The Annihilation of the Lin Family

Upon hearing Yan Yun’s words, the high-ranking members of the Lin family were so enraged that smoke seemed to billow from their seven orifices.

“You demoness, even if I must die, I shall drag you down with me!” declared a Lin family elder in the Divine Soul Realm, his fury overriding all caution as he launched an attack at Yan Yun.

Thorny vines, transmuted from pure magical energy, erupted from the earth and coiled themselves towards Yan Yun, who hovered in the sky.

Though he knew that her solitary appearance before them likely indicated some formidable backing, they were now like birds in a cage, fish in a net; escape was futile.

If they could take Yan Yun with them before their clan was annihilated, it would be the best possible outcome.

However, this was nothing but wishful thinking.

As the Divine Soul Realm cultivator made his move, his power was undeniably formidable, and Yan Yun could not hope to directly contend with him using her own strength.

This was no friendly sparring match, but a battle to the death fueled by bitter enmity, and Yan Yun had no intention of reasoning with them.

“Heh, an excellent move.”
“Then allow me to treat you to a talisman treasure!”
“A fifth-tier talisman treasure, the Vermilion Bird Divine Talisman, go!”
Yan Yun produced a fiery red talisman and activated it without hesitation.

In the next instant, a blazing firebird emerged from the flames, carrying with it a torrent of fire that utterly consumed the elder’s attack.

More than that, the divine bird, imbued with destructive power, hurtled towards all the Lin family’s high-ranking members.

“A top-grade fifth-tier talisman treasure, the Vermilion Bird Divine Talisman?”

Everyone scrambled to dodge, but the firebird had already locked onto the elder who had launched the initial attack.

The elder attempted to flee, yet the firebird pursued relentlessly, turning every path it traversed into a sea of fire.

In a moment, a great number of Lin family members were devoured by the flames, their power so intense that they were reduced to ash before they could even utter a single scream.

As for the Divine Soul Realm elder, after a few frantic dodges, he saw that there was no escape, and finally halted, turning to face the firebird.

“Damn it!”
“To think that this old man would die at the hands of a mere Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator!”
The elder ultimately abandoned his struggle, knowing his family was sealed off and he could not escape.

He was merely a cultivator who had just entered the minor accomplishment stage of the Divine Soul Realm, incapable of withstanding power comparable to a Great Perfection Divine Soul Realm expert.

Eventually, the elder was engulfed by the firebird, transforming into scorched earth under the searing flames.

Lin Xiong and the others watched as one of their esteemed elders perished, their hearts filled with profound sorrow, knowing they would be next.

This Vermilion Bird Divine Talisman would not simply vanish; having killed the first Divine Soul Realm cultivator, it immediately lunged at another.

Within moments, the entire Lin family compound was engulfed in a raging inferno, yet due to the prior isolation of the surrounding area, outsiders remained completely oblivious to the devastation within.

Witnessing this, Lin Xiong and the others also gave up their struggle.

They had considered attacking Yan Yun herself, but recalling her performance at the Yunhua Sect and the power of this fifth-tier talisman treasure, they abandoned the thought.

“Alas!”
“So be it, little girl, you have won.”
“Our fate today is sealed; we cannot escape this calamity.”
“However, this old man still hopes you might spare our younger generations, at least allowing them to live.”
“Whether you choose to release them is your decision, though.”
“Since ancient times, the victors decide, and we of the Lin family have nothing more to say.”
The strongest Divine Soul Realm elder of the Lin family ceased his flight, watching the Vermilion Bird Divine Talisman soar towards him.

They understood clearly that King Jiang was extending a gesture of goodwill to Yan Yun, allowing her to decide their fate.

Yan Yun had initially intended to refuse, but after a moment of consideration, she nodded.

“Very well.”
“As long as they pose no danger to me, I will naturally not implicate the innocent.”

Hearing this, the Lin family’s high-ranking members fell silent, standing motionless as the firebird consumed them.

