Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Profound Carp Association

Yang Jing circled Wang Tong, building the pressure. He then took out a Flying Sword and began toying with it in his hand.

Wang Tong’s nerves were already stretched taut, and his face was beaded with sweat. If not for the self-cleaning Restriction on his Magic Robe, he would have been soaked through.

He suddenly recognized the Flying Sword in Yang Jing’s hand.

“Th-this… isn’t this Qiu Feihua’s Red Chilong Sword?”

All of Wang Tong’s fat began to tremble, and the color drained from his face. He never would have imagined that the major case that had shaken the entire Huangyuan Marketplace was actually Yang Jing’s doing.

“I’m surprised you recognized it, Brother Wang. He refused to cooperate and expose the Profound Carp Association’s secrets, so I had no choice but to pose as a Tribulation Cultivator and send him and his apprentice to their graves.”

Yang Jing bluffed.

“The Profound Carp Association? What Profound Carp Association?”

Wang Tong was utterly stunned. ’Who on earth is Yang Jing? How does he even know the name of the Profound Carp Association?’

Within the Profound Carp Association, only mid-level members like himself knew the organization’s name. The low-level Alchemists and enforcers only knew they were working for a Spirit Pill Smuggling Organization; they were almost completely ignorant of its name and structure.

He’d also never imagined that Qiu Feihua was a member of the organization.

’Did the organization send him to keep an eye on me?’ Countless thoughts sprang into Wang Tong’s mind, leaving him in a state of utter confusion.

“Xiang Linlian of the Thousand Gold Medicine Shop in Taixing Marketplace; Liang Hong of the Celestial Treasure Tower in Longde Marketplace; Liu Hang, Outer Sect Steward of the Five Elements True Spirit Sect…”

Yang Jing recited the names one by one, enunciating each clearly. Every name struck Wang Tong like a clap of thunder, rattling him to the core and pushing him to the brink of collapse.

These were the names the Six Great Sects had publicized as a warning after annihilating the Profound Carp Association in the Nine Heavens World. Yang Jing had racked his brain to recall some of them, and speaking them aloud had an immediate, dramatic effect.

“Should I continue, Brother Wang?”

Not a trace of color remained on Wang Tong’s face. Although the Profound Carp Association operated on a need-to-know basis with members unaware of other cells, Wang Tong had been embedded in the Celestial Treasure Tower for many years. By observing the flow of goods in and out, he had vaguely deduced the identities of those in charge of other cells.

“Stop. I’m Hai Tu of the Profound Carp Association. I’m in charge of scouting Alchemists in Huangyuan Marketplace and supplying Elixirs. Who are you? I need to know who it is that’s brought me down.”

Yang Jing gripped his short sword. As he channeled his Sword Intent, the temperature in the room plummeted, and frost began to form. Wang Tong felt as if the blades of countless icy swords were pressed against his skin. The slightest movement, he knew, would result in him being pierced by a thousand blades.

“T-Taixu Sword Sect!”

Wang Tong instantly lost all will to resist. That piercing Sword Intent was better proof of a Taixu Sword Sect disciple’s identity than any Identity Token could ever be.

’Yang Jing arrived in Huangyuan Marketplace five years ago with a Pioneer Order. The Taixu Sword Sect must have been laying the groundwork for years,’ he thought. ’They must have been targeting me for a long time.’

“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! I’ll even hand over all my wealth! I just beg you masters from the Sword Sect to spare my life!”

Wang Tong went limp, slumping in the chair like a pile of boneless sludge.

Yang Jing relaxed internally. He knew Wang Tong’s mental defenses had been utterly shattered.

’Using the Taixu Sword Sect as a bluff really works.’ If Wang Tong knew he was just an Independent Cultivator, he would never be this compliant, no matter what methods Yang Jing used. He would only be thinking of ways to contact his Profound Carp Association accomplices to rescue him.

