Chapter 1786 - 1771: The Emperor’s Interrogation

The time rewinds to a day ago when Ye Zhen had just returned to the government office in North Sea County, resolved misunderstandings, and was discussing the current situation with his trusted aides.

County Captain Tang Biao suddenly proposed a thought, saying that if there were another Demon Clan army invading in formation, they could quietly solve this invading Demon Clan army and then impersonate to hand over the military orders.

At that time, this idea seemed somewhat unbelievable, not only to others, but even County Captain Tang Biao himself rejected his own suggestion right after proposing it.

It’s basically impossible, such a coincidence is unheard of.

Even if there is, with their power from the Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy, they couldn’t possibly annihilate an entire Demon Clan army quietly.

County Captain Tang Biao had rejected this idea himself, and others felt it was impossible too, but Ye Zhen still regarded it thoughtfully.

Others might not manage it, but Ye Zhen did have the capability.

However, this matter was of great importance and had to be conducted secretly; were any word to leak out, Ye Zhen would have no place to stand in Great Zhou.

So much so that every arrangement was meticulously orchestrated by Ye Zhen himself.

Actually, Ye Zhen’s arrangement was quite simple: it involved contacting Yue Dao, who had ascended to the position of Demon God Master in the Demon God Palace, and Longnu, who had been nicknamed the Strong Ox Demon by Prophet Demon Master Jiu Xi.

These two had their duties shifted per Ye Zhen’s instructions as early as half a year prior.

Longnu of the Bull Demon Clan had his territory expanded tenfold due to the awakening of the Strong Ox Demon Bloodline; with the Bull Demon Tribe’s help, he directly entered the Human-Demon Battlefield, commanding over fifty thousand elite Bull Demon warriors as the Bull Demon Commander.

As for Demon God Master Yue Dao, also under Ye Zhen’s directive, he requested to be transferred to a border city of medium scale belonging to the Demon Clan, just two days’ journey from North Sea County, to serve as the Hall Master of the Demon God Hall.

In other words, both of them were quite close to North Sea County.

But close as they were, venturing alone and utilizing various Secret Divine Abilities might enable them to infiltrate the heartland of Great Zhou.

However, an entire army in formation would be far more difficult.

The continuous chain of mountains marking the boundary between Great Zhou and the Demon Clan, designed to block Demon Clan invasions, was by no means a mere formal display.

These mountains were strategically placed by Great Zhou from throughout All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds, embedded with tens of thousands of Earth Veins using Supreme Mysterious Skill to fend off Demon Clan invasions.

Though these mountains appear disorderly, they’re ingeniously constructed formations; without a Formation Card guidance, one entering would lose direction and fall into layers of Bewildering Formations.

Throughout these endless ranges, at critical points, countless And Points were established, constantly inspecting and destroying any invading Demon Clan triggering the Formation Restriction.

This mountain range is known as the Demon-Entrapping Mountain Range and the Forbidden Demon Mountain Range among the Human Clan, and called the Ten Thousand Prisons Mountain Range by the Demon Clan.

The name implies thousands of terrifying hells, impassable.

In the initial installation of these mountains, the Demon Clan buried millions of their elite here, but eventually, the Demon Clan grew wiser and sent their astute Prophet Demon Masters one after another into the Ten Thousand Prisons Mountain Range to investigate.

After the loss of three Prophet Demon Masters, the Demon Clan finally discerned the reality of the Ten Thousand Prisons Mountain Range.

It is a colossal formation combining Heaven and Earth’s might, nearly impossible to breach.

Yet, despite sacrificing themselves for exploration, three Prophet Demon Masters discovered the sole flaw of the formation — the location of its Formation Eye.

Breaking the Formation Eye would destroy the source of tens of thousands of Earth Veins in the grand formation, instantly returning the Ten Thousand Prisons Mountain Range to normalcy.

On the Great Zhou’s Human Clan side, preparations had long been underway.

Thus, the nearly hundred-thousand-year-old Human Demon Battlefield emerged.

The Human Demon Battlefield is, in fact, where the Formation Eye of the vast Heaven and Earth Formation within the Ten Thousand Prisons Mountain Range is located.

This is precisely why, despite continuing for a hundred thousand years, the Human Demon Battlefield remains fiercely intense.

This also fundamentally prevents a whole Demon Clan army from entering the heartland of Great Zhou.

In other words, without collusion from insiders, it’s nearly impossible for Demon Clan troops to enter Great Zhou’s interior in formation.

Similarly, Ye Zhen couldn’t have Demon God Master Yue Dao and Strong Ox Demon Longnu bring in a whole Demon Clan army in formation either.

Especially given the constraints of time.

Nonetheless, Ye Zhen hadn’t considered this approach at all and instead directly issued identical orders to both Demon God Master Yue Dao and Strong Ox Demon Longnu.

"Within half a day, I need six hundred fresh corpses of Demon Clan warriors, not from the Demon Clan’s slave army!"

This command left Demon God Master Yue Dao and Strong Ox Demon Longnu struggling to accept, replying to Ye Zhen that it was too difficult.

Slaughtering six hundred Demon Clan troops, not slave soldiers, and only given half a day — it posed immense challenges and great risk of exposure; if discovered, it would be all over for them. Their years of hard work would all be for naught.

