Du Daming's face broke into a smile, which quickly froze.
The killing blow was now suspended mere centimeters from Lin Xiaotian's face.
Lin Xiaotian had merely extended two fingers, and they were already pinching the sword's blade.
A brilliant smile played on his lips. "Old man, are your eyes failing you? You think this little trinket is a killing move?"
"This contraption is merely a bit ingenious. Once I held your walking stick, you'd know its purpose."
"Playing with mechanisms in front of me? You must be tired of living."
With that, Lin Xiaotian yanked the broken half of the walking stick in his hand.
A sharp, peerless gust of wind followed as it smashed directly into Du Daming's face.
Du Daming's teeth flew out, and he was sent hurtling backward, crashing through half a wall.
Blood gushed from his mouth.
His face had turned a sickly green.
His eyes widened in utter horror. "You're definitely not a Grandmaster. Even if we're at the same level, you shouldn't be this much stronger than me. How can I not even see you move?"
"Who are you? Why are you helping that old bastard?"
Lin Xiaotian grinned. "Old man, I already made myself clear. Do you want Little Ye to repeat it for you?"
He flicked his toes, sending the broken sword blade from the walking stick flying.
The ropes binding Wu Chengming and the others were severed.
One person fell to the ground, and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief, groaning as they slowly got to their feet.
Wu Chengming, in particular, lay on the ground, not even wanting to move. He was the most severely injured and the most exhausted.
Old Fourth, struggling, crawled over and then fell to his knees before Lin Xiaotian, weeping. "Young Master, please avenge us!"
"My Senior Brother has been crippled!"
The others' voices were choked with emotion.
They wanted to speak but couldn't, their throats blocked.
They had cultivated for so many years, orphans since childhood, adopted onto the mountain, their bonds incredibly deep.
Their cultivation had been crippled because they had drawn the old man's wrath, causing him to vent all his anger on their Senior Brother.
Lin Xiaotian smiled. "Look at you sissies, what are you crying for? So what if your cultivation is crippled? That's a trivial matter for me, easily resolved."
"Don't worry, I'll restore his cultivation."
"You guys go sit aside for now. I'll have a chat with this old man."
He then looked at the expectant yet disbelieving gazes of the few people.
He casually pulled out a black pill from his person and tossed it over. "Feed this to Old Wu first."
At this moment, Du Daming let out a hoarse laugh. "Even the most precious pill won't help him. I've completely crippled his dantian and sea of qi."
"He'll be a cripple forever. And I've poisoned all your little brothers here."
"This is why I dared to call that old bastard down. He sustained serious injuries in his youth, so his vital energy deteriorates rapidly. Without that medicinal formula, I'd likely die within three years. But the medicine refined from that formula can let me live for thirty years."
"Today, I must have that medicinal formula."
"I have no quarrel with you. If you want to take them away now, you can. But you cannot disrupt my plan."
"I won't lift this poison for them yet. Only after that old bastard hands over the medicinal formula will I detoxify them."
Lin Xiaotian said irritably, "Why are you always resorting to poison?"
"Can't you use some other methods?"
"Poison is a low-class tactic, but it's often the most effective," Du Daming coughed up a mouthful of blood, a hint of smugness on his face. "I presume you're helpless now?"
"Furthermore, the poison will spread through their meridians at an alarming rate. If they don't receive the antidote within a certain time, they'll be completely crippled."
"I'm sure you don't want to keep a few useless burdens."
Lin Xiaotian took a careful look. Although their faces were beaten beyond recognition, he could still vaguely discern their issues.
"Where did you put the 'Life-Creating Furnace'?"
Upon hearing this, they all pointed to the room next to Lin Xiaotian.
They weren't afraid of Du Daming escaping; what they truly cared about was the medicinal formula. Without it, he only had a few years left, and this was his final gamble.
He entered the room and saw the alchemy furnace, no larger than a washbasin. He placed his hand on it, and his spiritual energy flowed into it continuously. He could clearly feel a warmth emanating from the furnace.
He knew it was the genuine article.
"What a treasure! With this furnace, many elixirs can be directly refined."
"And you've even prepared so many medicinal herbs for me here. Old man, how should I thank you?"
"How about I give you a Heaven-Mending Pill?"
Du Daming sneered. "You? You can produce a Heaven-Mending Pill?"
"Besides that old bastard, only the Lin family possessed this medicinal formula in the past."
"That old bastard owed the Lin family a favor back then. The Lin family gifted the formula to that old fellow. However, later on, the entire Lin family was massacred."
"Although I participated in the raid, I never found anything of value."
Lin Xiaotian's brow furrowed slightly, his eyes lost in thought. "You participated back then? Then what's your relationship with Du Chengwei?"
"That was my..."
After three words, Du Daming suddenly realized and looked at Lin Xiaotian with extreme caution. "Who are you? How do you know Du Chengwei?"
"It seems you do have a significant connection. Perhaps you're even family?"
"You both have the surname Du, at least cousins."
"Or he could be your descendant."
"But your information is too outdated. You don't even know who I am. My surname is Ye, from the Lin family back then."
"The Heaven-Mending Pill is something I refined myself."
Hearing this, Du Daming's face contorted in disbelief. "Impossible. With your cultivation, you can't be from the Lin family. Don't let your youthful appearance fool me. I know that when you broke through to Grandmaster, you must have been young, achieving a rejuvenating effect."
"Grandmasters generally look quite young, and you must be one of them."
"Stop trying to trick me. You're likely just trying to find out the whereabouts of my brother."