Chapter 365: Waiting for the Rabbit

Chapter 365 -311: Waiting for the Rabbit

Jiang Xu slowly extended his Divine Sense into his Lifebound Spirit Tree. He chose a seemingly inconspicuous blade of grass as a medium to project his perception across space.

As his consciousness transferred, Jiang Xu instantly felt his surroundings transform into a completely different scene.

At this moment, he wasn’t using his own eyes to perceive the outside world, but rather sensing it through his Divine Sense.

Jiang Xu’s Divine Sense could now probe an area of about sixty zhang around him, which was sufficient for his needs.

Sensing the rate at which his Spiritual Power was being consumed, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Although his Spiritual Power was draining very quickly, it could still last for a quarter of an hour.

That was enough time for Jiang Xu to investigate.

Only then did Jiang Xu’s Divine Sense begin to probe toward the location of the aura.

As his Divine Sense extended further, Jiang Xu’s target gradually became clearer.

But when the tendrils of his Divine Sense finally reached the source of the mysterious aura, the sight before him made his heart tighten.

A lone hut stood abruptly in the middle of a barren field, surrounded by an oppressive atmosphere, like an isolated and helpless prison.

Even more shocking, the hut was tightly enveloped by a new, intricate Array. Every stroke and line of the Array exuded a bone-chilling coldness.

Jiang Xu’s Divine Sense tried to penetrate this layer of Defense, but it was like hitting a wall of bronze and iron; he couldn’t peer inside in the slightest.

His physical body outside the Array then activated the Seed of Spiritual Eyes, imbuing his projected Divine Sense inside the Array with the Spiritual Eye Technique.

This time, although it was still hazy, Jiang Xu managed to catch a glimpse of the scene inside the room.

A blurry figure sat huddled on the edge of the bed, hugging their knees. The silhouette revealed endless loneliness and desolation, touching a soft spot in Jiang Xu’s heart.

Unfortunately, this was all Jiang Xu could make out. Even his Spiritual Eye Technique couldn’t truly penetrate the Array to see the person inside clearly.

With a hint of helplessness, Jiang Xu refocused his attention on the surrounding environment, preparing to observe it in more detail.

“HISS—!”

At that very moment, his heart sank as a chill rose from its very depths.

Looking around, he discovered that the hut was like the eye of a storm, surrounded by meticulously placed Restrictions, traps, and all sorts of Arrays and hidden Puppets.

These hidden lines of defense were like massive nets, waiting for prey to walk right into them.

This was clearly a setup, lying in wait to deal with anyone who might come to take the person in the hut.

Moreover, from Jiang Xu’s perspective, most of these Arrays and traps were crafted to a considerably high standard.

Jiang Xu believed that, based on instinct alone, facing even one of them would be enough to trap him in a bitter struggle.

What’s more, they were laid out as densely as a spider’s web, layered one upon another. Their sheer number and variety far exceeded his initial estimate.

‘This… is all this really necessary? It’s just for a Junior Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation First Layer…’

Jiang Xu was truly speechless.

He would have believed it if someone told him this setup was meant for a Golden Core Cultivator.

Who knew how much time, resources, and manpower it took to set all this up.

‘And in the end, it’s all just to trap a Qi Cultivation First Layer Cultivator?’

‘What a waste. Do they own a Spirit Stone Mine or something?’

However, that thought only crossed Jiang Xu’s mind for an instant.

Immediately after, he realized something.

A Cultivator who could afford these resources certainly wouldn’t be bored enough to waste their efforts on something pointless.

In other words, trapping this Junior Cultivator in such a manner must yield benefits that far outweigh the cost of these resources.

If the Cultivator themself couldn’t provide such benefits, then there must be someone behind them who could—someone worthy of such an investment.

As for who this person was…

Jiang Xu didn’t even have to think hard to figure it out.

It was most likely the trapped person’s relative—the one Jiang Xu had tracked to Xianya Garden and who later went to the Isle Master’s Mansion.

‘So, that person has been running all over the place to save their relative?’

Jiang Xu fell silent.

‘I never would have thought this was the reason.’

He let out a long sigh.

