Trouble Arrives!
"Crack!"
A crisp sound echoed as an intricately patterned teacup shattered into pieces.
Ling Yaozu, filled with rage, vented his anger by repeatedly smashing fragile items.
"Damn it! Even as a cripple, he's living so comfortably, deliberately trying to irritate me, isn't he?"
Ling Yaozu gasped heavily, growing more furious as he dwelled on it.
He had assumed that cripple would go to some unheard-of impoverished mountain village, inevitably living in destitution and dying depressed. Yet, he could still earn spirit stones?!
What does a cripple need spirit stones for? Could he be saving up to buy treasures to repair his Dantian? Ridiculous!
"Young master, calm down. If you harm your health, your mother will be heartbroken," a servant nearby offered a chair, speaking flatteringly.
Ling Yaozu sat on the chair, his chest still violently heaving. He coldly ordered, "Find a few people to go steal all the spirit stones back. A cripple like him doesn't deserve to possess so many spirit stones!"
"Yes, I'll go handle it right away!"
After the servant left, Ling Yaozu's eyes revealed even more cruelty.
He disliked Ling Mochen—actually, he hated him. Every time he heard any good news about Ling Mochen, he couldn't suppress his anger.
He was clearly his father's favorite son, yet whenever people discussed the Ling family or the second branch, they always talked about Ling Mochen!
It was… extremely irritating.
Ling Yaozu growled lowly, "Damn Ling Mochen! Before, you stole my spotlight, and even after becoming a cripple, you dare to obstruct my view. Then don't blame me for making your life miserable!"
His sinister words echoed in the enclosed room, sounding more like a speech to himself in this empty space.
……
The commotion in Ling Yaozu's room reached many ears, including the Ling family head.
Upon hearing it, the Ling family head showed annoyance. Ling Yaozu had been spoiled by his father.
Thinking of his incompetent second brother, the Ling family head felt even more disgusted.
Back then, their father was biased. A marriage with a third-grade Alchemist fell from the heavens, yet it bypassed him and landed on his second brother.
It was said Ling Mochen's maternal grandfather originally came from a major family guarded by a Late Golden Core Stage elder. However, after the family's patriarch died during an expedition outside, the family declined under pressure from rival forces.
That man wandered everywhere with his daughter, was accidentally rescued by the previous Ling family head, and entrusted his daughter's marriage to the Ling family upon his death.
Initially, his second brother bragged everywhere about marrying a third-grade Alchemist. Over time, however, he grew bored, found a concubine who spoke sweetly and was beautiful, and within a few years caused that woman to die depressed.
The Ling family head wanted to curse loudly. Did that fool even understand the importance of a third-grade Alchemist?!
"Family head, should we intervene?" Ling Xin, the Ling family steward, asked beside him.
"Weiling Paste…"
The Ling family head murmured softly, then shook his head after a while.
"Let it be," the Ling family head sighed.
No matter how much he struggled, Ling Mochen could no longer continue cultivating nor become an Alchemist. He should shift his focus away from his second brother's household and concentrate on the elite disciples within the clan.
……
Ling Mochen still didn't know that his restless younger brother was again planning to trouble him.
Amid the loud calls of cuckoos, on the vacant ground in the backyard, a figure swung fists, generating gusts of forceful wind.
Body Refining is also a foundation of cultivation, but few mortals can achieve the innate realm through martial arts. This path lacks a complete cultivation system, yet it is the only method mortals without Spiritual Roots can find to cultivate.
It is also greatly beneficial to cultivators.
After Body Refining, Ling Mochen planned to go to the town to buy the seeds needed for the next batch of planting.
The streets of Yujiang Town were quiet, with only scattered pedestrians on the road.
Ling Mochen had just arrived at the town entrance with his horse-drawn carriage and was heading to his familiar old haunt.
As the carriage slowly moved along, just as he was about to pass by a tavern, Ling Mochen suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"Damn it! This is supposed to be their signature dish?!"
"Alright, it's not bad to have anything to eat in this rundown place. Once the job is done and Young Master Ling gives us our reward, we'll go have a proper meal at Drunken Fragrance Pavilion!"
