CHAPTER 199: CHAPTER 67: RONG YAN

The Rong Family, Rong Yan’s courtyard.

Rong Yan, as the eldest son of Rong Yuanqiao, is quite talented and has always been the pride of Rong Yuanqiao and Sun Guangling. His status in the Rong Family is also very high. In comparison to Rong Ye’s courtyard, his is much more luxurious, whether in terms of location, scale, or interior furnishings.

Similarly, he is also older than Rong Ye, already married and with a child.

Rong Yan is older than Rong Ye. When he was young, Rong Ye’s father had not yet married, and due to his good talent, he received much care from the former Family Head. Although Rong Yan’s talent was also not bad, in the eyes of the former Family Head, Rong Ye’s father held a much higher status than Rong Yan.

In contrast, Rong Yuanqiao was much more unremarkable and held a low position in the eyes of the former Family Head.

This caused Rong Yan’s early years to not be particularly pleasant, and thus, he never had a good impression of Rong Ye’s father since childhood.

Later, when Rong Ye’s parents died unexpectedly, although Rong Yan did not show it, he was very happy inside because the former Family Head’s attention finally turned to him, his grandson.

As for Rong Ye, Rong Yan always coldly watched others bully him without any intention of helping, and even had a rather bad attitude toward Rong Ye.

He once thought that Rong Ye would spend his entire life in his shadow, trampled beneath his feet, never able to rise. Who knew that Rong Ye would be favored by Wen Guiyun and taken as a disciple!

Upon hearing the news, Rong Yan destroyed an entire room of objects.

Finally, believing himself to be older and more talented than Rong Ye, he thought that as long as he cultivated earnestly, Rong Ye would never catch up to him. This was how he stepped out of the shadow brought by this news.

Later, when Rong Ye was taken away by Wen Guiyun, he would only return once a year on his parents’ death anniversary, staying only one or two days each visit. The two of them hardly had any interaction, so he just threw Rong Ye out of his mind.

Who knew that not long ago, Rong Ye suddenly returned and stated that he wanted to enter the Trial Land to challenge the position of Family Head.

At that time, Rong Yan once again felt the same when he first heard that Rong Ye was taken as a disciple by Wen Guiyun. He almost couldn’t hold back from attacking Rong Ye in front of so many people!

To prevent his father’s position from being taken and to prove he was stronger than Rong Ye, after Rong Ye’s proposal to enter the Trial Land was agreed upon, he suggested that he and Rong Ye enter together.

Although he regretted it a little afterward, since the decision was already set, he naturally had to find ways to strengthen his own ability. Fortunately, the ancestral teachings mentioned that helpers could be sought. His father immediately found several powerful helpers for him. No matter how dangerous the Trial Land might be, he believed he could come back safely!

At this moment, he was in the study chatting with the helpers Rong Yuanqiao found for him. His servant suddenly walked in and whispered a few words in his ear. He furrowed his brows and then took the initiative to end the conversation. Those people, all perceptive, noticed he had something to deal with and got up to bid farewell.

Once he sent those people away, the smile on his face disappeared instantly. He closed the study door and looked solemnly at his servant.

"Are you sure those people are Rong Ye’s senior brother and sister?" He was a bit incredulous. Previously, Rong Ye always returned alone, and they had assumed Rong Ye didn’t have good relations with his fellows because of his unlikable personality. But now, the fact that they came to the Rong Family for Rong Ye, what was going on?

"I’m certain. Those people carry tokens from Lingxi Sacred Land, and Young Master Rong Ye met them personally and brought them back to his courtyard." The servant naturally dared not lie and truthfully reported what he saw and heard to Rong Yan.

"His senior brother and sister came here; could they be his helpers?" Rong Yan frowned and murmured.

The disciples of the Spirit Fox Saint Master are very famous throughout the Sub-immortal Realm, especially the top three: Si Lin, Yue Zhao, and Nan Hua.

Si Lin possesses the Innate Sword Body, a god-given constitution unique in the Sub-immortal Realm, famous since his birth. Yue Zhao, from the Yue Family, takes the path of music, also very famous in the Sub-immortal Realm. As a standout among them, Yue Zhao doesn’t need much explanation. As for Nan Hua, besides his achievements in Array, his romantic affairs make many female cultivators his confidante, and numerous male cultivators are envious, jealous, and hateful of Nan Hua!

Moreover, their cultivation among their peers is top-notch, as the data in front of the Trial Tower is not unfounded.

If Si Lin and the others really agreed to help Rong Ye, then who would win or lose would indeed be hard to say!

However, Rong Yan is still confident. He believes he can certainly come out of the Trial Land and defeat Rong Ye!

His eyes flickered, and he let the servant leave, then sat alone in the study for a long time.

...

