413: Chapter 413 Escalation of Conflict

[You are overjoyed!]

[After calming your emotions, with a thought, you review the Divination Technique and the Aura Gazing Technique.]

[The profound and obscure methods of deduction that you once struggled to understand despite repeated attempts suddenly became clear in your mind.]

[It was like looking at something through a fog for a long time, and now the fog has lifted.]

[Immediately after—]

[Buzz.]

[Deep within your Sea of Consciousness, a sense of clarity emerged.]

[You open your eyes, your gaze slightly bright.]

[You have reached the Initial Level of the Law of Destiny.]

[At the same time, your Divination Technique and Aura Gazing Technique also improved accordingly—]

[Advancing from the Initial Level to Minor Achievement.]

[You immediately began to comprehend the Law of Destiny with the help of the xuantian treasure mirror.]

[Rising Sun,]

[The pavilion in the courtyard was dyed a pale gold by the morning light.]

[You and Gu Jing sat facing each other.]

[She was clearly distracted, her eyes wandering, holding the teacup for a long time without bringing it to her lips.]

["Speak your mind and cut the crap." You didn't bother beating around the bush and spoke directly.]

[Gu Jing was taken aback.]

[She looked up at you, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes—]

[Why are you so impatient today?]

[But she didn't dare ask more, only whispering, "Senior, please understand. The Bai Family has made things difficult for my Gu Family over Bai Sheng's death."]

[You picked up your tea and didn't respond.]

[You had already known about the Bai Family's little scheme.]

[She paused and continued, "In this matter, the Bai Family has the moral high ground. The Immortal Dynasty... is also in a difficult position. They plan to..."]

[She bit her lip, her voice dropping even lower, "They plan to hand me over."]

[You nodded.]

[This matter wasn't complicated.]

[Among the three great families of the Imperial Capital, the Gu Family is backed by the True Spirit Immortal Dynasty, the Bai Family belongs to the Divine Dragon Cult, and the Wei Family relies on the Piaomiao Sect.]

[No matter how much of a Prodigy Gu Jing is, in the end, she is only a member of the Gu Family, not the Huangfu Family.]

[The one in the True Spirit Immortal Dynasty is notoriously cold-blooded.]

[He wouldn't even blink at discarding someone like Gu Jing.]

[That was why she dared to make such a bold request of you yesterday—to be her Personal Bodyguard.]

[It turned out she had planned her escape route long ago.]

[You smiled and put down your teacup. "What does this have to do with me?"]

["You don't think I would offend the Bai Family, or even the Divine Dragon Cult, for your sake, do you?"]

["Senior," she looked up, her voice calm, but there was something indescribable in her eyes, "My Gu Family is backed by the Immortal Dynasty, but in the face of certain interests, we can be abandoned just like that."]

["The same goes for the Bai Family and the Divine Dragon Cult."]

["Even if the Bai Family were wiped out, the Divine Dragon Cult might not necessarily take action."]

[She paused, looking directly at you. "Furthermore, the Three Great Factions would only scramble to recruit someone capable of destroying the Bai Family, not offend them."]

[You stared at her for a few moments.]

[This woman's analysis was quite logical; she seemed more confident in your ability to destroy the Bai Family than you were yourself.]

[On what basis?]

[A thought occurred to you—normally, given her cultivation, there was no way she could deduce the extent of your power.]

[But she seemed... to know something?]

["Do you know a lot about me?" you asked.]

[Gu Jing shook her head, her expression composed. "Senior, you flatter me. I merely performed a deduction on some members of the Bai Family yesterday and found that they all have a death tribulation looming over them."]

[She paused, her gaze landing on you. "After thinking about it, the only one who could cause so many people in the Bai Family to face a death tribulation at once is you, Senior."]

[You chuckled.]

[This woman is indeed clever.]

["Since you've already calculated it, why come to persuade me?" you asked with a smile.]

[Gu Jing's expression turned more serious. "Senior might not be aware. A death tribulation is not a fixed fate. When I was deducing, I found that their death tribulations were flickering."]

