Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 2577: Chapter 2569: Clues

Ge Xilai is not just complicated, but also methodical in his actions.

Master Liu emphasized one point, "This Soul Seal of Master Xi Lai, only his eldest son knows about it. His meaning is, if his eldest son unfortunately gets killed by you, then this secret will never be unlocked."

"Hah," Han Hai and Qian Zhong snorted disdainfully in unison, clearly meaning—how big a sky has a frog in a well ever seen?

Then Han Hai True Sage glanced at Qian Zhong, "Since the elder expresses it this way, you must be confident. Please do not hesitate to take action."

Qian Zhong shook his head and said indifferently, "I can certainly do it, but since we haven’t killed his eldest son, wouldn’t it be great to have him resolve it? Why not save effort when there’s an easier way?"

That’s how they spoke, but in reality, both knew that forcefully unlocking a Soul Seal didn’t guarantee success. Although they had ways to handle contingencies, it’s still that old saying, the secret techniques of the Tianqin Plane are countless.

So, since there’s a simple and secure method at hand, there’s no need to show off unnecessarily.

Upon hearing this, Han Hai True Sage didn’t speak anymore but sighed inwardly: I’ve gotten a bit too carried away.

Qian Zhong seemed to see through his thoughts, chuckling softly, "Being young, it’s quite normal."

Wei Sancai "snorted" with laughter, being over a thousand years old and still being called reckless, surely didn’t sit well with him?

Soon, the content on the Obsidian was deciphered; there wasn’t much information. Ge Xilai mentioned that if something happened to him, it was Master NanAn from the Lingmu Sect who incited him to seek out Longyang True Immortal, but there were other forces behind this.

Because he knew that Master NanAn had actually already fallen—a very secretive piece of information. Fortunately, he’d been operating in the Lingmu Sect for years and had relations unknown to others, so his first reaction was: This is a trap.

Ge Xilai had been working hard on the Lingmu Sect’s business, at one point managing it quite well.

But business isn’t something that necessarily thrives with effort, especially for someone like Ge Xilai with no real foundation, who purely relies on savvy. Any disturbance in the Lingmu Sect can severely impact his business.

For example, initially, he heavily invested in buying off a Nascent Soul Initial Stage, the real person in charge of related affairs was the Nascent Soul Initial Stage’s junior brother, whom he also cozied up to. But later on, the person in charge changed, to that junior brother’s disciple, who didn’t buy into his act.

The junior brother ate it up, but the disciple didn’t; where could he reason this out?

Go to the Nascent Soul Initial Stage to complain? Don’t be silly, they are in a master-disciple relationship, while he’s just an outsider. If the complaint fails, the consequences could be severe.

Unwittingly, his business in the Lingmu Sect started declining, which wasn’t much related to his efforts, just the way things flowed.

Master NanAn approached him for help, which should’ve been a good chance to turn the tide, but Ge Xilai knew very well that Master NanAn had died half a year ago during a tactical drill in the Songzhan Sector.

Falling during a tactical drill is quite embarrassing, so it’s understandable that the Lingmu Sect kept it under wraps, but Ge Xilai, having spread his influence around, knew that money wasn’t spent in vain and heard someone accidentally divulge it while drinking.

So when Master NanAn came to talk, he knew very well that this was an imposter, but... he couldn’t just not go, could he?

After meeting, Master NanAn told him, I know you’ve been eyeing the operations in the Songzhan Sector for a long time, I have a task for you, go see an important figure and accomplish the tasks given, and as for those operations... maybe I can allocate some to you.

This logic is quite standard; Lingmu Sect disciples often delegate somewhat inconvenient matters to agents, and he even offered very limited terms—perhaps considering giving you a bit.

But precisely because the terms were limited, it seemed genuine—help with a small task and get the entire operation, which is unreasonable.

Ge Xilai also found the deal fair, but the key issue was... Master NanAn had already fallen!

He certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough to ask—"Who the hell are you really?" So he could only say, I’m recently swamped with work, might not be able to visit that notable figure any time soon,

Master NanAn then said: Overwhelmed with work? I know some of your Lingmu Sect projects aren’t profitable... maybe cut them?

Ge Xilai truly had some unprofitable projects, losing money but gaining reputation. But there’s no choice, for someone with no backing, he has to show sincerity this way, and of course, lucrative projects would be out of reach for him.

But, he dared not let the other party cut the projects—if I dare agree, you’ll likely cut my profitable projects?

Seeing the other party’s insistence on him completing the task, he had no choice: Alright, I’ll be sure to accommodate the important figure well.

Master NanAn then gave him a location—and it wasn’t even within Lingmu Sect’s territory!

If Ge Xilai didn’t know Master NanAn was an imposter, he’d probably inquire carefully, but knowing it’s false, asking more would make him more passive, so he merely said with "perfectly fitting" puzzlement: Not a Lingmu Sect person?

Since it’s just an act, he didn’t believe his acting skills would pale compared to these high-and-mighty sect disciples.

