On the city walls of Liang Province City.
Si Wuya stood by Jiang Aijian’s side.
Jiang Aijian stood with slouching shoulders, making him look lazy. “Your thinking of driving a wedge between them was brilliant. Grand shaman Bazir has died. Have your men ever sent you false information? After all, the hearts of men are easily swayed…”
“There can’t be false information… Did I tell you that I have only one source?” Si Wuya asked.
“…” Jiang Aijian gave him a thumbs-up.
Si Wuya had experienced many similar setbacks when he established Darknet many years ago. Naturally, he had devised his own countermeasures. With this, he was very confident in the precision of his information.
“However, Bazir’s death was slightly too sudden. No signs of him were left on the site. My men don’t have the ability to observe the past like the shamans,” Si Wuya said.
“What are you worried about?”
“First, I’m worried that my Second Senior Brother might be in trouble. At the same time, I don’t think there are many in this world who can harm my Second Senior Brother. Second, the longer this drags on, we’ll be at a disadvantage. Roulians worship the wolf king. Severing the lotus is beneficial to them,” Si Wuya said.
“We’ll deal with them when they come… There’s no need to fear them.”
As soon as Jiang Aijian finished speaking, a soldier shouted from the top of the city walls. “A flying chariot is approaching!”
Si Wuya turned around to look at the flying chariot. When he turned back, Jiang Aijian had already disappeared.
Jiang Aijian had already leaped off the city wall and vanished into the crowd below.
Si Wuya shook his head helplessly… He had witnessed Jiang Aijian’s skills firsthand during the time they spent together. He knew Jiang Aijian was someone who would try to avoid involving himself in matters that did not concern him.
When Si Wuya saw the long tail behind the flying chariot, he knew it was the Evil Sky Pavilion’s sky-splitting chariot. Therefore, he ordered, “Welcome the flying chariot.”
When the cloud-splitting chariot reached Liang Province City, the cultivators and civilians in the city looked up.
In the General’s Mansion, many cultivators took flight and formed a square formation in the air as they waited for the flying chariot to approach.
Some with keener eyesight recognized the cloud-splitting chariot right away. They exclaimed in surprise.
“Wonderful! It’s the Evil Sky Pavilion’s cloud-splitting chariot!”
“With the Evil Sky Pavilion looking after things in Liang Province, there’s nothing to worry about!”
The civilians leaped in joy.
In the past, nobody would imagine that the civilians would welcome the force from the Fiend Path. People knew now there were righteous people on the Fiend Path as well.
As Yu Zhenghai’s helper, Si Wuya knew what kind of sect Yu Zhenghai wanted to build. He had been instructing his members to keep the people close to their hearts. It was easy to conquer the country but difficult to defend it. Since they took over the Divine Capital, the Nether Sect had decided that it would no longer be the Nether Sect of the past.
…
Inside the General’s Mansion.
Lu Zhou took a seat as soon as he entered the General’s Mansion. He waved his hand dismissively when he saw the others were about to salute him. “No need.”
Si Wuya asked, “Master, I thought you were planning to look after things in the Divine Capital. What brings you to Liang Province?” In his opinion, there would not be a problem with him looking after Liang Province. Moreover, the Penglai Sect, the Blossom Faction, the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, the Fiend Temple, and other forces were stationed here as well.
Lu Zhou looked at Si Wuya and said, “I’ve read your letters. What’s the current situation in Liang Province?”
Si Wuya explained Liang Province’s circumstances to his master. Under his arrangements, Liang Province was making measured advances while maintaining a firm defense. He was exceptionally skilled at keeping spies out. Using his talent in research, he had assigned a unique number to everyone in Liang Province.
When Lu Zhou heard this, he was reminded about personal identification numbers in the modern world. ‘This disciple of mine can actually be compared to the Luo woman.’
After listening to his explanations, Lu Zhou nodded. Everything was stable. Karol had no opening to exploit.
Lu Zhou continued with another question. “Do your sources in Lou Lan know where Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai are?”
Si Wuya shook his head. “I’ve sent my men to search for them over the past few days… I’ve lost many of them in the process. For now, I haven’t got any clue.”
Pan Litian said, “I’ve crossed Heaven’s Moat before. On the northern side of the mountains, there’s a 100,000-foot-deep abyss about five miles to the west. Did you send your men there?”
