"Are you still coming?" Lu Yin asked coldly.

Qian Ling's eyes remained fierce. It raised both of its front limbs, wielding his sharp, curved claws. The edges extended out, sending ripples through the void.

Weakly, Yan Zhong offered another warning to Lu Yin. "Be careful. Qian Ling is very strong. Its body possesses an endless font of power, and it can shroud its entire body with that power, making it very difficult to break through with any attack. It is not very skilled with using Return, but it is quite skilled at fighting with its own natural abilities."