Chapter 1389: Derfuer Doesn't Report

“This recognition is precious and hard-won,” Jiang Wang replied via spiritual transmission.“But I am not certain I can aid you.”

Lin Youxie’s trust weighed heavily, but Jiang Wang had journeyed this far. He was no longer the youth with naive dreams, unconditionally believing Dong A would save Fenglin City.

He would still uphold faith and righteousness, still generously offer kindness within his means, but he would not disregard the stark realities.

Lin Kuang and Wu Lie, scions of the four great Azure Badge families, were once the most brilliant figures within the Azure Badge system. Known as "South Wu and North Lin," and collectively as the Twin Prides of the Azure Badge, they were the hope for the glorious era of the four great Azure Badge families to be reignited.

Lin Kuang had taken on countless major and critical cases, solving every single one. Many of the investigation methods still used in the Northern Court today were his innovative creations.

But his brilliance ceased abruptly after he took on the investigation of the assassination attempt on Consort Lei.

Lin Kuang died, and Wu Lie resigned.

In a single night, the winds dispersed and the clouds scattered.

Only a three-year-old Lin Youxie remained, forever fearing corpses due to witnessing her father's body so suddenly.

Among the Lin, Wu, Li, and Cheng, the four great Azure Badge families, the Cheng family's lineage had long since died out. The Lin and Wu families were left with only their residual influence.

A few days prior, Li Youjiu died under the torment of dismemberment, signifying that the four great Azure Badge families had vanished, both in name and in substance!

Now, Lin Youxie desired to seize upon any clues Feng Gu might have left behind and reopen the case of Consort Lei's assassination. Jiang Wang was not optimistic.

He was not questioning Lin Youxie’s investigative abilities, but such a far-reaching major case required a powerful figure to push it forward. Lin Youxie, and even Wu Lie behind her, lacked this driving force…

From this perspective, why did Feng Gu choose to take his own life at this moment, precisely when Jiang Wuqi's funeral had just concluded?

Firstly, he had completed Jiang Wuqi's posthumous affairs, leaving no more attachments. Secondly... it was nothing more than an attempt to leverage the Emperor's affection for Jiang Wuqi, to die in the guise of the Grand Eunuch of the Palace of Longevity while the Emperor's grief had yet to dissipate.

He hoped to incite the Emperor's thunderous wrath, thus propelling the investigation of this case.

Then, in due course, the clues regarding Consort Lei's assassination attempt would be revealed, elevating the case.

Even the person who placed the small dissection knife before Lin Youxie's door was absolutely connected to Feng Gu — to uncover the truth of Lin Kuang's death, Lin Youxie would undoubtedly exert her utmost effort.

Feng Gu’s design was almost to the limit of what he could achieve.

But the question remained... what was the Emperor's true attitude?

On the surface, the Emperor had entrusted the Northern Court solely with this case from the Palace of Longevity, and also honored Feng Gu's dying wish by having Jiang Wang oversee the case's progress. This was undoubtedly a strong push.

The investigative team comprising Zheng Shangming, Lin Youxie, and Jiang Wang was also quite formidable.

But to trace back from Feng Gu's hanging to the Consort Lei assassination case of many years past, frankly, it lacked sufficient weight.

Unless Zheng Shangming were replaced by Zheng Shi, and Lin Youxie by Wu Lie, would they be qualified to speak of investigating a case of this magnitude.

Therefore, the Emperor's attitude still remained unclear.

Perhaps the Emperor was also awaiting something...

Only by combining the information from both Lin Youxie and Zheng Shangming could Jiang Wang truly say he had grasped some threads of understanding in this matter.

The key to this affair still lay with the Emperor!

Upon seeing the clues, did the Emperor intend to reopen the old case?

The two Azure Badges before him clearly did not share the same stance. If Zheng Shangming found the clues first, he would undoubtedly await the Emperor's will. If Lin Youxie found the clues first, she would surely investigate all the way to the end, seeking to reveal the truth to the world.

Jiang Wang sympathized with Lin Youxie's plight and understood her desire to seek the truth, but he could not rashly promise what he might not be able to accomplish.

Those who make promises lightly have little credibility.

“You don’t need to do too much, just turn a blind eye will suffice,” Lin Youxie’s voice said.

It was quite evident she was confident she could find the clue before Zheng Shangming. Compared to Zheng Shangming, who was still in the stage of suspicion, she had already confirmed Feng Gu's death was suicide, a significant lead.

