Chapter 659 - Breakdown Of The Council It had been about a week since the three clans, Hui, Shu and Fei had been exterminated from the Jiao Long city. Tensions were rising and falling every day and most commoners were certainly more happy than before, even if their daily life had become a bit more difficult due to the strict checks by the guards. Because the murders of the three clans had gone completely unnoticed, a significant part of it was blamed on the guards as well, and thus they were under pressure to perform. Hence, they ended up targeting the commoners and were convinced that the commoners knew something but were not revealing it. Plus, it didn’t help that the commoners were in the favor of the three clans being exterminated either. The remaining clans of the merchant council had gone into hiding, with only Shantung and Jingming Shang staying in the opening. After the massacre, just as Lin Mu had guessed, the blame had fallen upon none other than Gu Yao who was the supposed backer of Shantung. The other members, including Jingming Shang, were worried and asked Shantung to ask their backer if they had done this. Shantung had assured them that he would get to the bottom of it and that it would not be his backer that did this. On the surface, he appeared to be confident, but when Lin Mu and Jing Luo spied on him, they realize he was no less nervous than the others. The thing that troubled Shantung the most was the fact that his supposed backer had broken off all contact with him. He was not responding to his messages, no matter what channels they used. Plus, since they were mostly in the shadows since the start, Shantung could not openly ask for them either. Thus to preserve his face and authority, he made the other members believe that the backer was still there and that he was just waiting for their response. As two, three, and four days passed, Shantung got more and more unsure about his backer’s intentions and now that an entire week had passed even he started doubting if it really was his backer who had done all this. It also didn’t help that the assassins he had sent to the Mu clan never reached there. He had even sent some scouts to keep an eye on the Mu clan, but the only news he got was that the Mu clan had sealed themselves up like the other clans as well. Plus, the day his assassins had disappeared and the massacre of the three clans had happened was on the same day. It left him no proper timeline to estimate who could be behind it. With Lin Mu and Jing Luo’s planning, it had made it so that now no one in the merchant council trusted each other. They doubted if it was any one of them that killed the three clans, but then they also knew the fact that none of the three clans had power like this. After all, even a Nascent Soul realm cultivator would end up causing quite a bit of commotion before being able to kill so many people. Plus, when the survivors of the three clans were questioned about how did they not see anything, they all said the same thing — it happened in an instant. With the effects of the severing heart sutra, the survivors saw everything normally one second, and in the next second; they were surrounded by dead bodies of their clansmen. It was like a terrifying nightmare that just wouldn’t end for them. "Here are the documents for the remaining businesses," Jingming Shang said, prompting Lin Mu to open his eyes. He had been sitting in the Mu clan and contemplating the events of the past week. Lin Mu took the documents and quickly read through them before handing them to Mu Tao who was sitting next to him. The young man took the documents with trembling hands and read through them before his eyes reddened. "Thank you senior Lin Mu, brother Jingming Shang." Mu Tao said with gratitude. "No need for that. This is just my end of the bargain. We still have a few more steps to go. How are the other clansmen doing?" Lin Mu replied. Mu Tao quickly rubbed his eyes and calmed himself. "With the businesses added from the Shu and Fei clan, we won’t really have a problem in supplies and our range of informants has greatly expanded. Also, with the resources senior Lin Mu provided along with the formation array made by Senior Jing Luo, the clansmen are progressing in their cultivation steadily. Three of them have already broken through to the Core condensation realm too and two more are at the peak of the Qi refining realm as of now. Uncle Mu Niu is also busy cultivating at this moment and has managed to break through to the Late stage of the core condensation realm." Mu Tao answered. "Mmm... I see." Lin Mu muttered. Gaining four Core condensation realm experts in a week was an astounding figure that even the top sects may not have always. In the Mu clan, half of the total people which was five, were at the core condensation realm now, leaving five more to catch up. "With the formation array, it shouldn’t be that difficult for everyone to enter the core condensation realm at the very least. But only after you get a Nascent Soul realm cultivator would the foundation of the clan stabilize." Lin Mu advised. "I’ll keep that in mind, senior." Mu Tao replied hurriedly. Lin Mu then turned to Jingming Shang before speaking. "What’s the status on the Fen clan, have you been able to establish contact?" Lin Mu questioned. "The Fen clan is still under lockdown and is not responding to any messages. Or rather, they simply can’t get through. I felt suspicious and went to check there myself, only to find out that they have activated an isolating barrier that also hides their clan itself. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞 I didn’t expect them to have something as high level as that." Jingming Shang answered.