At that moment, the atmosphere in the Lin Family's main hall was so oppressive it was suffocating.
"Any news yet? What did the Wang Family say?"
Lin Tiannan sat in the seat of honor, his face etched with worry.
Half his hair had already turned white.
"The Wang Family... The Wang Family said they'd take that batch of spirit herbs, but only if we lowered the price by thirty percent."
An elder reported bitterly, "And they hinted that if we don't get rid of that... that burden, we won't be able to do business with them again."
The "burden" in question was naturally the former genius.
The family's Black Hole now—Lin Qingxue.
"Bastards!"
Lin Tiannan slammed a palm on the table. "She's my own daughter! Do you expect me to throw her into the sea to feed the Demon Beasts?"
"Family Head, please watch your words."
A sinister-looking old man spoke in a chilling voice. "The family's expenses now exceed its income. Every month, just buying Crimson Sun Pills to suppress her Cold Poison costs the family thirty percent of its earnings."
"If this continues, we'll all starve to death. In my opinion, why don't we..."
"Why don't we what?"
"Why don't we marry her off?"
The sinister old man sneered. "I've heard there are Evil Cultivators in the Outer Sea who practice dual-cultivation techniques. They love female cultivators with unusual Spiritual Roots. Even if she's crippled, she could still fetch a good price..."
"You dare!"
Lin Tiannan trembled with rage, pointing at the old man as he prepared to curse him out.
Just then.
BOOM—!!!
A terrifying pressure, like Mount Tai crashing down, descended from the sky.
In an instant, it enveloped the entire Lin Family estate.
Every teacup in the hall shattered. Several low-ranking stewards were pressed flat against the floor, unable to move.
"Golden... Golden Core True Person?!"
Lin Tiannan's face turned deathly pale as he stared in terror toward the entrance.
Such pressure could only come from a Great Cultivator at the Golden Core Stage!
And there was more than one!
Had the Lin Family's enemies come knocking?
Was Heaven going to destroy the Lin Family?
Before they could react, a voice as deep as thunder boomed over the Lin Family:
"Zhang Yunshan, Family Head of the Zhang Family of the Southern Domain, has come to visit the Lin Family Head with my son, Zhang Chen!"
The Zhang Family?
The overlords of the East Mountain Islands?
Lin Tiannan and the elders exchanged looks, fear plain in every face.
Why would a behemoth like the Zhang Family suddenly descend upon a backwater like theirs?
Were they here to swallow them up?
"Quick! Hurry out and welcome them!"
Lin Tiannan forgot all about fixing his clothes and scrambled out of the hall.
When he reached the courtyard, he saw an enormous Cloud Piercing Boat hovering in midair, blotting out the sun.
Several streaks of light descended, revealing a group of imposing figures.
The man at their head wore a Purple Gold Robe. He had a square face and an air of natural authority.
He was Zhang Yunshan, a mid-Golden Core cultivator.
Behind him stood a handsome young man in white, with a gentle, refined air. Though he was only at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, he looked perfectly composed beside the Golden Core cultivators.
"Family Head Zhang, we were unaware you were coming and failed to welcome you in time. We deserve death, we deserve death!"
Lin Tiannan led the entire family in a deep bow, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
Zhang Yunshan glanced at the trembling crowd and reined in his pressure a little.
A reasonably amiable smile appeared on his face.
"Family Head Lin, there's no need for such formalities. I haven't come on family business today. Rather, I have a happy matter I'd like to discuss with the Lin Family."
"A... happy matter?"
Lin Tiannan was dumbfounded.
"I've heard the Lin Family has a daughter named Lin Qingxue, gentle and virtuous, both beautiful and talented."
Zhang Yunshan waved a hand. His attendants immediately carried forward more than a dozen large chests tied with red silk and set them heavily on the ground.
The lids opened, and the glittering treasures nearly blinded everyone.
High-grade Spirit Stones, bottles upon bottles of pills, Magic Artifacts gleaming with cold light, and several Thousand-Year Spirit Grasses exuding a rich Medicinal Fragrance...
"These are the betrothal gifts."
Zhang Yunshan gestured toward the treasures and announced, "I wish to ask for your daughter, Lin Qingxue, as the Main Wife of my son, Zhang Chen. What do you think, Family Head Lin?"
Silence. A deathly silence.
The Lin Family members wore expressions beyond description.
Some gaped so wide they could have fit an egg in their mouths. Others rubbed their eyes, convinced they were seeing things.
Still others pinched themselves and grimaced in pain.
Ask for Lin Qingxue's hand?
That cripple?
That bottomless pit that burned through money every day?
Had the Zhang Family gone mad?
Lin Tiannan stood frozen as well, his mind buzzing.
He'd thought the Zhang Family had come to kill them, or swallow them up.
He'd even thought they might have come to borrow money...
He'd never once imagined they'd come to give them money.
"F-Family Head Zhang, you... you're not joking, are you?"
Lin Tiannan stammered, "My daughter... my daughter is seriously ill, and her cultivation has regressed. She's long since ceased to be the genius she once was..."
"I care about the person, not her cultivation."
Zhang Chen, who had remained silent until then, stepped forward and said with a smile, "I've admired Miss Qingxue for a long time. I don't mind her condition."
"If she's willing to join the Zhang Family, I'll have the entire clan devote its strength to treating her."
His words struck the hearts of everyone in the Lin Family like a bolt of thunder.
The sinister elder who had earlier suggested selling Lin Qingxue to the Evil Cultivators was especially stunned, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.
That one chest of Spirit Stones was worth more than the Lin Family's total income for ten years!
"This..."
Lin Tiannan was still hesitating.
He wanted his daughter to find a good home, but this was all too unreal. Instinctively, he suspected there was a scheme behind it.
Before you continue