Chapter 2286: Stirring Up Internal Conflict

Xue Rongwu casually released his Soul into the doppelganger's Sea of Consciousness.

He entered, but immediately sensed something was wrong.

The seemingly well‑mannered guard's Soul did not match his appearance at all, and its Divine Soul Power was even stronger than his.

At that moment, two Martial Cultivator elites from another city also burst out of the Teleportation Array.

At the Teleportation Array, fifty strongmen arranged by Xue Rongwu were present; the two sides immediately clashed, sparking chaos.

Moreover, those fighters shouted while fighting, accusing Xue Jinling of unjustly storming Chengzhu Fu and deliberately provoking a dynastic dispute.

The Leaders of the garrisons of the two cities then arrived with some elite soldiers, joining the battle.

Xue Jinling and the others instantly had their attention drawn there.

Meanwhile, the doppelganger unleashed its full Soul power—lightning, Nether Ghost Fire, and Buddha Light Power—all at once, forcibly placed a Slave Seal on Xue Rongwu's Soul, and only then returned his Soul.

Then Xue Rongwu turned away, watching the two sides fight; only after his subordinates eliminated all the strongmen did he bring everyone back to Chengzhu Fu for individual Soul inspections.

After confirming that none of them had issues, he carefully inquired about the events.

Having learned the situation, Xue Rongwu decided to confront the Martial Cultivator who had been injured by Chengzhu Fu of Cui Shan City.

"Where is the injured person?"

"That person is important; if he lies, it could cause a misunderstanding!"

Xue Jinling immediately ordered someone to bring him.

"Dead?"

Xue Jinling was astonished when he saw the man dead.

The man was seriously wounded, but not fatal.

He immediately grew worried, fearing it was a plot against him.

"It was killed by a Soul Cultivator!"

Xue Rongwu confirmed.

"Who could have done this…?"

Xue Jinling asked Xue Rongwu.

Xue Rongwu shook his head: "Hard to say.

The two people from Chengzhu Fu just shouted, 'You attacked their Chengzhu Fu without cause?'

Before you acted, you didn't verify whether your subordinates' words were true or false?"

"I…" Xue Jinling tried to argue, but realizing he hadn't asked a single word before acting, he felt he was indeed at fault.

He finally admitted: "I trusted the Servant's words, didn't verify their truth, and acted immediately!"

"Then it's likely that someone is indeed scheming to frame you!"

Xue Rongwu explained plainly: "The princes are all vying for the Crown Prince position; the Eighth Prince is being far too careless!

Originally, King Zhongyuan intended to give you a chance to earn merit, but you turned it into this! Now your trouble has escalated!"

Xue Jinling bit his lip, unable to speak, while cold sweat poured down his forehead.

He immediately softened his attitude toward Xue Rongwu and begged for help.

Xue Rongwu pretended to be reluctant: "There is a way, not that there isn't one… but putting it into action has some difficulty."

Xue Jinling understood and immediately ordered his subordinates to retreat.

Xue Rongwu also sent the guards around him out to patrol.

After everyone left, Xue Jinling took out a Storage Ring and handed it to Xue Rongwu: "Uncle Wang, here are one hundred drops of Cui Yuan Liquid.

After I get through this hurdle and return to the Royal Palace, I'll prepare another gift to thank you, Uncle Wang, for your help!"

Xue Rongwu pretended to decline, but after several refusals he finally accepted it.

Then he told Xue Jinling: "The key figure is that lying soldier."

"I reckon those two dynasties, like you, have been kept in the dark."

"So you can pick a subordinate to replace that lying soldier and make him the scapegoat!"

"But the one behind it wants to harm me; they must know it doesn't line up!"

Xue Jinling asked in confusion.

Xue Rongwu explained: "Of course.

The person who wants to harm you knows who sent them, of course.

But he doesn't know whether the person he sent reported directly to you.

You only need to claim that you heard it from the scapegoat.

Thus, even if the investigation continues, whether it's the killed one or the scapegoat, they still can't trace it back to you.

"Then the people around me…" Xue Jinling asked, puzzled.

Their conversation just now was clearly heard by many people.

"Leave that scapegoat, and everyone else…" Xue Rongwu said, making a downward chopping gesture, ordering Xue Jinling to kill and silence them.

"This…" Xue Jinling hesitated, unable to bring himself to act.

"Decide for yourself! I reckon that by now the other two dynasties have already complained to King Zhongyuan about this, and King Zhongyuan will soon come to demand accountability."

Xue Rongwu urged.

"Alright then! What should I do?"

Upon hearing King Zhongyuan, Xue Jinling immediately compromised.

"Leave it to me to handle.

How many resources do you still have in your hand?

Bring them all out; only with money can you make ghosts grind!"

Xue Rongwu said.

Upon hearing this, Xue Jinling immediately took out most of the resources from his storage ring and handed them to Xue Rongwu.

Xue Rongwu also took out a storage ring, summoned Xue Jinling's subordinates into a separate side hall, saying he wanted to conduct an investigation.

The first one he summoned was his clone, and he immediately handed over the hundred portions of Cui Yuan Liquid and the storage ring.

Then the clone summoned the others one by one; aside from the clone itself, anyone who entered never came out again.

In fact, they were all implanted with a slave seal by the clone and taken into the Space World.

All of this that Xue Rongwu did was actually following the clone's instructions, setting a trap for Xue Jinling.

After he had dealt with all of Xue Jinling's subordinates, the Zhongyuan King also used a transmission talisman to ask him what had happened.

Xue Rongwu only said that Xue Jinling had listened to his subordinates' words and directly attacked the Chengzhu Fu of the Xing Jin Dynasty; those subordinates have now been captured by him and are under interrogation.

The Zhongyuan King also suspected that someone had framed the Eighth Prince, ordered a thorough investigation, and instructed Xue Rongwu to notify Xue Jinling to return to the Royal City immediately, lest he be ambushed.

However, Xue Rongwu told the Zhongyuan King that Xue Jinling has had no news so far and has not returned to Cui Yuan City.

The Zhongyuan King immediately ordered Xue Rongwu to send people to search, and also said he himself would contact Xue Jinling.

Xue Rongwu agreed while going to look for Xue Jinling.

Meanwhile, Xue Jinling had just received the Zhongyuan King's message inquiring about his whereabouts.

"Uncle King, how did Father King ask where I am?"

Xue Jinling was somewhat puzzled.

"Your Father King just asked me where you were; to dispel your suspicions, I said you hadn't returned yet."

You should reply to him, saying you are being pursued by those two Chengzhu Fu, and that it will take two or three days to make a detour back to Cui Yuan City."

Xue Rongwu said.

"Why say two or three days?"

Xue Jinling was somewhat puzzled; clearly, it's only a one-day journey from Cui Shan City to Cui Yuan City.

"You need to take a detour to avoid the pursuers! Moreover, you must not let your enemies know the exact time, lest they harm you again!"

Xue Rongwu said naturally.

"Oh!"

In his flustered state, Xue Jinling couldn't attend to all of this, and simply followed Xue Rongwu's taught reply.