"A master of the Innate Realm is indeed not so easy to defeat."
In the woods a mile away from where the old woman of the Zheng family was killed, Lu Qing was sitting cross-legged on a large tree, meditating.
His previous encounter with the refined old man was not as easy as he appeared.
In reality, his internal organs were also somewhat shaken, but under his powerful soul control, the injuries were completely suppressed.
After all, that refined old man was different from the old woman from the Zheng family.
Old Mrs. Zheng was already severely injured and her lifespan was limited. Her energy and spirit were no longer at their peak. Furthermore, he had cut off one of her arms beforehand, so she could not exert even half of her strength.
It goes without saying that he could easily kill them.
But the refined old man is different.
Although they are also old, they have mastered the art of cultivating their inner energy, and their spirit and vitality have not declined much, and their strength is still at its peak.
Defeating such a powerful expert at the peak of the initial stage of the Innate Realm would be extremely difficult for Lu Qing.
In other words, he used words to provoke the other party, forcing them to take a direct hit from him.
Otherwise, if they were to actually fight, even if he were to defeat his opponent, he would inevitably have to pay a price.
Unless he goes all out and reveals all his cards, there is no real possibility of a fatal blow.
After a while of resting and recuperating, Lu Qing had fully recovered.
His injuries were much less severe than those of the refined old man.
The Vajra Power Talisman not only greatly increases his strength, but also doubles his defense.
It is in no way inferior to the protective true energy of a martial artist at the Innate Realm.
In addition, he was young and strong with abundant blood and energy, so he recovered quickly. He didn't even need to take any medicine to heal his injuries. He could recover quickly simply by circulating his own blood and energy.
"Huh? Those people left?"
Having just recovered from his injuries, Lu Qing sensed that several experts at the Innate Realm were using their movement techniques to head towards the prefectural city.
This is the power of Lu Qing's soul after he condensed the soul talisman.
With the blessing of the soul talisman, his soul perception ability far surpasses that of ordinary innate early-stage martial artists.
In addition, he can perfectly conceal his aura fluctuations.
Therefore, he could sense the movements of the refined old man and his companions, but they were completely unaware of his whereabouts.
Sensing that the group had left, Lu Qing immediately set off.
Upon arriving at the previous location, they discovered that the body of Old Lady Zheng had already been taken away, and only bloodstains remained on the ground, indicating that a fierce battle had taken place there.
Seeing the direction the refined old man and his companions had gone, Lu Qing immediately followed.
There's something he hasn't finished yet; how can he leave so easily?
Carrying the body of the old woman from the Zheng family, the refined old man and his companions returned to the prefectural city. They first tidied up the body before arriving at the Zheng residence.
Meanwhile, the Zheng family was anxiously waiting.
The ancestor went to hunt down the villain who destroyed the second young master's coffin and body, but he has not returned for a long time, which makes them worry.
When the refined old man and his companions arrived, but his mother was nowhere to be seen, the head of the Zheng family immediately felt a sense of foreboding.
"Uncle Lin, Lord City Lord, what brings you here? Are you here to visit my mother? But she went out recently and hasn't returned yet."
Upon seeing several experts at the Innate Realm arrive together, Patriarch Zheng felt a tremor in his heart and dared not be negligent, so he hurriedly went to greet them.
He invoked his mother's name to bolster his courage.
However, to the dismay of Patriarch Zheng, when he finished speaking, he saw several experts at the Innate Realm looking at him with strange eyes.
The city lord and Uncle Bao all looked at each other with pity.
Meanwhile, the head of the Cheng family, who had always been at odds with the Zheng family, wore a gloating expression.
"Uncle Lin, is it Mother? Has something happened to her?"
The Zheng family head's bad premonition grew stronger, and he asked somewhat haltingly.
The refined old man sighed: "Nephew, your mother has passed away."
"How is this possible..." Upon hearing this, the Zheng family head was struck dumb, unable to believe it. "My mother is a powerful expert at the Innate Realm, with profound cultivation. Who could possibly kill her!"
The people from the Zheng family nearby were equally shocked.
"Hmph, does that mean someone at the Innate Realm can't be killed? With your mother looking half-dead, what's so strange about °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° her being slaughtered!"
The middle-aged man with a face as white as jade snorted coldly and mocked.
Upon seeing that he had insulted his birth mother, the head of the Zheng family was enraged and was about to shout angrily, but was stopped in time by the refined old man.
“Nephew, your mother has indeed passed away. I have brought her body back and placed it outside. You will see it when you go.”
