Starting with the creation of the Immortal Clan through the compilation of the family genealogy.

Chapter 25 Serpent Eyes Lock the Abyss, Saving the World by Devouring Children

Lin Lang twirled the fake spiritual energy mark between his fingers, a cold smile curving his lips.

In that instant, a crimson light appeared deep within his eyes, like a blood-red pupil suddenly opening in the abyss, fleeting and so fast that it seemed like an illusion.

"It's a very convincing forgery..." His voice was deep, with an almost greedy, playful tone, "but there's a trace of... extremely pure innate essence remaining on it. Although it's been deliberately disturbed and concealed into a chaotic mess, it can't escape my perception."

His voice lowered, carrying an almost greedy, playful tone: "The waters of Wufeng County are muddier and more interesting than I imagined. Lin Fei's death was not unjust; I was sent to help me collect cultivators with special innate talents, but he... brought me an unexpected surprise."

Lin Bao's heart trembled violently upon hearing this. The aura of innate origin?
The strange cultivation technique that Young Master Lang practices is most sensitive to those with special physical attributes and primordial energy. Could it be... could it be that the murderer possesses the "resources" that Young Master Lang desperately needs?
He suddenly remembered the vague message Lin Fei had sent back before his death.

"Young Master Lang, you mean..." Lin Bao's voice was filled with excitement and a hint of bloodlust.

"The child that Lin Fei was tracking is the key." Lin Lang's voice returned to calm, his bloodshot eyes disappeared, but his vertical pupils became even darker. "There must be something special about him that attracted Lin Fei and made the murderer risk exposing himself to protect him."

"This pure primordial energy might... be related to this."

He looked at Lin Bao and then said, "You personally set the bait in Wolf Valley. Stir the waters even more, get the hyenas from the other branches and the mad dogs of Wolf Valley moving, attract all attention. As for here..."

His gaze drifted out the window, as if piercing through layers of buildings, locking onto a certain direction in the west of Wufeng County.

"Gather two-thirds of the Azure Scale Guards and, at midnight tonight, sweep through the entire place! I want that place to be utterly desolate, and more importantly... bring the people back to me. Alive is best. Even the dead must not have their essence dispersed."

"There are three months left until the year-end competition, which is my last chance to enter the main lineage. During these three months, I will go into seclusion in the secret realm. This innate source... may be the key to my further advancement!"

"Yes! Your subordinate obeys!" Lin Bao's spirits lifted, and the scar on his face twitched excitedly.

He could almost see himself making a great contribution, and his status rising accordingly after Young Master Lang entered the main branch.

“Remember,” Lin Lang’s voice pierced Lin Bao’s excited mind like an ice pick, “what I want is ‘things.’ If you don’t get the ‘things’…” He paused, each word heavy as a thousand pounds, “you’ll come back with your head.”

Lin Bao felt a chill run down his spine, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

"Understood! I will certainly live up to Young Master Lang's expectations!"

Meanwhile, deep inside the county government dungeon.

The torches crackled, casting distorted and swaying light on the damp stone walls.

A figure was hung upside down on a cold rack in a spread-eagle position by steel chains, his body almost entirely covered in undamaged flesh.

The skin and flesh were torn where his ribs had collapsed, and black blood mixed with pus was still seeping out, dripping into the pool of blood below that had long since congealed and turned black, making a soft "drip...drip..." sound.

Ji Beichuan stood expressionless before the rack. His constable uniform was stained with blood and dust, but his eyes shone with a frightening intensity.

He held a pinch of strange powder that he had scraped from the lining of the black snake's shoe with his fingertips.

The powder is dark in color, like congealed blood. Upon closer inspection, the surface of the powder particles naturally has fine, eerie patterns like dragon scales, emitting a faint sweet and fishy smell and a numbing sensation that makes one feel dizzy.

“Black Snake Zhou Hao, this is the last time I’ll ask,” Ji Beichuan’s voice was not loud, but it was like a cold iron brush scraping against bones, “Where did this Intoxicating Grass Powder come from? Who gave it to you? What is it for?” He applied a little pressure with his fingertips, and a few grains of the strange powder fell down.

