Chapter 275 - 136: Aunt Shui: Xiaojiang, from now on, you’re my person.

Chapter 275: Chapter 136: Aunt Shui: Xiaojiang, from now on, you’re my person.

After laying out the plan to repel the Demon Army, Tian Wenjing dismissed the others, asking only Jiang Mu to stay behind.

"What exactly is the situation over at Meiruo Temple?"

As a veteran of the official court, Tian Wenjing had already sensed that something was amiss from Xu Fu’s report.

Jiang Mu’s mind was still chewing on that bizarre dream. Hearing the question, he collected himself and replied with a mix of truth and fiction:

"The demon infestation has indeed been dealt with. Those seductive Tree Demons were merely pawns being manipulated by someone."

"Behind them is a mastermind, codenamed ’Black Mountain.’ He was the one who used an incense-powered restriction to force those Demons to slaughter the common people and harvest their hearts for some kind of ritual refinement."

"Black Mountain?"

Tian Wenjing’s brow furrowed. He picked up his teacup and gently nudged the floating leaves with its lid. "Is he a Demon? Or a Demon Cultivator?"

"Not a Demon."

Jiang Mu shook his head, his gaze distant.

"He’s human. Moreover, he possesses an extremely pure form of mortal Incense and Candle Power. His Cultivation Level is unfathomable, conservatively estimated to be around the Eleventh Realm."

"Furthermore, I infiltrated an altar he had set up and discovered that the Dao Foundation of his Grotto Heaven Dao Mansion was built using a Life Chart Divine Object—the [Buddha Lamp Fire] from the sixty Jiazi cycles."

"What did you say?!"

Tian Wenjing shot up from his chair.

He stared intently at Jiang Mu, his face a mask of shock and disbelief. "Eleventh Realm? Buddha Lamp Fire? Are you sure?"

Jiang Mu met his gaze and nodded calmly.

"This is the conclusion I reached after a thorough investigation. Whether you believe it or not, Elder Tian, is for you to decide."

Tian Wenjing stood frozen in place, his chest heaving violently.

He knew all too well what this meant.

Eleventh Realm Great Cultivators could be counted on one hand in the Great Qing Dynasty.

And to possess orthodox mortal Incense and Candle Power was an even greater symbol of status.

This meant the mastermind was no heretic or deviant, but... a Garrison Envoy!

A long, deathly silence fell over the hall. The air seemed to freeze.

After a long while, Tian Wenjing slowly sank back into his chair. The wrinkles on his face seemed to have deepened, and his voice was somewhat hoarse.

"You... already have a suspect in mind, don’t you?"

Jiang Mu didn’t shy away, stating frankly:

"That’s right. I suspect that the Garrison Envoy of Yan City, Yuan Qianfan, is ’Black Mountain.’"

Tian Wenjing jolted.

Even though he had anticipated it, the impact of hearing Jiang Mu say the name aloud was still suffocating.

The Garrison Envoy of a city is the Guardian Deity of its people.

A cornerstone of the Great Qing’s national fortune.

If even a Garrison Envoy had degenerated into a fiend who refined demonic arts with human hearts, then the situation in Yan City... was even more horrifying.

Regardless of Tian Wenjing’s mental state, Jiang Mu pressed on:

"Elder Tian, I want to confirm one last thing. The Garrison Envoy of Yan City, Yuan Qianfan—is his Life Chart Divine Object actually the Buddha Lamp Fire?"

Tian Wenjing’s expression flickered, and he finally let out a long sigh, saying bitterly:

"Among all the Garrison Envoys in the provinces of Great Qing, the minimum Cultivation Level is the Tenth Realm. Only four have reached the Eleventh Realm or higher.

Yuan Qianfan is one of them.

He was born in the year of Yi Si.

Yi is Wood, Si is Fire. Wood and Fire are mutually generative. His Life Chart’s Melodic Inscription is indeed [Buddha Lamp Fire].

So... the Life Chart Divine Object he used to forge his Dao Foundation could indeed only be that."

Jiang Mu sighed inwardly.

’The chain of evidence isn’t complete, but the direction it points is crystal clear. It’s most likely him.’

But Jiang Mu couldn’t figure it out. ’What is he after?’

’Yuan Qianfan is the honored Garrison Envoy of a city, enfeoffed by the Court, enjoying the incense of the masses. His status is revered, his future limitless.’

’What could possibly drive him to secretly practice these dark, forbidden arts?’

’Is it for a breakthrough? To attain a higher Star Position?’

’After all, the hierarchy of Star Positions is rigid. The higher the realm, the harder the breakthrough. It’s enough to drive a person mad.’

’The turmoil caused by the appearance of the Ziwei Emperor Star is still a fresh memory.’

’Even a Heroic Ruler of the Thirteenth Realm like Beitang Batian was cornered in the end, reduced to a remnant soul possessing a woman’s body.’

’Yuan Qianfan has been stuck at the Eleventh Realm for many years. If his greed caused him to stray from the proper path, it would be understandable.’

’Or... is it to heal an injury?’

Jiang Mu voiced his speculation.

"Healing is unlikely."

Tian Wenjing said gravely, "According to the top-secret records at the Demon-slaying Bureau headquarters, before the rebellion in Yan City, Yuan Qianfan did indeed fight an invading Great Demon and was injured.

But in his report to the Court, he stated that his injuries were not severe—nothing like General Shangguan’s, which damaged the very root of his Dao Foundation.

With his Eleventh Realm Cultivation Level and the resources granted by the Court, ordinary injuries would not require resorting to such demonic methods."

Jiang Mu fell silent.

’Since it wasn’t to heal an injury, it was most likely for a breakthrough.’

’Perhaps he encountered an insurmountable bottleneck on the orthodox path, so he decided to take a dangerous shortcut, attempting to forge a new path with vile arts.’

’He was willing to use living human hearts as sacrifices and Demon Fiends as his pawns...’

’This cultivation world is truly full of madmen.’

"Elder Tian."

Jiang Mu looked up, his tone grave. "The situation is critical. A Demon Army of thirty thousand is pressing on our borders, and the Red Umbrella Sect is stirring up trouble from within.

Now, even the Garrison Envoy, who should be our stabilizing pillar, has become an uncontrollable factor.

This Yan City... how are we to defend it?"

Tian Wenjing stood up and paced back and forth in the hall, hands clasped behind his back. His footsteps were heavy and erratic.

After quite some time, he stopped pacing, turned around, and his gaze regained its usual calm and sharpness:

"Even if ’Black Mountain’ really is Yuan Qianfan, it is absolutely impossible that he would collude with the Demon Army outside the city to coordinate an attack from both within and without.

If he truly had such intentions, Yan City would have fallen long ago. Why would he wait until today?

He is a Garrison Envoy, entrusted with an imperial mandate and deeply bound to the fate of the nation and the city. If he were to betray us and join the enemy, or simply stand by and watch the city fall, the first to suffer the backlash would be himself.