Chapter 258: Palace Murder, Who Dares to Resist?

Under the cover of night, snowflakes fell thick and fast. A streak of light was swiftly moving through the darkness—it was Gu Mo, flying on his sword.

Overall, the effect was excellent. Although he wobbled a few times at first due to his lack of sword-flying experience, his incredibly strong martial arts intuition quickly allowed him to control the flying sword, and his speed was many times faster than anticipated.

He had initially expected the journey to Jianbei City to take half an hour, but in fact, he reached the skies above Jianbei City in less time than it takes an incense stick to burn.

Protected by his Innate Protective Qi, he didn't have to worry about the effects of high-speed air currents. He even consulted a map while flying on his sword.

Jianbei City was easy to identify because of a tall mountain, hundreds of zhang high, just outside its walls. Gu Mo could clearly see it even from the sky.

Immediately, he quickly put away his map, then steered his flying sword into a rapid dive.

However, as the silhouette of Jianbei City appeared in his sight, a sudden bad premonition arose in Gu Mo's heart—there was no light whatsoever.

Even if it was a special period and resources were scarce throughout the city, it was unlikely that such a large city would be completely dark. Thinking back to the dead city scene in Sanchuan County, Gu Mo, who hadn't felt cold even at high altitudes, now felt a chill run down his spine.

The flying sword descended rapidly, soon approaching the city.

Gu Mo hovered seven or eight zhang above the ground. He immediately began flying through the city on his sword, simultaneously activating his full spiritual perception. He traversed over a dozen streets in a row; there was no one, or more accurately, not a single living thing. The entire city was covered in snow, but there were no traces of human presence.

“Another dead city!”

Gu Mo confirmed that Jianbei City had been massacred, just like Sanchuan County.

“The explanation of massacring the city for military provisions is completely overturned. This means such a large-scale slaughter definitely has another purpose… most likely for cultivating demonic arts… blood sacrifices, or something similar…”

Gu Mo recalled Tang Tianqi, whom he had encountered at the Tang family's residence in Zhushan County, Linjiang Commandery. Tang Tianqi had cultivated the evil Blood Cauldron Scripture and committed murders everywhere. Given Ye Nantian's level, if he were cultivating a demonic art involving blood sacrifices, it certainly wouldn't be comparable to the mere Blood Cauldron Scripture. The raw materials required for such a blood sacrifice would naturally also be incomparable.

Suddenly, a bold idea surged in Gu Mo’s mind.

“Jianbei City has been massacred; could it be… that the entire Jianbei Commandery has been slaughtered?”

Immediately, Gu Mo took out his map, aimed for the nearest county town, and then soared into the air on his flying sword, heading towards it.

In Sanchuan County, Gu Chudong and others were busy rescuing people from the county magistrate's residence, which had been ambushed.

The Qián Kingdom and Chǔ Kingdom delegations were small, each with only a dozen or so members, and all were masters. Their response to the sudden ambush was swift and powerful, so casualties were not particularly heavy: eight from the Qián delegation and seven from the Chǔ delegation survived. However, the Jiāng Kingdom's imperial envoy team suffered severe casualties; despite active rescue efforts, only a dozen people out of over a hundred survived, and several of those were severely wounded.

In a courtyard, Gu Chudong and Xiao Ziyin were working together to treat the wounded.

Gu Chudong’s true qi had strong healing effects, and Xiao Ziyin surprisingly possessed impressive medical skills, making their cooperation quite perfect.

Meanwhile, Zhuo Qingfeng and Ye Jinglan were quickly moving through the ruins.

Zhuo Qingfeng said, “According to the two captured survivors, their massacre of this city wasn't a direct, large-scale slaughter. Instead, they first took control of the county yamen. Under the pretense of arresting and executing Lifeless Cult members, they arrested people daily. During this process, they continuously replaced yamen officials and county soldiers. While oppressing the common people to the point of destitution, they secretly sent people disguised as Lifeless Cult members to continuously incite unrest, then staged scenes of apprehending and 'catching them in the act.'

