Chapter 4

Jiang Li understood what was going on. The Jiang family wanted to use him as a big banner but dared not directly claim a close relationship with him, so they gave others the impression that they were closely related.

"What did you mean by saying that the missing children are related to Jiang Renhuang?"

The middle-aged man's smile faded, and he became serious. He did not want to talk much with Jiang Li and even released the pressure of the Golden Core stage, hoping Jiang Li would know when to back off. In his view, Jiang Li was just a small fry at the Qi Practitioner stage.

"As a Golden Core elder, I need to make this little guy know when to back off and not get involved in this dangerous matter."

"Don't talk about this, it's very dangerous for you!"

But to his surprise, Jiang Li controlled his strength at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage and also released pressure.

"I want to see what kind of danger there is."

"Nascent Soul... Nascent Soul stage..."

This matter clearly had something to do with Jiang Li, and the middle-aged man had a misunderstanding about him. If he revealed his true identity, the man would be even less likely to tell the truth. So, Jiang Li chose to pretend to be a Nascent Soul cultivator. The Nascent Soul stage was not too strong but could intimidate the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man hurriedly bowed: "So you are a Nascent Soul senior, I did not recognize you, Senior Yuan Wuxing."

Yuan Wuxing was drenched in cold sweat. Who would have thought that casually dissuading an indignant young man on the street would turn out to be a Nascent Soul cultivator? Looking like a young man, the other party might be a centuries-old monster. Although his previous behavior was not impolite, if this senior had a small heart, it would be disastrous.

In Yuan Wuxing's eyes, the Nascent Soul stage was already an extremely powerful cultivator. There were only a few in the entire Qingcheng, and even the city lord of Qingcheng was only at the early Nascent Soul stage.

"Alright, I don't blame you. Can you talk about the missing children now?"

Jiang Li dissipated the pressure and asked calmly.

After much hesitation, Yuan Wuxing finally said: "Senior, can you swear to the heavens that you will not spread this matter?"

In the path of cultivation, it is important to follow the will of heaven, so swearing to the heavens is not a trivial matter. Most cultivators believe that if they break their oath, the punishment they swore will come true.

Without hesitation, Jiang Li raised two fingers and said solemnly: "I swear to the heavens that I will not let a third person know what Yuan Wuxing tells me. If I break this oath, I will face the heavenly tribulation of becoming an immortal!"

Yuan Wuxing was deeply moved. This was a severe punishment. If the oath was broken, the heavenly tribulation of becoming an immortal would be inevitable, which would be certain death for a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Of course, he did not know that Jiang Li was eager to undergo the heavenly tribulation of becoming an immortal multiple times.

"Senior, please come to my humble abode."

Yuan Wuxing invited Jiang Li to his home, skillfully setting up several layers of arrays. After some thought, he gritted his teeth and crushed a piece of jade, setting up another layer of array that even a Nascent Soul cultivator could not detect.

Yuan Wuxing brewed a pot of rare tea, first pouring a cup for Jiang Li, then one for himself.

"The story begins ten years ago. Ten years ago, I was already at the peak of the Golden Core stage, just a thin membrane away from breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. But I spent twenty years without any clue on how to break through. So, I came to Qingcheng to seek the opportunity to break through."

"As soon as I arrived in Qingcheng, I found out that someone had lost a child. I like to help, so I wanted to assist them. But when I investigated, I discovered that the matter was not so simple. It was bone-chilling. It wasn't just recent; for over two hundred years, children have been frequently missing from Qingcheng and the surrounding cities, and all the missing children were infants under one year old!"

"I also found that the timing of the missing children coincided with the Jiang family's ancestral worship. The more frequent the ancestral worship, the more frequent the missing children. So, I investigated the Jiang family and discovered that it was indeed the Jiang family stealing the children. I overheard a conversation between the Jiang family head and the city lord. The Jiang family and the successive city lords of Qingcheng colluded to suppress the matter of the missing children. Initially, the Qingcheng government would send people to pretend to search for the children, but in the past two years, they didn't even bother to pretend, saying they lacked manpower and stopped searching! A bunch of scoundrels!"

At this point, Yuan Wuxing's forehead veins bulged, and he crushed the teacup in his hand.

"The Jiang family has the backing of the Human Emperor. If I rashly revealed this matter, it would not be the Jiang family who would suffer, but me!"

"I must find solid evidence and make it public. That way, even if the Human Emperor himself came, he could not stop the public outcry!"

Jiang Li fell silent for a moment and asked: "What does the Jiang family want with these infants?"

"This..." Yuan Wuxing hesitated, "I don't know, maybe to refine magical artifacts."

Jiang Li stared into Yuan Wuxing's eyes, his voice extremely stern: "You're lying, what are you afraid of!"

Yuan Wuxing's scalp tingled under the intense gaze: "Senior, this matter really cannot be said, whoever says it will die!"

Jiang Li took out a jade token from his storage ring. On the front was written "Dao Sect," and on the back was a continuously rotating Taiji pattern. The entire jade token was seamless, not carved but seemingly a natural masterpiece.

"Now?"

Yuan Wuxing's eyes widened in disbelief, his lips trembling, a mix of fear and excitement.

"The Dao Sect token! You are a Dao Sect envoy!?"

The Dao Sect token, seeing this token is like seeing the Dao Sect patriarch in person.

Those who possess the Dao Sect token are either ancient monsters at the Tribulation Transcender stage or Dao Sect envoys. It is said there are no more than five, and the Nascent Soul senior in front of him clearly belonged to the latter.

This person was probably not the centuries-old monster he initially thought but a cultivation genius who reached the Nascent Soul stage at around twenty years old!

Jiang Li nodded: "I am Zhang Li, the current Dao Sect envoy."

Jiang Li temporarily fabricated a name and identity for himself. Given his relationship with the Dao Sect patriarch, the other party would not blame him.

"So you are a Dao Sect envoy, to make you swear, this this this..."

Yuan Wuxing was excited and incoherent. A Dao Sect envoy was the next patriarch of the Dao Sect, a future Tribulation Transcender cultivator. The Dao Sect, as the oldest sect, even predates the Human Emperor Hall, producing many immortals and having a profound foundation, making it one of the few forces unafraid of the Human Emperor Hall.

Of course, this was all under the premise of excluding Jiang Li, the strongest Human Emperor in history.

With the involvement of a Dao Sect envoy, the chances of toppling the Jiang family were even greater!

Yuan Wuxing's face lit up with joy, and he recited the Clear Mind Mantra several times to barely calm down.

"The reason I dared not speak is that I feared implicating Senior Zhang. The Human Emperor might take action to eliminate both of us. But since Senior Zhang is a Dao Sect envoy, you are not afraid of the Human Emperor."

"Jiang Renhuang... might be cultivating the demonic path!"

Yuan Wuxing lowered his voice to a whisper, as if speaking louder would be heard by the Human Emperor.

After saying this, he looked at Jiang Li, hoping to see expressions of fear or shock on his face. But to his surprise, the other party showed no concern, even a hint of a smile.