So it turns out I'm the demon!

The underground palace of Tanzhou City was solemn and imposing.

Unlike Shangguan Luoxue's icy and cold underground palace, this place was filled with a chilling atmosphere and the aura of war, like an underground military camp. Eighteen Xuan Guards stood on both sides of the passageway.

Each of them was clad in heavy black iron armor and wielded a long halberd.

If it weren't for the occasional slight rise and fall of the breastplate with each breath, it would look almost exactly like a sculpture at first glance.

These are the "Eighteen Mystic Guards".

He was also Tian Wenyuan's personal bodyguard who fought alongside him in countless battles and survived many.

The two brothers, Tian Wenyuan and Tian Wenjing, both came from military backgrounds and were known for their fierce and volatile personalities.

Later, the two transferred to the Demon Slayer Division. The younger brother, Tian Wenjing, spent many years honing his skills in the officialdom, rising all the way to the position of deputy chief commander, and his temperament was finally tempered and calmed down. The older brother, Tian Wenyuan, on the other hand, was more extraordinary in martial arts and was eventually appointed as the garrison commander of a city.

But his military spirit remained unchanged.

Even though he spends most of his time in seclusion in the underground palace, he still habitually wears the battle-hardened armor he wore during his battles.

Shui Miaozheng quickly arrived at the front of the underground palace, slightly curtsied, and said, "Shui Miaozheng greets the Garrison Commander."

High above, sat a man of imposing stature.

Although Tian Wenyuan is over fifty years old, he has a vigorous spirit and a rosy complexion without a single wrinkle.

Wearing a full suit of armor adds to his domineering aura of decisiveness and ruthlessness.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as he looked at Shui Miaozheng: "Chief Shui, instead of being stationed on the city wall, what urgent matter brings you to my underground palace?" Shui Miaozheng cut to the chase:

"I want to go out and pick someone up. So, I would like to ask the garrison commander for help in opening a small gap in the southern gate of the city's protective array. It won't take too long."

"Picking someone up?"

Tian Wenyuan frowned. "At this point, why would the Water Master risk breaking the great formation to pick up someone?"

"Jiang Mu".

Shui Miaozheng speaks frankly.

Upon hearing this name, a hint of surprise flashed in Tian Wenyuan's eyes. He stroked his short beard thoughtfully. "That infamous number one prodigy? So, he's already arrived?"

"Yes, we've arrived."

Shui Miaozheng quickly explained, "The commotion that occurred in the rear camp of the demon army outside the city was caused by him infiltrating behind enemy lines alone."

The demon army is now in disarray, and the vanguard that was originally attacking the formation has temporarily retreated to defend, which has bought us some time. Commander, I hope you can create a small opening.

As long as I can bring Jiang Mu in, I can immediately block the way. During this time, the demon army has not yet reorganized, so they will not notice the brief fluctuations in the formation, nor will it affect the city's defenses.

In this way, we can protect our pride of Daqing, and with his addition, our chances of winning the defense will greatly increase. But…” “No. The risk is too great.”

Before Shui Miaozheng could finish speaking, Tian Wenyuan shook his head.

Shui Miaozheng was taken aback.

He thought that Tian Wenjing took good care of Jiang Mu, so Tian Wenyuan, as the younger brother, must have received a letter from his older brother asking for help. He didn't expect the other party to refuse so decisively.

Tian Wenyuan said calmly:

"Water Master, you should know that there is an eleventh-level Great Perfection demonic cultivator outside, eyeing us covetously."

Once he keenly senses a gap in the formation's energy leakage, even if it's just for a fleeting moment, even if I personally intervene to remedy it, its defensive effectiveness will be greatly reduced!

As the garrison commander, my duty is to protect the lives of all the people in this city.

Instead of putting an entire city at risk of collapse just to save some so-called "prodigy"!

"But it's too dangerous for Jiang Mu to be out alone."

Shui Miaozheng stepped forward.

"As you, Commander, are well aware, Jiang Mu is currently a prodigy whom the imperial court is not focusing on cultivating, and he is widely recognized as the number one young talent in the Great Qing Demon Slaying Division! If anything were to happen to him and he were to die out there, it would be an irreparable and enormous loss to our Demon Slaying Division and to Great Qing!"

Tian Wenyuan's expression was indifferent as he said in a cold voice:

"If he were smart, he would have already prepared a way to escape unscathed when he decided to infiltrate behind enemy lines alone to create chaos for the demon army. You don't need to worry about him here."

Even assuming, for the worst, that he really did die at the hands of a mere group of demons because of his underestimation of the enemy and reckless advance...

Then he doesn't deserve the title of "prodigy"!

