This dense forest is shrouded in thick fog all year round. Sunlight can hardly penetrate the dense leaves and the pervasive mist, and can only occasionally cast dappled light and shadow through the gaps in the leaves.
The dense forest was shrouded in mist, making it easy to lose one's way. Apart from the rustling of leaves and the occasional roar of wild animals, there were no other sounds around.
A pungent, bloody stench wafted through the air. Following the direction of the smell, one could see corpses lying in pools of blood not far ahead.
They were dressed in black, but their clothes were now tattered and stained with blood.
The corpse had numerous sword wounds, and blood was still flowing out, staining the surrounding land crimson.
A deep roar came from all around, shaking the entire dense forest.
...
The Liu family's East Courtyard!
The crisp sound of a glass shattering rang out, accompanied by an angry roar.
"What did you say? They're all dead?" Wang Qingxian's face turned ashen. Her once dignified and elegant face was no longer calm, and her eyes held a hint of gloom and ferocity.
The Wang family dispatched over a dozen Nascent Soul stage experts, almost all of their top-tier strength, but they all died in Thousand Wind City.
“Miss, news has come from the master that they have indeed all perished in Qianfeng City!” the old woman said. Her name was Wang Ou, and she was Wang Qingxian’s wet nurse, responsible for helping to handle some important matters.
"What about the Liu family?" Her face was grim, and her eyes revealed a strong killing intent.
“The powerful members of the Liu family who supported Miss are all dead,” Wang Ou said.
"Even elders at the Nascent Soul stage are dead?" Wang Qingxian's eyes twitched slightly. If that were true, things would be troublesome.
The killing of those who support Liu Wanqing will have serious consequences, and the advantage will continue to tilt in Liu Mengli's favor.
“Miss, why don’t we make a big deal out of this? No matter what they do, killing their own clansmen to fight for the position of family head is a serious crime,” Wang Ou suggested.
“Since they’ve already done it, they must have done it very cleanly. There’s no way to find any fault with them. It’s difficult to punish them with just a few elders and Liu Qingtian,” Wang Qingxian said calmly.
If this matter really blows up, and it's pushed to the point where Liu Mengli is stripped of her bloodline and is being hunted down by their people, it won't do them any good either.
After all, they started this whole thing. Even though they knew it was the other party who did it, they didn't bring it up in public because they didn't want to split the Liu family.
"Why not take this to the Liu family patriarch? If the Liu family patriarch intervenes, the Grand Elder won't dare to openly protect him," Wang Ou suggested.
“If Liu Mengli didn’t have a powerful background and hadn’t reshaped her spiritual veins, this could have been done,” Wang Qingxian sneered.
“But she is the eldest daughter of the Liu family. If her bloodline is destroyed and the fact that we sent people to hunt her down is also known to the patriarch, Liu Qingtian will not be able to protect us, and he may even lose his position as the head of the family.”
The only legitimate daughter of the Liu family was framed and stripped of her spiritual veins, and was even hunted down by them. Anyone with a brain like the Liu family patriarch would know what to do.
If the Liu family patriarch truly favors Liu Wanqing and cripples Liu Mengli, the Liu family's future will truly be over.
In the future, the descendants of the Liu family will fight each other for resources and power, and the family's strength will inevitably be divided.
Therefore, they did everything secretly and dared not put it out in the open.
Once the relationship breaks down and the two factions declare war, the Liu family patriarch will not side with them; that would be shooting himself in the foot.
"Are we just going to let this go?" Wang Ou asked.
Wang Qingxian shook her head and said, "Let's wait and see!"
In the elder's residence, Lin Fan leisurely sipped his tea, while the First Elder's expression was stern, his face as withered and trembling slightly.
"Young friend, you've gone too far. You killed our elder, and you can still calmly drink tea?" the First Elder said coldly.
The Liu family has fewer than ten Nascent Soul stage elders, and the death of even one would be a huge loss. Although they haven't been able to find out who killed whom, they will definitely be suspected.
"Elder, don't make baseless accusations. I have been a guest in the manor the whole time and have never left. Moreover, you have not revealed your whereabouts to me. How can you pin the blame on me?" Lin Fan said calmly with a smile.
"Hmph, but all the people who died this time were supporters of Liu Wanqing. A group of people from the Wang family also died. Do you dare to say that it has nothing to do with you?" the Fourth Elder said coldly.
They did indeed discover the five-colored lightning phenomenon in Thousand Wind City, indicating the emergence of a celestial scripture there. At the same time, they also realized that Lin Fan had deliberately revealed this to them in order to take the opportunity to weaken the strength of Liu Qingtian's lineage.
"I don't like hearing that. Why accuse me without any evidence? Even if Liu Qingtian and the others suspect something, they will think that the Grand Elder colluded with me, an outsider, to kill the Liu family elders," Lin Fan said with a leisurely smile.
The Grand Elder was so angry that her teeth ached. She wanted to refute him but had no reason to. However, she could infer this outcome from the fact that when Lin Fan escorted Feng Xi back, she used force to cut off Liu Wanqing's guards' hands and feet.
They just didn't expect Lin Fan to act so quickly, putting pressure on them.
"I'm warning you, you can't lay a hand on the Liu family again!" the elder said coldly.
If this matter escalates, the Liu family will be completely split into two factions. If the conflict intensifies, even without the other three families, the Liu family will collapse on its own and fall out of the ranks of the four great families, eventually declining completely.
