Mortal: Starting with the Golden Jade Book

Two days later.

In a teahouse in Yanling Fortress, Lin Zui circulated the Returning Origin Technique, his aura blending with the surrounding environment. He took a sip of tea, looked out at Yanling Fortress, and felt the tranquility before the storm.

Suddenly, a figure walked up to Lin Zui; it was Ming Luo.

"Master, as you predicted, the cultivators from the seven sects have been gathered on a desolate mountain west of Yanling Fortress. This is the very place where Young Master Wang Chan ordered the Yin Fire Array to be set up. However, those who set up the array are all trusted confidants of the young master, making it somewhat difficult to tamper with it."

Lin Zui remained calm, as if he had expected this.

"Well, we've done what we needed to do. Some minor flaws are inevitable. But before Wang Chan makes his move, let's give the cultivators of the seven sects another reminder."

"Yes, Master!"

"How is the Heavenly Net Soul Refining Array being set up?"

"Rest assured, Master, I have checked repeatedly and I guarantee there will be no problem."

"I am confident," Mingluo said.

"The Yan family and the Ghost Spirit Sect are currently focused on the cultivators from the seven sects. They are not paying much attention to these cultivators from other sects. They have only sent a few Foundation Establishment cultivators and Qi Refining disciples to maintain order. With the great formation bestowed by the master, it is not a problem to confuse the public and disrupt the scene."

"Very well, if you do this for me, I will remove the restrictions on your bodies and give you your freedom."

Mingluo was overjoyed.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"

"Go and get ready!"

"yes!"

Lin Zui waved Ming Luo away, drank the tea in his cup in one gulp, and looked toward the main hall of the Yan family.

After planning for so long, the moment of truth has finally arrived, and even Lin Zui is somewhat excited.

Fortunately, he quickly regained his composure. Man proposes, God disposes; until the very last moment, no one can say for sure what the outcome will be.

However, he had already calculated everything to the extreme, and if this still failed, he would have no choice but to accept it.

……

"All cultivators participating in the Treasure Hunt, please come forward to draw lots. After the draw, the Treasure Hunt will officially begin..."

Northwest of Yanling Fort, on a small hill.

As one of his subordinates, disguised as a cultivator from the Yan family, shouted several times, only a small fraction of the people managed to enter the array's range. Wang Chan's expression gradually darkened.

"What's going on? Are these cultivators from the seven sects still going to participate in the treasure hunt? Why are they lingering outside the formation and refusing to come forward?"

Wang Chan gritted his teeth. He had already boasted to Yan Yan that his Ghost Spirit Sect would deal with these cultivators from the seven sects.

However, when the time came, an unexpected situation arose. For some reason, only a very small number of the seven sect cultivators who came here entered the Yin Fire Formation they had set up. The vast majority of them stayed in twos and threes, wandering outside the formation, and no matter how his subordinates shouted, they just wouldn't go forward.

Wang Chan was somewhat anxious. If he couldn't trap everyone with an array, even with two Core Formation cultivators under his command, it would be difficult to keep everyone here.

After all, these people are not ordinary cultivators, but direct disciples of Core Formation cultivators from various sects. It is possible that someone might be given some powerful treasure. If they disperse in a commotion, it will be difficult to kill them instantly.

"Young Master, things have changed. Our plan has likely been leaked. If these people are on guard, they won't enter the Yin Fire Formation on their own."

A young, boy-like Core Formation cultivator standing next to Wang Chan replied with a gloomy expression.

Wang Chan's expression was gloomy.

"Without relying on the power of the formation, how confident are you two protectors in capturing all these people?"

The boy shook his head.

"It will be difficult. Without the restriction of the formation, they will surely scatter and flee. With the two of us and the Ghost Guards, we might be able to kill them all, but if the young master wants to spare their lives and extract their souls for Miss Yan's blood sacrifice, then it will be absolutely impossible."

"Damn it! This plot against the seven sects was only known to us and the higher-ups of the Yan family. Who leaked the information?"

Wang Chan cursed angrily, though he did not explicitly point it out, he had clearly become suspicious of the higher-ups at Yan Family Fort.

