2666 Liu Qian, the Inner-estate Elder

"Hm?" As soon as Duan Ling Tian killed the middle-aged man, he discovered the grey flame in his body had shot out of the defective metal piece next to his soul. It turned into a streak of grey light that could not be seen with naked eyes as it shot out of his body into the middle-aged man's body.

'What does it want?' Duan Ling Tian who was curious used his Divine Consciousness to track the grey flame. He discovered the grey flame absorbing a blue flame in the middle-aged man's body.

Realization dawned on him. 'Is… Is that a Celestial Fire? The Supreme Elder whom I killed is a primitive Celestial Alchemist?' He felt a pang of fear when he thought about this. After all, there was a risk of Celestial Alchemists detonating their Celestial Fires.

After a while, he sighed in relief. 'Fortunately, I managed to kill him with a strike…'

At this moment, Duan Ling Tian discovered the grey flame had returned to his body and entered the defective metal piece after it had devoured the middle-aged man's Celestial Fire. He was confused, 'What's going on? If I'm not mistaken, a Celestial Alchemist's Celestial Fire would disappear once the alchemist dies. If I've never heard of a Celestial Fire being able to absorb another Celestial Fire."

Naturally, Duan Ling Tian was not aware that the grey flame in his body was not a Celestial Fire, but a Chaos Divine flame that was superior to Celestial Fires. His Chaos Divine Flame was only in the Second Form, incomparable to Chaos Divine Flames in the Ninth Form, the perfect form. The Second Form of a Chaos Divine Flame was comparable to a mediocre Celestial Fire.

While Duan Ling Tian was preoccupied with his thoughts about the grey flame, the people from the Liu Clan were stunned speechless when they witnessed their Supreme Elder being killed. It took a long time before they gradually regained their senses.

"Elder Liu Qing is dead?"

"Not only was Elder Liu Qing a Celestial Alchemist, but he was also an Indigo Sun Golden Celestial! And yet, this purple-clad young man killed him with just a strike?"

"Even if the purple-clad young man had launched a sneak attack… He has to be an Indigo Sun Golden Celestial at least!"

"In our clan, we only have two Indigo Sun Golden Celestials..."

The Liu Clan Elders were thoroughly shocked by the death of their Supreme Elder. They looked at Duan Ling Tian in fear and panic.

'He must be an Indigo Sun Golden Celestial at least since he easily killed Elder Liu Qing. But, how's this possible? He's not even 100 years old!" Liu Zuo Lin recalled Liu Li's words to him earlier. He found it difficult to believe that someone below the age of 100 who was an Indigo Sun Golden Celestial would come to Nine Specters County.

Liu Dong Ping's body shook in anger as he said, "Y-you… How dare you kill Elder Liu Qing!"

There were only three primitive Celestial Alchemists in Nine Specters County. Liu Qing was one of them. He was irreplaceable. There was no doubt that Liu Qing's death was a huge loss to the Liu Clan.

The grey-clad old man, another Supreme Elder in the Liu clan, looked at Duan Ling Tian fearfully. He no longer dared to underestimate Duan Ling Tian. "Who're you?!"

Before Duan Ling Tian could reply, a loud and arrogant voice rang in the air, seemingly able to shake the Liu clan's mansion. "Who dares to act so brazenly here?"

"This voice… Isn't it Elder Liu Qian?"

"Doesn't he usually live in the County Governor's estate? Why did he suddenly come back?"

"Is Elder Liu Qian talking about us or that young man?"

"In any case, there must be a reason for his sudden return!"

Liu Qian was one of the three Supreme Elders in the Liu Clan. Among the three of them, he was also the strongest. In the County Governor's estate, he was ranked third among all the inner-estate elders.

"It's Elder Liu Qian!"

"He's back!"

Upon confirming it was Liu Qian, the eyes of many people from the Liu Clan brightened up.

"Second uncle!" Liu Zuo Lin greeted Liu Qian. His voice carried a hint of hope.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind heralded the appearance of a tall figure. A middle-aged man dressed in a light green robe with a strong build appeared in everyone's sight. He had big eyes, thick brows, and a square face. He looked rough around the edges, but his eyes shone with wisdom.

"Greetings, Elder Liu Qian," the clan members from the Liu clan greeted Liu Qian in unison as they bowed respectfully.

"Second Uncle!" Liu Zuo Lin cried out excitedly.

"Second brother, you're finally home." Liu Dong Ping sighed in relief.

"Hm?" Liu Qian's eyes landed on Liu Qing's corpse that was riddled with holes on the roof of the great hall. His eyes widened in shock before his expression darkened. "Liu Qing?"

Not only was Liu Qing a Celestial Alchemist in the Liu clan, but Liu Qing was Liu Qian's childhood playmate as well. They shared a close relationship. Moreover, Liu Qing had contributed greatly to his achievements today. The endless bottles of Celestial Pills that Liu Qing supplied him had helped him improve his strength greatly. In fact, Liu Qing held a higher position in his heart compared to his eldest biological brother, Liu Dong Ping.

"Who did this?!" Liu Qian roared. His eyes looked around before they finally landed on Duan Ling Tian, the only stranger present on the scene.

"Is it you?!" Liu Qian stared at Duan Ling Tian fiercely. He was eager to shred him into pieces!

Duan Ling Tian ignored Liu Qian. His attention was on two figures who were coming from the east. One of the figures belonged to an anxious-looking woman while the other figure belonged to a robust old man who was not very tall. The old man wore a green robe. He had white hair and a face full of beard. Paired with his bushy brows, he had an intimidating air about him, not unlike that of a king of beasts in his territory.

"Lin'er! Lin'er! Are you alright?" The woman cried out as soon as she arrived.

"Mother, I'm fine!" Liu Zuo Lin waved his hand excitedly at the woman.

The woman hurried to Lin Zuo Lin and studied him from head to toe. After she made sure her son was fine, she sighed in relief. In just a split second, her eyes were filled with killing intent, making her look like a female Asura. She asked, "Lin'er… Who wants to kill you?"