The previous owner of the courtyard assigned to Yang Jing had a rather refined taste. Though the small courtyard wasn’t large, the bluestone slabs paving it had a serene texture and gave off a faint, damp scent. In the center of the courtyard stood an ancient tree, its gnarled branches twisting like a Flood Dragon, with lush, flourishing leaves.
The three of them sat down at the stone table beneath the tree.
Li Yuanqing stroked his slightly ssy beard and said,
"After speaking with Little Brother Yang for a bit during the day, I felt quite unsettled. I used an Upper Grade Communication Talisman to ask an old friend about Yu Yingwu’s background."
Upper Grade Communication Talismans can transmit ssages over hundreds of miles and are quite valuable. Li Yuanqing hadn’t wanted to use it, but when he thought of his granddaughter staying alone in San Yuanli, he gritted his teeth and activated the talisman.
The Spirit Field granted to him by the Six Great Sects’ Pioneer Order belonged only to him. If he were to die, it couldn’t be so easily passed down to his granddaughter. It was more likely that it would be seized by others through trickery or force.
Cultivators believe in eradicating a problem by the roots. If that happened, his granddaughter’s life would be in peril.
As the Village Chief of San Yuanli, Li Yuanqing had accumulated so connections over the years. While he couldn’t ask for help with major matters, investigating the past of a re Guest was still possible.
"Yu Yingwu was originally an Independent Cultivator from the Cai Kingdom, highly skilled in Fire Techniques, with a rather impressive Spirit Root and Talent. Fifteen years ago, he beca a Guest of the Golden Core Clan, the Chen Family. He didn’t accomplish much in the war to establish the Chen Kingdom; in fact, it’s rumored he shirked his duties in battle. Afterward, he was marginalized, only being brought out to lead teams of Independent Cultivators during the annual Autumn Defense."
Yang Jing nodded.
"To shirk his duties in battle and not be directly expelled from the Chen Family... he either has a powerful backer, or he spent a great deal of Spirit Stones to bribe his way out of it."
Judging from Li Yuanqing’s expression, he had clearly thought of this as well.
"In the past five years, one Independent Cultivator under his command died the first year, and none died the second. But in each of the following years, six to eight people have died. That number is a bit high compared to the average."
Song Min picked up a leaf with her white jade-like fingers.
"Why would he do that? The Independent Cultivators who co here for recruitnt aren’t fools. They wouldn’t carry all their valuables on them. Even if he managed to trap and kill them, he wouldn’t get many Spirit Stones out of it."
During the Autumn Defense, Independent Cultivators are on high alert. Most of them have a few Talismans prepared, so they aren’t easy to take down. Attacking them isn’t worth the risk. Yu Yingwu is only a Late Stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator. If he attacks too many people, he’s bound to slip up eventually.
"What if he’s not after their Spirit Stones, but the Spirit Fields the Independent Cultivators received because of the Pioneer Order?"
Li Yuanqing’s voice was a little hoarse.
"That’s impossible! The various Marketplaces have their own strict rules for distributing Spirit Fields. A re Guest like him has no power to interfere in that process."
Song Min said, sowhat shocked.
’A thought struck Yang Jing. ’An ordinary Independent Cultivator wouldn’t be so knowledgeable about the internal affairs of the Six Great Sects. Their first reaction would usually be to curse the Chen Kingdom for its corruption, call the Six Great Sects useless figureheads, and condemn the Market Stewards as self-serving scoundrels. They would never be like Song Min, who imdiately saw that a re Guest would never have the power to pull sothing like this off.’
Li Yuanqing shook his head.
"He certainly doesn’t have that power on his own. But what if the ones acquiring the Spirit Fields aren’t ordinary people, but those Foundation Establishnt Clans?"
The thirst and greed of the Immortal Cultivation Clans for Spirit Fields were known to all. Back when the Pioneer Order decreed that Spirit Fields would be distributed to Independent Cultivators, it had already caused discontent among so Foundation Establishnt Clans. In their eyes, giving perfectly good Spirit Fields to those Independent Cultivators was a complete waste. However, the Nascent Soul Elders of the Six Great Sects believed that relying on the Immortal Cultivation Clans alone would not be enough to defend the Chen Kingdom. The Chen Kingdom’s Royal Family was also worried that bringing in too many Immortal Cultivation Clans would make them too powerful to control. That was why the Pioneer Order was created, driving the Chen Kingdom like a wedge, pinning it deep within the Demon Country.
