Chapter 266: Lingyu's Transformation

"Little one, I hope you can handle what I am about to say," Yi Huang said with a sigh.

Lingyu instinctively sensed something was wrong. "Please, Vice Pavilion Master, speak plainly!"

Yi Huang handed the former a "Ling" character Jade Pendant with scarlet patterns. Lingyu's pupils constricted; this type of jade pendant was no secret to their Ling Clan. Although precious, he recognized it.

"This... whose Soul Jade Pendant is this?" Lingyu asked subconsciously, his voice rising involuntarily.

"Your Clan Leader personally gave it to our Pavilion Master back then."

Yi Huang said slowly, "So..."

"What do you think?"

"How is that possible?" Lingyu erupted instantly, his face flushing red. "How could anything happen to the Clan Leader?"

He did not believe it, and even less dared to believe it. How could the Clan Leader, regarded as a god by the entire clan, have fallen?

Moreover, their Ling Clan had kept to themselves for many years, and the Ling Clan Chief could not leave the Spirit Realm at will.

Thus, Lingyu knew clearly what the Clan Leader's fall signified: their Ling Clan had encountered a massive catastrophe, perhaps even—extermination!

This could also explain the closing of the Spirit Realm and the sudden disappearance of the Ling Clan.

Lingyu could not accept this conjecture at all. If the Ling Clan was gone, what could they, these so-called geniuses of the Ling Clan, count for?

What would happen to them as the only remaining holders of the Ling Clan's Dou Di Bloodline? Lingyu could not imagine it at all.

As a genius of an Ancient Race, although Lingyu was usually a bit lacking in emotional intelligence, he was no novice.

Especially since the cautionary tale of the Xiao Clan had been circulating among the Ancient Races; back then, even the thriving Xiao Clan had disappeared without a sound, and their Ling Clan was clearly following in their footsteps.

And the Dou Di Bloodline they had always been proud of would become a path to death once they lost the Ling Clan, their greatest backing.

Could they protect this bloodline relying only on themselves, a Half-Saint and a few Dou Zuns? Lingyu did not think so.

At this moment, Lingyu's back was soaked with cold sweat. If this matter were true, then he did not believe they could live on safely.

Someone who could wipe out the Ling Clan had no reason or inability to cut them off at the roots. Thus, he would not even have a chance for revenge.

Just as Lingyu was thinking deeper and deeper, Yi Huang pulled him out of the dead end.

"Don't think too much!"

Lingyu came back to his senses. Yi Huang was looking at him with a serious face and said solemnly, "This jade pendant shattered more than a year ago. And we have been hiding this news."

"The reason I am only telling you now is simply because you have a certain ability to protect yourself."

Lingyu was stunned; he had not known the other party had this consideration. However, having just broken through to Half-Saint, his strength was indeed not bad.

Before Lingyu could relax his mood, Yi Huang issued a warning:

"You had best not leave Langya Pavilion recently, otherwise even we will be unable to protect your safety."

"Remember this point!"

"Then many thanks, Vice Pavilion Master!" Lingyu adjusted his mindset to make himself look more normal and said in a deep voice.

"Mm." Yi Huang nodded.

After walking out of the room, Lingyu felt his body go limp. He did not believe that Vice Pavilion Master Yi Huang would tell a lie that could be easily exposed to deceive him.

Thus, the truth of the matter could only be that the Ling Clan had truly met with disaster, and they had become rootless duckweed.

As the strongest remaining member of the current Ling Clan, Lingyu believed he had an obligation to lead his clansmen to survive.

Although he did not dare to fully trust the character of the people at Langya Pavilion, according to his observations over the years, the latter's strength was trustworthy.

At the very least, for now, they could only rely on Langya Pavilion to seek shelter; once they left this place, Lingyu was certain they would not have a good end.

Suddenly, he felt something and quickly returned to his cultivation chamber.

He took out the pitch-black Storage Ring that Elder Ling Yi had once given him. This Storage Ring had a powerful Dou Qi seal; Lingyu had been trying to open it, but had made no progress.

"I should be qualified to open it now!" Lingyu muttered to himself.

Then, making up his mind, he injected his Dou Qi into it frantically, constantly battering the barrier within.

To Lingyu's surprise, this time the Storage Ring did not remain unresponsive as usual; it was now flickering with a cold blue light.

The entire process lasted for two hours. Finally, just as Lingyu felt his Dou Qi was about to be exhausted, accompanied by a soft sound, the previously unremarkable Storage Ring bloomed with dazzling radiance.

As the blinding light gradually dissipated, a water-blue ring engraved with dragon and phoenix patterns floated before Lingyu, shining brilliantly and emitting a mysterious color.

Grabbing it in one hand, Lingyu felt more and more the importance of the things inside, and his Soul Power probed inward.

"Hiss!"

With a "clang," Lingyu suddenly let go, and the Storage Ring fell onto the table with a crisp sound.

At this moment, the former's eyes were bloodshot, his whole body trembling, and two lines of crystal tears flowed from the corners of his eyes as he murmured silently:

"How could it be?!"

It was not that the Storage Ring was empty; on the contrary, it stored wealth that many super factions did not possess.

Lingyu could be certain that if the things in this Storage Ring were exposed, the entire Central Plains would go crazy for them.

These were the foundations of the Ling Clan: endless Ling Clan Cultivation Methods, Dou Techniques, and numerous precious treasures. Lingyu only glanced through them casually and saw many things that even some Elders would find extremely covetous.

It could be said that with these treasures in the Storage Ring, Lingyu was fully capable of building a massive faction in a short period of time.

But this precisely reflected a problem. "Could it be that the Clan Leader and the others had long anticipated the catastrophe of extermination?" Lingyu guessed.

If not for that, how could the Elder have given these supreme treasures of the Ling Clan to a greenhorn like him?

In that case, the original intention of the Clan Leader, who had insisted on sending the ten of them to Langya Pavilion, was also explained—to preserve the last spark of the Ling Clan.

As long as the foundation of the Ling Clan remained and there were still a few geniuses of the younger generation, as long as they survived, in a thousand or a hundred years, the Ling Clan would eventually re-establish itself in the world.

Thinking this, Lingyu's gaze suddenly fixed on a letter. Taking it out, Lingyu began to read it carefully.

I do not know how much time passed, but Lingyu's shoulders trembled, twitching from time to time, and he was already sobbing uncontrollably. He had never imagined that to protect them, the clan had expended such great energy and cost.

And all these years, they had actually just thought it was merely changing places to cultivate.

"What a bastard I am!" Lingyu could not help but curse himself.

Wiping away his tears, Lingyu's temperament changed instantly. If the former him was still a slightly callow little genius, having experienced this transformation, the current Lingyu had grown into a top-tier powerhouse capable of standing on his own.

"Let the Ling Clan be revived by our hands!" Lingyu said to himself in his heart.

He then opened the door and walked out; he needed to strengthen the other members of the Ling Clan as much as possible.

Perhaps he could not have done this in the past, but having received the many precious legacies of the Ling Clan, the wealth Lingyu possessed at this moment even surpassed the entire Langya Pavilion.

It was entirely possible to force the cultivation of a few people up with resources; as for an unstable foundation, that could only mean the money you threw at it was not enough.

In any case, there were only ten of them, and compared to the things in the Storage Ring, it was merely a drop in the ocean.

However, the ambitious Lingyu did not notice a black-robed figure wearing a mask in the distance, watching him without moving.