Pointing at a Deer and Calling It a Horse (Part 2), Third Update

"Nie Zhang Branch? What are you doing at the family estate? Don't you know that after being expelled from the core, you aren't allowed to come here without a summons?"

Seeing the two of them, Nie Qiang's expression darkened.

"Young Master, please don't drive us away. We have something to report to the Patriarch..." The two newcomers howled at the same time.

"Hmph! What could a branch expelled from the family possibly have to report? Men, throw them out!" Nie Qiang shouted.

"Enough. Whatever it is, speak freely. The family will certainly uphold justice for you!" The First Elder interrupted Nie Qiang and spoke.

"Yes, yes, thank you, First Elder!" The newcomers looked as though they had been granted amnesty and hurriedly kowtowed in excitement.

If anyone had sharp enough eyes, they would have noticed that at the instant this man kowtowed, he exchanged a gesture with Nie Qiang, as though signaling that the matter had succeeded.

"I am a third-generation descendant of the Nie Zhang Branch, named Nie Shihe. Our branch and the Nie Tian Branch jointly maintain some of the family's small businesses, and our relationship has always been quite good. One day, members of our branch were fortunate enough to discover a thousand-year-old Pengxin Snow Lotus in Xialuo Mountain. We planned to capture it and present it to the Patriarch, hoping he could break through into the Qi Master Realm and make our Nie Family the foremost family in Luoshui City..."

Hearing Nie Shihe say that he intended to capture a thousand-year-old Pengxin Snow Lotus for the Patriarch, all the elders in the hall nodded approvingly.

A branch that had been expelled from the core still possessed such awareness. Not bad at all...

"Unfortunately, our branch members had no talent for capturing medicinal plants. We went several times, yet this Pengxin Snow Lotus escaped every time. So we sought out the family's foremost medicine-gathering expert from years past, Nie Ling! She is now the mistress of the Nie Tian Branch, Nie Xiaotian's wife, and Nie Yun's mother!"

Nie Shihe spoke slowly.

"Hmm?" Hearing Nie Shihe mention the Nie Tian Branch and Nie Yun as well, the First Elder could not help frowning.

"At the time, I had matters to attend to and could not get away. My wife Shen Gui and the others went to Xialuo Mountain with Nie Ling. Who would have thought... who would have thought they would never return! When I found my wife again, she... she had already become a corpse!"

At this point, tears streamed down Nie Shihe's face.

"What?" Hearing that someone had gone to gather medicine only to become a corpse, everyone in the hall was stunned.

"I could not believe my wife was dead, so I went to the Nie Tian Branch to see how Nie Ling was doing. Yet I found her perfectly fine, while the Pengxin Snow Lotus could no longer be found anywhere on the mountain!" Nie Shihe continued.

"You mean Nie Ling went up the mountain with your wife and the others to seek the Pengxin Snow Lotus. Your wife and the others died, but Nie Ling was unharmed?" Nie Qiang suddenly interjected.

"Yes. That is why I suspect that when Nie Ling saw the Pengxin Snow Lotus, greed took hold of her, and she pushed my wife and the others off a cliff... Patriarch, First Elder, you must uphold justice for us!"

Nie Shihe wept miserably, tears and snot running down his face.

"Murdering fellow clansmen for wealth is simply unforgivable. I will thoroughly investigate this matter and give your branch an explanation!" Nie Haotian rose from the throne and flicked his sleeve. "Elder Nie Lang, the people of the Nie Tian Branch are unruly in temperament and conduct themselves against the ancestral teachings. I now order you to lead the Black Shadow Guard to arrest them. Should they resist, kill them on the spot!"

The Black Shadow Guard was an elite force personally controlled by the Nie Family Patriarch. Every member possessed Early Fifth Level Qi Sea strength. They were generally dispatched only in the face of major family affairs, such as an elder's defection or an invasion by the Demon Race. Yet the Patriarch had personally issued an order to deploy them just to capture the Nie Tian Branch, showing how seriously he regarded the matter.

"Patriarch, the truth has not yet been established. This is only their side of the story. Sending out the Black Shadow Guard and ordering executions on the spot seems somewhat excessive, does it not?" Hearing the Patriarch's decision, the First Elder hesitated before speaking.

"Yes, Patriarch! Nie Xiaotian of the Nie Tian Branch once won the honor of the Luoshui Golden Shield for the family. If we dispatch the Black Shadow Guard so decisively before the truth is clear, it will chill the hearts of our clansmen!"

"The Luoshui Golden Shield is a competition organized by the City Lord's Mansion and personally participated in by the Four Great Families. Its winner not only receives supreme honor, but also gains status and standing recognized by Luoshui City. If we send people like this, what will the other families think of our Nie Family?"

Several elders aligned with the First Elder spoke up at once.

"The Patriarch is right. So what if they have the Luoshui Golden Shield? Being able to contribute to the family is their honor. If they dare act recklessly on the strength of that little contribution and we fail to restrain them, who will still place our core branch in their eyes?"

"Such parasites of the family should be punished severely. Killing them only if they resist is letting them off too easily. I say we should directly confiscate their homes and property, then throw everyone in the branch into prison and torture them mercilessly!"

