248: wake

“What good news?!”

The Jin Prince asked in a deep voice, putting down the book in his hand, on which five large characters were written—"The Demise of a Dynasty."

“Chu Jiang seems to have died in the Tai Xuan Secret Realm!” his subordinate strategist respectfully said.

“What do you mean ‘seems to’? Dead is dead, alive is alive. This Prince wants confirmed news, not groundless rumors!”

The Jin Prince’s voice turned cold.

“The key to this matter isn’t whether Chu Jiang is dead or not, but the established reality of his disappearance. We can use him to our advantage!” The strategist revealed a wicked smile, gesturing casually with his fingers.

“Oh, how so?!”

The Jin Prince became interested, motioning for him to continue.

“We can use this as an opportunity to halt the Yun Province Reform.”

The actions in Yun Province had displeased some of the Eight Great Families. Although it only involved a remote area, this trend could not be allowed to start; a single spark could ignite a prairie fire.

If the Yun Province Reform succeeded, it was highly likely to be implemented elsewhere.

This was what the people behind them were worried about.

The Jin Prince’s policy was to appease the Eight Great Families, proceed slowly, and emphasize the Dao of balance, making them stand on the side of the royal family.

In the Jin Prince’s view, Chu Jiang’s reform was disregarding the bigger picture. He should have just focused on being a good Yun Province Pacification Commissioner, and not meddle in things beyond slaying demons and monsters.

“But His Majesty gave him power and even ennobled him as a Marquis, so we couldn’t openly oppose him. But now our opportunity has come!”

“Because His Majesty only cared about Chu Jiang, now that Chu Jiang is dead, this remote place of Yun Province is no longer as important in his heart!”

“We will use the pretext that the current situation is unsuitable and submit a memorial to call for a halt!”

The strategist slowly said.

“Furthermore, your uncle also died at Chu Jiang’s hands. This is also something we can exploit.”

The Jin Prince was stunned for a moment and said, “My uncle died at Chu Jiang’s hands? Why do I have no recollection of this?”

If this strategist wasn’t his trusted confidant, he would have suspected he was cursing him.

“You forgot, you have a distant cousin in Si Province who was ennobled as Jing An Marquis!” the strategist reminded him.

“Do I?”

If the Jin Prince’s relatives were truly counted, there would be thousands of them. He didn't have time to remember those insignificant small figures.

Only those who had entered the Transcendent Realm could barely appear in his sight.

The Jin Prince thought for a long time but couldn’t recall who this Jing An Marquis was, or how he was related to him. It was probably a very distant connection.

Although this cousin, whom he had never met, did not have a deep relationship with him.

Chu Jiang’s actions were undoubtedly a slight to his Face. Everyone knew he was a relative of the Jin Prince, yet he dared to kill him—it was simply lawless.

When members of the royal family committed mistakes, the royal family itself would personally judge them. When was it ever the turn of outsiders to interfere?

“That old fellow’s blade has started biting indiscriminately, even cutting down his own people. He will suffer the consequences sooner or later. He truly is senile.”

The Jin Prince said in a deep voice, the Great Chu Dynasty could not be destroyed in the hands of that old fellow. Only if he inherited the throne could he turn the tide.

“Submit the memorial now. Since the Yun Province Pacification Commissioner is missing, replace him and let the reform be shelved.”

When he ascended the throne, he would choose an opportune time for reform, but not now.

“Jin Prince, we cannot be the first to stick our necks out. Let’s wait and see, let the Yan Prince and the others take the lead, and we can follow suit much later.”

The strategist quickly stopped him. No matter how much Chu Jiang displeased them at the moment, he had publicly achieved merits for the Dynasty.

To remove him from office just a few days after his disappearance would make them appear intolerant.

“What you said makes sense. Let my several younger brothers charge forward, and we will fan the flames from behind!”

The Jin Prince laughed heartily.

However, the other princely estates were just as cunning; no one wanted to fire the first shot, and no one wanted to be the main attacker.

There were even discussions about sending experts from the court to rescue Chu Jiang, which infuriated the Jin Prince, causing him to smash cups for amusement in his estate every day.

Great Chu Calendar, 5124, September.

Heaven-Grade Demon Suppression Envoy, Feng Mingxi Mountain, under imperial decree, rushed to Yun Province to investigate Chu Jiang’s situation. If he was still alive, she was to rescue him.

