Meishan Ancient City, though just an obscure small town in Qizhou.
What was strange was.
In such a small town.
There actually existed a Ninth-tier Heavenly Emperor.
And, not just one.
Considering that Hanshan City had a similar scale to Meishan Ancient City.
Its strongest was no more than a Third-tier Profound Emperor.
The two were incomparable.
Meishan Ancient City had two major families.
One was the Wu family.
The other was the You family.
Both families had a long inheritance.
It was rumored that these two families had once been connected to a powerful Emperor Venerable and received some inheritance, thus remaining prosperous.
However, as time passed, it was almost impossible to discern whether this rumor was true or false, and there was no way to verify it.
Meishan Ancient City.
In a small, but very ancient and charming restaurant.
Ling Fan sat at an elegant seat facing the mountain and water, ordered a cup of clear wine, and savored it leisurely.
Unexpectedly.
The wine in this small restaurant was quite good.
Mild and harmonious, it possessed a trace of ethereal artistic conception, unknowingly evoking some memories.
"Waiter, what is this wine called?"
"Esteemed guest, you are truly a connoisseur, you immediately tasted the extraordinary nature of our wine. To be honest, our wine is world-renowned, named 'Empty Mountain New Rain.' 'Shan' refers to our boundless Tianmu Ancient Mountain, and 'Yu' is the spiritual rain from Tianmu Ancient Mountain. Besides here, no other place can brew such an endlessly flavorful good wine."
The waiter said with pride, "Moreover, the name of this wine has a great origin, it was not randomly chosen. It was named by a world-shaking Emperor Venerable supreme expert when he stayed at our restaurant. Every year, countless people come here just to taste the flavor of 'Empty Mountain New Rain.'"
"You must have come to drink this wine and admire the traces of that peerless strongman, right!"
Ling Fan smiled upon hearing this.
He nodded lightly.
The waiter became even more proud, as if honored, and said, "Then please enjoy it slowly, esteemed guest. I will not disturb you. If you have any requests, please speak."
Ling Fan held the wine cup between his fingers, smiling with deep emotion.
Just then.
Ling Fan's ears suddenly twitched.
His divine sense silently enveloped the surroundings.
Soon.
The voices from a private room upstairs entered his mind.
"Heavenly Emperor Luo Yun, Heavenly Emperor Jin Hui, it is truly an enhancement to our You family that you two could come to assist us. This time, we will never let those pedantic Wu family members continue to occupy that imperial palace!"
"Heh heh, it's nothing. We heard you have already allied with the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion. Please introduce us then."
"That's no problem, it's all on us!"
...
The conversation in the private room fell into Ling Fan's ears word for word.
Ling Fan's expression gradually turned gloomy.
"The imperial palace they are talking about should be the cave mansion I left in Tianmu Ancient Mountain."
"I remember I once guided two people in Meishan Ancient City, one surnamed Wu and the other surnamed You, and instructed them to jointly guard my cave mansion. Judging from what these people are saying, it seems that the Wu and You families eventually turned against each other to fight for my cave mansion, and now they are even preparing for a major conflict."
"Heh heh, if these two families dare to covet my cave mansion, then don't blame me for being impolite."
Ling Fan put down his wine cup, left some Celestial Spirit Pills, and silently disappeared from the restaurant.
...
Meishan Ancient City.
Wu family.
The Wu family occupied a vast area, leaning against the foothills of Tianmu Ancient Mountain, clearly a place with excellent feng shui.
In fact, the imperial palace cave mansion that Ling Fan had left behind was located here.
A place chosen by him as a cave mansion would naturally not be ordinary.
"My cave mansion has indeed been occupied by one of the families. I just don't know if it's still intact."
Ling Fan stood in front of the Wu family's gate.
Traces of coldness spread from his body.
Just as Ling Fan was about to flatten this place,
Suddenly, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy ran out of the gate and respectfully bowed to Ling Fan, "Senior, you are the renowned 'Twin Supremes of Sword and Book' Heavenly Emperor Song, aren't you? This junior is Wu Longhan of the Wu family. I have been waiting here for a long time. Please come with me quickly!"
Ling Fan's brow twitched slightly, and he temporarily put aside the idea of flattening the Wu family.
