Qin Tianxian Goes to the Ninth Floor.

"It seems my 'filial' eldest son has been scheming behind the scenes quite a bit as well..." His voice carried a trace of icy mockery.

After all, Zhou Jueshi was Ling Tian's own uncle.

Li Fan listened, his whole body trembling, not daring to breathe, afraid that if he spoke out of turn, he would invite disaster upon himself.

"Transmit my imperial decree!" Ling Cangqiong's voice was resolute and brooked no argument. "Go immediately to the Hall of Offerings and mobilize two-thirds of the offerings to rush and suppress this. Additionally, dispatch twenty Golden Armored Divine Guards to accompany them. No delays!"

"Also," he paused, "have the Imperial Clan Court join the battle! As members of the imperial bloodline, how can they stand idly by and watch from the sidelines at a time like this?"

As his words fell, a token radiating a faint pressure appeared in his hand, which he casually tossed to Li Fan.

Li Fan's figure flickered as he caught it steadily, not daring the slightest negligence. He bowed and replied, "As you command, Your Majesty!"

With that, he dared not linger, transforming into a streak of light as he swiftly withdrew to carry out this urgent order that concerned the entire situation.

Meanwhile, Ling Cangqiong slowly rose to his feet, his deep gaze fixed on the distant Imperial Mausoleum, a symbol of the royal family's roots and ancient heritage.

He took a step and began walking toward it.

The situation was already grim. To prevent himself from truly being unable to suppress this turbulent current, he had no choice but to visit the Imperial Mausoleum ahead of time and seek help from the slumbering Ancestors—to give them a heads-up first, perhaps even secure some support.

This was a contingency he had to take.

Inside the quiet Scripture Repository, Chen Lin was lounging lazily in a rocking chair, holding a book in his hands and flipping through it with boredom.

The title was rather peculiar—Waste Male Sword Immortal Reduced to...

Hmm...

And another one, Waste Female Sword Immortal Reduced to...

Chen Lin curled his lips, musing to himself that these books were mostly written by ordinary cultivators who, having failed to realize their grand ambitions in a lifetime, poured all their fantasies onto the page. They were nothing more than self-indulgent delusions, utterly dull.

Still, some of the descriptions within were quite apt.

Just then, a graceful figure caught his eye.

Qin Tianxian stepped lightly into the Scripture Repository, her expression indifferent.

By her side was a White-Haired Child-Faced Elder.

Qin Tianxian walked straight up to Chen Lin and said flatly, "Your task should be over now."

Chen Lin understood that this was directed at the Thousand-Faced Illusion Lord, who was disguised as himself.

Too bad...

"Come with me to the Ninth Floor. We have the means to directly break the formation there. Once the formation is shattered, it will inevitably alert the Imperial Lord, and he will immediately send someone to investigate." Qin Tianxian's eyes gleamed with calculation as she spoke methodically.

Then, her gaze sharpened as she looked at Chen Lin and continued her instructions, "When those people arrive, you trigger the Scripture Repository Elder Token and activate that great formation. Let those hastily arriving guards come and never return. If you can incidentally kill a few court ministers along the way, that would be even better."

This was Qin Tianxian's plan.

After all, the formation within the Scripture Repository was terrifyingly powerful, classified as a Heaven Tier Formation.

A formation of this level possessed enough might to injure experts at the Dharma Aspect Realm.

In this world, the grading of formations followed a system similar to that of techniques and treasures.

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Chen Lin listened, then slowly shook his head and said bluntly, "I don't think much of this plan."

Right now, he could sit comfortably in the Scripture Repository and wait for his strength to grow—what a pleasant life that was. Why wade into this muddy water?

If he followed Qin Tianxian's plan and they succeeded, he would instantly become a target of public criticism, hunted like a rat crossing the street. At that point, he wouldn't be able to slack off in peace anymore.

And if he actually made a move against them, what if these two later transmitted information about him?

Thinking this over, Chen Lin made up his mind.

He decided to secretly trap these two—or rather, knock them unconscious for a while—and deal with this trouble first.

Originally, they wouldn't have ended up like this, but they had run into him.

His gaze swept over the elder beside Qin Tianxian, and Chen Lin instantly saw through his cultivation level.

Dharma Aspect Realm, sixth layer. Likely one of the Three Venerables of the Nine Nether Sect.

Since Qin Tianxian was already confirmed to be a member of the Nine Nether Sect, the person beside her was naturally a cultivator from the same sect.

Hearing Chen Lin's refusal, Qin Tianxian froze in place, clearly not expecting him to be uncooperative. She felt that something was off about the person before her.

"Hmm?" Qin Tianxian's brows furrowed slightly, a flicker of surprise and displeasure in her eyes.

Her gaze cut toward Chen Lin like a blade as she spoke coldly, "Thousand-Faced Illusion Lord, you have quite the nerve, daring to speak to me like this. I admit, your talent is indeed outstanding, and your disguise art is nothing short of miraculous—you are a rare talent within the sect."

But her tone shifted abruptly, growing even harsher, like frost in the depths of winter: "But that is no reason for you to contradict me. Think back—you were nothing but an insignificant ant in this world."

"If the sect had not taken you in out of great mercy and provided you with cultivation resources, how could you, relying on yourself alone, have broken through to the Divine Treasury Realm? In the end, you are still just an ant."

"You have no room whatsoever to contradict I, the Venerable, and even less qualification to meddle in the sect's decrees!" Qin Tianxian's voice was fierce, her eyes brimming with lofty authority.

As her words ended, her figure flickered like a ghost, instantly appearing beside Chen Lin. In the blink of an eye, a skull bell glowing with eerie light had materialized in her hand.

A cold smirk curled at the corner of her mouth as she gave her wrist a slight flick, and the skull bell emitted a series of crisp yet sinister sounds.

The Nine Nether Sect had always harbored hidden means of control over certain members under its command, though most of those controlled remained utterly unaware.

Qin Tianxian clearly sensed that the control power within the bell, targeting the Thousand-Faced Illusion Lord, still existed.

Thus, in her thinking, as long as she shook the bell, Chen Lin would surely submit obediently.

She smiled coldly, continuing to gently shake the bell, the eerie sound growing clearer, as if it wanted to burrow into the depths of one's soul.

Yet, in the very next second, the smile on her face abruptly froze, as if struck by a paralysis curse.

There stood Chen Lin, perfectly fine in his original spot, completely unharmed—not only that, but he stared straight back at her with a look akin to watching an idiot.

"You..." Qin Tianxian's expression shifted drastically, a flash of shock instantly crossing her eyes.

Almost before her words had faded, a shadow like a ghost swiftly loomed over her face.

It turned out that Chen Lin, with lightning speed, had suddenly reached out to grab her—so fast that she barely had time to react, only sensing a darkness before her eyes as a hand, carrying a fierce momentum, lunged toward her face.