Black Serpent's head drooped limply, his consciousness sinking into endless agony, severe blood loss, and the hallucinogenic drug he had been forcibly given. Each breath aggravated his wounds, bringing excruciating pain. "Hah...hah..." he gasped, his eyelids too heavy to lift.

Ji Beichuan stepped forward, his shadow completely enveloping the black snake: "You think your father, Zhou Maocai, the county magistrate, can still save you? The magistrate said he'd spare your life, but he didn't say..."

He grabbed Black Snake's disheveled hair, forcing him to lift his swollen, bruised, and blood-stained face and look directly into his cold eyes. "...I can't let you experience what it's like to be worse than dead."

“Ha, Zhou… Mao… Cai.” The appearance of this name seemed to touch a taboo for Zhou Hao. Intense resentment and madness burst forth from his swollen eyes.

"Coward, selfish coward! Hahaha... I don't want him to save me. If he sides with the Lin family, I'll side with the Qingyun Sect. If he and the Lin family want that child, then I'll kill him and use that child's life to get into the Qingyun Sect, cough cough cough..." Violent coughing brought out large mouthfuls of blood and foam.

"...This medicine was given by Li...Li Zheng...and the Intoxicating Herb Powder was also given to him by Doctor Li disguised as a member of the Lin family. I originally wanted to leave that coward some ability to protect himself, but I didn't expect that Chief Meng would confiscate it all."

"Those people at the Wandering Inn are the Lin family, but Lin Fei is probably dead, and the rest... they've probably already run back to report. Your time is running out. Hahaha... let's all wait to die!"

A burst of hysterical laughter exhausted his last bit of strength. His head lolled to the side, and he passed out completely, leaving only extremely weak, blood-tinged breaths.

Ji Beichuan released his grip, letting the black snake's head droop, his brows furrowed.

"It wasn't the Lin family who took the lead? We've all been thinking the wrong way... We must report to Chief Meng immediately!" He glanced deeply at the unconscious Black Snake, then turned and strode out of the dungeon.

The back hall of the county government office was brightly lit.

Meng Xihong stood with his back to the door, hands behind his back, staring at the map of Wufeng County on the wall, his finger unconsciously tracing the location of "Huichuntang" in the west of the city.

After listening to Ji Beichuan's urgent and clear report, he slowly turned around, his face revealing neither joy nor anger.

“Li Zheng? Something’s definitely not right with him.” Meng Xihong’s voice was deep, confirming a long-held suspicion in his heart.

"Qingyun Sect and Lin Family are both among the elite sects of Yunzhou. One is a top-tier sect in the cultivation world, and the other is a leading family in the immortal path. It's normal for them to be at odds with each other. However, since Qingyun Sect is a prestigious and righteous sect, what is its purpose in seeking this item?" Meng Xihong frowned deeply, his mind filled with doubts.

"The strange dragon scale pattern is from the Fallen Dragon Abyss!" His gaze was fixed on the unusual powder of the Drunken Heart Grass in Ji Beichuan's palm, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

This bizarre dragon scale pattern, this paralyzing poison that specifically breaks through spiritual energy shields—only in the "Dragon Abyss," a desolate place shrouded in poisonous miasma and inhabited by demons and evil cultivators at the border of Qing and Yun states, can such a mutated "Dragon Scale Intoxicating Grass" grow.

Meng Xihong was deeply shaken.

This brings to mind the unsolved case of children disappearing year after year since he took office as the magistrate of Wufeng County. Years of investigation had yielded only scattered clues.

At this moment, these clues suddenly connected, pointing directly to the unfathomable darkness behind the powder before them.

"Beichuan, you take some men and keep a close eye on Li Zheng of Huichuntang. See if he does anything unusual. When he goes out on a medical tour, let me know. I want to see what kind of filthy and dirty business is buried under Huichuntang."

"Yes, Mengtou. I'll take care of it right away!"

In the back hall, only Meng Xihong remained. He opened his palm, looking at the dark red powder in his hand. The twisted dragon scale patterns seemed to come alive in the candlelight, silently mocking the distinction between good and evil in the world.

"Ha, what a hypocritical, righteous, and benevolent sect they are!"

(End of this chapter)