“Such recognition is indeed precious,” Jiang Wang replied via sound transmission, “but I cannot be certain of my ability to aid you.”

Lin Youxie placed a heavy weight of trust upon him, yet Jiang Wang, having journeyed thus far, was no longer the naive youth brimming with fantasies who unconditionally believed that Dong A would rescue all the young people of Fenglin City.

He still upheld his faith, still practiced benevolence within his means, but he no longer disregarded the realities of the world.

Born of the four great Blue Card families, Lin Kuang and Wu Lie were once the most dazzling figures within the Blue Card system, hailed as “South Wu, North Lin,” and collectively known as the Blue Card Twin Peaks. They represented the hope for the resurgence of the four great Blue Card families’ glory.

The major cases that Lin Kuang took on were countless, and each one he solved without fail. To this day, many of the case-handling methods used within the North Yamen were his creations.

Yet his brilliance came to an abrupt halt after he took on the investigation into the assassination of Consort Lei.

Lin Kuang perished, and Wu Lie resigned from his post.

In a single night, the winds and clouds scattered.

Only the three-year-old Lin Youxie remained, forever burdened by a lifelong fear of corpses after suddenly witnessing the body of her birth father.

Of the four great Blue Card families – Lin, Wu, Li, and Cheng – the Cheng family’s lineage was already extinct. The Lin and Wu families were but lingering shadows.

Just a few days prior, Li Youjiu had suffered the punishment of dismemberment and died, signifying that the four great Blue Card families had vanished, both in name and reality, no longer existing!

Now, Lin Youxie sought to grasp any clues that Feng Gu might have left behind and reopen the investigation into Consort Lei’s assassination. Jiang Wang was not optimistic.

He wasn’t pessimistic about Lin Youxie’s investigative skills, but such a wide-reaching major case required the backing of a powerful figure to push it forward. Lin Youxie, even with Wu Lie behind her, lacked this pushing force…

From this perspective, why did Feng Gu choose to commit suicide at this very moment, right after Jiang Wuqi’s funeral had concluded?

Firstly, it was to complete Jiang Wuqi’s posthumous affairs, leaving no further entanglements. Secondly… it was undoubtedly to leverage the Emperor’s emotions towards Jiang Wuqi. While the Emperor’s grief had not yet dissipated, he died in his capacity as the chief eunuch of Changsheng Palace.

He hoped that the Emperor would be enraged, driving forward the investigation into this case.

Then, he would naturally expose the clues related to Consort Lei’s assassination, escalating the case.

Even the person who placed the small anatomy 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 scheme had been executed almost to the limits of what he could do.

But the problem lay in… the Emperor’s exact attitude.

On the surface, the Emperor had assigned the North Yamen to independently handle the Changsheng Palace case, seemingly respecting Feng Gu’s last wish. He also appointed Jiang Wang to supervise the case’s progress, undoubtedly indicating an effort to push it forward.

The investigative lineup composed of Zheng Shangming, Lin Youxie, and Jiang Wang was also quite strong.

However, to trace back from Feng Gu’s hanging case to the assassination of Consort Lei many years ago, frankly speaking, it lacked a bit of weight.

Unless Zheng Shangming became Zheng Shi, and Lin Youxie became Wu Lie, only then would they have the qualifications to discuss investigating a case of this magnitude.

Thus, the Emperor’s attitude remained unclear.

Perhaps the Emperor was also waiting for something…

By combining the information from both Lin Youxie and Zheng Shangming, Jiang Wang could only glean some clues as to the reasons behind this matter.

The key to this matter still rested with the Emperor!

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

The attitudes and positions of the two Blue Cards currently present were clearly not consistent. If Zheng Shangming found the clues first, he would certainly quietly await the Emperor’s will. If Lin Youxie found the clues first, she would undoubtedly pursue the investigation to the end, seeking to bring the truth to light for all the world to see.

Jiang Wang sympathized with Lin Youxie’s experience and understood her desire for truth, but he could not rashly promise something he might not be able to achieve.

One should make few promises about a person’s faith.

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

It was clear that she firmly believed she could find the clues before Zheng Shangming, because compared to the still-doubting Zheng Shangming, she had already confirmed Feng Gu’s death was suicide, putting her a big step ahead.

