Ning Fa looked at him strangely, "Why can't I kill you?"
Qian Shouzhong hesitated for a moment. Seeing the killing intent in Ning Fa's eyes intensify, he quickly said, "Do you know that the Ning Family and our Qian Family are secret allies! So you can't kill me!"
Ning Fa frowned slightly. This Qian Shouzhong would say anything to save his life.
Everyone in Thousand Wave Lake knew that the Ning Family and the Qian Family were mortal enemies.
They had fought a major battle just a few years ago, with heavy casualties on both sides, deepening their animosity.
If the Ning Family hadn't been wary of the Xue Family, they would have likely tried to kill the Qian Family.
Especially not long ago, the Ning Family's diplomatic situation was extremely dire, suffering betrayal from minor powers one after another.
Afterward, the Xue Family and the Qian Family jointly issued statements condemning the Ning Family.
It was hard to say that the Qian Family wasn't involved behind the scenes.
Now Qian Shouzhong was telling Ning Fa that the two families were secret allies. Wasn't this insulting his intelligence?
Seeing Ning Fa's expression, Qian Shouzhong hurriedly explained, "Our families' conflict is all a show for the Xue Family. In reality, after our last major war ended, our two families secretly formed an alliance."
Ning Fa frowned deeply. Although he found it hard to believe, he vaguely felt that this might be true.
This was especially true when he recalled Qian Shouzhong's strange attitude earlier.
He slowly said, "Then the major war between our families a few years ago... was also a performance for the Xue Family?"
Qian Shouzhong shook his head, "That's not it. At first, our two families were genuinely fighting. But later, we discovered that the several incidents that triggered our major battles were actually orchestrated by the Xue Family, making us mistakenly believe the other side was responsible, which led to the war."
"This matter was discovered by your family's First Elder. He secretly met with our Qian Family's First Elder and presented evidence."
"In order to thwart the Xue Family's schemes and to jointly resist the Xue Family in the future, our two families secretly allied. On the surface, we appear to be in opposition, but in reality, we are preparing in secret to counter the Xue Family."
The surprise in Ning Fa's eyes slowly subsided. By now, he had believed most of it.
He then asked, "So your secret dealings with the Yuan Chang Island faction, the higher-ups of both sides were actually aware?"
Qian Shouzhong replied, "That's right. Since our two families couldn't interact openly, we could only exchange necessary items through these secret transactions. Your Yuan Chang Island faction didn't know about our families' cooperation and thought we were actually smuggling."
Ning Fa fell silent for a moment, lowering his head in thought.
Qian Shouzhong, however, was uneasy, his sense of dread growing heavier.
Ning Fa suddenly looked up. Although his expression was calm, the killing intent in his eyes was intensifying.
Qian Shouzhong cried out in terror, "You can't kill me! If you kill me, it will surely shatter the alliance between our families! You must prioritize the bigger picture! I am willing to pay a hefty price to compensate!"
Ning Fa coldly replied, "I hate it the most when people tell me to prioritize the bigger picture!"
With that, the silver lightning in his hand flashed, menacingly covering his head.
"Ah—"
After a piercing scream, Qian Shouzhong was reduced to a charred husk, undeniably dead.
Ning Fa then cast a fireball, directly burning his body to ashes, destroying the evidence, leaving only his storage bag.
Qian Shouzhong, who had been famous in Thousand Wave Lake for many years, died in Ning Fa's hands like this.
Ning Fa felt a sense of relief.
After avenging his past self, a heavy burden was lifted from his heart.
He took Qian Shouzhong's storage bag and then walked over to Ning Jiantao.
Ning Jiantao was looking at him with a look of extreme fear.
He still couldn't believe that Qian Shouzhong, famous throughout Thousand Wave Lake, had died at Ning Fa's hands.
Given the enmity between Yuan Chang Island and Ning Fa, did he have any chance of survival?
Ning Fa looked at him with a slight smile.
He said, "I heard that your Yuan Chang Island faction seems to have dug up something extraordinary on Spirit Deer Island. Is that true?"
As soon as he said this, Ning Jiantao's eyes widened. He couldn't believe that Ning Fa had exposed their faction's biggest secret with a single sentence!
He forced himself to say, "I don't know what you're talking about. I advise you to release me quickly. You just heard that many of the items in this transaction are needed by the family. You have no right to arrest me!"
Ning Fa sneered, "You really won't confess until you see the coffin!"
With that, the silver lightning in his right hand flashed, covering Ning Jiantao's head.
Although Ning Fa had deliberately reduced the power, it still caused Ning Jiantao to convulse and foam at the mouth.
Even though only a few dozen seconds had passed, in Ning Jiantao's eyes, it felt like years.
When Ning Fa removed his hand, Ning Jiantao was covered in cold sweat, as if he had been soaked in water. His pale, bloodless face had a vacant look in his eyes.
"Will you talk?"
Ning Fa asked coldly.
Seeing Ning Fa about to place his hand on him again, Ning Jiantao flinched and roared, "Don't! I'll talk!"
Immediately, Ning Jiantao, fearing another jolt if he spoke too slowly, spilled everything out like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.
Ning Fa chuckled inwardly. This person looked tough, but he was actually a spineless coward.
After listening, Ning Fa's face showed deep thought.
He hadn't expected Liu Qinghui's guess to be true, that the Yuan Chang Island lineage had indeed found a Cave Mansion Ruins on Spirit Deer Island.
Furthermore, according to Ning Jiannan and the others' deductions, this cave mansion was likely left behind by a Golden Core cultivator, or at least a cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage.
Therefore, the Yuan Chang Island lineage attached great importance to it, deploying a large number of resources to excavate this cave mansion.
However, the cave mansion was protected by a very powerful second-tier restriction.
To break this restriction without causing too much of a stir that would arouse the family's suspicion, Ning Jiannan and the others devised a plan: using formations to break formations, they continuously set up lower-tier formations to weaken the restriction's power.
Although it took a considerable amount of time, it was indeed effective.
Currently, more than half of the restriction's power had been worn down, and it was estimated that it would take about another year to completely break it.
Ning Fa's thoughts raced.
His first thought was to inform the family, but he immediately abandoned this idea.
If the family got involved, while the Yuan Chang Island lineage would face severe punishment, it certainly wouldn't be fatal. Moreover, most of the spoils would go to the family.
Ning Fa thought of another method: letting the Yuan Chang Island lineage proceed with their actions. He would then appear at the last moment. This way, he could not only successfully reap the rewards but also potentially deal with Ning Ruiming and Ning Jiannan in secret. It was a win-win situation.
Of course, all of this required careful planning and consideration of the specific circumstances at the time, ensuring the family wouldn't become suspicious. This necessitated an inside contact to help him keep track of the latest progress on the cave mansion excavation by Ning Jiannan and the others.
Ning Fa's eyes lit up as he looked at Ning Jiantao. This person was a perfect candidate.
Ning Jiantao looked extremely nervous. Seeing Ning Fa's strange expression, his heart chilled, and he quickly shouted, "I've told you everything truthfully, you can't kill me! Murdering fellow clan members is a grave crime, and the family won't let you get away with it!"