Mo Tiange couldn't figure it out. She had been careful in everything, so why did this spoiled young master know she was the one who took it?
At that moment, Jiang Chengxian's gaze suddenly turned strange. That malicious look made Mo Tiange feel like fish on a chopping block, completely at his mercy.
Jiang Chengxian watched her with great interest and said, "Do you know how I found out the Foundation-Solidifying Pill recipe was in that kid's hands?"
Mo Tiange somewhat disliked his gaze and frowned slightly. "Please tell me, Senior Brother Jiang."
Jiang Chengxian didn't care about her attitude, just laughed arrogantly and triumphantly. "It doesn't matter if I tell you now. I was incredibly lucky. My great-grandfather sent me to the Tiandao Sect on business to make connections with some famous disciples. Unexpectedly, as soon as I arrived at Huanshanwu, I saw that kid asking in a shop if they had any Purple Ganoderma over five hundred years old. Naturally, that small shop didn't have any. I didn't pay attention at first, but then I coincidentally ran into him at another shop—he was selling the Foundation-Solidifying Pill! Hmph, that shopkeeper was ignorant and didn't recognize its value, but I knew what the Foundation-Solidifying Pill was. Then, I had Junior Brother Chen pretend to get into a conflict with him to probe his background and find out if he had any powerful backers."
So that was it. That rogue cultivator probably hadn't heard about the bloody conflict the Foundation-Solidifying Pill had caused, so he used it to exchange for Spirit Stones to buy materials, which ended up bringing disaster upon him and costing him his life—wait, the Purple Ganoderma! She roughly guessed why she had been discovered: "At the Hu Family in the Tiandao Sect, were you already at the sales fair early and saw me buying the Purple Ganoderma?"
Jiang Chengxian laughed heartily. "You didn't know, did you? When I went to the Tiandao Sect, it was specifically to handle business with the Hu Family. I befriended some Hu Family members and was already in the room next to the counter. When I heard someone was buying Purple Ganoderma, I was just curious and went to take a look. Unexpectedly, I saw you again. The more I looked at you, the more familiar you seemed. Later, I finally remembered—you're also a disciple of the Yunwu Sect!"
Hearing this, how could Mo Tiange not understand? She had underestimated others!
Thinking carefully about Jiang Chengxian's actions—it was only three years ago when she first entered the Yunwu Sect and encountered him beating Jiang Shanghang on the road. How could she have concluded from that alone that Jiang Chengxian was a useless fool? Besides, even if he beat Jiang Shanghang, did that prove he was incompetent? Growing up in a major clan with a direct Core Formation elder as an ancestor, even if Jiang Chengxian was originally trash, he could still be trained to be cunning!
But it was too late to realize this now. She knew what mistake she had made, but this mistake was already irreparable.
Jiang Chengxian continued, "Fortunately, I didn't dare to act at the Hu Family at the time. I made another trip to Huanshanwu. Sure enough, I confirmed with the innkeeper there that you didn't return that night. Then, I found someone who seemed to know you..."
He deliberately paused here, but Mo Tiange felt her entire body turn cold upon hearing this. Tian Qiao!
She gritted her teeth and asked, "You... what did you do to Tian Qiao?!"
"What did I do?" Jiang Chengxian finally couldn't contain his triumph at this moment, bursting into loud laughter, his eyes clearly taking on a perverted glint that was disgusting to see. "Junior Brother Ye, if you dressed in women's clothing, you'd definitely be a delicate beauty. Why dress like this?"
Suddenly having her secret exposed, Mo Tiange just stood there frozen, not speaking for a long time. She felt utterly hopeless, though she didn't know if it was because of Tian Qiao or because of herself.
Jiang Chengxian looked her up and down, as if already considering where to start, saying, "Junior Brother Ye, don't misunderstand your good sister. She'd rather die than talk! So, I killed her husband right in front of her. Then I performed Soul Searching on her and found out you're really not simple!"
Soul Searching! This term made Mo Tiange widen her eyes and clench her fists so tightly her nails nearly dug into her flesh.
Soul Searching... could be said to be the cruelest technique in the cultivation world. It used a secret method to forcibly extract a person's memories while they were still alive. The victim of Soul Searching would suffer a fate worse than death! However, this technique could only be used on cultivators at least one major realm lower than oneself. Jiang Chengxian was only a Qi Refining cultivator, so he couldn't use Soul Searching on Meng Siguī, but he could use it on Tian Qiao.
Even a cultivator subjected to Soul Searching would become an idiot, let alone a mortal? Tian Qiao... was already dead, killed because of her!
She took a deep breath but felt an eerie calmness wash over her, slowly saying, "Others might not know who Ye Xiaotian is, but you happen to be from the Yunwu Sect. So you immediately returned to set up this trap, waiting for me to walk right into it as soon as I came back."
Jiang Chengxian smiled. "Correct! Junior Brother Ye, you're very clever. What a pity—sometimes being clever backfires! Although in your eyes, I'm not some brilliant person, what your 'sister' knew was already more than enough. After some deduction, I could roughly figure out why you were disguising yourself as a man. Pure Yin Constitution, haha. Heaven is truly helping me. How could I let you go?!"
Mo Tiange remained very calm at this moment, saying indifferently, "So, Senior Brother Jiang hasn't told anyone else about this?"
Jiang Chengxian said, "Naturally. Why would I let others take a share?"
"Not even your great-grandfather?"
This question made Jiang Chengxian pause momentarily. He indeed hadn't told him because he was afraid his great-grandfather wouldn't give him this benefit. Anyway...
