141: Yan Xiao: What? My Yan family was exterminated?

The Great Jiang Dynasty is located in the Efeng Mountain Range, which is now to the west of the Green Emerald Mountains. This side also has the Li Kingdom, managed by the Heshui Prefecture. Compared to the eastern side, it is relatively peaceful and prosperous, and even Mortals can live in peace.

The farthest south leads to a long mountain range, even more treacherous than the Green Emerald Mountains, with countless Yao Beasts. Even Golden Core Experts dare not venture deep within.

To the west lies an endless desert. Even Immortal Foundation Cultivators would exhaust their spiritual power before reaching its end. No Yao Beasts or Demonic Beasts can be found there, and even Spirit Medicines and spirit ores are scarce. Only Golden Core Experts occasionally venture deep, seemingly to find some treasures.

In short, for the current Xuanhuan World, the Great Jiang Dynasty, Yue Country, Chu Country, and Li Kingdom comprise the entire map. Among them, Chu Country is considered Newbie Village No. 1 due to its single-player storyline, while the Great Jiang Dynasty is considered Newbie Village No. 2 due to its imperial order.

Therefore, the Purple Qi Sect settled down in Great Jiang, and many small guilds also found small Families and Sects to parasitize in Great Jiang. Everyone was having a blast, enjoying the peace under the established order.

But now, that peace has been shattered.

"Bad news! Sect Master!"

At the Purple Qi Sect, a Mortal Foundation Elder anxiously ran into the main hall. He glanced at Sect Master Crimson Purple, who was discussing Alchemy with Yan Xiao, then looked at Yan Xiao. His expression changed, and he ultimately didn't dare to speak.

Crimson Purple hadn't reacted yet, but Yan Xiao, as a fallen Genius, was incredibly sensitive to social cues. He immediately guessed that it was something related to him, and couldn't help but feel suspicious.

"What is it? Elder Yan is not an outsider, speak quickly."

Crimson Purple called out.

That Mortal Foundation Elder, being a player, didn't have too many inhibitions, and actually blurted out: "The Yan Family has been annihilated!"

"What?!"

Yan Xiao shot up, staring intently at the other person, almost choking on his breath.

The player continued to speak to himself:

"It was terrible! No matter if they were old or young, or even children, all were killed. Not even the Guest Elders escaped; they all died!"

Yan Xiao felt dizzy, and Crimson Purple quickly helped him.

"Then... my father?"

"The Yan Family Clan Chief also died!"

This time, Yan Xiao truly couldn't hold back. He fell to the ground with a thud, his eyes dim, as if the world had lost all its color.

After a long while, he asked bitterly: "...Who... who did it?"

This time, the player looked a bit troubled: "I really don't know. It's said that the Lan Yun Guard went to annihilate the Family, but midway, for some unknown reason, a black mist suddenly appeared, and then everyone died. It seems the Lan Yun Guard also died with them."

"Lan Yun Guard? Murong Shusu!"

Yan Xiao was furious, wishing he could burst into the Imperial Dynasty right now and tear Murong Shusu to pieces.

"Yan boy, wait a moment. This matter might not be the Lan Yun Guard's doing."

The soul body within Yan Xiao suddenly spoke: "If I'm not mistaken, it's likely some evil Cultivator took advantage of the battle to use some method."

"Evil Cultivator? Who?"

"This... how would I know? However, take me to the Yan Family now. I might be able to find some traces."

"Good!"

Yan Xiao was still enraged, his eyes bloodshot, his entire being seemingly in a state of frenzy, but he still maintained his last shred of sanity.

He bowed to Crimson Purple and said, "Fellow Daoist Crimson Purple, I need to return to the Yan Family."

Crimson Purple was not surprised, and even offered, "I will go with you."

As an Immortal Foundation battle force, and cultivating a fifth-grade Golden Core Method, Yan Xiao naturally wouldn't refuse.

