Chapter 287 - 272: This Is Too Much of a Coincidence

Chapter 287: Chapter 272: This Is Too Much of a Coincidence

But now that Liang Fan had let his guard down, a strange delusion suddenly struck him.

’Could the man before me be my father?’

The more Liang Fan thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

First, the man was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and his father was also a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. This was the first major coincidence!

Second, the man said his beloved died at the hands of the Sun Family, and Liang Fan’s mother was also dead. This was the second major coincidence!

’The timelines of their deaths don’t quite match, but maybe he misremembers? Or perhaps his overwhelming grief muddled his memory?’

Furthermore, the first time Liang Fan saw Jiang Xu, he felt a strong sense of kinship—a feeling he’d never gotten from anyone in the clan. This was the third major coincidence!

Finally, he had run into this man the moment he left Sun’s Immortal City. It might have been the guidance of fate. This was the fourth major coincidence!

If there had been only two or three of these coincidences, Liang Fan would have remained skeptical.

But with all four lining up, Liang Fan found it impossible to believe it was mere chance.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Liang Fan’s gaze toward Jiang Xu gradually softened, even taking on a hint of dependence. He took a few steps closer to him.

Of course, Jiang Xu had no idea what was going through Liang Fan’s mind.

If he had, he certainly would have felt a shiver of revulsion.

The story Jiang Xu told about his murdered beloved was, of course, just something he’d fabricated on the spot.

His goal was simply to win Liang Fan’s trust with a plausible story so he could coax information out of him.

However, Jiang Xu didn’t realize that his lie seemed to have worked a little too well.

After recounting his tragic tale, Jiang Xu feigned anguish, while in reality, he was waiting for Liang Fan to take the bait so he could move on to the next step of his plan.

But Jiang Xu noticed that Liang Fan just seemed to be standing there in a daze, lost in thought. He hadn’t said a word, so Jiang Xu had no choice but to speak again.

"Finally, my efforts were not in vain! The heavens have led me to you!"

"I can see that although you’re a member of the Sun Clan, you don’t seem to have any attachment to them. Quite the opposite, in fact. They seem to bully you relentlessly, and you resent them for it."

"That is why I’ve revealed myself. If you also hate the Sun Family to your very core, then you can work with me to bring them down. What do you say?"

Jiang Xu delivered his speech with confidence, but when he finished and looked at Liang Fan, he found the boy’s attention was still elsewhere. This annoyed him.

’If Liang Fan isn’t listening, then wasn’t all this effort for nothing?’

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

"Yes! That’s wonderful... Dad!" Liang Fan finally snapped out of it.

"Huh?" Jiang Xu blinked, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him.

"No, no! Senior! I mean, by working together, we can definitely overthrow the Sun Family’s evil reign."

"But the Sun Family is so powerful. The Clan Leader and the Grand Elder are both at the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Realm, and the other Elders are at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage... Senior, if it’s just you..."

Liang Fan stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing how that sounded, and quickly corrected himself.

"I didn’t mean to imply you’re weak, it’s just... it’s just..."

"Enough."

Although Jiang Xu was surprised to learn the Sun Family had two Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivators, he remained brimming with confidence.

"Watch this!"

With that, Jiang Xu activated his Thousand-Faced Illusion Body. He constructed a mental model of Liang Fan as Spiritual Power surged around him, and layers of a mystical aura began to converge upon his body.

In an instant, a faint halo enveloped Jiang Xu’s body. His form blurred, then rapidly solidified, his appearance undergoing a drastic transformation.

A moment later, another perfectly lifelike "Liang Fan" stood before him!

From the hairs on his head to the tips of his fingers, even the subtle lines of his facial expressions and a nearly imperceptible mole at the tip of his brow—everything was replicated with such precision that it was impossible to tell the two apart.

Liang Fan was dumbstruck. He stared wide-eyed, the reflection of his doppelgänger in his pupils making it seem as though he were looking into a mirror.

