Chapter 110 The Game Ends

A stalemate.

Inside the private room, it felt as if even the air had frozen.

Qi Huan listened from the side, his heart pounding in terror. This Chen Mu was simply jumping back and forth on the edge of death.

First he refused, then he bargained, and now he was actually pressing for the core secrets of the Jiang Family.

After a long while, Jiang Xiong let out a long sigh.

"Chen Mu, oh Chen Mu, you truly are the most clear-headed and most difficult person I have ever met."

His tone gradually turned serious, even carrying a hint of gravity.

"What I can tell you is that these city gods divine treasury relate to a massive secret; the extent of their connections and how far they reach far exceed your imagination, and they may shake some inherent structures."

Jiang Xiong paused for a moment, seemingly weighing how much to reveal.

"I can only say that this matter may not necessarily be a bad thing for the country and the people, but the process will inevitably be filled with bloodshed and danger. The more you know, the greater the Karma you will bear. Now, do you still want to know?"

He did not explain everything, but he gave a vague indication and a warning.

Chen Mu fell silent. Jiang Xiong's words were equivalent to an indirect admission that this matter was of great significance and might have the name of righteousness, but the methods would certainly be cruel.

For a moment, his internal vigilance did not decrease but instead rose.

"Or."

Jiang Xiong spoke again, but this time it carried undisguised killing intent.

"I could kill you right now to eliminate future trouble. Although it would be a bit of a hassle and I would lose a decent chess piece, it is still better than the risk of the plan being leaked."

"Make your choice, Chen Mu. Will you take the generous reward to retrieve the city gods divine treasury for me, and from then on embark on a path to success or a path of no return?"

"Or... die right here, right now."

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold killing intent firmly locked onto Chen Mu.

There was no hint of joking in Jiang Xiong's words, revealing absolute confidence and an unquestionable will.

Killing you is not an emotional outburst, but a simple and direct choice made after weighing the pros and cons.

Cold sweat had already soaked Qi Huan's back, and he looked at the two opposing sides in shock.

He did not doubt for a second that if Chen Mu uttered even half a word of refusal, or continued to press about the so-called secret, this mysterious powerhouse of the Jiang Family would immediately strike to kill.

He looked at Chen Mu, his lips moving as he wanted to persuade him, but he didn't know where to start.

Chen Mu's expression was grave, his fingers unconsciously stroking the cold hilt of the soul-slaying blade, thoughts racing through his mind.

He knew that what Jiang Xiong said was true. The other party might appreciate him, but when it came to a massive secret and the interests of the Family, that appreciation became incredibly fragile.

Refusing would very likely mean actually dying here, and might even implicate Qi Huan.

Agreeing would mean completely entering the unfathomable schemes of the Jiang Family, becoming their tool for seizing the city gods divine treasury and exploring the secret.

The path ahead would surely be extremely dangerous. That evil City God was no simple figure, and with Xu Changze colluding with it, there might be even more complex forces behind it.

Once involved, it would likely be difficult to escape.

But danger is often accompanied by opportunity. The reward promised by the Jiang Family might be the key to rapidly improving his strength and escaping his Lifespan crisis.

Moreover, Xu Changze's collusion with the City God was a target he had to eliminate anyway. Slaying the City God would not only complete the Jiang Family's mission but also severely damage Xu Changze's influence, and it might even allow him to plunder a massive amount of Lifespan.

Most importantly, he had no better choice at this moment.

Chen Mu was silent for a moment, then finally nodded very slightly.

"Fine, I agree."

The heavy killing intent inside the private room quietly dissipated.

Jiang Xiong's voice returned to its previous steadiness, even carrying a hint of approval.

"A wise choice. I said it before, you are very smart."

Chen Mu twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a curve that held no smile.

"Then now, we can talk about the reward."

"Of course, I said that you could propose any conditions."

Jiang Xiong's mood seemed genuinely good.

"I need a Cultivation Technique, a superior one that points directly to a higher Realm of martial arts."