The only one she needed to be wary of was Jiang Wang, who was constantly observing them under the guise of supervision.

Trying to make subtle moves under Jiang Wang's watchful eyes would be extremely difficult for both her and Zheng Shangming. Hence, she needed to communicate with Jiang Wang privately.

Jiang Wang remained silent.

The search of Jiang Wuqi's study did not yield immediate results.

It should be said that Lin Youxie and Feng Gu shared the same objective: one for a deceased father, one for a deceased benefactor. One used death to establish the case, the other participated at all costs. Both sought the truth that had been buried in history...

Jiang Wang was unwilling to be the one obstructing their path.

Repaying kindness and avenging wrongs were matters of course, who could possibly criticize them?

But if he were to genuinely discover Lin Youxie concealing clues, he was uncertain what choice he would make.

Could Zheng Shangming's friendship simply be disregarded? Zheng Shi and his son had so frankly offered the position of Northern Court Captain, could he completely ignore it?

Perhaps he shouldn't have accepted this supervisory duty. Who could have imagined such a difficult situation?

But withdrawing now would inevitably arouse suspicion. Moreover, if another were to come and supervise, it would undoubtedly strike a factual blow to Lin Youxie's plan.

Jiang Wang's thoughts grew vexed. He simply stood at the doorway of the study, letting his mind wander and cultivating distractedly.

He no longer wished to make a choice. It was better to let fate decide, and see whose luck was better, Lin Youxie's or Zheng Shangming's.

The Dragon-Tiger was complete. It was time to allocate more energy to the Star-Glow Sacred Tower. After all, all divine abilities and techniques required cultivation as a foundation.

With a movement of his spiritual consciousness, he established contact with the Star-Glow Sacred Tower in the distant cosmos.

It wasn't that his spiritual consciousness was powerful enough to traverse the universe; this connection was based more on the inherent profundities of the Star-Glow Sacred Tower itself.

In the vast starry expanse, stood a seven-storied azure treasure tower, its aura ancient and solid. It had flying eaves and sculpted railings, like something from a painting.

A wisp of his spiritual consciousness descended within, manifesting a form.

Erecting the Star Tower directly beside the Jade Coherence Star back then had bypassed the most cumbersome and dangerous steps of building the Star-Glow Sacred Tower. He did not need to risk losing his spiritual consciousness in the universe to establish an anchor point, nor did he need to gather the power of starlight bit by bit to construct the tower — after all, Senior Guanyan had completed it with a single palm strike.

This Star-Glow Sacred Tower was indeed still within the inner conceptual sphere of the Jade Coherence Star. However, the "本体" (main body or true form) of the Jade Coherence Star that Senior Guanyan had occupied had gone to who knows where.

The Jade Coherence Star already had a master. Those with ambitions like the Dragon God would find it much harder to pinpoint its location.

Jiang Wang had no thought of contacting Senior Guanyan. He figured that Senior Guanyan was with Grandma Xiaofan now and did not wish to be disturbed.

Within the starry expanse covered by the Jade Coherence Star, Jiang Wang's Star Tower was not the only one, nor could it possibly occupy this domain exclusively. But this Star Tower was definitely in the most central position, in Qi State in the Eastern Region, in Linzi of Qi State.

With its uniquely advantageous position, the descending starlight was almost like a waterfall, shining with extraordinary brilliance.

Jiang Wang was already very familiar with the state of manifested spiritual consciousness.

His current spiritual consciousness form, if it were to appear directly in the boundless universe, would likely shatter into dust in an instant. Within the Star Tower, however, it was different.

In a sense, the Star-Glow Sacred Tower standing in the distant cosmos was an external "通天宫" (Heaven-Reaching Palace).

Just as the five Inner Palaces could also be seen as five "Heaven-Reaching Palaces," they expanded possibilities in cultivation, offering cultivators more choices.

The Star-Hiding Sea was filled with brilliant starlight.

Jiang Wang calmed his mind and sat cross-legged within the Star Tower. Using his manifested spiritual consciousness form, and with the wondrous aid of the Star Tower, he quietly sensed his connection with the universe. The Star-Hiding Sea was also the Sea of the Universe, and the Star-Glow Sacred Tower was also his own self.

The human body corresponded to the universe, thus there were myriad possibilities.