"Finally, when the gentry and prominent families noticed the anomaly, the army entered the city for a full-scale massacre. With the county yamen and the Lifeless Cult army cooperating from inside and out, Sanchuan County, being so small, couldn't resist.

"But there's an unreasonable point: how did the army that massacred the city reach Sanchuan County without being detected by other county towns along the way? Once detected, if the Jianbei garrison was notified, a major battle would inevitably occur. Regardless of whether they could win, the matter would certainly escalate, and news wouldn't be completely suppressed. The Jianbei garrison has six to seven thousand troops!”

Ye Jinglan frowned and said, “This matter indeed seems very strange.”

As they spoke, the two continued forward until they reached a refugee camp.

When they entered the refugee camp, they saw rows of separated bodies hanging, a gruesome sight like a slaughterhouse.

Both were experienced individuals, yet witnessing this scene sent shivers down their spines. It was undeniably a slaughterhouse, only instead of livestock, living human beings were butchered here.

Zhuo Qingfeng and Ye Jinglan both suppressed their discomfort and walked through the camp for a while. But the further they went, the more nauseated they felt. They could see intestines, hearts, lungs, heads, ears, and so on, all neatly separated and laid out…

Finally, neither could bear it any longer. They ran out, gasping for air.

Looking back at the refugee camp, it felt as if they were staring into the entrance of hell.

“There should be no survivors,” Ye Jinglan said. “The entire city was massacred without a single leak of information; it’s impossible for a mere few hundred refugees to cause any slip-up or leave any survivors.”

Zhuo Qingfeng nodded. “I've often seen accounts of battles where human flesh was used as provisions when reading historical records. But back then, those were just a few words on a page; I never truly contemplated the horror within!”

Ye Jinglan said in a deep voice, “Without seeing it, it truly is unimaginable!”

Zhuo Qingfeng squatted on the ground, breathing heavily. Suddenly, he looked up abruptly and said, “Hey, Brother Ye, have you noticed something strange? Although there are many bodies, there's very little blood!”

Ye Jinglan said, “It must have been cleaned!”

“No, no,” Zhuo Qingfeng said. “If it had been cleaned, the smell of blood wouldn't fade so quickly. Also, with how cold it is now, if the ground had been cleaned, it would quickly freeze over, but we didn't see any widespread ice just now. So, the place where they killed people and the place where they dismembered the bodies must not be the same. Why go to all that extra trouble?”

Ye Jinglan said, “We’ll find out by asking.”

Immediately, the two used their Qinggong to swiftly return to the team's current encampment, a courtyard that had not been affected by the battle.

At this time, the courtyard was quite chaotic.

This was because some people were guarding the captured survivors, while others were assisting Gu Chudong and Xiao Ziyin in rescuing and treating the wounded.

Zhuo Qingfeng and Ye Jinglan went to a small house where a person was bound with iron chains. It was Song Yi, who had previously impersonated Sanchuan County's magistrate. (However, the real Song Yi was the magistrate; this person was an imposter from the Moon Worship Cult.)

Upon hearing Zhuo Qingfeng’s question, "Song Yi" immediately replied, "The reason the killing place and the butchering place are separate is twofold. First, for easy cleaning: a dedicated drainage area was set up for bleeding, so the blood would flow directly away and not spill everywhere. We killed hundreds, even thousands, of people every day for many days. If we had just killed them indiscriminately, the refugee camp would have been awash in blood, which would certainly alarm those who came later.

"Second, for preservation: only meat from which all blood has been drained can be successfully cured later for long-term storage. If the blood isn't drained, the meat won't preserve well."

Zhuo Qingfeng said in a deep voice, “How twisted!”

"Song Yi" sneered, "Those who achieve great things don't fuss over minor details. Go look at history books; during times of war, how often has human flesh been used as military provisions?"

Zhuo Qingfeng was not in the mood to argue and immediately walked out.

Just as he stepped out, he saw a streak of light soaring through the sky, like a falling meteor. As it drew closer, he could clearly make out Gu Mo, flying on his sword.

Watching Gu Mo arrive by sword, Zhuo Qingfeng couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.

“Brother Gu, you’re back so soon!” Zhuo Qingfeng greeted him.