"Ah—"
Right at the moment he was distracted, Mo Tiange flicked her wrist, and several flying needles shot out instantly, aiming for vital points. His reaction was slightly delayed, and he was immediately struck by several needles, collapsing to the ground.
Holding magical tools and talismans in her hand, Mo Tiange said coldly, "I know if you dare to face me alone, you must have some trump card. But I'm not someone to be slaughtered either!"
Anger flashed in Jiang Chengxian's eyes. As she activated her talismans, he reached for his Qiankun Bag, and a small light shield appeared before him, deflecting all her attacks.
Mo Tiange immediately controlled her Greenwood Sword and charged forward.
Jiang Chengxian indeed became flustered. Having suffered numerous talisman attacks, the light shield around him was already on the verge of shattering. Now with Mo Tiange closing in, he had no choice but to retreat while pulling several more items from his Qiankun Bag.
Seeing the handful of talismans in his hand, Mo Tiange frowned and quickly retreated. Qi Refining cultivators relied too heavily on talismans in combat, so she had no advantage against clan disciples from the start. This Jiang Chengxian—if he didn't have these talismans, dealing with him would be easy. But he just happened to use a high-level defensive talisman to block all her attacks.
Mo Tiange grabbed another handful of talismans, deciding to fight desperately. Although the talismans she had weren't as high-level as Jiang Chengxian's, it wasn't like she had no chance of winning.
However, Jiang Chengxian reached into his Qiankun Bag again and threw something out.
Mo Tiange swiftly dodged and threw out an Earth-Splitting Talisman.
Jiang Chengxian still slapped a defensive talisman on himself, a sinister, ambiguous smile curling at the corner of his mouth as he glanced behind her. Instantly, another surge of turbulent Spiritual Qi rushed toward her from behind.
Mo Tiange dodged again, turned her head, and upon seeing what was behind her, couldn't help but change her expression.
It was a rope-like Magical Treasure, overflowing with Spiritual Qi, seeming to have eyes as it charged straight at her.
Chased by this Magical Treasure, Mo Tiange didn't even have the energy to throw more talismans and could only flee.
Qi Refining cultivators used magical tools, Foundation Establishment cultivators used magical instruments, and Core Formation cultivators and above used Magical Treasures. Magical Treasures were originally refined by Core Formation cultivators and above—how could their power compare to magical tools? Even if a Qi Refining cultivator could only unleash a tiny fraction of its power, it still wasn't something a cultivator of the same realm could handle.
Mo Tiange felt regret at this moment. It wasn't like she didn't have a Magical Treasure herself—there was the Soul-Bewitching Lamp—but she simply hadn't had time to refine it and couldn't use it!
Another talisman rushed toward her. She barely managed to dodge, but her footwork faltered, causing her to pause for a moment. Instantly, the thing behind her shot forward and tightly bound her.
Her Spiritual Qi stagnated, and Mo Tiange fell to the ground.
Seeing her trapped so securely, Jiang Chengxian stopped and laughed loudly. "This Dragon-Binding Rope—I begged my great-grandfather for it. So, how about it? Can you still move?"
"Dragon-Binding Rope..."
"That's right, the Dragon-Binding Rope. Even a Core Formation cultivator could be bound by it if they're not careful." Jiang Chengxian swaggered forward triumphantly.
Feeling all the Spiritual Qi in her body completely restrained by this Dragon-Binding Rope, with no room for resistance at all, Mo Tiange suddenly felt powerless. Ten years of caution and vigilance, all ruined because of a single moment of carelessness, revealing something and trapping herself in danger again...
Jiang Chengxian carefully pulled several flying needles from his body. Once his injuries had eased slightly, he walked over, yanked the Qiankun Bag from her waist, opened it, and exclaimed in surprise, "You actually have this many things?!"
His gaze toward Mo Tiange changed. "What a pity, what a pity. You're quite a character too, but you were born the wrong gender! If you want to blame anyone, blame heaven."
Under Mo Tiange's glare, Jiang Chengxian stuffed her Qiankun Bag into his own robes, then leaned closer to examine her face. After looking for a while, he pulled down her hair bun and lifted her chin. "Tsk, you're not bad-looking either. Though not a peerless beauty, you can still be considered quite pretty."
Mo Tiange turned her head away in disgust. These disgusting hands—if she got the chance, she'd definitely chop them off!
Jiang Chengxian wasn't angry either, just chuckled and said, "I say, Junior Brother Ye, don't blame me for being unromantic. I don't want to wait until problems arise to do the deed here!"
Mo Tiange kept her head turned away, a cold smile curling at the corner of her mouth. Of course she knew what Jiang Chengxian wanted to do, but she wasn't foolish enough to think begging would work. If she could survive today, she would definitely make this person pay tenfold in the future!
Seeing her like this, Jiang Chengxian actually became happier. "Junior Brother Ye, you're much more interesting than those wooden beauties. Why didn't I think of it before? Spicy beauties have their own unique flavor too!"
Mo Tiange was already too tired to bother with him, simply pretending she couldn't feel anything—but when those disgusting hands started groping her, she still angrily opened her eyes: "Get away!"
Jiang Chengxian just laughed cheerfully. "Time to reveal the mystery. I say, Junior Brother Ye, what exactly are you wearing? It's so stiff, doesn't feel good at all."
"Hmm... your clothes are really thick. But it's fine. I'm quite happy to undress a beauty."
Mo Tiange bit her lip so hard it bled, enduring those hands roaming over her body, telling herself she must endure. Although she wished she could die, she would never commit suicide because of this. She wanted to live... to live until the day she could chop this person into mincemeat!
But this humiliation still made her eyes grow moist.