At this moment, the Mortal Foundation Elder said to Crimson Purple again: "Sect Master, it's not just the Yan Family; some small Families and Sects nearby have also suffered. The strange thing is that all their bodies have vanished, and the Yan Family is currently shrouded in a black mist. No one can enter, and no one knows what happened. Some people guess... it might be an evil Cultivator."

Crimson Purple was slightly taken aback: "How could there be an evil Cultivator in the Great Jiang Dynasty? Aren't they afraid of the imperial court's wrath?"

The Elder player chuckled: "They even killed the Lan Yun Guard, so do you think they're afraid? It's just that we don't know the exact situation, to be able to annihilate a Lan Yun Guard led by a Mortal Foundation in one go. That combat strength is quite formidable. It might cause a huge commotion in the Great Jiang Dynasty, and our Purple Qi Sect probably won't be able to stay out of it."

Crimson Purple also frowned.

Annihilating the Yan Family and annihilating surrounding Families and Sects are two completely different concepts. The latter means that the usually stable Great Jiang Dynasty will fall into turmoil.

The most abnormal thing is that even though the Lan Yun Guard was killed, there wasn't much reaction from the imperial city. If it were before, an Immortal Foundation Expert would definitely have taken action, but now not even a Mortal Foundation has been sent out.

This suggests that there might be issues with the Great Jiang Dynasty's communication and combat power distribution, or perhaps the Great Jiang Dynasty has a much larger problem.

This raised more doubts for many people, and some even quietly probed the Great Jiang Dynasty's directly administered towns. Even around the Purple Qi Sect, many more eyes appeared; someone was watching them.

"It's going to get chaotic."

Crimson Purple sighed. She never expected that an Imperial Dynasty with Golden Core Experts would also experience chaos. This was simply unreasonable.

Could it be... She was suddenly startled, thinking of the various rumors in the Xuanhuan World.

Could it be that the Empress's lifespan has ended?

Shaking her head, Crimson Purple didn't think too much, and left the Purple Qi Sect with Yan Xiao, heading towards the Yan Family.

Both were Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and their speed on the wind was extremely fast. They didn't stop midway, only replenishing their spiritual power with Medicinal Pills. Soon, they saw a patch of black mist.

Indeed, as the Mortal Foundation Elder said, a dense black mist enveloped the Yan Family, obscuring visibility and making it impossible to see the situation inside.

"It's indeed an evil Cultivator's method."

The soul body within Yan Xiao snorted coldly: "This black mist can not only obscure vision but also block spiritual sense probing. Even a Golden Core Cultivator cannot investigate from a distance; they must enter personally to see what's inside."

It turned out that this black mist was not a defensive Formation, nor did it have any killing power. It was merely used for concealment. Ordinary righteous Cultivators rarely used it; only evil Cultivators were skilled in this Dao. They would do some unspeakable deeds inside.

"Teacher..."

Yan Xiao's voice trembled slightly: "You are a soul body, then... my father and the others, could they also have their Souls remain?"

"Not to mention Qi Refining Cultivators, Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and even many Golden Core Cultivators, will not have their Souls remain after death. More importantly, if one encounters an evil Cultivator, if a Soul truly remains, it's not a good thing. You'd best not think about such things."

Yan Xiao showed a bitter expression, clenching his fists: "Teacher, I want to go in and see."

No one could say for sure what the situation was like in the black mist. A Golden Core Expert might even suddenly jump out from inside. Reason told Yan Xiao that he absolutely couldn't go in now.

But he still held onto some hope. What if his father wasn't dead? What if there was still a chance to save him?

"Elder Yan, we'd best not go in."

Crimson Purple noticed Yan Xiao's abnormality and tried to stop him: "We can first try to disperse the black mist. We shouldn't rush in, as we don't know what's inside. It's too dangerous."

Yan Xiao nodded dully.

Just then, a powerful Qi fluctuation suddenly emanated from the black mist, followed by a surge of monstrous bloody Qi. The dense stench of blood was nauseating, making Crimson Purple instinctively pinch her nose.

"Someone inside is achieving the Immortal Foundation."

Yan Xiao's teacher became serious: "It's an evil Cultivator."