**Chapter 139: Moving Against the Spirit Vulture Sect? Cleansing Black Mountain Pass!**
At most, it should have shifted northward by half that distance. How could it involve Withered Leaf City near the swamp?
Thinking this, Wang Yu's eyes gradually turned cold. Lacing his aura with the pressure unique to a Foundation Establishment expert, he grabbed the informant by his lapels. "You dare lie to me?"
"N-no... Senior, a misunderstanding! Every word this junior said is true! That's the notification from the City Lord's Manor! The city gates were closed at noon! Although it's a forced conscription under the Sword Sect's banner, there's also a substantial reward. With your profound cultivation, Senior, you're sure to make a great profit!"
Wang Yu took a deep breath, feeling the man wasn't lying. "Get lost." He casually tossed the man from the second floor. The young information broker scrambled away without looking back.
Those who witnessed this immediately averted their gazes, not daring to look further. But Wang Yu felt a fire of anxiety burning in his heart, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.
*This is wrong! Something is absolutely wrong!* Unless he was being deliberately manipulated, such a coincidence was impossible.
He changed his line of thought.
According to the news, the goal of forcibly conscripting rogue cultivators near Black Mountain Pass was to cleanse the Spirit Vulture Sect. That didn't make sense. The Spirit Vulture Sect was an established sect, residing by a spirit vein. Their stronghold was fixed; they could be cleansed anytime by sending people to watch it. They couldn't escape. This was the common saying: *The monk can run away, but the temple cannot!* Withered Leaf City was too far from the Spirit Vulture Sect; conscription shouldn't involve it no matter what.
Assuming the target wasn't the Spirit Vulture Sect, then by the principle of proximity... the only thing left was... Black Mountain Pass itself!
Wang Yu's pupils constricted sharply. *Yes!* Even if Changxi had gone to Black Mountain Pass to make arrests, she couldn't possibly have arrested everyone. The border garrison was inherently complex, with people from all sorts of backgrounds, more or less connected to the three neighboring Nascent Soul powers: the Green Cloud Sect, the Moon Gazing Palace, and the Thunderfire Temple. The ties were tangled and hard to sever. Even a Sword Sect Wandering Disciple didn't have the authority to arrest them all. But if she planned to act first and report later... then it made sense.
Now, thinking again, why had he come to Withered Leaf City? It was because of Changxi's intimidation! That woman was ruthless, threatening him with her sword. But if she was truly算计 (suànjì - scheming against) him, how did she know he would choose Withered Leaf City? What if he had chosen to lay low in some random city, or returned to Stone Lake City to visit his family?
Also, what did she need him for? What use was he? It didn't add up.
After much thought, only one possibility remained. "The lies... were seen through."
Wang Yu narrowed his eyes, continuously pouring wine into his cup, his thoughts flowing like a spring.
If the Heavenly Void Sword Sect's intelligence network was more powerful than he imagined, then every detail of his life in the Stone Lake Wang Family had likely been thoroughly investigated. This included his conflict with Wang Wu and the circumstances of his father's death. If so, the reasons he gave Changxi during their contact wouldn't hold up, because Wang Wu was already missing, making him highly suspect. Starting from that point, all the subsequent fabricated stories fell apart. Only the part about being a spirit slave was true!
Naturally, they would also know he hadn't traversed the Black Mountain Demon Territory to get here. So what safe passage was nearby? Black Mountain Pass! It let you in if you paid.
With his identity exposed, Changxi's purpose for needing him became clear: to go to Black Mountain Pass and identify people, providing concrete evidence to ensure she wouldn't face procedural trouble after acting first and reporting later.
"What a terrifying woman. In terms of cunning, I actually lost." Although he never considered himself among the supremely intelligent, he was certainly no fool. He had mastered interpersonal relations, concealing one's sharpness, and so on. He downed a cup of wine gloomily and let out a long sigh.
As for driving him to Withered Leaf City, it wasn't a coincidence either. With his identity exposed, he couldn't venture deeper into the Taihu Spiritual Domain. Stone Lake City was also a known quantity. Considering the cultivation world's control over maps, his knowledge of this area was limited. He could only choose a hiding place nearby. By centering on Black Mountain Pass and blockading several cities close to the demon territory and the swamp, they could catch him.
This was the most logical deduction. He refused to believe he was truly this unlucky.
His identity as someone from a demonic sect had been uncovered, and the other party was using him. It was clear she wasn't someone who strictly followed the rules. This trip had certainly broadened his horizons. The waters of the Taihu Spiritual Domain were too deep; he wanted to return to Scarlet Kite!
After settling the bill and putting down his cup, Wang Yu donned a bamboo hat and headed towards the city wall. He would not comply obediently. If he were forcibly taken to Black Mountain Pass, he could forget about returning to the Scarlet Kite Demon Domain. The best outcome would be having his intelligence squeezed dry before being locked up in prison to die. Perhaps the other party had considered everything very thoroughly and calculated precisely, but they absolutely did not understand his, Wang Yu's, temper.
*Dare to scheme against me? I'll slap your face until it's swollen.*
......
......
Withered Leaf City, by the cultivation world's standards, was a typical trade city. Due to its proximity to the Withered Leaf Swamp, it had a massive flow of people. The number of mortals residing here was relatively small; most were cultivators who came and went freely. The abundant demon beast resources, rare materials, and spiritual objects produced in the Withered Leaf Swamp fueled the city's prosperity, radiating out to the surrounding areas and making it a center for trade and freight.
The city was vast, but defensive formations only covered the City Lord's Manor area. Watchtowers hundreds of meters high were evenly distributed throughout. Wang Yu's goal was simple. A city this large must have some corners that were dilapidated from long neglect—maybe even something like a "dog hole." If none existed, bribing the city guards with spirit stones was another option. Or, surely there were other cultivators within the city unwilling to accept the forced conscription, perhaps even some with connections to Withered Leaf City's power structure. It wouldn't be unreasonable for him to pay for a ride out, would it?
*For every policy from above, there is a countermeasure from below. * For Changxi to think she could remotely control his trajectory and direction from afar was both arrogant and underestimated both human nature and the lengths the weak will go to survive.
Seeing no one around, Wang Yu gently touched the moss-covered city wall. His spiritual power probed inward but was quickly repelled. A smile appeared on his face. "As expected. The City Lord's Manor has a third-tier formation. If there's a formation covering the entire city, it's at most second-tier. It's impossible to extravagantly include the entire area within a third-tier formation's scope; they lack the financial resources for that."
After finding this flaw, Wang Yu didn't act immediately. Using the advantage of his Invisibility Art, he openly walked along the city wall, searching for a weak point. His efforts finally paid off as dusk fell. "Here it is."
He stepped back a few paces, looking at this section of the wall covered in cracks and crumbling debris. It was unclear if it had been damaged in a beast tide, but it was obvious it hadn't been properly repaired. He took a deep breath. The Divine Strength Corpse Arm began to gather power. The Yin Nether Demonic蛟 tattoo on his back came to life, coiling around his left arm. After his Body Cultivation breakthrough, the drawback of their powers not stacking had been resolved. He could now unleash his full power without restraint!
But that wasn't all. The grey-black Profound Yin Hand, like a giant glove, actively merged into his left arm from its state. Lifting a fist several times larger than a man, Wang Yu suddenly threw a punch, smashing it hard against the city wall.
"BOOM—!"
(End of Chapter)