Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 146 Sealing

Two hours later.

Lin Chen opened his eyes, a flash of golden light disappearing from them.

Just then, a system notification sounded in my mind:

[Ding! Detected that the host has obtained the ancestral inheritance "Demon Suppression Seal," triggering a special reward!]

[Reward: Heart of a Sage x1]

【Heart of the Saint: Contains pure holy power, capable of purifying demonic power and enhancing the sealing effect】

Lin Chen's eyes lit up.

nice one!

He took out the Heart of the Sage, a fist-sized crystal that emitted a soft white light.

The old man sensed the holy power and opened his eyes in shock: "This is... ancient holy power?!"

"I guess so." Lin Chen shrugged. "With this, the sealing effect should be even better."

The old man exclaimed excitedly, "It's more than just better! With the blessing of holy power, it can not only seal the Demon Lord's essence, but it can even completely purify him!"

"Let's begin then. I have fully mastered the Demon-Suppressing Seal."

Lin Chen stood up and walked towards the black stone tablet.

The old man was slightly taken aback. That was the Demon-Suppressing Seal. He had mastered it so quickly.

But considering Lin Chen's age and strength, he couldn't help but admire him.

This talent surpasses even that of Master; truly worthy of being Master's descendant.

The old man gave Lin Chen a deep look, then stood up, his expression solemn:

"Now, drip your blood essence onto the monument to activate the Demon-Suppressing Seal and simultaneously guide the holy power into it."

Lin Chen did as instructed.

As the essence of blood dripped down, the Demon-Suppressing Seal activated.

Golden runes flew from Lin Chen's hand and imprinted on the black stone tablet.

At the same time, the heart of the sage transformed into a beam of white light and merged into the runes.

The stone tablet trembled violently, the chains rattled, and a mournful roar emanated from within:

"No--!!!"

That was the wailing of the Demon Lord's remnant soul.

But the Demon-Suppressing Seal was already formed, and golden and white light intertwined, surging into the stone tablet like a tide, purifying the black demonic energy inch by inch.

In the end, the stone tablet returned to calm, the demonic energy dissipated, and it turned into an ordinary boulder.

The seal is complete.

The old man watched this scene, a relieved smile spreading across his face.

"Three thousand years... has finally come to an end."

His body began to dissipate, turning into specks of golden light.

"Thank you, young man!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man vanished completely.

At the same time, the entire secret realm began to collapse.

"My lord, let's go quickly!" Li Chunfeng said urgently.

The three transformed into streaks of light, bursting out of the underground space and rushing upwards along the stone steps.

By the time they burst out of the entrance, the entire secret realm was on the verge of collapse.

"Go!" Lin Chen grabbed Qin Shuyan and Xiao Yulou with one hand each, while Li Chunfeng led Ye Qingying, and Zhao Zilong and Zhuge Liang followed closely behind.

The group transformed into streaks of light and rushed toward the exit of the secret realm.

The moment they burst out of the secret realm—

"BOOM!!!"

The entire secret realm collapsed completely, turning into nothingness and being rapidly assimilated by space.

……

Inside the mine, Li Bai was drinking wine when he suddenly felt something and looked up.

A flash of light appeared on the stone platform, and Lin Chen and the others reappeared.

"My lord, you're back," Li Bai said with a smile. "Was the secret realm fun?"

Lin Chen dusted himself off and said irritably:

"Fun my ass, I almost got buried in there."

He looked at Cui Yuanhao and Mr. Zhou, who were paralyzed on the ground, their faces pale, and his eyes turned cold.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen."

Cui Yuanhao's face was ashen, while Mr. Zhou was trembling all over.

"Lord Duke... have mercy... I'm willing to reveal all the secrets of the Cui family..." Mr. Zhou pleaded in a trembling voice.

Lin Chen waved his hand, "No need."

He looked at Ye Qingying: "Sixth Sister-in-law, have you investigated the Cui family's influence in the Northern Territory?"

Ye Qingying nodded: "It has all been investigated. The intelligence on Tingfeng Tower is very comprehensive."

"That's fine then." Lin Chen nodded. "Cut him off and send his head back to the Cui family's main branch."