The refined old man did not want the head of the Zheng family to clash with the man with a face as white as jade at this moment.
The Zheng family and the Cheng family have never gotten along. They were only able to live in peace for a while because the old lady of the Zheng family was still alive.
Now that the matriarch of the Zheng family has passed away, the Zheng family has lost a pillar of support, and the balance of power between the two families has shifted.
If the Zheng family head were to anger the man with the face of white jade at this moment, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Upon hearing this, the head of the Zheng family immediately rushed outside, and the other members of the Zheng family followed suit.
Then they saw their ancestor, whose limbs and head had been severed, lying on a stretcher, having been dead for who knows how long.
"Mother!"
When the head of the Zheng family saw his mother's tragic state, his eyes widened in horror and he was filled with immense grief.
The other members of the Zheng family were filled with terror, as if the sky were about to collapse.
"Uncle Lin, who on earth is so vicious as to humiliate and mutilate my mother like this?"
The head of the Zheng family suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot and his face filled with grief and indignation.
"You must not concern yourself with this matter. The person who killed your mother is exceptionally powerful, and your Zheng family cannot afford to offend him."
The refined old man spoke solemnly.
He recalled the power of Lu Qing's previous strike, and his fingers trembled slightly.
The Zheng family head paused for a moment, and before he could speak, the man with a face as white as jade sneered again.
"Forget about revenge. You should pray that your Zheng family can escape this calamity first!"
Patriarch Zheng was startled and looked warily at the man with a face as white as jade: "Patriarch Cheng, what do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean? I'm asking you, has your Zheng family ever practiced such a heinous practice of human sacrifice?"
"Absolutely not!" The Zheng family head's heart skipped a beat, but he shook his head without the slightest hesitation. "These are nothing but baseless rumors spread by outsiders. My Zheng family has never done anything so morally reprehensible!"
The head of the Zheng family was quite frank about this.
He knew that although his mother had such thoughts, she hadn't had time to act on them because she was worried about Yu'er's funeral. As for the guards' wives, children, and clansmen, they were all still alive and well in the dungeon and had not suffered too much torture.
“No? That’s perfect. We’re going to open the tomb for inspection, so you can bring your people with you!” said the man with a face like white jade.
"Opening a tomb?"
The head of the Zheng family looked somewhat bewildered.
Yu'er has not been buried yet, and her body was even destroyed by evil people. So where is the grave?
However, the next sentence from the man with the fair complexion caused his expression to change drastically.
“That’s right, we’re going to visit Zheng Shihao’s grave.”
"What? You're going to desecrate my brother's grave?"
“Someone informed us that your Zheng family held a human sacrifice when Zheng Shihao was buried, so we naturally have to investigate this matter.”
"Absurd! My brother has been dead for over twenty years. How can something that happened more than twenty years ago be proven? Clan Chief Cheng, this must be malicious slander. My Zheng family is upright and honorable. How could we do something that would incur such public wrath!"
The head of the Zheng family trembled slightly, but his face remained indignant, and he still spoke with unwavering conviction.
"Whether it's slander or not, we'll be able to tell. We'll know once we open Zheng Shihao's tomb. The method of human sacrifice must involve clay figurines of the victims in the tomb. Once the tomb is opened, everything will become clear."
Or is it that your Zheng family has something to hide and dares not let us open the tomb for inspection?
The man with a face as white as jade said coldly.
"Of course not, but..."
The head of the Zheng family wanted to explain, but by then, the man with the jade-like face had run out of patience.
His aura suddenly intensified as he stared intently at the Zheng family head: "Zheng Shijie, don't push your luck. Do you think your Zheng family still has the right to refuse?"
The powerful aura of the Innate Realm pressed down on the Zheng family head, making it difficult for him to breathe.
He was filled with grief and indignation. If his mother were still alive, how could anyone have come to bully them like this?
Although he knew that the situation was beyond his control, he also knew that if he really let someone open his brother's tomb, the consequences would be even more unimaginable.
The head of the Zheng family looked around and saw that both the city lord and the white-haired, youthful-looking old man had indifferent expressions.
This shows that they also approved of opening the tomb.
Left with no other choice, he could only turn his pleading gaze to the refined old man beside him: "Uncle Lin..."
However, his intense reaction had already aroused the suspicion of several other experts at the Innate Realm.
Therefore, even the refined old man could not speak up for him at this moment, and could only sigh and say, "Let's open the tomb."
