"You!"

The young man clenched his teeth and glared at the inn attendant with the mean looking face.

"Do not push people too far!"

The attendant snorted.

"So what if I do? Don't think having a bit of cultivation makes you impressive. Take a good look at where you are. This is the entrance to the Xianyao Pavilion. How could a cripple like you stand here and cause trouble? Get lost!"

As he spoke, he shoved the one armed youth with ruthless force.

The young man appeared to be injured already. After being pushed by the attendant, he staggered back several steps and nearly fell to the ground.

Ling Feng and the others frowned when they saw the scene.

There was an old saying that it was easier to deal with the King of Hell than his petty underlings. This attendant had no real authority and little ability. However, he relied on the backing of the Dongling Immortal Pool. With that name behind him, ordinary people rarely dared to cause trouble here.

"Is that not Ah Gui, the attendant from the Xianyao Pavilion? He usually behaves like a loyal dog in front of his superiors. Who would have thought he acts so arrogant behind their backs?"

Lin Mu traveled often and was quite familiar with the people in the Xianyao Pavilion, so he recognized the attendant blocking the way.

Following the rules and refusing entry to strangers was not wrong. However, insulting someone in such a manner truly went too far.

"Situations like this exist everywhere."

Ling Feng shook his head. When he first came here, he had been stopped in exactly the same way.

However, the back of that one armed youth seemed strangely familiar. Even the voice sounded as though he had heard it somewhere before.

Yet in Ling Feng's memory, none of his acquaintances had ever lost their right arm.

At that moment, Lin Mu had already stepped forward.

"Ah Gui, I have not seen you for a few days. Your temper seems to have grown quite a bit!"

"Hm?"

The attendant who had been acting arrogant turned toward the voice. The moment he saw Lin Mu, he jumped in fright and immediately forced a flattering smile onto his face.

"Oh, it is Master Lin! Hahaha! How could I possibly have any temper? You must be joking."

The speed at which he changed his expression was astonishing!

Lin Mu was the younger brother of the Hall Master of the Earth Spirit Hall, Saint Lady Bi Luo. His status was extremely high and far beyond that of ordinary inner sect disciples. The attendant worked for the Dongling Immortal Pool and was considered an outer sect disciple. Naturally he understood that Lin Mu possessed extraordinary status. The respectful title Master Lin left his mouth instantly, and his attitude was completely different from before.

"Hehe!"

Lin Mu glanced at Ah Gui before turning his gaze to the one armed youth.

"This brother is my friend. I intend to take him inside. Do you have any objections?"

"None! None at all!"

Ah Gui swallowed with difficulty. A trace of sweat appeared on his forehead. If he offended Lin Mu, he would never survive in the Xianyao Pavilion again.

"You should watch your mouth from now on. If I see you insulting people like that again, you will not like the consequences!"

After scolding him briefly, Lin Mu lost interest in arguing with such a petty person.

The one armed youth heard someone step forward to help him and quickly turned around. He bowed respectfully toward Lin Mu.

"Thank you for your help, brother."

However, the moment his eyes landed on Ling Feng, his expression changed drastically. He took a step forward and cried out in shock.

"You... Brother Ling! You really are here!"

When Ling Feng saw the youth's face, his eyelids twitched violently.

"B-Brother Feng!"

The young man was none other than Feng Yan, the young master of the Feng family from the Tiansheng Empire.

Back then, Ling Feng had traveled north in search of the Blood Jade Spring Flower to heal Lin Xian'er. After many twists and turns, he reached the Tiansheng Empire and eventually rescued Feng Yan on Tianluo Island.

Later, Ling Feng entrusted Feng Yan with delivering the Blood Jade Spring Flower to the Divine Ling Sect in the Tianbai Empire, where it was to be handed over to his master, Duanmu Qingshan.

At that time, Feng Yan had absorbed too much medicinal power and had become extremely fat. Only a few months had passed, yet his body had already returned to normal.

But how had his right arm been severed?

"Brother Ling, I finally found you!"

The sudden reunion left Feng Yan extremely emotional. His body still seemed to carry hidden injuries. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed unconscious.

"Brother Feng!"

Ling Feng rushed forward and caught Feng Yan.

It was clear that Feng Yan must have encountered a great calamity. He had suffered severe injuries and even lost an arm. Despite that, he had traveled thousands of li to reach the foot of the Dongling Immortal Pool in search of Ling Feng.

"Damn, Brother Ling, you know this guy?"

Lin Mu hurried forward to help when he saw Feng Yan collapse.

"Yes. He is a friend I met in the Tiansheng Empire. He should have been traveling through the Tianbai Empire to gain experience..."

Ling Feng frowned slightly.

It seemed that the uneasy feeling he had experienced a few days ago had not been without reason. Something major might truly have happened within the Tianbai Empire.

Li Fei and Feng Ling exchanged glances in surprise. They had already reached the foot of the Dongling Immortal Pool, yet another unexpected incident had appeared.

"Don't think too much about it for now."

Lin Mu quickly ordered Ah Gui to prepare a superior guest room. Together with Ling Feng, he carried Feng Yan inside.

After placing Feng Yan on the bed, Ling Feng checked his pulse. The details of what had happened would only become clear once Feng Yan woke up.

Feng Yan's pulse was extremely weak. Within it lurked a faint but sinister strand of demonic qi that continued to erode his body.

"Demonic qi..."

Ling Feng frowned.

He immediately took out a set of golden needles and used The Profound Art of Acupuncture and Moxibustion. Before long, he completely expelled the demonic qi from Feng Yan's body.

After that, Ling Feng fed him two medicinal pills to restore his vitality. About fifteen minutes later, Feng Yan slowly regained consciousness. His breathing remained weak, but he was finally awake.

It was already remarkable that he had managed to reach this place alive.

"Brother Feng, what exactly happened? Were you not delivering the Blood Jade Spring Flower for me? Did something go wrong with the Divine Ling Sect?"

Ling Feng helped Feng Yan sit up. His expression showed clear concern.

"No. It is not the Divine Ling Sect."

Feng Yan shook his head and spoke in a heavy voice.

"After you entrusted me with the task, I traveled with Fatty Huang and Yingying to the Tianbai Empire. We successfully arrived at the Divine Ling Sect you mentioned."

"What happened after that?" Ling Feng asked urgently.

"I handed the Blood Jade Spring Flower to Mr. Duanmu. The girl named Lin Xian'er gradually recovered after taking the flower. After that, I decided to remain in the Tianbai Empire for a period of training. I said farewell to Mr. Duanmu and traveled south. That was when I discovered that a massive upheaval had taken place within the Tianbai Empire!"

"What kind of upheaval?"

"A coup!"

Feng Yan took a deep breath before continuing.

"About two months ago, the ruler of the Tianbai Empire suddenly died. After that, the faction led by the Empress Dowager supported the Fourth Prince, Mo Yan, and proclaimed him the new King of Tianbai. On the other side, the faction led by the divine guardian sect, the Cangqiong Sect, supported Jingwang, Mo Feng, as the rightful successor."

"The ruler died suddenly and the royal family began fighting for the throne!"

Ling Feng frowned.

The King of Tianbai had not been ill. With his level of cultivation, he should have lived for another one or two hundred years without difficulty. Under such circumstances, it was impossible that he had left behind a final decree.

Once the throne became vacant, a struggle for power was inevitable.

Mo Feng had never cared much for royal authority. Yet the situation had developed to the point where he no longer had the choice to avoid the struggle.

Even so, this matter should have been an internal affair of the Tianbai imperial family.

How had it ended up involving an outsider like Feng Yan?