An invasion from the Abyss? I, a demonic cultivator, laughed.

Chapter 432 The Difficulty of Establishing Mutual Trust

Needless to say, the union was the first thing Chu Xiu ruled out; it was absolutely impossible for him to meet a Heavenly King.

Does anyone know what that Martial King is up to?
Although Chu Xiu has many trump cards to protect himself, his confidence is based on the fact that he is well-prepared on his home turf.

But if you turn around and go to someone else's home turf...
Given the Heavenly King's resources, who knows what strange and unusual items he might possess? It's not impossible that he could be instantly killed upon meeting him!

The conditions offered by the military and the chamber of commerce also had their own problems!
Green Princess, this alluring woman, speaks sweetly, but in reality, the Chamber of Commerce is the most shrewd; these are all investments that require no effort from the customer.

It can't be said that it was of no help to Chu Xiu, but it didn't solve the fundamental problem.

In reality, Changsheng Wang's control over the merchant guild was the weakest among the three Heavenly Kings in terms of control over their respective forces. Merchants are profit-driven and operate independently, making it difficult for Changsheng Wang to directly mobilize other families. If he really wanted to help Chu Xiu, he could only send his children and concubines, which was naturally impossible.

It goes without saying how dangerous it is to get involved in the battle with the divine messenger. In fact, there is a strong opinion that Chu Xiu was so arrogant as to provoke a god, and that his current situation is entirely his own fault. He is playing with fire and will get burned. The best option for him is to abandon civilization.

Any help offered to Chu Xiu would be futile.

While the military promised to send three demigods, its requirements were equally stringent.

Spending three years on the front lines is not just about fighting in a dangerous place for three years.

If that were all, Chu Xiu wouldn't necessarily disagree. Although three years would slow down his development, he had a long lifespan and didn't need to rush. Steady accumulation was the better strategy.

The key point is that joining the army's front line is equivalent to exposing one's whereabouts to the Killing King in real time, which is the same as meeting the Martial King in person.

Although this might just be Chu Xiu's petty thinking, given his cautious nature, he certainly wouldn't take that risk.

He hadn't forgotten that one of the pieces of information he'd gotten from the murderer was that there was a traitor among the Heavenly Kings!
"Of course, that's probably why none of the three major powers trust me."

Chu Xiu underestimated the methods of these powerful forces.

He naively believed that because he had made several contributions by stepping forward to save the people, the major powers would trust him without hesitation.

In reality, these forces must have integrated all the information Chu Xiu could gather during the trial and conducted a professional analysis of it.

Even with deliberate distractions, a true expert could still analyze his true nature with remarkable accuracy.

There's nothing we can do. Chu Xiu is just exceptionally talented; when it comes to scheming, he's far inferior to those who have gathered top talents from various industries.

"Haha, although your three families are large and powerful, it's a bit insincere to offer only these promises."

Just then, a hearty laugh rang out, and it belonged to a child with white hair and a youthful face—it was Jiang Lingfu.

He cupped his hands in greeting to Chu Xiu and said, "Should I call you Student Chen or Fellow Daoist Qin?"

Chu Xiu smiled faintly: "It's just a nickname, Senior, feel free to use it."

Jiang Lingfu said, "Alright, then I'll take advantage of my age and call you Brother Chen."

“You and I fought side by side in Pengcheng, and we know each other well. I know you well and your character is well. My niece, Miaoyin, speaks highly of you, and even our family head thinks highly of you.”

"He promised that as long as you join the Jiang family, we will send three demigods, ten high-level heroes, and a trillion Chinese yuan to support you with everything we have!"

Upon hearing this condition, the representatives of the three major powers all raised a brow.

Even Chu Xiu was surprised. Demigods are not like cabbages on the street. Even though the Jiang family is one of the four great families, they don't have more than five demigods in total. Sending three demigods at once means that they have used all their strength.

Not to mention, there are other extremely generous conditions!
After a moment of silence, Chu Xiu said, "Senior Jiang, I am deeply grateful for the Jiang family's kindness. However, I imagine the Jiang family must have some requests as well."

Jiang Lingfu chuckled and said, "There are requirements, but they are by no means difficult for you, young man."

"As you should know, our four great families are bound together by blood ties. So, as long as you marry a woman from my clan, my Jiang family will naturally do everything in its power to support you."

After a pause, Jiang Lingfu smiled and said, "Brother Chen, you are young and promising, and you are of marriageable age. As for young women, no one is more outstanding than my Jiang family. Whether it is Miaoyin or Xue'er, they are among the most talented."

"Besides talent, her personality, character, and family background are all top-notch!"

"Coincidentally, they all have a connection with you and have a very good impression of you."

