One by one, the hungry ghosts slowly stood upright, puffed out their chests, and stared coldly at the manifest demon.

Even if this demon was much stronger than those they had encountered before, a demon formed by devil thoughts had no physical body and no divine soul, making it prey for the hungry ghosts' natural restraint.

Displaying such arrogance now, the hungry ghosts wouldn't endure it any longer.

The last time the king of hungry ghosts appeared, an insolent demon dared to provoke him directly, and it got its lair burned.

The hungry ghost king didn't pay further attention, but back then, a large number of hungry ghosts had gathered here, intending to head to the wilderness.

But upon sensing the burning anger of the hungry ghost king, they happened to discover a passage emitting the aura of burning blood flames, leaving no room for hesitation.

These hungry ghosts charged in immediately, tearing apart the demons and ghosts blocking their path, intending to go and destroy the provoking demon.

Unfortunately, by the time they got there, the demon's lair was already burned, and the flames hadn't yet been extinguished.

Later, finding the environment comfortable, they decided to settle there temporarily.

They only emerged occasionally when someone set up a magic platform to offer almsgiving.

They would tear a demon to shreds as a snack, treating it as a bit of extra food.

Just like at this moment, a massive wave of hungry ghosts surged forward like a torrent, pushing forward shoulder to shoulder eagerly.

In the blink of an eye, the demon, which could've taken human form, was submerged.

Each hungry ghost's claw took a strand of black qi, and immense yin qi swirled around, enveloping and spinning around it.

What made demons most troublesome to humans seemed nonexistent to hungry ghosts, leaving the demon only able to struggle madly, unable to do anything.

Not a single hungry ghost was greedy; they struck once and left swiftly.

Within a few breaths, the demon began to panic, bursting into a mass of black qi and attempting to escape.

Yet this trick only worked on humans and was a dead end against hungry ghosts, who gathered into a massive yin qi sphere.

In just a moment, the hungry ghosts dispersed, each holding a ball of black qi, which they swallowed.

Having shredded the demon and after the almsgiving concluded, the hungry ghosts receded like a tidal wave, quickly retreating back into the abyssal rift.

And Duke Lin, who had pinned half his body to the ground, managed a small cough, easing down only with the support of those spikes.

A middle-aged man rushed over, and several experts immediately appeared to guard the vicinity.

The middle-aged man supported Duke Lin, carefully removing each spike. Blood flowed heavily from the old man's body, yet his expression was one of relief.

"It's nothing, just a minor wound. Don't throw those Devil Suppressing Cones away."

The middle-aged man hurriedly took out a pill to feed the old man, anxiously seeing the left side of the old man's body shrunken and weak.

"Take it easy. Back in the day, I suffered worse injuries than this, lost my legs twice, and an arm once…"

"Dad, I know. You've told me countless times, so please stop talking and rest a while."

Seeing the middle-aged man's anxious expression, the old man smiled and stopped talking, letting the man take care of him.

When one gets old, they like to reminisce about the past and tell stories of their younger years to their children and grandchildren.

Now holding the title of Duke Lin was not only due to his efforts, but he was also well aware that it was more important that his old brothers pushed him forward back then.

Along the way, countless people had already fallen so he, the weakest little brother of the past, could survive and now be honored as a duke.

Those feelings of guilt, reluctance, unease, longing, old fears, despair, pain, compounded by the detriment of old injuries, had finally, during occasional lapses in his thoughts and his once-steely resolve, transformed into a heart demon that lurked within.

If he were more cold-blooded, thinking everything depended on himself and that the sacrifice of many bones was deserved, perhaps the heart demon wouldn't have hidden for so many years, manifesting today.

If it weren't for the large family and estate he now had and his inability to leave his children and grandchildren, if it weren't for having never once thought of surrender in this life,

he might have preferred to just die and see his old brothers sooner.

He simply didn't want to die at the demon's hands and cause more trouble even in death, or die due to surrender.

Duke Lin was orderly treated by the crowd, and once carried into the flying boat, the middle-aged man couldn't hold back.

"Dad, wake up, Dad?"

"Stop nagging." Duke Lin opened his eyes and looked at his eldest son, who was also his most filial: "I said it's nothing, and it's just minor injuries now."

He looked at the others.

"All of you leave, I'm fine, Tianlin can stay."

Once everyone left, Gong Tianlin immediately waved his sleeve, and a white jade tablet flew out, suspended in mid-air. He pointed at it, causing a seal character to appear, and invisible ripples spread, isolating the space from the outside.

"Dad, what do you want to tell me?"

"I suffered from Devilic influence, taken by the heart demon. It's impossible to hide this.

You're usually prudent in your actions, but lately, you've been concerned more than usual, not that I blame you.