Result:

Feng Mingxi Mountain forcibly opened the Tai Xuan Secret Realm, searched for three days and three nights, but found nothing. Afterward, she patrolled the Western Seven Provinces for a month, slaying several of the most prominent demon lords, and then departed.

In October, the news of Chu Jiang’s demise was widely spread. Some sighed in regret, some rejoiced, and some grieved. Those who hated him laughed, those who missed him grieved.

Mid-month, Fu Yunxuan temporarily took command of all departments of the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division. Various forces mocked, sending a mere girl to be the spokesperson.

The Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division was destined to decline.

In November, Icefire Valley and Golden Serpent Valley led their respective strong cultivators to the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division, demanding the return of their valley masters and a large amount of resources.

Furthermore, those who disliked Chu Jiang jumped out, joining the army of the two valleys. Thousands of people claimed they had been robbed by Chu Jiang and suffered heavy losses, demanding compensation from the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division.

In reality, they were all fishing in troubled waters.

Various major forces jointly pressured them, attempting to make the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division yield.

Fu Yunxuan led Wang Chao, Ma Han, and Zhao Hu to set up a killing formation in advance on Black Wind Mountain in Yun Province, inviting various major forces to discuss compensation matters.

On the day of compensation, blood flowed like rivers on Black Wind Mountain.

Her poison cultivation was terrifying; even Divine Power Realm cultivators who came into contact with it would die a miserable death. She alone slew eight Divine Power Realm cultivators.

The xuan ranking was updated, and she was ranked ninth.

Thereafter, no one dared to invade Yun Province.

Although Chu Jiang was dead, his subordinates were all formidable.

In December, the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division expanded its army to ten thousand. Relying on the resources left by Chu Jiang and the Heaven And Earth Treasure from the Secret Realm, over a hundred Grandmasters made a Breakthrough, thirty Great Grandmasters made a Breakthrough, and the number of Beyond Mortal cultivators exceeded ten.

Some aristocratic families from other provinces attempted to incite the populace to resist Yun Province’s reforms, deliberately causing trouble. The unrest spread across several counties but was swiftly suppressed.

The masterminds behind it were pursued for thousands of miles.

In January of the following year, a mysterious strong cultivator appeared in the Western Seven Provinces. His Divine Might was unparalleled, his Divine Power was at the tenth level, and he was called the Black Dragon King. He swept through the xuan ranking, taking the fourth position.

In March, the Chu Emperor entered secluded cultivation and announced that the Jin Prince would serve as Supervisor, astonishing the world.

The Jin Prince wanted to send people to take over Yun Province, but was refused by the Royal Capital Demon Suppression Division. Later, under the pretext of supervising the reform, the Yun Province Reform Division was established, with the Jin Prince’s people appointed as chief officials.

...

Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division.

To outsiders, Chu Jiang was already dead, but only those in the Demon Suppression Division knew otherwise.

Chu Jiang was only temporarily trapped. He had brought unprecedented glory to the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division, and its strength had increased by dozens of times.

And this, it only took a few months.

He had already become the faith of the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division. That fearless Aura was the will that the Demon Suppression Division should possess; Chu Jiang had awakened them.

At this moment, inside the Demon Suppression Hall.

A woman stood with her hands clasped. She had short hair, was full of heroic spirit, and her appearance was exceptionally beautiful. After the Fusion with the Calamity Poison Body, her temperament had undergone a profound change.

Her entire being became even colder.

To maintain the situation, she could only imitate her lord’s actions to deter enemies.

The lord once said:

In a chaotic world, only by stopping killing with killing can peace be achieved.

Weakness will only lead to bullying.

At this moment, she looked in the direction of the Tai Xuan Secret Realm, where a figure was both clear and blurry.

“It’s been about half a year, hasn’t it? Lord, haven’t you left yet?”

She knew that Chu Jiang was not dead. Although the soul jade he left was initially dim, it became brighter and brighter afterward, clearly indicating he was still alive.

...

Tai Xuan Secret Realm, third layer, within the deep pit of the Enan Forbidden Land.

A figure lay there.

Time flew like an arrow; the former Forbidden Ground was now overgrown with weeds, as if speaking of the mercilessness of time.

Suddenly, a pair of eyes quietly opened, like a Dragon’s roar and a tiger’s gaze, bursting forth with brilliant light...