The warm morning sun spilled over the Lin family's courtyard, but the calm only lasted until a hurried guard rushed into the main hall, his face pale with panic.
"Patriarch! Young Master Yan! Something terrible has happened!"
Lin Yan's grandfather's expression sank. "Speak! What's wrong?"
"Three of our subsidiary clans in the outer city have been destroyed overnight! All their cultivation resources were looted, and the patriarchs were killed with a single strike! The only clue left behind was a black blood-red skull mark!"
A chilling silence fell over the hall. The black skull mark was the symbol of the Black Blood Clan—a mysterious and cruel ancient clan that had been hidden in the Xuanwu Domain for thousands of years. They never acted without reason, and their strikes were always fatal.
The elders' faces turned ashen.
"The Black Blood Clan… why would they target our Lin family?"
"They rarely interfere in the disputes of ordinary aristocratic clans. This is not normal!"
Lin Yan narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them.
In his past life, the Black Blood Clan had been a nightmare for the entire region. They practiced forbidden demonic arts, slaughtered wantonly, and harvested the blood and bones of cultivators to strengthen themselves. The Lin family had also fallen victim to them in his previous life, but it had happened decades later.
Their early appearance meant only one thing—his rebirth had already altered the fate of the entire Xuanwu Domain.
"Grandfather, don't panic," Lin Yan said calmly. "The Black Blood Clan didn't come out of nowhere. They must be after something."
Just as he finished speaking, the Supreme God System's voice resounded in his mind.
[Ding! Emergency mission triggered: Investigate the Black Blood Clan's plot and protect the Lin family's remaining subsidiaries!]
[Mission difficulty: Mid-Golden Core danger level!]
[Mission reward: 1500 system points! Intermediate body refinement technique! A trace of Black Flame Divine Fire!]
Lin Yan's heart stirred. Black Flame Divine Fire was a rare heavenly flame, extremely effective against demonic arts—exactly what he needed to deal with the Black Blood Clan.
"I'll handle this," Lin Yan declared.
His grandfather immediately objected, "Yan'er, the Black Blood Clan is far more dangerous than the Ye family! Their experts are at least at the Mid-Golden Core realm, and some are even at the Late Golden Core! You can't go alone!"
Lin Yan smiled faintly and released a wisp of his divine domain. The air in the hall trembled, and a faint golden barrier spread out.
"I now control the divine domain. Within a hundred meters, I can suppress any enemy. Even Late Golden Core experts are not unbeatable to me."
The elders stared in shock. They could clearly feel the terrifying power contained in that domain—this was no ordinary cultivation technique, but a divine ability!
"Then… take twenty elite Foundation Establishment disciples with you!" his grandfather insisted.
"No need," Lin Yan said. "Too many people will be a burden. I'll go alone and be back soon."
Without waiting for a response, he stepped forward, and his figure turned into a golden streak, shooting toward the outer city.
The destroyed subsidiary clan's territory was a scene of carnage. Buildings had collapsed, blood stained the ground, and the air was thick with a foul, demonic aura.
Lin Yan landed gently, his spiritual energy sweeping across the area. Soon, he found a faint black-red energy trail hidden in the soil—this was the unique aura of the Black Blood Clan's demonic arts.
"They haven't gone far."
His body flickered, and he chased after the trail at top speed.
Half an hour later, deep in a desolate mountain forest, he finally caught up.
A group of more than ten black-robed cultivators were gathered around a blood-colored altar, placing stolen spirit stones and bloody crystals on it. Their leader was a hunchbacked old man with a face full of wrinkles, his cultivation base impressively at the Late Golden Core realm.
When the black-robed cultivators noticed Lin Yan, they immediately turned hostile.
"Who are you? How dare you trespass on our Black Blood Clan's territory!"
Lin Yan's gaze was icy. "You attacked the Lin family's subsidiaries. Today, none of you will leave alive."
The hunchbacked old man slowly raised his head, a cruel grin on his face.
"So you're the Lin family's little prodigy who destroyed the Ye family. I heard you broke through to Golden Core at a young age… what a perfect blood refinement material you are!"
He let out a shrill laugh. "I am Elder Gui of the Black Blood Clan. Hand over your Golden Core, and I'll give you a quick death!"
The surrounding black-robed cultivators charged at Lin Yan simultaneously, their hands forming strange seals. Blood-red mist surged, turning into vicious ghost heads that bared their fangs and clawed at him.
"Demonic arts."