Chapter 293 - 275: Danger Approaches?

Chapter 293: Chapter 275: Danger Approaches?

As the oath was sworn, the surrounding killing intent dissipated, but the hearts of the two men grew heavier than ever before.

Jiang Xu hid in a deep shadow, peering through the half-open window lattice, watching the transaction unfold before him.

The middle-aged man’s identity was clearly quite mysterious. For him to conduct such dealings so brazenly within the strictly regulated and heavily guarded Sun Clan was a rare sight indeed.

His actions revealed not only a disregard for the rules but also hinted that he possessed some special power or secret channels within the clan.

The transaction was clearly not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but an organized, systematic operation—what had already become a fixed "industrial chain."

From mortals to Qi Cultivation Late Stage Cultivators, every level was assigned a clear price, as if life and potential could be quantified into cold, hard Spirit Stones.

But what surprised Jiang Xu slightly was that the list did not include any Qi Cultivation Great Perfection Cultivators or Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

After a moment’s thought, he understood the reason.

Those Qi Cultivation Great Perfection Cultivators on the verge of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm were the future hope of the clan. Naturally, the attention and protection they received were extraordinary.

Once they successfully achieved Foundation Establishment, their status in the clan would skyrocket, and their strength would leap to another level. They could not be easily manipulated or exploited by ordinary means.

Although the middle-aged man before him was also a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator, he likely wouldn’t dare to target those Foundation Establishment Masters.

After all, the outcome of a life-and-death battle often came down to a momentary clash of strength and a stroke of luck.

Even a figure like him couldn’t guarantee an absolute victory in a duel against a Cultivator of the same Realm.

Standing in the shadows, doubt rippled through Jiang Xu’s mind.

He watched the middle-aged man closely, his mind racing with speculation.

’Under the Sun Clan’s strict supervision, how on earth did this person manage to deceive everyone and conduct these shady transactions, which even involve the lives of Cultivators?’

One had to understand that Sun’s Immortal City had an almost draconian review system for the death of any Cultivator.

Previously, Jiang Xu had learned from Liang Fan that the Sun Family had an extremely strict and thorough investigation mechanism.

If any Cultivator—even a junior who had just started cultivating and hadn’t yet reached the Qi Cultivation Early Stage—died an unfortunate death within the Immortal City, it would trigger a furious response from the Clan Elders’ Pavilion.

Regardless of whether the cause of death was old age, a Cultivation accident, or an external attack, the Sun Clan would dispatch an elite investigation team to conduct a deep and detailed analysis of the Cultivator’s death.

Whether it was passing away from natural decay, internal injuries from a cultivation deviation, or death from ingesting poison...

No form of death could escape the Sun Family’s watchful eyes.

Whenever such an incident occurred, a group of well-trained Cultivators would swiftly intervene. They would not only conduct a full examination of the deceased’s physical condition but also trace the details of their life.

They would thoroughly investigate the deceased’s social circles to check for any potential grudges or disputes.

They would go through the deceased’s list of enemies to determine the possibility of a revenge killing.

They would study the deceased’s habits, hobbies, and even their recent words and actions, striving to find any clues that might have led to their death.

The scope and intensity of this scrutiny were so thorough that it was virtually watertight, leaving no stone unturned.

The reason Sun’s Immortal City established such strict and meticulous investigation rules was actually the same reason the Sun Clan was hostile to outsiders.

Within a Cultivation Clan, individuals with Spirit Roots, especially clan members with high-quality Spirit Roots, were extremely precious.

Every newborn child born between them could become a future pillar of the clan’s strength.

Having children was like buying a lottery ticket.

Even if the probability was extremely low, if a child with a Celestial Spirit Root was born, even if they couldn’t achieve the Golden Core Dao, they would at least guarantee the clan another Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Master.

According to Liang Fan, the Clan Leader was, in fact, someone with a Celestial Spirit Root.

The main branch to which the Clan Leader belonged was actually the weakest branch at the time of his birth.

But once the Clan Leader grew up, this weakest branch leaped to the position of the main branch.

Therefore, it was clear that the Sun Clan placed immense importance on its clan members.

In the Sun Family’s logic:

You could get injured; that was fine, no one really cared.

As long as it didn’t interfere with having children.

But if you died, then the person who killed you was in big trouble.

Such a crime was not one to be taken lightly in the Sun Clan.

Even if the culprit was found to be a respected Elder from within the clan, the Clan Elders’ Pavilion would never show favoritism because of their status.

On the contrary, they would strictly enforce the clan’s laws and severely punish the murderer.

Knowing this was precisely why Jiang Xu was so curious about how the middle-aged man managed to carry out his under-the-table operations in such an environment and repeatedly evade the Sun Clan’s strict surveillance.

Just as Jiang Xu was lost in his doubts, the fat and thin duo who were originally in the room had already departed in a nervous hurry.

The middle-aged man, however, appeared exceptionally calm. He showed no reaction to their departure and remained seated steadily in the room, his eyes closed in concentration.

It was as if the entire negotiation had been but a minor interlude in his daily life, after which he immediately returned to his meditative Cultivation.

In truth, Jiang Xu had followed the two brothers all this way with the initial intention of discovering what kind of figure within the Sun Family could pose a threat to him.

He knew the two must hate him to the core, and the person they were seeking out now had to be someone capable of making Jiang Xu pay a heavy price.

And in a clan as strict as the Sun Family, any figure who could accomplish that must possess an extraordinary status.

Initially, Jiang Xu planned to gradually infiltrate by usurping the role of the person the duo contacted, thereby creating an opportunity to approach Sun Zixuan.

But his plan was lush; reality was barren.

Jiang Xu hadn’t expected those two to actually find their way directly to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Although the current Jiang Xu had enough strength to reliably defeat an ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator with his own cultivation alone—without even using a trump card like the Spirit-Devouring Insects—the difficulty of silently eliminating a Foundation Establishment Cultivator within the Grand Array set up by the Sun Clan increased exponentially.

This wasn’t because he lacked the strength, but because in the Cultivation Realm, every Foundation Establishment Cultivator had their own life-saving trump cards.

Perhaps it was a powerful Secret Technique, a rare Magical Treasure, or a unique defensive method.

To act rashly without fully understanding the opponent’s trump cards was no different from gambling.

If he won the gamble, everything would go smoothly, of course.

But if he lost, not only would he fail to achieve his goal, but he could also be countered by the opponent, be put on the defensive, and even expose his own intentions, attracting even greater trouble.

For Jiang Xu, this was clearly an unacceptable risk.

’It seems the best strategy for now is to wait patiently. Let them make the first move, and then I can react according to the situation and seize the initiative.’

’Only then can I guarantee my own safety to the greatest extent and increase my chances of success.’

With that, Jiang Xu left the area and headed back toward his own house.

...

「After Jiang Xu left.」

A long time passed before the middle-aged man inside the room finally moved.

He murmured the name "Sun Fan" to himself as he took something out of his Storage Bag.

It was a Sound Transmission Talisman.

He muttered something unknown, and the Sound Transmission Talisman flew out of the room, soaring into the distance.

It seemed the Sound Transmission Talisman was heading for a place extremely far away.

Its destination wasn’t even within Sun’s Immortal City.

It was flying toward the central regions.

’A fortuitous encounter? He was gone for just one day and had a fortuitous encounter?’

’Heh, how could it be such a coincidence!’

’I’m afraid the adulterous lover has come looking for her!’

’In that case, to deal with Sun Fan, I’ll have to use that method...’