148: Chapter 148 I'm determined to throw this dirty water on you.

Jiang Wanrou gripped the "Blood River Formation Flag," the veins on the back of her hand pulsing faintly. The ghost Face on the flag seemed to sense the presence of a living person, still struggling and twisting recklessly, emitting a series of teeth-grinding shrieks.

"Don't tremble." Gu Yan's voice came from behind, as calm as if he were discussing what to eat for dinner. "Although this thing is sinister, in the eyes of those old fogies at the Yunlan Sect Mission Hall, it's just a hot potato. You just need to throw it out; others will naturally do the rest for us."

"I'm not afraid." Jiang Wanrou took a deep breath, stuffed the Formation Flag into a specially made sealed brocade box, and turned to look at Gu Yan. "I'm just thinking, after this, the Lin family's reputation within the Sect will be completely ruined. But I… I also can't turn back."

This was a pledge of allegiance. Once she took this item to the Mission Hall, it would mean she was standing completely on the opposite side of the Lin family, with no room for maneuver.

"Turn back?" Gu Yan sat cross-legged on the stone bed, his fingers tapping rapidly on the crimson control Formation Plate without raising his head. "There is a broad road ahead, why turn back? Go, don't let those 'pillars of the Righteous Path' wait too long."

Jiang Wanrou gritted her teeth, hugged the brocade box, and rushed out of Shafeng Cave. Watching her figure disappear into the wind gap, the calmness on Gu Yan's Face was instantly replaced by a murderous aura. At this moment, the Formation Plate on his knees was as scorching as a branding iron.

In the center of the Formation Plate, the cluster of light representing Baifeng City had turned a piercing crimson, and the four runes representing the Formation eyes were spinning crazily, almost about to fly off the plate.

"The first wave of the offensive has arrived." Gu Yan closed his eyes. His Divine Sense, through the connection between the master plate and the sub-plate, spanned a thousand miles and instantly descended over the precarious city.

Outside Baifeng City, black clouds pressed down. A dozen black flying boats of the Lin family did not attack directly but hovered at a height of three thousand zhang, like a flock of patient vultures.

On the ground, over a hundred "Shadow Kill Guards" dressed in night-traveling clothes were like a black tide, using the cover of night to silently creep toward the base of the city wall. In their hands, they held "Spirit-Eroding Awls" specifically for breaking Formations—sinister Magical Artifacts soaked in filthy blood for forty-nine days, designed specifically to break Spiritual Power shields.

"Do it." The leader of the Shadow Kill Guards made a cutting gesture. A hundred death soldiers raised their arms simultaneously, and a hundred Spirit-Eroding Awls turned into black light, fiercely stabbing at the golden city-protecting Formation.

Pfft, pfft, pfft. Just like a red-hot iron rod poking into butter, the sturdy golden light screen was instantly corroded with hundreds of holes, and black, filthy blood spread along the light screen, emitting a hissing corrosive sound.

"It worked!" A flash of joy crossed the leader's eyes. However, the next second, the originally golden light screen suddenly changed color. Red. Crimson. Those hundreds of holes that had been corroded did not expand; instead, they were like bloodthirsty maws suddenly opening wide.

Roar—!!! A heaven-shaking beast roar echoed from underground. The ground of the entire Baifeng City shook violently. From the four directions of southeast, west, and north, four pillars of blood shot into the sky, converging in the air into four hideous giant beast phantoms—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. But at this moment, the Four Symbols were no longer sacred; their bodies were shrouded in dense Evil Qi of blood.

"Four Symbols Heaven-Locking Array, activate." On the city wall, Leng Yuechan's red clothes fluttered, and she pressed the Formation Plate in her hand heavily downward. Boom! Those hundred Shadow Kill Guards who were preparing to sneak in through the holes instantly felt the surrounding air solidify. Immediately after, countless red threads of Spiritual Power shot out from the light screen, like living tentacles, instantly wrapping around their limbs and necks.

"Retreat! Quickly retreat! It's a trap!" The leader shrieked, turning to flee. It was too late. The Spiritual Power threads tightened violently. Snap, snap, snap. There were no screams, because their vocal cords had been severed in the first instant. Over a hundred death soldiers at the Foundation Establishment Stage were cut into countless pieces in that instant. Blood gushed out, but it did not fall to the ground; instead, it was greedily absorbed by the eerie red light screen. Having devoured the blood, the Formation glowed even brighter, and a hair-raising chewing sound could be faintly heard.

"Tsk." Inside Shafeng Cave, Gu Yan looked at the black dots that had instantly disappeared on the Formation Plate, his fingers tapping lightly on his knees. "That old thing Lin Canghai probably didn't expect that I would change a defensive Formation into a man-eating Formation." This was the true form of the Four Symbols Heaven-Locking Array. When he originally set up this Formation, Gu Yan had left a backup plan. Defense was just a facade; strangulation and devouring were the core.

"Since you've come, don't leave. It's just right to nourish my Formation." Gu Yan input a more violent surge of Spiritual Power, and the red light on the Formation Plate was almost overflowing.

