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

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After Murong Fan finished his seclusion, his cultivation had reached the mid-stage of Core Formation, he had cultivated the Azure Origin Sword Technique to the sixth level, and he had also mastered the fourth level of the Great Evolution Technique! His speed of progress shocked and satisfied his master, Hong Fu.

Yesterday, during the sacrifice at Yanjiabao, he was given a chance to "open a blind box." The mysterious altar was unpredictable; would it deliver a surprise? What secrets did it hold? This piqued Murong Fan's intense curiosity. At this moment, he felt an itch like a cat's claw was scratching him; he couldn't wait any longer.

"Hurry, hurry! Quickly summon the altar to open the blind box!" I couldn't wait any longer.

"Altar, appear!"

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

[One blind box has been detected. Would you like to claim it?]

"Yes!" Murong Fan silently replied.

[Open the blind box?]

"Yes," Murong Fan said, pressing his palms together in sincere prayer, hoping for a better opportunity to cultivate.

At that moment, the light screen emitted pleasant music like a game wheel, and spun rapidly while flashing lights. Looking at the available options, Murong Fan exclaimed, "The altar really knows how to play! It insists on stopping at the option to increase cultivation!"

"Ding!" The light screen stopped rotating and stopped at the square of "Dual Cultivation Partners".

"What the hell! This altar is ridiculous, it's like matchmaking!" Murong Fan said, looking very unhappy.

"The path of cultivation is already long, and this wheel is still stuck on the 'dual cultivation partner' slot. If I encounter someone weak, wouldn't they become a complete burden? This is a complete waste of time!" Murong Fan was utterly devastated.

The purple-blue light screen displays:

[Dual Cultivation Partner: Nangong Wan]

[Spiritual Root: Heavenly Spiritual Root]

……

The words "Nangong Wan, Heavenly Spiritual Root" were etched into his heart like a knife. Although he was unwilling, he immediately adjusted his mindset: "Since Heaven has arranged it this way, there must be a reason! Isn't this also a way to improve my cultivation?"

"The Blood Spirit Array is broken, and Wang Chan is dead!" An elder from Yan Family Fortress loudly reported to Yan Yunshan.

That's right, that ruthless and cunning devil, backed by his Nascent Soul stage father Wang Tiansheng and uncle Wang Tiangu of the Blood Spirit Sect, actually died in his Yan Family Fortress, right under his nose in Yan Yun Mountain!

"You're killing me!" Yan Yunshan pointed at Murong Fan, his fingers trembling. "How could you kill him? How could the Ghost Spirit Sect let this go? If Brother Wang Tiansheng finds out, they will surely come out in full force and raze my Yan Family Fortress to the ground! Not a blade of grass will grow!"

"Raze it to the ground?" Murong Fan's lips curled into a mocking smile as he glanced at the corner of the secret room.

"So you still want to use your daughter as a gamble, betting on the Blood Spirit Sect and the Six Demonic Sects against the Seven Factions of Yue Kingdom!"

"Lord Yan, it seems you haven't quite grasped the current situation." Murong Fan slowly walked to the table, poured a cup of spiritual tea, and took a small sip. "Before Wang Chan died, the Blood Spirit Array had already been activated. Now that the array is broken, the essence blood of hundreds of disciples from the Seven Sects wasn't absorbed by Wang Chan. Think about what that means?"

He paused, his eyes sharp: "The Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators outside have already discovered the broken formation and the young master's demise. In their eyes, who is the most suspicious?"

Yan Yunshan's pupils contracted sharply, and he couldn't help but shiver.

"Besides your Yan Family Fortress, who else could it be?" Murong Fan's voice pierced Yan Yunshan's heart like a sharp knife. "Wang Chan came to propose marriage, to hold a wedding ceremony, to form an alliance with your Yan Family. Now that he's dead in the Yan Family and the Blood Spirit Formation is broken, if the Ghost Spirit Sect doesn't think it's your Yan Family that betrayed them, who else could it be?"

"That's alarmist talk! I didn't kill anyone, and I didn't break the formation! You think you can fool me, you greenhorn? You're underestimating me!" Yan Yunshan straightened his robes and said, trying to appear calm.

Murong Fan didn't immediately respond, but instead cast a long, unsettling glance at Yan Ruyan. "Your daughter is Wang Chan's soon-to-be wife. Her husband died in her own family; Yan Family Fortress is undeniably responsible. The Ghost Spirit Sect's revenge may come sooner than Fortress Master Yan imagines!"

"Aren't you bullying an honest person?!" Yan Yunshan said angrily, with a hint of resentment.

"This...this is true..." Yan Yunshan's voice began to tremble, fear truly gripping the heart of this Core Formation cultivator for the first time. He had originally thought it was just a simple political marriage, but he never imagined that he would almost send his entire family into an abyss of no return.

