Chapter 610
Not long after
The head of the Rui family immediately expressed his opinion.
Jiang Xuan glanced at the surrounding ruins and rooftops, and said calmly.
"Please have Patriarch Rui send people to collect all the items carried on the corpses in this vicinity, including the ruins of the restaurant, whether they are magical artifacts, pills, or anything else."
Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the Rui family head, but without any hesitation, he immediately gave orders to his subordinates behind him.
"Didn't you hear what the young master said? Go and do it immediately! Search thoroughly, and don't miss a single corpse!"
"Yes!"
Although the Rui family guards were puzzled, they immediately sprang into action, spreading out to carefully search the corpse and collect its belongings.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Patriarch Rui leaned closer to Jiang Xuan, lowered his voice, and asked in a tone of disbelief.
"Young master... forgive my intrusion, but these corpses... could they all be... yours...?"
Jiang Xuan glanced at him, a half-smile playing on his lips. He neither admitted nor denied it, but simply said...
"Knowing too much about some things is not necessarily a good thing."
The head of the Rui family felt a chill run down his spine and immediately understood Jiang Xuan's meaning. He dared not ask any more questions, but his fear and evaluation of Jiang Xuan rose to a whole new level.
Before long, the guards of the Rui family returned one after another, each carrying or lifting a large amount of items. Soon, a small mountain of goods had piled up in front of Jiang Xuan!
These items were dazzling and varied! There were standardized short crossbows and spirit bows with uniform designs and shimmering with a ghostly light; there were inner armor, combat boots, and bracers with considerable defensive capabilities; there were various swords and spirit weapons with sharp edges and a grade of at least superior human level; and there were also a large number of well-sealed healing pills and potions to restore spiritual energy!
Without exception, all the items were exquisitely crafted and of superior quality, and their uniform style clearly indicated that they came from the same source. Their total value was probably astronomical!
Looking at the mountain of exquisite equipment and pills, even with the knowledge and wealth of the Rui family head, he couldn't help but gasp, his eyes filled with shock.
The guards behind him stared wide-eyed, their breathing rapid.
Even Rui Qing, whose cheeks were swollen and red, forgot her pain at this moment, and her eyes revealed greed and envy.
Jiang Xuan looked at the "small mountain" with a calm expression and reminded the head of the Rui family.
“Patriarch Rui, these items are indeed valuable, but their origins are probably quite problematic. Recklessly getting involved could lead to your death.”
Upon hearing this, Patriarch Rui snapped back to his senses, his eyes instantly regaining their clarity. He coldly glanced at the guards behind him, whose eyes were gleaming, and said sternly.
"Did anyone dare to hide anything we just confiscated?! Hand it over now and we'll forgive you! If anyone is found out, they'll be punished according to family rules!"
The guards looked at each other, none of them daring to speak.
Jiang Xuan smiled and casually added a sentence.
"I suspect that these corpses may have come from... the Forbidden City."
The words "Forbidden City" resounded like thunder in the ears of the Rui family head! His expression changed drastically in an instant, and he no longer harbored any illusions. He shouted again in a stern voice.
"Did you hear me! Anyone hiding this, hand it over right now! Otherwise, if discovered, you will be treated as a traitor and executed without exception!"
Under such a severe threat, seven or eight guards finally turned pale and tremblingly pulled out several small but spiritually powerful magical artifacts from their bosoms and sleeves, placing them next to the pile of items.
"You bastard!"
The head of the Rui family was so angry that his face turned ashen, and he cursed.
Jiang Xuan said no more, stepped forward, and with a flick of his sleeve, took the small mountain of various high-quality equipment and pills from the ground and put it all into his storage ring.
After doing all this, he nodded slightly to the head of the Rui family.
"Thank you for your help, Patriarch Rui. Farewell."
After saying that, he didn't linger. He carried the bamboo basket on his back, turned around, and walked towards the edge of town. His figure quickly disappeared at the end of the street.
Watching Jiang Xuan's departing figure, Rui Qing covered her still burning cheeks, her eyes filled with resentment and bitterness.
"Father! We're just going to let him go like that? Those things..."
"Shut up! You idiot!"
The head of the Rui family turned around abruptly, his eyes filled with a terrifying gloom, and he hissed in a low voice.
"Those things, do you think our Rui family can even lay a finger on them? Do you want to bring annihilation upon your family?!"
He took a deep breath, suppressing the lingering fear and shock in his heart, and gave instructions to his subordinates.
"Go, bring over a few intact corpses!"
