Immortals were not immortal in the literal sense. Instead, they were cultivators of spiritual qi energy, which when properly integrated with a person's body and soul, gave them heaven-defying powers and the ability to cast daoist spells.

The flaming whip used by Tao Shou was a weapon made using spiritual energy. It was imbued with a flame spell that allowed it to spontaneously ignite flames when striking. Spiritual qi could also be channeled through the body as well, making it more resilient. This was how Tang Li was able to hold the whip's flames directly without receiving any injuries.

Tang Li took Yin Hui deeper and deeper into the excavation site. As they kept walking, the statues made out of jade and other precious metals were replaced with thousands of tombstones. Some were more unique than others, but they all shared one thing in common, each belonged to a person with the surname Yin.

These were the Yin Clan Ancestral Burial Grounds.

"We're here" Tang Li said stopping before an old shrine.

The shrine was covered in moss and showed signs of decay. However, there was a lingering aura of power that gave it a majestic feel.

When Tang Li and Yin Hui walked inside, they saw a large jade pillar with 6 runes inscribed in a circle. The pillar exuded a power identical to the one outside, but magnified to the point where a faint pressure could be felt. While the shrine surrounding it was visibly impacted by the passage of time, the jade pillar seemed completely unaffected. The runes embedded within were vibrant, and it's luster surface was so clean and smooth reflections could be seen off it.

"What is this?" Yin Hui gaped in awe.

"It's your clan's ancestral tablet. Rumor has it that your ancestor was a powerful cultivator on the level of the primordial gods that rule over the heavens. After reaching the apex of cultivation he imbued his knowledge onto this jade pillar, hoping that one of his descendants could also rise to a similar level of greatness."

Tang Li spoke with great fanaticism when describing the Yin ancestor. While the Yin Clan had fallen, the rumors surrounding the Yin ancestor were well known and believed by many. Being an eager young cultivator, Tang Li respected the Yin Clan ancestor immensely and aspired for the same level of greatness as him.

"Unfortunately, the secrets of the tablet are impossible to unravel. Our clan has tried for months since we discovered it, but the only thing that we have been able to take advantage of is the vast amounts of high quality spirit energy that permeates from the tablet."

Tang Li turned towards Yin Hui and put his hands on Yin Hui's shoulders.

"However! I believe it might be different for you! Yin Hui, as a member of the Yin Clan there's a possibility for you to receive the inheritance of your ancestor and become an immortal!"

Yin Hui shook his head and was about to explain when laughter was heard from behind. Two people stood at the doorway to the shrine, one of them missing an ear. The man with both ears intact had a face similar to Tang Li, but looked much older and more mature. Beside him was Tao Shou, looking quite pitiful due to the asymmetry caused by his missing left ear.

"Tang Jiao…" Tang Li frowned

Tang Jiao scraped his boots on the worn down tiles as he walked inside, purposefully leaving behind bits of dirt with each step.

"Little brother, you spoil this slave too much. He may have saved you once, but have you already forgotten? This boy is a child is an ill omen cursed by the heavens!"

"When he was born a divine tribulation was cast upon the entire Yin Clan. The strongest clan of the region was crippled in a single night, all of them stripped of their cultivation and reduced to mere mortals!"

Tang Jiao spoke as if he was the narrator of a play, but if one listened carefully they could tell his voice contained nothing but mockery and ridicule.

"They tried again and again to restore their cultivation, but the spiritual energy rejected them. It was as if the heavens had cursed their bloodline, preventing a single Yin Clan member from gathering spiritual energy ever again.

"When the enemies of the Yin Clan found out about this, many of them mobilized their forces and laid waste to the clan. The entire clan was nearly exterminated, with a handful of survivors being taken in as slaves. Of course, this was only done to further shame the clan over actual mercy."

Tang Jiao looked at Yin Hui and smiled, pointing his finger towards him.

"A proud clan that once ruled over tens of thousands was brought down due to the birth of this trash. If I were him I would have already dug out my eyes and died a quiet death."

"Tang Li, even though you know this, you still decided to bring him here. You think this crippled brat will really be able to unlock the pillars secrets?"

"He is a member of the Yin Clan, perhaps the secrets can only be passed down through the descendents." Tang Li argued.

Tang Jiao shrugged his shoulders.

"Hmph, all I was doing was trying to give my younger brother some advice. If you will not accept my good intentions so be it. However, this brat provoked my servant!"

"It was I who cut off his ear, he is not to blame." Tang Li stepped in front of Yin Hui.

"Father would not be pleased if we fought, so I will not make things difficult for you little brother. On the other hand, justice still needs to be served. Why don't we have our respective servants settle things themselves then?"

"Don't speak nonsense! Tao Shou is a cultivator in the Spirit Waking realm. Do you not feel shame in having him bully someone who can't even cultivate?"

"Tao Shou has only recently broken through to the Spirit Waking realm. You on the other hand are at its peak, half a step into the Spirit Manifestation realm. Did you not feel shame in bullying a junior almost an entire realm of cultivation below you?"

Tang Li was silent, in battle of words he was no match for his older brother.

Yin Hui placed a hand on Tang Li's shoulder.

"It will only be a small beating, nothing new. If it gets out of control I'll just rely on you to stop it right?"

Tang Li was silent and gave Yin Hui a serious glance. With Tang Jiao there, Tang Li was uncertain if he could stop the match should it reach a critical point. However, there was no way they were getting out of this without initiating some kind of fight either. Tang Li sighed, turning his head back to Tang Jiao and giving him a small nod.

"Excellent! I'm glad we have reached an agreement. Tao Shou I've given you an opportunity, use it well."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Thank you, young master. This servant will not forget your grace." Tao Shou clasped his hands and bowed

"Begin." Tang Jiao announced.