"This matter should be easy to investigate. We just need to find out who ended up with the Spirit Fields of the Cultivators who died during the Autumn Defense. Unfortunately, this is beyond my capabilities, and it would be all too easy to incur the wrath of those Foundation Establishnt Clans."
If they were lucky, and this shady business only involved Yu Yingwu and a few Foundation Establishnt Clans, they might be able to expose this scandal and survive. But if it has already beco an interwoven network of interests, exposing it would an a grueso death with no place for burial.
The Chen Kingdom’s Royal Family has two Golden Core Ancestors, and their Power overwhelms all the other Immortal Cultivation Clans in Chen. They would naturally not tolerate such treacherous acts. But even the Royal Family wouldn’t uproot all those Foundation Establishnt Clans just for the lives of a few Independent Cultivators.
Without the stable supply of various resources produced by the Foundation Establishnt Clans, the defensive lines at the Six Celestial Gates would waver. If the Six Great Sects were to lay bla, even the Chen Kingdom’s Royal Family would not be able to bear the consequences.
"If we rashly get involved, I’m afraid we’ll be crushed to dust in an instant."
Li Yuanqing let out a deep sigh. He never expected that a casual investigation would uncover sothing so chilling.
In the Immortal Cultivation Realm, Independent Cultivators are at the very bottom of the food chain. Only in recent years have they gained a foothold in the Chen Kingdom, but now they’ve been targeted by these gluttonous clans, who constantly sche to swallow them whole, skin and bones.
"Brother Li, you’re wise and experienced. Tell us, what should we do?"
Yang Jing adopted the posture of a young, inexperienced man, ready to listen to his senior’s guidance.
Li Yuanqing shook his head helplessly.
"What can I do? Yu the Old Thief only murders a few people each ti, likely because he doesn’t want to cause a major commotion. We just need to be careful and make sure we aren’t among those few."
Li Yuanqing was old and shrewd. He only wanted to muddle through this year’s Autumn Defense and worry about the rest later. The reason he called Song Min and Yang Jing over was that he knew one person couldn’t handle this alone. If that Yu Yingwu truly had his sights set on his Spirit Field, having so help would allow him to at least put up a fight.
In all of San Yuanli, the only person he felt he couldn’t see through was Song Min. After this Female Cultivator arrived in San Yuanli, it wasn’t as if no one had coveted her beauty, but they all returned in defeat. Unlike other Female Cultivators who only earned Spirit Stones by planting Spirit Rice and Spirit dicine, she had repeatedly ventured into the Huangyuan Mountain Range to hunt Demons, earning herself the nickna "Jade Demoness."
If her Cultivation wasn’t only at the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation, she would undoubtedly be considered the top expert in San Yuanli.
As for Yang Jing, Li Yuanqing was optimistic about his Alchemy skills. By building a good relationship with him now, it might bring so benefits to his granddaughter in the future.
’Yang Jing shook his head. He knew that the Wu Family coveted Yinjiao. There was a seventy to eighty percent chance that the ones cooperating with Yu Yingwu were the Wu Family. The Wu Family wasn’t targeting them for a few Spirit Fields, but for Yinjiao.’
’Even the value of an entire Marketplace couldn’t compare to Yinjiao.’
’A pure-blooded Flood Dragon has a long lifespan and faces no bottleneck when breaking through to the Golden Core Realm. The probability of it advancing to the Nascent Soul realm is at least sixty percent. To obtain it, what would killing everyone in San Yuanli even matter?’
"This ti might be different," Yang Jing said, shaking his head. "If he just wanted to get rid of a few Independent Cultivators, it would be easy to do by coordinating with the Cultivators from those Foundation Establishnt Clans. All they would need to do is use a tad Demon to ring the Demon Alarm Bell and lure people out of the city. There would be no need to let the Independent Cultivators party all night like this, which only ended up arousing Brother Li’s suspicions."
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