Zhang Daolin

Moon Worship Tower was the most romantic and decadent place in Beiling City.

As Lin Chao walked along the road, he saw nothing but low sheds and shabby houses, with mud all over the ground.

The occasional commoners passing by were barely clothed, their eyes numb. Most were old people and women.

The colors in their eyes were mostly gray and gloomy.

Yet when he reached the area around Moon Worship Tower, the sky seemed to brighten, and the colors became vivid.

Red banners fluttered in the wind, while ribbons of every color added a splash of brightness to the sky.

Many pedestrians wore smiles and dressed in luxurious silk garments.

Lin Chao knew that this was the unevenness of the world.

No matter how fatuous and tyrannical Azure Lord was, there would always be those who benefited from the system.

Of course, Lin Chao knew that he belonged to that group as well.

The ones who suffered were always the common people at the bottom.

Of course, even if Great Cang prospered, the common people at the bottom would still suffer. They would merely have it a little better than before.

Take the society Lin Chao lived in now. It could be said to be flourishing to the extreme, with open-minded ideas.

Yet there were still many great mountains pressing down upon ordinary people.

Or rather, things were fine as long as there were no calamities or disasters. But if floods came, or grave illness struck, those alone were enough to crush an ordinary person.

"Young Master Lin Ping, you've come."

A heavily made-up woman walked over, an exaggerated smile hanging on her face without changing in the slightest.

Lin Chao seriously suspected that if her expression changed too much, the powder on her face would come fluttering down like some people's dandruff.

"Mm." Lin Chao nodded.

He was sixteen now, and due to social obligations, he had visited Moon Worship Tower several times.

As the young sect master of the Dan Jian Sect and a true member of Beiling City's nobility,

the people of Moon Worship Tower would naturally remember his appearance.

Of course, Lin Chao remained scrupulously clean, devoting himself wholeheartedly to Anomalous Arts.

Lin Chao felt that these so-called Anomalous Arts were different from the immortal cultivation or Qi cultivation he had imagined.

Instead, they felt somewhat like... contamination.

Or rather, the human body being contaminated by strange treasures.

Lin Chao had visited Moon Worship Tower several times, yet not one of its girls had ever worshipped the moon before him.

"Lin Ping, long time no see."

A gentle voice rang out. The newcomer was none other than Zhang Daolin, the young hall master of Northern Cold Hall.

Zhang Daolin was older than Lin Ping, though only by a year or two.

At that moment, he held a young child in his arms, around three or four years old. The child's face was somewhat pale, and he looked exceptionally sleepy.

This child was Zhang Daolin's son.

Seeing this, Lin Chao was slightly speechless.

He had brought his child straight to a pleasure house?

"Long time no see, Daolin." Lin Chao greeted him calmly as well, though there was a chilly distance in his voice that kept others a thousand miles away.

He was not familiar with Zhang Daolin. They had only met once, when Azure Lord's daughter was choosing a husband.

Of course, he had heard his father mention Zhang Daolin many times.

The child in Zhang Daolin's arms woke up, revealing his pale and tender little face. He looked at Lin Chao. "Uncle... you're so handsome, like an immortal."

Lin Chao smiled.

Still, he was only sixteen. Being called uncle felt a little inappropriate, didn't it?

Thankfully, the child said he looked like an immortal rather than an immortal maiden.

"Cough, cough... Can Immortal Uncle take me up to the roof to pick stars?

My daddy says the roof is cold and won't take me up there."

"When your illness is better, I'll take you." Lin Chao comforted him.

After saying that, delight appeared on the child's face. Then he grew drowsy again and sank back into sleep.

Zhang Daolin looked at the child with a gentle gaze tinged with a trace of heartache.

The group entered a room.

The other guards dispersed elsewhere, leaving only Zhang Daolin, Lin Chao, and the child in the room.

"Daolin, what important matter brings you to Beiling?" Lin Chao asked calmly.

Once they entered the room, Lin Chao's expression softened considerably.

Northern Cold Hall was Azure Lord's number-one lapdog.

But in truth, Northern Cold Hall had secret ties with the Dan Jian Sect.

Azure Lord was too powerful, and Northern Cold Hall was too close to him. That was why they had submitted to him.

But Northern Cold Hall was not stupid either.

They knew that if they followed Azure Lord, their final outcome might be to be destroyed by him.

Naturally, Northern Cold Hall was unwilling to accept that.

So they placed bets on both sides.

On one side, they showed unwavering loyalty to Azure Lord. On the other, they secretly contacted forces such as the Dan Jian Sect.

Zhang Daolin's child had been physically weak since childhood and suffered from a cold ailment.

It could not be cured completely, but it could be alleviated.

The name of one required medicinal herb was Fire Dragon Grass, and it could only be found on Dan Jian Mountain.

For that reason, the person Northern Cold Hall had sent to invest in the other factions was their young hall master, Zhang Daolin.

Zhang Daolin swept his gaze around, confirmed that no one else was present, and spoke calmly. But the more he spoke, the heavier his tone became. "Azure Lord seeks the Immortality Elixir.

Once he obtains the Immortality Elixir, our major factions will inevitably perish. We will have no chance whatsoever to turn things around, and the people of the realm will truly be left without a livelihood!"

Lin Chao had heard his father's assessment of Zhang Daolin. He said that the man hid his darkness too deeply, kept his righteousness buried within, and was prone to dying young.

Now, even while speaking in anger, Zhang Daolin still suppressed his voice.

He had suppressed himself for too long.

Lin Chao did not answer for the moment, allowing him to continue and vent his frustration.

"The Azure Dragon Stone is simply too overbearing!

With the Azure Dragon Stone, no matter how tyrannical Azure Lord is, he can still sit firmly upon the throne!

Do you know? Three months ago, Zhao Sheng of Sanquan Township led a mighty rebel army of one hundred thousand to besiege Jiangquan.

As long as they captured Jiangquan, they could choke off the nineteen routes and drive straight into Kyoto!

At the time, Jiangquan had only three thousand defenders.

But Heaven favored not Zhao, but Cang.

That night, a Meteorite fell from the sky, and the rebel army led by Zhao Sheng suffered countless casualties."

As Zhang Daolin spoke, a sense of helplessness rose within him.

With the Azure Dragon Stone present, fortune rested upon Azure Lord.

Azure Lord was a lone tyrant, hated by countless people.

Yet his martial strength was the greatest under heaven.

What was more, with fortune upon him, even if someone poisoned him or plotted to assassinate Azure Lord, all manner of unforeseen changes would arise.

"If Azure Lord obtains the Immortality Elixir, there will truly be no hope left in the world!"

Lin Chao's expression remained calm.

Naturally, he knew of Zhao Sheng.

The Dan Jian Sect had also secretly played a hand in Zhao Sheng's rebellion.

At that moment, Lin Chao frowned.

"The Immortality Elixir? How could such a pill exist in this world?"

Of course, given his knowledge, he naturally believed that such a pill might exist.

But in this world, aside from strange treasures and himself, there was nothing truly connected to immortal cultivation.

Strange treasures were powerful and extraordinary, but compared to something as precious as the Immortality Elixir—even in the world of immortal cultivation—they were nothing at all.

"The Immortality Elixir was refined five hundred years ago by Qi Cultivators gathered by the Sun Emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty."

Upon hearing this news, Lin Chao was completely stunned.