Capture Lin Yuan alive and sever my daughter's ties of love!

Facing outside the room, she spoke in a cold, clear voice.

"Wan'er, Zhi'er, come in."

As her voice fell, two graceful figures silently entered the room and respectfully bowed to Yue Qingyao.

The female Cultivator on the left wore a light purple palace dress, her long hair reached her waist, and her features were picturesque. However, her expression was icy, like a frigid lotus that kept people thousands of miles away.

If Lin Yuan had been there, he would certainly have been greatly shocked.

Back when he went to retrieve the Earth Core Nether Fire, he encountered a Thunder Cultivator and this Junior Sister Zhou along the way. The Thunder Cultivator was killed by Lin Yuan, who seized the Thunder Cultivation Technique he practiced.

This Junior Sister Zhou, Zhou Waner, later contributed many attribute points and heavenly heart jade marrow for Foundation Establishment Stage Breakthrough Bottlenecks, and was also afflicted by the God-Sealing Technique planted by Lin Yuan.

Beside her was a woman dressed in tight black combat gear, whose physique was agile, whose aura was restrained, and whose eyes were sharp like an eagle's.

"Master," the two said in unison.

Yue Qingyao raised her hand, and a streak of light flew out, landing in the hand of the purple-robed female Cultivator Zhou Waner.

It was an ordinary-looking golden net bag, but it felt extremely heavy in hand, covered in flowing runes and faintly emanating treasure light.

"This treasure is called the 'immortal binding net'; the two of you shall take it."

Yue Qingyao's voice carried no emotion.

"In a few days, follow me to raid Black Stone City. At that time, you don't need to worry about anything else; just help me capture one person alive."

"That person's appearance, residence, aura... I will have the spies in the city investigate clearly and then inform you."

Hearing that they were going to Black Stone City to capture someone, Zhou Waner's perpetually cold, beautiful face showed an almost imperceptible contraction of her pupils, and the fingers gripping the immortal binding net tightened subconsciously.

Sang Zhi, the black-clothed woman beside her, showed no reaction and merely nodded.

The two bowed together, their voices resolute.

"We obey your command, Master!"

On the other side, Lin Yuan was not in a hurry to return to his small courtyard to continue Alchemy.

After he and Gu Zheng separated, his body flickered, and he silently flew up on his sword, merging into the dim night sky above Black Stone City like a night owl.

He did not fly too high, only hovering hundreds of *zhang* in the air, allowing him to take in the outline of the entire Black Stone City.

Now that the Yin Corpse Sect had taken the Blood River Spirit Mine, the Sect's focus for a long time in the future would inevitably be placed on doing their utmost to mine Spirit Stones, especially digging up those priceless High-Grade Spirit Stones.

Lin Yuan put himself in the role of that Nascent Soul Old Monster from the Misty Immortal Sect and silently deduced the situation.

"If I were Yue Qingyao, I would never sit back and watch the Yin Corpse Sect safely digest this piece of fat meat."

"Taking advantage of the time when Black Stone City's experts have been transferred to the spirit mine and the defenses are weakest, launching a thunderous strike is the best strategy!"

"Once Black Stone City is attacked, the Sect's main forces at the spirit mine will definitely rush back to reinforce it."

"At that time, setting up an ambush on the inevitable path of their return reinforcement would be a perfect strategy of 'Besiege a Point to Attack the Reinforcements'..."

The more Lin Yuan thought about it, the heavier his heart became.

Of course, Old Ancestor Xuan Yin, an old monster who has lived for hundreds of years and is as shrewd as they come, would certainly have thought of what he could think of.

The struggle at the Sect level was not something he needed to worry about for the time being.

The only thing he needed to consider now was his escape route.

Yue Qingyao's phrase, "You are dead for sure," which was filled with killing intent, was not a joke.

That was the resolute intent of a Nascent Soul Old Monster to kill!

"Whether the Misty Immortal Sect attacks the city or not, Yue Qingyao... will definitely come to kill me as long as she has the chance!"

Lin Yuan's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, looking down from high altitude at the city below, which lay coiled like a giant beast.