Gu Mo descended steadily on his flying sword, drifting to the ground. He took a step forward, and the Supreme Void Sword drew a white arc behind him, hovering beside him.

“What’s the situation in Jianbei City?” Zhuo Qingfeng asked.

Gu Mo’s expression was grim. “It was massacred.”

“What?!” Zhuo Qingfeng exclaimed in shock. “Jianbei City was massacred? How could this happen? Sanchuan County is a small county town with only twenty or thirty thousand people, so a massacre there might be understandable. But Jianbei City is a commandery capital, with over a hundred thousand people!”

“It’s not just Jianbei City!” Gu Mo said. “I just visited several other county towns; without exception, they have all become dead cities!”

Zhuo Qingfeng’s pupils widened, speechless for a moment. Then he quickly ran out, shouting, “Brother Ye, Imperial Princess…”

Soon after, Ye Jinglan, Xiao Ziyin, Zhang Yuankang, Gu Mo, Zhuo Qingfeng, and others all gathered.

Upon learning from Gu Mo that the entire Jianbei Commandery had been massacred, everyone was in disbelief.

“This is impossible!”

Zhang Yuankang said, “When we departed the capital some time ago, the inspection team had just returned to report on Jianbei Commandery’s situation, and no one mentioned a massacre. Surely, hundreds of thousands of people in Jianbei Commandery couldn't have been slaughtered in just over ten days!”

Zhuo Qingfeng’s pupils contracted slightly. “The entire Jianbei Commandery has over 400,000 people, spread across various county towns. To slaughter all of them in just over ten days and still keep the news so tightly sealed is simply impossible. It must have been a gradual process.

"However, the inspection team returned to the capital just over ten days ago; it's impossible they wouldn't have noticed anything abnormal. Therefore, the inspection team must have been bribed and reported false information. Furthermore, even if the Moon Worship Cult’s power is strong, they haven't sent a large number of people to Jianbei Commandery. The massacre must have been initiated by the Lifeless Cult on the spur of the moment.

"However, no matter how quickly the Lifeless Cult has developed, they wouldn’t have the capability to completely seal off news and carry out such a widespread massacre. This implies official cover-up, either from the military or the Censorate, which regularly inspects local areas. Moreover, such a massive massacre would first have to contend with the Jianbei Commandery garrison!”

Gu Mo said, “I went to see the Jianbei Commandery garrison camp; it was empty, deserted. To be precise, in Jianbei Commandery now, there are almost no living people in the cities and areas near them, except for some remote rural areas. And even if there are survivors, it would be extremely difficult for them to live in this icy wilderness, let alone get out to report what happened.”

Zhuo Qingfeng said gravely, “This snow disaster was the perfect cover for the massacre!”

Zhang Yuankang collapsed onto the ground, trembling all over. He mumbled, “Over 400,000… over 400,000 lives… This… even if they all stood there without resisting, it would take a very long time to kill them all… It’s only been half a year since the snow disaster began… Does this mean… Jianbei Commandery has been massacred for half a year, and the imperial court… has had no news at all… That’s hundreds of thousands of lives…”

Xiao Ziyin, Zhuo Qingfeng, and Ye Jinglan all looked at Zhang Yuankang, and their hearts were filled with emotion.

They were high-ranking officials from the Chǔ and Qián Kingdoms, two major powers of the era, and highly perceptive regarding government affairs. From the moment they arrived in the Jiāng Kingdom’s capital, they could clearly sense the corruption within the Jiāng imperial court. After all, the Jianbei Commandery snow disaster was a nationally known event, yet the court had only arranged for one distribution of disaster relief grain before ending the operation, which was even intercepted by the Lifeless Cult midway. After that, they had discussed specific relief measures for several months without reaching a decision.

However, corrupt as it was, they hadn't expected it to be rotten to this extent.

Zhuo Qingfeng said gravely, “At present, I fear we won't find anything by staying here. We can neither locate Ye Nantian nor uncover concrete clues. We can only return to the capital first, starting our investigation with the Jiāng Kingdom’s imperial court, and also ensuring the Jiāng imperial court is aware of the situation here.”

