So it turns out I'm the demon!

Huzhou City.

At this moment, the city had been besieged by the demon army for several days.

Dark clouds loomed over the city, and the wind howled like cranes.

Tree Village, a camp of monsters.

Inside a huge tent, the young protector of the Red Umbrella Cult was sitting in a chair, twirling an oil-paper red umbrella in his hand.

The bells on the umbrella brim jingled softly as it rotated.

"So, still no news at all about Jiang Mu?"

A member of the Red Umbrella Cult stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said:

"Reporting to the Protector, our original calculation was that once Jiang Mu found the exit in the secret realm, he would be forcibly teleported to the dead end of the formation in Black Soil Village. We laid an ambush there in advance, but he... has never appeared."

The little girl stopped spinning her umbrella, her delicate brows furrowed tightly.

The lamplight danced on her youthful face, casting a somber shadow incongruous with her age.

"That's strange. Tiger Vanguard died in the secret realm, and Yang Li also died, which means that Jiang Mu has already come out of the secret realm."

The teleportation array at the exit of the secret realm is one-way; once he steps out, he should be teleported to Black Soil Village. Otherwise, how could he have disappeared? Could this kid have sprouted wings out of thin air and been teleported somewhere else?

The believer quickly shook his head:

"Guardian, the teleportation array we set up is relative; the distance cannot deviate too much, and it's absolutely impossible for him to be teleported to another place. Unless, he accidentally triggered some ancient teleportation array left behind in the secret realm."

But Yang Miao explored that secret realm for over a decade, and our people had already scouted it out; there was absolutely no trace of any ancient formation. "It's truly unbelievable."

The young protector sighed and rubbed his temples.

This Jiang Mu is like an unpredictable anomaly, always managing to come up with new tricks in seemingly hopeless situations, giving her a real headache.

Oh well.

As long as he doesn't appear in Huzhou City and disrupt the Red Umbrella Sect's plans, the subsequent arrangements can proceed as planned.

She raised her eyes and looked down at the other two people standing below. "What about you? Have you still not succeeded in chasing Yan Fenghuo and Xu Fu?" The two people were the traitors Wang Chunda and Yang Weiguang.

Upon hearing the young protector's question, Yang Weiguang's face showed bitterness and helplessness, and he cupped his hands and said:

"Guardian, I had already cornered the heavily injured Yan Fenghuo and was about to take his head."

Suddenly, a little girl appeared out of nowhere.

That girl is Jiang Mu's subordinate, named Duanmu Li. Her cultivation is quite impressive, and she's a demonic cultivator; we weren't careful enough, and she rescued him. As for Xu Fu, his whereabouts are still unknown.

"What a bunch of useless trash."

The little girl cursed.

Her original plan was for the two men to kill Yan Fenghuo and Xu Fu, and then infiltrate the Demon Slayer Division as "survivors" to act as spies. But now that they hadn't killed everyone, the two men naturally dared not risk going back.

Even if Ran Qingshan is stupid, he should realize that these two are traitors once Yan Fenghuo returns.

"Continue to send people to investigate!"

The little girl jumped off the chair, put her hands behind her back, and gave the order in a precocious manner.

"Although our main objective this time isn't Huzhou City, it's still necessary to take this opportunity to weaken them. If everything goes smoothly there and we successfully capture Fazhou City, we can turn around and annex Huzhou City as well." She turned to her black-robed subordinate and said:

"Go tell the demon king who commands the army to continue sending demons to attack the city, creating the illusion of a general offensive."

Tell it not to give up just because it feels sorry for its few little demon cubs. If Ran Qingshan on the city wall sees through our feigned attack, it can forget about getting what it wants from the leader!

"yes!"

The black-robed subordinate accepted the order and hurriedly withdrew.

Wang Chunda and Yang Weiguang also took their leave, covered in sweat.

The tent fell silent once more.

The little girl stretched out her finger and tapped it lightly on the table, her eyes flickering, and murmured to herself:

"Where did Jiang Mu go...?"

The thought that this guy not only killed Tiger Vanguard, but also killed the eighth-level demonic cultivator Yang Mo made her feel a chill.

If this scourge is not eradicated as soon as possible, it will one day become a major threat to the Red Umbrella Cult.

"That bitch Nan Zhi actually dared to try and win this kid over. She's got a screw loose!"

The little protector gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.

"This kind of person should have been slapped to death when he was still a good-for-nothing!"

Jiang Mu is still trying to study the little princess's anatomy.

