Transform into ancestral tablets and create a supreme immortal clan.

"Broken Cliff... Three-Leaf Guest Elder... Three-Leaf Black Iron Token?"

Nanshan lightly tapped the table with her jade-like fingertips, her eyes deep and unfathomable.

"The objective is clear, the actions are covert, and there are cultivators directly involved... This Broken Cliff is no small matter." Nan Shanyu's lips curled into a thoughtful smile.

The things the other party is collecting partially overlap with my own goals, which is both a potential conflict and... an opportunity.

For Shen Xiao, with the system at his disposal, many things are beneath his notice.

He made this move quite arbitrarily.

This is a good opportunity to establish a mortal force, based on martial arts, to build a powerful force to protect the Shen family.

With Shen Xiao's support, a martial arts practitioner who has entered the Dao will certainly be no worse than a cultivator.

With the Zhenyu Division and the Great Chu royal family drawing attention, the immortal warriors in the Shen family's territory can develop in peace and focus on their cultivation.

This was Shen Xiao's plan.

The "Broken Cliff" before them was a blade that Shen Xiao had gathered and honed for the Zhenyu Division.

With the incarnation of "Nanshan Jade" stationed in the capital, he was tasked with completing his original plan within the ten-year mission period.

At this point, he decided to take the initiative. Rather than waiting for the other party to complete the transaction or transfer in Beijing, he decided to "visit" them en route.

Three days later, two hundred li west of the capital, in the Black Pine Forest.

This place is one of the only routes to "Bai Zhen Ji" (Collection of a Hundred Treasures), and the forest is deep and the road is dangerous.

Dressed in white, Nan Shanyu stood with his hands behind his back in a clearing in the sparse moonlight, as if admiring the night view.

He had already located the secret camel caravan that was camping and resting in the forest through the precise intelligence from the Town Commandery and his own divine sense scan.

At midnight, a dark figure, almost blending into the darkness, drifted into the center of the camp like a ghost and headed straight for the tent where the caravan leader was located.

None of the camp guards noticed.

Nanshan Yu smiled silently, his figure fading away. The next moment, he appeared outside the tent like a wisp of smoke, his divine sense invading like mercury spilling onto the ground.

Inside the tent, the caravan leader was a wiry, middle-aged martial artist.

He respectfully presented a sealed black iron box.

The black-robed man opposite him was completely shrouded in a cloak, exuding a dark and chilling aura; he was undoubtedly a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The man in black robes took the iron box, and with a flash of black light at his fingertips, the lid opened silently, revealing a dark blue scroll that was neither gold nor jade, emanating a faint, ancient spiritual pressure.

"Yes, it is indeed an ancient copy of 'Qingxia Sword Guide.' Although it is mostly damaged, its essence remains, which meets the requirements." The black-robed man's voice was hoarse and deep, filled with satisfaction.

"Your Sihai Chamber of Commerce did a good job this time. His Majesty will remember this achievement."

"Thank you, Your Excellency! It is our honor to serve Your Majesty." The leader bowed his head obsequiously.

"The transaction is complete. According to the rules, those who knew about this matter..." Before the man in black could finish speaking, a glint flashed in his eyes, clearly indicating that he was considering silencing them.

Just then, a clear and peaceful voice suddenly rang out inside the tent: "Oh? Is the rule of 'Broken Cliff' to kick someone after they've served their purpose?"

"Who?!" the man in black robes roared, his body erupting with black energy that instantly tore the tent apart!

The leader was horrified and retreated hastily, but was immobilized in place by an invisible force, unable to move.

Under the moonlight, Nanshan Yu, dressed in white like snow, stood leisurely three zhang away, as if he had been waiting there for a long time.

The black-robed man's pupils contracted sharply; he hadn't even sensed the other's presence beforehand!

"A cultivator? Who are you? How dare you meddle in the affairs of my Broken Cliff?" He scanned the area with his divine sense and saw that Nan Shanyu was only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. He felt a little relieved, but the other party's skill in concealment made him dare not underestimate him.

"Wenxian Pavilion, Nanshan Yu." Nanshan Yu announced his name, his gaze falling on the dark blue bamboo slip.

"This item feels destined for me; would you be willing to part with it?"

"Arrogant!" The man in black robes laughed in anger.

"A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator dares to covet the Cliff Lord's possessions? He's courting death!" He stopped wasting words, knowing full well the necessity of a swift victory.

The black robe billowed, and a sinister and icy magical power surged out, transforming into dozens of pitch-black tentacles, carrying corrosive spiritual light and soul-snatching shrieks, sweeping towards Nanshan Jade.

At the same time, he secretly held a dusty gray bone needle in his left hand, ready to strike. It was a sinister magic weapon specifically designed to break through protective spiritual light.

Facing the full-force attack of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, Nan Shanyu remained unmoved, even shaking his head with a hint of disappointment: "Mid-Foundation Establishment... is that all?"

He neither dodged nor avoided the attack until the black tentacles were upon him. Only then did he seemingly casually raise his right hand, his fingers forming a sword-like shape, and make a light slash.

There was no earth-shattering display, only a pale golden sword light, condensed to its extreme and almost tangible, flashed by.

laugh--!

Like cutting butter with a hot knife.

All the black tentacles silently disintegrated and evaporated the moment they touched the sword's edge.

The man in black robes was horrified to discover that his connection with the magic had been forcibly severed, and the backlash caused his blood and qi to churn.

What terrified him even more was that the pale golden sword light, undiminished in its momentum, had already pierced through the protective black light he had hastily activated and was aimed at his brow!

"No!"

The man in black robes roared and unleashed the gray bone needle, while a black shield flew out from his sleeve to block in front of him.

Ding! Click!

The gray bone needles, upon colliding with the sword's edge, instantly lost all their spiritual power and shattered into dust. The black shield was pierced through as easily as paper.

The sword light gently touched the black-robed man's brow.

The man in black robes froze, his eyes filled with disbelief, terror, and bewilderment.

He sensed a sharp sword intent far beyond his comprehension, which had silently extinguished his consciousness and severed all his life force.

The sword intent contained within it was something that ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators could not possess, and it was even... unlike the mortal Golden Core path, carrying a more lofty and primordial aura of destruction.

"You...who exactly are you..." The black-robed man's last thoughts failed to be conveyed before he was completely plunged into darkness, his body collapsing limply.

Nan Shanyu raised his hand and summoned the dark blue bamboo slip, the storage bag at the waist of the black-robed man, and the items in his arms.

The storage bag contained many spirit stones, materials, and several ancient, tattered books.

The most eye-catching item was a heavy token.

The token is the color of black iron, about the size of a palm, with fine cloud and thunder patterns engraved on the edges, and three strangely shaped leaf reliefs in the center that seem to be slowly rotating and absorbing light.

It was icy to the touch. When I probed with my divine sense, I could feel a cold, exclusive aura of restriction, as well as a vague mark deep inside the token—"Broken Cliff".

"The Three-Leaf Black Iron Token..." Nan Shanyu toyed with the token, his gaze deep. "Broken Cliff... It seems we'll meet again soon."

He glanced at the caravan leader and several core guards who were slumped on the ground, completely terrified. He casually flicked a few wisps of wind, erasing their memories and leaving hints so that they would only remember encountering unknown robbers, the black-robed messenger, and the disappearance of the goods.

After doing all this, Nanshan Yu's figure faded away again, disappearing into the vast night, leaving only a deathly silence in the forest.

As for the black-robed cultivator with a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation level, he had already been burned to ashes by Nanshan Jade.

With this Three-Leaf Black Iron Token in hand, he could impersonate the person and act for a short period of time.

The game in the capital has begun; from now on, everything is up to him.

……