After the three elders of the Purple Cloud Aristocratic Clan who had entered the Ai Lineage to carry out an assassination were killed, the disciples guarding the clan's Soul Tokens failed to notice the three tokens shattering in succession, as it was nighttime and they had already retired.
Meanwhile, Zi Yun Ye waited patiently in his study for the three to return.
But however long he waited, the three never returned. Only when dawn was approaching and they still had not come back did he sense that something was wrong.
According to their current understanding of the Ai Lineage, aside from the lineage's great array left behind by its ancestors, late-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation was its ceiling.
Sending three late-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal elders to carry out an assassination without alerting the Ai Lineage into activating its lineage defensive array should have been as certain as grasping something with all ten fingers. Why had they still not returned?
"Someone, go check the ancestral hall at once!"
The moment Zi Yun Ye suspected something had gone wrong, he sent someone to inspect the Soul Tokens.
Before long, a flurry of uneven footsteps sounded outside the door, and Zi Yun Ye's heart began to sink.
"Lineage Head... something terrible has happened... Elder Changxi, Elder Wei, Elder Jinhua... their Soul Tokens have shattered!" The lineage disciple Zi Yun Ye had sent to the ancestral hall to inspect the Soul Tokens trembled as he spoke, his voice thick with tears.
"What?" Zi Yun Ye shot to his feet, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
Zi Yun Ye's expression darkened like somber water, anger and doubt flashing in his eyes. He grabbed the disciple's shoulder, his tone full of urgency and anxiety.
"Is that true? Have their Soul Tokens really shattered?"
Frightened by