Mortal: Starting with the Seven Mysterious Sects, I proved my Dao through sacrifice.

Murong Fan's acting skills remained consistently excellent. His strategy of feigning weakness and "playing dumb to fool the enemy" made the already arrogant Jin Guang Shangren even more arrogant and domineering. At this moment, the Wild Wolf Gang was preparing to launch a new round of attacks, which forced Murong Fan to no longer keep a low profile. In the end, he decided to stop pretending and directly confront the enemy.

At this moment, Murong Fan's spiritual power suddenly erupted, and the pressure of the eleventh level of Qi Refining swept across the entire area like a tidal wave. The dark bloodline that had been wrapped around his left arm was instantly forced out by the surging spiritual power, turning into a wisp of black smoke and dissipating into the air. The bluestone beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, and his robes fluttered without wind.

"Qi Refining...eleventh level?!" The Golden Light Immortal's pupils constricted sharply, his dwarf body staggering backward in mid-air, the clinking of gold artifacts at his waist creating a chaotic sound. His wrinkled old face instantly turned deathly pale, his gold teeth grinding together: "I never expected you...you...you actually concealed your cultivation level!"

"I was just pretending to be weak to catch the tiger. You greedy, monkey-faced bastard, are you scared now?" Murong Fan's lips curled up slightly, and a ball of crimson flame condensed in his palm. The power of the fireball technique was more than ten times stronger than before. The fireball hovered in his palm, and the heat wave distorted the surrounding air, turning the remaining snow on both sides of the mountain road into white mist.

A ruthless glint flashed in the triangular eyes of the Golden Light Master. He slammed his purple-gold crown down, and a three-foot-long golden light suddenly appeared above his head, transforming into a semi-transparent protective shield that enveloped his entire body—this was the spell "Golden Light Shield," capable of forming a golden shield to defend against attacks. At the same time, he took out a talisman from his robes, and as he infused it with spiritual power, the talisman transformed into a three-foot-long flying sword. Runes flowed across the sword's surface; it was none other than the low-grade talisman treasure, the "Azure Nether Sword."

"Boy, don't be so arrogant! I have mastered the Vajra Indestructible Technique to a minor degree. Combined with my flying sword and talisman, I will surely annihilate your soul today!" The Golden Light Master grinned and formed a hand seal. Golden light flashed around his body, and his skin even shone with a metallic luster, making him look like a golden statue.

Murong Fan's eyes narrowed, and he quietly made a hand seal with his left hand, conjuring a yellow talisman at his fingertips—the "Stabilizing Talisman." With his right hand, he condensed a fireball technique, a crimson fireball churning in his palm, its spiritual energy fluctuations even stronger than before.

"Kill!" Jin Guang Shangren shouted, and the Qingna Ming Sword transformed into a streak of azure light, piercing straight for Murong Fan's brow. At the same time, he pounced forward like an arrow, his fist, as big as a sandbag, smashing down with a metallic clang—this was the fierce fist power of the Vajra Indestructible Skill.

Murong Fan neither dodged nor evaded, but instead cast a mind-stabilizing talisman first. A burst of golden light suddenly erupted, striking the Golden Light Immortal's sea of ​​consciousness. The dwarf's movements faltered, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes, and the Azure Nether Sword's attack slowed down by half a point.

"Excellent!" Murong Fan finally seized the opening, and his fireball technique slammed into the golden light shield. With a "crack," the shield shattered, and a wave of heat instantly engulfed the golden-light figure.

Taking advantage of his injury, Murong Fan swiftly reached out and grabbed the still-dissipating Azure Nether Sword talisman and another "Vajra Talisman" gleaming with an earthy yellow light. The Golden Light Immortal regained his senses and roared as he swung his fist, but Murong Fan dodged it by sidestepping. Simultaneously, his fingertips surged with spiritual energy, unleashing another fireball technique that struck the man squarely in the chest.