“You should warn the Wang family not to make any more rash moves. This situation is actually Liu Qingtian’s fault. It’s normal that a gigolo like him can’t manage a family.”
Lin Fan said calmly, "Liu Qingtian wanted to support Liu Wanqing and abandon his legitimate daughter, which was a wrong step. Later, he allowed Wang Qingxian to keep hurting Liu Mengli, so he should bear the consequences."
"Alas, we know all too well that Liu Qingtian's actions are outrageous, but we have no way to remove him from his position as head of the family," the First Elder sighed.
If Luo Siyao, the matriarch of the Liu family, had not disappeared, she would surely have led the Liu family to an even more glorious era.
However, since she disappeared, everything has changed in the Liu family. It can only be said that Liu Qingtian did not have the ability to lead the family to become stronger; he was quite mediocre.
“Even someone like Liu Wanqing has supporters, which shows their character. Don’t hold back at crucial moments, or we won’t be involved in the Liu family’s affairs if things don’t work out.”
Lin Fan threatened them, leaving the elders speechless with anger, but they still acquiesced.
Now that they're tied to Lin Fan, there's no turning back. Even if they wanted to reconcile with Liu Qingtian's faction, it would be pointless.
Unless they bring Liu Mengli's head as a pledge of loyalty, Wang Qingxian and the others stripped her of her spiritual veins and hunted down Liu Mengli, which was practically putting their open and covert struggles on the table. It's just that no one openly broke off this relationship.
Lin Fan's actions were merely retaliation. As long as the position of family head remains unchanged, the possibility of both sides being assassinated is very high.
When Liu Qingtian received news of an elder's assassination, he was furious. It made him realize that Lin Fan's methods were not to be trifled with. He would use the same methods as Wang Qingxian, just not as despicable.
However, aside from his impotent rage, there was nothing he could do. Lin Fan was too mysterious; neither his origins nor his strength were known. He wasn't confident he could keep Lin Fan here.
Moreover, the authenticity of his sect is unknown, which is also a headache.
When Lin Fan returned to his residence, Yu, the wet nurse, came to greet him and prepared some food for him.
He picked up his glass and took two sips, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Young Master, I heard that an elder of the Liu family has been killed. Could this implicate Miss?" Yu's wet nurse asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, she's in seclusion. As long as I'm here, no one can do anything to her!" Lin Fan said calmly.
The ones who should be afraid now are Liu Qingtian and the Wang family. They don't know what tricks they have up their sleeves or whether they have any helpers.
Even a Nascent Soul stage expert has fallen; others will surely live in constant fear and wouldn't dare to provoke him.
"I'm afraid they'll do something despicable, like an assassination!" Yu's wet nurse was very anxious. The more critical the moment, the more worried she was that Wang Qingxian would use underhanded tactics.
"Whether they use poison or assassination, we have nothing to fear. If they resort to force, I can take you away directly; they won't be able to stop us," Lin Fan said with a smile.
He was also thinking of eliminating a few more members of the Wang family. The only ones who could take action in the Liu family were the strong members of the Liu family. The Wang family couldn't overstep their bounds. However, the Liu family's eldest elder and others were not to be trifled with. They wouldn't be foolish enough to commit violence in the mansion. Doing so would be tantamount to an open declaration of war.
Even though Liu Qingtian is the head of the family, he doesn't dare to be the sinner who splits the Liu family.
While he was still thinking about how to deal with Wang Qingxian, an uninvited guest arrived at the Liu family, someone who surprised him greatly.
A man dressed in purple fine clothes walked into the Liu family, startling Liu Qingtian and the elders who came out to greet him.
He didn't issue a formal invitation, but simply revealed his identity, causing quite a stir in the Liu family.
The Xuanwu Heavenly Sect is a top-tier sect in the Central Continent, with overall strength surpassing that of the Liu family.
The leader of their sect is almost certain to be the future ruler of the lineage, making their position extremely prestigious.
Compared to the reclusive immortal sects, the Xuanwu Heavenly Sect had a stronger sensory impact on them. After all, one was a sect whose name they had never heard of, while the other was a top sect whose reputation truly shook the Central Plains.
Gu Yancheng put away his fan and made his intentions clear, which surprised the Liu family.
His immediate demand to see Liu Mengli was like an attempt to steal her away, which made the elders of the Liu family look very displeased.
The Xuanwu Heavenly Sect is indeed famous in the Central Plains, but the sect is far away, separated by countless remote mountains and rivers.
Even if his sect leader came, let alone the chief, he wouldn't be so arrogant.
Although Liu Qingtian didn't dote on her and even showed some favoritism, she was still the legitimate daughter of the Liu family, which was tantamount to slapping the Liu family in the face.
This concerns the reputation of the Liu family, and it's no longer just a matter for Liu Mengli.
"Master Liu, please don't overthink it. It's just that I met your daughter for the first time a few days ago and was deeply attracted by her temperament, so I wanted to come and pay my respects!" Gu Yancheng explained when he saw the displeasure on the faces of the people from the Liu family.
"Hmph, the chief of Xuanwu Heavenly Sect has quite the grand status. He neither sends an invitation nor takes our Liu family seriously. Does he think the Liu family is just a backyard garden?" the Grand Elder sneered.
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