When Zhang Yuhe heard that the secret base of the Demon God Sect was located in Mirror Sky City, he found it hard to believe.
As a regular city under the jurisdiction of Yunzhong Mansion, Mirror Sky City should be densely populated. How could the Demon God Sect choose such a place?
Shouldn't they be hiding in remote mountains or ancient forests? How could they be so bold as to operate openly in a city?
Zhang Yuhe turned to Wang Guofeng with a skeptical look.
"Are you sure your friend didn't mishear? It was definitely Mirror Sky City?"
"I'm sure," Wang Guofeng replied. "Before I logged in today, I spoke with him again just to confirm. It's definitely Mirror Sky City."
Hearing Wang Guofeng's firm answer only deepened Zhang Yuhe's confusion.
"Is that even possible?" he muttered, sinking into deep thought.
He began analyzing the situation.
The first thing that came to mind was the unusual attitude of the He and Li families when he first arrived at Yunzhong Mansion.
As for Hyacinth Tower, he had already marked it as suspicious. There was no concrete reason—just a gut feeling. Concubine Mingyue had hidden her strength far too well. That alone made Zhang Yuhe question the tower's true purpose.
Not everyone cultivated purely for growth, like he did.
Aside from the Hyacinth Tower, the He and Li families had also made their stance clear—they showed little interest in him, the newly appointed town guard.
To put it bluntly, they showed him no respect.
Though they hadn't outright opposed him, their refusal to cooperate was evident. All he had wanted was to borrow a few people from each faction to help run the Town Guard Mansion. But both families refused.
What was backing them that gave them such confidence? What made them bold enough to ignore the authority of the town guard?
Could it be that the Demon God Sect was supporting them?
Were they counting on its power to oppose him?
If that was the case, Zhang Yuhe thought, the He and Li families were being reckless.
The Demon God Sect's strength lay in secrecy and destruction. But in a head-on confrontation with the Dao Holy Sect, they were completely outmatched.
Unless… it wasn't just the Demon God Sect involved.
Could it be the demons?
A chill ran through Zhang Yuhe as another possibility struck him.
What if a new demon clan had already invaded Yufantian—or was about to?
Only with backing from the demons could the He and Li families afford to be so dismissive.
Because the strength of the demon clans was overwhelming—far beyond that of the Dao Holy Sect.
The great turmoil 100,000 years ago was proof enough. If not for a unique method used by the Dao Holy Sect to seal the demons' invasion channel, cutting off reinforcements, the outcome of that war might have been very different.
In fact, Yufantian might have become demon territory by now.
Could it be that a new demon clan had already infiltrated Yufantian?
If so, Yunzhong Mansion was facing a dire threat.
Zhang Yuhe recalled something else.
In the past two days, he had been reviewing records on Yunzhong Mansion. But in all those materials, there was barely any mention of Mirror Sky City.
That was highly unusual.
As a city under Yunzhong's control, Mirror Sky City should have regular traffic and documented events.
Where there are people, things happen. And where things happen, there should be records—especially among town guard reports.
But there were none.
Aside from knowing that it was the ancestral land of the He family, he found nothing.
Something was definitely wrong.
After weighing the facts, Zhang Yuhe felt confident that something was amiss in Mirror Sky City.
Whether it was a base for the Demon God Sect or something worse—like a hidden demon invasion—he had to investigate.
"Maybe I should go to Mirror Sky City," Zhang Yuhe murmured.
The decision was made. He would go check it out himself.
Report directly to the sect?
He shook his head. No.
How could he report something he had no solid proof of?
If this turned out to be a wild goose chase, the sect elders might never forgive him.
"I'll head out after I've arranged things for Wang Guofeng."
With that, Zhang Yuhe called out, "Come in."
Qian Zhongshu, who had been waiting outside, entered the main hall immediately.
He glanced at Zhang Yuhe, then at Wang Guofeng, clearly curious. The town guard rarely brought people back personally.
Zhang Yuhe ignored their curiosity and gestured toward Wang Guofeng.
"His name is Wang Guofeng. He'll be the steward of the Town Guard Mansion from now on. Make sure to cooperate with him."
"Yes, sir," the others replied quickly.
Wang Guofeng was elated. He had successfully latched onto a powerful patron. Cultivating in Yufantian no longer seemed like a dream—his future was secured.
He bowed politely to Qian Zhongshu and the others.
"I am Wang Guofeng. Greetings, fellow Daoists."
"Greetings, Steward Wang."
Watching everyone exchange pleasantries, Zhang Yuhe waved them off.
"Enough for now. We'll talk more later."
Then he turned to Qian Zhongshu.
"Qian Zhongshu, I need to ask you something. Have you ever been to Mirror Sky City?"
The question surprised Qian Zhongshu.
Why would the town guard suddenly ask about that place?
"My lord, I've never been to Mirror Sky City," he replied honestly.
"How much do you know about it, then?"
Zhang Yuhe pressed on.
Qian Zhongshu was taken aback. This line of questioning was far too direct.
He recalled how the He and Li families had refused to offer aid. Was the town guard planning to confront the He family?
After all, Mirror Sky City was their ancestral land.
And if Lord Zhang was targeting the He family, he would fully support it. The fall of the He family could only benefit the Qian family.
But the more Qian Zhongshu thought about it, the more he realized—he knew almost nothing about Mirror Sky City.
After a pause, he answered with a hint of embarrassment, "My lord, I don't know much. If you need information, I can return to the family and ask."
"Forget it," Zhang Yuhe said, waving his hand.
There was no need to question anyone else in the Qian family.
He hadn't expected any real answers from Qian Zhongshu to begin with. But as the local head figure and the brother-in-law of the Qian family patriarch, Qian Zhongshu should have at least known something about every corner of Yunzhong Mansion.
That he knew nothing of Mirror Sky City spoke volumes.
It suggested that someone had intentionally severed the city's connection to the outside world.
Mirror Sky City might have been closed off for a long time. Outsiders probably couldn't enter or leave anymore.
Inside the city, only the He family, members of the Demon God Sect—and possibly demons—might remain.
No one else.
That would explain the total lack of information.
Asking others would likely yield the same blank results, and spreading inquiries might leak his intentions.
No—if he wanted answers, he had to see for himself.
"I need to head to Mirror Sky City immediately," Zhang Yuhe decided.
He glanced at the group around him.
"You're all dismissed. I have something to take care of."
As soon as he finished speaking, his body turned into a streak of light, vanishing from the main hall.