Immortal Venerable's Order
Chapter 516 - 519: Each Harboring Their Own Schemes

Chapter 516: Chapter 519: Each Harboring Their Own Schemes

After a bout of harsh words, Zhao Jun gave a sinister smile, then took his seat at the head of the family, and began to close his eyes in meditation.

Meanwhile, outside the Zhao Mansion, behind a hidden thicket, a rainbow light suddenly flashed, adding a touch of mystery under the night sky. As the light faded, several more rainbow lights appeared elsewhere, swiftly giving chase.

Moments later, a group of people appeared in the sky a hundred miles outside the Zhao residence. A middle-aged man at the head of the group looked up at the place where the lights had vanished and said disappointedly, "They’ve still escaped us."

"Captain, who were those people, and why were they lying in wait near our Zhao residence?" asked a man dressed as a guard.

The middle-aged man’s eyebrows furrowed sharply, "That’s not for you to question. Fall back!"

When the Zhao party next appeared, they were already inside the Zhao Mansion. The middle-aged leader made no pause, heading straight for the great hall where Zhao Jun, the Family Head, was.

Inside the great hall, upon learning of everything from the middle-aged man, Zhao Jun said with furrowed brows, "We don’t need to investigate this matter further. In Xuanwu City, aside from them, I doubt anyone else would dare to be so brazen on Zhao turf."

The middle-aged man seemed to understand, and said in a low voice, "Family Head, are you referring to the people from those three families?"

"Hmph!"

Zhao Jun snorted coldly.

"They think the Zhao Family is undefended, but if things go smoothly tomorrow, those three families had better brace for the storm..."

Zhao Jun’s roar echoed back and forth in the great hall, completely unaware that the heads and clan leaders of Shi, Song, and Qin Families were already convening urgent meetings.

In the great hall of Shi Mansion in the northwest, dozens gathered, including an elderly man with an aura of an immortal, sitting with his eyes closed at the very center.

This old man was none other than Patriarch Zhao Xueping of Zhao Family, whose kindly appearance belied his narrow-mindedness and vindictive nature.

After a moment, Zhao Xueping suddenly opened his eyes, and a sharp gleam burst forth.

"Lin, you can now share your new findings with your uncles and aunts!"

The person Zhao Xueping called was his son, Shi Lin.

Shi Lin bowed and said, "As you command, Father!"

Despite usually carrying himself with the frivolity of a rich playboy, Shi Lin was remarkably different in such a solemn occasion.

Facing a gathering of his elders, Shi Lin raised his head slightly, showing due reverence.

"Good evening, uncles and aunts. After three days of investigation, I believe that the True God Pills sweeping across the city cannot possibly come from Zhao Family. They simply don’t have the capability to produce such Elixirs."

"How can you be sure?" asked an elder.

Shi Lin smiled faintly and replied, "Uncle, do you know of Ziyi Hall?"

"What’s Ziyi Hall?"

Seeing his uncle at a loss, Shi Lin quickly said with a laugh, "Uncle, it’s understandable that you haven’t heard of the insignificant Ziyi Hall in Xuanwu City."

"Hehe!"

"Lin, what’s the deal with bringing up Ziyi Hall?"

Shi Lin said with a smile, "Uncle, what would you think if I told you that joining Ziyi Hall could get you ten Divine Talismans and a bottle of Fourth-Order Divine Pill?"

Shi Lin’s uncle scoffed, "What does that have to do with whether the Zhao Family can produce True God Pills or not?"

"It’s very much related!" said Shi Lin seriously.

"What, Lin, are you saying that the True God Pills come from that obscure Ziyi Hall?"

Shi Lin spoke softly, "It’s highly likely!"

"That’s a joke!"

"Haha..."

The Shi Family members, upon hearing this, burst into laughter.

Shi Lin shook his head helplessly and said earnestly, "What if I told you that Tong Feifei, the manager of the Zhao Family’s Commerce, left Ziyi Hall with a face full of loss, but came out of the Zhao Mansion with a solemn expression? What would you think then?"

No sooner had Shi Lin’s voice fallen than the laughter floating in the great hall abruptly ceased.

Seeing this, Shi Lin smiled smugly.

"My uncles and elders, think about it more carefully. Even we, the Zhao Family, would struggle to meet the conditions that Ziyi Hall set forth, let alone others. If Ziyi Hall did not have the support of a hidden expert, how could they possibly afford it?"

The great hall fell into utter silence at once.

"Nephew, from what you’re saying, this Ziyi Hall is indeed not simple. Not only is their membership richly rewarding, they even managed to have someone from the Zhao Family take the initiative to pay them a visit, which has never happened before," said Shi Lin’s second uncle with a serious expression.

Shi Lin exhaled softly.

"Second Uncle is right, so if we want to understand the origin of the Zhao Family’s True God Pill, we must start with Ziyi Hall!"

"Lin is correct. Even if Ziyi Hall lacks the True God Pill, we can still investigate the hidden expert behind it," suddenly spoke the Patriarch of the Zhao Family, Zhao Xueping.

Shi Lin stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Father speaks the utmost truth, but whom do you plan to send to investigate Ziyi Hall?"

"This task will be yours to undertake," Zhao Xueping said kindly.

"Your son accepts the command..."

Shi Lin smiled proudly, bid farewell to the elders, and left the great hall. After some preparations, he left the Shi Mansion with a group of people and headed straight for Ziyi Hall.

As Shi Lin and his entourage completely vanished into the night, a shadow flashed briefly in the dark and was gone.

Within the Song Mansion located southwest of Xuanwu City, a resonant voice echoed throughout the great hall.

"Reporting to the Family Patriarch, a scout from the Shi Family returned from the Zhao Mansion not long ago, and then Shi Lin was seen leaving the Floating Island with a group of people!"

Seated at the top of the great hall was a burly middle-aged man with bushy eyebrows, none other than the Song Family Patriarch, Song Wenchang.

"Do you know where that brat Shi Lin went?" Song Wenchang asked coldly.

"Reporting to the Family Patriarch, to the northern suburbs!"

"The northern suburbs?"

Song Wenchang thought to himself, "What on earth are they doing in that godforsaken place? Could it be that the kid Shi Lin has discovered something?"

In just a moment, Song Wenchang’s expression grew grave.

"Immediately notify Song Shaqing and have him take people to the northern suburbs to check on what little tricks Shi Lin is trying to pull!"

"As you command!"

It wasn’t long before Song Shaqing was seen with a group of people rushing to the northern suburbs!

Under the moonlight, Xuanwu City gleamed coldly, a streak of light flashing and disappearing into the City Lord Mansion located in the middle of the Floating Island.

The City Lord Mansion belonged to the Qin Family, Xuanwu City’s foremost family. Ever since the Divine Pill appeared in the Zhao Family’s Commerce, every member of the Qin Family had been anxious.

Everyone in the Qin Family was aware of Patriarch Zhao Xueping’s character.

For a thousand years, the Zhao Family had been suppressed by the Qin Family, but with the True God Pill, they could cultivate warriors in the True God Realm and retaliate against the Qin Family.

Though the strength of True God Realm warriors was not the highest, the power of a family in Xuanwu City was completely determined by the number of True God Realm warriors it possessed.

Whoever acquired the True God Pill, a pill defying the heavens, would essentially become a factory for producing True God Realm warriors.

However, if the Zhao Family got their hands on enough True God Pills, they could, if they wished, elevate the cultivation of everyone in all the affiliated forces below their family to the True God Realm.

But all of this was something the Qin Family did not want to see happen—nor did the Shi and Song families, for that matter...