Chapter 132

Chapter 132: The Lin Family’s Crisis

No one had expected an attack on this journey to study at the Immortal Sect.

When those dozens of light blades shot towards them, many failed to react.

But Lin Zhi Shou and Lin Guang Ming reacted swiftly.

They both acted simultaneously. Spiritual energy flowed and surged fiercely into the flying boat’s defensive mechanism.

Instantly, dense radiance burst from all around the giant flying boat, forming a protective light shield.

Bang! Bang! Bang!——

The light blades crashed against the shield, producing crackling sounds. The entire flying boat remained completely motionless, suffering not the slightest damage.

Screeeech——

From ahead came a piercing shriek as a giant bird, wings spread wide, swooped towards them. Standing upon its back were Liu Fu Chen and several disciples of the Hehuan Sect.

Furthermore, other flying boats took off from the ground below, surrounding them on all sides.

Seeing the newcomers, Lin Guang Ming’s expression changed slightly as he snapped, “Liu Fu Chen, you truly never give up.”

Liu Fu Chen, standing hunched with hands clasped behind his back, sneered, “Your Lin Family killed so many of my disciples. Now, taking a few back shouldn’t be a problem, should it?”

His words caused consternation among the young men and women on board the flying boat who had never witnessed such an onslaught.

“Hmph! With what power?” Lin Zhi Shou showed not a shred of fear.

With the defensive formation of this giant flying boat protecting them, he harbored no worry about this encircling attack.

“Of course, not just with mine,” Liu Fu Chen retorted with an ominous smile.

Boom!——

The next moment, a heavy thud echoed from deep within the flying boat.

Everyone spun towards the sound. The defensive mechanism had actually been destroyed.

As the radiance dissipated, it revealed Song Qing Shu’s pale face.

A smile playing on his lips, he looked at the two elders. “Eighth Elder, I told we should be cautious.”

Both elders were aghast; Lin Zhi Shou, in particular, was furious. “Are you with the Hehuan Sect?”

Song Qing Shu said nothing. Suddenly, his Aura surged violently. His cultivation, originally only at Qi Refinement level three, abruptly rose to the sixth layer of Qi Refinement.

A surge of white spiritual energy enveloped his body as he made a desperate dash outwards.

“Stop him!” Lin Guang Ming shouted loudly.

Guards on the boat reacted instantly, trying to hinder his progress.

And now, with the disappearance of the flying boat’s protective shield, the other Hehuan Sect disciples surged forward all at once, charging towards everyone to attack.

Lin Zhi Shou and Lin Guang Ming intended to seize Song Qing Shu, but Liu Fu Chen had already struck.

He thrust out a hand. A crimson light tore across the sky, wrapped in terrifying might, and slammed towards the group of young disciples.

The two elders had no choice but to turn back and move to block it.

Yet, as they began to channel their spiritual energy, a momentary hitch appeared. Their faces paled dramatically.

The spirit tea was tampered with!

Indeed, Song Qing Shu had poisoned their spirit tea.

To avoid detection, the poison was subtle and the dosage minimal—only capable of hindering spiritual energy circulation.

But that was sufficient.

Without hesitation, Lin Zhi Shou shattered a yellow talisman.

It was the family’s message talisman.

Shattering it immediately alerted the Lin Family to their impending crisis.

Meanwhile, Lin Guang Ming lunged at the crimson glow, forcibly circulating spiritual energy to call forth a jade-blue water column.

Boom—

The water column crashed heavily onto the crimson glow, shattering it.

Seeing this, Liu Fu Chen remained unworried. He laughed mockingly, "You want to call for help? I fear even your Lin Family is too busy to attend to others."

"What do you mean?" Lin Zhi Shou demanded sharply.

"Nothing much. Just that your esteemed disciple carried out some poisoning."

Lin Zhi Shou’s face turned icy. He knew he had brought a wolf into his own house.

By then, Liu Fu Chen charged forward. As a ninth level Qi Refinement cultivator, his strength was terrifying—casual strikes could cause massive tremors.

"You seek death!" Lin Zhi Shou roared, his aura surging violently.

Liu Fu Chen’s expression shifted: "Ninth level Qi Refinement?"

He hadn’t known Lin Zhi Shou was at the ninth level of Qi Refinement; this wasn’t in his intelligence reports.

Lin Guang Ming, sensing Lin Zhi Shou’s aura, brightened with hope.

It seemed there was still a chance.

Other Hehuan Sect disciples joined the attack.

Guards aboard the flying boat channeled spiritual energy to defend.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two sides clashed.

Fortunately, the escort heading to the Immortal Sect outnumbered the Hehuan Sect. Without defensive formations, they’d have been outmatched.

