Chapter 326: Chapter 190: Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion

This was the first time Yang Jing had suffered such a severe injury since he began his cultivation.

His hands were fine, completely unharmed thanks to the protection of the Great Cave True Thunder and Taixiao True Thunder. However, the residual force of the Blade Gang had left several gashes on his body, deep enough to expose bone.

If it weren’t for the boost from his Copper Head and Iron Arm Divine Technique and his cultivation of the True Yang Body, that residual force alone would have sliced him to pieces.

He didn’t need to get injured at all. But to make the Human Demon completely drop its guard, he held out a little longer before using Earth Escape to burrow underground for a surprise attack.

The Human Demon never expected that he also possessed a technique like Earth Escape.

Although this Human Demon’s Magical Power was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, its Nascent Soul Stage experience and methods made it the most difficult opponent Yang Jing had ever faced.

If not for the fact that most of Yang Jing’s techniques were highly effective against Celestial Demons, he really would have had no way to kill it.

Wisps of Blade Gang still clung to his wounds. Yang Jing used his Celestial True Gang to force them out from within his body. With a series of HISSES, they carved thin slash marks into the ground.

Once the Blade Gang was expelled, healing the injuries became much simpler. The Celestial True Gang itself possessed powerful healing properties, and Yang Jing took a few healing Spirit Pills as well.

The gruesome wounds immediately began to close and heal.

Instead of continuing to sit cross-legged to recover his Magical Power, Yang Jing stood up and put the Demon-Catching Tripod into his Storage Bag.

A moment later, a Dong Family Flying Boat arrived overhead.

"Minister Yang, please come aboard the Flying Boat!"

Dong Qingtao stood on the deck of the Flying Boat, waving vigorously at Yang Jing.

Seeing the traces of their battle left on the ground, he was astonished. ’Even a fight between Golden Core Cultivators would barely leave marks like these,’ he thought.

Yang Jing inspected the Flying Boat with his Grotto Dark Dharma Eye and Bright Qi Talent. Only after confirming there were no signs of the Array Formations on the vessel being activated did he use his Magical Power to lift the Mermaid’s corpse from the ground and fly onto the boat.

Thick Demonic Qi still lingered on the Mermaid’s corpse. Its hideous, bizarre appearance horrified the crew on the Flying Boat’s deck, causing them to retreat several steps.

"Young Master Xiji intended for us to come and assist you, Minister Yang. We never expected you to have already dealt with this Celestial Demon on your own."

Dong Qingtao curiously examined the phoenix head, its eyes seemingly unable to close in death.

"Have the people from the Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion arrived?" Yang Jing asked.

If this matter were left to the Dong Kingdom to handle internally, it would inevitably get caught in a vortex of exchanged favors. The major incident would likely be downplayed to a minor one, and the minor one to nothing at all. It would only benefit the Yicheng branch of the Dong Family for no reason.

Only with the intervention of the Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion could Dong Xixian’s guilt be set in stone, resulting in, at the very least, having his Magical Power crippled and being imprisoned for life.

Of course, Yang Jing wanted Dong Xixian dead. But killing a core disciple of the Pan City Dong Family with his Magical Power intact was an entirely different level of difficulty than killing a cripple whose Magical Power had been abolished and who was completely imprisoned.

Besides, for a chosen one like him, having his cultivation crippled and being stripped of all his privileges was already a form of torture.

Dong Qingtao hesitated for a moment. Young Master Dong Xiji wanted this matter to be handled internally by the Dong Family. But Yang Jing’s disciple, Iron Head, had insisted on notifying the Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion and had even sent a Token directly.

Yang Jing sat cross-legged on the deck, breathing in and out of spiritual energy to recover his Magical Power. The battle just now had consumed a great deal of it.

Back then, the man and the Demon had pursued and fled using Thunder Escape and Fire Escape, covering an immense distance in an instant.

Even the Flying Boat had to fly for nearly half an hour to return to Dock No. 7.

Dong Xiji’s knowledge was far beyond that of the Flying Boat’s crew. The moment he saw the hideous phoenix head, he recognized the Cultivation Technique the Human Demon practiced.

"The Nine Nether Ghost Car Scripture?!"

Only this Cultivation Technique could transform a human head into such a sinister, Demonic Qi-wreathed phoenix head.

"Precisely. This Demon was originally a Nascent Soul Human Demon that descended from beyond the heavens. Its Main Soul was suppressed by the Northern Army Governor, but a wisp of its Sub-Soul managed to escape."

Yang Jing glanced at Dong Xixian, who was bound in chains.

"A Human Demon?!"

Dong Xiji’s voice suddenly turned sharp. Colluding with a Demon Cultivator and colluding with a Human Demon were two completely different concepts; the latter was infinitely more severe.

"I didn’t know! When she contacted me, I had no idea she was a Human Demon!"

Dong Xixian struggled frantically. He knew that if the charge of colluding with a Human Demon was confirmed, not even his status as a direct descendant of a Nascent Soul would be enough to save him. His cultivation would be crippled.

Yang Jing planted a foot on his face.

"I’ll ask, you’ll answer."

Dong Xixian nodded repeatedly.

"How did this Human Demon first contact you?"

"It was the day I lost the Magical Combat to your disciple. I was planning to use some trick on your Profound Whale to vent my anger when this Mermaid’s voice suddenly appeared in my ear. She... she said she was a Maid of the West Sea Great Saint. The West Sea Great Saint had been injured by a Celestial Demon and was forced to possess a Profound Whale. She said that once the Profound Whale went out to sea, she would guide us to it."

"This Mermaid said that as long as we killed the West Sea Great Saint, she would lead us to the West Sea Great Saint’s Cave Mansion."

