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

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Entrusted by his master Hong Fu, Murong Fan went to Yan Family Fortress to participate in the treasure hunt. According to the original plot, Yan Family Fortress has a young lady named Yan Ruyan who has the same Heavenly Spiritual Root as him.

In the original story, Wang Chan forced Yan Ruyan to become his Daoist partner. He planned to use the Ghost Spirit Sect's Blood Spirit Array to trap all the Foundation Establishment cultivators from the seven sects participating in the tournament, and then use the demonic Blood Spirit Technique to perform a blood sacrifice, using their souls as offerings. But in Murong Fan's view, wasn't this stealing the altar's job?

At this moment, Yan Family Fortress is hosting a sensational "Treasure Hunting Conference" that has shaken the Yue Kingdom. Ostensibly a gathering to build connections, it uses the invaluable treasure—the Qiankun Tower—as bait, and also serves as a means of selecting a son-in-law. But in reality, it is a long-planned conspiracy. Murong Fan blends into the crowd, appearing completely inconspicuous. He conceals his aura and disguises himself as an ordinary rogue cultivator.

The Yan Family Fortress was bustling with activity, and as music began, the banquet commenced. Murong Fan, hidden in the shadows, peered through the crowd and fixed his gaze on the high platform.

"Dear cultivators, thank you for waiting. The celebration is about to begin! Welcome, guests. Please welcome the newlyweds..." The emcee announced the ceremony according to the program.

Speaking on the high platform was a handsome young man in a red robe with a sinister face. His gaze swept directly over the cultivators below, a sinister smile playing on his lips. This man was none other than Wang Chan, the young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect.

"Disgusting! Traitorous villain of the demonic path." Murong Fan sneered inwardly. He could clearly sense the faint bloody and sinister aura emanating from Wang Chan, which was exactly the same as that of Senior Brother Ye of the Thousand Bamboo Sect whom he had encountered before.

"Why are you suddenly getting married?" a monk asked enviously.

Beneath the red veil, a young girl in a red dress possessed a graceful figure. Although her face was concealed by the veil, her beauty was undeniable, and her flustered movements revealed unease and melancholy. It turned out she was Yan Ruyan.

To outsiders, she was the high and mighty eldest daughter of the Yan family of Yanjiabao, the Daoist partner that countless cultivators dreamed of. But in Murong Fan's eyes, Yan Ruyan was a woman with a heavenly spiritual root, destined for misfortune.

Such talent should have been coveted gems in the cultivation world, but due to the Yan family's ambition and Wang Chan's scheming, she became a pawn to be manipulated. Murong Fan sighed inwardly. He knew that the despair and resentment in Yan Ruyan's heart stemmed from the helplessness and heartache of not being able to control her own destiny.

"Miss Yan'er? Something feels off! We've never seen this young master before!" The cultivators below the stage discussed among themselves.

"Where is Elder Liu, the one who posted this? Why haven't we seen Elder Liu? And Lord Yan hasn't shown up either." The people below the stage were shocked by this deceptive tactic of falsely claiming to be a mutton.

"Welcome everyone to my and Yan'er's wedding ceremony... Now that everyone is here, let's begin the banquet!" Wang Chan said with a smug look on her face.

"What's going on with this formation?" a cultivator asked in a panic.

"I think I've seen this formation before. It's the Blood Spirit Formation of the Ghost Spirit Sect," a knowledgeable cultivator said.

"My cultivation is being suppressed, and my spiritual energy is being drained!" "Me too..." Everyone chimed in.

"My magic artifact has malfunctioned too! What should I do if my cultivation is suppressed?" The cultivators all looked helpless.

"Join forces to break through and break the formation!" an elderly cultivator shouted.

"This formation is draining our power! Run!" a cultivator shouted in panic.

"Fellow cultivators, I'm sorry! My wife needs medical treatment and I'm counting on you all." Wang Chan's smug and ghostly laughter made the cultivators' hearts pound.

"Does the demonic path intend to use our blood as a sacrifice?!" the cultivators said, their faces filled with resentment.

Just then, the purple-blue light screen displayed: "Host, you're quite composed. However, that kid surnamed Wang's Blood Spirit Array is far too crude; it's an insult to the word 'blood sacrifice'."

Murong Fan was startled. "This time, the altar didn't need to be summoned by divine sense; it manifested itself on its own?"

The purple-blue light screen displayed again, "This altar senses a strong aura of resentment and blood sacrifice nearby. Tonight will likely be another calamity. What kind of contestant dares to try and steal my job? It's like brandishing a broadsword in front of Guan Yu!"

