373 The Jiang Clan
Qin Huai was deeply absorbed in his practice of the clasping vitality and defending one technique. By the time he awakened, it was already past midday.
He opened his eyes and began to traverse the forest, his steps light. Each time he touched down, two ‘selves’ would diverge in separate directions, only converging again upon landing. It was the same technique he employed during his initial encounter with Yang Tianhan – the power of the ancient azure illusion scripture.
Shortly thereafter, Qin Huai arrived at the mountain wall. The atmosphere was noticeably tense. The usual unified congregation was replaced with seven groups, each maintaining a cautious distance from the others.
Lan Zhengtu, the array master, was clutching a severed head, his gaze emanating deadly intent. Before Qin Huai had a chance to inspect the scene further, Yang Tianhan, who had been lingering at the periphery, hurried over.
“Brother Zhou, it’s best not to approach right now,” Yang Tianhan cautioned, pulling Qin Huai back a few steps.
“What happened?” Qin Huai asked, his gaze fixed on the head in Lan Zhengtu’s hand.
“One of Lan Zhengtu’s subordinates has been murdered,” Yang Tianhan divulged in hushed tones.
“Why?” Qin Huai frowned, surmising that such an incident was bound to occur sooner or later.
“He may have been a subordinate of Master Lan, but he was a disciple of Six Pavilion Lake,” Yang Tianhan explained. “In this place, the enemy of Fengling Mountain is Six Pavilion Lake, and the adversary of the Heavenly Eagle sect is the Earth Tiger Gang.”
The Fengling Mountain representatives were three young men clad in green robes, while the Earth Tiger Gang consisted of a bald middle-aged man and three young members, their animal skin outfits lending them a savage appearance. The remaining individuals were the oddly garbed couple from Five Gorge Manor.
Qin Huai scanned the crowd, uncertain about the identity of the perpetrator and disinclined to find out. His sole desire at the moment was to cultivate his technique in peace. Regrettably, he lamented, “It seems my chances of peacefully cultivating by this mountain wall are dwindling.”
“Indeed, once someone dies, the situation becomes unavoidably unstable,” Yang Tianhan responded, his demeanor nonchalant. “In my experience with countless formations, I’ve found that internal strife and conflict are inevitable.”
Qin Huai considered this and asked, “Brother Yang, who do you suspect is responsible for the death of the man in Master Lan’s hands?”
“I believe it could be the three young men from Fengling Mountain. Their cultivation mainly revolves around their agility, allowing them to move with the speed of the wind. Their ancestral home, the Jiang clan, specializes in the wind breath technique, which allows for stealthy, silent movement. A combination of these skills would enable a quiet assassination,” Yang Tianhan expounded, revealing the trio’s secrets.
“Brother Yang, your deep insights truly reflect your status as a disciple of a great sect,” Qin Huai praised.
Looking at the three young men in question, he fell into contemplation. The Jiang clan… Wasn’t this the lineage he’d identified while researching the breath control technique? He hadn’t expected to encounter them here.
“The wind breath technique is indeed a formidable skill. It’s regrettable, however, to witness the precipitous decline of the Jiang clan, once the rulers of Jiangling country, from nearly ten thousand members to fewer than a hundred within a few years,” Yang Tianhan lamented.
“Oh?” Qin Huai was taken aback, his curiosity piqued. He then ventured, “So, I take it that the Jiang clan… must be struggling at present?”
“You’re mistaken,” Yang Tianhan countered with a smile. “Although fewer than a hundred people remain in the Jiang clan, each of them is an extraordinary talent. Regardless of age or gender, any one of them could assume leadership. Following their decline, they sought refuge in Fengling Mountain and, remarkably, emerged as the uncontested rulers within a decade.”
“That’s indeed quite inspiring,” Qin Huai remarked.
Contemplating the three young men before him, Qin Huai deduced a likely scenario. Given his numerous encounters with the Sacred Heart sect, he suspected that the rapid downfall of the Jiang clan was related to the sect’s practices. It was probable that those nearly ten thousand clan members had ended up as blood food for these hundred prodigies.
“I believe these three also carry the Jiang surname, correct?” Qin Huai asked, recalling Yang Tianhan mentioning this detail previously.
“How else would I consider them prime suspects?” Yang Tianhan responded, maintaining their distant observation.
The stand-off amongst the groups eventually concluded without incident, each person selecting a spot along the mountain wall’s perimeter to settle and cultivate.
Naturally, the benefits derived from such training were inferior to those gained from sitting directly beneath the stone wall. Yet, given the tense atmosphere, no one dared to practice too close to an unfamiliar face, wary of potentially fatal consequences.
Qin Huai likewise selected a relatively secluded spot to immerse himself in studying the ancient azure illusion scripture . The session proceeded without interruption, and he successfully collected several experience points.
“Ding! You have collected [Ancient Azure Illusion Scripture Essence (Purple)], [Ancient Azure Illusion Scripture] experience points +2,000!”
“Ding! You have collected [Ancient Azure Illusion Scripture Essence (Blue)], [Ancient Azure Illusion Scripture] experience points +1,300!”
“Ding! You have collected [Ancient Azure Illusion Scripture Essence (Green)], [Ancient Azure Illusion Scripture] experience points +137!”
After that, he retreated to his own area.
…
Late into the night, the three Jiang brothers, donned in their green robes, gathered together.
“I told you two several times to bear with it!” The eldest, Jiang Yougeng, was livid. “If you’re so desperate to consume blood, couldn’t you have waited until the final day to strike? By then, we’d be in the middle of the grand slaughter and could easily evade suspicion.”