"Black Stone City has four main entrances and exits: East, South, West, and North. Once it is besieged, these four places will certainly be heavily guarded or sealed off. Trying to break out from there would be equivalent to walking straight into a trap."

His sight swept inch by inch across the edge of the city, finally settling on the northwest corner of Black Stone City.

That place was a pile of abandoned mine slag, right next to the towering city wall. Because it was remote and lacked any strategic value, the guard patrol route had a noticeable gap there, making it the weakest link in the city's entire defense system.

"This is the place."

Lin Yuan's eyes lit up. "Sneaking out from here, completely undetected, then immediately controlling a Magical Artifact to escape close to the ground into the vast dense forest ahead. Once I enter the woods, the sky is high and the sea is wide..."

After memorizing the terrain, his figure turned, and he quietly descended back into Black Stone City like a falling leaf.

Following the route he had observed from high altitude, he walked unhurriedly through the alleys, personally traversing it once, engraving every detail firmly in his mind. Only after confirming that he could escape secretly and smoothly did he finally feel relieved and return to his residence... Over the next two days, large groups of Cultivators within Black Stone City were mobilized, cheerfully setting off for the Blood River Spirit Mine, and the atmosphere in the city grew increasingly fervent.

Lin Yuan, on the other hand, once again entered a state of secluded Cultivation.

This evening, he had just seen off Xue Linglong, who had come to collect Medicinal Pills and, incidentally, engaged in a session of "face-to-face arduous Cultivation" with him.

He was just about to take a Medicinal Pill and continue striving to advance his Cultivation.

Outside the courtyard, however, a slightly frivolous voice rang out, carrying a deliberate hint of intimacy.

"Junior Brother Lin, how have you been?"

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Bai Yixuan.

He slowly walked to the courtyard gate and, separated by the thick fog of the Lesser Nine Nether Soul-Bewitching Array, quietly watched the white-robed fellow outside who held a bone fan and feigned elegance.

Bai Yixuan fanned his bone fan, his gaze seemingly trying to penetrate the fog, and his tone was familiar: "I've been here for over a month and haven't had a good chance to get close to Junior Brother. Won't Junior Brother invite me in for a cup of tea?"

"Senior Brother has business, just speak your mind."

Lin Yuan's voice came from the fog, lukewarm and carrying a hint of distance.

The smile on Bai Yixuan's face stiffened slightly, but he immediately reverted to the appearance of a dashing Young Master. He glanced around, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret.

"I originally intended to go to the Spirit Stone Mine to serve the Sect. However... I heard from Junior Brother Xinghe that Junior Brother Lin and Senior Sister Gu Zheng seem to be... progressing quite quickly."

Hearing this, Lin Yuan chuckled inwardly.

Of course, he knew that there was no real progress between him and Gu Zheng.

It was just that the iceberg beauty hated to lose and wanted to play hard to get with him, but she ended up being used by him, allowing him to fleece her quite a bit.

But in the eyes of others, especially an ardent admirer like Bai Yixuan, it was a completely different story.

He did not deny it; instead, he went with the flow, his tone carrying a touch of Versailles-style helplessness and showing off.

"Senior Brother, everyone is competing fairly."

"Matters of the heart rely on fate."

"Sometimes, when fate arrives, you can't stop it. Actually... I am quite troubled by this."

This set of boastful remarks made Bai Yixuan's eye twitch wildly, and the bone fan in his hand was nearly crushed by him.

He took a deep breath, abruptly closed his folding fan, and the feigned smile on his face completely vanished, replaced by cold arrogance.

"Let's stop beating around the bush."

Bai Yixuan's tone carried a sense of condescending charity.

"I want you to stay away from her."

"Tell me, what conditions do you want? Cultivation Techniques, Medicinal Pills, or Spirit Stones? As long as I can do it, I will certainly satisfy you."

Lin Yuan smiled.

The laughter echoed in the fog, sounding exceptionally clear.

"I want far too many things."

He paused, and his voice became serious.

"For example, I want Senior Brother Bai to stay away from me. Can you satisfy that condition?"