Soon, several corpses dressed in black, each with a different manner of death, were carried over. The head of the Rui family carefully examined the corpses, his expression growing increasingly grave with each look.
"See these people? Their cultivation level is at least at the late stage of the Human Gang Realm, and there are quite a few at the Earth Gang Realm, and even some experts at the Heaven Gang Realm!"
He pointed to the wounds on the corpse, his voice trembling slightly.
"Moreover, they almost all killed him with a single blow! They were all hit in vital areas such as the throat, the forehead, and the heart! The people who made these attacks were terrifying in terms of strength, eyesight, and ruthlessness!"
He then pointed to the confiscated, uniformly styled remnants of magical artifacts and elixirs.
"Take another look at these things! So exquisite, so uniform, they could never be equipped by an ordinary force! These must be elite cultivators trained by some powerful force within the Forbidden City!"
He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over every member of the Rui family present, his tone sterner than ever before.
"Listen up, everyone! Keep everything that happened today, everything you saw, to yourselves! No one is allowed to utter a single word! And no one is allowed to provoke that boy again! Otherwise, not only me, but the entire Rui family cannot bear the possible consequences! Do you understand?!"
"understand!"
All the clansmen and guards were terrified by the patriarch's extremely serious attitude and the information conveyed in his words. They all fell silent and hurriedly bowed in agreement.
……
Jiang Xuan carried Luo Luo on his back and quickly walked out of Qingliu Town.
Ahead lay a relatively expansive, shallow forest, the terrain gradually leveling out. According to his calculations, he had already covered more than half the distance from Yanxia City to the Forbidden City.
If all goes well, he should be able to reach the imperial capital in seven days at most.
He knew the road ahead would only become more treacherous. With the enemy suffering repeated setbacks, the encirclement would inevitably become more intense and meticulous. But as long as no cultivators beyond the Spirit Realm appeared, he was confident he could fight back, and even break through.
In the bamboo basket behind her, Luo Luo had fallen into a deep sleep, a peaceful smile on her little face.
The moment the battle broke out in the restaurant, Jiang Xuan used a wisp of his mental power to gently hypnotize Luo Luo, preventing her from being frightened by witnessing the bloody scene.
He continued on his way while pondering the matter.
Although the "tactical mastermind" named Xu Qianjing was ousted, his analytical and strategic abilities are indeed not to be underestimated.
It is foreseeable that subsequent encirclement and suppression efforts will likely still contain his backup plans or draw upon his ideas, making them even more difficult to deal with.
However, Jiang Xuan was not without his trump cards.
He clearly felt that his long-stagnant cultivation at the Human Gang Realm Perfection stage was showing signs of loosening, and the barrier leading to the Earth Gang Realm seemed to be broken at any moment! This kind of variable, such as breaking through in the heat of battle, was probably something that even Xu Qianjing, who was good at divination, could not have predicted.
He looked up toward the Forbidden City, his eyes sharp and resolute.
No matter how many difficulties and obstacles lie ahead, he will forge ahead until he reaches the end and unveils the mystery of his origins!
Jiang Xuan had already learned from the cultivators who were captured or whose will collapsed before their deaths that the force that had gone to such lengths to kill him along the way was none other than the Chi family, one of the seven great upper-class clans of the Forbidden City! And the people in charge of this matter were Chi Cangmei, a descendant of the Chi family, and Xu Qianjing, who was known as the "tactical master" of Qinglu Academy.
While Jiang Xuan was wary of the power and influence of scions like Chi Zangmei who relied on their family background, he wasn't overly worried. What truly made him dare not be negligent in the slightest were figures like Xu Qianjing! Tactical masters could often analyze the slightest clues to uncover a target's fighting habits, strength limits, and even personality weaknesses, thereby devising highly targeted killing strategies.
He worried that his opponent might have figured out his current fighting style and strength through the previous battles.
However, he also harbored a certainty. If he could break through to the Earthly Fiend Realm soon, his strength would undoubtedly undergo a qualitative leap, and his fighting style and abilities would change significantly. At that time, most of the intelligence and deductions Xu Qianjing had previously collected would be rendered useless, and he would need to gather information again and re-analyze and strategize.
This will undoubtedly buy you valuable buffer time and initiative.
At this moment, Jiang Xuan had already strongly sensed the signs of advancement! The spiritual energy within his body, like a millstone in a storm, was becoming increasingly solid and surging. The barrier of the Human Qi Realm was being constantly impacted and loosened, and a feeling of "water overflowing when full" and an imminent breakthrough was becoming clearer and clearer.