"The town is already so shabby, I can't imagine how much worse Yujiang Village must be. Who would have thought that the former Heaven's Pride of the Ling family would end up like this."
"It's about to get even worse for him. This job is so easy, haha!"
"…"
Ling Mochen listened quietly, his expression shifting from initial indifference to growing displeasure.
The air around the carriage suddenly felt heavy.
"Ling! Yao! Zu!"
Ling Mochen gritted his teeth. Just as his life was starting to improve a little, this person came to cause trouble for him. It was truly too much!
Ling Mochen cast a cold glance at the men inside the tavern ahead and silently left the spot.
On the road from Yujiang Village to the town, there was a narrow path with lush vegetation and numerous rocks, making it an ideal place to set traps.
There weren't many travelers today. Apart from the village chief of Yujiang Village passing by, no one else came through.
Ling Mochen carefully guided the village chief around his traps and gave him some silver pieces, urging him not to speak of it.
The village chief, not wanting to get involved in trouble, happily took the silver and left.
Soon, the four lackeys of Ling Yaozu arrived.
Ling Mochen hid behind a nearby rock, his gaze calm and unperturbed.
Half an hour—this was all he could manage for now.
Those at the Qi Refining Stage only knew a few more spells than ordinary mortals, and with caution, they could still be dealt with, Ling Mochen thought.
He couldn't let Qingyan get dragged into his feud with Ling Yaozu!
The four men were relaxed, chatting and laughing along the way.
"Haha, what do you think Young Master Chen is doing now?"
"Wallowing in despair, sleeping all day?"
"How could that be? Don't forget why we're here."
"Oh right, that Weiling Paste thing!"
"Haha, your memory… Ahhhhhhhhh!"
A piercing scream echoed through the empty path as the leading man, mid-sentence, suddenly found himself suspended in the air, his entire body uncontrollably flung toward a nearby rock.
Thud!
The edge of the rock was sharp. In an instant, the back of his head slammed into it, staining the grayish-white stone with a splash of crimson.
A sudden turn of events!
Before the other three could react, several large rocks suddenly rolled down from both sides, menacingly.
Just as the boulders were about to crush them, Ling Mochen seized the moment and forcefully pulled the vine in his hand. Vines sprang taut from the loose soil beneath the lush grass, tripping all three men as they tried to dodge.
"Ouch!"
"Who's there?!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The boulders gave them no chance to get up, crashing directly onto their bodies.
"Pfft!"
The three hurriedly channeled their qi to withstand the impact of the massive stone. Their blood and qi churned violently, forcing them to spit out a mouthful of stagnant blood.
One of them immediately turned to look in Ling Mochen's direction—the earlier strike had already revealed his position.
The three had not come unprepared. They quickly retrieved a Rejuvenation Pill and tossed it into their mouths, circulating their qi to recuperate.
A hint of disappointment flickered in Ling Mochen's eyes. The time had been too rushed, and he lacked the tools to set up a better trap. The current situation was already his limit.
A dagger quietly appeared in his hand—a weapon he had just bought in town, paid for with five boxes of Weiling Paste.
A low-grade Yellow-tier Magical Artifact.
"Young Master Chen, quite the skill!" the enemy sneered, their faces twisted with malice, their killing intent undisguised.
To be reduced to such a sorry state by a cripple was truly a cultivator's shame!
Knowing he had been exposed, Ling Mochen slowly emerged from his hiding place.
His expression was calm, his breathing steady, yet his eyes were filled with equally undisguised killing intent.
A fierce battle was imminent.
Ling Mochen's gaze flickered slightly, a single thought burning in his heart.
'Whether I live or die, this ends here. I must not let them enter Yujiang Village!'
As the thought arose, his peripheral vision suddenly caught movement. From around the corner, a strikingly familiar, graceful figure appeared.
Ling Mochen's pupils contracted sharply.
A chilling voice drifted over, like a soul-reaping envoy from hell, carrying an overwhelming malevolent aura that pressed down upon the three who had just risen to their feet.
"Are they allowed to be killed?"