Xiao Ziyin said, “We do need to return to the capital, but my biggest question right now is, what is the Lifeless Cult doing by killing so many people? If only Sanchuan County had been massacred, then the Moon Worship Cult's claim of using human flesh for military provisions and plotting rebellion might be plausible. But now, no rebellion has been launched, yet everyone has been killed. What exactly do they want?”

Gu Mo said gravely, “My guess is they’re most likely performing blood sacrifices or similar rituals to cultivate some demonic art. Especially for someone of Ye Nantian’s caliber, the demonic art he cultivates must be extraordinary!”

Zhuo Qingfeng immediately said, “Brother Gu, now that you mention it, I did notice something strange: the Lifeless Cult separates the killing from the butchering of bodies. Perhaps that’s where the key lies.”

“Let’s go take a look!” Gu Mo said.

Immediately, under Zhuo Qingfeng’s guidance, the group arrived at the refugee camp and quickly found the large building "Song Yi" had mentioned, which was used for bleeding out.

Inside, there were rows of uniformly high platforms, each with a large trough. They were still stained with blood.

The group followed the troughs and discovered that they all led to underground drainage channels.

“Pour water!” Gu Mo instructed.

Then, everyone poured water into the troughs as Gu Mo instructed, while Gu Mo, with his spiritual perception fully activated, silently sensed the flow of water in various directions.

“The channels below are starting to converge…”

Gu Mo could clearly perceive that after flowing deep underground, the water currents began to converge, eventually all flowing to the same location.

Gu Mo walked on the ground, eventually reaching a large building. He raised his fist and struck forcefully. The ground cracked and trembled, and soon, with a rumble, the ground collapsed, revealing an underground palace three zhang beneath the surface.

The several of them all held torches and flew down together.

The underground palace was simple, about three or four zhang in diameter, supported by several massive stone pillars. In the center was a large, dry pool, surrounded by several small openings—the convergence points of the drainage channels from above.

Zhuo Qingfeng squatted by the empty pool, lightly scraping the pool wall with his dagger. He then picked up some powder, examined it carefully, and said, “All that blood eventually flowed into this pool. The marks on these pool walls clearly come from prolonged immersion in blood.”

Zhuo Qingfeng sniffed carefully again and said, “There’s a smell of medicinal herbs in here. We can pretty much confirm it’s a blood sacrifice, as Brother Gu mentioned!”

Gu Mo looked around again and said, “The arrangement and furnishings in here are also significant; it’s a special formation.”

“Blood sacrifice! What kind of demonic art is this Ye Nantian cultivating?” Zhuo Qingfeng said gravely. “It seems now that every city in Jianbei Commandery probably has such blood sacrifice pools. Based on the current situation, this matter must be very covert. Even those Moon Worship Cult members, although involved, don't seem to know that the entire Jianbei Commandery has been massacred.”

“They definitely wouldn’t know,” Xiao Ziyin said. “Such matters are accomplished through secrecy. It’s even possible that not even the high-ranking members of the Moon Worship Cult know. It’s likely only Ye Nantian’s absolute confidants are helping to carry this out. Perhaps the pretexts for massacring cities in various places are all the same—stockpiling grain for war—and the local Moon Worship Cult members might think only they are massacring their cities!”

Ye Jinglan said in a deep voice, “What demonic art is this Ye Nantian actually cultivating?”

Xiao Ziyin suddenly spoke, “I’m afraid it’s not a demonic art, but a demonic Gu!”

Everyone looked at Xiao Ziyin.

Xiao Ziyin was silent for a moment, then looked at Gu Mo and said, “Hero Gu, when we left the Jiāng Kingdom’s capital, I told you about what happened before Jiang Ruoxu became a demon—how the people in the Jiāng imperial palace turned into fiends in human skin.”

Gu Mo nodded slightly. “Is it related to this?”

Xiao Ziyin said, “Actually, I know what those fiends in human skin are.”

“What are they?” Gu Chudong quickly asked.