This kind of natural breakthrough is the ultimate test of a cultivator's foundation, and he has absolute confidence in the solid foundation he has laid.
He was eagerly anticipating how his combat strength would change after breaking through to the Earthly Fiend Realm.
……
After traveling for several hours, as the sun began to set in the west, Jiang Xuan could see the outline of a magnificent city on the horizon.
The city was vast in scale, far surpassing Qingliu Town. It was a bustling metropolis belonging to the Nebula Province in the central part of the empire, which he was bound to pass through on his planned route—Huanglong City.
He planned to arrive at Huanglong City before nightfall, then find a completely safe place in the city to go into seclusion and prepare to break through to the Earthly Rank Realm.
Advancing in the wilderness is too risky; if attacked at a crucial moment, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Entering a prosperous city like Huanglong City would greatly enhance safety, as even a powerful enemy would not dare to openly mobilize a large force to attack within the city.
Just as he quickened his pace and headed towards Huanglong City, his eyes suddenly caught sight of a group of people appearing on the official road in the distance.
The procession was quite large, numbering several dozen, with elite guards surrounding several beast-drawn carriages. Most striking was the banner fluttering in the wind atop the lead carriage, embroidered with golden cloud patterns and bearing two large, elegantly written characters in the center: "Shi Ding Zhai!"
"The Shi Ding Zhai team?"
Jiang Xuan's heart stirred slightly.
He quickened his pace and moved closer, and when he saw a somewhat familiar face in the group, he couldn't help but pause in surprise.
It was a middle-aged man with a capable appearance, dressed in the attire of a manager at Shidingzhai, who was riding a tall horned horse and directing the procession forward.
Jiang Xuan recognized him at a glance. It was Wang Lin, the manager in charge of appraisal at Shidingzhai in Donglin City and also Mu Wansu's capable subordinate!
Almost simultaneously, Wang Lin also noticed Jiang Xuan approaching from the side of the official road.
When he saw Jiang Xuan's face clearly, an expression of unbelievable joy instantly appeared on his face. He quickly waved for the group to stop, then dismounted and hurried over.
"Young Master Jiang Xuan! It really is you! I never expected to meet you here!"
Wang Lin's tone was filled with excitement and surprise.
Jiang Xuan smiled and said.
"Manager Wang, how have you been?"
His gaze swept over the group. Besides the dozens of guards who were clearly skilled and capable, there were also many teenagers, young men and women, around ten years old, with clear eyes and full of energy. They were dressed in clean, uniform clothes and were curiously looking around.
Seeing the doubt in Jiang Xuan's eyes, Wang Lin quickly explained.
"Young Master Jiang Xuan, these are all promising talents that Manager Mu has carefully selected from the Shidingzhai branch in Huanglong City. They are the ones we plan to bring back to Yanxia City for further training."
He paused, then lowered his voice.
"Manager Mu said that loyalty is the most important quality when hiring people. In order to avoid being planted with spies by people with ulterior motives, he would rather go to the trouble of coming to Huanglong City to select people himself."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuan nodded and sighed.
"Manager Mu is thoughtful and considerate; loyalty should indeed be the top priority when employing people."
Wang Lin wholeheartedly agreed.
"exactly."
He suddenly remembered something and said.
"By the way, Young Master Jiang Xuan, did you go to Shidingzhai in Yanxia City to look for Manager Mu a while ago? Manager Mu later learned that you had gone to look for her but failed to meet her, and she was quite disappointed. It turns out that she came to Huanglong City."
Jiang Xuan then realized that Mu Wansu was not in Yanxia City at the time, but had come here to handle this matter.
As they talked, Wang Lin enthusiastically led Jiang Xuan toward the center of the group, clearly wanting him to meet the young men selected by Manager Mu, or even invite him to join them.
However, just as they were about to reach the center of the group, a discordant voice suddenly rang out, carrying obvious displeasure.
"Wang Lin! What's going on? Why did the team suddenly stop? Don't you know time is of the essence?"
As the voice spoke, a young man dressed in a luxurious silver robe, with a jade belt around his waist, and a fairly handsome appearance, but with an air of arrogance that he could not hide, walked over with a frown.
His gaze swept over Wang Lin, then glanced at Jiang Xuan standing beside Wang Lin, dressed simply and carrying a bamboo basket. A barely perceptible hint of contempt flashed in his eyes. He then deliberately looked away, as if he hadn't seen Jiang Xuan at all, adopting an extremely arrogant posture. (End of Chapter)