Murong Chao’s heart tightened, realizing that the dead person they were talking about was herself. Talk about perfect timing.
Who was this man? With his cultivation level, killing her would have been easy. Why go through such trouble, using Jiang Anya’s hand to do it?
Jiang Anya choked back her words. With the Core Formation Pill not yet in her possession, she dared not say anything offensive. Moreover, the fact that this man could appear in her room without alerting any of the hidden guards meant his cultivation level far surpassed theirs. She wasn’t foolish enough to provoke someone who could take her life without a sound.
“As you said, I’ve fulfilled my part of the deal. I watched her swallow the Spirit-Destroying Pill with my own eyes and saw her life fade away. Now it’s your turn to honor your promise.”
Though she didn’t know why the man wanted Chao Chao dead, getting what she wanted while eliminating her biggest eyesore was a win-win situation.
The man’s tone turned sharp. “Are you certain she’s dead? Why hasn’t Chen Qingyang reacted at all?”
Suspecting the man might renege on their agreement, Jiang Anya replied coldly, “What do you mean? I personally placed the Spirit-Destroying Pill you gave me into the pastry and handed it to her myself, watching her eat it. Unless the pill you gave me was fake. Besides, Chen Qingyang had no time to visit her today. She only has one maidservant, and without her orders, even if she slept on the rocking chair until tomorrow morning, the servant wouldn’t dare disturb her.”
Murong Chao pitied herself. See how well Jiang Anya understood her? Your greatest enemies and rivals always know you best.
However, their conversation also made Murong Chao realize that the Spirit-Destroying Pill had been given to Jiang Anya by this man.
The man said, “I hope what you say is true. We’ll know for sure by tomorrow morning at the latest. Don’t blame me for being ruthless then.”
Jiang Anya, having witnessed Chao Chao’s death with her own eyes, wasn’t worried by the man’s threats.
“Where’s the portrait?” The man had been observing Jiang Anya closely. Seeing her expression, he knew she wasn’t lying, and his tone softened slightly.
Jiang Anya’s eyes flickered as she took out a portrait and handed it to the man. “My painting skills are quite decent.”
As the legitimate daughter of the Jiang family, she wasn’t just skilled in cultivation—she was also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
The man unfolded the portrait and glanced at it, his brow furrowing.
The little porcelain person happened to be positioned behind the man. Murong Chao controlled it to climb higher and took a look at the portrait.
She couldn’t help but twitch her lips. The portrait depicted the ordinary appearance she used to present to outsiders.
Jiang Anya didn’t even want people to know her true appearance after killing her—how deeply did she envy her stunning beauty?
No wonder the man hadn’t realized she was still alive, even after she had gone out for a stroll today. He didn’t know what she really looked like, nor did he know where she lived.
Indeed, aside from Chen Qingyang and Jiang Anya, no one knew where she lived. Even among Chen Qingyang’s hidden guards, only two were aware.
Admittedly, Jiang Anya wasn’t entirely brainless.
“This is definitely not her true appearance,” the man stated with certainty.
Murong Chao narrowed her almond-shaped eyes. If this man had never seen her real face, how could he be so sure the portrait wasn’t of her?
Jiang Anya’s gaze shifted. “How do you know this isn’t her true appearance?”
The man replied mockingly, “Don’t try to pry information from me, unless you’re tired of living.”
Jiang Anya shivered. “The appearance I’ve always seen her in is exactly like this. If it’s fake, then only Chen Qingyang would know her true face.”
At this moment, she absolutely could not admit that she had seen her real appearance. For three years, what she had envied and been most jealous of was Chaochao’s peerless beauty.
The man put away the portrait and glanced at Jiang Anya. “Don’t let me find out you’re deceiving me. Destroying the Protector-General’s Estate would be as easy as turning over my hand for me.”
Jiang Anya shuddered instantly. “It’s been three years, and this is how I’ve always seen her. She’s already dead—why would I lie to you?”
“Remember what you said.”
The man tossed a medicine bottle to Jiang Anya as if bestowing a favor, then turned and vanished in an instant, clearly having used a Teleportation Treasure.
Jiang Anya fumbled to catch the bottle, patted her chest, and exclaimed excitedly, “I’m about to become a Golden Core Cultivator!”
She didn’t know who the man was, nor did she mind his arrogance. The long-awaited Core Formation Pill was finally in her hands, and soon she would become a Golden Core Cultivator.
For an eighteen-year-old like her, reaching the Golden Core Cultivation Level would already make her the top talent among women in Fengyun Kingdom. Moreover, with Chaochao, that thorn in her side, now removed, her mood was exceptionally good.
Murong Chao was not at all surprised that Jiang Anya had colluded with someone to kill her for personal gain. After all, Jiang Anya lacked both the brains and the capability to obtain such a high-grade Spirit-Destroying Pill.
Still, it irked her that in Jiang Anya’s eyes, she was only worth a single Fifth-Rank Core Formation Pill.
Jiang Anya possessed a Gold Element Spiritual Root, a Single Spiritual Root. Cultivating with such a singular spiritual root was easier than with Multiple Spiritual Roots.
A month ago, Jiang Anya had already reached High-Level Foundation Establishment Cultivation, though she hadn’t yet achieved Great Perfection. To break through now, she would need a high-grade Core Formation Pill—at least Fifth-Rank or above.
Jiang Anya carefully opened the medicine bottle, and the scent of the pill immediately wafted out. The Porcelain Person’s tiny nose sniffed vigorously, allowing Murong Chao to detect the pill’s aroma—it was indeed a Fifth-Rank Core Formation Pill.
Refining a Core Formation Pill was extremely difficult, and the required medicinal ingredients were hard to obtain. Most importantly, Fifth-Rank Pill Refiners on the continent were not as common as radishes; not just anyone could hire one.
The highest rank of Pill Refiner on the continent was Sixth-Rank. A hundred years later, there were only three Sixth-Rank Pill Refiners, and the Xuantian Sect had only one.
As far as she knew, a century ago, the entire continent had only one Sixth-Rank Pill Refiner—the one from the Xuantian Sect. Even now, there were no more than ten Fifth-Rank Pill Refiners on the continent.
A Fifth-Rank Core Formation Pill wasn’t something one could simply buy with money.
The man was truly generous. Who exactly was he? Clearly, he had the power to kill her directly, so why go to such great lengths to use Jiang Anya’s hand to do it?
Murong Chao recalled the rumors from a hundred years later about the fall of Chiyue Kingdom. It was said that Princess Anhe, Murong Su of Chiyue Kingdom, killed Crown Princess Murong Chao and later became the Crown Princess herself. Because she violated ancestral traditions, Chiyue Kingdom lost its national fortune and ultimately met its demise.
However, no one knew how Murong Su had found Murong Chao and killed her. This man was likely one of Murong Su’s people.
Only now did Murong Chao realize that Murong Su was no simple person. To have someone like this working for her, capable of evading the Chiyue Empress’s notice, showed that Murong Su had been scheming for quite some time.
After all, as a princess of the kingdom, judging by her conferred title “Anhe” (Peace and Harmony), it was clear the Empress held Murong Su in high regard.
Murong Su was the most talented among the women of her generation in the Murong family of Chiyue Kingdom and was also known as the kingdom’s number one beauty.
Countless men adored her.
It seemed her return to Chiyue would not be easy.
While Murong Chao was lost in thought, Jiang Anya had already swallowed the fifth-grade Core Formation Pill.