Xiao Ziyin said, “It's a type of Gu, called the Undying Gu. 'Undying cycle, adversity turns to prosperity; blood replaces yarrow, fate shifts with trigrams. Borrowing those three lines, disrupting my heavenly secrets; heaven and earth inverted, sun and moon severed!'

"This Gu uses human blood as a catalyst and requires vast amounts of it. Once cultivated, the Gu Master becomes a being entirely composed of Gu worms. Beneath a normal person's skin is flesh and blood, but beneath the skin of an Undying Gu Master are Gu worms.

"Theoretically, as long as there's enough true qi, the Gu worms can be unlimited. And the reason it's called the Undying Gu is because to kill an Undying Gu Master, you must kill the Gu King. However, no one can pinpoint the Gu King's location, as it can control countless Gu worms to form many avatars. It can always operate using only avatars, and no matter how many times they die, new avatars can be created.

"That's why it was said that the people in the Jiāng imperial palace back then were fiends in human skin: they had all been controlled by the Undying Gu. There was a layer of skin on the outside, but inside were only Gu worms—they were all puppets of the Undying Gu Master!”

Ye Jinglan exclaimed in surprise, “What about their strength? Surely puppets can’t possess the Gu Master’s full power, can they?”

Xiao Ziyin shook his head. “It’s not that outrageous; they can only rely on the power the Gu Master stores within those Gu worms. It’s impossible for them to achieve the Gu Master’s full strength, as there’s only one Gu King. However, theoretically, if the Gu Master’s true qi is abundant enough, they can mass-produce puppets.”

After speaking, Xiao Ziyin looked at Gu Mo and said, “Hero Gu, looking at the situation in Jianbei Commandery now, I’m afraid Ye Nantian has refined this Undying Gu, which is very troublesome. Back then, it wasn't recorded who exactly infiltrated the Jiāng Kingdom’s capital and impersonated the emperor, but Jiang Ruoxu, in order to kill that person, half-massacred the Jiāng imperial city. Yet, even so, it's still unknown whether Jiang Ruoxu successfully killed the Undying Gu Master behind it all. Now, this Ye Nantian is using the lives of over 400,000 people from the entire Jianbei Commandery as a sacrifice; the realm of his Undying Gu is probably already superb. Killing this person will be very difficult.”

“No matter,” Gu Mo waved his hand. “Let’s find him first, then we’ll see!”

Xiao Ziyin nodded. “Then, we must first return to the Jiāng Kingdom’s capital and start the investigation through the imperial court’s Censorate!”

Zhuo Qingfeng said, “I suggest we travel light and fast. These matters should be handled sooner rather than later. If the entire team returns, along with the wounded, who knows how long that will take!”

Everyone agreed to Zhuo Qingfeng’s proposal.

So, Gu Mo, Gu Chudong, Ye Jinglan, Xiao Ziyin, and Zhuo Qingfeng—the five of them—set off first to return to the Jiāng Kingdom’s capital.

Among the five, even the weakest in cultivation, Zhuo Qingfeng, was a first-rate, or even top-tier, master in the martial world. Traveling at full speed, they were unaffected even by the icy wilderness of Jianbei Commandery.

Just after dawn, the five began their return journey.

In the imperial city, within the underground palace. The Jiāng Emperor once again sought out Ye Nantian.

“Gu Mo and the others have returned. I have received confirmed news that they are at the border of Shangchuan Commandery, heading towards the capital,” the Jiāng Emperor said.

Standing in the blood pool, Ye Nantian asked in surprise, “How so fast? Did they just reach Sanchuan County and then immediately return? Didn’t they go to other places to check the situation?”

“I’m not sure,” the Jiāng Emperor said. “I’m afraid they might have already checked, especially since, as far as I know, Gu Mo’s Qinggong is quite exceptional.”

Ye Nantian said, “No matter how good his Qinggong is, in such a short time, he could at most visit one or two nearby county towns.”

The Jiāng Emperor said, “That would be enough for them to deduce that the entire Jianbei Commandery has been massacred.”