The only thing she needed to worry about was Jiang Wang, who was constantly watching them under the guise of supervision.

Performing small actions under Jiang Wang’s watchful eye was very difficult for both her and Zheng Shangming. Thus, she only needed to communicate with Jiang Wang privately.

Jiang Wang no longer spoke.

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

It should be said that Lin Youxie and Feng Gu shared a common objective. One was for her deceased father, the other for his deceased benefactor. One used death to make a case, the other participated in it regardless of anything else; they both sought to pursue a truth that was already sealed in history…

Jiang Wang was unwilling to be the one to stand in their way.

Repaying kindness and avenging grievances were all matters of natural justice; who could justifiably criticize?

But if he truly discovered Lin Youxie’s behavior of hiding clues, he was not sure what choice he would make.

Could Zheng Shangming’s friendship simply be ignored? The Zheng father and son so sincerely offered him the position of Deputy Commander of the North Yamen; could he completely disregard that?

Perhaps he should not have taken this supervisory duty; who could have imagined such a difficult situation?

But leaving directly now would inevitably arouse suspicion. Another person supervising would necessarily cause a substantial setback to Lin Youxie’s plan.

Jiang Wang felt annoyed and simply stood at the door of the study, his mind wandering, dedicating a portion of his attention to cultivation.

He did not want to make a choice, so he might as well let fate decide and see whose luck was better, Lin Youxie’s or Zheng Shangming’s.

The Dragon-Tiger Transformation was already complete, and it was time to allocate more energy to the Starlight Holy Tower. After all, all divine abilities and techniques must be based on cultivation.

His divine soul stirred and established contact with the distant starry sky’s Starlight Holy Tower.

It wasn’t that his divine soul power was already sufficient to cross the universe; this kind of contact was more based on the Starlight Holy Tower’s own profundity.

Within the vast starry sky, suspended was a verdant seven-story pagoda, its aura ancient and solid. It had flying eaves and corners, like a painted railing.

A wisp of his divine soul descended into it and manifested a body.

Establishing the Star Tower directly beside the Jade Balancer Star back then did indeed bypass the most tedious and dangerous steps of building the Starlight Holy Tower. There was no need to risk his divine soul being lost in the universe to establish an anchor point, nor was there a need to slowly gather starlight power and build the Star Tower – after all, Senior Guan Yan had finished it with a single palm strike.

Now, this Starlight Holy Tower was indeed still within the conceptual inner circle of the Jade Balancer Star’s starry sky, but where Senior Guan Yan, who occupied the Jade Balancer Star’s “body,” had gone was unknown.

The Jade Balancer already had an owner, and ambitious beings like the Dragon God would not find it easy to capture the position again.

Jiang Wang had no intention of contacting Senior Guan Yan, thinking that the Senior was currently with the somewhat troublesome mother-in-law and did not want to be disturbed.

Within the starry sky covered by the Jade Balancer Star, Jiang Wang’s Star Tower was not the only one, nor was it possible to monopolize this domain. But this Star Tower was certainly in the most core position, within the Qi Kingdom of the Eastern Domain, within Linzi of the Qi Kingdom.

Occupying a uniquely advantageous position, the drooping starlight was like a flowing waterfall, shining brightly.

Jiang Wang was already very familiar with the state of divine soul manifestation.

His current divine soul manifested body, if it were to appear directly in the vast universe, would likely shatter instantly. It was not so within the Star Tower.

From a certain perspective, the Starlight Holy Tower, standing in the distant starry sky, was merely an external “Heaven-Reaching Palace.”

Just as the five inner mansions could also be seen as five “Heaven-Reaching Palaces,” within cultivation, they expanded more possibilities and gave cultivators more choices.

Within the Hidden Star Sea, the starlight was dazzling.

Jiang Wang calmed his heart and sat cross-legged within the Star Tower. With his divine soul manifested body, he borrowed the Star Tower’s profundity and quietly felt his connection with the universe. The Hidden Star Sea was also the universe sea, and the Starlight Holy Tower was also himself.

The human body corresponded to the universe, thus possessing ten thousand possibilities.

In his quiet cultivation, he experienced the uniqueness of this Starlight Holy Tower within the vast universe, actively gathered the Jade Balancer’s starlight, and further carved the Saint Tower itself, making it more unique, more his own, more real…

This was itself also a process of further understanding himself.

Perceive oneself, then explore the universe. Use the universe as a mirror, then examine oneself in reverse. The understanding of self and the understanding of the universe were both endless.

Cultivation might be forever without end, but there were always those who exerted all their efforts, only to go further.

After completing his required cultivation, Jiang Wang stood up and wandered around inside the Starlight Holy Tower for a while, specifically going down to the bottom layer to take a look.

The Sen Hai Dragon God was suppressed at the bottom of this Star Tower. Under the effect of the array set up by Senior Guan Yan, it continuously provided power to this Star Tower. Thus, even though Jiang Wang had been focusing on the Dragon-Tiger Transformation during this period, the Star Tower itself had also progressed rapidly and was now becoming increasingly solid and stable.

The bottom of this Star Tower manifested as an ancient stone ground, like a complete, massive stone slab.

Coarse, ancient, with a sense of historical weight.

When he was adjusting it, Jiang Wang intentionally referenced the View River Platform and the Sword Discussion Platform within the Taixu Illusion.

With a slight shift in his thoughts, this stone slab gradually became transparent, allowing him to clearly see that beneath his feet was a stone prison sealed on all four sides, connected by complex array patterns, giving it an unbreakable feeling.

An ink-gold colored divine dragon was coiled on the ground, seemingly asleep.

The Sen Hai Dragon God was originally a gold-colored dragon body. Later, it was revived by Yan Xiao, taking on the dark side of the Sen Hai Source Realm, becoming ink-colored. After being snatched from Jiang Wang’s body by Guan Yan and sealed into this prison, it had become ink-gold colored…

It had a taste of light and dark interwoven, good and evil mixed.

Its dragon claws and dragon neck were all bound by huge lock rings. Gray-white chains, one end connected to the lock rings, the other connected to the walls on all four sides, trapping and locking the dragon’s body while also drawing its power, preventing it from having any possibility of resistance.

The entire Starlight Holy Tower was within Jiang Wang’s control.

At this time, the transparency of the stone slab beneath his feet was one-way.

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

Jiang Wang silently watched for a while, determined that the other side had no possibility of escape, and then prepared to leave.

“Ah.”

The ink-gold colored dragon in the stone prison suddenly sighed.

It must have felt the changes in the Starlight Holy Tower itself and known that Jiang Wang’s divine soul had arrived in the tower, intentionally making some noise to attract attention.

Jiang Wang did not utter a sound, quietly watching it perform.

“Ancient secrets, who still knows them? In the great war of the hundred races, the sky collapsed nine times. How much did the dragon race pay for this world? Heaven is always heartless, and the people of the world are the most forgetful. But false legends are as thin as white paper, and false stories are merely broken dreams. Those who forget history will ultimately be forgotten by history!”

The Dragon God’s voice was low and deep, as if trapped in vast memories: “In that year, my emperor fought at Lie Mountain, saving the world from the brink of collapse. He broke the Nine-Twisted River, shattered the Seven Treasures of Xiaoshan, inquired in the Southern Heaven, and roared in the Yu Abyss…”

Saying this, it sighed heavily again. This sigh carried a hint of self-pity, yet also a deep and profound meaning. It seemed to have many stories waiting to be told, infinite secrets to share with others.

The dragon’s secrets, the dragon’s history, the dragon’s treasures…

No one would be unmoved by this.

However, Jiang Wang remained silent.

The silence continued for a very long time.

The Sen Hai Dragon God suddenly burst into laughter, its voice desolate: “In the past, the dragon race opened up the vast sea, and more than half of the aquatic races followed. I operated the Sen Hai Source Realm for a thousand years, and in the end, no one followed… There is no distinction between holiness and evil, virtue and fortune are not rewarded; the vast universe is extremely ridiculous!”

Jiang Wang said not a word and left directly.

The Dragon God in the dungeon continued: “Think of me, a true dragon, master of ten thousand divine arts, knowing what’s above…”

Suddenly detecting the change in the Saint Tower’s aura, it stopped pretending and quickly jumped up: “Hey, don’t go! Little brother!”

But the aura of the Star Tower’s owner had already disappeared, and this Star Tower once again returned to its solitary state in the universe.

“Damn!” The Dragon God’s eyes revealed a ferocious look, and it immediately leapt up.

The chains binding it tightened, lashing like lightning, angrily whipping its body!

Amidst the exploding light and flames, the entire ink-gold colored dragon body heavily slammed to the ground, falling dizzy and disoriented. With skin and flesh torn open, it could only pant hatefully.

“Ant… detestable!”

Born with immense power, it had been high above for countless years. Once a prisoner, it could only vent its hatred verbally.

Its anger and humiliation only echoed within the prison chamber.

Jiang Wang’s words were not heard, simply unheard…

And for Jiang Wang.

A true dragon was naturally infinitely valuable. Not to mention its contribution to the power of the First Star Tower, its vision and experience as a true dragon alone were a huge asset.

It was just that this “asset” was not so easy to obtain.

Jiang Wang was not arrogant enough to think he had enough wisdom to suppress such an existence that had schemed for a thousand years in the Jade Balancer.

On the contrary, if his eyes were blinded by greed, he might unknowingly enter the other side’s trap.

Therefore, before he had enough patience, he did not plan to have any exchange with this Sen Hai Dragon God – under the suppression of Senior Guan Yan’s methods, this Sen Hai Dragon God could not cultivate, could not resist… At most, it would just wait for the First Star Tower to absorb it into a dragon corpse.

Between him and the Sen Hai Dragon God, time was his friend. The later it was, the more the Dragon God could recognize reality.

Jiang Wang had enough patience.

The people of Mu Country said that they could tame eagles; perhaps taming a dragon was also not impossible.

Ending the cultivation session in the Starlight Holy Tower, that faint sense of vexation from being in a difficult position had already disappeared.

Zheng Shangming and Lin Youxie were still carefully searching for information, extracting phrases from the books on Jiang Wuqi’s bookshelves. Occasionally, the two would exchange a few analyses, all of which were somewhat superficial.

Jiang Wang merely glanced at them faintly, then prepared to continue studying his Taoist arts.

Although the Dragon-Tiger Transformation had initially taken shape, the Flame Flower Burning City was still lacking something.

Although he had the detailed explanations left behind by Zuo Guanglie, after all, the energy he had allocated before was not enough.

This kind of control over Taoist arts was the most demanding in terms of time consumption. One day without practice, you would know; two days without practice, the Taoist arts would know; three days without practice, your opponent would know.

But perhaps it was due to having just seen the Dragon God, Jiang Wang suddenly thought of the Red Makeup Mirror at this moment.

From this, he thought of the third choice in Changsheng Palace—

What if he could find the clues first?

Wouldn’t he be able to make a relatively more correct choice under a more comprehensive understanding of the information?

After seeing through the cause and effect, then deciding who to give the clues to, wouldn’t that be better?

Jiang Wang thought of the Red Makeup Mirror at this time, not because of its possible connection to the dragon race, but because of its reflection function.

After multiple divine soul tribulations, the range the Red Makeup Mirror could cover had already reached fifty li, and it could perfectly display every detail, extremely clearly, which was completely sufficient to cover Changsheng Palace!

Using it to find clues would definitely be clearer than with the naked eye, and it wouldn’t be limited to this study.

This was also the basis for his feeling that he might have an opportunity to discover the clues first.

Using the Red Makeup Mirror’s probing ability in Linzi was a very foolish choice, because it was very easy to offend some strong individuals. If he was seen as peeping and they came knocking, that would truly be called losing face; his reputation and status might not even be preserved.

But today, Changsheng Palace was completely sealed, and they were also granted the right to search Changsheng Palace…

If he didn’t use it now, when would he?

Jiang Wang silently, already grasped the Red Makeup Mirror.

With the help of the Red Makeup Mirror, his vision quickly expanded to cover the entire Changsheng Palace.

The Red Makeup Mirror was not some fortune treasure, but a tool for engraving resentment curses. Using the Red Makeup Mirror to probe directly without going through the mirror world would, without accident, result in negative emotions and vague curses disturbing the user.

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

Compared to the time he first felt the Red Makeup Mirror’s curse power overseas, today’s Jiang Wang was already countless times stronger.

This magnificent palace unfolded within his vision.

From a transcendent angle, he once again observed the currently empty Changsheng Palace.

It was like visiting Jiang Wuqi once again.