"Of course, if you, Brother Chen, take a fancy to another woman from the Jiang family, that's perfectly acceptable."

His words didn't surprise anyone present, as that's how the family has always been.

just
“A marriage alliance alone might not be enough to put the Jiang family at ease,” Chu Xiu said.

Political marriages without an emotional foundation offer little constraint to those who are awakened.

Jiang Lingfu chuckled and said, "Young friend, you're overthinking it. Our Jiang family only has this one condition. However, since it's a marriage, it naturally has to be arranged by the parents and the matchmaker."

"Oh?" Chu Xiu raised an eyebrow, finally realizing what the other party was up to.

"So you wanted to use my parents to control me, huh?"

"That's quite a clever plan."

If someone were to threaten Chu Xiu with his parents, Chu Xiu would undoubtedly kill that person without hesitation. However, the Jiang family's reason was perfectly legitimate and did not arouse any resentment.

Perhaps worried about displeasing Chu Xiu, Jiang Lingfu added, "If you really don't want your parents to get involved, then having a child is also an option, Brother Chen."

Now it was Chu Xiu's turn to chuckle in disbelief.

To his surprise, the other three companies had the same idea!
"Student Chen, as long as you are willing to marry a woman from our Zhao family, our Zhao family will fully support you!"

"Your Zhao family? Zhao Jie, your two beautiful older sisters are already married. Do the other ugly ducklings and grotesque men even deserve Brother Chen?"

"Stop talking nonsense! My Zhao family has plenty of outstanding women!"

"Hmph, among the younger generation of women, only the Zhang family's daughter can compare to our Jiang family, but with her aloof and detached nature like a Taoist nun, what man would like her?"

"Jiang Lingfu, have you forgotten that when it comes to talent, which woman can compare to our Song family's Seventh Elder?"

“Song Ya, your old maid is already forty years old.”

"Would you dare say that to her face?!"

"..." Jiang Lingfu felt a little guilty. "In short, they are not from the same generation, so they definitely won't get along."

"How will you know if you don't try?" the Song family representative sneered. "We Awakened Ones have long lifespans; forty years old is just the beginning. Besides, our Seventh Elder is exceptionally handsome; even Brother Chen might take a liking to him at first glance." Watching the three family representatives arguing, Chu Xiu was both amused and exasperated.

He had heard of all these men; each of them had a huge number of suitors.

Jiang Miaoyin goes without saying. Once she successfully advances to the level of a Heroic Spirit, she will be groomed to be the next head of the family. She is also charming and alluring, and even though she doesn't show her face much, her number of fans on the internet is far ahead of others.

Jiang Xue is no less impressive. Although she has been growing for a shorter time, she has already reached the King rank. With her special twin talent, marrying one is equivalent to marrying two. Who wouldn't be tempted by that?
The other two are also individuals with unique characteristics and outstanding talents; the seventh elder of the Song family has even reached the level of a demigod.

"Do you really need to consider marriage?" Chu Xiu stroked his chin.

Chu Xiu had never really considered this question before. It wasn't that he was indifferent to women, but rather that he didn't value them. For him, everything had to give way to the improvement of his power.

He never imagined that one day he would be able to profit from "selling his body".

Chu Xiu didn't actually have much resistance to this. Any of the four women he chose would be a top beauty, and the dowry included was too generous. In any case, he wouldn't consider himself to be at a disadvantage.

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After hesitating for a while, Chu Xiu finally shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I have no plans to get married at the moment."

The reason is simple: although using marriage as a facade makes people feel much better, the essence is still to expose Chu Xiu's weaknesses in order to achieve mutual trust.

You can't expect Chu Xi to wear a mask on his wedding night, can you?

Chu Xiu believed that no matter which family he chose, they would do their best to help him hide his identity. Normally, that would be fine, but the current situation was really complicated.

Of the three pieces of information about the killer, one is that the Heavenly King is an internal traitor, and the other is that an extraterrestrial demon has infiltrated China.

It can be said that China is currently rife with the hands and feet of the enemy. Who can guarantee that Chu Xiu's family has not been infiltrated by the enemy?
Of course, the most crucial point is that this final battle wasn't actually that important.

Ultimately, it all comes down to the survival of the Chu Xiu civilization.

From the current perspective, this civilization has not provided him with much assistance, which is why the government's aid is only 200 billion.

If this were a decisive battle where victory or death was the only option, then in order to protect this unprecedented genius, it would be entirely possible that the three Heavenly Kings of China would mobilize their entire forces.

Even Chu Xiu accepted the decisive battle mainly because he coveted the opportunity to kill five high-level blood demons in one go and greatly increase the strength of his avatar.

It's not worth adding extra risks for this matter, given Chu Xiu's cautious nature. He doesn't want his parents to be used as leverage against him someday.