I would never risk the lives of innocent people in Yunzhou City for his recklessness.

Shui Miaozheng felt a tightness in her chest from these words.

She bit her moist lower lip hard, clenching her fists, and said, "What if I... insist on opening this door today?"

Tian Wenyuan narrowed his eyes.

The temperature inside the underground palace seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.

Although the eighteen Xuan Guards on both sides remained motionless, their iron armor emitted a slight friction sound at the same moment.

They all simultaneously placed their hands on the halberd shaft.

"Then you are welcome to give it a try."

Tian Wenyuan's tone was icy, "This old man wouldn't mind replacing the governor of Yunzhou City with a different one for the imperial court."

Outside the city, at the main camp of the demon army.

Inside a simple and elegantly furnished command tent.

A man sat at a table, quietly turning the pages of an ancient book in his hands by the flickering candlelight.

The man was tall and slender, dressed in white, and wore a half-silver mask that covered the upper half of his face, revealing only his sharply defined jawline and slightly pale lips.

There was not a trace of spiritual energy fluctuation from him.

There was no demonic aura about it.

He sat there quietly, like a frail scholar on his way to the capital for the imperial examinations.

On his right wrist, which held the book, was a bracelet woven from branches and leaves, which had dried and turned brown.

This person was none other than Wen Tianque, the supreme leader who spearheaded the demon army's attack on Fazhou City.

"My lord!"

Accompanied by a series of hurried footsteps, a demon general with a wolf's head and a human body strode into the tent.

"My lord, our rear camp has been stormed by an unidentified human assassin, causing quite a commotion! We have already lost more than 600 brothers, and even two sixth-tier camp leaders have been killed by him."

What's most infuriating is that the assassin still hasn't been caught; we haven't even caught a glimpse of him!

The wolf demon, panting heavily, glanced cautiously at the man and continued,

"The two demon kings are very dissatisfied now, believing that the outer protective array we provided is useless... They hope that our lord can step in and give them an explanation."

Wen Tianque seemed not to hear, his slender fingers gently turning a page of the book.

His gaze didn't even leave the pages of the book for a moment.

"My lord!"

Seeing this, the wolf demon became anxious and raised his voice, "That demon king is just doing his job for money. If we can't step in and appease them in time, I'm afraid the morale of the army will waver..."

"Why stop the siege?"

Wen Tianque suddenly spoke, his voice gentle and refined.

The wolf demon was taken aback, and quickly replied:

"It was the Crocodile King who gave the order. He said that the rear camp was suddenly attacked and he was worried that a large force of reinforcements from the Demon Slayer Division had come from behind to encircle them. He was afraid of being attacked from both sides, so he urgently ordered the front line to suspend the attack on the city and the entire army to retreat in defense."

"So, are there reinforcements?"

Wen Tianque continued looking at the book in his hand, his tone indifferent.

The wolf demon shook his head:

"My lord, no large force has been found. The scouts have investigated and found only one person causing trouble in the rear."

"Hehehe... It's just one person, isn't it?"

With a burst of silvery laughter, Nan Zhi, dressed in a red dress, gracefully entered the tent.

She swayed her slender waist, winked at Wen Tianque, and smiled:

"I warned you all long ago that Jiang Mu never plays by the rules. He'll definitely make his entrance in a very arrogant and disgusting way. See? I wasn't wrong, was I?"

"Jiang Mu?!"

Upon hearing this, the wolf demon's pupils flashed with a ferocious and malevolent aura.

"So it was that little bastard who killed my clansmen in Yancheng! Damn it, I'll have the Crocodile Demon King gather his elite forces right now. We'll dig three feet into the ground and drag that little beast out and skin him alive!"

Save your breath.

Nan Zhi rolled her eyes and said sarcastically,

"He'd love for you to search for him all over the place right now. Jiang Mu, aside from other skills, is a natural at taking advantage of chaos in the midst of battle. And his ability to teleport is impossible to defend against."

The more monsters you send out to search the mountains, and the more scattered their formation, the more they will be able to kill in the shadows.

Moreover, this kid is an irrational monster, with extremely abundant energy, seemingly never getting tired.

So don't expect to exhaust him with sheer numbers.

"If we really send people to search for him, then the siege of Fazhou City will be no different from the previous defense of Yan City. He'll drag you into a quagmire and wear you down!"

Enraged by the retort, the wolf demon bared its fangs and roared:

"Then what do you suggest we do?! Are we just going to let him shit and piss in our rear without saying a word? Or..." The wolf demon's green eyes darted around, looking towards the head of the table.