‘So, behind all that status and Cultivation, there’s also an ordinary person’s warmth and sense of duty.’

‘All this time, I’ve been judging them based on their Cultivation and status, even secretly growing wary.’

Rushing about for a relative’s sake… they didn’t seem like a bad person after all. They were a person of flesh and blood, rich with emotion.

This shift in perception drastically changed Jiang Xu’s impression of the person. To some extent, he even began to feel a certain fondness for them.

Besides, now that Jiang Xu had this piece of information, he should be able to help with their rescue mission.

Jiang Xu decided he would try to make contact with the person first.

However, he still didn’t plan on directly handing over what Xiong Liangsheng had given him.

Although his impression had improved, this was all just Jiang Xu’s speculation.

If things weren’t as he imagined, or even the complete opposite, then the situation would become a huge mess.

He slowly withdrew the Divine Sense connected to his Lifebound Spirit Tree, letting his consciousness return to his physical body. Standing outside the Illusion Array, Jiang Xu’s eyes flickered.

The earlier thought of sending Mumu deep into the Illusion Array to investigate was now silently dismissed.

‘It seems that won’t be necessary now.’

Jiang Xu realized that the defenses inside the Illusion Array were far more complex and deadly than he had imagined.

If Mumu went in, not only would it fail to gather any more useful information, but it might also be sacrificed in vain by triggering the defense mechanisms.

Even worse, it would be tantamount to revealing his own presence and alerting the enemy, making any subsequent actions much more difficult.

…

Jiang Xu chose to leave.

He returned to the area outside the Isle Master’s Mansion.

This time, Jiang Xu still had no intention of revealing his identity to enter.

He continued to wait quietly for the person to leave the Isle Master’s Mansion.

Tightly gripping the small vial containing Xiong Liangsheng’s blood, the corner of Jiang Xu’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

He realized that during his previous tracking, he had already used up a good amount of the precious blood by frequently switching the target of his Seeking Technique.

If he kept consuming the precious blood at this rate, he would probably run out soon.

A sense of urgency washed over him, compelling him to find an opportunity to make contact with the person as soon as possible.

Jiang Xu began to devise a more flexible plan for making contact.

He planned to approach them as a chance encounter, or strike up a conversation in a natural way that wouldn’t arouse their suspicion, in order to probe their intentions.

Jiang Xu mentally rehearsed every possible conversation scenario. The success or failure of the first contact could directly affect all subsequent actions, so he had to carefully consider every possibility beforehand.

‘He’s moving? Why so soon this time?’

Just as Jiang Xu was sitting on a street corner eating some Spiritual Food from a roadside stall, he suddenly noticed that the target’s aura had moved.

He quickly wolfed down the rest of his food in a few bites and vanished from the front of the stall in the blink of an eye.

The stall owner, a cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Early Stage, was left dumbfounded.

‘You can’t be serious, Senior?’

‘This is a small business, it’s how I make a living! You’re going to dash on such a small Spirit Stone payment? Dashing on a simple snack?’

Just as the stall owner was about to report him to the Guard Team, he noticed that two Lower Grade Spirit Stones had appeared on his stall at some point.

“…The drink cost half a Spirit Stone, too.”

…

‘The food on Xiao Jin Island is actually pretty good.’

‘It’s delicious and cheap, and they even provide free drinks.’

Jiang Xu moved quickly and was behind the person in no time.

He deliberately kept some distance between them, following the target as silently as a gentle breeze.

Jiang Xu’s speed was just right, ensuring he wouldn’t be detected while maintaining a stable tracking distance.

For some reason, the person was moving very slowly this time, strolling leisurely down the street.

He would occasionally stop at a stall or look up to admire the island’s rare and exotic sights. His relaxed and unhurried demeanor was exactly that of someone idly strolling the streets with nothing to do.

This left Jiang Xu a little confused.

‘Could my previous judgment have been wrong?’

Jiang Xu mulled it over, trying to find a reasonable explanation for the person’s behavior.

Such a leisurely attitude really didn’t match the image of someone in a hurry to rescue a kidnapped relative.

Jiang Xu wondered to himself if he had been too hasty, constructing an entire narrative based on mere fragments of clues.