Chapter 168: Chapter 73: Demon Sect’s Dark Room

Everyone present felt their hearts skip a beat. They knew that once Yang Jing had extracted the Five Aggregates Demon from Zhang Lu, the situation had spun out of control.

Within the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion, any involvement with a Celestial Demon was a major incident.

Yang Jing looked at the Five Aggregates Demon in his hand. In truth, he had only been thirty percent certain he could find conclusive proof that a Demon Cultivator had tampered with Zhang Lu.

As an Outer Celestial Demon on par with the Three Corpses Bone Demon, the Five Aggregates Demon’s combat power was only average. Its greatest strengths were possession and concealing its aura. Once it had entered a Cultivator’s body and was shielded by their Magical Power, not even Yang Jing’s Grotto Dark Dharma Eye could detect any abnormality.

Although Yang Jing couldn’t directly see the Five Aggregates Demon attached to Zhang Lu, he could tell that her Magical Power was in slight disarray, similar to Yinjiao’s when it was possessed by a Five Aggregates Demon.

Only the combination of his Bright Qi Talent and Grotto Dark Dharma Eye could perceive such a detail.

However, far too many things could cause such a phenomenon. It was entirely possible she was just on her period.

Still, Yang Jing had decided to take the gamble. If he lost, it wouldn’t matter; he could just secretly use his Celestial Demon Blood Transformation to forge traces of a Demon Cultivator’s methods.

With the grand display of his Thunder Technique as cover, no one would suspect he could simultaneously cast a Demon Skill.

A panicked Pei Jizhen rushed forward to embrace his Daoist partner, but Yang Jing stopped him.

“My apologies, Senior Brother Pei. As Zhang Lu’s closest Daoist partner, you are the one most likely to have cast the curse.”

Pei Jizhen’s eyes widened in astonishment, but after a few breaths, he slumped to the side and put away his Puppets.

When it came down to it, he was indeed the one most likely to have summoned the Five Aggregates Demon to cast the curse.

“No one here is to leave. Everyone is a suspect.”

Wang Xu and Xu Mingqi grew wary. A Five Aggregates Demon wasn’t something just anyone could summon. The one who cursed Zhang Lu had to be a disciple of one of the Four Demon Sects, and one of high standing at that.

A few breaths later, the Array Department locked onto the Five Aggregates Demon’s aura. A Yu Hou led a group of Armored Warriors to surround Pei Jizhen’s residence.

To prevent any mishaps, Yang Jing used his Jade Token to inform Wu Siming of the situation.

“Minister Wu.”

Everyone present hurriedly bowed in greeting.

Wu Siming held a Jade Bowl, his expression grim. A Cultivator from the Governor’s Mansion being possessed by a Celestial Demon was an extremely serious case.

“Junior Brother Yang, release the Five Aggregates Demon.”

Yang Jing readily complied, dispersing the Thunder Technique that bound the Five Aggregates Demon. Suddenly freed, the demon immediately tried to flee back to the Outer Realm.

Wu Siming immediately activated the Jade Bowl. A powerful suction force immobilized the Five Aggregates Demon and pulled it into the bowl.

“It really is a Five Aggregates Demon.”

He put the Jade Bowl away, a worried look on his face.

Everyone present was a mid-level figure in the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion, each holding a respectable position; otherwise, they wouldn’t be Yang Jing’s neighbors. As a show of goodwill, the residence Yang Jing had been given was the best available to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

For a Celestial Demon possession to occur among such key personnel showed just how dire the implications were.

Soon, everyone from the banquet was taken away. Their Magical Power was temporarily sealed, and they were placed in confinement. Even the lightly injured Lou Chenglong and the unconscious Zhang Lu were no exception.

Although Yang Jing’s Magical Power wasn’t sealed, he too was required to stay in a side hall of the Governor’s Mansion for the time being, not permitted to move about freely.

“Senior Brother Wu, do you think I’m valuable enough for a mole from the Four Demon Sects—one who worked so hard to infiltrate this place—to risk exposing themselves just to test me?”

