This was a child's game riddled with flaws.
In Chen Yan's eyes now, whether it was the ninety-something-year-old Kang Zongdan or that Elder Zheng from Mirage Palace who was at the Passable God Realm, the tricks they were playing were utterly childish.
Because the logic simply couldn't hold itself together.
Chen Yan understood very well that people could change.
Perhaps a once-wanton rogue would one day finally realize the responsibilities on his shoulders.
But Kang Zongdan was not that kind of person.
He could see that Kang Zongdan had never truly invested his heart into the Kang Family.
Including what Kang Zongdan said at the banquet the day before the massacre at Kang Mansion proved this point.
Among his six sons, Kang Keyang was the child Kang Zongdan "loved" the most.
But Kang Zongdan, who reeked of selfishness down to his very bones, didn't actually like his youngest son. Instead, from the very beginning, he had seen Kang Keyang as a vessel to be taken over by his soul.
Moreover, an Inner Court elder from Mirage Palace-even if an ordinary mortal martial artist had a tremendous favor over him-would only need to bestow a couple of pills or half a lost cultivation manual to grant an immense fortune.
Because Elder Zheng, as an Inner Court elder of Mirage Palace, was surely well aware of the common rules among the Five Great Sects.
Those who join an immortal sect must sever their mortal attachments.
That is, relatives and clansmen in the mortal world cannot receive direct protection from cultivators who have joined the Five Great Sects.
However, the sect's Stationed Envoy Residences would, to some extent, offer a bit of protection to the families of their disciples.
In other words, bestowing pills or casually gifting some fragments of manuals was far more valuable as a "grace" than bringing their descendants into Mirage Palace for cultivation.
From start to finish, it was nothing more than a laughable conspiracy. That was all there was to it.
Expressionless, "Kang Keyang" stared at Chen Yan with hollow, intense eyes.
Then, a bone-chilling, eerie smile suddenly spread across his face.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, Fellow Daoist Chen, why must there be someone as smart as you in this world?"
Kang Keyang... no, Kang Zongdan sighed with such emotion.
"I'm not a smart person."
Chen Yan only chuckled lightly, denying it in a calm tone.
He had simply experienced too much.
In Chen Yan's eyes now, a mere hundred-year-old cultivator at the Spirit Connection Realm and a Body Forging Realm cultivator longing to truly step onto the immortal path-the "child's game" they had schemed together was utterly insignificant.
"However, I still have one question. If your goal was only to take over Kang Keyang's body, then why did you have to kill over three thousand people in the Kang Mansion?"
As he spoke, Chen Yan paused briefly.
"Or is it that to take over Kang Keyang's body, you had to sacrifice so many lives to achieve your goal?"
"You guessed right, Fellow Daoist Chen."
Kang Zongdan shook his head helplessly.
Chen Yan wasn't surprised at all. Then he continued, "I imagine Fellow Daoist Kang must also be well aware of the principle that 'the world hustles, all for profit.' Elder Zheng of Mirage Palace would never help you to this extent."
"Of course I know that Elder Zheng is using me."
Kang Zongdan said without changing his expression.
"Since that's the case, then I have nothing more to say."
Chen Yan said.
Upon hearing this, Kang Zongdan was slightly taken aback.
Today, Kang Zongdan had called Chen Yan here to test him.
But Kang Zongdan had never imagined that the youth standing before him would say such a thing.
The moment Chen Yan exposed him, he had already prepared to fight to the death with Chen Yan.
With his years of martial arts skill, combined with his cultivation level and battle experience, how could he not defeat this brat?
But now, Kang Zongdan actually breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Because he couldn't gauge the depth of the youth before him.
"The past, present, and future of the Kang Family have nothing to do with me. At the same time, I'm grateful that Fellow Daoist Kang has temporarily lent me the Listening to the Waves Pavilion in the southern part of the city. If possible, I'll probably continue to stay in this Jiangdu Prefecture for a while."
As Chen Yan spoke, his indifferent gaze landed on Kang Zongdan's eyes.
Kang Zongdan averted his gaze.
For some reason, he simply didn't dare to look directly at the "child" in front of him.
"I hope we can get along well during this time."
Chen Yan said lightly with a smile. Then, he slowly turned and walked toward the gates of Kang Mansion.
Kang Zongdan did not stop him. He simply let Chen Yan leave.
As if tacitly agreeing to something.
Chen Yan had no intention of making an enemy of Kang Zongdan.
Provided that Kang Zongdan wouldn't make things difficult for him.
So when Chen Yan learned from Su Hongzhen that Kang Zongdan was looking for him, he decided to head straight to Kang Mansion to find him and give Kang Zongdan a preemptive warning.
However, those who could pose a threat to Chen Yan in Jiangdu Prefecture were not limited to just Kang Zongdan.
There was also Mirage Palace.
That elder surnamed Zheng from the Illusion Time Pavilion of Mirage Palace was using Kang Zongdan for some kind of experiment.
Chen Yan guessed that behind all of this was likely related to the sheepskin parchment that Huang Yong had brought to Kang Zongdan.
Mirage Palace could step in at any time, but Chen Yan didn't know when that would be.
However, Chen Yan had already formulated a countermeasure.
When the people from Mirage Palace came and might involve him-if by then he had already recovered his cultivation to the Unity Realm, then the problem would naturally solve itself.
After all, there was no way Mirage Palace would send a great power from the upper three realms to this remote corner of the Western Region.
But if he hadn't recovered his cultivation, Chen Yan had other ways to defuse the crisis.
For example...
Not far from Kang Mansion, Chen Yan, having walked to a deserted area, suddenly stopped.
"Since you, sir, have been following me for so long, why not show yourself?"
A smile curled at the corners of his mouth and eyes as he spoke slowly.
There was a moment of silence in the air, and then a young girl's figure dressed in deep green daoist robes suddenly appeared before Chen Yan's eyes.
"How did you know I was here?"
The girl's appearance and voice were far gentler and softer than her demeanor.
"Haven't you already known for a long time that I knew you were here?"
Chen Yan said with a smile.
For some reason, whether facing this "Jiang Shiyu" or "Kang Keyang," Chen Yan always felt that his behavior didn't seem like himself, but rather like another person-
Mr. You.
Or rather, when one viewed things from a higher perspective and saw through everything, it was easy to naturally slip into this "Mr. You" state.
Because when everything was completely under control, a person's outward demeanor naturally appeared effortlessly composed.