[She paused, "It must be because Senior has not yet made up his mind."]

["I see." You nodded, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Can you help me conceal my fate?"]

[Hearing this, Gu Jing's body stiffened slightly.]

[In that brief moment, something flashed in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.]

[But she didn't answer, only shaking her head.]

[What she didn't say was—she had actually calculated for you, more than once.]

[Every time, it was a total blur.]

[She couldn't see anything clearly.]

[In such a case, there are only two possibilities.]

[One is that your destiny is too grand and your Luck too abundant for her meager cultivation to spy upon.]

[The second is that your cultivation... is far above hers.]

[She is at Golden Core Perfection; even if you were at the Nascent Soul stage, she could still deduce a superficial amount.]

[But what she saw was complete nothingness.]

[That could only mean—you are at least at the Soul Transformation stage.]

[It was this very thought that made her fully understand—]

[Someone who could silently kill Bai Sheng, who was at the Late Golden Core Stage, was indeed no ordinary character.]

[This further indicated that you had no fear whatsoever of that Soul Transformation expert, the Bai Family's Old Ancestor.]

[Coupled with your question just now about "concealing my fate," a deeper suspicion emerged in her heart—]

[Did the destruction of the Liu Clan Territory, that incident which shook the entire Immortal Realm, have anything to do with... you?]

[Otherwise, why would a Soul Transformation expert act so covertly?]

[And even say those words in public to shift the blame?]

[She didn't dare think any further, let alone show the slightest sign of it.]

[She merely lowered her head, her small hands trembling slightly as she picked up the long-cold tea and took a small sip.]

[She was starting to regret it.]

[Regretting inviting a wolf into her home.]

[If you were truly related to that incident in the Liu Clan Territory, and if word ever got out and the Nine Heavens Heavenly Palace investigated... not just her, but the entire Gu Family would be wiped from the Immortal Realm.]

["What's wrong?" you suddenly asked.]

[Her hand jerked, the teacup tilted, and the cold tea spilled onto her skirt.]

["It's just a Bai Family," you smiled indifferently, "Is there any need to be this scared?"]

[You are not her.]

[You couldn't understand her current situation.]

[The Immortal Dynasty turned a blind eye to this matter.]

[Within the Family, those elders who usually called her "Jing'er" hadn't even shown their faces these past few days, clearly acquiescing to the Immortal Dynasty's decision.]

[She was like a discarded piece left on the edge of a chessboard.]

[She had originally thought that by killing Bai Sheng, she could sever the fate of an arranged marriage.]

[She hadn't expected that instead of pursuing the killer, the Bai Family would seize upon Bai Sheng's death to directly attack the Gu Family.]

[Despite all her calculations, she hadn't expected this matter to escalate so much.]

[Now, this was no longer just her personal business.]

[Using Bai Sheng's death as a pretext, the Bai Family continued to muddy the waters.]

[The old scores accumulated between the two families over the years were about to be dredged up for a fierce fight.]

[Of course, it wasn't just the Bai Family fueling the fire behind the scenes.]

[In both the Immortal Dynasty and the Divine Dragon Cult, there were people who wanted to see the Bai Family and Gu Family fight.]

[You had seen many such things.]

[These families in the Immortal Realm appeared harmonious on the surface, but behind the scenes, who wasn't eyeing what the other had?]

[As long as they caught an opportunity, they would blow small matters out of proportion, escalate major ones into total breakdowns, and finally annex the other.]

[And those factions truly at the top loved nothing more than watching these families below fight amongst themselves.]

[The fiercer the fight, the better.]

[Ideally, they would never look up, and never think about climbing higher.]

[And these low-tier families, unfortunately, were often the most disappointing.]

[Of course, if they could truly be of one heart and mind, unified as one, then they wouldn't be far from becoming the next "Liu Clan Immortal Family."]

[As for going even higher after reaching the level of the Liu Clan... that depends on fate.]

[Without the emergence of a once-in-an-eternity Prodigy, no matter how united or desperate the entire clan was, they could never touch the threshold of a top-tier faction.]

[Some things are predestined.]