"You plan to have our lord, or those demon kings, lower themselves to personally capture a seventh-realm human brat in the wilderness? If word gets out, what will become of our demon army's reputation?"

As it spoke, its tone turned somber.

"Guardian Nanzhi, you should think this through. That kid's high-profile provocation might be a trap."

"Once our lord personally intervenes and falls into a trap, your Red Umbrella Sect's plan to take over Fazhou City will be completely ruined." Nan Zhi ignored the irritable wolf demon and turned her gaze to Wen Tianque, who had been quietly reading, and said seriously:

"Mr. Wen, during this siege, our Red Umbrella Sect leadership has given orders to fully cooperate with your actions. As for how to deal with Jiang Mu, that's entirely up to you."

Wen Tianque finally put down the book in his hand.

He picked up the hot tea on the table, took a small sip, and spoke with his usual nonchalant tone:

"Since the cunning hound has slipped into the jungle and you think it'll be hard to catch... let's use the 'closing the door and beating the dog' tactic."

The wolf demon paused for a moment, then asked, "Does Master mean to let that brat Jiang Mu into the city?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking too."

Nan Zhi's beautiful eyes lit up. "Anyway, it's only a matter of time before this city of Fazhou falls, and everyone inside will eventually die. Why not go with the flow and let Jiang Mu in as well? At least in this predicament of being trapped like a turtle in a jar, he's much easier to handle than in the vast wilderness."

After all, with his spatial teleportation technique, penetrating the city's protective array shouldn't be difficult for him.

Wen Tianque looked up at Nan Zhi and said:

"I remember there were two sword cultivators in the camp who wanted to kill Jiang Mu to avenge their dead disciples, right?"

Since that's the case, why not do them a favor and let those two into the city as well?

We can wait until they've been fighting and biting each other in their cages for a while, until they're covered in fur, before we slowly pull them in.

I believe that with your abilities, Protector Nanzhi, arranging for them to enter the city shouldn't be too difficult.

Nan Zhi frowned slightly, and said with a hint of helplessness:

"It's not difficult to place them in. However... using our informants within the city at this time might be premature. If we alert them and expose our years of hard work, it would be a huge loss."

Wen Tianque smiled faintly:

"Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. Anyway, your Red Umbrella Cult has planted quite a few spies in Fazhou City over the years. What does it matter if a few scouts are lost?"

Nan Zhi had no choice but to nod gently: "Okay, I will make the arrangements."

"But……"

The wolf demon scratched his head and frowned.

"I'm afraid that cunning Jiang Mu will see through this trap and refuse to go into the city to become a sitting duck. Then all our efforts will have been in vain."

"Hehe, don't worry, he'll definitely get in."

Nan Zhi smiled and said, "After all, there is a beautiful woman he cares about in that city."

"As long as we let out even the slightest hint, regardless of whether the intelligence is true or false, given his amorous nature, he'll plunge headlong into even the most dangerous place without hesitation."

Within the shade of a dense, towering ancient tree canopy.

Jiang Mu concealed all her aura, like a lurking leopard, quietly lying on a thick tree branch.

Through the gaps in the leaves, he gazed at the patrolling monsters searching the valley in the distance, his mind racing as he planned his next hunt.

In fact, he hadn't initially planned to create such a large disturbance in the demon army camp.

He originally intended to withdraw after figuring out the internal situation.

Unexpectedly, an unforeseen situation arose, and they decided to go all out and cause chaos.

"I've already investigated and found out for you."

A night breeze carrying a faint fragrance swept by.

Ji Hongyuan's ethereal and alluring soul, like a wisp of red smoke, settled down on a tree branch beside Jiang Mu.

She leaned lazily against the tree trunk.

Long, slender legs, wrapped in top-grade black silk, swayed gently in front of Jiang Mu, seemingly showing off intentionally:

"The main forces of those demons that were besieging the city have all retreated to their camps to defend, and there's no sign of them continuing their attack for the time being." Ji Hongyuan twirled a strand of hair with her slender fingers, looking at him with a half-smile.

"However, I don't think the city's protective formation left you even a crack; they had no intention of coming out to help you at all. So, little brother Jiang? How are you going to put on this one-man show now?"

Jiang Mu frowned slightly and pondered for a moment:

"Wait here. Wait for more monsters to leave the base and search for me."

I will deliberately leave some conspicuous traces along the way to lure them to places with complex terrain. I will kill as many as possible using the "kite" tactic.

but……"

A hint of seriousness flashed in his eyes.

"If those great demon kings were to personally come down to capture me, I would have no choice but to risk my life to escape."

Just then, an unexpected event occurred.

"BOOM!!"

A deafening explosion ripped out from the direction of the city of Fazhou.