Murong Fan understood. It seemed that Wang Chan's Blood Spirit Array had offended the divine power of the altar.

Murong Fan could sense that the altar's consciousness seemed to have become more active because of Wang Chan's actions, and the surrounding air seemed to carry an ancient and mysterious tremor.

"However," the subtitles on the purple-blue screen continued to appear, the dialogue seemingly tinged with amusement and resentment, "that kid surnamed Wang does possess a sinister aura that makes this altar somewhat uneasy. And the Ghost Spirit Sect behind him... it must be a rich 'treasure trove'."

"A treasure vault?" Murong Fan muttered to himself, not understanding what the altar meant.

"Just you wait! Let that rascal Wang Chan finish his antics, and once he's pushed the Blood Spirit Array to its limit and drawn out all those hidden evil spirits, then our altar can make its move, saving us a lot of trouble."

"We'll take him and his formation together and 'collect' them from this altar. This is also a punishment for his lesson in 'blood sacrifice'," the purple-blue light screen flashed again with the subtitles.

Upon hearing this, Murong Fan was startled. Was the altar planning to reap the benefits without lifting a finger, and even include the Ghost Spirit Sect in its scheme? Their appetite was truly enormous.

He looked at Wang Chan on the high platform. Wang Chan was looking down at the panicked and screaming cultivators below with a smug expression, completely unaware that an existence a thousand times more terrifying than him had already regarded him and his Ghost Spirit Sect as his own.

"What's going on?" Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed.

"It's so cold, so cold! It's really so cold..." another voice trembled as it spoke.

A sudden chill instantly enveloped the entire Yan Family Fortress. This chill wasn't the low temperature of winter, but a strange cold originating from the depths of the soul, seemingly capable of freezing one's spiritual power and life force. The cultivators who had been panicking and trying to resist the formation immediately stopped, falling into extreme fear and unease.

This chill did not originate from Wang Chan's Blood Spirit Array, nor from any of the cultivators present. Though it arrived silently, it was extremely domineering and fierce, instantly overwhelming the sinister aura emanating from the Blood Spirit Array.

Wang Chan's smug smile vanished. He abruptly looked up, scanning his surroundings with suspicion and unease, a flicker of doubt in his eyes: "Oh no? What exactly is this chilling aura?"

He could feel that the Blood Spirit Array he had painstakingly set up was showing signs of instability in the face of this sudden chill, and the Blood Spirit Array was absorbing the cultivator's spiritual power and soul at a slower rate.

Murong Fan, however, understood perfectly. He knew that the altar was beginning its "lesson" for Wang Chan. The purple-blue light screen said, "Watch closely, host. Let me show you what true 'sacrifice' really is. That wicked Wang is nothing but a clumsy imitator."

As the altar's sound faded, the ground of Yan Family Fortress began to tremble, and visible black mist seeped out from the ground, spreading rapidly like venomous snakes.

Wherever the black mist passed, the light barrier of the Blood Spirit Array began to melt away like ice and snow meeting the sun. And those cultivators touched by the black mist, although they still felt bone-chillingly cold, strangely stopped losing spiritual energy from their bodies.

Wang Chan's expression changed drastically; his meticulously planned "blood sacrifice" was about to be destroyed. "Who dares to destroy my Blood Spirit Array?!" he roared madly, but quickly regained his composure. He rapidly formed hand seals, trying to stabilize the Blood Spirit Array, but the black mist seemed to have a life of its own, relentlessly eroding and disintegrating his formation.

"You dare to show off your skills before an expert!" The purple light screen continued to flash with subtitles, as if carrying some kind of curse, echoing throughout the entire Yan Family Fortress and clearly reaching everyone's ears, especially Wang Chan, who heard it clearly and was terrified. "What... what is that sound?!" He looked around in horror, but could not find the source of the sound.

Murong Fan stood in the shadows, coldly watching Wang Chan's expression shift from smugness to suspicion, and finally to utter terror, his heart remaining unmoved. He knew the real show was just beginning. Once the altar made its move, Wang Chan and his Ghost Spirit Sect would likely truly become the "treasure trove" the altar had promised.

A moment later, apart from Yan Ruyan, who possessed a Heavenly Spirit Root and was in poor health, all the other cultivators in the Blood Spirit Array were sacrificed. The arrogant and domineering Wang Chan was also sacrificed along with the array.

With the help of this formation and the sacrifices of the cultivators, the altar has been upgraded to 50%.

Watching the once-bustling celebration transform into a fierce battle within the Blood Spirit Array, and now fall silent as a cicada's song, Murong Fan felt a pang of bitterness: "In the end, this world of cultivation still prioritizes strength! This altar is quite temperamental!"