As a result, when the skirt was lifted halfway up, only a pair of slender legs were revealed...

The previously adorable Chan Xiaoyu was struck dumb, her little hands pressing tightly against her skirt.

His calves were ramrod straight, and his face was flushed red.

For the first time, a clear emotion was revealed in his usually half-closed eyes as he stared at Jiang Mu with a look of shock, as if he were looking at a perverted old man. Jiang Mu froze, awkwardly withdrawing his hand.

He grumbled sheepishly, "I thought you were really stupid. Turns out you do have a sense of shame."

The little princess broke free from him and angrily flew onto his shoulder.

Not long after, having eaten and drunk her fill, she nestled in Jiang Mu's neck and fell fast asleep, carefree and oblivious to everything.

The carriage fell silent again.

After a long while, Lan Rou'er, who had been hiding in the corner pretending to be an ostrich, suddenly moved.

She said in a weak voice:

"Brother Jiang... um... could it be a little smaller?"

Jiang Mu was taken aback and looked at Lan Rou'er.

The girl bit her pink lower lip, her beautiful eyes quickly glancing down to his waist and abdomen before looking away, lowering her head as if she had done something wrong.

Jiang Mu immediately understood.

It seems that when they were naked together in the Buddhist temple, although the girl was terrified, she still saw what she was supposed to see. And it clearly left her with a rather deep psychological trauma.

Jiang Mu straightened her clothes, leaned against the carriage, and said helplessly:

"Excuse me, but as the number one prodigy of Daqing, my prestige will only grow stronger and more immense in the future. It won't diminish at all." Lan Rou'er's face immediately fell, becoming more bitter than a bitter gourd.

Time flies, and three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The demon carriage on the official road continued to gallop tirelessly, like a small cradle sailing smoothly through the storm.

For the past three days, Jiang Mu and his two companions have spent most of their time in the carriage.

Aside from occasionally hunting and roasting wild game in the wild, or finding a clean mountain spring for the two women to bathe and change their clothes, they hardly stopped to rest along the way.

Jiang Mu, on the other hand, practices meditation and breath regulation as usual.

During this time, he tried to prove Ye Zhifei's star position in the Star Sea, but failed. Even Zhou Yuanzhi's star position had been proven by someone else. This made Jiang Mu truly realize the difficulty of "proving a star".

It's clear that without external help and good fortune, he would probably still be stuck at the sixth realm.

Cultivating immortality is difficult, more difficult than ascending to heaven.

Having failed to prove his point, Jiang Mu decided to study the book "Great Bliss and Light in Harmony Zen".

The more he deduced, the more he realized that this thing was practically a "cheat patch" for the cultivation world.

Not only is it perfectly compatible with the cultivation techniques taught by the Peach Blossom Woman, but it can also ignore aptitude barriers and forcibly elevate the cultivation level of mortals through soul resonance. During the research process, Jiang Mu did not hide it from Chu Lingzhu.

I explained the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of this technique to her in detail.

After all, this girl will eventually be led onto the path of cultivation by him, so it's better to give her a heads-up early to avoid accusing him of lying to her later.

Of course, he didn't forget to mention Lan Rou'er's role in it.

Buddhist chants are the introductory element, the cauldron.

Without her, this technique can't function.

"So, boss, you mean...?"

Chu Lingzhu sat cross-legged on the cushion, staring at Jiang Mu with a suspicious expression.

"If we... well, have sex, then I can 'whoosh' become a master of flying and teleporting like you?" "Theoretically, yes."

Jiang Mu nodded seriously.

"Hehe."

Chu Lingzhu rolled her eyes at him and sneered.

"Master, when you came out of the secret realm a few days ago, I asked you how to cultivate, and you seriously told me that unless you find a top-quality Yin-Yang cultivation method."

And just a few days later, you happen to have this secret manual in your hands?

Do you think I, Chu Lingzhu, am easy to fool?

And you even said that Rou'er must be there to cooperate for it to work?

"Boss, you're really up to no good, like a weasel trying to treat a chicken. You're trying to scam me! I'm not falling for your tricks!" Jiang Mu shrugged.

"Believe it or not. Anyway, the technique is right here; whether you practice it or not is up to you."

"Even if it's true, it's still unacceptable!"

Chu Lingzhu turned her delicate and pretty face away and muttered under her breath, "You haven't even formally married me yet, you haven't even brought me in with a grand sedan chair. You think you can just take advantage of me like this? No way!"

