Chapter 2772 - 2767: The Truth

As soon as this thought appeared in An Jiao’s mind, he immediately rejected it. This Array was an ancient Taboo Formation An Jiao had found in a tome on Arcane Arts he’d obtained by chance.

Originally, An Jiao had only wanted to study the secrets of Arcane Arts contained in this Array. He never intended to memorize it, and certainly had no plans to use it on his fellow clansmen. Yet somehow this Array had inexplicably appeared in An Jiao’s mind at that time.

And he had actually used this Array as naturally as breathing. An Jiao was very clear about the power of this Array: at such close range, even if it couldn’t blow An Hao’s two lackeys to pieces, it would still be enough to kill both An Hao and An Jiao, who were closest to the Array.

Yet now he was only gravely injured. This was truly baffling.

An Jiao couldn’t figure out why he had survived, but the fact before his eyes was that he had indeed lived.

But then An Jiao thought of An Hao. He himself was wounded this badly, and right before he passed out he clearly saw An Hao get blasted away as well, so there was no way An Hao had come out of it unscathed.

Although An Jiao had never had much experience dealing with people, he still understood these basic human affairs and the rules of the world. Their status was low, far inferior to An Hao of the Two-headed Snake Clan. Now that he had blasted An Hao into serious injury, why had no one from the Two-headed Snake Clan come to pursue responsibility from An Jiao?

His father was even still quietly staying here. Father and son were both perfectly fine, and instead were living in this remote valley, enjoying a long-lost peace.

The whole thing was just too incredible. No matter how he turned it over in his mind, An Jiao could not make sense of it.

It wasn’t until many years later, when An Jiao relied on his extraordinary talent in the path of Arrays to become the most renowned Arcane Master of the Clan of Darkness, that things changed. Everyone respected this young man, because both his achievements and his gifts were unprecedented, and perhaps would never be matched. The name of Arcane Master An Jiao had even spread to other worlds of the Nine Nether.

He became a celebrated prodigy of the Nine Nether, an Arcane Master, naturally the pride of the Clan of Darkness, and the pride of his father An Tian, who had already been dead for many years.

Only at this point did An Jiao finally have the ability to investigate the truth of that matter back then: why, after he activated a Taboo Formation and gravely injured a direct-line Disciple of the Nobles, he and his father had come away without the slightest punishment.

This mystery had bothered An Jiao for many years. Now, An Jiao possessed almost everything: fame and status, along with countless wealth and treasures. But he had grown weary of all that. What he most wanted to know now was the truth of what had happened back then. In all the years cultivating under his father’s guidance, he had never asked, and his father had always kept his mouth shut.

Very few people still knew the truth of that matter. Yet with An Jiao’s current status, using various far-reaching methods, he still managed to learn the whereabouts of a Samurai friend of his father’s from back then. He then set aside all matters at hand and immediately went to that remote residence, which showed just how seriously he took this affair.

At last, from the old man’s mouth, An Jiao finally learned the truth of what had happened that year—why he had, before the very Holy Ground of the Abyss of Darkness, used a Taboo Formation powerful enough to kill on a core Disciple of the Nobles, committed such a grave offense, yet received no punishment at all.

It turned out that back then not only had An Jiao not died, but at that close range the Noble Disciple had also survived thanks to the presence of a Protective Jade Amulet. Only An Hao’s two followers died, and they were not Nobles.

When An Jiao activated the Taboo Formation, the commotion was immense. It almost alarmed everyone in the Abyss of Darkness. All the students who were cultivating inside ran out to see, and some stodgy old men even thought another race from another world had launched an attack. They immediately donned their best gear, ready to go to battle and kill the enemy.

But when people rushed out, they discovered it wasn’t a natural disaster, nor an enemy raid. It was simply a huge explosion, and the ones who had caused the explosion were four youths lying in the ruins and the crater.

At that time there were people from the Two-headed Snake Clan in the Abyss of Darkness as well. One of them immediately recognized the young man lying among the ruins and pool of blood as a core Disciple of his own clan, so he rushed to treat An Hao, managing to save his life. Otherwise, if An Hao had had to rely solely on his Protective Jade Amulet, without prompt treatment his fate would still have been that single word—"death."

Others went to rescue the gravely injured An Jiao, while another group, after briefly checking on the fat one and the skinny monkey, could only helplessly pronounce the two children dead on the spot.

In the end, thanks to that red protective membrane from back then and the full efforts of the clan’s physicians, An Jiao also managed to keep his life. Of course, An Jiao himself knew nothing of this sudden occurrence of the red protective membrane.

Not until many years later, when An Jiao finally comprehended the secrets of Arcane Arts, did he understand why he hadn’t died that day. It wasn’t because the Taboo Formation’s power hadn’t been great enough, nor because the physicians of the clan were so superb in their craft.

It was because within that Taboo Formation there had been a certain power that sensed An Jiao’s unyielding will. It had then spontaneously appeared, forming a protective membrane to safeguard his heart meridians. Combined with An Jiao’s own will to survive, that was what preserved his life.

For such a vicious incident to occur right at the gates of the Clan of Darkness’s martial Holy Ground—the Abyss of Darkness—the upper echelons of the Abyss of Darkness naturally took it very seriously. And since among the gravely injured there was a core Disciple of the Two-headed Snake Clan, the people of the Abyss of Darkness and the Two-headed Snake Clan announced that they would definitely investigate the matter thoroughly.

Although most of the evidence back then had basically been destroyed, the marks on An Jiao’s fingers and his previous research into Arrays made him the primary suspect. Moreover, the person in charge of talent selection at the Abyss of Darkness recognized An Jiao and came forward to testify that at that time, An Jiao had just been rejected by the Abyss of Darkness.

It was highly possible that after being denied entry by the Abyss of Darkness, An Jiao had become dissatisfied with the Holy Ground’s decision. Then, upon seeing An Hao, a core Disciple of the Holy Ground, he was seized by jealousy. This in turn drove him to extremes, prompting him to use the Taboo Formation on An Hao and the other two innocent youths, causing this horrific explosion in which two died and one was gravely injured, while the Array’s user, An Jiao, was also badly hurt.

Thus the motive was established. The upper echelons of the Abyss of Darkness and the leaders of the Two-headed Snake Clan joined forces to report to the Clan Leader, demanding that such a dangerous and utterly wicked individual as An Jiao be sentenced to death!