When the Confucian scholar heard that the questions the Yan family ancestor was asking were all critical points, a look of admiration couldn't help but appear on his face. He responded one by one:
"Blood Spirit Great Art. Although our Yan family ancestor did not bring this technique out, he praised it immensely in his personal notes, calling it the foremost demonic art on the 'Scripture of Ten Thousand Truths.' Once mastered, it would be enough to dominate the six great demonic sects and could be considered one of the most fearsome secret arts in the world. However, this art is too overbearing. To prevent backlash, cultivation must be done as a dual cultivation between a man and a woman. Moreover, a cultivator's Spirit Root quality is absolutely crucial for determining how many layers of the art they can master. If the quality isn't there, one can only master two or three layers before reaching one's limit—a useless waste. Therefore, Yan Ruyan's Heavenly Spirit Root makes her an absolutely ideal dual cultivation partner for them. Furthermore, the young sect master of this Ghost Spirit Sect possesses an extremely rare Dark Spirit Root, which is also the perfect constitution for cultivating the Blood Spirit Great Art. With their supreme talents, if they were to truly dual cultivate this art, they could definitely master it to an extremely profound level. Sweeping through the six sects would be within reach. That is why the Ghost Spirit Sect is going to such great lengths to win us over, even risking revealing the information that the six sects are about to invade the Yue Kingdom—all in exchange for an opportunity for the Ghost Spirit Sect to dominate the entire Tian Nan region.
"As for how they learned of our Yan family's origins, that's even easier to explain. Before our ancestor passed away, he once sent someone to contact the Ghost Spirit Sect. It's estimated that from that point on, our Yan family came to their attention. As for Ruyan's matter, they have likely been planning it for a long time. They simply seized this favorable opportunity, using both threats and inducements to make our Yan family agree to this matter." At this point, the Yan family ancestor let out a bitter smile. Clearly, he felt a sense of helplessness regarding his ancestor's rash decision to contact the Ghost Spirit Sect.
"As for the impending invasion by the six great demonic sects, they did indeed inform us. However, besides their word about the Jiang and Cheqi kingdoms having already fallen, our Yan family actually noticed something amiss several days ago. The agents we had planted in both kingdoms should have sent messages according to routine by now, but we have yet to receive any word. It seems their information is likely correct. As for why they could so easily take down the two kingdoms? According to them, it was because several sects within those kingdoms had long since been bought off by people from the six sects. Therefore, with a powerful sneak attack combined with internal betrayal, both kingdoms fell in one stroke. So, the six sects' forces should currently be mopping up remaining cultivators in the two kingdoms who haven't submitted yet, and making preparations for their invasion of the Yue Kingdom. After all, they did suffer some losses.
"As for the Righteous Alliance in the Fengdu Kingdom, you can forget about them. Shortly before this meeting, I received news that the Righteous Alliance has also invaded and nearly taken over a medium-sized kingdom adjacent to them. It seems these two major powers must have struck some sort of secret deal, which is why they both started massive expansionist actions at the same time."
The Yan family ancestor laid everything out clearly and logically, leaving the people below with faces full of shock and astonishment!
"The Demonic path and the Righteous path both starting to expand their power at the same time? Heh heh, if that's really the case, this is quite interesting!" After hearing the Yan family ancestor's account, the Confucian scholar said with a smile, uttering words that carried deeper meaning.
"Xuanye, what do you mean by that?" a white-faced elder sitting opposite the scholar asked, unable to contain himself.
"Second Grand Uncle! Nothing, it's just a little speculation of mine. This speculation currently has nothing to do with our Yan family. Let's first discuss our Yan family's current situation!" The scholar waved his hand dismissively, paying it no mind.
"Hmph!" The elder hit a soft wall, glaring at the scholar with some annoyance. However, in front of the Yan family ancestor, he could only sit back down in his seat with a disgruntled expression.
"Oh! Then after this meeting, might I hear this little speculation of yours?" The Yan family ancestor, however, seemed quite interested.
"Since the ancestor wishes to hear it, Xuanye naturally won't hide anything." Seeing this, the scholar immediately bowed respectfully.
"Good! But let's first discuss the matter at hand. This time, our Yan family faces a critical choice. We will either end up doing the work for someone else and be swallowed up, or offend the other party and be utterly annihilated with the aid of the six great sects." The red-haired elder's voice also carried a hint of helplessness. After all, the Yan family's strength was still too weak. Even adding in their hidden forces, the idea of putting up a hard fight never crossed their minds.
"Hmm! The ancestor speaks truly. The current Yan family is indeed afraid on both sides! Agreeing to their conditions might lead to us being swallowed up using this as an opportunity, but disagreeing means their strength is too great, leaving us with endless trouble!" A thoughtful look flashed through the scholar's eyes.
"But my intention is still to agree to their conditions and join the Ghost Spirit Sect!" the scholar finally declared resolutely.