Several elders, having received Nie Qiang's signal, also began shouting madly.

"Enough. This matter is settled. Even if Nie Ling did not kill Shen Gui and the others, Nie Liu suffered such great humiliation that he surely would not speak nonsense! Elder Nie Lang, I leave this matter to you. Today's council is adjourned!"

Patriarch Nie Haotian finally made the final decision. With a flick of his sleeve, he rose from the throne and left through the rear door of the hall.

The moment he left, the corners of Nie Qiang's lips slowly curled upward, and a glint of a scheme fulfilled flashed through his eyes.

Clearly, this whole chain of calling a deer a horse had been orchestrated by him alone, with only one goal: to destroy the Nie Tian Branch!

Though the Nie Zhang Branch and the Nie Long Branch had left the core, they had long since obeyed his commands. Otherwise, they would not have first framed his sister Nie Xiaofeng, then framed his mother Nie Ling!

"Nie Xiaotian, you would rather play dumb than hand that thing over. Let's see whether you will hand it over when your family is destroyed and your people are dead!"

With a low snort, Nie Qiang flicked his sleeve. Ignoring Nie Hen and Nie Liao lying on the ground, as well as Nie Liu, Nie Shihe, and the others kneeling there, he made a killing gesture at Elder Nie Lang and followed behind Nie Haotian through the rear door.

"My bloodline evolved into Royal Clan Upper Grade Bloodline. I never expected my body's resilience to increase as well. I thought this Imperial Flame Spirit Stone would allow Father, Nie Tong, and me to all cultivate the second level of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique to mastery, but it was not even enough for me alone!"

Looking at the Imperial Flame Spirit Stone that had vanished from his palm, Nie Yun opened his eyes helplessly.

By absorbing the special energy contained within the Imperial Flame Spirit Stone to cultivate the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique, Nie Yun had originally thought that such a large spirit stone would be enough for Father, Nie Tong, and himself to advance together. Who could have expected that after his bloodline evolved, his body's absorption capacity would increase as well? After absorbing an entire spirit stone clean, his second level of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique had only progressed halfway. He still seemed far from mastery!

Even so, his body's defensive power could withstand the full-force strike of a peak Sixth Level Qi Sea Forming Astral Realm expert without suffering the slightest injury!

"Not only is the Imperial Flame Spirit Stone insufficient, but when the Nameless Art increased my Bloodline Factors, it also expanded my Qi Sea. Although my true qi reserves are several times greater than others', cultivating to the peak of the Fourth Level Qi Sea True Qi Realm has become far more troublesome..."

Thinking of the changes in his body, Nie Yun shook his head.

After opening his seven great dantians, Nie Yun's strength had already approached the peak of the late True Qi Realm. Yet it was only after he began cultivating that he realized just how vast an amount of true qi would be needed to fill them.

When the Nameless Art increased his Bloodline Factors, it also increased the capacity of his Qi Sea. As a result, the amount of true qi his Qi Sea could contain became even greater, and advancing became increasingly difficult.

He had originally thought that in less than half a month, he would be able to push his cultivation completely to the peak of the True Qi Realm and attempt the first nirvana of the Nine Revolutions Nirvana Art. Only once he began cultivating did he discover that he had still underestimated the space created by his enlarged Qi Sea. Judging by the actual circumstances, without three to five months of accumulation, breaking through was out of the question!

"Although my Qi Sea cultivation has not increased by much, with all seven great dantians operating at once, my elevated bloodline, and the second level of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique fully stabilized, I should be able to fight even someone at the Sixth Level Qi Sea Forming Astral Realm!"

Having judged his own strength, Nie Yun let out a breath.

Those with high-grade bloodlines not only cultivated faster than ordinary people, but their reaction speed also improved considerably. With his seven great dantians and Royal Clan Upper Grade Bloodline, Nie Yun could definitely rank first in all of Luoshui City apart from his father, Nie Xiaotian. Relying on the advantages of his bloodline, together with his combat experience from his previous life, challenging opponents two levels above him would likely no longer be difficult!

Of course, that only applied to early-stage Forming Astral Realm experts. Once someone reached the middle stage and could project astral qi to wound others from afar, they would be much harder to handle!

However, with the invincible defense of the second level of the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique, even a mid-stage Forming Astral Realm expert would be utterly incapable of harming him!

"Though my strength has improved, I still have no chance of winning against those two Tiger-head Beasts. I should poison them instead!"

With a thought, Nie Yun silently swam toward the upper part of the pool. Looking up through the water, he saw that the two Tiger-head Beasts had finished sleeping, stretched lazily, and were preparing to drink again.

P.S. Two tigers taking medicine... Hehe. Tomorrow, "tigers roaring with the wind" will take the stage... Don't let your minds get too dirty. Also, tomorrow the protagonist will gain a third talent besides the Storage Dantian and Pill Fire Dantian. What will it be? Bring on the recommendation votes! We are nearly at three hundred recommendation votes now. If we can reach 450 by tomorrow night, there will still be three updates! That is only one hundred and fifty recommendation votes—very easy! Charge, charge, keep charging! Let's charge even higher!!!!