The Crippled Son-in-law? Try Immortal Emperor

007

Lin Feng did not wait for them to process her presence, his fake limping posture vanishing in an instant. He tapped the base of his weathered wooden staff against the floor, releasing a microscopic thread of gravity-altering Nether Qi.

The air pressure in the narrow corridor instantly multiplied by ten thousand, the invisible weight freezing both enforcers mid-stride. Their eyes bulged with primitive horror as their ankles snapped under the sudden, crushing vertical force.

Before they could even let out a gasp of pain, Lin Feng shot forward like an invisible shadow. He delivered two lightning-fast thrusts with his fingers, perfectly crushing their windpipes and stopping their breath entirely.

The two enforcers slumped against the damp stone wall, dark crimson blood seeping from their lips as they died. Lin Feng caught Lanying just as her silver robes began to slide toward the dirty stone floor.

A thick splatter of black blood escaped Lanying's mouth, her pale lips trembling violently against his arm. "Don't... don't worry about me, Lin Feng," she gasped, her voice completely weak but fiercely urgent.

"I used my veil to peep into the lower ritual chambers, but Patriarch Lin detected my presence," she coughed. "I took a hit from his phantom miasma before escaping, but you must focus entirely on Nina."

"What did you see?!" Lin Feng asked, his voice a freezing whisper that made the torches flicker violently. "Where is my daughter?!"

"She is locked behind the strongest magical extraction arrays," Lanying wheezed, her dimming eyes locked onto his. "And it is worse than we thought. That evil monster isn't waiting for the ceremony tomorrow."

"He has already chained her, and her blood is actively being drained right now," she revealed through her pain. "He is using his cauldron magic to refine her blood essence into pills tonight."

"We really have to save Nina tonight, Lin Feng," Lanying pleaded, her fingers clutching his tattered clothes tightly. "If we wait until the formal Ascension Day tomorrow, she may not survive the damage."

"The inner sanctum is locked down tightly," she added, her breath hitching. "Only the patrolling officers can get near the door."

Lin Feng's heart turned into a solid block of absolute ice, his face completely lacking any mercy or softness. "You have done enough, Lanying. Let me stabilize your spirit first before we move."

He placed his right hand flat against her chest, channeling a burst of pure, lightning-fast Ashen Nether Qi. The radiant energy surged through her body, instantly vaporizing the black miasma and reinforcing her core.

Lanying’s breathing stabilized immediately, her brilliant silver eyes widening in sheer shock at the vastness of his strength. "I'm sorry I got you into this dangerous mess," Lin Feng muttered quietly.

"Do not say that," Lanying countered fiercely, standing up as her full imperial dignity returned to her posture. "I have been into this fight since the massacre six years ago."

"If I do not help you end Patriarch Lin tonight, I will never reclaim my throne and status," she added. "Let's go."

Lin Feng nodded, waving his hand toward the two lifeless guards slumping against the cold, damp stone walls. His Nether energy swarmed their corpses, causing their physical bodies to completely vanish into thin air.

Only their dark officer uniforms and iron armor plates remained lying quietly on the wet cobblestones of the corridor. "Change quickly," Lin Feng commanded, snatching the larger set of robes from the pile.

Within moments, they had both disguised themselves in the full armor of the Lin clan's inner enforcement division. Lin Feng pulled the metal helmet low, completely hiding his pale, sickly expression behind the steel visor.

"It is time to test the real ability of my new powers," Lin Feng whispered, his eyes burning like dark stars. "Tonight, the Lin clan bleeds."

*****

Meanwhile, deep within the hidden sub-basement of the estate, a massive crimson extraction array pulsed with a sickening light. Thick, glowing runes hovered in the stale air, humming with a heavy, oppressive spiritual pressure.

In the center of the array, six-year-old Nina was bound tightly by thick, glowing magical chains that bit into her skin. Her pure blood continued dripping steadily into a boiling bronze cauldron, steam rising from the liquid.

Patriarch Lin stood before the cauldron, his old face twisted into a maniacal expression of absolute greed. He waved his hands, channeling his cultivation magic to shape the boiling blood into round, glowing spheres.

Nina weakly opened her eyes, her pale face covered in sweat and dirt, yet her small jaw remained tight. "You should untie me now, old monster," she whispered, her fragile voice carrying a strange weight.

"When my father comes for me, you will be completely done for," the little girl warned through her cracked lips. "He will tear you to pieces."

Patriarch Lin froze for a moment, then burst into a loud, mocking laugh that echoed off the damp stone walls. "Your father? You mean that pathetic, crippled dog I threw into the Ashen Pits?"

"He is already liquid ash at the bottom of the canyon, you foolish brat," the old man sneered, stepping closer. "Even if his ghost came back, he wouldn't be able to scratch my robes."

"You should concentrate on providing more blood for my cauldron," Patriarch Lin added, his eyes gleaming with venomous delight. "Your dead father would be more than grateful if he could see you now."

"At least his useless daughter is finally given the opportunity to be useful in her final, pathetic moments," he mocked. "Your suffering is simply the modest price required for my eternal immortality."

"Do you have any idea how precious your blood is?" the Patriarch continued, scooping a freshly formed pill from the tray. "It effortlessly creates the highest quality Crimson-Life Pill with double the standard potency."

"Many of my personal elite guards already like using them to boost their power," he laughed, turning the sphere over. "Who knows, I may even start selling these across the province later."

The old monster walked slowly toward the altar, his bony fingers reaching out to touch the area right above her heart. "And your unique Aether-Heart right here will make me the most powerful man in this continent."

Before his fingers could press into her skin, Nina summoned the last remaining shred of her strength and lunged forward. She bit his index finger with absolute, savage force, her teeth cutting deep into his flesh.

"Ah! You ungrateful little beast!" Patriarch Lin shrieked, a sharp drop of his own dark blood splattering onto the stone. He violently backhanded her small face, the impact sending her head snapping sideways.

"Impure blood is very dangerous in this array!" the Patriarch bellowed, his face turning completely pale with sudden panic. He frantically rushed around the altar, scraping for anything he could use to stop the leak.

If his own corrupted blood contaminated the pure Aether-Heart pool, the entire grand formation would instantly feedback-loop and detonate. His heart pounded with a terrifying dread as he struggled to wipe his finger clean.

"You mannerless fool!" the old man roared, his eyes wide with a manic, unbridled fury as he spun around. He furiously picked up a heavy, glowing magical lash from the tool table.

"I will discipline you until you understand your place as a sacrifice!" Patriarch Lin screamed, raising the lash high.

Just as the glowing whip reached its highest point in the air, the massive reinforced iron doors exploded inward. The heavy metal panels flew across the wide chamber, smashing into the stone walls with a deafening crash.

Two figures clad in elite officer armor stepped through the thick smoke, their presence instantly crushing the array's light. The man in the lead ripped his helmet off, revealing a face lacking any mercy.

Lin Feng stood tall and straight, his powerful aura flaring so violently that the bronze cauldron cracked from top to bottom. There was absolutely nothing resembling a crippled, helpless son-in-law left in his posture.

Nina weakly lifted her head through her tangled hair, a small, beautiful smile touching her pale, bleeding lips. "I told you..." she whispered, her voice fading to a thread. "I told you my dad would come."

Her eyes fluttered shut, and her tiny body went completely limp against the magical chains as she fainted from exhaustion.

Patriarch Lin staggered backward, his jaw dropping in absolute, primitive horror as he recognized the dead man standing before him. The magical lash slipped from his trembling fingers, clattering loudly onto the blood-stained stone floor.