Almost all the other Zhao Household elders thought the same.
As the saying went, a wretched life was better than a glorious death.
Hearing this, the Zhao Household patriarch wasted no words. He took out a brush and ink and began writing a letter.
But he also understood that, even if the Zhao Household ancestor had once done the Song Household patriarch a favor, the Zhao Household would still have to pay a sufficient price to get the Song Household to step in and help them through this crisis!!
That was how the world worked: many would add flowers to a brocade, but those who brought charcoal through the snow... were few and far between.
After finishing the letter, the Zhao Household patriarch brought out a peregrine falcon to carry it to the Song Household patriarch.
Only when they watched the peregrine falcon spread its wings and soar into the sky with the letter did the despair in the hearts of the Zhao Household elders gradually ease.
Only the Zhao Household patriarch still wore a grave expression.
He looked around at the elders and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"All right!"
"All of you, make your preparations!!"
"Zichuan City is two thousand li from the Song Household's ancestral grounds. The peregrine falcon will need at least four days to reach them!"
"Even if the Song Household is willing to intervene and send immortal cultivators here, it will still take time, no matter how fast they travel."
"For five days... our Zhao Household must hold Zichuan City!!"
At the patriarch's words, the Zhao Household elders all fell silent...
Hold Zichuan City for five days? If the Lin Household arrived, they could probably fight their way into the city in the blink of an eye!!
Nearly twenty thousand armored guards and dozens of immortal cultivators had been utterly routed by the Lin Household... With the Zhao Household's current strength, what could they possibly use to resist them?
"This is our Zhao Household's last hope!!"
"No matter the cost, we must hold out for five days first!!"
The Zhao Household patriarch spoke again.
By now, he had gradually steadied himself after his panic and despair!
He had reached the position of patriarch not merely through his cultivation, but because his ability and shrewdness truly far surpassed those of the other Zhao Household members.
After a brief spell of despair, his mind was already racing, searching for a sliver of hope for the Zhao Household and for himself!!
"Send people to stabilize order in Zichuan City at once!"
"Then send people to tell the residents... that if the Lin Household enters Zichuan City, they will bathe the entire city in blood!"
"Then mobilize everyone in the city, men and women, young and old! All of them must defend the city with their lives!!"
"And tell them that if they hold the city for five days... the Song Household will come to their aid!"
As the Zhao Household patriarch spoke, a ruthless glint appeared in his eyes.
He would use the lives of ordinary people to hold the Lin Household back by sheer force!!
Zichuan City had a population of a hundred and fifty thousand! Even an Organ Refining Realm cultivator couldn't kill them all in an instant...
As for whether the Song Household would intervene, the Zhao Household patriarch actually had no assurance himself!
But for now, he had to keep the people calm.
As long as he could unite the people and mobilize the entire city, if things proved impossible in the end... he might still have a chance to escape amid the chaos.
When the final moment truly came, even if he had to sacrifice the entire Zhao Household and all of Zichuan City, it would all be worth it as long as he could save his own life!
Such was the rule of the immortal cultivation world-better a fellow Daoist die than this poor Daoist!!
At the Zhao Household patriarch's command, the elders all sprang into action.
Each of them had an ulterior motive, and each had his own plans.
When the Lineage was flourishing, they might still have united to wage war and plunder together!
Now that disaster was upon the Zhao Household and its collapse was all but certain... with their own lives in peril, how could they spare a thought for anything else?
The scene shifted.
Just as the Zhao Household gathered its last remaining forces to make a stand in Zichuan City, Lin Changge stood outside Lin Xiye's courtyard and knocked on the wooden gate, a cautious look on his face.
"Your junior Lin Changge requests an audience, Ancestor."
After knocking three times, Lin Changge stopped.
He knew that an immortal cultivator's illusion array covered the area outside his ancestor's courtyard.
If his ancestor was cultivating, the array would be active.
While the array was active, no matter how he knocked, the ancestor wouldn't hear a sound.
If the ancestor had finished cultivating and was drinking tea beneath the courtyard tree to refresh himself, he would naturally answer...
After knocking, Lin Changge stood stiffly outside the courtyard gate. He neither left at once nor dared push the wooden gate open.
As he waited anxiously, an aged voice suddenly came from within the courtyard.
"It's Changge... come in."
As soon as the voice fell, the wooden gate creaked and slowly opened on its own.
The instant it opened, Lin Changge saw a white-haired figure standing with his hands behind his back.
At the sight of him, Lin Changge's expression turned respectful, and he hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting.
"Greetings, Ancestor."
The figure was none other than Lin Xiye. After his drawn-out battle with the Zhao Household ancestor and several days of cultivation and recovery, his cultivation had advanced once more, breaking through to the Middle Stage of the Organ Refining Realm!
"Sit, have some tea..."
"There's no need to stand on ceremony before me."
Lin Xiye slowly turned and casually waved his sleeve. In an instant... a fierce wind gathered, lifted the teapot, and filled two cups with clear tea.
"Please, Ancestor..."
Though Lin Xiye put on no airs, Lin Changge still dared not be negligent. He quickly picked up a teacup with both hands and respectfully offered it to Lin Xiye.
Lin Xiye casually accepted the cup, sat down leisurely in a grand armchair, and blew on the steaming tea. Then he spoke to Lin Changge in an even tone.
"You came to see me about entering Zichuan City, I presume?"
Lin Changge nodded. Looking at Lin Xiye with a somewhat ashamed expression, he cupped his hands and replied,
"It is because this junior is incompetent that I have come to disturb you, Ancestor..."
"The Zhao Household still has several immortal cultivators. If you do not act, Ancestor, it will be very difficult for our Lin Household to enter Zichuan City..."
"Moreover, the forces within a thousand li of Zichuan City are probably all watching our Lin Household right now."
"Only if you act once more, Ancestor, can we intimidate these forces and make them submit to our Lin Household."
As Lin Changge spoke, he lowered his head slightly.
Hearing this, Lin Xiye put down his teacup and gazed at the distant sky. Once again, he spoke in an even tone.
"Whether it's the remnants of the Zhao Household or the other forces..."
"None of it matters. I will act."
"Pass down the order, gather the Lineage's forces, and set out for Zichuan City at once."
"It is time for the Zhao Household's reign as overlord to come to a complete end!"
As Lin Xiye spoke, his figure vanished from the courtyard...
By the time Lin Changge came back to his senses, his ancestor was nowhere to be seen.
"Yes, Ancestor!!"
Lin Changge's face was full of excitement.
Having received his ancestor's answer, he could hardly contain himself at the thought that the Lin Household was truly going to enter Zichuan City...!
Over the past several hundred years, the successive patriarchs of the Lin Household had, at most, dreamed of entering Zichuan City and gaining a foothold there!
But no one had ever thought of taking the entire city outright and ruling the territory for a thousand li around...
Although the Lin Household's foundation was still insufficient, with the ancestor holding the fort and the whole of Zichuan City in their hands... it would only be a matter of time before the Lin Household grew!