Chapter 277 - 267: Chill

Chapter 277: Chapter 267: Chill

But in that very instant, as if some mysterious force had struck a chord deep within his mind, a wave of clarity, pure as spring water, washed over his thoughts.

A strange light flashed in his eyes, like a beacon piercing through the fog of his memories.

Fragments of memory surged like a rising tide, flowing backward like a film in reverse, rapidly rewinding in his mind.

A montage of scenes flickered past. Familiar yet blurry images, people, and conversations emerged one by one, growing ever clearer.

It was as if Elder Liu had traveled back in time to that crucial juncture. The scene of his farewell to the old man replayed before his eyes, vivid and real:

The sunlight, the scent of the wind, the old man’s profound parting words, and those deep, wise eyes—it was all as clear as if it had happened yesterday.

"Ah!"

Elder Liu finally remembered, and he was incredibly excited.

"I heard the old man say he was from—the Abyss of Destiny!"

So it was them!

The hairs on Jiang Xu’s arms stood on end. He recalled Master Fatty’s words, and an inexplicable chill welled up from the bottom of his heart.

He felt as if he had been stripped naked and thrown into a crowd in broad daylight.

Jiang Xu simply couldn’t imagine how they had managed to pull something like this off.

Astrology?

Purple Star Divination?

Or some other special art of divination?

It had been a long time since Jiang Xu had felt this afraid.

He thought about it carefully. Master Fatty had been right.

’When it comes to destiny, the more you know, the heavier the burden. Ignorance is bliss.’

’Sometimes, the more you do nothing, the better you can protect yourself.’

Jiang Xu didn’t know why someone from the Abyss of Destiny had influenced Elder Liu forty or fifty years ago, nor did he know if he himself was their target.

He was curious, but he had no desire to dig any deeper.

He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

Anyone who provoked him would have to pay the price!

Besides, he was only staying on Greed Wolf Island for a month. After that, he’d be gone, so none of this would matter.

’If things go south... I’ll just run for it.’

’I refuse to be intimidated,’ Jiang Xu thought. ’I have the Concealing Breath Spell and the Thousand-Faced Illusion Body. Worst case, I can just jump into the sea and hide.’

The Youxian Sea was vast. Who could possibly find him there?

It would be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

Unless they sent a Golden Core Cultivator after him.

But Golden Core Cultivators were on the same level as an Island Master; they wouldn’t take action lightly.

Not unless you truly enraged them.

And with his personality, Jiang Xu figured he probably wouldn’t provoke the wrath of a Golden Core Cultivator.

’...Probably.’

"Sir, I’ll be on my way now. Our time together has come to an end. There’s no need to build any kind of shrine, and please don’t speak of me to anyone else. It’s for the good of your village and will help you avoid unnecessary trouble."

With that, Jiang Xu soared into the air. He flew off into the distance under the crowd’s awestruck gazes until he was nothing more than a tiny black dot disappearing from view.

In truth, however, Jiang Xu flew in a wide circle and then turned back.

This time, however, he used his Concealing Breath Spell to hide himself, ensuring the villagers wouldn’t spot him.

He watched as the people of Liu Family Village, after he had gone, knelt and kowtowed several times in the direction of his departure before finally packing up and heading back toward their village.

Jiang Xu’s maneuver of leaving only to double back was not some needlessly complicated measure.

He felt that following the villagers directly would only increase the risk of his presence being exposed.

After all, the villagers weren’t him; they had no talent for acting. Any unusual behavior would be easily noticed.

This was true even though he wasn’t using his own face, but one created by his Thousand-Faced Illusion Body.

The villagers already knew he was an Immortal Cultivator, and that fact couldn’t be changed.

If the Cultivator sent by the Sun’s Cultivation Family to collect taxes noticed something was amiss, things would get complicated.

After all, Jiang Xu wasn’t familiar with the local dynamics of the Cultivation Realm here.

It would be bad news if the Sun’s Cultivation Family was highly territorial and actively sought out any trespassing Cultivators.