The two dared not outright refuse Ye Zhen’s order, though expressing their difficulties.

Yet Ye Zhen only sent them back a Jade Scroll.

"Half a day later, without six hundred fresh Demon Clan warrior corpses, I might be slain on the spot!"

This was Ye Zhen’s reply, though he was merely expressing a possibility. If truly failing to fulfill the Grand Celestial Official’s military order, Ye Zhen would take full responsibility, but would never just await his fate passively.

If there’s no place here for me, there’s always some other place.

At worst, I’ll leave with my brothers and eke out a living in the North Sea.

However, Ye Zhen’s words frightened Demon God Master Yue Tao and Strong Ox Demon Longnu.

Ye Zhen was their master, having enslaved their Divine Souls.

Under normal circumstances, if the master who enslaved their Divine Souls perished, they, the enslaved, would also perish along with him.

In other words, if Ye Zhen were to be killed, it would mean the end for the two of them as well.

When their very lives were at stake, how could they care about the hardships and efforts of recent years?

All of a sudden, the task turned from fulfilling Ye Zhen’s orders to saving their own lives. The enthusiasm of these two can be imagined.

Before half a day had passed, as stipulated by Ye Zhen, Strong Ox Demon Longnu and Demon God Master Yue Tao had sent over six or seven hundred corpses of Demon Clan warriors, clothed in various crude armors, to Ye Zhen via a small Teleportation Formation using their respective Storage Rings.

Their deaths were bizarre, and the bodies hadn’t even stiffened; some were even still bleeding.

How these two managed it, Ye Zhen didn’t ask; presumably, with their status, it should not have been difficult to achieve.

Afterward, Ye Zhen personally found an underground cave and staged a battlefield of a fierce battle.

Post-battle, the bodies were left in place, and Ye Zhen decapitated all of the Demon Clan heads, then directly complied with the Grand Celestial Official’s military order.

It was considered as fulfilling the military order given by Grand Celestial Official Wu Yu to crack the case within three days, while also annihilating all of them.

Even Grand Celestial Official Wu Yu, who received Ye Zhen’s report, was incredulous.

This was impossible.

Xio Qiangu would not leave a flaw, let alone the many Void Hunting Kings searching meticulously and finding no trace of the Demon Clan’s army.

And Ye Zhen managed to locate and annihilate them within half a day?

Do you really think those Void Hunting Kings were good-for-nothings?

Grand Celestial Official Wu Yu was not convinced.

Being part of the Heavenly Patrol Department, he knew all too well the capabilities of those Void Hunting Kings, who were regarded as tributors.

Each Void Hunting King was an elite among elites, each rising above tens of thousands of Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters, and then emerging from hundreds of Heavenly Patrol Divine Generals to become a Void Hunting King.

Not only in strength, but each one’s experience was also indescribably rich.

Yet they couldn’t compare to Ye Zhen?

Is that possible?

Impossible!

It wasn’t just Grand Celestial Official Wu Yu who didn’t believe it. Even when Wu Yu reported to Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long that Ye Zhen had completed the military order, found, and annihilated the invading Demon Clan army, he was also skeptical.

Even though there were over a thousand demon warrior heads verified by hundreds of people, both Grand Celestial Official Wu Yu and Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long didn’t believe it.

"Wu Yu, Great Attendant, tell me, how could this boy surnamed Ye accomplish the military order in impossible circumstances?"

"I don’t believe it. How could he find something that even hundreds of Void Hunting Kings couldn’t? Moreover, didn’t you previously say that Xio Qiangu, that wretch, stormed off to capture Ye Zhen but returned disappointed?

This basically indicates that the instigator Xio Qiangu had already dealt with the invading Demon Clan army, thus his confidence.

But then he got tricked by Ye Zhen.

Although it is satisfying, I still want to know how Ye Zhen managed this affair? Could he possibly be connected to?"

The rest was unsaid by Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long, but he had already hinted at the answer. For Ye Zhen to accomplish this military order in an impossible scenario, there was only one possibility — that Ye Zhen had connections with the Demon Clan.

And this was something that Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long absolutely could not accept.

Because Xio Qiangu was such a person.

If this were confirmed, then Ye Zhen would be....

Regarding this matter, Chief Eunuch Yu Chaoen dared not say a word more.

Until Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long’s expression grew increasingly sullen, Grand Celestial Official Wu Yu had no choice but to speak with reluctance, "Reporting to Your Majesty, there is indeed a possibility of this, and it’s quite significant.

I suggest Your Majesty issue a decree of reprimand and inquiry directly, which would be killing two birds with one stone."

"I issue a decree of questioning? Killing two birds with one stone?"

After pondering for a few moments, Ren Venerate Emperor Ji Long’s gaze turned to Chief Eunuch Yu Chao’en, "Then I shall issue a secret decree. As the matter is of great significance, Great Attendant, you shall personally make the trip.

However, should the Great Attendant venture, it would attract too much attention, so I may as well personally escort Great Attendant. Great Attendant, be swift in your return."

"This old servant complies with the decree!"

Half a quarter-hour later, Ye Zhen, who was conversing with Princess Changle in the Earl’s Mansion of North Sea County, was struck with utter terror seeing Chief Eunuch Yu Chao’en appear out of nowhere in his room!