Destiny in Cinders

That was indeed something unexpected. Mystic Mirror had thought that the cooperation between Grand Chen and the demonic cult was extraordinary enough, but the fact that Majesty Yang Fist Shu Zheng was a member of the demonic cult was even more out there. Not to mention, he died without anyone knowing better from fighting a heavenly fiend deep in the mountains even though he was a promising spy of the demonic cult.

"Shu Zheng has done lots of good deeds over the years and also performed his official duties well. How could he be a member of the demonic cult?" Mystic Mirror furrowed his brow. Even though he could expose Shu Zheng's true identity, he wasn't a member of Grand Chen. Doing so would risk retaliation from other cultist spies hidden within the empire. It would also risk others accusing Voidsight Mountain for interfering in Grand Chen's internal affairs.

Good and evil was also judged by actions rather than intention, so on account of all the good deeds and efforts that Shu Zheng had done over the years, he didn't really feel like exposing him and decided to forget about it.

"Who was the last person to fight the fiend?" Mystic Mirror looked around and felt rather helpless. The heavy thunderstorms from earlier were followed by falling snow. As the fiend qi got purified, lots of the surrounding aura traces were also wiped away. Even a sage like Mystic Mirror could only just barely sense the signs of the martial techniques left behind by Majesty Yang Fist along with a very faint trace of some Fortification Realm lightning technique.

"Did someone use a lightning technique to catch the vilespawn fiend off guard and kill it at the very end?" Mystic Mirror looked up in deep thought. Given his understanding of the Heavenly Demon Cult, it wouldn't be odd for them to have some kind of lighting user among their ranks. Even so, a firm notion surfaced in his mind. "That lightning user must be someone who's neither on Grand Chen nor the cult's side. Otherwise, Majesty Yang Fist wouldn't have fallen.

"This is interesting. Where did this lightning user come from? Based on what I know, the Heavenly Demon Cult's recent operations have been centered on pursuing a traitor among them, the young rebel leader An Jing that mastered his ability right after awakening his lifearc. They were just unlucky enough to run into the heavenly fiend during their pursuit. Perhaps An Jing betrayed the cult because someone was guiding him in the background..."

The corner of his lips curved up ever so slightly. He looked toward the city of Keensight in the distance through the falling snow. "So this lightning user and the traitor of the cult managed to not just avoid the heavenly fiend, but also Grand Chen and even a secret Clearing Realm cultist among their ranks... Things are getting more and more lively in the northwestern wilderness!"

***

The Cangxie Region was located far south of the western mountains outside of Grand Chen's domain. An airship traveled through the region, the Lord Inspector of the North's elegant voice resounding within it. "The islands of West Ocean are the sacred lands of the divine cult. However, Heavenly Will Mountain is at the very center of the Cangxie Region. The cult leader is in command of his left and right hands, the Four Cardinal Kings, and twelve divine general guards. Second to that are the Four Cardinal Inspectors, Eight Sentinels and the Twenty-Four Halls.

"Further down the hierarchy are the 108 altar masters spread across the land, with nineteen of them stationed within Grand Chen's borders. In other words, nineteen cities in Grand Chen are secretly under our control."

The Lord Inspector of the North pulled a young woman into her embrace in the strong winds. Bai Qinghan didn't relax in the slightest, however. She looked down from the airship and saw many bumpy mountain peaks poking through the clouds. "In other words, there are many members of the divine cult hidden among Grand Chen, right? That means during the Hanhai Fiend Calamity..."

"I know what you're trying to ask," the inspector said with a laugh. She brought Bai Qinghan to the ship's railing and pointed at the mountain ranges beyond the clouds. "The cult can't claim to have had no hand in the fiend calamity. But if Grand Chen hadn't made those foolish decisions, there was nothing we could've done to shake the foundations of its order. It's just like how even the heaviest storms won't be able to do anything to shake a mountain, unless the mountain itself is already shaking and cracking apart.

"Feel free to look into this matter however you like. You may look through all the records made by the cult as well as the histories of Grand Chen. If you believe that the divine cult was responsible for the fiend calamity, feel free to betray us like An Jing, who couldn't tolerate our consumption of humans. However, you might not necessarily be as capable as An Jing. Your escape is far from guaranteed."

"I will look into it," Bai Qinghan calmly said. At that moment, the ship flew past one of the cities under the cult's control. She looked down and saw large swathes of people in it. "I have another question."

"Ask away. Ask anything you like," the lord inspector said, smiling.

"Do you all plan to devour An Jing?"

The inspector squinted for a moment before bursting out in laughter. Lazily, she said, "You little child... You're so sensitive to certain things, and yet you can't help but speak the truth. At the very least, I won't be taking part in devouring him. His lifearc is far too different from mine, nor do I use shortcuts like these. However, there are indeed people who wish to devour him.

"It isn't just limited to the divine cult. Think, Qinghan, think. What do you think happens to someone who isn't affiliated with the divine cult, Grand Chen or the Dustdawn factions? What else can someone like this do but be devoured? In times like ours, even the most apex of geniuses would never be able to grow stronger on their own. An Jing has to pick a side to join in order to take himself off the menu."

In a more serious tone, she said, "Geniuses that refuse to join any side would be devoured by all sides."

Bai Qinghan looked down in deep thought. "Isn't the inverse also true? Even if being factionless puts him on the menu and makes everyone else his enemy, doesn't that also mean that he would be able to devour everyone in turn?"

"Hahaha! So, you think that he would turn on us and devour us, huh?" She chuckled without the slightest care in the world, treating it as a foolish girl's rambling. "Even if that turns out to be the case, it would be one of the most interesting things to happen in the hundreds of thousands of years of history of Void Embrace."

***

Meanwhile at Faultjade Pass, Qinghai Prefecture, Gu Yeqi followed a gentle-looking old woman into an ancient tower near the border. Two years ago, the thirteen allied tribes of northern barbarians had defeated the Dustdawn rulers with a massive force of a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

They swept in from four separate directions, namely, through Greenjade Pass, Embrace River, Brightmont and Snowfly Ridge, clashing with the protector of Hanhai Circuit, Gu Yunzhi, and the four guardians of Hanhai under his command. The barbarians lost three battles and managed a single draw and had no choice but to return to North Han.

Commander Gu's victorious troops pursued the routed barbarians and reclaimed three lost prefectures. However, they struggled to take back the city of Brightmont that the barbarians had managed to occupy and were forced to have a standoff against the barbaric forces across the river.

Commanders of Grand Chen were martial-officials that bore one of the eight wasteland mandates. They were also at the Void Divine Treasures Realm. Their forces numbered twenty thousand in total and they were given the authority to demand the cooperation of local garrison forces.

Even more senior than those commanders were sentinel generals that had to be appointed personally by the sovereign as well as the martial lords that defended the divine capital.

Rumor was that Commander Gu's achievements had spread throughout the divine capital and reached the ears of the sovereign. It seemed that he would soon be promoted to the position of general.

Gu Yeqi didn't know her so-called grandfather well. The recent news in the past two months was the extent of what she knew about him. What kind of person was he? Why did her father leave his grandfather and go live at the northern frontier alone? Why did her grandfather leave them alone for so many years only to suddenly decide to get her back? Most importantly, what happened to her father?

She reached the top of the tower with plenty of questions in mind. The strong, frosty winds caused the old woman to retreat back into the tower, leaving Gu Yeqi alone with the tall, old man who gradually turned back to look at her.