Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 321 Prince Jin is actually a member of the White Lotus Sect...

A cold wind howled, stirring up clouds of dust that obscured the moonlight.

A figure materialized from the ethereal, slowly solidifying. The moment it landed, it prostrated itself at the feet of the flying tiger avatar, its attitude humble, its eyes gleaming with fervor.
"Meet the master!"

It wore a green robe, was thin and withered, had indigo fingertips, sinister eyes, and exuded a cold aura like that of a snake or python.

The demon Qiao She!

He had a fortuitous opportunity in his lifetime and was incredibly powerful, but he couldn't even last two moves against the Flying Tiger's claws.

He was killed on the spot and transformed into a ghost.

The five slots for the Flying Tiger incarnation as a cougar are already filled. They are:

Qin Shuang, Lei Zhong, Prince of Jin, An Qi, Qiao She.

"Unfortunately, the avatar and the accomplice of the original body cannot transfer between each other..."

Flying Tiger glanced at the groveling ghost Qiao She at his feet and sighed inwardly.

Nowadays, unless someone has a special identity, a Taoist-level cougar is not very useful to him.

The ghosts Qin Shuang and Lei Zhong might still be of some use before entering the ruins.

However, in the past three years, their vacancies have been filled, and their identities are not very useful. If given the opportunity, they should be replaced as Huangting Realm cougars.

Only the heir apparent of the Prince of Jin, with his noble status, could be of some use and was worth keeping.

"Tell me, young master Ling, which noble family does he come from? What is his purpose in coming to Crouching Tiger Stronghold? And what is his relationship with the White Lotus Sect?"

The vengeful spirit Qiao She lay on the ground and confessed everything in detail:

"Reporting to Master, Young Master Ling is the sixth son of the Prince of Jin, named Wenren Ling, and his mother is the daughter of a merchant..."

Another son of the Prince of Jin?
They just killed a prince, and now they've run into a son of a concubine. What a coincidence!

The reason why we concluded that this young master was an illegitimate son was because his mother was the daughter of a merchant.

Merchants have a low social status, so Ling Gongzi's mother could not be made a principal wife or concubine in the royal palace; her status was no different from that of a concubine.

The serpent-like demon Qiao continued speaking without stopping, then said:

"...I have been ordered to come to Wohu Village to completely control the stronghold and put it to use by the Prince's Mansion. It will serve as a thorn in the side of Shanyang Prefecture, tying down the imperial forces..."

It recounted everything it knew during its lifetime without reservation, in great detail and without reservation.

During this time, Flying Tiger repeatedly asked questions, and he answered them all without reservation.

"No wonder this young master Ling has such extensive connections, can easily trade with many wealthy merchants, and has five thousand elite cavalry under his command. It turns out that the Prince of Jin's mansion is behind him..."

Flying Tiger's transformation suddenly made sense, and many things that had puzzled him before became clear.

Building a Crouching Tiger Village deep in the mountains would be extremely costly.

Leaving aside the various construction materials, the issue of transportation safety alone is enough to stump 99% of the forces in the world.

Not to mention the entire process of site surveying, design, construction, and so on for counterfeiters.

And the construction period is only a little over a year!

Within the territory of Jinzhou, only the imperial court and the Prince of Jin's residence could secretly accomplish this.

The five thousand Black Lion Army soldiers brought into the stronghold by Young Master Ling were not there to deal with He Yue'e, the remnants of the White Lotus Sect, and the Zhang brothers, but to deal with the imperial court.

Ultimately, Wohu Village was established by the Prince of Jin's mansion as a stronghold to contend with the imperial court.

That makes sense.

However, as Lao He had mentioned before, Young Master Ling and his group arrived by air using the token of the White Lotus Sect's Golden Pool Dharma King.

Jinchi Dharma King is the Western Dharma King among the five Dharma Kings of the White Lotus Sect.

The Eastern Blue Lotus Dharma King, the Western Golden Pool Dharma King, the Southern Crimson Cloud Dharma King, the Northern Black Sun Dharma King, and the Central Vacuum Dharma King.

These five Dharma Kings were the true big shots, powerful figures, or "mountain leaders" within the White Lotus Sect, whose status was even higher than that of the Thirty-Six Chieftains.

