Chapter 70: So, It Was All About Kidnapping

"It’s you!"

Zong Ziqi’s master, Qin Muxian, stared ahead, his heart heavy.

"Elder Qin, we crossed swords a decade or so ago. You beat me by half a move. I’ve been itching for a rematch ever since. Now that we have the chance, let’s have a go!"

...

Jiang Xu was fleeing into the distance. Zong Ziqi, watching his master fight, grew anxious.

"Brother Jiang, don’t run so far! I can barely see my master anymore! What if he gets injured by that other Foundation Establishment Cultivator?"

"Tough luck! At worst, you can just cultivate hard and avenge your master later! You’re just a measly Body Refining Realm Body Cultivator, who are you trying to fool, acting all tough? If you really don’t want to go, I’ll put you down right now!"

Scolded by Jiang Xu, Zong Ziqi immediately calmed down, realizing this was no time for rash emotions.

Seeing Zong Ziqi fall silent, Jiang Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

If he still couldn’t see the reality of the situation, Jiang Xu would have had no choice but to put him down and let him find his master on his own.

’Looks like this conflict stems from a dispute over the distribution of benefits from the Secret Realm.’

Jiang Xu felt his Magical Power steadily depleting and grew a little anxious.

’Keeping another person hidden with me is more than doubling the rate of Magical Power consumption!’

This place was near the Profound Origin Sect, so reinforcements from the Sect would certainly arrive quickly. The enemy Foundation Establishment Cultivator would never risk a protracted battle.

They must know this too, so it was likely this attack was just a probe, or perhaps a way to show their stance.

’But is it really that simple?’

Jiang Xu wasn’t just blindly fleeing; he was carefully observing the changing situation.

Fortunately, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators were fighting far away from him, so the chance of him being hit by a stray attack was small.

In the past few days, Jiang Xu had figured out the downside of the invisibility from his Concealing Breath Spell.

It couldn’t withstand much damage, or the invisibility effect would fail.

If the shockwave from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s attack were to hit him, his invisibility would break on the spot.

Seeing that the Magical Combat between the Foundation Establishment Elders wasn’t moving in his direction, Jiang Xu finally relaxed and turned some of his attention to the disciples who were falling from the sky.

What he saw made the color drain from his face.

’There’s another Foundation Establishment Cultivator!’

As disciples fell like dumplings from the sky, those who had reached the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer summoned their Magical Artifacts to fly away from the chaotic scene.

But no one noticed, aside from Jiang Xu.

Every so often, one of the disciples flying away would suddenly vanish into thin air.

Using his Spiritual Eye Technique, Jiang Xu saw that just before each disciple disappeared, a figure would appear on the spot, holding a small pagoda.

The pagoda would instantly suck the person in, and then the figure would move on to the next target.

’This is a mass kidnapping!’

’Damn! How shameless! I bet this is the real goal of those three Sects! Everything else was just a diversion!’

Jiang Xu couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Everyone knew that the Profound Origin Sect was renowned for its mastery of the "Hundred Skills of Cultivation."

Promotions within the Sect depended on one’s proficiency in the "Hundred Skills of Cultivation."

In other Sects, advancing to positions like Inner Sect Disciple, True Disciple, or Elder was based solely on one’s Cultivation and combat strength.

But in the Profound Origin Sect, those with exquisite skills were held in the same high regard as those with profound Cultivation.

It wasn’t that other Sects didn’t want to train Alchemists, Artifact Refiners, and the like; it was mainly that they lacked the proper environment and systematic training, making it inefficient and costly.

Therefore, Sects on good terms with the Profound Origin Sect could purchase finished products from them at a relatively low price.

But it was a different story for those hostile to the Profound Origin Sect.

Not only could they not get low-priced goods, but they were also constrained by the Profound Origin Sect at every turn.

Their own Sects’ cultivation resources—such as Elixirs, Talismans, Magical Artifacts, and Spirit Beasts—were stretched thin.

So, after receiving intel from a spy within the Profound Origin Sect that a group of disciples from the "Hundred Arts Pavilion" would be sent to the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace, these three rival Sects came up with a dirty trick.

Using the Profound Origin Sect’s refusal to concede spots in the Secret Realm as a pretext, they took the opportunity to attack these two waves of disciples.

First, they knocked aside the useless cannon fodder in the front to avoid interference.

Then, they destroyed the Flying Spiritual Artifact of the second group, causing all the disciples on it to fall.

At that point, Cultivators who had reached the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer would have Magical Artifacts and could hover in the air.

This was, in fact, a screening process.

Cultivators in the Qi Cultivation Early Stage were of little value and weren’t wanted. They only targeted Cultivators at the Qi Cultivation Middle Stage and above.

After this screening, a hidden Foundation Establishment Cultivator would use a Golden Core Cultivator’s Magical Treasure to capture the disciples hovering in the air one by one.

Just like that, all the disciples the Profound Origin Sect had spent so much money and effort to painstakingly cultivate were abducted.

And they were the production-oriented disciples, no less.

The Profound Origin Sect had suffered a massive loss this time.

Cold sweat dripped down Jiang Xu’s back.

’Good thing I activated the Concealing Breath Spell early.’

’Otherwise, I would’ve just escaped the tiger’s den only to enter the wolf’s lair.’

He could imagine it.

These kidnapped disciples, once taken to those enemy Sects...

...what their lives would become.

It would be a miserable existence, locked in a dark room day after day, forced to perform Talisman Making, Artifact Refining, and Alchemy.

’What a bunch of bastards! Even Foundation Establishment Cultivators are acting like petty thieves, stooping to human trafficking!’

Cursing was one thing, but he still had to run.

Jiang Xu pushed the Ten Thousand Laws Gourd to its maximum speed and popped a Qi Condensing Pill into his mouth.

As he fled, since he couldn’t pass through the Profound Origin Sect’s Grand Array, his only option was to fly away from the Sect.

Now he had to decide where to escape to.

First option:

He already knew the enemy Foundation Establishment Cultivators wouldn’t linger. He could hide nearby for a while, and after they left, he could emerge and regroup with his Sect’s Elders.

Second option:

The enemy Foundation Establishment Cultivators were kidnapping people, which gave Jiang Xu an opportunity to leave the Sect.

If he disappeared, the Sect would just assume he had been abducted by the enemy Sect; they would never suspect he had defected.

And he wouldn’t have to go to the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace.

Third option:

Stay hidden for now and go directly to the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace. Once there, he could rendezvous with the Profound Origin Sect Elders who would eventually arrive.

All three options had their pros and cons.

If he wanted to stay in the Profound Origin Sect, he would choose either the first or third option.

If he didn’t want to stay, he would choose the second.

Choosing to stay carried certain risks. The Secret Realm might attract high-Realm Cultivators, and there could be some unknown danger within the Secret Realm itself that could affect the outside world.

If Jiang Xu chose to flee, acquiring the resources he needed for his future cultivation would become a problem. His status would become that of a Loose Cultivator.

He would also lose his source for the most critical item for advancing to Foundation Establishment: the Foundation Establishment Pill.

The benefit of staying and going to the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace was that he could accumulate a large amount of Spirit Stones, rapidly increase his strength, and now that the enemy Sects had abducted so many disciples, the remaining ones would naturally be in higher demand, earning even more Spirit Stones.

Back when he was in the Sect, Jiang Xu had only thought about the benefits of leaving. He hadn’t considered that there were risks to leaving the Sect as well.