Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

As expected, he had come for this matter. Li Yuan nodded and recounted in detail the process from setting up the ambush in Yichang to tracking the Water Lizard Demon King into the Three Gorges. He even made no attempt to conceal his suspicions about Cui Can.

The only thing that was vaguely mentioned was the process of him breaking the Soul-Suppressing Mirror.

After listening to his account, Ye Hongyu remained calm, a cold glint flashing in her eyes: "His Majesty already knows about this."

Li Yuan was slightly taken aback: "Your Majesty?"

"You think you can keep it a secret?" Ye Hongyu glanced at him. "You've made a name for yourself at Xuefeng Mountain and been promoted to Deputy Demon Suppression Envoy. You've already become the focus of attention for all factions in the court."

"His Majesty was furious when he learned of your attack."

After a moment's thought, Li Yuan understood the reason behind it. He was promoted by the emperor himself and could be considered a disciple of the emperor.

Now that he has just been promoted, someone is already eager to kill him. This is tantamount to slapping the emperor in the face and challenging His Majesty's authority. How could he not be furious?

"His Majesty slammed his fist on the table during the court assembly, saying that someone dared to collude with the demon race to assassinate a court official, which was simply outrageous. He ordered the Demon Suppression Bureau to solve the case within a specified time and severely punish the murderer."

Although the Tang Dynasty appears to have centralized imperial power, this is not the case. The powerful clans of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families are unbreakable. In addition, with the emergence of a new class of cultivators since the revival of spiritual energy, factions are rampant in the court and local governments hold their own armies, making them too powerful to be controlled.

The young emperor Li Yan was ambitious and wanted to consolidate power. He had been cultivating his own power base, and Li Yuan was one of the promising talents he had his eye on.

"Did you find anything?"

"We found a vice minister in the Ministry of Personnel," Ye Hongyu said sarcastically, "but his entire family of thirteen committed suicide out of fear of punishment, including a three-year-old child. They all died without leaving any clues."

Li Yuan's heart sank. A family of thirteen, not even the children were spared... Those people were so cruel to cover up the truth.

He remembered the masked man saying that if he uttered even one more word, his whole family would die, and it seemed to be true.

A surge of anger welled up in Li Yuan's heart: "What about Cang? Is his background clean?"

"There's no problem with Cui Can's background," Ye Hongyu said. "He was indeed sent there by the General Headquarters after receiving a message from Zhao Peng. The timing makes sense, and there are no obvious flaws."

"So, all the leads have gone cold?" Li Yuan asked, somewhat unwilling.

Ye Hongyu did not answer, but picked up her teacup and took a leisurely sip, which was taken as her tacit agreement.

Li Yuan lowered his eyes, concealing the disappointment in them. Before he had grown to the point of being able to stand on his own, the only option was to endure it.

"Li Yuan, tell me honestly, how did you break free from the suppression of that celestial treasure?"

As he was deep in thought, Ye Hongyu suddenly asked a question, and Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that he couldn't avoid it after all.

His mind raced. The Myriad Realms Palace was his last trump card, and Mr. Mo had specifically instructed him not to reveal it to anyone.

It wasn't that they didn't trust Ye Hongyu, but the matter was of great importance, and they couldn't explain her background clearly, so they could only bite the bullet and stubbornly stick to their story.

Having made up his mind, he raised his head, his gaze frank: "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself."

Ye Hongyu raised an eyebrow with a forced smile: "Oh?"

"At that time, I was completely suppressed by the Heaven-Suppressing Mirror and was truly in despair," Li Yuan said in a serious tone, "At the critical moment of life and death, a power suddenly surged out of my body and broke through the Heaven-Suppressing Mirror's restraints."

"Afterwards, I searched everywhere for answers, but to this day I still don't know what that power was or where it came from."

Ye Hongyu looked at him with a half-smile, and Li Yuan met her gaze without flinching.

After a long while, Ye Hongyu slowly withdrew her gaze, picked up her cup and took another sip, saying calmly, "Everyone has their own secrets, and I'm no exception. Since you don't want to tell me, I won't force you."

"But let me give you a word of advice: more and more people are watching you these days, so you'd better keep a low profile to survive."

Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Ye Hongyu did not expose his lie, so he hurriedly clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Lord Ye. I will keep it in mind."

After saying this, she felt a pang of guilt and was about to say something to cover up her embarrassment when light footsteps came from the corridor. Ji Fanghua appeared at the courtyard gate. She saw Ye Hongyu and Li Yuan sitting under the tree, paused for a moment, and then walked over and bowed to Ye Hongyu.

"Master."

Seeing her, Ye Hongyu's gaze softened: "Fanghua, still awake?"

"I have something I'd like to say to Master," Ji Fanghua said, glancing at Li Yuan. "I'd like to apply for a transfer to the Northwest front."

Ye Hongyu paused slightly, her gaze falling on Ji Fanghua. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Why did you suddenly decide to go to the Northwest?"

Ji Fanghua did not avoid her gaze and said frankly, "After breaking through to the Breaking Illusion Realm in Xuefeng Mountain, I felt that combat was still the best way to improve my strength, but there were too few opportunities for actual combat while carrying out missions in the rear."

"The northwest front is currently engaged in battle with the demon race. Although it is brutal, it is also the best way to temper people."

"Furthermore, Sister Yu Ling'er has been missing for several months since she went to the Northwest. I wish to go and see her to confirm her safety."

After hearing her reasons, Ye Hongyu remained silent for a while before slowly nodding: "Your idea is very good. Battle is indeed the best whetstone, and I have no reason to stop you."

Ji Fanghua's eyes lit up: "Master, you agree?"

"Agreed."

Ye Hongyu said, "However, the front line is not a game. Once you get there, you must follow the orders of the front-line commander and not act on your own."

After a moment of silence, she gently stroked her hair with a tender expression: "Also... you must come back alive."

"Yes." Ji Fanghua's eyes reddened. "This disciple will remember Master's teachings."

Li Yuan listened silently from the side, and when the topic of the Northwest situation came up, a thought struck him: "Lord Ye, what is the current state of the war in the Northwest?"

"I only heard on the way that the fight was very intense, but I don't know the specifics."

Ye Hongyu shook her head. "This isn't good."

"Since the Demon Emperor went into seclusion, the Demon Court has been unrestrained. The various demon kings are all unwilling to submit to each other and have flocked into the seclusion to plunder human resources."

"The border in the northwest is too long," Ye Hongyu continued. "It stretches for thousands of miles from Liangzhou to Suzhou, and there are loopholes everywhere. The Demon Suppression Division is short-handed, and the imperial court has had to draw troops from various places to garrison the area."

"They even started recruiting independent cultivators and martial arts practitioners into the army, but even so, they were still short of supplies."

Ji Fanghua and Ji Fanghua exchanged a glance, never expecting that the Northwest would be in such a chaotic state.

"Those demon kings are cunning and treacherous. They target weak points and launch surprise attacks. After looting, they run away, only to return as soon as the army leaves. Now, cultivators are constantly on the move and can hardly defend against them."

Li Yuan felt a heaviness in his heart and frowned: "By the way, since the Demon Emperor has gone into seclusion, wasn't Brother Chen's mission to the Demon Court a complete waste? How is he now? Has he returned?"

"not yet."

Ye Hongyu shook her head. "Shortly after leaving the pass, the delegation lost contact with the imperial court, and now the Demon Court insists that they have not seen anyone."

Li Yuan felt a chill in his heart. The delegation had been in the Demon Court for two months, and they had neither been seen alive nor dead. It was likely that they were in grave danger.