As expected, Master NanAn didn’t find his questioning excessive, just impatiently stated: I told you to go, just go. I’m looking out for you with these operations, whether you want to go is up to you.

In the Earth Realm, this method is called "drawing a big pie." When Party A operates like this, Party B rarely escapes—everyone knows it might be fake, but what if it’s true?

However, Ge Xilai knows that the other party is not just "drawing a big pie." If he refuses to go, the consequences would be unimaginable.

After all, they’ve already impersonated Master NanAn to handle things; what wouldn’t they dare do?

He chose to continue acting, contemplating for a while before saying, "With Master NanAn believing in me like this, I must seize this opportunity."

After leaving, he tirelessly inquired about who exactly lived in that place.

Because he had already foreseen the danger, he spared no expense, determined to bypass the Lingmu Sect’s attention.

While the Lingmu Sect is quite vigilant in this regard, their failure was in not realizing that Ge Xilai had already seen through the fact that Master NanAn was a counterfeiter.

So they underestimated Ge Xilai’s investment in this matter—both in terms of energy and money.

Ge Xilai spent money to the point of feeling pain himself, but he had no choice, as he couldn’t find anyone to rely on.

After a month of cautious inquiry, he was shocked to discover: that great figure far from the Lingmu Sect’s territory likely belonged to the Ancient Xiong Family, and he was dumbfounded—Youxiong Clan?

Firstly, the Xiong Family is incredibly prestigious, slightly inferior to the Yao Family, but the Xiong Family is a branch of the Xuanyuan Clan, meaning the current Xuanyuan Family might be a backer for the Xiong Family—though the Xuanyuan Family might not think so.

Currently, the Ji Family, ranked first among Minor Realm Families, like the Xiong Family, also originates from the Xuanyuan Family.

The Xiong Family later didn’t thrive, similar to the Yao Family, becoming obscure. Now in the Three Hundred Secret Realm Families, there is a Xiong Family, but it’s not the Ancient Xiong Family. Instead, there are branches like the Qu Family, also derived from the Xiong Family.

The Qu Family... is somewhat complex. In the Three Hundred Secret Realm Families, there are two Qu Families. The one ranked higher is from the Youxiong Clan’s Qu Family, while the one ranked lower is from the Youhu Clan’s Qu Family, and they have different origins.

But the higher-ranking one from the Xiong Family is unquestionable.

The Xiong Family has now fallen into oblivion, with no mention of them, but Ge Xilai was prepared and had invested a lot of effort.

In theory, the strength of the Ancient Xiong Family is not much worse than that of the Ancient Yao Family. Even if the survivors are a letdown to their ancestors, they wouldn’t be discovered by a mediocre Minor Cultivator like him.

But things feared are those taken seriously, and for Ge Xilai, this could be a catastrophe, forcing him to take it seriously.

After he inquired clearly about the general origins of his opponents, he could only sigh in despair: Finished, the opponent is the Xiong Family. Thoughts of escaping or the like should be abandoned.

This opponent is so powerful that it makes him despair, and among his friends, he couldn’t find any help strong enough to counterbalance.

If only he knew whom the Xiong Family intended to target, he might have a slim chance—he couldn’t provoke them, but he could align with their enemy.

However, regretfully, he doesn’t know whom the Xiong Family, alongside the Lingmu Sect, plans to target—it must be a formidable opponent, yet he has no clue who it is, finding himself helpless.

Hence, he could only gather his courage to meet that "great figure."

Indeed, a great figure, even if only at the Nascent Soul High Stage, was unapproachable for him.

The great figure appropriately showed the arrogance expected of them, but after some conversation, confidently handed him a piece of Obsidian: "I’ve heard you have connections with Longyang True Immortal? Please ask him to do something for me. The specifics... are all within this Obsidian."

Ge Xilai instantly felt a surge of malice: "Master NanAn is from the Songzhan Sector, and Longyang True Immortal is also a Patron of Songzhan Sector, yet you’re tasking me, an outsider, with this... Is it suitable?"

There’s certainly an issue here, and it’s a significant one.

However, by then, he had no other choice left. Fortunately, before meeting this person, he had left a backup plan—if I disappear, it’s no big deal, but if anyone tries to target my Clan because of me, I rely on Younger Brother Liu to produce the Obsidian.

Actually, he wanted to pass on the message that it was a Nascent Soul High Stage from the Xiong Family taking action, yet he dared not gamble on whether they would secretly spy on him; he believed there was a high probability he was being watched.

Ge Xilai was very aware that with his capabilities, he could never discover if the other party was spying on him. Any little change on his part, and the other party might directly use Soul Search—a minor action considering the grand setup that wouldn’t tolerate an ant’s disruption.

Thus, after leaving, he headed straight for the Songzhan Sector without any hesitation.

Of course, deep down, he held a small hope: hopefully, this matter isn’t as important as I think...

(Updated to the last two and a half days of February; can the monthly votes reach six thousand? It’s not too far off now, seeking monthly votes.)

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