"Take it or leave it, we'll talk about the eight-person sedan chair later."

Jiang Mu had been thinking, "If I can get something for free, great; if not, oh well," so he sighed with feigned regret.

"Besides, the most crucial part of this technique requires Rou'er as a 'spiritual guide' to cooperate. I can't force her, can I? This is all about willingness and spiritual connection."

"Rou'er doesn't like me. Even if she agrees because of my coercion, our hearts can't connect, so this technique can't be used." Hearing the second half of the sentence, Lan Rou'er, who was originally hiding in the corner with her face red and pretending to look at the scenery, froze. Her lips moved slightly, and she instinctively wanted to say something.

But the words were on the tip of her tongue when she swallowed them back down.

Actually, I do like it a little.

Which young girl in the world, just beginning to experience love, wouldn't be attracted to a handsome, powerful man who repeatedly saves her from life-or-death situations?

No matter how many stories about heroes rescuing damsels in distress are written in novels, nothing beats experiencing it firsthand.

Of course, Jiang Mu isn't likable in every way.

For example, he would beat her until she cried at the drop of a hat.

Moreover, if there was anything that made her resist or afraid, it was the weapon she had glimpsed in the Buddhist temple earlier.

That goes beyond just being described as fierce.

Just thinking about it gives me nightmares.

Seeing Jiang Mu's arrogant attitude, Chu Lingzhu's competitive spirit flared up again. She snorted, snatched the manual from Jiang Mu's hand, and began to study it seriously.

She wanted to see for herself if that was really the case.

After flipping through a few pages and squinting for a while, the girl scratched her head and said, "I don't quite understand... but it seems to be exactly what you said, Master."

"You can take your time to study it. I'm going to take a nap first."

Jiang Mu yawned, feeling genuinely tired.

He had intended to lie down on the soft pillow next to him and take a nap, but when he caught a glimpse of Chu Lingzhu's legs out of the corner of his eye, his heart stirred slightly.

He tilted his body and rested his head on the young doctor's lap.

"Hey! You..."

Chu Lingzhu gasped in surprise and instinctively tried to push him away, but she pulled her hand back halfway through.

Oh well, at least I'm sleeping with my head on his legs anyway.

Jiang Mu adjusted to a comfortable position.

The girl's thighs were warm and elastic, soft like a warm cloud.

The faint scent of medicine and the unique fragrance of a young girl wafted from her skirt, calming the mind.

Jiang Mu closed her eyes almost as soon as her head touched the object.

He fell into a deep sleep shortly afterward.

Chu Lingzhu looked down at the man lying on her lap, and her originally puffed-up face gradually softened.

She reached out and brushed the stray hairs from his face, her fingertips lightly tracing his brow bone before quickly withdrawing them. Having done this, Chu Lingzhu, with a stern face, beckoned to Lan Rou'er opposite her and whispered:

"Come here, let's take a look together."

"Huh? I want to study this too?"

Lan Rou'er pointed to herself, her face flushed.

"yes!"

Chu Lingzhu said in a low voice with a straight face, "Didn't the boss just say that the light from that Buddha statue has entered your brain? You are now like a living cultivation manual."

You definitely understand the meaning of this book better than I do, come and help me figure out what pose is drawn on this page...

Lan Rou'er blushed so much that even her neck turned pink.

But she couldn't resist her best friend's urging, so she blushed and went over.

The two girls huddled together, blushing and their hearts pounding as they studied a martial arts masterpiece that was not suitable for children.

In the capital city of Daqing, deep within the imperial palace, stands the Imperial Observatory.

High above, the sundial slowly rotates.

More than twenty core disciples of the Imperial Observatory, dressed in white, were sitting around a huge luminous array.

They formed intricate hand gestures and chanted incantations.

It was activating a silver beam of light that shot straight into the sky from the center of the array, seemingly searching for some kind of energy in the vast sea of ​​stars.

The emperor stood with his hands behind his back, expressionless as he watched the surging starlight in the array.

The dragon robe fluttered in the night wind.

He exuded an aura of imperial authority that commanded respect without a hint of anger.

The Imperial Observatory Director stood half a step behind the Emperor, head bowed, and secretly glanced at the Emperor's back, feeling bitter inside.

Recently, this master has been visiting the Imperial Observatory more and more frequently.

Clearly, the Emperor was extremely agitated by the fact that the Imperial Guards had been unable to locate the missing Empress for so long.

We can only pin our last hope of finding them on this star-gazing array.