Seeing that he refused, the heads of the three companies looked regretful but did not try to persuade him further.

All eyes turned to the three who had not yet spoken: Chen Huang, Duan Yan, and Zhang Zhengdao.

To be honest, the arrival of these three people was a big surprise to everyone else. It was strange that Zhang Zhengdao, as the head of the family, came in person and has not said a word so far.

The remaining two people also make one wonder when Chu Xiu got involved with the Sun King and the Mountain Outer Tower.

Chu Xiu was also puzzled. He had summoned Chen Huang, but he couldn't figure out the other two.

At that moment, Zhang Zhengdao spoke first: "Gentlemen, I am here not to recruit, but to atone for my sins."

Atonement?!
Upon hearing these two words, everyone looked surprised, even Chu Xiu was taken aback.

Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Zhengdao slowly said, "People say that our Zhang family lineage is descended from the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, and indeed, members of our Zhang family are more likely to awaken Taoist-related talents and professions."

"Therefore, our family has always taken it as our duty to 'punish the wicked and eliminate evil, and act on behalf of Heaven.' On the day I succeeded as the head of the family, my father changed my name to Zhengdao, which was to remind me to be vigilant and not to go astray."

"Yet, even in the Zhang family, a heretic and evil figure emerged!"

Zhang Zhengdao's gaze swept over the crowd, his majestic black eyes filled with composure.

"Two years ago, the son of our clan's sixth elder was unfortunately poisoned by an incurable poison during an invasion of the abyss and eventually died."

"In his grief, the Sixth Elder had an ill-conceived idea. He spent a high price to acquire a Soul-Gathering Treasure Box and stored his beloved son's soul inside it."

Upon hearing the words "Soul-Gathering Treasure Box," everyone present changed their expressions.

They had all naturally heard of this infamous evil artifact.

"Could it be..." Jiang Lingfu looked incredulous.

“That’s right,” Zhang Zhengdao nodded, “Our clan’s sixth elder managed to obtain Chen’s blood and set the target of the Soul-Gathering Treasure Box on Chen. Then, in conjunction with the Mountain Outer Tower, they launched an assassination attempt against Chen!”

Upon hearing this, even though everyone had anticipated it, they still exchanged bewildered glances.

Zhang Zhengdao seemed to have been prepared for this, and said in a deep voice:

"The execution of our clan's sixth elder has been personally supervised by the Divine Might Daoist, and all those involved in this matter have also been tried and held accountable."

"As the head of the family, I am responsible for this incident and I will not make any excuses."

"I came here today to apologize to Chen in person and to offer him one trillion Chinese yuan in compensation free of charge."

"In addition, if Chen is willing, I, as the head of the family, am willing to personally defend Chen against the enemy to atone for my failure to discipline him properly!"

These words were like a boulder thrown into water, causing even the demigods to show expressions of astonishment!
The head of a family personally apologized, which was not enough; he even had to personally go into dangerous situations!
If the other party is sincere, it can only be said that the Zhang family's discipline is astonishingly strict, truly deserving of the reputation of being a successor of the Taoist school! Zhang Zhengdao also truly deserves the title of a successor of the Celestial Master!

Even Chu Xiu was somewhat incredulous upon seeing such a selfless and righteous person, and a hint of doubt instinctively arose in his heart.

At this moment, Duan Yan smiled and said, "When the Master of Shanwailou invited me here, he also specifically instructed me on this matter. Half a year ago, Clan Chief Zhang came to inquire with the Master, but based on the principles of Shanwailou, the Master did not reveal the information of the instigator to Clan Chief Zhang. I did not expect that Clan Chief Zhang would still find out in the end."

“The Zhang family has more than ten thousand members. Even if the Zhang patriarch were a celestial being descended to earth, it would be difficult to guarantee that none of these tens of thousands of people would make a mistake. How can the mistakes of the Zhang family members be blamed on the patriarch?”

“We all know this principle, but Chief Zhang still took it upon himself. I admire him!”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhengdao shook his head: "Brother Duan, there is no need to shirk responsibility for me. As the clan leader, I possess the most cultivation resources in the Zhang family. The mistakes of the clan members should be borne by me."

"Moreover, young friend Chen is exceptionally talented, which is a blessing for our human race and for China. As elders, we should bear the responsibility of protecting him."

After saying that, he looked at Chu Xiu and asked, "I wonder if Brother Chen has brought that Soul-Gathering Treasure Box with him?"

Chu Xiu hesitated slightly, then flipped his wrist to take out the treasure box and handed it over.

Zhang Zhengdao took it, and with a burst of magical power, the Soul-Gathering Box, which contained the souls of the Zhang family members, turned to dust under everyone's watchful eyes.

(End of this chapter)