Mortal: Starting with the Golden Jade Book

Redstone City.

This is a small town with a population of only a few hundred thousand and located in a remote area.

Located in the western border of Tianluo Kingdom, it is under the jurisdiction of the Ghost Spirit Sect. There is a Ghost Spirit Sect branch altar in the city, which is stationed by a group of low-level disciples who exercise high-pressure rule over the independent cultivators and mortals in the city.

On this very day, a battle cry suddenly erupted from this usually lofty branch altar, but it only lasted for a few breaths before returning to silence.

Several hours later, a bold rogue cultivator tried to sneak in to check the situation, but found the courtyard in chaos, clearly having been the site of a battle, yet without a trace of blood.

The seven or eight Qi Refining stage Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators who were originally stationed here have long since vanished without a trace.

These cultivators were greatly shocked, knowing that something serious had happened, but none of them had any intention of informing the Ghost Spirit Sect.

After all, given the Ghost Spirit Sect's style, going to inform them would not only bring no benefit, but could also make them a target for the enraged Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators. Why bother?

However, these rogue cultivators did not leave immediately. Since there was no one else around, they naturally wanted to search the area to see if there was anything of value.

Sure enough, after searching, these people found quite a lot of valuables. After dividing them up, some clever ones, fearing they might leave any clues and be caught by the Ghost Spirit Sect, simply destroyed the scene again. After confirming there were no traces, they scattered and fled.

It wasn't until several days later that people from the Ghost Spirit Sect discovered the anomaly at this branch altar. However, by then, these rogue cultivators and Lin Zui, the instigator, were already thousands of miles away.

"I didn't expect that the Qin family had already been wiped out. The way the demonic path acts is really domineering."

Lin Zui sighed inwardly.

He gleaned a great deal of information from the low-level cultivators of the Ghost Spirit Sect.

The Ghost Spirit Sect's current influence in Tianluo Kingdom is led by the Soul Shattering True Man, who is in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, and its headquarters is located on Youming Peak, a thousand miles away.

When the news spread throughout Tianluo Kingdom that the Qin family had produced a genius with a heavenly spiritual root, all six sects of the demonic path showed great interest in it.

Although it wouldn't be as simple as a Nascent Soul cultivator directly taking action, each family sent many Core Formation cultivators to the Qin family to coerce and entice them.

The Ghost Spirit Sect was led by Wang Chan and his group of Core Formation cultivators.

It is said that Wang Chan originally followed Wang Tiansheng, the leader of the Ghost Spirit Sect, and others to expand the territory.

For some reason, more than twenty years ago, just as the six sects were winning a great victory, this promising young man, on whom high hopes were placed, was sent back by his father. Moreover, upon returning to the sect, he was imprisoned for ten years, which greatly damaged his reputation.

Many people originally thought that Wang Chan would be devastated and even stripped of his position as the young master, but things did not turn out as many people expected.

After his confinement ended, Wang Chan's personality became much more composed. Although his cultivation level did not improve much, he was much more experienced in handling various matters than before.

With the assistance of a group of capable cultivators under his command, he has made many contributions to the Ghost Spirit Sect in Tianluo Kingdom over the years and has also subdued many forces. His position as the young master is more secure than it was twenty years ago.

Upon learning of the Qin family's Heavenly Spirit Root cultivator, Wang Chan was one of the most proactive, leading a large group of his cultivators to the Qin family in Lin Yuan Prefecture as soon as possible.

However, the other factions were also quick, arriving around the same time. This put the Qin family, caught in the middle, in a precarious situation, as choosing any of the other five factions risked offending them.

Anyone in this situation would most likely choose one family and bring their entire family along to seek refuge.

However, no one expected that after a stalemate of several months, the Qin family would make a decision that surprised everyone.

Taking advantage of the fact that the six sects were scheming against each other and not on high alert, the Qin family patriarch led a few of his younger clansmen and Qin Mengyao, and secretly fled Qin Family Fortress.

Unfortunately, before they could get very far, they were discovered.

This has truly touched the raw nerve of the six sects.

Feeling insulted, these people, in a fit of rage, wiped out all the remaining members of the Qin family and the ordinary people living in the Qin family compound. Then, they joined forces to set up a net around the area, making it impossible for the Qin family members to escape.

"This has been going on for five or six days now. Although the Qin family has a Core Formation stage ancestor leading them, with the combined efforts of many Core Formation cultivators searching, they probably won't be able to hide for long... Sigh, I hope we can make it in time."

Lin Zui revealed a worried expression, used the Five Elements Escape Technique, and rushed towards Lin Yuan Prefecture.

……

Ten days later.

Lin Zui spared no effort in using his magic to hurry along the way, and finally arrived near Qin Family Fort.

But by the time he arrived, the place had become a ruin.

Lin Zui flew into the room and circled around a few times, but found nothing of use. However, the scattered limbs and the dried bloodstains everywhere clearly proved to Lin Zui the brutality of the massacre.

Lin Zui frowned. There were still many magical energy fluctuations left here, which was indeed the work of cultivators. However, the killing methods seemed to be motivated by a desire to kill for pleasure.

With a sigh, Lin Zui turned to leave, but suddenly his expression changed. A group of cultivators dressed in various styles had already surrounded him.

Although he had never formally participated in the war between the Seven Factions and the Six Sects, he could still recognize the attire of the people from the Six Sects of the Demonic Path.

Judging from their attire, these people were clearly cultivators from the six sects. Even though he had concealed his aura, they were still able to detect him, which clearly indicated that they had some special sensing methods.

"Fellow Daoists, I am merely passing through this place. May I ask what business it is of stopping me?"

Lin Zui looked at the people around him with a calm expression.

The six Foundation Establishment cultivators and dozens of Qi Refining disciples were clearly spies left here by the six sects to keep watch.

"Hmph, just passing through? If you're just passing through, is it necessary to be so secretive?"

"If the water mirror hadn't sensed the abnormal airflow, we would have been completely fooled by you."

A Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Thousand Illusions Sect, holding a strange disc, spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

"What is your relationship with the Qin family?"

What if I said I have nothing to do with them?

"That's not up to you to decide."

The burly man from the Demon Flame Sect next to him had lost interest in saying anything more.

"Once I capture you, I'll have a thousand ways to make you talk."

Lin Zui sighed and gave him a slightly amused look.

"Although I don't really like your attitude, what you said... is quite right."

After saying that, Lin Zui's figure vanished from the spot in an instant, and the next moment...

A scream rang out, and Lin Zui appeared behind the Thousand Illusion Sect cultivator. With a pair of iron claws in his hands, he pierced the cultivator's head without any hesitation, killing him instantly.

"you……"

The people around were shocked, but before they could react, Lin Zui waved his hands repeatedly, killing several Qi Refining disciples around him. He then collected the storage bag of the Thousand Illusion Sect cultivator and the fallen water mirror plate, and his figure disappeared again.

"Be careful!"

Several Foundation Establishment cultivators shouted in panic, but they couldn't care less about others. They hastily activated their spiritual energy shields and took out various defensive magical artifacts to protect themselves, but...

Useless!

Lin Zui reappeared, knocking away the defensive magic artifact with one claw, and easily tearing through the spiritual energy shield with the other, piercing through the chest once again.

The cultivators of the Yuling Sect stared at Lin Zui in disbelief, unable to understand why his defenses had suddenly become so weak, as if they had been weakened by some inexplicable force.

However, Lin Zui certainly wouldn't give him any explanation. With a casual wave of his hand, his body was cut in two and fell to the ground.

Before he could take another look at the situation on the field, his consciousness had completely dissipated.