Tao Shou rushed towards Yin Hui, spiritual energy swirling around his fists. When Yin Hui was within reaching distance he struck out with his right palm.

Spiritual energy passively raised all the bodies attributes based on what realm they were in. Tao Shou's current speed was similar to that of a horse at full gallop, which was something Yin Hui simply could not match.

Just when the palm was about to reach him, Yin Hui shifted to the side. The palm passed him by a hair's breadth, tearing a small piece off the side of his robe.

Tao Shou was briefly shocked, but quickly regained his composure.

"A simple fluke! The next one will leave a hole through your chest!"

Tao Shou attacked again, sending a flurry of palms in Yin Hui's direction.

Like before, each attack was dodged at the last second, leaving Yin Hui completely unharmed.

"Why can't I hit him!" Tao Shou shouted, preparing another palm.

This time Yin Hui started running towards Tao Shou. He dodged another palm on the way and leaped over Tao Shou's head, kicking it as he passed.

If Tao Shou was not a cultivator, this kick would have knocked him unconscious, but instead just caused him minor pain.

"You think I was just quietly sitting all those times you beat me over the years? I've been studying you, making sure none of your attacks were hitting my vitals. I know where your attacks will go and when to dodge them."

Tao Shou was taken aback. He would never have guessed that the countless times he tormented Yin Hui that it would come back to bite him in such a way.

While Tao Shou was distracted Yin Hui rushed towards him again. When Tao Shou regained his senses, Yin Hui was right in front of him and landed a strong kick between his legs.

"Ahh!!" Tao Shou howled and collapsed onto the ground. He rolled on the floor with a pained expression on his face, cupping his hands over his family jewels.

"You may be a cultivator, but I guess even mortals can defeat you if they hit the right spots." Yin Hui smirked

Tao Shou stumbled as he got up, his hands still covering his most sensitive area. He was infuriated beyond measure. Not only did he lose an ear, he now also potentially lost the key component to expanding his family line.

"Yin Hui! I will feed your corpse to the dogs!" Tao Shou roared.

Yin Hui laughed, watching Tao Shou start to sweat from holding back the pain.

"Very intimidating coming from a man hunched over with both hands between his legs."

However, Tao Shou did not respond back. His expression calmed as he slowly fell into a stance and retracted his fist. Spiritual energy swirled around his fist once more, but in a different manner, as if the energy was being condensed.

Tang Li's eyes widened as he saw this

"Yin Hui stay alert! That's the Wind Bullet! He's not just empowering his fists, he's using a martial skill!"

"Too late." Tao Shou bent his knees and shot his fist forward, his body recoiling slightly. The sound of a small cannon could be heard as Yin Hui was forcefully thrown back, his body smashing hard against the shrine walls.

Only cultivators of the Spirit Waking realm and above had senses refined enough to see the Wind Bullet. To Tang Li and Tang Jiao, the Wind Bullet was a translucent beam of pressurized air coated with spiritual qi.

Since Yin Hui was not in the Spirit Waking realm, to him it seemed like he was hit by some mysterious invisible force.

Yin Hui started to run, but didn't get far as he was quickly hit by another Wind Bullet. He was sent flying into the ancestral tablet and fell to the ground. The force behind the second Wind Bullet was much stronger than the last, fracturing a few of Yin Hui's bones.

"Time to finish this." There were traces of fatigue on Tao Shou's face as he charged the third Wind Bullet. He had recently learned the technique so three attacks was his limit.

"Tao Shou, stay your hand! The match has already been decided!" Tang Li took a step forward, preparing to block Tao Shou's attack.

Tang Jiao smirked and in a flash appeared beside Tang Li, putting his hand on Tang Li's shoulder.

"Unless you think you can get past me, don't even think about interfering."

Tang Li cursed under his breath. Tang Jiao was a Spirit Manifestation cultivator, which was an entire realm above Tang Li. Even with his peak Spirit Waking cultivation, the gap between the two was enormous.

Seeing that this was the end, Yin Hui turned to face his clans ancestral tablet. He looked at the 7 runic carvings engraved in the pillar with a look of regret.

"If only I wasn't crippled at birth, maybe things could have been a lot different." He thought to himself

While Yin Hui was analyzing the pillar one of the runes caught his eye. He positioned himself closer to get a better look and found that it was of an eye.

The eye radiated a sort of fierceness, and upon further inspection Yin Hui found that it looked identical to his. Suddenly, the eye moved, looking towards him as if it came to life. It paused for a second before emitting a golden beam of light that shot directly into Yin Hui's eyes. Simultaneously, the jade pillar also began to glow a bright gold color.

Tang Li and Tang Jiao noticed this change and shock filled their eyes.

"Is that cripple really getting a reaction from the jade pillar?" Tang Jiao pondered.

At the same time, Tao Shou finished charging the Wind Bullet to maximum power. He seemed oblivious to the change in the jade pillar and punched forward. A jet of pressurized air that seemed to be capable of taking down a fully grown tree shot towards Yin Hui.

As the Wind Bullet sped towards Yin Hui, his body started to glow gold. A loud bang was heard as the Wind Bullet made contact. The shockwave produced by it caused the roof above to collapse, and the tiles below to break into a cloud of dust.

As the roof began to descend on them, Tang Jiao threw out a punch. It produced a shockwave even more powerful than the Wind Bullet and shattered the falling debris.

When the dust cleared, the tablet was completely unharmed, surrounded by broken moss covered ceramic.

"Yin Hui!" Tang Li ran forward and waved his hand. A strong gust of wind appeared and blew away the rubble surrounding the Yin Clan tablet.

Yin Hui was nowhere to be found. His body had completely vanished, not even leaving a single drop of blood.