Remember, I won't be appearing in public for some time, but if anyone asks, you should say my condition is good and I've recovered significantly.

Though the Dali Dynasty's situation is far better than Daqian's, it's not without its turbulence.

With internal strife in Dazhen and Daqian, they naturally don't want to see our stable Dali.

In the past few months, some in the court entertained certain thoughts.

With me commanding the Northern Border Army, if anyone wanted to cause trouble, it's natural they'd target me.

The Crown Prince has been shrewd, finding reasons in recent months to focus on the Northern Border's new territories.

His Majesty is increasingly uninvolved in governance; you should understand what that implies.

Those hiding in the shadows may be losing patience, making their last struggle during this sensitive time before and after the new emperor ascends.

Last time, when His Highness bestowed some sweet rain upon you, he probably didn't have much himself, otherwise, he wouldn't have diluted it.

I need to consider you all and look for opportunities to uproot those plotting destabilization in Dali.

Consider it a gift for His Highness's enthronement."

Duke Lin spoke at length, with Gong Tianlin listening quietly and memorizing everything, relaxing when seeing his father was fine.

Reviewing his father's sudden deterioration a few months ago, now recalling his words and recent events,

and considering the news six months prior—his father's old acquaintance left a descendant who held a relic,

a thread connecting them, a murderous intent sparked in Gong Tianlin's eyes.

Without concrete evidence, he already knew today's situation must be the result of someone in the shadows maneuvering and inciting.

He also understood his father's intention to first hide his strength to lure out the people behind it, then strike at the crucial moment with precision.

Meanwhile, they had to conceal acquiring enough sweet rain.

"Don't bother with the motives behind the transaction, the deal itself is already significant, make sure to remember this favor."

"Dad, I understand."

A single Void Escape Scroll was all it took to stabilize the family's pillar, preventing any collapse risks—indeed, they gained much.

Even if No.5 wasn't aware of these details, the mere transaction indicated No. 5 was a virtuous Great Body Cultivator.

Given the current situation, if his father died, the command of the Northern Border Army would naturally change hands, and his position as Minister of Personnel was at risk, too; their family's downfall would then be inevitable.

Ten years later, if some could survive, and the lineage wasn't broken, that would be the best outcome.

With this thought, Gong Tianlin took out a ring and left a message for No.5.

"Thank you, I owe you a big favor."

…

Yu Ziqing hadn't yet received the escape scroll sent by the Posthouse Official, but he had already gotten the intelligence sent by Uncle Fu.

Within the Dali region, being able to obtain a Void Escape Scroll and urgently need sweet rain to heal from Devilic madness, and with some knowledge of sweet rain, likely having already tried a small amount,

based on this information, he only needed to ask Uncle Fu who in the Dali with status and power had suffered Devilic madness to basically identify No.5.

The sweet rain available outside mainly passed through Uncle Fu.

He would certainly have promised some quantities to the Crown Prince, so he surely knew who this person was.

And he would surely tell him.

Upon opening it, Yu Ziqing's expression turned peculiar.

The person suffering Devilic madness turned out to be Duke Lin, Gong Hou.

Back when Gong Ze, whose involvement caused Jinlan Mountain's fall into the void, came from a collateral branch of Duke Lin's family.

Although by the Dali clan's delineation, Gong Ze had no real relation to Duke Lin beyond sharing a surname, traced back five thousand or ten thousand years they might share an ancestor, yet Yu Ziqing found it odd.

Duke Lin's circumstances were indeed unfavorable.

When Jinlan Mountain returned, it was revealed that Gong Ze and the Daqian people were behind it, and attempts were made to implicate Duke Lin through him.

Yet, due to Duke Lin's status, he couldn't just say that line had nothing to do with him.

It had been hundreds of generations since the branches split; he nearly starved as a child without eating a single grain from that line. When he became successful, they insisted on squeezing into the family records, claiming shared roots five thousand years back.

By that count, even Emperor Li was his blood kin.

The tumult at the time eventually silenced, forcibly suppressed by Emperor Li, who even executed an overzealous Imperial Censor.

Recently, news of Duke Lin's Devilic downfall spread in whispers, and some sought to target him again.

Yet Duke Lin was the one holding the Northern Border's military banner, and the north had only just seized a substantial territory.

Additionally, Duke Lin's eldest son was the Minister of Personnel, a position incredibly potent.

Even as an outsider, viewing these reports, Yu Ziqing could sense the situation's delicacy.

Initially, he only wanted an escape scroll.

Yet now it seemed that his action inadvertently became the decisive move in altering the Dali court's dynamics.

Looking at the message from No.5, appearing rash and acknowledging a major favor,

it was easier to understand.