In quiet cultivation, he experienced the uniqueness of this Star-Glow Sacred Tower within the vast universe, actively gathered the starlight of the Jade Coherence Star, and further sculpted the Sacred Tower itself, making it more unique, more personal, more real...

This itself was also a process of further understanding himself.

Perceive the self, then explore the universe. Use the universe as a mirror, and then reflect on the self. The understanding of oneself and the understanding of the universe have no end.

Cultivation may never end, but there are always those who exhaust all efforts, just to walk further.

After completing all his required practices, Jiang Wang rose and wandered around the Star-Glow Sacred Tower for a while, specifically going to the bottom level to look.

The Sea Dragon God was suppressed at the bottom of this Star Tower. Under the effect of the formation set by Senior Guanyan, it was continuously providing power to this Star Tower. Therefore, even though Jiang Wang had been distracted by the Dragon-Tiger during this time, the progress of the Star Tower itself was not slow. It was now becoming increasingly solid and stable.

The bottom of this Star Tower manifested as an ancient-feeling stone floor, like a single, massive stone slab.

Rough, ancient, with a sense of historical depth.

When he was adjusting it, he intentionally referenced the Observation River Platform and the Sword Discourse Platform within the Taixu Illusory Realm.

With a slight shift of thought, the stone slab gradually became transparent. Thus, one could clearly see that beneath his feet was a stone prison sealed on all four sides, connected by complex formation patterns, giving a feeling of being indestructible.

A dark gold divine dragon was curled up on the ground, seemingly asleep.

The Sea Dragon God was originally a golden dragon. Later, it was resurrected through the Swallow-Owl, taking charge of the dark side of the Sea Origin Realm, turning dark colored. After being pulled out of Jiang Wang's body by Guanyan and sealed in this prison, it turned dark gold...

It had a bit of a mixed flavor of light and darkness, good and evil.

Its dragon claws and neck were bound by immense shackles. Grayish-white chains, one end connected to the shackles, the other to the four walls, both restraining the dragon's body and siphoning its power, preventing any possibility of resistance.

The entire Star-Glow Sacred Tower was under Jiang Wang's control.

The transparency of the stone slab beneath his feet at this time was unidirectional.

From above, one could see below; from below, one could not see above.

Jiang Wang watched silently for a while, confirming that there was no possibility of escape, and then prepared to leave.

“Alas.”

The dark gold dragon in the stone prison suddenly sighed.

It must have sensed the change in the Star-Glow Sacred Tower itself and knew that Jiang Wang's spiritual consciousness had arrived at the tower. It deliberately made some noise to attract attention.

Jiang Wang remained silent, quietly observing its performance.

“Who still knows the ancient secrets? In the Great War of the Hundred Races, the sky fell nine times. How much did the Dragon Race sacrifice for this world? Heaven and earth are always merciless, and people are most forgetful. But the fabricated legends are as thin as white paper, and the false stories are but shattered dreams. Those who forget history shall be forgotten by history!”

The Dragon God's voice was low, as if trapped in a grand memory: “In ancient times, my Emperor battled Lishan, saving the world from collapse. He severed the Nine Curves River, shattered the Seven Treasures of Xiaoshan, inquired in the Southern Heaven, and roared in the Abyssal Underworld…”

Speaking of this, it sighed heavily again. This sigh carried a sense of self-pity, yet was deeply meaningful. It seemed to have many stories waiting to be told. There were endless secrets to share with others.

The secrets of the dragon, the history of the dragon, the treasures of the dragon…

No one would be indifferent to this.

However, Jiang Wang remained silent.

The silence lasted for a long time.

The Sea Dragon God suddenly burst into laughter, a desolate laugh: “In the past, when the Dragon Race pioneered the vast sea, more than half of the aquatic creatures followed. I managed the Sea Origin Realm for a thousand years, yet in the end, none followed… Holiness and evil are indistinguishable, virtue and fortune unrewarded. The vast cosmos is truly laughable!”

Jiang Wang did not say a word and left directly.

In the dungeon, the Dragon God continued: “Just think, I, a dignified True Dragon, possess thousands of divine arts, I know from above…”

Suddenly sensing the change in the Sacred Tower's aura, it no longer bothered to pretend and quickly leaped up: “Hey, don’t go! Little brother!”

But the aura of the Star Tower's master had vanished, and the tower returned to its lonely normal state in the universe.