Jiang Xiong pondered for a moment and nodded.

"The Jiang Family has a rich collection, and there are many Cultivation Techniques suitable for your current Realm. I can give you a few..."

"No!"

Chen Mu interrupted him, his eyes sharp.

"I don't want those that are easy to practice or improve quickly. I want the most difficult ones—the ones that take the most time and effort to practice, and which might even be considered not worth the cost."

"It would be best if it were the kind of Cultivation Technique that has extremely high requirements for Aptitude, Comprehension Ability, and resources, that makes ordinary people shrink back, and is even regarded as a wrong path or a useless effort."

Once these words were spoken, not only did Jiang Xiong fall silent again, but even Qi Huan on the side stared at Chen Mu in astonishment, thinking he had misheard.

Everyone else begged for Cultivation Techniques that were as simple and quick to master as possible; why was this kid specifically picking the difficult and time-consuming ones?

Was his brain rattled by the fight just now?

Jiang Xiong was silent for a moment, seemingly sharing the same thought, but then he reconsidered the various unreasonable aspects Chen Mu had displayed earlier and seemed to understand something.

This boy likely possessed some earth-shattering secret or treasure that greatly deepened martial arts practice or could ignore conventional Bottlenecks, which was why he dared to not fear the difficulty and time consumption of the Cultivation Technique, and instead pursued the highest limit and the strongest Foundation.

This deduction caused Jiang Xiong's evaluation of Chen Mu to rise once again, while also confirming more firmly that this boy was an extremely sharp blade worth investing in.

He pondered for a moment, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, and after a long while, he chuckled.

"Now that you mention it, there really is one. The Family's secret collection does indeed contain an extremely ancient and extremely strange Cultivation Technique; it would be no exaggeration to call it a forbidden art."

"A forbidden art?"

"Correct. It is listed as a forbidden art, not because it is evil or harmful, but because its requirements for practice are too harsh, demanding a perverted level of Heart-Nature, Comprehension Ability, and even a certain kind of destiny from the practitioner."

"Since it was collected, no fewer than ten people in the clan have tried to practice it, and without exception, they either died or went mad; the lightest consequence was having their cultivation completely ruined and their Divine Soul damaged. Over time, it was shelved and listed as a forbidden art."

Jiang Xiong's description did not scare Chen Mu away; instead, it made his eyes light up slightly.

The more this was the case, the more it showed its extraordinariness.

"Furthermore, it is almost impossible to use external objects to achieve quick success; it relies entirely on slow and steady work to perceive, endure, and transform bit by bit. The progress is so slow that it is despair-inducing; perhaps ten years of bitter practice wouldn't equal one year of someone else practicing a normal Cultivation Technique."

"Therefore, it is difficult, extremely difficult, dangerous, and time-consuming. The Jiang Family strictly forbids clan members from touching it lightly, so it fits your requirements perfectly."

Chen Mu listened, his heart surging with waves; this was practically tailor-made.

He had the System to infuse Lifespan, so he feared slow and steady work and the consumption of time the least. As for the danger, with the System, the infusion process itself was the safest form of practice.

"I want that one!"

Chen Mu did not hesitate.

Jiang Xiong seemed to be shocked by his decisiveness once again, and only spoke after a moment of silence.

"Have you thought this through? This art is dangerous and is absolutely not child's play."

"Naturally."

Seeing this, Jiang Xiong stopped trying to dissuade him.

"Fine, I will find a way to get a rubbing of this forbidden art for you, but it will take some time. The rules within the clan are strict, and retrieving it requires a process."

Chen Mu nodded; in any case, it would also take time to retrieve the city gods divine treasury.

With the conditions roughly agreed upon, the atmosphere eased significantly. Chen Mu suddenly asked the last question, which had been lingering in his mind for a long time.

"Brother Jiang, your strength is unfathomable. Why not take action yourself?"

"Retrieving that city gods divine treasury might not be a difficult task for you."