A Farmer's Journey To Immortality - Chapter 722: Who is the Culprit?
Chapter 722: Who is the Culprit?
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Violet glanced at Zara. Zara glanced back. They shared a quiet smile.
When they looked at Aksai again, their expressions were warm and gentle, filled with trust and affection.
“Thank you, my Lord. We… we will serve you well tonight,” Violet said softly.
“Hehehe. We will not disappoint you,” Zara added with a mischievous smile.
At that point, both of them came to the same conclusion. They did not need to think about this incident anymore. Aksai was going to handle the problem personally. All they needed to do was keep Aksai entertained and satisfied.
They bowed once more and finally took their leave, their steps light as they exited the hall.
The moment they were gone, Aksai’s smile faded. His face turned serious. He lifted a hand and pressed his fingers against his forehead, slowly rubbing his temples.
“So there were demerits to establishing the guild after all,” he murmured to himself. He felt like he was having a headache even though he felt fine.
His eyes darkened as thoughts moved quickly through his mind.
“I thought my rune encryption was top-notch for my current needs,” he said quietly. “And it kinda is. But I failed to see how it could be misused.”
Aksai looked around in the quiet hall, the smell of wine and food already fading. The warmth from earlier was gone. He took a slow breath and spoke softly.
“Nuri, how many guild members are given privileged identity tokens?”
There was no delay.
Nuri’s calm voice sounded in his mind after accessing the guild records.
[Master, there are currently 135 Experts from varying backgrounds.]
Aksai raised his eyebrows slightly.
“That many?” he said. “I guess almost all the drifting and demonic Spirit cultivators who didn’t want to stay under Haan Di decided to join my guild.”
He let out a short breath.
“The number is more than I expected,” he continued, “but it still makes things simple. Since the assassin used this method to bypass all security, finding his identity won’t be hard.”
He paused for a moment, then asked another question.
“But why were guild members given privileged access to the inner layer of the formation in the first place?”
Nuri replied after a brief pause, her tone steady but careful.
[Master, privileged access is granted to guild members who make major contributions by completing missions over the years.]
Aksai listened quietly.
[This system was created to keep talented cultivators within the Emerald Cove Guild and motivate them to work harder on future missions.]
Nuri continued.
[Most drifting cultivators lack many things. They need Spirit cultivation techniques, Spirit spells, alchemy knowledge, talismans, elixirs, Spirit resources from Emerald Cove Island and the Enchanted Everwood Farm, as well as artifacts. All these facilities together serve as the Emerald Cove Guild’s treasury.]
[Most of the resources stored there are 1st and 2nd Order Spirit resources. However, over the years, we have also gathered a few 3rd Order treasures that are of no direct use to us and were therefore kept in the guild’s treasury as rewards.]
Aksai’s eyes narrowed slightly.
[To protect such valuable items, we built facilities like the Emerald Cove Library, Emerald Elixiria, and Emerald Smithy inside the inner layer of the formation.]
[This prevents cultivators from bypassing regulations and taking rewards without effort.]
[Later, we began granting the top contributors privileged access to these facilities as an incentive.]
Aksai remembered now. He had approved this long ago.
Nuri’s voice softened.
[I was given your permission to set up the guild this way about twenty years ago.]
[At the time, I assumed that those who spent many years risking their lives on dangerous missions would develop loyalty toward the guild.]
There was a brief pause.
[I believe that assumption was incorrect.]
[I’m sorry, Master.]
Aksai closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
“No,” he said quietly. “This isn’t just your fault. You make decisions based on data and probabilities, and all those parameters would have led you to this outcome. Frankly, I’m not sure I would have done any better even if I had been personally involved in every step of the guild’s formation. What you have done with the guild is already more than good enough.”
He opened his eyes, a cold light forming within them.
“You don’t have to discard the guild model you built over a single incident,” he muttered. “People don’t always repay trust with loyalty. Some only see chances.”
His fingers slowly curled into a fist.
“Still,” he said, “a mistake is a mistake. And mistakes must be corrected.”
“Nuri,” the Spirit farmer said softly, “list all guild members with privileged access.”
There was no delay.
[Understood, Master. Accessing Emerald Cove Guild records.]
Lines of faint light passed through Aksai’s vision as data flowed.