However, this formation consumes an astonishing amount of resources.

Each operation burns through piles of spirit stones; if this continues, the Imperial Observatory's warehouse will be emptied.

But he dared not say anything, and could only smile and serve them from the side.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from the steps below.

An elderly man in official robes quickly ascended the height, knelt behind the emperor, and kowtowed, saying:

"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, something has happened in Hailing Prefecture."

The newcomer was Yao Wenxian, the deputy chief of the Demon Slayer Division.

Since the Chief Commander went into seclusion, he has been in charge of almost all the daily affairs of the Demon Slayer Division in the capital.

The emperor frowned slightly, his gaze still fixed on the swirling beam of light, his tone tinged with annoyance: "What, is the Red Umbrella Sect causing trouble in Hailing Prefecture again?"

"Your Majesty, that's not it."

Yao Wenxian pressed her forehead to the ground and hurriedly said, "It was Ye Zhifei, the head of the Demon Slaying Division of Hailing Prefecture... who is dead."

"Um?"

The emperor paused slightly, finally shifting his gaze from the pillar of light. He turned his head, his eyes narrowing slightly: "How did he die?"

Yao Wenxian replied:

"An urgent report from Zhao Xianzheng, the deputy prefect of Hailing Prefecture, said that Prefect Ye had a serious conflict with the abbot of Jingtan Temple. The two fought fiercely and ultimately died together."

"perish together?"

The emperor was taken aback, then let out a cold laugh.

"The Demon Slaying Division of Hailing Prefecture and Jingtan Temple have supported each other for so many years, and Ye Zhifei's courage was given by Jingtan Temple."

There can be no conflict between them.

Besides, one is at the ninth realm and the other at the eighth realm, their cultivation levels are worlds apart. Are you telling me they "died together"?

How could they die together, holding hands and jumping off a cliff?

A layer of cold sweat broke out on Yao Wenxian's forehead, and she lowered her head even further.

"Your Majesty is wise. When I first read the urgent report, I also found it absurd. However, that is indeed the statement made in the documents submitted from the front."

Moreover, this matter was witnessed by Jiang Mu, the head of the Jiang family in Huzhou City.

As for the specific details, I have already dispatched additional spies to Hailing Prefecture to thoroughly investigate, and reports will be forthcoming soon.

"Jiang Mu?"

Upon hearing this name, a strange glint flashed in the emperor's eyes. "What is he doing in Hailing Prefecture?"

Yao Wenxian said:

"I don't know either. But judging from Zhao Xianzheng's report, that Master Jiang went with two female relatives, so... he was probably sightseeing and just happened to be passing by."

The emperor suddenly laughed, with a hint of mockery:

"That kid is interesting. He just left Huzhou City, and the city was immediately surrounded by the Red Umbrella Sect."

Yao Wenxian's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly defended Jiang Mu, saying:

"Your Majesty, this is merely a coincidence. Moreover, based on the intelligence I have gathered recently, Jiang Mu and the Red Umbrella Sect have a blood feud that is irreconcilable. There is absolutely no way he would collude with the demons and deliberately avoid battle."

The emperor waved his hand impatiently:

"I do not suspect him of colluding with the Red Umbrella Cult. Although this kid is arrogant and domineering, he is quite capable of slaying demons and monsters. I just feel that the deaths of Ye Zhifei and that monk are too suspicious."

Wherever this kid goes, people die. This whole affair is probably inseparable from him.

Yao Wenxian was taken aback for a moment, and Qian explained with a smile:

"Your Majesty, although Jiang Mu's cultivation speed is indeed monstrous, making him the number one genius of Daqing, he has only recently broken through to the seventh realm."

He couldn't possibly have killed both an eighth-realm master and a ninth-realm holy Buddha single-handedly.

The emperor gazed intently at the sky, his eyes deep and unfathomable, and said softly:

"He might not be able to kill someone at the ninth level. But at the eighth level, it's hard to say. Who can blame him when this kid displayed such bizarre combat power before?"

Even regarding the death of Zhou Yuanzhi, I suspect that he was the one who secretly orchestrated it.

The more Yao Wenxian listened, the more outrageous it seemed.

When Jiang Mu killed Zhou Yuanzhi, he was only at the sixth realm!

Let alone Jiang Mu, even if ten sixth-realm experts were tied together, they still wouldn't be able to kill a powerful eighth-realm expert with profound foundations.

Your Majesty's paranoia is a bit too much.