Yang Jing and Wu Siming sat opposite each other, drinking tea.

Wu Siming pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

“It’s not worth it.”

Given the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion’s vigilance against Demon Cultivators, it’s even harder for the Four Demon Sects to plant a mole here than in the Six Great Sects themselves.

Although Yang Jing was starting to make a name for himself, he was ultimately just a Foundation Establishment Disciple. The demons he’d slain were all rogue demons without any backing. If they wanted to make a move on him, they could just send a few disciples to lie in wait outside the Governor’s Mansion.

After all, both the Six Great Sects and the Four Demon Sects have plenty of Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators with no hope of reaching the Golden Core. They are the most suitable pawns to deal with a nascent Foundation Establishment genius like Yang Jing.

These old Foundation Establishment Cultivators may have no hope of Core Formation, but their methods are cunning, their Magical Combat experience is vast, and their power is by no means weak. Combined with the Magical Power advantage of the Late Stage Foundation Establishment, they are the best pieces for trading against an opponent’s genius.

Yang Jing could even guess some of their methods.

They might have a Celestial Demon possess an inconspicuous animal to sneak into the Governor’s Mansion and capture Yang Jing’s Qi Mechanism and Magical Power, either to place a curse or to perform a long-range Demon Summoning.

Or they could hide a Celestial Demon inside an artifact and send it into the Governor’s Mansion, activating it from a distance.

Although Zhang Lu’s Cultivation was only at the Second Layer of Foundation Establishment, she was a disciple of the Alchemy Cauldron Sect. And being in the Northern Domain, she would definitely not be completely defenseless against Celestial Demons.

To possess her with a Five Aggregates Demon so silently and without a trace was absolutely not something that could be achieved by casting a curse from a distance. The Curser must be extremely proficient in the Demon Summoning Technique, and perhaps even someone close to Zhang Lu.

’Why would the Four Demon Sects activate a mole they had taken such pains to plant just to deal with a Foundation Establishment disciple?’

“Could it be that Zhang Lu was afflicted when she left the Governor’s Mansion?”

Wu Siming really didn’t want to suspect his colleagues in the Governor’s Mansion.

Yang Jing shook his head.

“I suspect Zhang Lu was already under control for some specific purpose. There should be an admirer of Yang Jingxu among the people present today. If things had gone as planned, Zhang Lu would have only needed to provoke him slightly at the banquet for him to jump out and challenge me to Magical Combat. His power should be considerable, enough to force me to reveal some of my techniques.”

He continued:

“If I hadn’t used the Eye of Law Skill to see that something was wrong with Zhang Lu’s aura, I would have dismissed the conflict as a simple matter of jealousy and thought nothing of it. I would have been completely unaware that my own capabilities were being probed, and that even my aura was being secretly captured.”

Once they have your aura and birth characters, the next curse they cast won’t be as simple as just a bad dream.

Wu Siming thought for a moment, then nodded.

“The one who admires Yang Jingxu is Lou Chenglong. He saw her once and was completely smitten. He even got into a round of Magical Combat over her. The incident caused quite a stir; even I have heard of it.”

Yang Jing nodded. At the banquet, after Lou Chenglong heard that Yang Jingxu had gone to the kitchen to cook, he had meticulously savored every single dish on the table, occasionally breaking into a foolish grin that was hard to look at. He was the very picture of a sycophant.

Lou Chenglong might not be very bright, but his skills were solid. Caught off guard, he took a direct hit from Yang Jing’s Five Thunders United and only suffered minor injuries.

If Yang Jing hadn’t unleashed his Thunder Technique in that instant, relying only on the methods of the Five Talisman Scripture, he really wouldn’t have been able to take him down.

“This person must have been hiding in the Governor’s Mansion for a long time to know so many details. And he’s extremely confident—so confident it borders on arrogance. He must have felt that with just a little push, he could finish me off with a flick of his wrist. That’s the only reason he would violate the principles of a mole and make a move against me.”

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