Ye Qinfai plunged into the Bian River, using the water current to cover his tracks, desperate to evade discovery by the Lu Family Ancestor. Yet, the moment he hit the water, he realized his grave error. In his haste to flee the confrontation with Yan Wei, the Ghost Fork magical artifact and the demonic shadow clone remained on the bank.

The Ghost Fork itself wasn't the primary issue; it couldn't reveal his identity. However, in the hands of the Lu Family Ancestor, it was highly probable that the Ancestor would detect the faint trace of his aura lingering on the inherently evil artifact.

If the Lu Family Ancestor memorized that residual aura, the next time they met, Ye Qin would be instantly exposed.

The thought struck Ye Qin, filling him with profound vexation.

But returning to retrieve the Ghost Fork was utterly out of the question. The Lu Family Ancestor hovered above Lu Family Fort, barely tens of li from the riverbank—close enough to sweep over the Bian River in the blink of an eye. Dashing back now would be tantamount to suicide.

"The Lu Family Ancestor is here!"

Huangfu Bing'er, who had remained rooted in place, gasped in alarm. Ye Qin’s hasty retreat into the water had left a few small, unmasked flaws. Reacting with lightning speed, she summoned her Ice Soul Flying Sword and directed it toward the demonic shadow clone Ye Qin had left behind. The shadow, devoid of Ye Qin's control, remained static, and was swiftly "shredded" by the Ice Soul Sword.

In an instant, the Lu Family Ancestor arrived, flying from above Lu Family Fort to the very spot where Ye Qin and Yan Wei had fiercely fought.

His icy gaze swept over Huangfu Bing'er, then lingered on the chaotic battlefield and the broken magical artifacts scattered on the ground. "There were two people here just moments ago. Where have they gone?"

Huangfu Bing'er's expression remained composed. She bowed respectfully. "Niece greets Martial Uncle Lu. The two individuals just now were Junior Brother Yan Wei and an enemy cultivator in black. While pursuing the black-clothed cultivator, Junior Brother Yan Wei managed to heavily wound him, but tragically perished in the fight himself. I arrived too late to save Junior Brother Yan Wei, only managing to kill the wounded cultivator. I must return to the Azure Elixir Sect to report this matter to Martial Uncle Yan. Regarding these damaged artifacts—the Blazing Fire Crimson Essence Sword, the Fire Sword, the Fire Feather Fan, and the Ghost Fork—I also need to take them back to give an account to Martial Uncle Yan. The combined efforts against the enemy by the Seven Great Sects have been largely settled with Senior Brother Yuanhong and the others; we only need to proceed according to plan."

"Mmm."

The Lu Family Ancestor remained expressionless.

Disciples from major clans always cherished their lives. He found it hard to believe that Yan Wei, a clan disciple of such noble standing, would fight to the death against an unknown cultivator. However, Huangfu Bing'er seemed to have no reason to lie; the deceased was a disciple of the Yan family within the Azure Elixir Sect, meaning the loss was the Azure Elixir Sect's strength. Yan Wei was a core disciple meticulously groomed by the Yan family, and the Yan Family Ancestor, in his inevitable fury, would undoubtedly investigate. He could hardly stop Huangfu Bing'er from taking these items back.

Huangfu Bing'er gathered the magical artifacts left at the scene, then took her leave. She departed Lu Family Fort with several Azure Elixir Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators, heading back to the sect.

The disciples from the other factions also departed shortly after.

With such a major incident unfolding at Lu Family Fort, they had no desire to linger, lest they become entangled in ambiguous complications.

Only after leaving Lu Family Fort did Huangfu Bing'er let out a silent sigh of relief. These few artifacts retained the residual magical power aura from Ye Qin’s casting. Thankfully, she had quickly devised an excuse and prevented them from falling into the Lu Family Ancestor’s hands; otherwise, it would have presented a massive hidden danger.

Naturally, she had no intention of returning all the artifacts to the Yan family unchanged. The Ghost Fork had to be destroyed, but returning the few artifacts left by Yan Wei would at least serve as an explanation.

After Huangfu Bing'er departed.

Lu Xinyou swept his massive divine sense over the battlefield vicinity for dozens of li. Finding no trace or aura of any cultivator, he returned to Lu Family Fort. With a grim expression, he slowly walked toward the deepest part of the fort, his eyes fixed coldly on the gaping hole in the secluded cultivation chamber, feeling a sharp pang in his heart.

"Ancestor, there were eight cultivators who invaded Lu Family Fort. We have captured one and killed five, but two escaped. This entire group were fanatical evil-doers from the Chaos Lands. The two who fled were both cultivators at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment; one wielded a Sun-Moon Twin Wheel Primordial Spirit Artifact, and the other used an Dark Thorn Primordial Spirit Artifact. By following these two leads, we can surely ascertain their precise origins," Lu Yuanhong hesitated before adding, "Furthermore, three Lu Family Foundation Establishment disciples perished, three guests were killed, and several other guests were injured."

Lu Yuanhong followed closely behind, reporting nervously to Lu Xinyou. In truth, three people had escaped, but Lu Yuanhong deliberately omitted Ye Qin, as Huangfu Bing'er had claimed she killed the pursuing black-clothed cultivator upon her departure.

Lu Xinyou did not utter a word, stepping into the stone cave. Seeing the pile of ash and charred vegetation beside the cold pool, his face drained of color, his fury reaching an uncontrollable peak—they dared to destroy the fortune that the Lu Family had accumulated over a thousand years!

"Trash! Continue the pursuit and find those two who escaped! I will use their Primordial Spirits to light the Sky Lanterns!"

Lu Xinyou’s face contorted into a terrifying, sinister mask.

Lu Yuanhong staggered back several paces in shock. He could not fathom why his Ancestor’s rage had reached such an extreme. Lighting the Sky Lantern meant placing a Primordial Spirit over a ghostly flame to be slowly roasted; the spirit wouldn't die, but the torment would be thousands of times worse than death, lasting until their lifespan was exhausted. Such cruelty was depraved; few cultivators could endure such torture.

He dared not speak further and quickly withdrew to interrogate the captured cultivator.

The captured cultivator, unable to withstand the Lu Family's tortures, finally confessed the identities of all his accomplices. It turned out that their entire group were cultivators from the Chaos Lands. The two escapees were identified as the Cult Master Shi Hanyang and the secluded cultivator Ma Dongyan. The names of the other six deceased cultivators from the Chaos Lands were also revealed one by one.

Fortunately, Ye Qin had used an alias in the Chaos Lands (a note: in previous chapters, I mistakenly typed 'Brother Ye Qin' every time 'Brother Qin' was mentioned, apologies). He had only claimed his surname was Qin. Even the captured cultivator knew nothing of Ye Qin’s true name or origins.

The battle at Lu Family Fort, in an extremely short time, sent shockwaves throughout the Spirit Mist Cultivation World. Seven or eight spies from the Chaos Lands had infiltrated the fort and caused chaos during the wedding banquet, resulting in heavy casualties among several Spirit Mist cultivators. This event, occurring within the renowned Lu Family Fort, was astonishing and shocking.

What was most astonishing was that two individuals had managed to escape.

As for why this group of cultivators risked such danger to infiltrate Lu Family Fort, no one knew, not even the Lu Family members themselves. Those within the Lu Family who knew the full story maintained absolute silence.

In the end, the incident was attributed to espionage—an attempt to glean confidential intelligence. This was because, on the day of the incident, a contingent of core disciples from the Seven Great Sects had gathered at Lu Family Fort to discuss crucial matters.