Chapter 7

"Adult, I have a major case to report." Jiang Li placed Jiang Yixing on the ground and bowed to City Lord Zeng, as the Zhou Dynasty was enlightened and did not require kneeling.

"Speak."

"My name is Zhang Li, a native of Qingcheng, a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage. This is my companion, Yuan Wuxing, a cultivator at the Golden Core stage. We two heard that many infants have gone missing in Qingcheng in recent years, and since the Qingcheng authorities were understaffed, we conducted a private investigation. Finally, we caught the culprit."

Jiang Li paused and pointed to Jiang Yixing on the ground.

"The culprit is the Jiang family's patriarch, Jiang Yixing!"

The crowd outside the hall was instantly in an uproar.

The parents of the missing children, upon hearing this, burst into tears. If not for the guards restraining them, they would have rushed into the hall to demand Jiang Yixing's life. They had been informed by Yuan Wuxing that their children had been used in blood sacrifices.

"Zhang Li, you must not speak recklessly. The Jiang family has always been virtuous, and it has produced heroes like Jiang Renhuang. If you make baseless accusations, I will charge you with defamation," City Lord Zeng said calmly, but with a hint of threat.

"Of course, there is evidence. Why does the Jiang family frequently steal infants? Jiang Yixing has mediocre talent and barely reached the Golden Core stage. Therefore, he resorted to demonic methods, using the blood of infants to nourish his Nascent Soul, thereby breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage and extending his lifespan."

Jiang Li ignored City Lord Zeng's threat and calmly analyzed the situation.

"Am I correct, Jiang Yixing?" Jiang Li leaned down to look at the old but ruddy-faced Jiang Yixing, whose appearance was due to the absorption of infant blood.

"Who are you!" Jiang Yixing, lying on the ground, unable to move due to his injuries, was greatly shocked. Apart from those of his generation in Qingcheng, who would know about his mediocre talent and the difficulty he had in advancing to the Golden Core stage?

Jiang Li transmitted a message: "Using my name as a banner, don't you recognize me, cousin?"

Jiang Yixing's eyes widened, and in his pupils, he saw Jiang Li's changing appearance. He finally recognized the figure and expression of the person who had left home long ago.

Huge fear enveloped Jiang Yixing. If Jiang Li personally dealt with the Jiang family, there was no way he could survive. Even if the City Lord of Qingcheng protected him, it would be useless, let alone if the Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty were to intervene!

He tried to use all his strength to shout Jiang Li's name but was secretly knocked unconscious by Jiang Li's spell, not to wake for several days.

Hearing that Jiang Yixing practiced demonic cultivation, the onlookers began to whisper and discuss among themselves. The Jiang family's patriarch, the cousin of the great hero Jiang Renhuang, practicing demonic cultivation was a huge scandal. If this news spread, it would be a laughingstock for other dynasties, mocking their pride in the law and the lax governance of the birthplace of the great hero, where demonic cultivation ran rampant.

The Jiang family patriarch, leaning on a cane, slowly approached, and people automatically made way for him. Seeing the patriarch unconscious on the ground, he hurriedly checked and found that the patriarch was only injured and unconscious, with no damage to his foundation. He then said angrily to Jiang Li,

"You are saying that our patriarch used infants in his cultivation, and his body must be filled with the resentment of infants? Fine, go ahead and test it, but remember, if no infant resentment is found, you will pay the price for defaming the Jiang family and Qingcheng!"

The Jiang patriarch was referring to the standard method used on the Nine Continents to detect demonic cultivation. Demonic cultivation harms others for personal gain, so the body often contains resentment, especially for someone like Jiang Yixing, who had used hundreds of infants in his cultivation, with resentment that could reach the sky.

Jiang Li laughed lightly, "Patriarch Jiang, you must be getting old. Have you forgotten that you used the power of faith to dissipate the resentment in Jiang Yixing's body?"

The Jiang patriarch's face turned ashen when his thoughts were exposed.

The power of faith could dissipate resentment, a fact known to few. He didn't understand how Jiang Li knew this.

However, it was too late to think about this now. The most important thing was to suppress this matter as quickly as possible.

"Even if the resentment can be dissipated, the remains of the infants are still there. I accidentally discovered a spatial node where the remains of infants are piled up. I suggest the adults take a look."

"Your Honor, do not listen to this man's nonsense. He has only been in the city for a day and has never been to Qingcheng before. How could anyone discover a spatial node in just one day and claim it belongs to our Jiang family? This person must be sent by another family to defame us. Please, Your Honor, investigate clearly!"

The reason the Jiang patriarch arrived late was that he had sent people to secretly investigate Jiang Li's identity and handle the evidence. Unfortunately, it was too rushed, and they only found out that Jiang Li had just arrived in Qingcheng, and the spatial node had not been cleaned up yet.

"It is late, and this case is complex. To uncover the truth, we will adjourn and reconvene another day." City Lord Zeng glanced at the unconscious Jiang Yixing and the troublesome Jiang Li, fearing he might find another excuse. He continued, "Jiang Yixing will be temporarily imprisoned."

"Adjourn the court!"

...

After the court adjourned, City Lord Zeng no longer maintained his calm demeanor and hurried to the secret room with the Jiang patriarch to urgently discuss the matter.

"I told you to stop, but you didn't listen. Now look what has happened!" City Lord Zeng complained.

"What could I do? The patriarch insisted on doing it, and who could stop him?" The Jiang patriarch weakly countered, but lacked confidence.

"You told me that this matter was secretly approved by Jiang Renhuang," City Lord Zeng glanced at the Jiang patriarch.

"The patriarch insisted on doing it, and Jiang Renhuang reluctantly agreed," the Jiang patriarch quickly added.

"Can't you ask Jiang Renhuang to personally intervene and suppress this matter? If he were to act, even the Emperor would give him some face."

"It's difficult. Jiang Renhuang acts on a whim and comes and goes as he pleases. The Jiang family has no way to contact him." The Jiang patriarch actually wanted to say, "Where is Jiang Renhuang? If we could really contact him, would we have gone to such lengths to deceive one city lord after another?"

Of course, he couldn't say that.

"What do you suggest we do now?"

"Prepare for both outcomes. The patriarch is meticulous, and the only evidence is the spatial node where the infants were sacrificed. I have already sent people to handle it, but it's hard to say what these two might do. Yuan Wuxing is easy to deal with, timid and weak-willed, but Zhang Li is a tough opponent. I've never heard of him before, but his combat strength is extremely high. From the way he captured the patriarch, he could be considered the top expert in Qingcheng."

"Using force is not an option. I will personally visit him tonight and try to persuade them to leave. This matter concerns the reputation of Jiang Renhuang, and this person should not risk defaming him by forcibly accusing the patriarch."

"That's a good plan." City Lord Zeng stroked his beard and nodded. "But there is still one issue."

"What is it?"

"Who is Yuan Wuxing?"