Chapter 485: Chapter 243: Human Demon Aspect! Zhang Fan’s Connections

Qin Family mansion.

Three floors underground, a sealed chamber built of black stone, with only a glass window through which one could glimpse the scene inside.

Rumble rumble...

Waves of strange energy boiled within the sealed room, ceaselessly battering the walls, giving rise to crashing thunderous sounds.

Qin Capital stood before the window, his face expressionless, gazing at the man lying inside the stone coffin.

"Father, Uncle’s condition is becoming increasingly abnormal."

At that moment, a cold and clear voice came from behind, followed by a young man in plain clothes stepping out from the shadows.

His appearance bore three parts resemblance to Qin Shi, yet light glimmered in his pupils, like the rotation of sun and moon, revealing profound brilliance.

"Qin Ming, when did you return?" Qin Capital asked, his back still turned.

Of all his offspring, Qin Ming was by far the most outstanding, having entered Qi Yun Mountain for cultivation from a young age.

Given the close ties between the Qin Family and Qi Yun Mountain, coupled with Qin Ming’s talent, he had distinguished himself among the disciples, faintly becoming the heir to this generation’s Qi Yun Mountain legacy.

"Just got back."

Qin Ming walked to the window, looking at the slim, handsome man in the stone coffin; a trace of confusion flickered in his eyes.

If he was the Qin Family’s most accomplished youth of his generation, then the one lying inside was, in the previous generation and perhaps all of Qin Family history, the most terrifyingly gifted bloodline.

Prince Qin—even if his splendor lasted but a fleeting moment, twenty years on, his legend still echoed through half of Jiangnan.

Renowned since young, at eighteen he earned the title Junior Celestial Master, awakening Celestial Gifted Divine Techniques, looking down on all younger disciples of Qi Yun Mountain.

Alas, no matter how lofty his gifts, he could not defy heaven’s destiny; in his most brilliant, breathtaking youth, he met that equally unfathomable man.

"Great Spirit Sect King!" A chill flashed in Qin Capital’s eyes; every time the name surfaced, his heart surged with irrepressible murderous intent.

If not for that man, with Prince Qin’s talent, he might already have comprehended the Celestial Master Skillful Realm, and the Qin Family could have ascended yet another tier in Huizhou Province.

After all, having produced a Celestial Master in the distant past and harboring one now are worlds apart.

Because of him, Prince Qin has slept cold beneath the earth for twenty years; past brilliance, former glory, all but drifting smoke in the wind, dissipated and gone.

In another decade, perhaps no one would even remember his name.

"Uncle’s recent condition seems to waver—could he awaken?" Qin Ming asked.

Prince Qin has lain for twenty years, like one of the living dead; his bodily functions had shrunk to the bare minimum.

Yet lately, signs of Primordial Spirit reviving appeared, and at times, his vitality surged into violent turbulence.

"How could it be so easy?" Qin Capital worried aloud. "It’s probably just a final flare—his time is nearly up."

"Alas, twenty years drawn out is the limit; even if he wakes, those years are forever lost."

Saying this, a shadow of melancholy appeared on Qin Capital’s face.

In one’s life, the greatest enemy is time; regardless of how lofty your gifts, if twenty years are erased, it’s a loss nigh impossible to recoup.

Such reality—no genius could possibly accept it.

"Divine Demon Holy Embryo—is it truly so heaven-defying?" Qin Ming said gravely.

"The Nine Great Inner Elixir Methods are not hollow names!" Qin Capital replied coldly. "If not for Divine Demon Holy Embryo, that wretch would’ve already fallen into our Qin Family’s hands back then..."

"That Human Xiao, in our Qin Family’s grasp, is nothing but a lowborn wretch."

"Father, I’ve come home this time for this very matter." Qin Ming spoke directly.

"You seem quite close with those two young ones from the Divine Power Association," Qin Capital said with a hint of deeper meaning.

"They all hail from the White Crane Lineage... Incidentally, next February, the Transcendent Zhenren will open the mountain to select disciples..."

"That would be a closed-door disciple; if only I hadn’t been so hasty in letting you enter Qi Yun Mountain back then. With your talent, perhaps the Transcendent Zhenren himself would have noticed you."

Qin Capital seemed to speak of two matters, but in truth, it was but one.

"Father, the times have changed. After Jiazi Demon-Vanquishing, the Transcendent Zhenren has become the unchallenged leader of the Daoist Sect, reigning at the absolute summit for sixty years... But every man sees his dusk come one day."

"The Transcendent Zhenren—he’s grown old."

At these words, Qin Capital’s brows arched, revealing a sharp-edged look.

"Young men speak without knowing heaven’s heights or earth’s depths."

"Father, you’ve cultivated for years; surely you know the road to Immortality is thick with tribulations. The greater the attainment, the greater the calamity..."

"That one achieved the Pure Yang Wuji Realm, living a hundred years in the mortal world—could it be free of tribulation?"

"You mean..." Qin Capital’s face flickered subtly, his gaze turning strange. "You’ve heard something?"

"Where there’s anomaly, there’s demon. That master accepted a closed-door disciple years ago. Now, reopening the mountain—do you not find it suspicious?"

Qin Ming’s eyes sharpened to a line, his voice icy: "If you ask me, he’s making funeral arrangements..."

"That man will not live much longer."

"Speak cautiously!"

Qin Capital fixed a deep gaze on Qin Ming, sternly cutting him off.

"Father, every era produces its talents; each holds sway for centuries. The new age is already here—clinging to past conventions and hedging bets will only lose our chance."

"Heaven’s destiny is no longer with Zhenwu." Qin Ming said firmly, resolve and fortitude burning in his eyes.

"So, what path do you see for our Qin Family’s future?" Qin Capital asked coolly.

"As I see it, among today’s Daoist Sect youth, only Li Changgeng bears the True Dragon’s bearing."

"The Daoist Sect in the coming century—surely he alone shall grasp the universe!"