Without a word, he walked into the Wu family with his hands behind his back.
"Dad, Dad! Senior Heavenly Emperor Song is here! With him as our guest elder, we won't have to fear those wolf-hearted bastards from the You family!"
"Oh! Please come in."
A middle-aged man with a robust aura personally came out to greet him.
This person had a square face and a dignified appearance, but his brows were tightly furrowed as if he were preoccupied.
The moment he saw Ling Fan, his brows furrowed even tighter.
Because this young man with gray hair, although his strength was also formidable, making him, an Eighth-tier Heavenly Emperor, feel a trace of threat, was clearly not comparable to the 'Twin Supremes of Sword and Book' at the Ninth-tier Heavenly Emperor realm.
He sternly rebuked, "Longhan, you're being foolish. This is not Song Jianshu, the 'Twin Supremes of Sword and Book' Heavenly Emperor Song."
"Ah! This senior is not Heavenly Emperor Song? I thought he looked very powerful. I'm sorry, senior, I mistook you..." The young boy Wu Longhan immediately showed disappointment and repeatedly apologized to Ling Fan.
"May I ask your esteemed name? My son is young and ignorant, and has offended you greatly. Please forgive us."
"Ling Fan."
Ling Fan said faintly.
The middle-aged man gave a wry smile and said, "By rights, I should invite young master Ling to have a cup of simple tea, but we Wu family are in trouble now, and we dare not implicate innocent people. Please leave, young master Ling, and forgive our poor hospitality."
"Oh? What trouble has your Wu family encountered?"
Ling Fan asked calmly.
The middle-aged man said, "The affairs of our Wu family have already become the talk of the town, so there's no harm in telling you. Young master Ling should have heard, deep within our Wu family, there is an imperial palace of an Emperor Venerable expert. Our Wu family's ancestor and the You family's ancestor both received favors from this Emperor Venerable expert and vowed to jointly guard this imperial palace. However, the You family has always coveted the treasures within this imperial palace and has spared no effort to obtain it, which ultimately led to the estrangement and parting of ways between the two families."
"All along, our Wu family has not let them succeed, but this time is different. The You family has already connected with the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion. Once the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion makes a move, I'm afraid we will no longer be able to guard this imperial palace."
"Who is this 'Heavenly Emperor Song' you mentioned?"
Ling Fan asked.
The middle-aged man said, "You haven't heard of the 'Twin Supremes of Sword and Book' Heavenly Emperor Song? Young master Ling, are you not from Qizhou? This person, with his Ninth-tier Heavenly Emperor cultivation, has a renowned reputation in Qizhou. Our Wu family managed to invite his presence, and he agreed to become a guest elder of the Wu family. My son has been eagerly anticipating the day he could become Heavenly Emperor Song's disciple, which is why the misunderstanding just now occurred."
Ling Fan said, "Can your Wu family, with this Heavenly Emperor Song, withstand this 'Heavenly Artifact Pavilion'?"
The middle-aged man said with some surprise, "Young master Ling doesn't even know about the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion?"
"I am not from Qizhou."
Ling Fan said faintly.
"So that's how it is! The Artifact Pavilion is a branch of the Heavenly Court, responsible for managing several major states including Qizhou. Its strength is immense, and the Pavilion Master of the Artifact Pavilion is an Emperor Venerable!"
"The person the You family has colluded with this time is the son of the Pavilion Master of the Artifact Pavilion, that is, the Crown Prince of the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion!"
"This person's talent and talent are earth-shattering, and his methods are ruthless and cold-blooded. He has advanced with high spirits to become a Ninth-tier Heavenly Emperor and has made outstanding contributions to the Artifact Pavilion's control over several major states, earning a fearsome reputation."
"If this person truly makes a move, I'm afraid our Wu family is doomed this time."
Wu Hengnan, the current head of the Wu family, sighed.
Ling Fan said, "Why don't you give up that so-called imperial palace? The Artifact Pavilion and the You family only want that imperial palace. Why do you have to risk the entire Wu family for a dead object?"
"Or, do you want to monopolize the benefits of that imperial palace and are unwilling to hand it over?"
Ling Fan's words suddenly became sharp.