But the moment the Taixu Sword Sect was mentioned, he had completely folded. He no longer held any hope for the Profound Carp Association and only wanted to jump off the sinking ship as quickly as possible.

Taking a blank Jade Scroll from his Storage Bag, Yang Jing began to question him about every last detail regarding the Profound Carp Association and the Celestial Treasure Tower—from their inner workings and interpersonal relationships down to Wang Tong’s daily habits.

Although Wang Tong found it a little strange, he had already decided to abandon ship. He held nothing back, honestly recounting every detail.

Yang Jing recorded his testimony onto the Jade Scroll without missing a word. He even made a point of asking about certain key details twice, confirming Wang Tong’s account was consistent before recording it.

The two of them talked for more than five full hours before Yang Jing finally put away the densely inscribed Jade Scroll.

“Is the Sword Sect going to have someone impersonate me?”

Wang Tong asked cautiously.

“Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t be asking.”

Yang Jing stood up.

Since the Celestial Treasure Tower and the Profound Carp Association most likely had a Soul Lamp for him, Yang Jing didn’t kill Wang Tong. Instead, he stripped him down to his underclothes and tied him back to the chair.

“Little Brother Yang! Little Brother Yang, I told you everything! You can’t just cast me aside now!”

Yang Jing ignored his shouts and walked out of the room.

His residence in San Yuanli was a courtyard house he had built himself years ago, buying the lumber and bricks with his own money. Now, with him, his two apprentices, the two Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mothers, and Wang Tong, it was getting uncomfortably crowded.

But that wasn’t a big problem. Today, they would be able to move into Brother Wang’s mansion.

Iron Head was already packing. A Storage Bag hung from its stumpy neck as it stuffed various odds and ends inside. Meanwhile, Yinjiao was casting the Spiritual Rain Technique, watering the Spirit Vines and Spirit Rice in the Spirit Field.

“You don’t have to take everything. It’s not like we’re never coming back. Besides, Wang Tong’s house has everything; leave the pots and bedding.”

Yang Jing sat back comfortably in a lounge chair, supervising Iron Head’s work.

Once everything was packed, he stood up. First, he recalled the two Three Cities Bloodthirsty Mosquito Mothers into his Beast Taming Bag. Then he knocked Wang Tong unconscious again, hoisted him over his shoulder, and left a sign outside his Cave Mansion that read ’In Seclusion.’ Only then did he ride his Cloud Escape to Wang Tong’s estate.

Channeling the Inconstant Illusionary Form Technique, he transformed into Wang Tong’s likeness. Yang Jing then used the Array Token to open the Grand Array.

Wang Tong ran a Spirit Pill smuggling business—a capital offense if caught—so of course he had taken precautions. He had dug a well-hidden cellar beneath his estate, connected to a tunnel that led outside the Marketplace, and protected it with a Stealth Array. He had kept it a complete secret, even from his own wives and concubines.

Now, this cellar was the perfect place to imprison the man himself.

When Wang Tong woke up, he found himself bound in chains and hanging from a wall. Less than ten feet away were two vicious-looking Demon Mosquitos, and the sight nearly made him faint again.

This was clearly the cellar he had secretly dug. Even the Iron Essence Lock Chains binding him were ones he himself had previously purchased.

“Little Brother Yang! Little Brother Yang!” he shouted.

“Don’t lock me in here with these two Demons! If they go berserk and kill me, won’t that ruin the Sword Sect’s important mission?”

Yang Jing, wearing Wang Tong’s face, walked up to him.

“Rest assured, these two Demon Mosquitos don’t bite humans.”

Wang Tong stared at the man before him—it was like looking in a mirror, as if he were seeing a ghost. There was no discernible difference in the man’s voice or his Magical Power fluctuations.

If he weren’t the one hanging from the wall, he would have suspected the man before him was the real Wang Tong.

After a long moment, Wang Tong sighed in defeat.

“Little Brother Yang… be good to my wife.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep