All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 396 - 39 Harvest and Attitudes of All Parties (3/3)

Chapter 396: Chapter 39 Harvest and Attitudes of All Parties (3/3)

Apart from studying the classics, An Jing had other matters to attend to.

First, among the initial three goals of finding his mother, collecting Subdue Evil shards, and returning to the Bright Mirror Sect, finding his mother was already accomplished, and collecting Subdue Evil shards could be gradually searched for after the eradication of the True Demon Sect. As for returning to the Bright Mirror Sect... An Jing felt that after making such a significant impact in Linjiang City, the Bright Mirror Sect’s influence in the Da Chen Dynasty would surely be able to locate him and subsequently make contact.

All three key tasks had made progress.

And the slightly lesser task was reorganizing Linjiang City and collecting Spiritual Materials to forge the "Dragon Storing Bottle" for gathering Dragon Qi.

To collect Spiritual Materials, he needed to sort out the Linlang Commerce Chamber’s warehouse, which would also require awaiting the arrival of personnel from Xu Tai and Bai Qinghan’s side. If that was not enough, An Jing might have to purchase some Spiritual Materials from the Tianyuan Realm.

And speaking of the Tianyuan Realm, An Jing suddenly realized he actually had help at hand!

"Puppetry!"

An Jing came to a realization: "Cleaning up the ruins and transporting food, such work requires people not only to be diligent but also trustworthy to prevent stealing, but I still have quite a few energized puppets stored at the Chonggang Town warehouse!"

"The Tianyuan Realm’s Spirit Qi is insufficient for charging, but Linjiang City has an entire Earth Vein Great Formation to supply energy for them—it’s time to get to work!"

This felt like discovering a perfectly fitting Divine Weapon in a nook that could be adapted to the current situation. It made An Jing even more confident in his foresight.

He planned to settle his mother in first, and then head to the Tianyuan Realm.

As for the current situation in Linjiang City... this city that once boasted a population of a million people definitely could not be managed just by a few Martial Artists and puppets.

However, An Jing wasn’t worried. After all, the grand event he had orchestrated in Linjiang City was sure to be known by many... He hoped that those who supported him would arrive quickly.

In fact, because Broken Blade Mountain was also considered a Spirit Land, news about Linjiang City reached various parties much faster than An Jing himself anticipated.

Just five hours after An Jing killed the local leader of the True Demon Sect, the Bright Mirror Sect learned the general situation of Linjiang City through the observations of merchants in the surrounding areas.

Bright Mirror Sect, Dawn Brightness Peak.

"So you’re saying."

Chenyinzi murmured thoughtfully: "My disciple, by his own power, has taken a city secretly controlled by the True Demon Sect?"

Because each power had different channels of information, the news they received varied. From Bright Mirror Sect’s perspective, Linlang Commerce Chamber appeared to be a front for the True Demon Sect, which was why they continuously drove people into the city, to exploit them for the last bit of value before discarding them as experimental materials.

"Reporting to the True Lord, indeed it is so."

On the other side of the Water Mirror, several leaders of the commerce chamber kneeled respectfully on the ground: "An Jing has now become the leader of Linjiang City and has found his mother... It seems he will stay in Linjiang City for some time."

"Now that we have confirmed the True Transmission’s location, can we begin the operation to deliver the Cultivation resources he deserves?"

"Yes, go ahead."

Chenyinzi nodded slightly, and with a hint of something in mind, he advised: "Linjiang City is blockaded by the Frost Calamity and the Beast Tide, surely in need of food, and my disciple lacks manpower... Take a team of capable people to assist him."

"When my disciple returns to the Bright Mirror Sect, the number of people he brings will determine how many from your families can enter the inner sect of the Dawn Brightness Hall."

On hearing this, the leaders from the commerce chamber became ecstatic and thanked him profusely: "We will obey the True Lord’s decree! A thousand thanks for the True Lord’s grace!"

Shenjing, Mysterious Heaven Temple.

Virtuous King Xuan Guangge reminisced about the scene at the previous palace assembly.

Ever since he had informed His Majesty and the court officials that "An Jing might be the Divine Mandate Jiuli Commanding General," news about An Jing had become much scarcer.

This was probably due to the increased importance and confidentiality level of An Jing, but the Virtuous King could also see that there were those in the court who wanted to suppress the fervor surrounding this Divine Mandate.

Even so, the court had argued twice over how to deal with this Divine Mandate.

And from beginning to end, his elder nephew, this generation’s Mysterious Heaven Imperial Lord, Xuan Mingyu, had maintained a calm and placid demeanor, sitting quietly on the Emperor’s throne.

Amid this scene of the righteousness filling the court, he could neither say nor do anything—the pinnacle of the civil and military officials, Grand Preceptor Hong and Grand Governor Yi, were regents appointed to assist until the Emperor could Manifest the Holy, standing by His Majesty’s side.

Now, Xuan Mingyu already possessed the Divine Repository realm, but there was still a long distance to go before he fully fused with the Imperial Seat Talisman.

At least, before reaching Pure Yang, his authority was not as great as imagined.

"The court is indeed troublesome..."

Thinking of this, the Virtuous King also felt a great headache—being the Martial King, in theory, he should not enter Shenjing in his physical form. However, considering he was merely a titular, incompetent Martial King and even lacked Heavenly Martial credentials, the Virtuous King was not only able to enter Shenjing but also wander around the Mysterious Heaven Temple.

He wasn’t curious about this; he had explored the Mysterious Heaven Temple when he was just a few years old. What he truly cared about now was the territory that nominally belonged to him: "With the Southern Dipper Life Infusion concealed, the majority of Divine Weapons from the three routes of Hanhai are gathered in the city surrounding the Prefecture Government, maintaining the smooth flow of the core main Earth Vein... As for other areas, despite claims of talisman support, in reality, they’re left to survive or perish on their own."

"And yet that Divine Mandate took advantage of the situation to seize a city—none of those bureaucrats seemed to care, and I don’t know whether they want to cover something up or if there’s some secret plan in Hanhai. They won’t even let me, the Martial King, leave, and I can only stay in Shenjing for the time being."

Indeed, the Virtuous King’s stay in Shenjing was not by his own choice, but rather, he was forcibly retained by the court officials after he presented his guess to the current Holy Majesty.

And because of this, after losing the Divine Weapons, the entire three routes of Hanhai even lost their Martial King, putting the whole region in a state of headless chaos.

As for this, the Virtuous King was also helpless—the Emperor, his elder nephew, did not manage affairs, the two real authorities among the civil and military officials remained noncommittal, and the entire court was a muddle of confusion. He, a Martial King who picked up the leftovers, had little deterrence and authority and could only wander here.

"But this is also not a solution."

Midway, the more the Virtuous King thought, the more he furrowed his brow, feeling that things couldn’t go on like this: "I still need Dragon Qi for my cultivation. If the whole of Hanhai goes to ruin, when will I ever reach Pure Yang?"

Something must be done. It must be managed. At that moment, the Virtuous King made up his mind and devised a plan: "The upper echelons of the court must have some plan on my side, so they insist on keeping me in Shenjing and suppress the heat around An Jing to prevent people from noticing. The existence of Chief An certainly surprised them. I want to see if the Destiny of this Divine Mandate can blow a bit of their scheme into the open!"

—Indeed, the Virtuous King had his own advantages, among them a familiar person under his command who was acquainted with An Jing and a familiar Divine Weapon.

With this thought, the Virtuous King sent out his intention to summon the Netherworld: "Zheng Mo, Kanming Bell."

[Present!][Ding-dong!]

He sensed his only trustworthy subordinate and the only usable Divine Weapon, and instructed, "Go to Broken Blade Mountain, Linjiang City... An Jing is there."

"Zheng Mo, go contact An Jing to see what his stance truly is. As for the Kanming Bell, observe the situation in secret, and if you encounter anyone with official energy, record their aura and report back to me!"

[Understood, my lord!][Ding-dong ding-dong!]

And that wasn’t all.

The Heaven’s Will Demon Sect, True Demon Sect, and the other four Sects of the Dust Li... Various powers, to a greater or lesser extent, all turned their gaze toward Linjiang City.