Then, without waiting for some Yan family members to object, he continued:
"Everyone has been thinking about what terrible consequences would follow if we didn't agree to their conditions. But have we considered whether we could even get enough benefits from the Seven Sects if we refused? As far as I know, while the Seven Sects are publicly friendly with us, in secret they fear our Yan family's strength developing further and threatening their interests. Therefore, in recent years, they have been subtly suppressing our Yan family in various aspects. Even if we don't agree to the Ghost Spirit Sect's conditions—even if we reveal the news of the demonic invasion to the Seven Sects—I still don't think we can gain much. After all, the interests in the Yue Kingdom have long been carved up by the Seven Sects. How could they possibly spit out what's in their mouths for our Yan family? Moreover, this time the six sects are invading the Yue Kingdom together. Even if the Yue Kingdom's Seven Sects bring in cultivators from other kingdoms to jointly resist the demonic path, I still don't think their chances of victory are particularly high. Aligning ourselves with the eventual winner is our Yan family's path to survival. Being on the losing side means even the best conditions promised beforehand will never be fulfilled.
"Likewise, if we agree to the Ghost Spirit Sect's demands, we shouldn't only see the downsides; the benefits should be discernible too! Joining the Ghost Spirit Sect—forget for now the Vice Sect Master position and the benefit of Ruyan learning the Blood Spirit Great Art. The demonic path is currently in a golden period of expansion! This means that after joining, our Yan family can openly develop our power. Of course, we also need to be careful not to be used as tools by the Ghost Spirit Sect, wasting our manpower for nothing. But as long as we wait until our Yan family grows strong enough to be on equal footing with them, they naturally won't be able to swallow us up. If our strength even surpasses theirs in the future, who knows? We might even make the Ghost Spirit Sect take the Yan surname!"
The scholar spoke at length, painting a beautiful future prospect for everyone that lifted the spirits of many present.
Of course, some older, more cautious individuals remained deeply worried. After all, would the Ghost Spirit Sect really be so kind as to honestly give them time to grow stronger?
But the scholar's subsequent words put their minds at ease.
"Of course, we cannot simply go over there naked, with absolutely no means to restrain them! If they genuinely want our Yan family to submit, then let that young sect master and the two Core Formation cultivators who came with him exchange a Life and Death Curse with Ruyan and two of our uncles. This way, at the very least, they won't be able to harm our Yan family for two or three hundred years. And what our Yan family needs is precisely this time to grow stronger. If the Ghost Spirit Sect isn't even willing to pay this small price, then we shouldn't even consider the idea of defecting to them. That would prove everything they said beforehand was just a trap set for our Yan family." The scholar finally proposed a method to verify the other party's sincerity, causing the Yan family ancestor and everyone present to nod repeatedly, feeling this approach was indeed very reliable.
"Yan Ruyan, Yan Wen, Yan Qi! Go to the guests from the Ghost Spirit Sect still in the reception hall and sign the Life and Death Curse with them. If they refuse, immediately activate the grand formation in the hall and trap them to death inside." The Yan family ancestor closed his eyes in thought for a moment, then opened them and ordered.
"Obey, ancestor!"
The stunningly beautiful girl beside the Yan family ancestor smiled sweetly, then gracefully stepped forward to accept the order. Two middle-aged men accompanied her.
"Ruyan, be careful. If things go wrong, escape first. I will arrange for someone outside to meet and assist you!" The Yan family ancestor was clearly doting on this granddaughter immensely, his face full of concern.
"Rest assured, ancestor! I have the Purple Cloud Flag to protect me. I'm confident I can escape!" the girl reassured him obediently. Then she and the two middle-aged men walked out of the great hall.
The red-haired elder watched his favorite great-granddaughter leave, still feeling a bit worried. Without hesitation, he then issued a series of orders, setting up an inescapable net around the reception hall to support Yan Ruyan and prevent the opponents from breaking the formation and escaping.
For the next period of time, the council hall fell into complete silence as everyone anxiously awaited the reply from Yan Ruyan and her companions.
After the time it takes to burn one stick of incense, a voice transmission talisman suddenly flew into the hall from outside, going straight into the hand of the Yan family ancestor. He gently pinched the talisman, and Yan Ruyan's sweet voice emerged.
"Ancestor, the matter is settled. As soon as the two uncles and I made the request, the other party agreed. The Life and Death Curse was cast very smoothly. I am currently accompanying them towards the main hall, as they said they still have words for the ancestor. Please make preparations."
The Yan family ancestor and the other Yan family members let out a collective sigh of relief upon hearing that the Life and Death Curse was complete. But when they heard the other party was coming to the council hall, everyone froze.
"Everyone else, disperse immediately. Only Xuanye stays here with me!" The Yan family ancestor pondered briefly, then issued a decisive command.
Instantly, the many elders and stewards in the hall promptly scattered in all directions.