Attack on the Rear

Lin Ao, accompanied by over a dozen Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators, unsealed the entrance to the hidden sanctuary of the Jiang and Yan families.

“Haha! I’m eager to see if your Yan and Jiang families anticipated this move.”

Lin Ao sneered, then strode inside.

No sooner had they entered than a startled query echoed through the passage.

“Who goes there?” Two Yan family cultivators, guarding the entrance, immediately bellowed in rage.

However, in the very next moment, after two streaks of cold light flashed past, both Yan family cultivators collapsed, dead on the spot.

With outsiders suddenly breaching the underground complex and launching an attack, the remaining Yan family guards naturally reacted instantly.

“Intruders! Quickly, inform the various Madams, and the young masters and ladies!”

A portion of the Yan family cultivators immediately moved to intercept Lin Ao and his group, while the others rushed to notify Yan Yun and the rest.

Simultaneously, someone relayed the news of the invasion of the family’s women and younger generations’ hiding place to Yan Long, who was still engaged in battle at the market.

Yan Long and his allies had already fully suppressed the Zhou family, but this sudden information caught them completely off guard.

“What?” Yan Long merely glanced at the message before rushing back without a moment’s hesitation.

All the Yan family’s powerhouses were currently clashing with the Zhou family; the strongest among the women and younger generations was merely at the Cavern Heaven Realm. If the Lin family were to exploit this vulnerability, the consequences would be absolutely catastrophic.

It could only be said that Yan Long and his cohorts had underestimated the Lin family’s treachery and ruthlessness.

The individuals Lin Ao brought were, to put it mildly, an unstoppable force; the Yan family cultivators who tried to block their path could not even hold their ground for a single second.

Upon hearing that intruders had breached the underground complex, Yan Yun immediately realized what she had failed to anticipate.

“Yao’er, Mother, take the others and leave this place first. I will intercept them,” Yan Yun declared to Jiang Yao and Su Muyu without a moment’s hesitation.

Yet, how could either of them agree to let Yan Yun face such a dangerous task alone?

“Nonsense! How could I allow you to confront such peril by yourself?” Su Muyu immediately chided her.

Yan Yun felt a pang of helplessness.

“Mother, I still have trump cards up my sleeve. I just sensed that the weakest of the cultivators who entered are at the Spirit Transformation Realm, and there’s even one at the Divine Mark Realm. Even if you wished to help, I fear you wouldn’t be able to, would you?”

These words caused Su Muyu and Jiang Yao to exchange a glance.

The urgency of the situation left them no time for further deliberation.

“Very well, be careful,” Jiang Yao and Su Muyu said, hurrying out.

They simultaneously called upon their fellow disciples from the Yunhua Sect, instructing them to assist the two families in their retreat.

Yan Yun, donning her veil once more, hastened towards the position of Lin Ao and his group.

She quickly spotted the Yan family cultivators continuously falling to the ground.

Yan Yun’s brow furrowed. Raising her hand, she unleashed a voluminous cloud of pink mist into the passage ahead.

This was a hallucinogenic smoke, and Yan Yun intended to use its enhanced properties to disrupt Lin Ao’s group’s assault.

“Second Master, look!” a Lin family Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator exclaimed, quickly alerting him as the hallucinogenic smoke surged towards them.

Lin Ao, however, scoffed. He raised a finger, and as sparks ignited at its tip, he swept it towards the encroaching mist. In an instant, the mist was incinerated, vanishing completely under the intense heat.

Yet, Yan Yun possessed a substantial reserve of toxins. No sooner had one wave of hallucinogenic smoke been burned away than another began to spread.

The Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators could only hope to impede the smoke’s advance, but their power was clearly insufficient to fully repel it. Ultimately, everyone was enveloped by the hallucinogenic haze.

“Hmph! Hallucinogenic smoke? To think such a paltry mist could affect us is utterly laughable!” Lin Ao sneered again, continuing to lead his group forward.

With their cultivation levels, holding their breath for over an hour posed no significant challenge. This hallucinogenic smoke could, at most, hinder them; completely halting their advance was an impossibility.

Just then, several purple poison needles suddenly shot forth from within the hallucinogenic smoke.

The poison needles were silent, yet Lin Ao’s divine sense detected them. With a casual flick of his hand, he reduced the needles to ash.

“Poison? Haha, it seems my elder brother’s conjecture was correct. You must be Yan Yun, fleeing to Xiang Country on the surface, but in reality, hiding within the Yunhua Sect. That explains why the Yunhua Sect’s research into poison cultivation techniques has progressed so rapidly!” Lin Ao sneered, fixing his gaze on Yan Yun, who remained shrouded in the mist ahead.

Yan Yun was startled by these words.

