Chen Nan took a sip of wine. "The Qin family was enfeoffed as marquises by the late emperor, and Wushuang City is also their fief. Although the late emperor has been deceased for many years, the Qin family has already received great imperial favor. Therefore, it is somewhat difficult to move against him. Although the Yan Emperor would not be angry even if I annihilated the Qin family, doing so would put the Yan Emperor in a very passive position. In any case, the Qin family holds a noble title. If any minister in court impeaches me, would the Yan Emperor protect me or kill me?"
Mo Nan Cheng replied, "The Yan Emperor would definitely protect you."
"You are right, the Yan Emperor would definitely protect me," Chen Nan said. "But if he did so, he would inevitably lose the hearts of the people and disappoint many. Therefore, to eliminate the Qin family openly, without affecting the Yan Emperor's imperial prestige, one must give him a handle to destroy the Qin family. Do you think the crime of deceiving the emperor could be used to eliminate the Qin family?"
Mo Nan Cheng shivered and his eyes lit up. He understood Chen Nan's intention. "I get it, I get it. Once Grandmaster Chen is killed, the Qin family will undoubtedly bring your head to the imperial capital and inform the Yan Emperor of your tragic death. Then they will demand troops from the Yan Emperor to attack our Hunyuan Sect. But if the Yan Emperor sends troops to attack our Hunyuan Sect, and you step forward at a critical moment, that would overturn what the Qin family said before. This is clearly the crime of deceiving the emperor! In this way, even if we annihilate the Qin family, the Yan Emperor will not only not be furious, but he might even reward us."
At this moment, he felt the terrifying nature of Chen Nan. Not only his unparalleled accomplishments in alchemy, artifact refining, and formations, but even his insidious schemes were beyond ordinary people.
Changing the subject, he asked nervously, "Even with disguise, if we send a disguised head to the Yan Emperor, he will surely detect that it's not you."
Chen Nan smiled and asked, "Even if the Yan Emperor discovers it's not me, do you think he will expose it?"
Mo Nan Cheng felt a sense of speechless shock. Although he didn't know the relationship between Chen Nan and the Yan Emperor, one thing was clear: it was far from as simple as it appeared.
"Find someone to disguise themselves as me and send 'my' head to the Qin family!" Chen Nan said casually. Then, he entered the immortal mansion with Nie Yao, disappearing from Mo Nan Cheng and the others' sight. Mo Nan Cheng was already accustomed to such divine abilities.
A disciple of the Hunyuan Sect spoke, "Sect Master, I killed a cultivator who offended our Hunyuan Sect earlier. His body is still in my storage space; I haven't had time to discard it. How about we disguise his head as Grandmaster Chen?"
Mo Nan Cheng nodded slightly. "So be it!"
---
Meanwhile, Qin Chu had returned to the Qin family.
"Who beat you up?" Qin Zheng was furious upon seeing his son's disfigured face.
Qin Chu's eyes were ferocious. "Isn't it that damned Chen Nan? That guy simply doesn't put our Qin family in his eyes. He truly deserves to die!"
Qin Zheng gave a wry smile. "Chen Nan is the only prodigy in the immortal realm who is a Grandmaster in formations, alchemy, and artifact refining. Even though our Qin family possesses Wushuang City, what is it in his eyes?" Although he felt sorry for his son being beaten, he knew that a powerful expert like Chen Nan truly didn't care about the Qin family. The only ones who might give him some pause were the eight human supremes.
Just then, a servant hurried over with a fine, square redwood box. "My Lord, Young Master, someone from the Hunyuan Sect has sent a brocade box, saying it's a wedding gift to congratulate the Young Master on his marriage!"
The father and son's eyes gleamed. Without a second thought, Qin Chu took the brocade box first. Upon opening it, a bloody head appeared before the father and son. Who else could it be but Chen Nan?
"It's him, it's him! I'd recognize that bastard even if he turned to ash." Qin Chu laughed heartily.
Qin Zheng also smiled. "I knew that inviting experts from the Hunyuan Sect would surely kill this brat."
Qin Chu spat fiercely at 'Chen Nan's' head. "Damn it, how dare you be my enemy? Go take a look at yourself in the mirror. Even if you are the so-called Tri-Grandmaster, so what? As long as you come to Wushuang City, your life is controlled by our Qin family. If we want you to live, you will live. If I want you to die, you must die!"
Qin Zheng said, "Alright, he's already dead, what's the point of you saying this to him? Do you feel like this matter has proceeded too smoothly?"
Qin Chu took a deep breath, calming his emotions. "What does Father mean?"
Qin Zheng frowned. "Our relationship with the Hunyuan Sect has always been poor, yet they are willing to help us this time. I feel something is strange about this."
"My Lord, something has happened!" the steward panted, rushing over with a look of extreme anxiety. "Our mine in Canglong Mountain has been occupied by people from the Hunyuan Sect!"
Qin Chu's face changed drastically. "What? The Hunyuan Sect has occupied our mine?"
The steward's face turned sallow. "I just received news that all our guards at Canglong Mountain are dead. Not only that, but the Hunyuan Sect has also occupied two other mines! Now, all three of our Qin family's mines have fallen into the hands of the Hunyuan Sect."
Upon hearing this, Qin Chu's scalp tingled. Those three mines were the Qin family's biggest revenue generators. Although the Hunyuan Sect had been coveting them, they never expected the Hunyuan Sect to dare to act.
"I understand the Hunyuan Sect's plan," Qin Zheng said with a heavy snort. "They pretended to help us kill an enemy, but in reality, they intended to lull us into a false sense of security and lower our guard against them. Only then could they strike us fiercely without our knowledge or defense. Just like now."
Qin Chu anxiously asked, "Father, what should we do next? Should we send people to retake those three mines overnight?"
"Look at you, so pathetic, why are you panicking?" Qin Zheng's eyes were cold, and he was very displeased with his son's lack of composure. He took a deep breath and said, "Have you forgotten who killed Chen Nan?"
Qin Chu was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "I understand Father's meaning. Even if the Hunyuan Sect has seized our Qin family's mines, as long as we deliver Chen Nan's head to the imperial capital and inform the Yan Emperor that he was killed by the Hunyuan Sect, the Yan Emperor will surely be furious and even send experts to suppress the Hunyuan Sect. Once the Hunyuan Sect is destroyed, those three mines will still be ours."
Qin Zheng nodded with satisfaction. "The Hunyuan Sect is just a grasshopper in autumn; they won't be able to hop for long! Come here!" he ordered. "Go buy a good coffin. I will personally go to the capital and present Chen Nan's head to the Yan Emperor!"