Meanwhile, at the Yunlan Sect Mission Hall. "Bang!" A brocade box covered in sealing Talismans was slammed heavily onto the appraisal counter, shaking the pen holder on the table. "Jiang Wanrou from the Pill Pavilion, turning in one 'suspected Demonic Path Magical Artifact'!"

Jiang Wanrou's voice was crisp and loud, instantly drowning out the noisy crowd in the main hall. Her hair was messy, and her clothes were stained with grass clippings, making her look like she had just experienced a life-or-death escape. The duty Elder, who was dozing off, was startled and lifted his eyelids impatiently. "What kind of Demonic Path Magical Artifact is worth making such a fuss about? Young people nowadays treat even a broken piece of iron as a treasure..."

As he spoke, he carelessly peeled back a corner of the Seal on the brocade box. Hiss— A wave of bloody Evil Qi, thick enough to be tangible, instantly rushed out of the brocade box, turning into a hideous ghost Face that lunged straight at the Elder's Face.

"Holy crap!" The Elder let out a strange cry, springing up from his chair. He waved his hands repeatedly, casting seven or eight Restrictions to barely suppress the ghost Face back. The main hall fell into instant silence. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the brocade box. Even from far away, the nauseating bloody stench still made people's stomachs churn.

"This... this is..." The duty Elder's Face turned pale, his hand pointing at the brocade box trembling. "Ancestor Blood River's Soul-Devouring Banner? No... it's a Formation Flag! It's a Formation Flag for a Blood Sacrifice Formation!" With a "boom," the crowd exploded.

"Blood Sacrifice Formation? Wasn't that listed as a forbidden technique hundreds of years ago?" "Where did this thing come from?"

Jiang Wanrou's Face was pale. She pointed to the northwest, her voice trembling but clear. "I found it in the withered forest near the Black Stone Vein. That place... that place was originally the Lin family's station, but when I went to gather herbs, I discovered it had turned into a mass grave, filled with dried corpses everywhere..."

"The Lin family?" "The Black Stone Vein?" These two keywords were like sparks falling into an oil barrel. "I knew the Lin family had been acting suspiciously lately; so they were up to this kind of heinous activity!" "No wonder Lin Zixuan insisted on snatching Senior Sister Jiang's Green Lotus Fire before; that must have been to refine Blood Pills, right?" "My God, are they trying to conduct a Blood Sacrifice right under the Sect's nose?"

Rumors, once backed by physical evidence, spread at the speed of light. Moreover, the timing Gu Yan chose was too vicious. The Lin family had just lost Face on the Life-and-Death Stage, and now this scandal had broken out.

"Quick! Notify the Law Enforcement Hall! Notify the Sect Master!" The duty Elder grabbed the brocade box, not even bothering to put on his shoes properly, and ran barefoot toward the back hall. "Something big has happened! This time, something really big has happened!"

Jiang Wanrou stood in the chaotic crowd, watching the Elder's panicked back, and the heart that had been hanging in her chest finally settled back down. Following Gu Yan's instructions, she had not only turned in the item but also conveniently pinned an inescapable black pot onto the Lin family.

"Gu Yan..." she muttered to herself. That man, sitting motionless in the cave, had turned the entire Yunlan Sect upside down.

The Lin family's courtyard. "Crash!" Another set of expensive tea sets met its doom. Lin Canghai looked at the scout kneeling before him reporting the news, trembling with rage; his white hair, which was usually combed meticulously, was now disheveled.

"Blood River Formation Flag? Jiang Wanrou handed it in?" "Not only that! Now everyone outside is saying that our Lin family is colluding with the Demonic Path and wants to conduct a Blood Sacrifice within the Sect! That old madman, Elder Su Ming from the Law Enforcement Hall, has already led people to Seal off the Black Stone Vein, saying he wants a thorough investigation!"

"Pfft!" Lin Canghai spat out a mouthful of blood. That was the sub-flag they had lost! It had been snatched by that mysterious person who raided the stronghold! How did it end up in Jiang Wanrou's hands?

"Gu Yan... it must be Gu Yan!" Lin Canghai ground his back teeth, the red light in his eyes almost dripping blood. "What a move of using a borrowed knife to kill! What a move of a thief crying 'stop thief'!" He had originally thought Gu Yan was just a slightly stronger ant, but he hadn't expected that this ant was not only poisonous but could also play military strategy!

"Elder, what about Baifeng City..." the scout asked cautiously. "Forget about Baifeng City!" Lin Canghai roared. "Now those old fogies in the Sect are all watching us! Immediately order the Shadow Kill Guards to retreat! Destroy all traces! If we are caught with any more evidence, the Lin family is truly finished!"

"But... if we retreat, the Blood Sacrifice will..." "Get out!!!" With a roar, mixed with the terrifying Spiritual Pressure of the Golden Core Stage, he sent the scout flying away.

Lin Canghai collapsed into his chair, gasping for air. He had lost. In this first round of confrontation, the Lin family had lost everything, down to their underwear. Not only had they lost the Formation Flag and lost Face, but now the Blood Sacrifice plan in Baifeng City had also been forced to abort.

"Gu Yan..." Lin Canghai gripped the back of the chair tightly, his fingernails digging deep into the wood. "You just wait for me. In the Grand Competition three days from now, I will grind your bones to dust!"