Meanwhile, though Lin Zhi Shou possessed ninth level Qi Refinement cultivation, he had clearly only advanced recently. Poisoned on top of that, he was utterly outmatched by Liu Fu Chen.

Lin Guang Ming had no choice but to fight alongside him against the enemy.

…

At the Lin Family Compound.

Moments after Lin Zhi Shou’s group departed.

A crisis erupted within the clan.

Several cultivators began vomiting and suffering diarrhea, growing weak—all showing signs of poisoning.

Originally, this was only a minor incident and hadn’t spread widely.

But as time passed, more and more family disciples experienced this same condition, and the family quickly realized something was wrong.

Lin Xuanfeng personally led a team to investigate.

They ultimately discovered that everything in the family’s department store had been poisoned, especially the food ingredients, on which multiple toxins were found.

This instantly caused a shock throughout the family, and panic set in.

One had to realize that items from the department store were distributed to every family member. Didn’t this mean everyone could potentially be poisoned?

And the most terrifying part was that the family’s Pill Masters were actually helpless against these poisons.

They could only use antidotes to temporarily suppress the toxicity, but they couldn’t cure it.

Family Head’s Courtyard.

Lin Tian Xiong sat on his throne in the great hall. Imposing and authoritative, he looked down at Lin Xuanfeng from his elevated position. "Any progress?"

"No leads yet, but it was definitely the Hehuan Sect." Lin Xuanfeng stated decisively.

"So? I want a solution." He demanded harshly.

What did it matter even if they knew the Hehuan Sect was responsible for the poison?

The urgent task now was to quickly refine the antidote. Otherwise, if this continued, things would only escalate.

"I have already sent someone to deliver a message to the Sixth Elder," Lin Xuanfeng replied.

Just as he finished speaking.

A streak of light suddenly sliced through the air, landing outside the great hall. A figure hurriedly burst in; it was Lin Ze, the Tenth Elder.

He was responsible for the family logistics and could not escape blame for such a major incident happening under his watch.

"Father, I received a distress signal from the Sixth Elder!" Lin Ze reported with urgent anxiety.

Lin Tian Xiong shot to his feet. "What?!" he barked.

"So ruthless, this scheme." Lin Xuanfeng murmured quietly. He looked up at Lin Tian Xiong. "Family Head, let me take the cultivators of the Law Enforcement Hall to provide reinforcements."

Since this poisoning incident occurred within the family compound, the Law Enforcement Hall members stationed outside had been spared.

"What if this is a tactic to lure the tiger from the mountain?" Lin Tian Xiong asked coldly.

Although the poison was not lethal, it had damaged the family’s defensive strength. If the Hehuan Sect attacked now, without the cultivators from the Law Enforcement Hall, it would be hard to resist them.

Furthermore, around the time the poisoning first emerged, multiple incidents of Hehuan Sect causing havoc had already appeared within the city.

If it weren’t for the Law Enforcement Hall maintaining order, the city would likely have descended into chaos long ago.

This was precisely Liu Fuchen’s scheme.

He aimed to place the Lin Family in a dilemma. Under such circumstances, if the Lin Family dared to send people out, the city would surely suffer plundering from other Hehuan Sect disciples.

They also had to worry if the sect intended to target the Lin Family directly.

With the family’s safety on the line, Lin Tian Xiong certainly wouldn’t dare gamble.

At this moment, however, Lin Xuanfeng spoke with utmost seriousness, "Family Head, whether the Sixth Elder and Eighth Elder die or not isn’t the crucial point. But we must not forget there are other family juniors aboard that flying boat."

"They are the Lin Family’s hope for the future. Even if the Hehuan Sect truly chooses to invade at this moment, preserving them is our paramount duty."

"If the Lin Family falls, as long as these seeds of hope survive, we can rise again."

"Furthermore, we still have the guardian formation. The Hehuan Sect cannot breach it quickly."

"As for Maple Leaf City… we simply have no time to worry about it now."

His words carried resounding weight and an air of irrefutability.

Lin Tian Xiong’s brow furrowed deeply.

After a long silence, he finally made a decision, addressing Lin Ze: "Activate the guardian formation."

Hearing this order, Lin Xuanfeng immediately understood. He turned into a stream of light and sped out of the great hall.

Normally, flying at high altitude within the compound was strictly forbidden, as it was deemed disrespectful to the family.

But nobody had the spare capacity to enforce such rules now. Everyone was forbidden to travel, remaining confined to their homes, awaiting the family’s next orders.

The moment Lin Xuanfeng departed, countless beams of light soared up from all corners of the Lin Family estate. They coalesced into a luminous dome, enveloping all family buildings within its protective barrier.