“Mo’er, the future of the Lin family rests on you, alas!”
Lin Xiong sighed softly, likewise allowing the firebird to engulf him.

However, after they were all consumed by the firebird, Yan Yun added another remark.

“I can spare them, but can Jiang Country?”
“All I can say is, I wish them good luck.”
Yan Yun watched as the Lin family was completely consumed by the sea of fire, then retrieved the Vermilion Bird Divine Talisman, turned, and passed through the energy barrier to leave.

As she emerged, several Divine Venerable Realm powerhouses were waiting outside, all of them royal retainers of Jiang Country.

“What splendid methods, young lady!”
“To think you destroyed the Lin family so effortlessly,” one middle-aged Divine Venerable remarked with a smile.

Yan Yun shook her head.

“The rest is up to you all.”
“I shall not interfere further.”

The group nodded, then flew towards a certain spot on the ground within the Lin family compound, blasting open a large hole.

They descended into it, discovering an underground palace filled with numerous imprisoned cultivators.

In the main hall, a coffin floated in a pool of blood, an unsettling sight.

The royal retainers simultaneously attacked the coffin, shattering it, only for a figure to fly out.

It was a green-faced, fanged humanoid monster, exceedingly sinister in appearance.

“Indeed, a Corpse Demon!”
“This Lin family was truly audacious, secretly nurturing and refining a Corpse Demon,” one of the royal retainers stated, his face grim.

Corpse Demons were extremely dangerous, malevolent beings that subsisted on the fresh blood of living creatures.

Such abominations were considered monsters that the Righteous Dao Alliance absolutely had to exterminate.

Any faction or individual refining such a thing was, without a doubt, a practitioner of the Demonic Dao.

Corpse refining itself was a Demonic Dao technique, and the Lin family’s cooperation with the Demonic Dao Alliance had brought them certain benefits.

The Corpse Demon before them was the grand elder of the Lin family who had passed away a century ago, a Divine Soul Realm cultivator.

Refined from the corpse of a Divine Soul Realm cultivator, once complete, it would possess the power of the Divine Venerable Realm, serving as the Lin family’s greatest trump card.

The Corpse Demon before them was not yet fully formed, but it still possessed formidable combat power.

Upon its sudden awakening, it naturally launched an immediate attack on the Divine Venerables present.

However, the outcome, it goes without saying, was predictable.

Meanwhile, dozens of miles outside the Royal Capital, deep within a mountain, a large group of women and young men and women were hidden.

These were the Lin family members who had been secretly evacuated in advance, representing the Lin family’s future hope.

The moment the Lin family was annihilated, some among them received the news.

Several specialized communication jade slips in the hands of a middle-aged noblewoman shattered one by one after Lin Xiong and the others died.

The noblewoman watched this scene with a face full of pain and helplessness; she knew the Lin family was finished.

In truth, Lin Xiong and the others were uncertain if their plans for the Lin family would succeed.

Yet, even the most perfect plan carries risks.

They had sent away their family members precisely because they were about to enact their scheme.

If their plan had succeeded, they would certainly have called them back.

If their plan failed or was discovered, they would surely die.

Once they died, the jade slips held by their family members would shatter.

“Everyone, quickly take your children and scatter, fleeing in different directions!”
“The family is ruined.”
“After you escape, live anonymously, and never, ever reveal yourselves as Lin family members.”
“Remember this, remember this!”
The middle-aged noblewoman immediately gathered all the women.

These women had already received news of the deaths of their husbands, and even their children.

Their faces showed only sorrow, no anger.

Only the royal family could destroy the Lin family in the Royal Capital.

They had sought to overthrow the royal family; wasn’t their annihilation self-inflicted?

They had no time for resentment towards the royal family now; their immediate priority was to save their own lives.

“Yes, Madam.”

Thus, the noblewomen and young ladies hastily shed their luxurious garments, donning ordinary coarse linen clothes.

After a careful disguise, they scattered and fled in various directions.