Seeing that even the refined old man who was on good terms with his family was not speaking up for him, the head of the Zheng family knew that the situation was hopeless. His hands fell limply to his sides, as if he had lost his parents.
Seeing his appearance, the several experts at the Innate Realm became even more certain of their guesses.
Half an hour later, at the Zheng family cemetery, in front of Zheng Shihao's grave, a refined old man and others stood.
Behind him were many powerful martial artists.
However, to ensure fairness, the city lord directly invited the leaders of other families and forces in the prefecture city.
The leaders of these various families and forces were somewhat bewildered when they were invited over.
They were greatly surprised to learn that the Zheng family's ancestor had died.
Now, hearing that Zheng Shihao's tomb is going to be opened, I am even more confused and have no idea what has happened.
Seeing the serious expressions on the faces of the city lord and the refined old man, no one dared to ask a question.
These individuals usually live a secluded life in the city and rarely make public appearances.
Some heads of small families have only heard of them by name, but have never seen their faces.
Now that they have all gathered together, what they are doing must be very important, so how could they dare to ask about it?
"Open the tomb!"
At the city lord's command, servants from the city lord's mansion immediately stepped forward, wielding pickaxes and shovels, and began digging the grave.
Soon, the tomb entrance was unearthed.
The tomb door opened, and people immediately entered the tomb to investigate.
Those who enter the tomb to explore are special talents recruited by the city lord's mansion, who are most skilled at searching and exploring all kinds of tombs.
The Zheng family was a prominent and influential family, and Zheng Shihao was once deeply loved by the matriarch of the Zheng family, so his tomb was naturally extraordinary.
The space below is not only very large, with many burial chambers, but also has many traps set up to prevent tomb raiding.
However, these mechanisms were rendered useless in the face of the special tomb-raiding experts dispatched by the city lord's mansion.
Soon, the men who had been sent down carried a clay figurine out of the tomb.
"Lord City Lord, beneath this tomb lie numerous magnificent chambers. In the main chamber, there is a splendid coffin, flanked by two clay figurines in a kneeling posture. This particular figurine is the one in the very center."
All eyes were drawn to the clay figurine.
The clay figurine is kneeling in worship, and its appearance resembles that of a young girl, with a faint outline of her exquisite figure still visible.
However, its face was filled with pain and resentment. The intertwining of exquisite beauty and resentment gave the clay figurine a very eerie feeling.
When the city lord and his companions first saw the clay figurine, their expressions turned extremely grim.
Even some knowledgeable people behind them who recognized the origin of the clay figurines changed their expressions drastically.
The refined old man murmured, "How could this be? How could she become so vicious? How could she..."
The city lord's hand gently brushed across the clay figurine.
The clay figurine shattered, and a wisp of black smoke emerged, revealing the withered bones inside.
"Human sacrifice, the victim sealed underground, their soul trapped in the clay figurine for eternity, never to be reborn—how dare this old woman, how dare your Zheng family!"
The city lord's face was ashen, his tone was chilling, and a terrifying aura emanated from him, as if he were about to explode at any moment.
"What?! Human sacrifice?!"
At this moment, the others who had not recognized the origin of the clay figurine couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
They all recalled the rumors circulating in the city recently.
I thought it was someone deliberately targeting the Zheng family, but I never expected that the Zheng family had held such a vicious ritual more than 20 years ago.
"Lord City Lord, I was completely unaware of this matter. The construction of my elder brother's tomb was entirely handled by my mother. I truly had no idea that she had secretly performed a human sacrifice ritual. If I had known, I would have stopped her. Please, Your Excellency, understand!"
The head of the Zheng family knelt on the ground, crying out in fear.
But his cries did not move the city lord in the slightest.
"You say you were unaware of the situation, then why did you repeatedly try to stop the tomb from being opened? Patriarch Zheng, do you really think I'm a fool?"
Upon hearing the city lord's cold and stern words, the Zheng family head collapsed to the ground.
He knew that the Zheng family was completely finished.
Seeing his appearance, everyone knew that what the Zheng family head had said earlier was nothing more than a plea for mercy.
Unexpectedly, the once arrogant and domineering head of the Zheng family still had to beg for mercy after losing his support.
Boom! Boom boom boom...
Just as everyone was feeling contempt, a loud noise suddenly rang out.
Several incredibly powerful energies appeared from nowhere and struck Zheng Shihao's grave.
Not only was the tombstone shattered, but the underground burial chamber was also pierced through with several large holes.
One of the bursts of energy went straight for the Zheng family patriarch, piercing through his chest.
