2829 The world has immersed in chaos

Luo Tongfang was covered in cold sweat, though it was only his head now that could sweat.

Hao Jing had been killed just like that, so could he be spared?

He was a great Heavenly Venerate, a being that even the heavens had to respect, yet now his life was in the hands of another, and could be decided with just a single thought, so how could he not panic?

Whatever dangers he had faced in the past, he had known that he would've been able to live through them. As long as he still had his strength, there would be hope. Yet now, he did not have the slightest idea as to what to do, and could only wait till death took him.

He did have some backbone, though, and knowing that there was no way Ling Han would spare his life, he simply chose not to beg for mercy.

Ling Han delivered a casual palm strike, and Luo Tongfang's head was also smashed. This kind of man naturally could not be spared.

"Sigh, nothing to play with again." Hu Niu pouted.

Ling Han patted her head. "There are many more things that are fun to play with. We'll find something else in the future."

"Ling Han, let's go and have a baby!" Hu Niu's eyes shone brightly, and dragged Ling Han off with her without letting him get a word in.

On the next day, Ling Han told the Empress about what happened, which naturally caused the Empress to fly into a thunderous fury, and she wanted nothing more than to further torture Hao Jing's corpse.

Meanwhile, Ling Xi was kept in the dark. She went back to the martial academy alone; as for Hao Jing, Ling Han told her that the former had long since left, and would not be going back with her so that the little girl would not accidentally have a slip of the tongue.

"Hao Jing's father is still in seclusion, but when he comes out of seclusion, he will definitely seek revenge," Bewitching Maiden Rou said.

The Empress said, "With the power of a Heavenly Venerate, added with the link of a bloodline relation, he should very easily be able to find his way here."

Ling Han nodded. "We should leave again."

It was fine. In the first place, this Ling City was built to show Hao Jing, and Ling Han had no plans to stay here for long at all. Hence, he sent out a missive, and they set out again a month later, heading somewhere else.

This time, Ling Han really settled down. He'd found a very peaceful, quiet place, surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers, with picturesque scenery.

He cultivated here for over 100,000 years, and became restless again.

Ling Han's progress was too slow if he was cultivating so peacefully like this. Who knew how much time he would need to reach the Seventh Tier like this.

He did not sense any waves coming from his clones, and it was really extremely boring. Hence, he, the Empress, and Hu Niu set out, going off to find the large black dog. This large black dog was great at making trouble, and perhaps there would be something fun going on with him.

The three of them first went to the martial academy, and met Ling Jianxue. After they had some father-son talk, Ling Han asked about the whereabouts of the large black dog.

It was truly coincidental. The large black dog was looking for Ling Han as well, but he did not know where he should go, so he was simply waiting here instead.

"Damn dog, if you are deliberately waiting for me, it must be for nothing good, isn't it?" Ling Han asked.

"Not only is it nothing good, practically something major has happened, and the world is almost doomed." The large black dog jumped up and down.

"What is it? Even if the heavens are falling down on us, wouldn't there be someone taller that would keep them aloft?" Ling Han asked laughingly.

"Don't remind me. Now, it is these taller guys that are causing trouble!" The large black dog sighed.

"Tell me in more detail." Ling Han's expression also became serious.

"It is all because the threat from Hysteria is removed. Now, the selfish, evil nature in everyone's bones has been exposed," the large black dog said.

Ling Han glanced at the damn dog. "Are you talking about yourself?"

The large black dog gave him the middle finger, and then said, "Without an external threat, what is left is naturally only internal strife. Previously, there were already supreme prodigies that had disappeared for no reason, but now it has become worse. A considerable number of Heavenly Venerates have directly allied together, publicly killing other Heavenly Venerates, and stealing their Heavenly Venerable Seals."

Ling Han was finally shocked at this, and exclaimed, "Something like that actually happened? Aren't they afraid at all?"

The Seventh Tier Heavenly Venerates were all at the Realm Battlefield, but there were still other Sixth Tier Heavenly Venerates like Zhou Heng, Chu Hao, and Lin Xiaoyang. Would they allow something like this to happen?

