I am the snake demon!

"Is this Xuanwu Prefecture?"

After several days of travel, Bai Xuan and his party finally arrived in Xuanwu County.

Bai Xuan gazed into the distance, and before even entering the city, he saw a magnificent city appear before him. The city walls were tall and its imposing presence was fierce, like a lurking prehistoric beast that inspired awe.

With Bai Xuan's cultivation level, he can see things that others cannot.

Above the city wall, faint array patterns flowed, and various obscure and mysterious auras swirled.

Backed by mountains and facing water, sitting north and facing south, surrounded by four guardian deities, it embodies the harmony between heaven and man.

The fortunes of the Northern Territory converged above Xuanwu City, forming a massive, illusory array that nearly blotted out the sun.

This is not a city, it is clearly a demon-slaying formation!

It far surpasses the demon wolf city that Bai Xuan conquered back then.

"This is the core of the Heavenly Pivot Demon-Slaying Formation. The Heavenly Pivot Formation gathers the fortune of the Northern Territory. Even a ninth-realm expert entering the city will be suppressed and will not be allowed to act recklessly," Xu Yuhua said.

"That's what I need to learn." A faint glint appeared in Bai Xuan's eyes.

"Indeed, next, I will teach you all the formations. Once you master the formations, even if the Northern Wilderness Sword Demon, one of the top three swordsmen in the world, were to come to Xuanwu City, he would not be able to harm you in the slightest," Li Daoyan said confidently.

In terms of danger, Xuanwu City is second only to the Great Zhou Imperial City and the Northern Wilderness Imperial City.

There is a large formation outside and a powerful army inside.

"Okay." Upon hearing this, Bai Xuan felt a surge of joy.

The main point is that there is hope for the return to truth.

My Nine-Bend Formation!

"Let's go."

Duan Baiyu spoke, his expression slightly complicated.

This was Bai Xuan's first time visiting Xuanwu, but she was revisiting a place she had never been before.

She never imagined that when she returned, it would be like this.

The man she loved her whole life has now closed his eyes forever.

Bai Xuan and the others immediately agreed. The main army stopped outside, while a few individuals rode into Xuanwu at breakneck speed, causing a huge uproar in the city, much like a boulder being thrown into a calm lake.

Xuanwu County, the residence of the Second-Rank General of the Northern Garrison.

In the back garden, a crescent-shaped lake is crystal clear, like a gem embedded in the house.

Beside the lake, a young man dressed in white leaned lazily against a chair, holding a fishing rod in his hand, fishing for fish, but his expression seemed to show that he didn't care at all whether he could catch any fish or not.

"Brother, Godfather's son is back!"

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps sounded.

Two tall men strode in, their menacing aura immediately striking.

The fish in the pond instinctively felt fear and immediately scattered in fright.

"Why are you two not staying in your own homes? What are you doing here in my place? You've startled my fish," the young man in white said, shaking his head.

The nephew of the Prince of Zhenbei, and the most outstanding young member of the Xu family.

Xu Wenzheng, Commander of the Pohuang Army and General Zhenbei.

"Brother, you still have the mind to go fishing? Our godfather is dead, and Zhenlan is dead too. That kid is obviously coming back to inherit the throne, but on what grounds? We've protected this northern border together. If Zhenlan were to ascend the throne, I would accept it even if I'm not happy about it. But that kid has never been in the army. On what grounds can he command 300,000 men in the northern border?" said the tall, thin man among the two.

Nie Ying was the adopted son of the Prince of Zhenbei.

General Zhenwei, a third-rank official.

"That's right, brother, we should prepare early," the other one of the two said.

Wei Feng, adopted son of the Prince of Zhenbei.

General Xuanwei, a third-rank official.

"What preparations are we making? A rebellion? A coup? Or are we going to sideline my long-lost brother Shi'an? Then, the northern border will be in turmoil, and the person sitting in the capital will reap the benefits, arbitrarily pin a crime on my Xu family, and finally wipe out my entire Xu family." Xu Wenzheng put down his fishing rod and looked at his two confidants.