“A deduction is just a deduction, after all,” Ye Nantian said. “They can only investigate through two places: the Censorate and the Ministry of War. You can just have the Censorate and Ministry of War create chaos and stall. First, they can claim disbelief and insist on sending people to verify. Then, they can engage in various forms of feigned compliance. Back and forth, time will pass, and my business will certainly be concluded by then. At that point, just hand over a couple of scapegoats, and I'll arrange for a decoy to show up near the One Hundred Thousand Mountains, and this matter will blow over.”

The Jiāng Emperor nodded. “That’s the only way. For now, I don’t wish to offend either Gu Mo or Xiao Ziyin.”

Ye Nantian chuckled, “Gu Mo is a bit easier to deal with; at most, he’s just a martial artist. Although his status in the Qián Kingdom is high, it can’t compare to Xiao Ziyin’s in the Chǔ Kingdom. However, Xiao Ziyin is easy to dismiss; just toss out a few people to confess their crimes, and she’ll have nothing to say. As for Gu Mo, I won’t even be in the Jiāng Kingdom by then, so what reason would he have to stay? As for the people of Jiāng, we can just issue a warrant for my arrest then—everything will be blamed on Ye Nantian’s evil deeds!”

On the morning of that day, Gu Mo and the others, covered in dust from their journey, finally arrived at the capital. A journey that had taken nearly ten days on the way there, they completed in just three days on their return to the Jiāng Kingdom’s capital. The group immediately entered the palace to have an audience with the Emperor.

When the Jiāng Emperor learned of the Jianbei Commandery massacre, he immediately sent messengers to summon all civil and military officials to court.

In the grand hall of the Jiāng Kingdom’s imperial palace.

All civil and military officials rushed to attend the court assembly. By the time most had arrived, it was already afternoon.

Everyone was puzzled, wondering why the Jiāng Emperor had suddenly called for a grand court assembly.

“Imperial Princess, please, you tell us the specific situation!” the Jiāng Emperor said to Xiao Ziyin.

Immediately, Xiao Ziyin stepped forward and said gravely, “Gentlemen, this princess recently traveled to Jianbei Commandery with your esteemed imperial envoy, and there witnessed a horrific event: hundreds of thousands of people in Jianbei Commandery were massacred…”

Then, Xiao Ziyin recounted Sanchuan County’s ordeal.

Finally, Xiao Ziyin asked, “As this princess understands, your esteemed Censorate dispatched an inspection team to Jianbei Commandery just over a month ago, and they returned twenty days ago. How is it that they did not discover Jianbei Commandery had been massacred?”

For a moment, the hall was in an uproar. Everyone was shocked by what Xiao Ziyin had said: hundreds of thousands of people in an entire commandery slaughtered, yet the imperial court had no news, and the local government and military had mysteriously disappeared. The whole affair sounded like a fantastical tale.

“Silence! Silence…” The Jiāng Emperor shouted repeatedly for a while before the hall, noisy as a marketplace, finally quieted down.

The Jiāng Emperor looked towards a middle-aged man in purple official robes in the hall. This man was Mu Linyun, the head of the Censorate, the Left Censor-in-Chief.

The Jiāng Emperor’s face was grim as he asked, “My esteemed Minister Mu, as the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, you are in charge of national oversight, impeaching officials, and inspecting various regions. How do you explain such a horrific event occurring in Jianbei Commandery?”

Mu Linyun quickly stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, allow your humble subject to explain.”

Then, he cupped his hands towards Xiao Ziyin and said, “Your Royal Highness, Imperial Princess, you are of noble birth and esteemed status. Your humble subject respects you and should not, nor would dare to, question you. However, what you just said truly defies logic.

"If you had merely stated that Sanchuan County was massacred, your humble subject would find it plausible. But you claim that the entire Jianbei Commandery was slaughtered? How is that possible? Jianbei Commandery has ten counties, over 400,000 people, a garrison of over six thousand troops, and over three thousand county soldiers combined. How could they all be silently massacred?”

Xiao Ziyin said gravely, “That is the truth. Do you think this princess came here to joke with you?”

Mu Linyun said coldly, “Is the Princess not joking? Your humble official just said that if only Sanchuan County had been massacred, I might still believe it to some extent. But what did Your Highness just say?

