At this moment, the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince stood on the bank of the River of Time. The air was filled with a great amount of water vapor condensed from time itself, and with their cultivation, it was somewhat difficult for them to even stand here. The two walked upstream together.
The River of Time was vast and mighty, each droplet of water representing a period of time in a certain region. To find a specific droplet in the River of Time was no different from a fool's dream. Fortunately, the two were in Green City, and the geographical advantage reduced the difficulty of finding the droplet.
They finally located a water droplet from ten days ago and saw the Jiang Clan Leader and City Lord Zeng secretly plotting to send people to destroy the Spacetime Node under the cover of night. The two walked further upstream and found the Droplet of Time of Jiang Yixing's Blood Sacrifice of children.
However, their magical power was limited, and they could only see events from three years ago; it was difficult to see clearly any further back. In these three years, Jiang Yixing had performed a Blood Sacrifice of children every year, pushing his cultivation from the Late Nascent Soul stage to the Peak Nascent Soul.
The piles of bones beside the sacrificial altar already spoke for themselves. The matter was already very clear: Jiang Yixing cultivated the Demonic Path, and after the incident came to light, the Jiang Clan Leader and City Lord Zeng joined forces to cover up the evidence.
From the moment they entered the River of Time, the outside world's time was frozen for them. Therefore, in the eyes of the crowd, the figures of the two Princes disappeared and then immediately reappeared, without even a single breath of interval.
"I have investigated this matter. Jiang Yixing did not cultivate the Demonic Path, and City Lord Zeng did not destroy the evidence. Are you two satisfied with this conclusion?"
The Third Prince stood in the air, looking down condescendingly at Jiang Li and Yuan Wuxing. The Fourth Prince stood to the side, silent. As the supervisor, not speaking meant that he agreed with what the Third Prince had said.
As soon as the Third Prince said this, the Jiang Clan Leader and the others knew the matter was settled. They began to calculate how to retaliate against Jiang Li and Yuan Wuxing.
These two had nearly driven them into a fatal situation; if they did not torture them cruelly before killing them, it would be difficult to resolve the hatred in their hearts!
Jiang Li, in a rather relaxed tone, pointed at the slightly trembling black-robed person, "Whether the two of us are satisfied is not important, but I'm afraid this brother here doesn't quite agree with the result you've given." Seeing that the black-robed person showed signs of anger, Yuan Wuxing quickly hid behind Jiang Li.
There was no shame in clinging to a powerful backer.
"You two disgraceful embarrassments, hurry up and get down here for me!"
A grand and tyrannical aura swept out in all directions with the black-robed person as its epicenter. There were many Spirit Transformation cultivators present, yet none could fathom the depth of this aura's master. A familiar voice resounded in the ears of the two Princes, like a sudden clap of thunder, startling them into a shiver.
They almost lost control of the spiritual qi in their bodies and crashed directly to the ground. Fortunately, both of them reacted quickly, hurriedly landing in front of the black-robed person and kneeling cleanly on the ground.
"This son greets Father Emperor."
Emperor Zhou, Ji Zhi, sneered as he pulled back his hood, "So, you still have me, your Father Emperor, in your eyes." Seeing this, everyone hurriedly knelt down as well, shouting 'Long live'. Yuan Wuxing hesitated for a moment, then also knelt.
The Jiang Clan Leader and the others kneeling on the ground trembled, a chill running down their spines. Why was His Majesty here? Why was he standing on Zhang Li's side?
Why was his tone so hostile? All signs indicated that matters were developing in a direction unfavorable to them. Besides Emperor Zhou Ji Zhi, the only one still standing was Jiang Li.
Everyone was filled with doubt, but no one dared to speak. The Third Prince, feeling guilty, wanted to make a preemptive move to divert Emperor Zhou's attention.
"Audacious! Zhang Li, how dare you not kneel upon seeing Father Emperor!"
"Shut up! Haven't you been disgraceful enough!?"
Emperor Zhou Ji Zhi roared. The Third Prince was so frightened he immediately dared not speak. Then he turned his head to the crowd and said, "You may rise."
"I ask you, what exactly did you see in the River of Time," Emperor Zhou Ji Zhi questioned.