Especially given that the leader is in seclusion, the vice leader is missing, and the main altar is left with only some elders and protectors, as well as a group of holy sons and daughters.

The power of the Five Dharma Kings is comparable to that of feudal lords, akin to a state within a state, a religion within a religion. It is intriguing that Wenren Ling, as a son of the Prince of Jin, was able to obtain the token of the Golden Pool Dharma King.

The Prince of Jin's mansion and the White Lotus Sect were stumped...

"I remember that the Wu family in the inner city who used to raise demons had a close relationship with the steward of the Prince of Jin's mansion. That Master Wu had a token from the White Lotus Sect."

At the encampment in the mountain, Liu Sheng, whose message had been synchronized by Flying Tiger's avatar, suddenly opened his eyes. With a thought, he took out a token from his storage bag.

It is about the size of a palm, cast in bronze, with intricate lotus patterns. The character "令" is engraved in intaglio on the front, and the characters "金池" are engraved in relief on the back.

When he took stock of the spoils, he only collected a dozen or so points of spiritual energy, so he didn't pay much attention to them.

In retrospect, it seems that an important clue was missed.

Fortunately, it's not too late now.

With a thought, the flying tiger incarnation in the deep valley immediately reached out and demanded the token of the Golden Pool Dharma King from Qiao She.

The style is the same as the one found from Master Wu, but the workmanship is more exquisite, the lotus pattern is more intricate, and the material used is spirit silver.

It's clearly a step up in quality.

So……

“The Golden Pond Dharma King is the Prince of Jin, and the Prince of Jin is the Golden Pond Dharma King.”

The ghost Qiao She lowered his head and whispered something, which confirmed Liu Sheng's guess.

After a moment of silence, Flying Tiger turned to look at Wenren Ling, who was standing there dumbfounded, and said meaningfully:

"This matter is of great importance; it is better to have none than to make a mistake."

"Master, rest assured, this servant can guarantee it."

The ghostly serpent Qiao smiled sinisterly and revealed the truth:
"After being promoted to the Yellow Court, my sense of smell has become several times stronger, and I can capture and lock onto a specific scent within a range of 500 miles."

The scent emanating from Prince Jin was exactly the same as that from the Golden Pool Dharma King.

This guy was quite shrewd in life, so this was a lucky accident.

"Impossible! My father is a member of the imperial family, how could he be... the Golden Pool Dharma King?"

Wenren Ling, who was standing nearby, screamed, her eyes filled with disbelief.

His father was the emperor's uncle, a powerful regional lord, and of noble status.

Cooperating with the White Lotus Sect is nothing more than using these rebels; how could he really become a rebel leader?

It's like having a pack of dogs under your command and using them to guard your house; it doesn't mean you want to become the king of dogs!
Not to mention the dog king's son!

In the eyes of Wenren Ling, the illegitimate son of the Prince of Jin, the White Lotus Sect was nothing more than a dog he kept, a tool to wrestle with the imperial court.

"The Prince of Jin even kept it from his son, so it seems this news is true."

Flying Tiger chuckled, believing about 70-80% of what he thought.

After that, he asked many more details, such as the power of the Prince of Jin's mansion, its relationship with the major sects in the state, the army it commands, its trade network, and so on.

The information was verified one by one with the information previously obtained from the Prince of Jin's heir, separating the false from the true, and the gains were quite substantial.

However, since it involved the secrets of the Prince's residence, neither the Prince of Jin nor Qiao She knew much about it due to their respective statuses.

Many of the reports are dubious and cannot be verified.

For example, more than ten years ago, the Prince of Jin entered an ancient tomb and obtained a technique for bringing the dead back to life.

Another theory suggests that the Prince of Jin's heir was a reincarnation of an ancient person who knew many lost extraordinary skills and secret techniques, as well as the hidden locations of rare and precious materials, which is why the Prince of Jin made him his heir.

Such examples are numerous.

"These messages are hard to verify, so..."

Flying Tiger's eyes flashed as he reached out and grabbed Wenren Ling, pressing a palm against his dantian.

"what--"

(End of this chapter)