"But brother, the Northern Territory wasn't just conquered by our adoptive father. You were originally entitled to a share of it. Now you're just giving it to Xu Shi'an, who's never even been to a military camp and probably can't even talk about military strategy on paper?" Nie Ying said with dissatisfaction.

"alright!"

Seeing that the two were about to speak again, Xu Wenzheng's expression suddenly turned solemn, and an intimidating pressure surged forth. Nie Ying and the other dared not say anything more and fell silent as if trembling in fear.

"Peace is established by generals, but generals are not allowed to see peace. The royal family has always been ruthless. The late emperor was put on the throne by his uncle, but after taking the throne, he began to suppress meritorious officials, especially those who were originally princes. He was very wary of princes. It's just that he died young, otherwise the northern border would have been in trouble long ago. However, his son, the guy sitting on the throne now, is no pushover either. Now that his uncle has passed away, the northern border is already in a precarious situation. If there is further internal strife, we will be the ones who die," Xu Wenzheng said.

Doesn't he want to be the Prince of Zhenbei?

Of course I want to!

But he was just a nephew.

If the name is not proper, the words will not be legitimate, and the inheritance will be impossible.

If we're talking about using force, he only controls the Desolate Army.

They might not even be able to defeat Leng Shih-hu's Seven Kill Army.

Adding the pretext of righteousness to internal strife only leads to certain death.

On the contrary, he wanted to help Xu Shi'an.

Because Xu Shi'an is currently the person who best serves Xu Wenzheng's interests.

His ascension to the throne is legitimate and can minimize internal strife and conflict in the North.

Moreover, Xu Shi'an was away from home for most of the year and had virtually no connections other than the Duan family.

It's better for someone like that to go up than for Xu Yanheng.

If Xu Yanheng were to ascend the throne, that would be a real problem.

Maintaining the status quo.

After saying that, Xu Wenzheng picked up his fishing rod and continued fishing.

Nie Ying and Wei Feng stood behind Xu Wenzheng, their eyes filled with resentment.

Xuanwu Commandery, the residence of the General Who Conquers the West.

A dashing young man came running up, shouting, "Father, you're back!"

"They're here!"

In the main hall of the General of the Western Expedition's mansion, a bearded man sat upright. The man was tall, even when sitting, he was still taller than an average person standing. He had a broad back and a thick waist, and his arms were extremely long. Sitting there, he looked like a black bear.

Upon hearing the report, the man suddenly stood up and asked, "Did you look closely?"

"Look carefully, the princess and Mr. Li escorted them back, along with Master Qiu of Cangjian Manor, and several uncles from the Duan family, including Duan Qingyue and Duan Qingjiang. There's no mistake," the young man said, panting.

"Is he handsome?" the man asked again.

"Handsome. I don't know about his abilities, but his looks are undeniable. I think he's even more handsome than Brother Zhenlan," the young man said.

"That's good. In that case, Qinghan should also be interested." The man smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"Wait, Dad, you don't mean to marry my eldest sister off to Xu Shi'an, do you? My eldest sister is engaged to Brother Zhenlan." The boy asked in shock.

Before he could finish speaking, the man's large, fan-like hand slapped him hard on the back of the head, saying, "You brat, what do you know? So what if you're engaged? You're not married yet! Qinghan is still a virgin, why can't she remarry?"

"It's okay to marry someone else, but you're just one step away from marriage. It's not appropriate for you to marry your brother-in-law, is it?" the young man said, scratching the back of his head.

Although the Leng family came from humble origins, he had studied under a great Confucian scholar.

This marriage between the uncle and sister-in-law is not going to work out.

"You son of a bitch, have you gone mad from reading too much books! This is called keeping the good stuff within the family, being one big family. This was the way the world was before the Four Books and Five Classics came out. Stop talking nonsense. Back in the day, I was so poor I couldn't even find a wife, so I had to become an outlaw." The man's eyes narrowed, revealing a fierce look, as if he were a demon king incarnate.

The boy shrank back in fright and dared not say another word.

Outside the main hall, a slender figure silently watched everything, listening to her father's words, a faint coldness appearing in her eyes.

Bai Xuan was unaware of all this; he had already arrived in front of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion.