Chương 110: The Turning Trap

"Have you heard? The Jiang family bought a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Jin family over in Qingtai City."

"Yes, I heard it's already been refined."

"Ah, who knows how many pills they actually managed to make?" In Jianqu county town, the gossip had already started spreading among cultivators with sharp ears. Huaijin's heart stirred at those words. Among the major powers in Qingtai City, only a handful could reliably produce Foundation Establishment Pills. The Jin family was one of them. They had lost two Tier 2 cultivators some time ago, but they'd already recovered. And that was precisely because they could refine those pills.

The reason the Jin family had originally demanded two pills from the Fang family was simple: they shouldn't have had to bear those losses alone. After all, they'd suffered them while helping the Fang family.

"Friend," Huaijin asked the person next to him, "looks like the Jiang family got lucky, building a connection with the Jin family like that?" The man turned out to be an extrovert.

"You're telling me? Who knows what kind of dogshit luck the Jiangs stepped in. Ever since they got a late stage supreme elder sitting at their table, the Jiang clan have been trying to expand their reach toward Qingtai City. But they just couldn't break in." The man was a real chatterbox. He launched into a detailed, step by step explanation.

Every major Foundation Establishment Realm and Qi Refining Realm force, he explained, wanted to build a relationship with a family like the Jin family, one that could reliably produce Foundation Establishment Pills. After all, only once a family's own need for pills was fully satisfied would they even consider selling their surplus to outsiders. And who they sold to depended entirely on the closeness of the relationship. If none of their close allies needed a pill, only then would it end up at auction.

"Rumor has it that the Jiang clan's late-stage supreme elder, Jiang Wenshi, has already fallen. Recently, the Jiangs clan's position hasn't been great. But who knew? Just when things looked darkest, they somehow managed to get in with the Jin family?" Huaijin nodded as he listened.

"The other supreme elder, is in Qingtai City. He's already sent someone to bring the pill back. Word is, it's supposed to arrive in the next couple of days." Zhang Huaijin's brow furrowed.

"If this is such secret information," he said slowly, "how is it that you know so much about it?" Hearing the suspicion in Zhang Huaijin's voice, the man's tone turned defensive.

"Who knows? The whole damn county town knows about it. Maybe there's a mole in the Jiang family." This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Apparently offended by his tone, the man finished speaking and walked off. Huaijin thought to himself, 'This feels off.' … He chatted with a few more people nearby. What the first man had said was true. Everyone in County Town knew.

A Jiang cultivator was on his way back, carrying a Foundation Establishment Pill with him.

'Is this part of their plan?' he wondered.

'Or did the news really leak?' A glint of curiosity flashed in Zhang Huaijin's eyes. The Jiang family hated his guts. If it weren't for his own strength, they probably would have made a move against him already. And now they had ties with the Jin family. Who knew if it was because of him…? One thing was certain, a showdown between them was inevitable. Whether news of this pill was real or not, he couldn't let it fall into the Jiang family's hands.

'You strike first, I strike next.' Since Jiang Wenshi had chosen to ambush him back then, Huaijin wasn't about to be polite. —— Huaijin slipped out of Jianqu County Town without a sound and made his way to the edge of the Purple Dusk Mountain Range. He found a hiding spot, concealed his presence, and waited for the Jiang family members returning from Qingtai City. And he wasn't the only one. Who knew how many others were lurking along the only route back to Jianqu County?

He could already sense at least three Tier 2 cultivators hiding nearby. Beyond them, there were also fierce looking teams of rogue cultivators, all hoping to get a piece of the pie. A day passed quietly. Then, the Jiang family members gradually came into view. The news was actually true. The Jiang cultivators were making no effort to hide, they were traveling in a blatantly obvious manner. Just one cultivator at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment Realm, along with eight Qi Refining Realm cultivators.

They moved fast, streaking toward Jianqu County Town like beams of light. The waiting cultivators felt a surge of excitement.

'Is the Jiang family this arrogant? Sending only one Tier 2 cultivator?' Without a moment's hesitation, the hidden Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators revealed themselves.

"Jiang Wuhe! Leave the pill behind, and you'll live!" Three Tier 2 cultivators stepped into view, dressed in black robes, their auras cold and menacing. From all directions, dozens of late stage Qi Refining Realm cultivators also appeared. Most were at the perfection stage. Besides the underlings of the three main cultivators, the rest were fierce looking rogue cultivators. For a single Foundation Establishment Pill, they would risk anything… even their lives. Jiang Wuhe's face turned ugly.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Have you thought this through? Laying hands on my Jiang family, are you tired of living?" The Jiang family members behind him looked fierce, their eyes showing a willingness to fight to the death. Sure, the their power had waned a bit, but that didn't mean just any stray cat or dog could provoke them.

"Tired of living?" The lead cultivator laughed coldly.

"Do you have the strength to kill us? All talk. Now die!" The lead cultivator was at the sixth level. The other two were at the fourth level. The three didn't seem to know each other, but they had now formed a silent, convenient alliance. They charged directly at Jiang Wuhe. Meanwhile, the Qi Refining Realm rogue cultivators began surrounding and killing the Jiang family members. Huaijin stayed hidden, silently observing. His unease grew stronger.

'That sixth level cultivator… his aura feels familiar.' Huaijin concentrated, and a look of confusion crossed his face. Surrounded by three mid stage cultivators, Jiang Wuhe was quickly losing ground. He was barely holding on, getting battered back and forth, his robes tattered and crisscrossed with bloody gashes. The two fourth level cultivators were getting excited. But then, the tables turned in an instant.

The sixth level cultivator suddenly teamed up with Jiang Wuhe and viciously attacked one of the fourth level cultivators. In the next second, that cultivator was bleeding out in mid-air, gravely wounded. The sixth level cultivator's strike had been too fast and ferocious. They had let their guard down, focused only on killing Jiang Wuhe. The remaining fourth level cultivator was terrified and immediately tried to retreat.

"Xing Haomiao! Hong Tianhui!" Jiang Wuhe roared.

"I knew it was you two dogs!" His voice rang out across the battlefield.

"Did you really think you could mess with my Jiang family?" In the next instant, a terrifying aura erupted in the distant sky. The crushing pressure of a late stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator spread outward like a tidal wave. An old man in a grey robe moved with blinding speed, closing the distance in an instant. It was the Jiang family's other late stage supreme elder, Jiang Wengyin, at the eighth level.

The moment Jiang Wengyin appeared, the Qi Refining Realm cultivators, who had been all snarling faces didn't hesitate for even a second. They scattered and fled in every direction.