The Cave Mansion of a Nascent Soul Demon Saint held astonishing value; even a Nascent Soul True Monarch would be tempted. Moreover, the West Sea Great Saint had dominated a region of the sea for ages, and its wealth ranked among the top even for Nascent Soul beings.

Yang Jing chose to conduct the interrogation publicly because he knew the news that the Profound Whale was possessed by the West Sea Great Saint could no longer be concealed.

Even so, the members of the Dong Family standing by were stunned speechless when they heard this shocking news.

The West Sea Great Saint had been famous for a long time and had a long lifespan. Its fearsome reputation had been passed down from their ancestors. To think that such a legendary figure was harmed by a Celestial Demon, and even its possessed body had died at the hands of their Dong Family?

Upon hearing about the West Sea Great Saint’s Cave Mansion, their faces filled with greed.

"What about the Great Saint’s Primordial Spirit? At its realm, if its Primordial Spirit escaped its body, none of you would have been able to stop it," Yang Jing asked coldly.

"The Mermaid said she would use a Secret Technique to bind the West Sea Great Saint’s Primordial Spirit within its physical body. But we didn’t expect the West Sea Great Saint to be wary of her. Before we could complete our encirclement, it suddenly attacked, killing my clan uncle and dodging the Secret Technique she used," Dong Xixian said, feigning honesty.

Yang Jing sneered.

"Do you take me for a fool? Your Dong Family enslaves Merfolk to weave Jue Sha; their status is as low as it gets. And at that moment, a Mermaid claims to be the West Sea Great Saint’s Maid, with no proof whatsoever, and you believed her completely? Even the Golden Cores in your clan believed her?"

"I suspect it revealed its identity as a Celestial Demon from the very beginning to win your trust. The agreement was probably that it would take the West Sea Great Saint’s Primordial Spirit, while all of the Great Saint’s treasures would go to you. Only then would you mobilize several Flying Boats and multiple Golden Cores at once to take it down."

Dong Xixian looked at Yang Jing with disbelief.

Although Yang Jing knew about half of what he said was a lie, he let out a slow breath at the thought that the West Sea Great Saint’s Divine Soul had most likely escaped.

The matter of the Celestial Demon was of great importance. Before long, two Golden Core Cultivators from the Yicheng branch arrived at once. They had originally intended to take Dong Xixian away directly and prevent the Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion from getting involved. But upon hearing that a Nascent Soul Realm Human Demon and the West Sea Great Saint were implicated, they immediately dared not act on their own authority.

An incident of this tier was something a few mere Golden Cores like them could not possibly handle.

Soon after, the Quwo Dong Family and the Pan City Dong Family learned of the events at Dock No. 7. The Pan City Dong Family even considered forcing their way in to take Dong Xixian and that Demon King. They were stopped by the combined efforts of the Quwo and Yicheng Dong Families. Only after realizing the severity of the situation did they freeze, at a loss for what to do.

The Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion was farther away from the Dong Kingdom. They had to wait for more than seven hours until two Flying Boats finally arrived at Dock No. 7 in the early morning of the next day.

The newcomers were two Golden Cores from the Six Sects.

When the two Golden Cores heard that the matter involved a Human Demon and the West Sea Great Saint, they were utterly horrified. Their thoughts went much further.

Although the West Sea Great Saint was a Demon, it had no desire for expansion, nor would it lead its demon hordes to invade the land. With the West Sea Great Saint’s Demon Country serving as a barrier overseas, the sea between the Eastern Domain and the Northern Domain had remained relatively calm, at least keeping the intensity of conflicts at the Golden Core tier.

Once news of the West Sea Great Saint’s death spread, other Demon Saints would probably rush to occupy the now-vacant territory.

As for the Human Demon, that was an even more serious matter that couldn’t be taken lightly. It had the potential to overthrow an entire nation.

The two Golden Core Cultivators from the Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion properly sealed and stored the corpse of the Mermaid that had been possessed by the Human Demon. In the hands of a Cultivator specializing in autopsies, this body could reveal a great deal of useful information.

"You must be Yang Jing from the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion. A young talent indeed."

A Golden Core Cultivator wearing a hemp Daoist Robe with his hair in a Daoist Bun spoke to Yang Jing in a friendly manner. Because of the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion’s Seven Nations Ticket Shop, very few people in the other four Governor’s Mansions didn’t know of Yang Jing.

Their Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion had also considered opening a Ticket Shop, but the idea was suppressed by the Six Sects.

"Greetings, Master."

Yang Jing bowed respectfully.

"I am Supreme Profound Upper Yang Yu Xing Dao. Meng Feixiong is my senior martial brother. You can just call me Junior Martial Uncle Yu."

Yu Xingdao said with a smile.

He then asked Yang Jing for more details.

Although Yang Jing acted a bit closer to Yu Xingdao, he still didn’t reveal everything, let alone mention that the Human Demon’s remnant soul was trapped in his Demon-Catching Tripod.

"This battle was perilous. Nephew Yang, you were very lucky to take down this Human Demon. You must not be so reckless in the future. A Human Demon’s methods are bizarre and far beyond those of an ordinary Demon Cultivator. What’s more, this Human Demon cultivated the Nine Nether Ghost Car Scripture, so its status in the Eastern Demon Sect is definitely not low."

Yu Xingdao shook his head.

"It’s a good thing nothing happened to you. Otherwise, our Six Sects would have lost a great talent."

Yang Jing cupped his hands respectfully.

"This disciple was reckless."

Yu Xingdao nodded in satisfaction.

"This matter is of great importance and involves the Dong Family. We have already notified the Governor. You are a disciple of our Six Sects, after all, and you personally slew this Human Demon’s remnant soul. When the time comes, the Governor will just ask a few questions, and you’ll be fine."