Traveling together would make them too conspicuous; separating to hide might offer a chance.

The crimes committed by their Lin family would leave them no place to settle in Jiang Country.

What they did not expect, however, was that their secret base had long been under the control of the royal family.

Although they had acted with great secrecy, King Jiang was, in fact, aware of the Lin family’s clandestine activities, though he couldn’t pinpoint their exact intentions.

It was the intelligence provided by Yan Yun that allowed King Jiang to clearly understand their scheme.

Consequently, as soon as these Lin family members fled their secret base, they were promptly targeted by cultivators dispatched by the Jiang Country royal family.

“Princess, please return with your subordinate to see His Majesty.”
Lin Xiong’s wife, Jiang Ting, had barely exited the base with her daughter and hadn’t gone far when she was intercepted by a Divine Soul Realm cultivator.

Indeed, Lin Xiong’s wife was King Jiang’s daughter, Jiang Ting.

Such occurrences were common in the mortal world.

Jiang Ting immediately shielded her daughter behind her.

This teenage girl was Lin Mo’s biological younger sister and King Jiang’s granddaughter.

“I never imagined that Father already knew about the Lin family’s secret base here.”

Jiang Ting wore a bitter smile.

As King Jiang’s daughter, she would naturally oppose the Lin family’s ambition to overthrow the dynasty.

Yet, she had ultimately been persuaded, for a simple reason: she was the Lin family’s matriarch, and her heart belonged to the Lin family, not to her royal status.

“Please return with me,” the Divine Soul Realm cultivator urged again.

Jiang Ting glanced at her daughter, who was hiding behind her, and then asked, “How does my father intend to deal with us?”

The Divine Soul Realm expert hesitated before replying, “Consort Lin is already dead.”

This statement caused Jiang Ting’s pupils to contract.

She understood almost everything.

As a royal princess, she was well aware of how the royal family treated rebellious clans.

Perhaps she might be spared, but the fate of the other Lin family members was certainly not promising.

“I understand,” Jiang Ting said with a bitter smile, then turned to face her daughter.

She gazed at her daughter with maternal affection, then reached out and gently stroked her daughter’s forehead.

Immediately, the girl collapsed into her arms.

“Tell my father that I am sorry to him.”
With these words, Jiang Ting shuddered, a mouthful of blood spilling from her lips, and then she too fell.

She had severed her own heart meridians.

“Alas!”
The Divine Soul Realm expert sighed, then raised his hand and waved, sending a streak of flame towards the mother and daughter.

They were quickly incinerated to ash.

It was not just them; none of the scattered Lin family members were spared; all were put to death.

This was the thunderous wrath of the royal family.

This was only the beginning; not all Lin family members were in the Royal Capital.

Those in various sects and other regions would most likely be implicated and punished by association.

This was why Yan Yun had told the Lin family’s ancestral elder that she would spare the others, only to later add that the royal family would not.

In truth, Yan Yun did not need to act herself, but she had genuinely desired to personally destroy the Lin family, especially Lin Xiong and his cohorts.

With this, everything was settled.

Yan Yun, along with Wen Meng and the others, departed the Royal Capital early the next morning.

The Jiang Country Immortal Dao Assembly concluded a few days later, and Jiang Yao, Xie Yuyan, Su Muyu, and others were successfully chosen by the Righteous Dao Alliance.

After the assembly, they proceeded to cultivate at the Dao Palace of the Righteous Dao Alliance.

Simultaneously, King Jiang sent messages to all major sects, demanding that they expel all Lin family disciples.

Upon learning of the Lin family’s rebellion and their annihilation by King Jiang, the major sects naturally dared not defy his orders.

Thus, they all expelled their Lin family members, who were swiftly apprehended by cultivators sent by the royal family as soon as they left their respective sects.

However, among all the Lin family members, one person vanished without a trace after the Immortal Dao Assembly: Lin Mo.

He became the sole survivor of the Lin family rebellion.