‘What does he mean? Does their Lin family know I’m here?’

This was not good news for Yan Yun. If her opponents had anticipated her presence, they undoubtedly had other contingencies in place.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Yan Yun’s voice echoed from within the mist.

The moment Lin Jing heard the voice, he shot like an arrow towards Yan Yun’s position. His speed was astonishing; if Yan Lingyun hadn’t forcefully taken control of Yan Yun’s body in time to make her dodge the attack, she would likely have been captured.

In her current state, Yan Yun might have been able to contend with Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators, but facing a Divine Mark Realm cultivator was utterly impossible, unless Yan Lingyun once again expended her already dwindling soul power.

“Don’t get distracted. Whether they anticipated this or not, you need to prioritize saving your own life right now,” Yan Lingyun hastily reminded her.

Lin Jing’s strike missed, catching him somewhat by surprise.

“Go back and deal with the other Yan family members. Leave no Yan family member alive. This person here, leave her to…” Lin Jing commanded.

“…Go!” Lin Jing, having once again pinpointed Yan Yun’s location, lunged forward. Being able to intercept the formidable Lin Jing was already buying crucial time for the Yan and Jiang families’ retreat.

Yan Yun’s only option now was to use Yan Lingyun’s potent divine sense to entangle Lin Jing, buying time for reinforcements. She was certain that Yan Long and his group would have already learned of the invasion into the families’ sanctuary.

Under Lin Jing’s power, the hallucinogenic smoke was swiftly burned away once more, forcing Yan Yun to reveal herself.

“Stop hiding behind pretenses. I know you’re Yan Yun, the one who killed my son!” Lin Jing declared, his gaze fixed on Yan Yun, who stood before him in purple robes, his voice seething with murderous intent.

Yan Yun still did not admit it. She glanced at the adjacent passage and instantly darted through it.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Lin Jing roared, giving chase without a moment’s delay.

Being two major realms stronger than Yan Yun, his speed was truly instantaneous.

Yan Yun immediately activated her corrosive toxins, unleashing a poison palm print with a backhand strike. The terrifying toxic energy, imbued with intense corrosiveness, pitted and corroded the surrounding walls.

Sensing the potency of this poison palm print, Lin Jing dared not meet it head-on. He instantly conjured a shield artifact, positioning it before him.

When the poison palm print struck the shield’s energy barrier, it astonishingly corroded a rift into the shield’s energy.

“This? Such potent poison! You used this very poison to kill my son and my fourth brother back then, didn’t you?” Lin Jing said, now certain that the person before him was Yan Yun.

Yan Yun seized the opportunity to flee. Lin Jing would certainly not abandon his attack on her to pursue others.

However, trouble was also brewing on Jiang Yao’s side.

As the retreating group sensed waves of powerful energy approaching, a Yunhua Sect disciple immediately stepped forward and bellowed.

“Halt, those ahead! We are disciples of the Yunhua Sect. Do you intend to make enemies of the Yunhua Sect?” The furious roar of a Yunhua Sect Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator momentarily intimidated the Lin family’s Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators.

However, their pause was brief. Someone then declared, “There’s no need to kill the Yunhua Sect members; merely incapacitate them.”

This time, the Yunhua Sect had only dispatched two Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators and several Cavern Heaven Realm cultivators to accompany Jiang Yao and Su Muyu back to Qifeng City.

There was simply no other choice; the circumstances this time differed from the last.

“Junior Sister Su, Junior Sister Jiang, quickly escape! We will hold them back.”

These Yunhua Sect disciples immediately deployed several joint formations, acting in synchronized coordination to intercept the Lin family cultivators.

However, they were facing over a dozen Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators; at best, they could only barely hold them off for a short while.

Nevertheless, the Yunhua Sect disciples worked together with remarkable synergy; three or four Cavern Heaven Realm cultivators, cooperating in a special battle formation, could manage to tie down a single Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator.

Meanwhile, Yan Long had already returned to the Yan family compound with several Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators. The surface of the Yan family compound had largely been reduced to ruins, and the Divine Mark Realm cultivators in the sky were still locked in combat.

Just as Yan Long was about to call for aid from Yan Hua and the others, he realized they were all too preoccupied to lend assistance. He had no choice but to enter the underground complex himself first.

Elsewhere, Yan Yun was caught by the periphery of Lin Jing’s power, sending her flying backward to crash against a wall, where she spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Damn it,” Yan Yun cursed under her breath.

“Kid, let me take over. I can use my power one more time,” Yan Lingyun offered, sensing that Yan Yun alone couldn’t endure it.

However, Yan Yun flatly refused her.

“Master, I have a feeling that if you make a move, another unforeseen complication might arise.”