Early the next morning, screams and the sound of ceramics shattering on the ground erupted from the courtyard of Rong Yuanqiao and Sun Guangling, creating chaos in their premises.

It turned out that when Rong Yuanqiao and Sun Guangling got up early, they discovered that their faces and bodies were covered with red rashes, which looked terrifying. Moreover, these rashes were very itchy and would break open upon scratching, oozing a disgusting fluid, and exuding a foul odor from the broken areas.

Rong Yuanqiao was somewhat unfazed, considering he was a man who, though concerned with appearance, did not care as much as a woman might.

Sun Guangling almost went mad. She wasn’t particularly beautiful to begin with, and although she was nearly sixty years old, she had always taken good care of herself, consuming numerous elixirs effective against aging to maintain a youthful appearance and slow down aging.

Now, after seeing her appearance in the mirror, she almost lost her mind!

Realizing something was wrong, they sent for a doctor, who arrived quickly. Upon seeing their condition, he was also taken aback. After examining them for a long time, he could only conclude that they might have been poisoned by some unknown toxin, which led to their current state.

As for a solution, he had none. After all, the poison distinctly brewed by Mu Chen wasn’t something just anyone could remedy!

In the end, all he could do was prescribe some anti-itching medicine for them to apply to the wounds when itchy and try as much as possible not to scratch the rashes.

Upon hearing the doctor’s advice, Rong Yuanqiao and Sun Guangling nearly couldn’t resist beating up the doctor. However, recalling the effort it took to invite this doctor to their home, they managed to hold back.

After applying the anti-itching medicine, their condition improved considerably, finally allowing them time to deliberate on the matter.

"How did we end up poisoned just like that? And what kind of cursed poison is this?" Sun Guangling was now too afraid to look at the mirror or even close her eyes, because whenever she did, she envisioned her rash-covered face, which fueled her hatred for whoever poisoned her.

"Who knows?" Rong Yuanqiao looked at the rashes on his hands and felt an itch. He quickly applied the doctor’s medicine, blew on it, and felt relieved when the itching subsided.

"Do you think it was that bastard Rong Ye’s senior brother? I remember one of his senior brothers is somewhat skilled in alchemy," Sun Guangling remarked with no fondness for Rong Ye whatsoever, neither before nor now.

Rong Yuanqiao pondered for a moment, recalling that Rong Ye’s fourth senior brother, Mu Chen, was indeed an alchemist, "It’s possible, but even if it’s them, what can they do? They’re not Rong Ye, whom we can manipulate as we please!"

He wasn’t entirely foolish, at least knowing that Si Lin and the others were beyond his reach. At least Rong Ye was their nephew, still a member of the Rong Family, someone they could handle, but not Si Lin and company. Angering them could provoke not only the Lingxi Sacred Land but also the powers behind them.

Sun Guangling realized this too, staring at the rashes on her hands, she grudgingly swallowed her words of wanting to punish them.

...

With such a ruckus in the early morning, there was no way Rong Ye wouldn’t know. With a slight thought, he figured it was Mu Chen’s "small gift" taking effect. Learning that the two of them were covered in rashes, disfiguring them, his lips curled up in satisfaction with Mu Chen’s actions.

Besides Rong Yuanqiao, the Family Head, the Rong Family had an Elder Council. However, these elders usually focused more on cultivation. They would not easily make an appearance unless significant events affected the Rong Family or matters of life and death arose. Previously, when Rong Ye wanted to enter the Trial Land, it had alarmed these elders. Ultimately, they allowed both him and Rong Yan to enter the Trial Land.

Now he needed the Elder Council’s permission to bring Gu Qingqing and the others inside, so early in the morning, Rong Ye went to find the elders.

Upon learning his purpose, the five elders pondered briefly and agreed. After all, since they allowed Rong Yan to find a teammate, it would be unfair not to extend the same to Rong Ye. They agreed almost instantly!

Moreover, the elders informed Rong Ye of the time when the Trial Land would be opened.

After leaving the elders’ residence, Rong Ye immediately went to the inn to find Gu Qingqing and the others.

"The five elders said that the day after tomorrow would be suitable for opening the path to the Trial Land, so you all will enter with me then." Rong Ye conveyed the elders’ words to Gu Qingqing and the others.

Having prepared in advance, Gu Qingqing and the others did not need any further preparations. They merely nodded upon hearing Rong Ye’s words and continued exploring Rong City with him.

When Rong Yuanqiao and Sun Guangling learned that Si Lin and the others would accompany Rong Ye into the Trial Land and that the Elder Council had already granted approval, they realized it was too late to interfere and reluctantly accepted it.

Two days later, a group gathered in front of the Rong Family’s Scripture Pavilion. The five elders stood in a specific formation, and when the time was right, they simultaneously activated their spiritual power toward the center.