But this was clearly not the time to dwell on the matter. Wang Chan was quite decisive. After quickly comparing the pros and cons of several solutions in his mind, he made a decision.

"Have your men keep them calm for now. Immediately notify Yan Yan that if he doesn't want these cultivators from the seven sects to escape, he should quickly surround and kill them!"

"Yes, young master!"

Yanling Fortress, Feiyun Pavilion.

Yan Yan, the patriarch of the Yan family, was explaining the plan to evacuate from the Yue Kingdom to several core members of the Yan family.

"How's the sorting of the inventory materials and treasures going?"

"Reporting to Ancestor, the library and treasure pavilion have been mostly emptied. However, our Yan family has a history of hundreds of years, and in addition to these things, there are also a lot of cultivation resources scattered in various places. It is not possible to recover them all so quickly."

A middle-aged monk replied.

"There are also several spirit stone mines and spirit herb mines, but because they are quite far away, although we have sent many people out, it is impossible to clear them all out in a short time..."

"Then continue to send more people. These things are the foundation of our position in the Ghost Spirit Sect. Before leaving, take as much as you can. If you really can't take it, it's better to destroy it than to let the Seven Sects benefit from it."

"Yes, Ancestor!"

The man agreed and immediately got up and left.

The remaining people continued to discuss, and after a while, several more people left as ordered. Only then did Xuan Ye speak up and ask a question.

"Ancestor, my Yan family has multiplied for generations, and now our population is over a hundred thousand. Even if we use the Heavenly Feather Divine Ship passed down from our ancestors, it is impossible to take all of us away. I wonder..."

Yan Yan glanced at him and snorted coldly.

"Do I need to teach you this? We should abandon all the ordinary members and collateral descendants of the Yan family who do not have spiritual roots, and only take those with talent and aptitude. If our Yan family is to rise in the future, we will still have to rely on Yan'er and you talented people. Taking those ordinary members is a waste of resources."

The Yan family patriarch spoke in a cold tone. Xuan Ye's expression did not change much after hearing it, as if he had expected it. On the contrary, Yan Ruyan, who had been listening quietly all along, trembled involuntarily.

Yan Yan's change in expression naturally did not escape Yan Yan's notice. As if understanding Yan Ruyan's concerns, Yan Yan's expression softened.

"Don't worry, Yan'er. Although your parents are mortals without spiritual roots, I will naturally take care of them for your sake."

"Yes, Ruyan thanks you, Ancestor."

Yan Yan nodded, just as he was about to say a few more words of comfort, when suddenly a flame formed from a sound transmission talisman shot over at high speed.

"Um?"

Yan Yan's expression shifted, and he grabbed the flame in his hand. After sensing it briefly, his expression changed drastically.

"Ancestor, what has happened?"

Seeing that something was wrong, Xuan Ye quickly asked.

"The Ghost Spirit Sect's plan to ambush the seven sects' cultivators has run into trouble. The seven sects' cultivators are reluctant to enter the range of the Yin Fire Grand Array, as if they were prepared in advance."

"What! How is this possible? This plan only involves the people among us..."

Xuan Ye suddenly realized something halfway through his sentence.

"Wait, could it be that the Ghost Spirit Sect suspects that someone on our side leaked the information?"

Yan Yan snorted coldly, extinguished the flame of the communication talisman, and spoke in an icy tone.

"Hmph, there's no point in dwelling on this now. If these seven sect cultivators escape, my Yan family won't have time to withdraw from Yue Kingdom. No matter how the news leaked, the most urgent task is to wipe out the seven sect cultivators."

"But Ancestor, most of the elite troops in the fortress have already been dispatched to collect supplies. If we need to mobilize them now, I'm afraid it might not be in time."

Xuan Ye reminded him.

"No need. I will go myself. With the Li brothers, the three of us Core Formation cultivators should have no problem killing these Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"As for you, you can stay here for now. Yan'er has just established her foundation and is still weak. Xuan Ye, you can take the Iron Guard and stay here for the time being."

"yes!"

Just then, a loud explosion suddenly came from afar. Yan Yan sensed the location slightly and his expression changed drastically.

"Oh no, something's happened!"