"You said someone can fly on a sword and cover all ten counties of Jianbei Commandery in one or two hours. Your Highness, have you read too many tales of the supernatural and become deluded? An immortal descended to earth? Delivering all living beings from suffering? Is Your Highness perhaps affected by the Lifeless Cult?”

“Presumptuous!” The Jiāng Emperor slammed the table and reprimanded, “Censor Lin, who permitted you to speak to the Imperial Princess in such a manner?”

Mu Linyun quickly cupped his hands in apology, saying, “My apologies, Your Highness. Your humble subject is straightforward and unyielding by nature. For years, I have monitored various regions for His Majesty, and I constantly encounter malicious individuals spreading nonsense around me. I have always resented such behavior.

"I am not saying Your Highness is speaking nonsense; it’s just that whenever your humble subject hears something strange or absurd, I tend to react with such vehemence. Your humble subject simply fears that Your Royal Highness has been deceived by some despicable individuals. After all, our two nations are allies, and there are always lowly individuals with ulterior motives who wish to sow discord!”

As soon as Mu Linyun uttered these words, Gu Chudong immediately became indignant and scolded, “What do you mean, you old fool? Are you saying my brother deceived Imperial Princess sister?”

“Is he not?”

Mu Linyun, looking utterly righteous, pointed at Gu Chudong and rebuked, “How absurd! Sword-flight, traversing Jianbei Commandery in one or two hours—what is this nonsense if not a despicable tactic employed by you Qián Kingdom people with ulterior motives? Are you not attempting to sow discord between our Jiāng and Chǔ Kingdoms, so you can reap the benefits?”

Mu Linyun spoke with conviction, his words resonant and forceful, compelling the entire Jiāng court, civil and military, to believe him. He then pointed at Gu Mo and furiously denounced him, “Others may fear you, Gu Mo, but I do not. What if your martial arts are unrivaled? What if you are the greatest under heaven? I, Mu Linyun, have lived my life for the nation and its people; why should I cherish this head? You, villain, attempting to sow discord in the Chǔ-Jiāng alliance and harm the common people of my Jiāng Kingdom—I, Mu Linyun, do not fear you! Even if you kill me today, I will expose your despicable true nature!”

In the grand hall, there was a deathly silence.

Gu Mo watched Mu Linyun, who was putting on a show of heroic self-sacrifice and fearless bravery, with a speechless expression.

He hadn't said a word, only returned out of good will to deliver a message to the Jiāng imperial court. Yet, with Mu Linyun’s theatrical performance, it was made to seem as if he were some heinous villain bullying the weak!

“No,” Gu Mo said with a bewildered look, “Why are you so agitated? Why don’t you just call the people you sent for inspection to confront us, and then send your own people to Jianbei Commandery to verify? Why are you putting on this act?”

Mu Linyun said coldly, “You despicable villain, do not dream of sowing discord in my Jiāng Kingdom or undermining the unity of our officials. Do you think your humble official doesn’t know what you’re planning? You just want to exploit the Imperial Princess, seize the opportunity to call a stag a horse, frame others, and disrupt the order of my Jiāng imperial court, don’t you? You can forget about it!”

Gu Mo frowned and said, “So, you’re saying that no matter what, you won’t admit that Jianbei Commandery was massacred? Even if hundreds of thousands of people died, you won’t allow anyone to investigate? As long as someone suggests investigating, even just verifying, you’ll conclude that I am undermining your Jiāng imperial court? Aren’t you completely insane?”

Mu Linyun angrily retorted, “You scoundrel, I’ve exposed and unmasked you, and now you’re feeling guilty and enraged, aren’t you? Hmph, with your paltry tricks, do you really think you can destabilize my Jiāng Kingdom’s imperial order? You’re practically showing complete disregard for my Jiāng imperial court!”

Gu Mo chuckled lightly and said, “You’re right. Honestly, if someone like you can be a high-ranking minister, then such an imperial court truly doesn’t deserve to be in my, Gu Mo’s, eyes!”

Mu Linyun was furious: “You scoundrel…”

“Slam!” Gu Mo slapped Mu Linyun across the face, knocking him to the ground. Instantly, Mu Linyun spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with several teeth.

