I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

He waved his hand, and the Yaren Dragon Beast understood, slowly sheathing its dragon blade and stepping aside.

Upon receiving Lin Che's order, the clan leaders of the Mountain-Bearing Crocodile Turtle, the Azure Sea Dragon, the Azure-Eyed Eagle, the Golden Lion Beast, and the Petrified Lizard immediately led their respective clansmen to the battlefield.

They skillfully rummaged through the remains left after the blood soul dissipated, collecting the remaining evil energy crystals, blood soul cores, and storage bags, magical artifacts, and personal belongings from the corpses of Zhao family members.

These are all spoils of war.

Lin Che stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching them work.

After a long while, he slowly raised his hands.

With ten fingers interlaced in front of his chest, he formed one mysterious hand seal after another.

With his movements, a wisp of pure and ancient divine soul power surged from between his brows, slowly outlining, intertwining, and condensing in the air.

Finally, an extremely complex rune appeared in the void.

The rune shimmered with a ghostly light and exuded a mysterious spiritual pressure, its power even greater than that Lin Che had condensed when he was building his foundation.

It hovered there, like an invisible eye, silently watching Zhao Changkong.

The Three Phases Spirit Control Contract.

A contract that allows one to control life and death.

Lin Che turned around and looked at Zhao Changkong.

There was no anger or resentment on that aged face.

There was only a numb calm.

Or rather, it is a deathly silence resulting from forced suppression.

"You know what to do."

Lin Che's voice was calm, without any threat or urging.

Zhao Changkong raised his head and looked at the rune that was floating in the void.

He recognizes this.

Or rather, he could sense the power contained within the rune.

That was a power strong enough to bind his soul and control his life and death.

Once the contract is signed, from now on, Zhao Changkong will no longer be the ancestor of the Zhao family, but Lin Che's servant.

He can refuse.

But the price of refusal is death.

It wasn't just his death, but also the deaths of the two clansmen still alive.

He had no doubt that Lin Che would keep his word.

Zhao Changkong closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, there was no emotion in them.

"I see."

He deliberately opened his mind and let the contract rune, which emitted a faint light, slowly drift over and imprint itself into his mind's eye.

The talisman, like a warm current, flowed into his brow and firmly bound itself to his soul's origin.

At that moment, he clearly felt that an invisible and unbreakable connection had been established between him and the enemy before him.

Life is in his hands, decided in a single thought.

Death was also within his grasp.

The Spirit Servant Contract is complete.

Lin Che nodded slightly and made hand seals again.

The second rune flowed from his fingertips.

This time, the rune was even more hidden and profound, like a silent venomous snake, quietly burrowing into Zhao Changkong's brow.

Tacit understanding.

He shared everything he knew about himself, the details of the ambush, and the background of the Blood Shadow Hall's assassination attempt.

All the secrets that should not be known to outsiders, and the trump cards that Lin Che is revealing at this moment, are all sealed with a strong divine soul seal.

Those memories were wrapped up in layers, as if sealed in an iron coffin, and sunk to the deepest part of the sea of ​​consciousness.

From then on, Zhao Changkong could no longer bring up these matters or reveal these secrets in any way.

The last rune is the most hidden and the most complex.

Heart Mirror Agreement.

Lin Che needs a set of arguments.

A set of arguments that would allow Zhao Changkong to justify himself in front of the Demon Palace of Rebellion.

Externally, the Zhao family fled Chuyang City as a whole, only to be intercepted and killed by Lin Che, and forced to submit, becoming vassals of the Lin family.

This rhetoric fits perfectly with today's "acting," without any flaws.

However, when facing the Demon Palace of Rebellion and his master, who was in the late stage of the Golden Core realm, a different explanation was needed:

In order to keep the sect's grand plan from being exposed and to avoid attracting attention, the Zhao family pretended to be allied with the Lin family, thus lying low in the shadows and continuing to cover up the Demon Palace's plans.

This set of arguments was carefully crafted by Lin Che and engraved into the core of the Heart Mirror Contract.

From then on, this would become the "truth" in Zhao Changkong's mind.

No matter how he recalls it or how he is questioned, this is the only version of events he can come up with.

Even if someone were to search his soul, the searcher would only see the version that Lin Che had fabricated.

If Zhao Changkong were to intentionally reveal himself, Lin Che would be able to detect it through the Soul Contract and detonate it instantly.

Erase this part of his memory completely and kill him along with Zhao Changkong!

Three runes, three chains.

Zhao Changkong was locked down completely, from his body to his mind, from his memories to his cognition.

Only after Lin Che finished doing all this did he feel slightly relieved and withdrew his hands.

He looked at Zhao Changkong, at that aged, expressionless face, and slowly spoke:

"From this day forward, you are a vassal of the Lin family. You know perfectly well what you should and shouldn't do."

Zhao Changkong lowered his head, as if he had aged hundreds of years in an instant, and bowed deeply.

"Yes."

The sound was hollow, like an echo coming from a dry well.

The setting sun finally sank behind the distant mountains, and the last ray of light disappeared from the world.

Night fell, shrouding the blood-stained battlefield in darkness.

The two flying boats that now belonged to the Lin family slowly started up, carrying the remaining members of the Zhao family, and headed towards Chuyang City.

The Fulong Mountains, shrouded in night, slowly receded below.

Occasionally, the roars of demonic beasts could be heard from the depths of the dense forest, but they dared not approach this slightly damaged flying boat that exuded the aura of a Golden Core cultivator.

……

If you're going to put on an act, you have to go all the way!

The following morning, in the territory of Chuyang City, above the Zhao family's land.

As the sun rises, golden rays bathe the earth.

Inside the Zhao family's territory, the surviving clansmen were gathered together, still shaken, whispering amongst themselves.

They gazed at the slowly descending airship high in the sky, their eyes filled with complex emotions: fear, humiliation, and a hint of relief at surviving a catastrophe.

The airship came to a stop.

Lin Che took a step forward and stood in mid-air.

He didn't deliberately release any pressure; he just stood there quietly.

However, the aura of the Golden Core cultivator had already spread in all directions like an invisible wave, enveloping the entire Zhao family territory and the surrounding hundreds of miles.

Below, everyone involuntarily lowered their heads.

Lin Che spoke slowly.

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

Not only the surviving members of the Zhao family within their territory, but also the rogue cultivators watching from afar, the spies secretly spying, and the representatives of various forces who rushed over upon hearing the news.

"From this day forward—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the terrified faces below, over the onlookers in the distance, and over the faint outline of Chuyang City in the distance.

"The Zhao family will become a vassal of my Lin family."

All the forces that were watching the Zhao family heard the calm announcement from the figure high in the sky!