"Pfft—" Golden Light Venerable coughed up blood, his Vajra Indestructible Technique shattered, and his purple-gold crown tilted precariously. He stared incredulously at the two talismans in Murong Fan's hand, his eyes filled with venomous resentment: "You son of a bitch! You... dared to steal my talisman treasures!"

Murong Fan sneered, putting the talisman into his robes, and his spiritual energy once again gathered in his palm. That ball of crimson flame was no ordinary fireball technique, but an enhanced version activated by him with his eleventh level of Qi Refining cultivation. The core of the fireball even shimmered with a faint blue light—a sign that his spiritual energy had been compressed to its limit.

"I'll do more than just steal your talisman!" Murong Fan approached like a ghost, his voice as cold as a deep, dark spring. "I'll also take your life!"

The Golden Light Master was terrified. As the dwarf retreated hastily, he suddenly tore off the purple-gold gourd from his waist and flipped it upside down. The three Soul-Suppressing Bells once again hovered in the air, but instead of attacking, they vibrated wildly, forming a sound wave barrier. At the same time, he bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the broken golden light shield, which transformed into a blood-gold light curtain that barely protected his body.

"A desperate struggle!" A cold glint flashed in Murong Fan's eyes. He made a hand seal with his left hand and used the fifth spell he had only recently learned, unleashing three wind blades in a triangular formation. The bluish-green wind blades tore through the air, emitting a sharp whistling sound. They collided with the sound waves of the Soul-Suppressing Bell, shattering the sound barrier into pieces.

The Golden Light Master's face was as white as gold paper, and the blood-gold light curtain was cracked under the cutting of the wind blades. He was horrified to discover that the young man's magical skills far exceeded his imagination—the wind blade technique was the most basic of the five elements spells, but the young man used it as if it were his own arm, and the three wind blades landed precisely, blocking all his escape routes.

"Fellow Daoist, spare my life!" The Golden Light Master finally broke down, his dwarf body falling from mid-air, kneeling among the rubble and kowtowing repeatedly. "I was blind to your greatness, I am willing to offer up all my possessions!"

Murong Fan toyed with the Vajra Talisman and the Azure Nether Sword Talisman in his hand, and said indifferently, "I have accepted your talismanic treasures. Now... it's time to send you on your way."

"No! You can't kill me! I am a disciple of the Ye family of Qinye Ridge. If you kill me, the sect will never let you off!" Jin Guang Shangren roared fiercely, but his eyes were filled with fear.

Murong Fan's eyes were icy cold as he once again conjured a fireball in his palm: "The Ye family of Qin Ye Ridge? By the time they find this place, you will have already turned to ashes."

A fireball shot out suddenly, striking the golden-haired man squarely in the chest. The dwarf screamed, his body writhing in the flames before finally turning to charcoal. Even in his dying moments, his eyes still held a lingering greed and resentment towards the gold.

The mountain path was deathly silent. The Wild Wolf Gang members were terrified when they saw their revered immortal master blasted to smithereens. Jia Tianlong, his face ashen, stealthily moved backward, but Li Feiyu and his elite troops blocked his retreat.

Murong Fan put away the two talismans, his gaze sweeping over the scattered storage bags of the Golden Light Immortal, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips. He stepped forward and put the storage bags into his robes.

"The Immortal Master is indeed very wealthy."

He turned and looked down at Sunset Peak, where the Wild Wolf Gang had already been routed by Li Feiyu's blade. Jia Tianlong, captured alive, knelt on the ground, his face ashen.

"Sect Leader" Murong remained calm, but had already carefully hidden the storage bag on his body. "The remnants have been eliminated, and the Seven Mysteries Sect... has been saved."

Supported by the elder, Wang Juechu staggered over, his eyes filled with complex emotions as he gazed at the dwarf's corpse. He opened his mouth, but only managed a long sigh: "Fan'er, what... realm have you reached?"

"This disciple merely received some fortuitous encounters," Murong Fan said humbly, bowing his head, but his gaze fell on the black triangular token he had taken from the Golden Light Immortal in his palm. The token was engraved with the words "Ascension to Immortality" in gold on one side and the word "Order" in silver on the other in ancient seal script.