If that led them to think of the new crewmate and they investigated further, there was a chance they’d discover that he had snuck away.

The probability was low, but even a one-in-ten-thousand chance was a risk he couldn’t afford to take.

Jiang Xu followed the Liu Family Village villagers all the way back to their homes.

The massive haul brought back by the Fishing Team instantly dispelled the gloomy, deathly air that had settled over the village.

Being able to pay the next three months of taxes meant Liu Family Village would survive.

As for what would happen three months after that?

That was a problem for the village chief to worry about. The villagers were focused only on the here and now.

After all, if they perished in the present, there would be no future to worry about.

A day passed in quiet waiting.

「The next day.」

Before dawn, all the villagers—from strapping youths to babes in arms—had left their homes and were standing in silent, orderly rows in a specially cleared-out open space within the village.

This wasn’t a rule set by the Sun Clan.

Immortal Cultivators, after all, had no interest in mortals; they only cared whether you could pay your taxes.

But every village had this unspoken rule.

It was a way to show proper respect to the Immortal Cultivators, and also a way to present the village’s population count.

The population determined the amount of Spirit Stones the village was required to pay.

In front of the assembled crowd, all the resources for the tax payment had been counted and laid out neatly, ensuring the collecting Cultivator could easily tally and take them.

The village chief had calculated the total value of these Cultivation Resources. Compared to the required payment of sixty Spirit Stones, the offering was definitely more, not less.

After all, the Cultivator coming to collect couldn’t be expected to make the trip for nothing. Lining his own pockets was an unavoidable part of the process.

If the tax-collecting Cultivator was displeased, he might deliberately remove a portion of your village’s payment before turning it in, then report that you hadn’t paid the full amount.

And then your village would be in for a world of hurt.

The only reason the village chief knew the value of an Immortal Cultivator’s resources so clearly was because he had learned it all from the previous chief, who had in turn learned it from his predecessor.

No one knew where the knowledge had originated.

Jiang Xu, already well hidden, was also waiting for the tax-collecting Cultivator to arrive.

They waited until the sun was high in the sky, its scorching rays drenching everyone in sweat and leaving them on the verge of collapse. Only then did a cold glint streak from the distance, and a grim-faced, middle-aged Cultivator arrived late, spirit-binding a Flying Sword.

The moment the middle-aged Cultivator appeared, Elder Liu plastered a subservient smile on his face and hurried to greet him.

"Upper Immortal, Liu Family Village’s taxes are all here. Please inspect them."

The middle-aged Cultivator didn’t deign to respond, not even sparing Elder Liu a single glance.

He gave the resources a cursory glance. After assessing that their value met the required standard, he swept them all away with a wave of his hand.

A second later, the middle-aged Cultivator stepped back onto his Flying Sword and departed for the next village.

Even after he was gone, the villagers dared not disperse immediately.

Only after the middle-aged Cultivator had been gone for a full half-hour did Elder Liu and the other villagers finally let their ramrod-straight postures slacken. They packed up their things, left the clearing, and began their day of toil.

From his hiding spot, Jiang Xu had already taken in the entire scene.

’These Cultivators are just as arrogant as Elder Liu described. Utterly disdainful of everyone.’

Jiang Xu also noticed something else: the middle-aged Cultivator who had come to collect the resources was not at the Foundation Establishment Realm, but was merely a Qi Cultivation Late Stage Cultivator.

This puzzled him.

’Logically, resources worth tens of thousands of Spirit Stones are a huge sum no matter where you are. Shouldn’t they at least send a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator to collect them?’

’So why send someone at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage?’

’Aren’t they afraid he’ll get robbed?’

The idea of robbing the man, which Jiang Xu had just suppressed, began to bubble up again.

But it didn’t take long for Jiang Xu to become wary once more.

’No, something’s not right. When things are this abnormal, there’s always a catch.’

’They must have some reason to be so fearless. I have to be extremely cautious. It would be best not to act at all, but if I do, I must be thoroughly prepared.’

’I absolutely cannot make a move without understanding the full situation.’