Tell them, the Northern Territory is the Lin family's territory. If they dare to lay a finger on us again, we will wipe out their entire family.

"Yes!" Zhao Zilong stepped forward and brought his spear down.

Two heads rolled off.

Lin Chen didn't even look, and turned to walk out.

"Let's go back to the city. There are still over 200,000 troops from Beishuo waiting for us to deal with them."

The group exchanged smiles and followed.

Shortly after Lin Chen and the others left, in the ruins of the stone platform deep inside the mine.

A barely perceptible wisp of black smoke quietly escaped and disappeared into the void.

……

Dingbei City, General's Mansion.

Lin Chen lay half-reclined on the armchair, toying with the black stone slab that had lost its luster.

Qin Shuyan and the other two women sat to one side. Xiao Yulou was wiping his long sword, Ye Qingying was organizing the secret reports that had just been delivered, and Qin Shuyan was peeling grapes for him.

"Eighth Brother, you caused quite a commotion in the secret realm this time." Qin Shuyan held a grape to Lin Chen's lips.

"The Netherworld Sect has lost four peak Celestial Realm experts; they probably won't let this go easily."

Lin Chen chewed on a grape and mumbled:

"What can they do if they don't give up? Are they going to send a celestial being to deliver the final blow?"

"That's hard to say," Ye Qingying said, frowning slightly.

"The Netherworld Sect is a first-rate sect in the Central Plains. They should have a terrestrial immortal in charge. If they are really provoked, they might not be afraid to send someone."

"When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it!" Lin Chen stretched.

"There's nothing to be afraid of in the land of immortals; we're not without them."

Just then, Zhuge Liang, Li Chunfeng, and Zhou Zhenshan walked in from outside.

"My lord, the military affairs of the three northern states have been initially reorganized." Zhuge Liang handed over a roster.

"This is a list of generals at all levels of the 200,000 border troops. Those marked with red dots are those who have been confirmed to be colluding with the Cui family."

Those marked with blue dots represent those with ambiguous attitudes and require further observation.

The rest are capable people.

Lin Chen took the roster and glanced at it. It was filled with hundreds of names, with red dots covering nearly a third of them.

"So many?" He raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Zhenshan smiled wryly: "Lord Duke, the Cui family has been operating in the northern border for a hundred years."

More than half of the military generals had received favors from them, or were directly from the Cui family.

This one-third is only based on conclusive evidence.

"Then cut them all down," Lin Chen said casually.

Zhou Zhenshan was stunned: "They...they were all chopped down?"

"What else?" Lin Chen tossed the roster back onto the table.

"Keep them around for the New Year? These people are traitors, colluding with foreign enemies, and they killed my father and seven brothers. Which one of them isn't enough to warrant them dying ten times over?"

He stood up and walked into the hall:

"Order: The Eight Vajras will each lead a thousand Tiger Warriors to their respective military camps in the three northern continents."

The generals marked with red dots on the list shall be captured on the spot, publicly tried, and executed immediately.

"Yes!" the eight Vajra Guardians responded in unison.

"The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, numbering five hundred, will be led by Zilong and responsible for suppressing any potential rebellions," Lin Chen continued.

"Anyone who gathers a crowd to resist, regardless of their status, shall be killed without exception."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Zhao Zilong clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Mr. Li, you are leading the Eighteen Heavenly Guards to guard the border and prevent anyone from escaping to Beishuo."

Li Chunfeng smiled slightly: "Rest assured, my lord, within three days, the three northern continents will be an impregnable fortress."

"Mr. Kongming, you are in charge of confiscating the property of the Cui family and their cronies to fund the military."

In addition, appease the people, publicize the crimes committed by the Cui family, and stabilize public sentiment.

"I understand."

Lin Chen sat back down in the armchair and said lazily:

"Alright, everyone go about your business. I'll stay here in the manor and oversee things. Call me when you have the results. I won't be involved in the process."

The group exchanged bewildered glances, and finally retreated with wry smiles.

Qin Shuyan and the other two women exchanged a smile; they were already used to Lin Chen's "hands-off" style.