Immediately, all the civil and military officials of the Jiāng Kingdom were stunned.

However, before anyone could react, Gu Mo kicked Mu Linyun in the stomach, sending him flying out of the grand hall and directly crashing onto the plaza outside the imperial palace.

“Gu Mo, how dare you harm a minister of my Jiāng Kingdom?”

“You dare commit violence in court, do you think our Jiāng Kingdom has no one?”

“Even if it costs us our lives, our Jiāng Kingdom will fight you!”

Gu Mo scoffed coldly, stomping his foot slightly, directly sending the clamoring Jiāng ministers stumbling back. He then said coldly, “Didn’t that insane fellow just question my sword-flight? Now, let me show you!”

Immediately, Gu Mo extended his hand, and the Supreme Void Sword flew out from Gu Chudong's book box, glided across the ground to Gu Mo's feet, and carried him out of the palace.

Immediately, the Jiāng civil and military ministers and the Jiāng Emperor hastily gave chase, only to see Gu Mo, standing on his flying sword, with one hand gripping Mu Linyun’s nape. In an instant, he soared into the void on his sword, transforming into a streak of light that shot straight into the clouds and vanished.

For a moment, the Jiāng Emperor and all the Jiāng civil and military officials were dumbfounded.

If he had only flown thirty or fifty zhang high, they could have forced an explanation, attributing it to peerless Qinggong. But flying directly into the clouds—there was no way to continue believing it was mere Qinggong; it was the legendary sword-flight of an immortal swordsman.

Not only were the Jiāng ministers utterly shocked, but even Ye Jinglan and others who had previously witnessed Gu Mo's sword-flight technique were still greatly astonished.

Amidst the fervent discussions of the many civil and military officials, a black speck suddenly appeared in the sky, steadily growing larger. Gradually, it became clear that it was a person falling from the sky—Mu Linyun, the very man Gu Mo had snatched and carried into the air.

“Ah!” Mu Linyun plummeted rapidly, letting out a scream. Then, with a loud *thud*, he struck the ground, directly splattering into a bloody, mangled mess. The ground tiles were shattered into pieces.

Subsequently, a streak of light descended—it was Gu Mo. With his hands clasped behind his back, his flying sword hovered in the air. He looked down upon the Jiāng civil and military officials and the Jiāng Emperor, and said in a calm tone, “Is there anyone else who doubts my sword-flight? I’ll let them experience it for free!”

Immediately, the assembled civil and military officials became as silent as cicadas in winter.

Gu Mo scanned the silent crowd of civil and military officials. Seeing no one speak, he continued, “I came to the Jiāng Kingdom for one purpose: to find Ye Nantian and kill him. And now, it’s very clear that someone in the Censorate or the Ministry of War is cooperating with Ye Nantian in massacring hundreds of thousands of people in Jianbei Commandery. I am now going to investigate.”

The Jiāng Emperor took a deep breath and asked, “How does Hero Gu intend to investigate?”

Gu Mo said gravely, “The Chǔ and Qián delegations will investigate. At the same time, I demand that the Jiāng imperial court assist in the investigation. Within one day, if you don't find the culprit, I will start killing. I will kill until you expose the traitors yourselves!”

Instantly, the civil and military officials erupted in an uproar.

The Jiāng Emperor’s face was grim. “What does Hero Gu mean by this? Is this a threat to my Jiāng Kingdom?”

“Yes, it is a threat.” Gu Mo pointed to the bloody mess that was Mu Linyun and said, “I hadn’t intended to resort to force, but this fellow actually cursed me to my face. I am very angry, and I am no longer in the mood to discuss rules with you.”

With that, Gu Mo slowly descended. The Jiāng civil and military officials instinctively recoiled in fright.

“By this time tomorrow, if the culprit hasn’t been found, I will begin killing.”

Having spoken, Gu Mo turned and left.

Xiao Ziyin, Ye Jinglan, and the others also followed Gu Mo out.

The Jiāng civil and military officials were left staring at each other, speechless.

Only the Jiāng Emperor, gazing at the bloody pulp, was filled with both regret and fury.