Jin Ming is dead.

His death was a bitter one; as he was betrayed by his own kin.

Not long after the Lingyue Sect sealed off Jinxiu City, Jin Xian, Jin Ming's own elder brother, unable to bear the immense pressure, surreptitiously pledged allegiance to the Lingyue Sect out of despair. He swore an oath with his primordial spirit to never betray the Lingyue Sect.

In Jin Xian's view, Lu Tianming had practically no chance of survival; his death was inevitable!

Jin Xian, as the legitimate eldest son of the Jin family who was nearing fifty, had always kept a low profile, rarely having feuds with others. Though he was not well-known outside the family, within the Jin family, his status was very high. During Jin Dongnan's era of ruling the Jin family, Jin Xian, as the successor, had diligently assisted his father in handling various matters. He was Jin Dongnan's most trusted right-hand man.

After Jin Dongnan's death, Jin Xian harbored deep hatred for Chu Mo. He believed it was Chu Mo who killed his father. If it weren't for Chu Mo, how would Jinxiu City have suffered such a disaster? How would the Jin family have suffered such a massive blow?

What he hadn't considered was that even without Chu Mo, if news about the immense gains the Three Great Families obtained from Qingxu Sect ruins had spread, the fate of the Three Great Families might not have been any better than it was now.

A nomad who possesses a valuable jade is guilty because of the precious jade he holds!

The benefits that the Three Great Families received from the Qingxu Sect ruins was enough to drive many people mad.

Yet, people are so fond of pinning the blame on others. Those who "often reflect on their own faults"… are a rarity. Otherwise, the world wouldn't be lacking so many virtuous and sagacious individuals.

Jin Xian was no exception. Though his name contained the character for "virtuous", and his past behavior seemed to signify that he was, indeed, virtuous, all of this underwent a complete change after his father's death.

Firstly, Jin Xian, who had temporarily taken over as the patriarch, became deeply wary and cautious of his younger brother, Jin Ming, whom he had never cared about before.

This started from the moment he took over as the family patriarch!

After the patriarch Jin Dongnan's death, the Elder Council of the Jin family should have directly declared Jin Xian as the successor to the patriarch's position. Even if the position was temporary, it would be removed shortly after, officially making him the patriarch.

After all, Jin Xian's succession to the patriarch's role was deemed reasonable by most, and no one would oppose such a move.

But the issue lay here!

Until now, the words "temporarily acting"… were not removed from his title!

And this, was directly related to his younger brother, Jin Ming!

If Jin Ming remained the same as before, he would naturally pose no threat. Jin Ming never desired the position of patriarch. Compared to his elder brothers, Jin Ming showed no interest in power.

But now it was different. He has a powerful fiancee!

Fang Lan!

She's the one!

When Jin Dongnan was alive, he couldn't stop praising Fang Lan. He said that even though she was from a small town, she was virtuous, intelligent, and most importantly, highly talented! Marrying her would bring good fortune to the entire Jin family!

Thus, Fang Lan held a very special status in the minds of the Jin family members. However, none of Jin Xian's wives... had ever received such high praise.

What made Jin Xian most wary was Fang Lan's master... Lu Tianming!

This young man who seemed to have emerged out of nowhere was truly terrifying!

First, with the Foundation Establishment tribulation, he obliterated a group of the Blood Demon Sect's disciples, all of whom had reached the Golden Elixir Realm. Then, he subsequently made consecutive breakthroughs, advancing into the Golden Elixir Realm at a speed that was truly unimaginable.

Later, under an intense siege from a large number of elite members of the Lingyue Sect, he not only escaped safely but also delivered a counter-strike, playing with the entirety of the Lingyue Sect as if it were a toy in his hand!

This courage, this combat power, can only be attributed to an unparalleled genius! Jin Xian at least had never heard of a young man in the Spirit Realm with such capabilities. Even accomplished figures like Fang Jianghai, the head of the Lingyue Sect, could only roar in fury, but were helpless against him.

Such a terrifying individual was actually the master of his younger brother's fiancée!

If Lu Tianming really managed to survive the onslaught from Lingyue Sect this time, he would undoubtedly grow into a true heavyweight. With such a supportive figure behind him, Jin Ming's desire to become the head of the Jin family... is practically a thought away, achievable at any given moment!

As soon as he realized this, murderous intent began to stir within Jin Xian's heart!

People often say that there is no affection within Imperial courts, but in these mighty clans, affections are also rare commodities.

Clan heads like Jin Dongnan are few and far between.

Jin Xian harboured murderous intent towards his brother Jin Ming, but he didn't want to dirty his hands, thus avoiding the notoriety of fratricide. Hence, he plotted to use the hands of Lingyue Sect to dispose of Jin Ming!

In this way, regardless of what happened, he, Jin Xian... would always stand on invincible ground!

If Lu Tianming miraculously survived and eluded Lingyue Sect's pursuit, then Jin Ming would already be dead at the hands of Lingyue Sect, and Jin Xian wouldn't be implicated at all. If Lu Tianming couldn't make it back alive, and was indeed killed by Lingyue Sect, then him betraying Jin Ming... could be seen as a justifiable act of putting righteousness before family!

Either way, he could also gain a lot of benefits on the side of Lingyue Sect.

One could say that modesty was just a facade for Jin Xian, the real Jin Xian was an exceptionally cold and selfish person. Almost no one in the entire Jin family was able to see through this.

So Jin Ming died in intense frustration and bitter resentment. Because he never harboured such thoughts, not even if Fang Lan did; Jin Ming, who valued family affection, would never agree to it.

Until his death, he remained oblivious to the fact that he had been betrayed by his own brother.

In the moment of his death, the only thing left in Jin Ming's heart was an image of Fang Lan.

"Lan'er, I'm sorry... In this life, I'm unable to be your husband, accompany you, dote on you, love you and take care of you for the rest of my life... I'm sorry!"

In the instant when Jin Ming died, tens of thousands of miles away from Jinxiu City, Fang Lan suddenly felt a harsh grip on her heart, causing a sharp pain.

Immediately after, Fang Lan's tears began to flow uncontrollably.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Paying close attention to Fang Lan was Chu Mo, who was in the company of Xiao Wanjun and Li Fangzhong; they all wore expressions of confusion.

Fang Lan wore an expression of pain on her face, but her eyes were filled with bewilderment: "I... I don't know, it feels like I've lost something important all of a sudden, and I don't know why, but I feel very sad."

Chu Mo frowned slightly, voicing his concern gravely, "Could something have happened in Jinxiu City?"

Fang Lan's body subtly quivered, her voice trembling as she said: "That can't be possible!"

"Let's speed up!" Chu Mo said, grabbing Fang Lan's arm and they sped up by doubled the pace!

Xiao Wanjun and Li Fangzhong exchanged glances, both saw surprize in each other's eyes, and nodded in unison: This Heavenly Genius who descended from the Heavenly Realm... He truly is extraordinary!

As their speed increased, their distance to Jinxiu City grew shorter!

Finally, the grand city appeared before them.

However, when Chu Mo's gaze fell upon the city gate's tower, his body stiffened and exclaimed: "Jin Ming!"

Fang Lan's cultivation level was slightly lower, but she too saw the figure hanging from the city tower, who had been dead for an unknown amount of time. Her mind went blank as she... froze completely. Tears welled up and flowed down her cheeks, and then her vision went black, she fainted on the spot.

A wave of surging anger erupted from within Chu Mo's heart, and his eyes emitted boundless killing intent.

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Apologies, I spent the whole afternoon writing at the airport. By the time I could update, I had to board the flight, so the update is a bit delayed. I will rest tomorrow and make up for it the day after!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.