Chapter 6

Inside the Jiang family ancestral hall, the elderly man kneeling there was the oldest senior of the Jiang family and also the patriarch of the Jiang clan.

Seeing the old man in the hemp robe arrive, the Jiang patriarch, leaning on his cane, rose shakily and greeted him with the respect due to a junior, a smile on his face: "Old Ancestor has emerged from seclusion two days earlier than planned. Have you already broken through to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage and advanced to the Soul Transformation stage?"

The old man in the hemp robe shook his head and said regretfully, "Advancing to the Soul Transformation stage is no easy feat. It's a pity that the blood sacrifice of those dozen infants did not greatly benefit my cultivation. It seems that to break through to the Soul Transformation stage, I cannot rely solely on the blood sacrifice of infants; I must seek other methods."

The regret in the Jiang patriarch's expression flashed and disappeared as he said, "Just now, one of the devotees reported that the parents of the missing children have been spreading the news throughout Qingcheng and even causing a commotion at the city lord's residence. This time, it will be hard to suppress the situation. It might be better for Old Ancestor to try a different method. We have stolen too many infants over the years, and people are already beginning to suspect us."

"Who?"

"A solitary cultivator named Yuan Wuxing. He has been trying to infiltrate our ancestral worship ceremonies for the past few years."

The old man in the hemp robe sneered, completely unconcerned: "It seems he has noticed the correlation between the frequency of our ancestral worship and the disappearance of children. A solitary cultivator, capturing him will be perfect for a blood sacrifice."

"Right. Since those ignorant and unruly parents of the missing children have been causing trouble, why not capture them and use them for a blood sacrifice as well, so they can be reunited with their children."

"Yes."

"How touching. Why don't you go down there and reunite with your parents?"

"Who?" The old man in the hemp robe turned around angrily, looking to see who had spoken insolently, while also rapidly retreating. He had not sensed anyone's approach.

To be able to evade his perception, one must either be a peak Nascent Soul cultivator skilled in concealment techniques or a Soul Transformation cultivator.

He consecutively cast several spells, all of which were dispelled by Jiang Li.

Without a word, Jiang Li struck the old man in the hemp robe with a slap, sending him flying onto the table where the memorial tablets were placed. The tablets scattered, and the old man's teeth were shattered.

"You!"

The old man in the hemp robe was greatly shocked. He could sense that Jiang Li was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, just like himself, but the other's movements were so fast that he could not react.

Jiang Li had experienced countless life-and-death battles, and his combat experience was vast. Even if he suppressed his cultivation to the Nascent Soul stage, or even the Golden Core stage, he could still easily defeat the old man in the hemp robe.

Jiang Li remained expressionless, silent, and continued the fight, pinning the old man to the table and pounding him with one punch after another, each punch heavier than the last. During this process, he even heard the system's notification.

"Congratulations, host, you have defeated Jiang Yixing. Newbie mission completed."

Hearing the system's notification, Jiang Li felt no joy and continued to beat Jiang Yixing with the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

He was afraid that using greater strength would kill Jiang Yixing outright.

The moment Jiang Li used his divine sense to scan the spatial node, he recognized the old man in the hemp robe as Jiang Yixing.

But he had changed his appearance, so Jiang Yixing did not recognize him as Jiang Li.

"Do you... know... who I am... I am the brother of... Jiang Renhuang... Jiang Li..."

Jiang Yixing spoke intermittently, his mouth leaking air because he had lost half his teeth.

"Is that so!"

"Brother of Jiang Renhuang!"

"What a great show of power!"

"Even Renhuang isn't as powerful as you!"

"Setting up a memorial tablet for yourself!"

"Do you know you deserve to die!"

"Or are you just pretending to be dead!"

Jiang Li's anger was overwhelming, his eyes bloodshot. With each word, he delivered a punch, continuing until Jiang Yixing was bleeding from all seven orifices and lost consciousness.

A few more punches would have killed him.

Jiang Li picked up the memorial tablet with Jiang Yixing's name on it and snorted coldly.

"Using the faith of ancestral worship to dissipate the resentment of the infants, clever."

Jiang Li dragged Jiang Yixing by the ankle out of the hall. As they passed the door, Jiang Yixing's head hit the door frame with a loud thud. The Jiang family members had already heard the commotion in the ancestral hall and rushed out to kill the intruder.

Except for a few, the Jiang family had long believed that Jiang Yixing was dead and did not recognize him. Therefore, when they attacked Jiang Li, they did not avoid Jiang Yixing. A few attacks landed on him, but compared to Jiang Li's punches, these attacks were insignificant, and Jiang Yixing would not die from them.

Jiang Li easily blocked all the attacks with his free hand, knocking down those who attacked him.

"Senior, what are you doing?" Yuan Wuxing, who had followed behind, was startled by Jiang Li's actions. Directly overthrowing the Jiang family and capturing the culprit was something he had never even dared to imagine.

"What am I doing? The Great Zhou Dynasty is governed by law. Naturally, we should report to the authorities. Killing Jiang Yixing now would harm the national fortune of the Great Zhou Dynasty." Jiang Li said matter-of-factly.

"But, but the city lord and the Jiang family are in cahoots." Yuan Wuxing did not understand what Jiang Li was doing, only feeling that this Daoist had profound magical power and unpredictable actions.

"Isn't that perfect? Otherwise, how would we know how many people are willing to protect the Jiang family, whether it's the city lord, the governor, or someone even higher up..." Jiang Li smiled coldly.

Since the Zhou Emperor does not care, he, the Human Emperor, will take care of it!

Yuan Wuxing was overwhelmed with excitement. This was the rhythm of turning the world upside down!

"Go and call the parents of the missing children. Tell them that the culprit has been found and is being tried at the city lord's residence."

"Yes!"

...

The city lord of Qingcheng was surnamed Zeng. He believed his career had been exceptionally smooth. Starting as a minor official, he had been continuously favored by influential people, rising to the position of city lord of Qingcheng, a position many of his colleagues would kill to obtain. By aligning with the Jiang family, he had not directly met the Human Emperor, but aligning with the Jiang family was equivalent to aligning with the Human Emperor.

It was well-known that several former city lords of Qingcheng now held extremely high positions, with the highest being a governor, which he envied greatly.

As usual, the city lord was preparing to rest early. It was close to evening, and although it was not yet time to leave work, as the city lord, he could leave half an hour early without anyone saying anything.

Just as he was about to rest, one of his subordinates informed him that someone outside the gate had a major case to be adjudicated by the city lord.

The city lord was very unhappy. A major case meant it would take a while to resolve, delaying his departure time.

"Tell the person outside that I am out on business and to come back tomorrow."

"Lord, according to that person, he has captured the culprit who stole the children, none other than the deceased old patriarch of the Jiang family, Jiang Yixing. The old patriarch has been beaten into unconsciousness, and the public, upon hearing the news, has gathered, surrounding our gate."

"Ridiculous! Why didn't you say this earlier!" The city lord was greatly alarmed, kicking his subordinate who did not understand the gravity of the situation, and quickly tidied his clothes, sitting solemnly in the hall.

"Who is causing a commotion outside? Bring them in!" The city lord sat high in the hall, his expression stern and authoritative.

Jiang Li walked into the hall, carrying Jiang Yixing as if he were a chick. Beside him was Yuan Wuxing, who was both excited and nervous, and behind them were over a dozen weeping parents, kicking and cursing Jiang Yixing. Further back were the onlookers.

The laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty clearly stipulated that local officials should publicly adjudicate cases.

At this moment, the city lord deeply hated this law. Under the watchful eyes of the public, it would be difficult to protect the Jiang family.