Chapter 103: Doubt

"Fishing, check if there are any people still hidden in the dark." Jiang Yu didn't want any of those involved, including the mortal, to escape.

Unfortunately, on the way the old abbot and his grandson had come, no other cultivators appeared.

It wasn't that the two didn't want to run, but Jiang Tu, who had been watching the whole time, in an instant flew over their heads, blew a breath and sent them tumbling into the ditch; rolling down the mountain road, they were both startled and frightened, and instantly became obedient.

When the two were drawn into the formation and saw three Foundation cultivators trapped, they froze on the spot.

The old abbot was the first to react, "Patron, everything is my fault; the greedy cultivator's promise led the grandson astray.

I, a poor monk, am willing to give my life to atone, so please raise your noble hand and spare this child."

"No, senior, they used a technique to force Grandfather to lend the back mountain," the qi‑refining cultivator immediately pointed out the three Foundation cultivators.

"Fang Yin, the abbot himself is willing for you to cultivate; I have no part in it, and you are the same." The late‑stage Foundation cultivator within the Forbidden Spirit Net now longs for more companions, for he knows other squads won't come to save him.

Jiang Yu, now impatient with his speech, fired a flying needle that hit his mute point and retracted it.

She gave a faint glance at the grandfather and grandson, and the two immediately fell silent.

At that moment, the child napping in the spatial study was startled awake; he saw the newcomers from the window, ran to the door and opened it, "Fang Yin brother? Senior, Fang Yin brother is a good person; he secretly told me and Miao Miao to cultivate more slowly.

He also often stops the others from attacking us; he is a good person."

"Xiao Xuan?" the qi‑refining junior cultivator Fang Yin muttered.

"Understood, you close the door and go back to tend to the others." Jiang Yu turned, emitting a white Dao light; the door of the spatial study slammed shut, and the child inside could no longer move the door.

Then she addressed the grandfather and grandson, "Answer honestly; I won't do anything to you."

Jiang Yu needed to verify what had been examined earlier; she led the two to a side, erected a sound‑proof barrier, and asked question after question.

Needless to say, the qi‑refining junior cultivator Fang Yin indeed knew a lot; he reported that there were three other squads, each led by three or four Foundation cultivators with five qi‑refiners, searching everywhere for children with spirit roots.

Most of the time they recruited disciples under the names of various sects; on rare occasions they happened upon a child with a spirit root and simply abducted them.

"Sometimes I also encounter other cultivators who want to ask for help to leave here, but they are controlled by poisonous pills and dare not reveal the secret.

Senior, I truly have never killed anyone." This qi‑refining cultivator had an exceptionally strong will to survive.

"Oh right, some time ago I went to the county town to shop, and unintentionally saw Mi Shishu meeting a stranger Foundation cultivator, but he called that person 'Shishu.'"

"Mi Shishu, is she?" Jiang Yu looked toward the half‑dead female cultivator six steps away, tilting her chin.

The junior cultivator nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I can draw that person and the others for you, senior."

"You draw, first draw the person who was called Shishu." Jiang Yu slapped her storage bag and handed out several blank jade slips.

"Alright, I'll draw. But I can only draw on xuan paper like a mortal; I can use my spiritual sense to make it more accurate, but I can't draw the whole thing purely with spiritual sense." The junior cultivator didn't dare to continue, and instead took from his storage bag a portrait of the grandfather for her to examine.

Jiang Yu saw it was a close likeness, then set down the table and chair, "Do you have paper and ink?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Fang Yin had learned to paint from the abbot since childhood and always kept drawing tools in his storage.

But when he finished his first portrait, before he could add details, Jiang Yu snatched it away.

"Is that him?" Jiang Tu leaned over to look, and it was about seventy‑or‑eighty percent like Jiang Du.

Jiang Yu's face turned ashen, she took a blank jade slip, used her spiritual sense to render her brother's likeness for Fang Yin: "Compare it."