“Remove those who are not on the island right now,” he said. “Only keep those who are currently inside the Devil’s Den Formation.”
The formation had logs for everything. Anyone entering or leaving using a valid identity token was recorded. There was no way around that.
[Command accepted.]
The data shifted again.
[Cross-referencing entry and exit logs.]
A short pause followed.
[Filtering complete.]
[Only 20 privileged-access guild members are currently present on Emerald Cove Island.]
Aksai let out a small breath.
“So most of them are still out there risking their lives,” he muttered. “That’s good. It narrows things down.”
He continued at once. “Now list those among the twenty who have used their identity tokens to access the inner layer of the formation recently.”
Nuri complied.
[Analyzing inner-layer access logs.]
This time, the pause was even shorter.
[Only four guild members have accessed the inner layer within the relevant time window.]
Aksai’s eyes sharpened.
“Locate all four,” he said calmly.
Nuri went silent again, tapping into the identity tokens themselves. Each token carried a link to the formation. As long as it was active, its holder could be tracked within the island.
[Locating targets.]
One by one, confirmations appeared.
[Target One is inside the Emerald Cove Library.]
[Target Two is inside Emerald Elixiria.]
[Target Three is inside the Emerald Smithy.]
A brief pause followed.
Then—
[Target Four cannot be located.]
Aksai’s lips curled slightly.
“Found you,” he murmured.
If the token existed but could not be tracked, then either it had been shielded, destroyed, or deliberately hidden. None of those were innocent actions.
“Fetch all available details on the missing guild member,” Aksai said. “Identity, background, missions, contacts. I want everything.”
[Understood, Master.]
As Nuri began compiling the data, Aksai remained still, his thoughts already moving ahead. The net was closing. He was really curious about who was powerful enough to commission an assassination attempt on a Lord.
A moment later, her voice sounded in his mind.
[Accessing identity token records.]
[Subject identified.]
[Name: Raon Halaak.]
[Origin: Mainland, Yidia Kingdom.]
[Status: Drifting Spirit cultivator.]
Aksai’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Yidia Kingdom…” he repeated under his breath.
Nuri continued without pause.
[Raon Halaak joined the Emerald Cove Guild fourteen years ago.]
[Initial cultivation at the time of joining: Late-stage Qi Condensation realm.]
[Current cultivation: Early-stage Foundation Establishment realm.]
Lines of data flowed steadily.
[Completed missions: 287.]
[High-risk missions: 94.]
[Special assignments involving demonic zones, Spirit beast hunts, and relic recovery: 31.]
[Total contribution points: Ranked within the top ten percent of guild members.]
Aksai remained silent as he listened.
[Notable contributions include….]
[Raon Halaak was granted privileged access six years ago due to consistent performance and survival rate.]
Aksai slowly exhaled.
“He worked hard,” he said quietly. “Too hard to be careless.”
Nuri added more details.
[Raon Halaak frequently operated alone.]
[Minimal recorded social connections within the guild.]
[No disciplinary actions on record.]
[No direct conflicts with Emerald Cove administration.]
Aksai lifted a hand and scratched the back of his head, his brows drawing together.
“Yidia Kingdom is under the Western Limiya Gate’s control,” he said softly. “If that’s the case…”
One name surfaced in his mind.
Red Limiya Lord Rose Redjade.
Aksai clicked his tongue lightly.
“Does that mean she’s behind this?” he thought.
He paced a few steps across the hall.
It didn’t sit right.
All the present Lords were selfish. Cunning. Cold when needed. That much, Aksai knew well. But they also acted with clear goals. Every move had a reason.
“What would Rose gain by killing me?” he murmured.
Emerald Cove was far from the mainland. Their guilds had no real disputes. No open conflict. No shared borders. No competition over resources.
“And she’s supposed to be busy exploring the Holy Land Torel,” he continued. “Along with the other Lords from the Big Five sects.”
At least, that was the official story.
Aksai stopped walking and looked at the empty space ahead.
“If she really ordered this,” he said to himself, “then either I’m missing something… or someone is trying very hard to point the finger in her direction.”
His eyes grew colder.
“Either way,” he muttered, “I don’t think this is personal. and if what I think is right, this isn’t over. If someone like me can get targeted, the other Lords will soon face something similar.”
Nuri replied. [Master, they already have.]
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
