Just as Lin Yun issued his final ultimatum, the Metal Great Bear had thoroughly wounded the Tianqiong Great Elder.
“Clan Leader, save me!” the Great Elder cried out in terror.
But the immortal Lin Yun had hired relentlessly attacked the Tianqiong Clan Leader, leaving him no chance to break free.
“Stop!” the Clan Leader roared.
“Still refusing to surrender and hand her over? In that case, Great Bear, finish the Great Elder!” Lin Yun’s gaze sharpened.
“Yes!” Receiving the command, the Metal Great Bear launched another fierce assault on the injured Great Elder, its massive, millstone-like paws slamming toward him.
“Pfft!”
Already gravely wounded, the Great Elder couldn’t hold out and was crushed to death!
The Great Elder had sworn on his soul before Yu Ying, vowing that if he lied, he’d die horribly.
Perhaps this was the karmic retribution for lying under a soul oath?
It all happened in the blink of an eye, too fast for the Clan Leader to intervene.
“Damn it!” Seeing his Great Elder slain, the Clan Leader’s fury erupted.
“You little bastard, you really think my Tianqiong Clan is so weak? You think we’re so easily defeated?” the Clan Leader roared, his anger blazing.
He had believed his appearance alone would resolve everything.
Now, with things as they were, he had no choice but to use some hidden cards!
With those words, the Clan Leader flipped his hand, producing and crushing a jade slip.
As the jade slip shattered, a powerful aura suddenly emanated from an ancient tower on the peak of the Tianqiong Clan’s back mountain.
“What’s happening?”
Everyone in the Tianqiong Clan turned to look.
An aged figure shot out from the ancient tower, radiating a terrifying aura even stronger than that of the Tianqiong Clan Leader or Duan Heng, the immortal Lin Yun had hired!
“How bold of you to cause trouble at my Tianqiong Clan!”
As the aged figure appeared, a booming voice rolled over like crashing waves, carrying immense pressure and intimidation!
“An immortal—another immortal!”
Everyone stared in shock at the figure.
Both sides in the battlefield instinctively paused, turning to look at this immortal who had emerged from the tower!
Even the Tianqiong Clan members found this sudden immortal unfamiliar.
The Tianqiong Fourth Elder exclaimed in awe, “Could this be our former Clan Leader? Wasn’t he said to have died in the Outer Realm ten thousand years ago?”
The clan’s elders had heard of the former Clan Leader, but as non-immortals with lifespans of only a few thousand years, even those who had lived in the clan for millennia had never seen him!
Countless Tianqiong Clan members also gazed at the figure.
“Is that an immortal of our Tianqiong Clan?”
“It must be! He came from the forbidden Tianqiong Tower in our back mountain!”
“Haha, who would’ve thought our Tianqiong Clan had another immortal? We’re saved!”
“Now, not only are we saved, but that Lin Yun and his people are doomed! They’ll all die, haha!”
All the Tianqiong Clan members, whether watching from below or fighting in the air, erupted in ecstatic cheers.
“How… how could this be…”
Lin Yun halted completely, his gaze locked on the sudden immortal, his pupils contracting sharply, his heart roiling with shock.
Before coming, Lin Yun had specifically purchased detailed intelligence on the Tianqiong Clan from the Xiaoyao Tower at great cost.
According to the intelligence, the Tianqiong Clan had only one immortal.
Thus, Lin Yun had made meticulous preparations to ensure victory.
But now, the sudden appearance of another immortal shattered his plans, instantly altering the battlefield’s dynamics!
This immortal, with a goatee and white hair, exuded a commanding presence and arrived at the battlefield in moments.
“Duan Heng, you’ve got some nerve, bullying my Tianqiong Clan!”
The goatee immortal fixed his gaze on Duan Heng, the immortal Lin Yun had hired.
“You… you’re still alive?” Duan Heng stared at the goatee immortal, utterly stunned.
Clearly, this was something even he hadn’t anticipated.
“Master.”
The Tianqiong Clan Leader saluted the goatee elder.
“He calls him Master—he really is our former Clan Leader!”
Seeing the Clan Leader’s address, the Tianqiong Clan members were even more certain of the goatee immortal’s identity.
“Greetings, Old Clan Leader!”
At that moment, whether in the air or among the countless clan members watching below, all knelt and saluted.
The former Clan Leader was from ten thousand years ago. Even the elders, none older than five thousand years, had never seen him. To them, he was a figure from the Tianqiong Clan’s historical records!
“Ten thousand years, and I’m forced to appear for this? Laughable!” The goatee immortal’s face was grim.
“Master, if it weren’t absolutely necessary, if the Tianqiong Clan weren’t at a life-or-death juncture, I wouldn’t have called you forth,” the Clan Leader said, sounding utterly helpless.
“Since I’ve emerged, let’s settle this thoroughly. You keep Duan Heng occupied, and I’ll deal with that kid. Once I kill him, we’ll join forces to handle Duan Heng,” the goatee immortal instructed.
“Yes, sir!” the Clan Leader responded immediately.
“This…” Duan Heng, hired by Lin Yun, paled.
He turned to Lin Yun in the distance.
“Lin Yun, I was hired to hold off the Tianqiong Clan Leader. Now that the Tianqiong Clan has two immortals, the task exceeds our agreement. Thus, the task is terminated, and I won’t collect the remaining payment!”
With that, Duan Heng turned and left.
“Senior Duan Heng!”
Lin Yun tried to call him back but was powerless, left to watch him depart…
This was the difference between hired help and loyal allies. True allies would stand by you wholeheartedly, but hired hands, seeing the situation turn bad, wouldn’t risk their lives for you.
Huo Zhen, Yang Wan, Liang Yuan, Wei Qi, the Heavenly Sword Sect Master, Du Yuanzi, and the Wanderer had all gathered around Lin Yun.
Their faces were filled with worry.
“Big Brother, what now?” Wei Qi asked.