"Senior, what is this?"

"Senior, what is this?"

The two "Liang Fans" spoke simultaneously, their voices identical in tone and their questions uttered at the exact same moment.

Not only was the duplicate’s appearance identical, but his voice was also a perfect, shadow-like imitation.

A look of mingled shock and confusion crossed Liang Fan’s face. He subconsciously reached out to touch the replica before him, only to hesitate mid-air.

He stared at the transformed Jiang Xu, a deep sense of awe rising within him as he secretly wondered:

’What manner of advanced Disguise Technique or Transformation Technique can achieve such a flawless result?’

"So? Pretty good transformation, wouldn’t you say?"

Jiang Xu said, a smug smirk playing on his lips.

"Pretty good? It’s not just ’pretty good’—it’s a perfect copy of me!"

Seeing "himself" speak gave Liang Fan a strange, unsettling feeling. It was deeply uncomfortable.

"I can do more than just turn into you. I can transform into anyone. Not even..."

Jiang Xu was about to say that not even a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivator could see through his disguise.

But then he remembered he’d never actually used the Thousand-Faced Illusion Body in front of a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivator, so he didn’t know if they could break it.

Logically, since it was a Tier Two Magic that he had cultivated to the Mastery level, no one below the Golden Core Realm should be able to see through it.

But what if his opponent happened to have cultivated a specific type of Spiritual Vision Magic as a counter?

"Let me ask you something first. Have your Clan Leader and Grand Elder cultivated any special Investigation Techniques?"

Liang Fan shook his head.

"I don’t know. The Elders are always busy. I can count the number of times I’ve even seen them on one hand."

"Then who do you normally interact with?"

"Just some clan members of my generation. The highest cultivation among them doesn’t even reach the Foundation Establishment Realm." After he spoke, understanding seemed to dawn on him. "You want to take my form, infiltrate the Sun Family, and then seize the opportunity to wreak havoc from within?"

"Exactly!"

Hearing that Liang Fan usually only interacted with Qi Cultivation Cultivators, Jiang Xu’s confidence surged.

’I don’t plan on staying long this time anyway,’ he thought. ’I’ll just get my revenge on Sun Zixuan and leave. In that short amount of time, there’s no way I’ll run into the Clan Leader or the Grand Elder.’

Jiang Xu immediately reverted to his original appearance and said to Liang Fan:

"So? Now you see I’m not just all talk. I truly have the power to take on the Sun Family! Are you willing to help me bring them down?"

"Nothing would please me more!" Liang Fan said with conviction.

After that, Jiang Xu began to question Liang Fan about the internal affairs of the Sun Clan.

Liang Fan did not disappoint. Despite his lowly status in the Sun Family, he had learned to survive by navigating the clan’s undercurrents.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, he had been forced to observe carefully and gather information from multiple sources, accumulating a wealth of detailed intelligence about the clan’s inner workings.

He knew the web of relationships between the Sun Family’s major branches, including which ones were allies that frequently offered mutual support.

He also knew which branches harbored resentment toward each other due to conflicts of interest or old grudges, leading to constant friction.

He even revealed the secret activities of the clan’s spoiled scions, such as which young master was engaged in debauchery, and which seemingly henpecked Elder was secretly carousing behind his wife’s back.

The information Liang Fan provided covered the Sun Clan’s complex internal relationships, hidden chains of profit, and its members’ little-known secrets.

This trove of trivial yet crucial intelligence excited Jiang Xu, but it also left him rather speechless when he thought about Liang Fan.

’If I were in Liang Fan’s position,’ he mused, ’and had all this intelligence, there’s no way I would have ended up in such a pathetic state.’

’What a complete waste.’

’With all this... heh heh. Sun Zixuan, just you wait. I refuse to believe I can’t handle you now!’

Jiang Xu was inwardly ecstatic, but on the surface, he simply said to Liang Fan:

"To imitate you perfectly, without letting them spot a single flaw, I’m going to need even more information from you!"