"What would they be afraid of? Do you know? It was a Sixth Tier Heavenly Venerate that started this." The large black dog shook his head.

"Who was it?"

"The Heavenly Venerate Ten Thousand Shadows," the large black dog replied. "This old geezer gathered a large group of people, and they slaughtered other Heavenly Venerates as they liked. He seems to be certain that those Seventh Tier Heavenly Venerates would not be able to extract themselves. Now, everyone is afraid for themselves, and a great many Heavenly Venerates have been forced to form alliances. Some forces have even begun to hunt down other Heavenly Venerates just like the Ten Thousand Shadows Alliance.

"Grandpa Dog was in such a rush to find you because I wanted to tell you that you would definitely become a target because you possess more than one Heavenly Venerable Seal. You must be extremely careful," the large black dog said very solemnly.

Ling Han nodded. He could freely traverse through the dimensions, and this was his greatest trump card. However, this trump card could not be used freely. If he encountered Hysteria, that would be even more terrifying than meeting a Seventh Tier.

"Ling Han, should we also cozy up to someone powerful?" the large black dog suggested. "We can't trust others, but there is definitely no problem with Zhou Heng, Chu Hao, and the others, so why don't we go and find them?"

Ling Han thought for a while, and then said, "I do indeed have to meet with Zhou Heng and the other seniors and find out what they think about this matter."

The trio set out together along with the large black dog, heading for the ancestral grounds of the Lin Clan. They didn't know about Zhou Heng and Chu Hao, but Lin Xiaoyang should be standing guard there.

When they arrived at the Lin Clan, they could see that it was heavily guarded, as if they were faced with a great enemy.

"Who goes there?" Immediately, someone shouted at Ling Han.

"Ling Han. I have come especially to meet with Lord Lin Xiaoyang," Ling Han said.

After a while, a man streaked out from the mountains, and landed in front of Ling Han. He took a close look at Ling Han and his group, and only then did he clasp his hands in greeting. "Lord Ling, please do not fault me for my rudeness, but it is not an ordinary time now, and I have no choice but to be careful."

Ling Han nodded. "I understand."

Even as powerful as the Lin Clan was, they had to be on such high alert. It was clear proof just how chaotic the world had become.

Their group was invited into the Lin Clan, and not long afterwards, Lin Piaoxue appeared, taking them to meet Lin Xiaoyang.

After so many years, she, too, had advanced to the Second Tier. Her progress was extremely fast.

"Greetings, Lord Lin." When they saw Lin Xiaoyang, everyone clasped their hands in greeting.

Lin Xiaoyang nodded. "I know why you have come."

"Milord, we all suspect that Hysteria has deliberately created this energy storm, causing us to kill each other. Then, why do you not stop all this from happening?" Ling Han asked.

The large black dog hurriedly signaled at him with his eyes. This was a Sixth Tier elite; was he someone that you could demand answers from?

Lin Xiaoyang did not treat this as insubordination. He sighed. "Do you know just how many Sixth Tiers there are in the world in total?"

Ling Han's eyes narrowed involuntarily. "How many?"

"A total of 307," Lin Xiaoyang replied. "Though I, Junior Brother Zhou, and Junior Brother Chu are coordinating with our full efforts, the mere power of just the three of us is completely not enough to end this internal strife."

"Then, there must be someone that is fanning the flames. Otherwise, this kind of situation could not have just appeared arbitrarily," Ling Han said. "Would it be that Heavenly Venerate Ten Thousand Shadows?"

Lin Xiaoyang shook his head. "We have also gone to find Ten Thousand Shadows, but according to the information that we have obtained, Ten Thousand Shadows is actually not the main culprit. For the moment, the person who is manipulating things from within the shadows is still concealed deeply."

"Could it be that this person has secretly collaborated with Hysteria, and become its lackey?" Ling Han was extremely surprised. To be able to cause such great trouble, the culprit had to be a Sixth Tier, at least, but was it possible for a Sixth Tier elite not to have even this bit of awareness, and actually cooperate with Hysteria?