Fang Yin suppressed his fear, took the jade slip and pressed it to his brow, looking, "It's him."

"How long ago did you see him?"

"About forty days ago."

"Continue drawing the others." Jiang Yu retrieved the jade slip, took the drawing, and walked toward the two people beneath the Forbidden Spirit Net.

"Fellow Daoist, what else do you need to ask? I will speak without holding back." The mid‑stage Foundation cultivator wore a hint of sincerity; he was seeking a sliver of hope.

The Forbidden Spirit Net blocks spirit and perception; no matter how many methods a trapped cultivator has, unless they have reached Nascent Soul body cultivation, they cannot break free.

Jiang Yu naturally wouldn't let him out, but instead flicked open the paper portrait: "Who is this person?"

The mid‑stage Foundation cultivator stared for a long while; he had never seen him, and the late‑stage cultivator, still watching, also didn't recognize the person.

Jiang Yu moved to the side of the fainted female cultivator, added another seal to her dantian, and attempted to use the Soul‑searching technique.

She placed a single palm on the female's forehead; after searching recent memories for a short time, she not only found no memory of Jiang Du, but also discovered a peculiar spiritual soul seal. She quickly withdrew her spiritual sense, trying not to touch it.

Jiang Tu asked, "Any results?"

Jiang Yu shook her head, then turned to the mid‑stage Foundation cultivator and asked, "She, like you, was placed under a spiritual soul restriction in the ancient cultivator's cave?"

"Yes, fellow Daoist, may I take a pill from my storage..." The mid‑stage Foundation cultivator hadn't finished when Jiang Tu interrupted:

"What are you thinking? All the storage bags are our spoils."

"Jiang Tu, don't touch what's inside, especially unknown pills; don't even smell them." Jiang Yu turned, transmitting the voice to the one on her shoulder.

"Relax, I currently have no interest in Foundation‑stage pills. What did you find?" Jiang Tu asked curiously.

"Nothing. During this month leading up to the New Year, they have been very well‑behaved and haven't gone anywhere."

Moreover, there is no memory of Jiang Du; under normal circumstances, a Foundation‑stage beginner cannot place a spiritual soul restriction on someone of the same stage.

And he is an outer‑gate disciple of the Hehuan Sect; being called 'Shishu' by someone of the same stage is very odd.

Having said that, she began contacting Mo Yizhou: "Has your sect's South Sole Immortal returned lately?"

Mo Yizhou, far away in the cultivation world, was being intimate with a female cultivator and had no time to look at the transmission jade.

Jiang Yu didn't expect an immediate reply, but instead sought Senior Sister Xia Bing; yes, they are both at the Foundation stage, so calling her Senior Sister is correct.

Xia Bing replied quickly, "I'm not familiar with the South Sole Immortal either; I've only heard that the hundred‑year Pill‑forming cultivator is handsome and beautiful. If you want more information about him, you can inquire at the black‑market information tower; it's expensive but fast."

Jiang Yu thanked him and decided not to ask anyone else, but instead asked her master whether another Pill‑forming cultivator could be sent to search souls.

As a result, she waited a long time without receiving a reply from her master.

Jiang Tu sent a voice to her, "Are you suspecting that the South Sole Immortal is up to something?"

Jiang Yu placed another chair and sat down, "No, I suspect the South Sole Immortal, or one of the demonic sect disciples he brought, has possessed my brother."

"Huh? How did you deduce that?" Jiang Tu couldn't understand.

Jiang Yu placed another chair and sat down, "No, I suspect True Immortal Nan Su, or one of the few demonic sect disciples he brought, has possessed my older brother."

"Huh? How did you infer that?" Jiang Tu was confused.

"Just a reasonable suspicion." Jiang Yu closed her eyes and pondered for a long time, then sent another message to her master, but still saw no reply.

But just before dawn, Sui Lv Zhenjun proactively sought her: "I and Liaowu have already arrived in Jiang State, reporting the specific location."

Jiang Yu: Master actually came in person?