Murong Fan's gaze darkened slightly. It seemed that this Golden Light Master was not a rogue cultivator, but rather had connections to a sect. However, this was not the time to delve deeper. He put away the token and looked towards the distant horizon—there, a ray of dawn was piercing through the clouds, gilding the blood-red battlefield with a golden edge.

"Sect Master, this disciple needs to go into seclusion for three days to stabilize my cultivation."

Wang Juechu gave him a deep look, but ultimately didn't press the matter. He simply patted his shoulder heavily and said, "Go. The Seven Mysteries Sect... is yours now."

Murong Fan lowered his eyes, his tone respectful yet not servile: "This disciple will always be a disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect, and the Sect Master will always be this disciple's master."

Wang Juechu was taken aback upon hearing this, then shook his head with a wry smile. He looked at the boy before him who had once needed his protection, but was now a terrifying being capable of slaying even cultivators, and felt a mix of emotions. The "Master" he had called out was sincere, but Wang Juechu could detect a distance in his voice—not a deliberate attempt to distance himself, but rather a natural chasm caused by the difference in their cultivation levels.

That night, Murong Fan quietly sneaked to the forbidden area behind the mountain. He had sealed the body of the Golden Light Master with an ice spell, and when he took it out, it still retained the look of horror on the face before death.

"Altar, appear!"

At this moment, the purple-blue light screen began to scroll with subtitles again:

[Resources available for sacrifice detected. Convert them into cultivation opportunities?]

"yes!"

In an instant, the purple-blue light screen displayed:

[The value of the sacrificial offerings is being determined...]

[A corpse of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator: possessing certain spiritual roots and intelligence, capable of cultivating spells and refining elixirs]

[Worldly Gold (Ten Thousand Taels of Gold): All gold-related items, used exclusively for barter.]

Should all of them be sacrificed?

Slowly, Murong Fan snapped out of his reverie. He focused his mind and said, "Yes!"

In his sea of ​​consciousness, the ancient altar suddenly appeared, more solid than before, its surface shimmering with a deep, eerie light. Murong Fan placed the corpse in the center of the altar and silently recited the sacrifice.

"Buzz—"

The altar trembled, and a golden light detached from the corpse, entering Murong Fan's brow. A deluge of information flooded in—the decades of cultivation insights of the person on the golden light, the secrets of the sects in Qin Ye Ridge, the power distribution of the cultivation world in Yue Kingdom…

To his even greater surprise, two items slowly coalesced on the altar.

One bottle contained pills labeled "Lingyuan Pills," a rare elixir for enhancing cultivation in the late Qi Refining stage; the last item was a jade slip, which, upon probing with divine sense, revealed a mid-level spell called "Golden Escape Technique."

"Spirit Essence Pill, Golden Escape Technique..." Murong Fan's breathing quickened slightly. The gains from sacrificing a cultivator far exceeded his expectations!

He put away the treasures, his gaze falling on a line of small characters that had recently appeared on the edge of the altar—

"Sacrifice one Qi Refining stage cultivator; altar upgrade progress: 1%"

Murong Fan's eyes lit up. "This altar can actually be upgraded? It seems that my previous guess that this altar still has a mysterious color and contains untapped potential was completely correct. Could there be other surprises in the future? It seems I need to study it carefully in the future!" Murong Ran thought to himself.

He suppressed his turmoil, cleaned up the scene, and turned to disappear into the night. In the distance, the lights of the Seven Mysteries Sect twinkled, as if nothing had happened.

But Murong Fan knew that everything was different now. The mystery of the altar's upgrade... the path of cultivation had only just begun.

He will prove his path through sacrifice, breaking through the boundaries between the mortal realm and the immortal path!

"If cultivators can make sacrifices, can mortals who commit many evils also make sacrifices?" Murong Fan had another thought and exploration in his mind.