Si Wuya nodded. “The abyss is in the territory of the Roulians. My men can’t investigate there easily… but I’ve sent some of them there. They’re heading north, skirting around Heaven’s Moat, to investigate it.”
When Lu Zhou heard this, he ordered, “Do all you can to search for Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai.”
“Yes, master!”
“Understood!”
With that, the Evil Sky Pavilion continued searching for Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai. They started their search from Great Yan toward the eastern side of Heaven’s Moat. They sent cultivators to sneak behind the Roulians. Then, they sent more cultivators to skirt around Heaven’s Moat due north and investigate things there.
…
Time passed by in the blink of an eye, before they knew it, a month had passed.
Throughout this month, the Evil Sky Pavilion used various methods and even employed various agents to infiltrate the enemy’s campground.
They had also sent cultivators to infiltrate Lou Lan’s ancient city and Rouli’s royal capital. They wanted to find information about Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain.
…
Inside the General’s Mansion.
Si Wuya and the other disciples lowered their heads. They dared not speak.
Lu Zhou stroked his beard as he studied them.
Throughout the past month, Pan Litian, Leng Luo, Duanmu Sheng, Mingshi Yin, Little Yuan’er, Conch, the Penglai Sect, the Ten Thousand Poison Sect, the Blossom Faction, the Fiend Sect, and the other cultivators did not manage to locate Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai at all. They did not even see the duo’s shadows.
The investigation had hit a wall.
After a long pause, Si Wuya was the first to break the silence. He said, “Master, I have something to say.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“We’ve searched the eastern and western sides of Heaven’s Moat, and we found nothing. The allied army of Rouli and Lou Lan is stationed to the east, but my agents reported that they didn’t see Eldest Senior Brother or Second Senior Brother. The ancient city of Lou Lan and Rouli’s royal capital are too far away. It’s not very convenient to transmit information over such distances. It’s also not efficient to travel back and forth even if we’re to send someone there. If something did happen to Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother, especially if they’re being hidden, I’m afraid we won’t be able to find them easily,” Si Wuya said.
“This isn’t like you…” Lu Zhou said. Was Si Wuya not very confident before?
Si Wuya fell to one knee and said, “I know I’m in the wrong, master! If I’d known, I’d have gone to fetch Second Senior Brother myself! I’m willing to accept any punishment!”
Jiang Aijian said, “Si Wuya can’t be blamed for this, Senior Ji. The people of Lou Lan are skilled in witchcraft. His agents are low-rank cultivators. The information they can obtain is limited. That Karol is also a slippery one. My own agents had been exposed in less than three days. They had to flee for their lives.”
They could not summon their avatars, but it was difficult for a Great Yan cultivator not to summon their avatars if they were attacked. This was even more true if they had weak cultivation bases.
Pan Litian wondered out loud, “Could they have fallen into the abyss?”
The others looked at Pan Litian at once.
Si Wuya said, “That’s possible. However, that abyss seems bottomless. Those who fall in there will die. Even Eight-leaf cultivators won’t recklessly jump in. Moreover, it’s in the territory of the Roulians. Our men can hardly get in.”
At this moment, Mingshi Yin said, “Master, I don’t think there’s anything they can do to Second Senior Brother and Eldest Senior Brother.”
“Go on.” Lu Zhou looked at Mingshi Yin, Old Fourth.
Mingshi Yin said, “You’ve all forgotten about Ji Liang.”
The others smiled, hopeful.
Under normal circumstances, their enemies should have had a hard time catching up to them since they had Ji Liang. However, it was strange that they had not returned.
“Ji Liang understands our speech. If it comes back, we can surely ask it about what happened,” Mingshi Yin said.
Lu Zhou nodded. Old Fourth never let him down.
Then, Lu Zhou tried to summon Ji Liang. He called out several times. However, there was no reply. Usually, a mount would acknowledge its master like how a weapon would acknowledge its owner. There would be a unique tie between mount and master.
Lu Zhou frowned slightly. He closed his eyes and moved his ears. He extended his power of hearing throughout Liang Province City.
Power of speech.
“Ji Liang.”
…
Meanwhile,
Ji Liang stopped halfway between Heaven’s Moat and the quagmire. It hovered in midair. It had been diligently traveling back and forth between Heaven’s Moat and the quagmire until it heard the call of its master.
Neigh!
Ji Liang looked up. It no longer headed for the quagmire. Instead, it turned back to Heaven’s Moat and sped toward Great Yan.