“Damn it!” The Dragon God’s eyes revealed a fierce glint. It immediately leaped up,

The chains binding it tightened, and lightning like a whip wrapped around its body and lashed fiercely!

In the exploding and dissipating light, the entire dark golden dragon body heavily crashed to the ground, thrown off balance. Wounded and with broken skin, it could only breathe heavily with resentment.

“Ants… detestable!”

Born with great power, having been high above for countless ages. Now a prisoner, it could only vent its hatred through its mouth.

Its anger and humiliation could only echo within the prison cell.

If Jiang Wang did not listen, no one would hear…

As for Jiang Wang.

A True Dragon was naturally of immeasurable value. Not to mention its contribution to the power of the First Star Tower, just its perspective and experiences as a True Dragon were a massive fortune.

It was just that this "fortune" was not so easily obtained.

Someone who had schemed for a thousand years to seize the Jade Coherence Star, Jiang Wang would not be so arrogant as to believe he possessed sufficient wisdom to suppress the opponent.

On the contrary, if his eyes were blinded by greed, who knows when he might fall into the opponent's trap.

Therefore, before he had sufficiently tempered his character, he did not intend to have any communication with this Sea Dragon God — suppressed by Senior Guanyan's means, this Sea Dragon God could not cultivate, could not resist… At worst, he would just wait for the First Star Tower to drain it into a dragon corpse.

Between him and the Sea Dragon God, time was his friend. The longer it went on, the more the Dragon God would recognize reality.

Jiang Wang had enough patience.

The people of Mu State spoke of training falcons; perhaps training dragons was also possible.

After completing his cultivation lesson at the Star-Glow Sacred Tower, the subtle sense of annoyance from being caught in a dilemma had disappeared.

Zheng Shangming and Lin Youxie were still meticulously searching for information, picking out phrases and sentences from Jiang Wuqi's bookshelves. Occasionally, the two exchanged analyses, all of which were vague and incomplete.

Jiang Wang merely glanced at them indifferently before preparing to continue practicing his Dao techniques.

Although the Dragon-Tiger was taking shape, the Flame Flower Burning City technique still lacked some polish.

Despite having the detailed explanation left by Zuo Guanglie, he hadn't allocated enough energy to it before.

Mastery of Dao techniques like this was where the expenditure of time was most evident. One day without practice, you would know; two days without practice, the Dao techniques would know; three days without practice, your opponent would know.

However, perhaps it was due to just having seen the Dragon God, but Jiang Wang suddenly thought of the Rouge Mirror at this moment.

This led him to think of the third option in the Palace of Longevity—

What if he could find that clue first?

Would he then be able to make a relatively more correct choice with more comprehensive information?

After thoroughly understanding the causes and effects, deciding who to hand over the clue to, wouldn't that be better?

Jiang Wang thought of the Rouge Mirror now not because of its possible connection to the Dragon Race, but because of the Rouge Mirror's reflection ability.

After surviving multiple spiritual consciousness tribulations, the range the Rouge Mirror could cover had reached fifty li, and it was extremely detailed and clear, capable of completely covering the Palace of Longevity!

Using it to search for clues would definitely be clearer than the naked eye, and it wasn't limited to this study.

This was also his reliance on the possibility of discovering the clue first.

Using the Rouge Mirror's probing ability in Linzi was a very foolish choice because it could easily offend a powerful expert. If they were to break in after being perceived as being spied upon, that would truly be a humiliating spectacle, and even his noble title might not be preserved.

But today, the Palace of Longevity was completely sealed off, and the three of them had been granted the authority to search the Palace of Longevity...

If not now, then when?

Jiang Wang, without a change in expression, had already gripped the Rouge Mirror.

With the help of the Rouge Mirror, his vision quickly expanded and spread throughout the entire Palace of Longevity.

The Rouge Mirror was not some treasure of good fortune, but an artifact inscribed with a curse of resentment. Directly using the Rouge Mirror to probe without going through the mirror world would, without exception, be plagued by negative emotions and faint curses.

But those things could no longer affect the current Jiang Wang in the slightest.

Compared to the first time he felt the power of the Rouge Mirror's curse overseas, Jiang Wang today was incomparably more powerful.

This grand palace unfolded in his vision.

He observed the now empty Palace of Longevity again from a detached perspective.

Like visiting Jiang Wuqi once more.