Seeing that Yan Yunshan was in a state of confusion, Murong Fan continued, "Wang Chan is dead, but Wang Tiangu and Wang Tiansheng will not let this go. The Blood Spirit Sect does not need a traitorous Yan Family Fortress; they only need a land filled with resentment and blood, and death warriors."

Murong Fan stepped forward, staring intently at Yan Yunshan. "Now, you only have two paths before you. First, wait for the Ghost Spirit Sect's army to crush your fortress and die. Second, join forces with me and turn the tables on them."

"Playing along?" Yan Yunshan suddenly looked up, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

"Yes, that's what we should do now. To the outside world, Yan Family Fortress remains a vassal of the Ghost Spirit Sect. Yan Ruyan remains the young mistress of the Ghost Spirit Sect." Murong Fan's words were startling. "We can disguise Wang Chan's death as an attack by the Seven Sects. And you, Lord Yan, must put on a show of 'losing your beloved son-in-law and vowing revenge to the death.'"

Yan Yunshan gasped. This plan was absolutely insane, yet it seemed to hold a sliver of hope amidst despair: "You want me... to act? But the Ghost Spirit Sect's spies are everywhere in the fortress. How can we possibly fool them?"

"A spy?" Murong Fan's lips curled into a cold smile. "Lord of the Fortress, have you forgotten who else is imprisoned in this dungeon? How many of those elders and stewards who fawn over you are pawns planted by the Ghost Spirit Sect? Tonight, they will be used as a sacrifice for our alliance."

As soon as he finished speaking, the stone door to the secret chamber burst open.

A slender yet resolute figure entered. Yan Ruyan wore a plain white dress, her face as pale as paper, yet her beauty remained undeniable. But in her usually gentle eyes, an unprecedented flame now burned. In her hand she held a gleaming longsword, its tip still dripping blood.

"Father," Yan Ruyan's voice no longer trembled, but instead carried an icy chill, "the seventeen traitors within the fortress have all been executed. Among them are three of your most trusted elders and one of your personal guard commanders."

Yan Yunshan didn't care about these people's birthdays, he just excitedly asked, "Yan'er! What are you doing here? Are you feeling better?" Yan Yunshan could no longer control his excitement. He reached out and touched Yan Ruyan's face. The girl was moved to tears by this loving scene.

"It's nothing serious. Young Master Murong gave me the 'Spirit Nourishing Pill,' and I feel much better now. Young Master Murong has a cure for my heart ailment!" Yan Ruyan said coldly.

Yan Yunshan looked at his daughter, a complex expression flashing in his eyes—a mixture of relief, heartache, resolute determination, and remorse. He knew that the innocent and carefree daughter of the past was dead; the one who had survived was the true future leader of Yan Family Fortress.

"Well done!" Yan Yunshan took a deep breath, as if he had aged ten years in an instant, but then straightened his back. "Yan'er, from now on, you are no longer a hothouse flower that needs your father's protection. You must become the sharp blade of Yan Family Fortress."

He turned around, facing Murong Fan, and knelt on one knee. This kneeling was not submission, but an alliance, and even more so, trust.

"Fellow Daoist Murong, my life, and the lives of the three thousand disciples of Yan Family Fortress, are now in your hands." Yan Yunshan's voice was resounding: "As long as Yan Family Fortress can be preserved, as long as Yan'er can cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage, I am willing to obey your command, even unto death!"

Murong Fan stepped forward and gently helped Yan Yunshan up, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes: "Fortress Master, you flatter us. We're all in the same boat. The Ghost Spirit Sect wants Yan Family Fortress as their prey, then we'll be their nightmare. Let's see who laughs last!"

Murong Fan paused, his gaze fixed on the top of the secret chamber, as if he could see through layers of rock to the Yue Kingdom's sky, which was about to be shrouded in blood.

"Pass down the order: all personnel of Yan Family Fortress are to enter a state of combat readiness. Activate the 'Illusionary Spirit Array' to conceal the true situation within the fortress. Also..." Murong Fan took out a communication talisman from his robes, inscribed with the mark of Yellow Maple Valley, "Notify the seven sects that Yan Family Fortress has been 'attacked by demons' and requests reinforcements. Remember, make the performance convincing; the bigger the commotion, the better."

Yan Yunshan accepted the transmission talisman, a ruthless glint in his eyes: "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I will let the Ghost Spirit Sect know just how sharp the fangs of the Yan Family Fortress truly are. My Yan Family Fortress is not a soft persimmon to be toyed with!"

Just as the three were plotting, a sudden gale arose over Yan Family Fortress, and the once clear night sky was instantly obscured by a strange blood-red cloud. It was a signal from the Ghost Spirit Sect, and the prelude to war.

Murong Fan looked up at the blood-red cloud, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"Has it finally arrived?" Blood Spirit Sect, this drama has only just begun.