The Third Prince hesitated and did not speak. The Fourth Prince, whose fear was slightly less, replied, "Father Emperor, there are many people and watchful eyes here. Could you allow this son to report back to you after we return?"
"There's nothing that can't be said in public. Say it here, in front of everyone. Always speaking so secretively and cryptically, I don't recall ever teaching you to be like that!"
The Fourth Prince hesitated for a moment, then said, "Third Elder Brother and I saw Jiang Yixing performing Blood Sacrifice on children to cultivate the Demonic Path, and the Jiang Clan Leader and City Lord Zeng acting in collusion to conceal the evidence."
"Why did you lie? Do you know that once Jiang Yixing is let go, these two will be plunged into endless retaliation, and may not even have their bones left behind?"
Emperor Zhou Ji Zhi pointed at Yuan Wuxing, who was kneeling on the ground, and Jiang Li, who was watching the show, treating Jiang Li as if he were truly only at the Nascent Soul Stage.
"This son was worried this matter would involve Human Emperor Jiang, which would be detrimental to the nation and to Human Emperor Jiang. For the sake of the bigger picture, I chose to conceal it."
"What a fine 'for the sake of the bigger picture'. I had no idea my fourth son's strategic perspective has already surpassed my own."
Emperor Zhou Ji Zhi sneered.
"Tell me, what kind of grand perspective led you to commit an act that damages our National Fate?"
The Fourth Prince told him everything he knew and had speculated.
"The Human Emperor cultivating the Demonic Path, that's the nonsense you deduced? You imagined Human Emperor Jiang's character and conduct out of thin air, completely contrary to the facts."
The Fourth Prince, now in for a penny, in for a pound, said something he would normally never dare to say, "Father Emperor, how can you be so certain that Human Emperor Jiang has not cultivated the Demonic Path?"
Having falsified the Time Tracing, the Third Prince knew that as of today, he was out of the running for the throne. He also added, "Jiang Yixing is the Human Emperor's older cousin. Without the Human Emperor's permission, would he, Jiang Yixing, dare to cultivate the Demonic Path?"
"How can I be so certain? Simply because Human Emperor Jiang personally captured Jiang Yixing and handed him over to us for judgment!"
Emperor Zhou Ji Zhi was so angered by the words of his two foolish sons that he laughed. Clearly, the truth would have come to light if they had just consulted him, but his two foolish sons insisted on making rash decisions in a field they were unfamiliar with.
"Human Emperor Jiang believes that Great Zhou is a nation governed by law, where any violation can receive a just trial. But what have you two done? Deceiving those above and hiding from those below, forming cliques, resorting to every means possible to cover up Jiang Yixing's matter. Do you have any idea that Human Emperor Jiang has been watching our Great Zhou's farce for a full ten days!"
Emperor Zhou Ji Zhi's final words were practically roared out. The Immortal Beast Xiezhi, condensed from the National Fate, became faintly visible, roaring silently. The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince had never seen their Father Emperor so enraged.
Wait a moment, Human Emperor Jiang captured Jiang Yixing? Everyone suddenly realized that Emperor Zhou's words seemed to contain a huge amount of hidden information.
"Brother Ji, calm your anger. The events of these past few days are very much worth reflecting upon. I certainly wasn't watching it as a farce. If the one who applied for the Time Trace hadn't been me, but an ordinary person, would they have still been treated this way? Brother Ji, the road to governing a nation by law is still very long."
Jiang Li sighed with emotion. He revealed his original face, and instantly, gasps of astonishment rose and fell one after another. People felt fear towards Emperor Zhou Ji Zhi, but for Human Emperor Jiang Li, they felt reverence.
The people of Green City were all too familiar with this face. One could see a bronze statue of it upon entering the city. The Third Prince was stunned frozen on the spot.
The bellyful of rebuttals he had for his Father Emperor all turned to flowing water, gone and never to return. With Yuan Wuxing's ability, it would have been impossible for him to discover Jiang Yixing.
Jiang Li capturing Jiang Yixing and handing him over to the authorities in itself proved that Jiang Li had no prior knowledge of this affair, and had never cultivated the Demonic Path. It turned out that helping Human Emperor Jiang keep his secret was nothing more than his own wishful thinking.
(End of Chapter)