The corpses that were just brought belonged to the minister of war and the minister of commerce. Both were important positions in the royal court and had a lot of influence. If one wanted to control a kingdom, having control of just the king wasn't enough, as these two could still oppose him to some level.
It would make sense if Gu Yao had them under his control too, perhaps.
"Put them here." Lin Mu gestured to the workers who were carrying the corpses.
The royal advisers all looked on anxiously while Lin Mu checked the corpses. After about five minutes, Lin Mu's brows furrowed, only pushing the anxiety of those men further high.
"Is it the same?" Wu Hei asked.
"Yes… it is far more apparent in these two." Lin Mu replied, before gesturing to Wu Hei. "Come."
Wu Hei walked closer and followed Lin Mu's directions as to where the traces were. Wu Hei himself had studied the effects of the Human Controlling Blood curse greatly since he wanted to heal his mother, and could sense its presence.
But now that the host of it had died, the presence of the Human Controlling Blood Curse was rapidly fading. Only those with spirit sense as strong and sharp as Lin Mu could sense it at this point.
But with his guidance, Wu Hei managed to sense the traces as well.
~Sigh~
"It really was that." Wu Hei let out a sigh. "This was all due to the work of Gu Yao. We now have confirmation of it. Let it be known to all," He ordered.
"Y-yes, minister Wu!" The royal advisers hurriedly replied.
Right now, there were very few people left in the royal court who held any authority to control it entirely and manage the situation. But with how things had gone and the unexpected deaths, the other ministers were scared into hiding.
Even the princes were useless and had all left the capital overnight. Some also had a fear of being accused of assassination.
"What are you next orders, Minister Wu? With the royal family in disorder, we do not have anyone to take the lead anymore." One of the royal advisers spoke.
"Yes, and since they left the city in times of distress, according to the laws of inheritance that are hereby debarred from contesting the rights." Another minister added.
Wu Hei rubbed his forehead, feeling like this was gonna be another headache for him.
"Isn't there still the original first prince left? Shuang Zedong?" Lin Mu spoke.
"Shuang Zedong? The first prince is alive?!" The royal advisers were stunned upon hearing this.
As far as Lin Mu knew, Shuang Zedong shouldn't have been caught. Wu Hei hadn't told him about anything relating to it either, thus he was a hunch that the man might still be around.
"Hmm… indeed, he can be the best candidate. Unfortunately, I do not know where he is." Wu Hei spoke.
"You don't?" Lin Mu raised his brows.
"No… after the Tri Cauldron Peony sect incident, we were all forced to split up as you already know. The contact between us was lost back then, and it only got worse after the rise of the Gu Legion." Wu Hei replied. "I don't know if he's still alive or not, though."
"Hmm… maybe you can spread some news, looking for him? He might make his way to the kingdom now that the king and the prince are dead." Lin Mu suggested.
"We'll try that. Hopefully, he is still alive. I do not want the extra work of handling a kingdom." Wu Hei stated before looking at the royal advisers. "You know what to do now?" he asked.
"Yes, Minister Wu. We'll get to it immediately." The royal advisers said before taking their leave.
Once they were gone, Wu Hei let out another sigh and sat down on the couch feeling tired.
"Doesn't seem like royal court is in any shape or form to handle the incoming war. The Northern Tribes will be arriving at the Shuang Qian kingdom's northern frontier." Jing Luo spoke in a concerned tone.
"Yes… we'll need to let the alliance step in for this. I'll also gather some people to assist for now." Wu Hei replied.
"The Hei corps?" Lin Mu asked.
"No… that is a thing of the past now. I failed them and now they are gone. I'll have to make use of others. Though they are or were in similar situations." Wu Hei replied.
"Do you have anyone particular in mind?" Lin Mu asked curiously.
"The remnants of the sects that weren't under Gu Yao's control have expressed their intent to join us. Now that the controlled ones have all died, the remaining people have become enraged by it all and how they were being controlled." Wu Hei said. "And since Gu Yao basically used the disciples as livestock, the ones that are left behind are the elders, or high ranking disciples." He added.
"Anyone particular we know of?" Lin Mu questioned.
Hmm, I think there is one that you know of." Wu Hei replied.
"Oh?" Lin Mu wondered who might that be.
"Shaoyan Qianyu, a former peak master of the Tri Cauldron Peony sect." Wu Hei answered.
Hearing this, Lin Mu recalled the woman who had tested him before and he had fooled.
"Oh, her…" Lin Mu was a little surprised that someone as high ranked as she had survived.
"She is a good candidate to help in our current situation. She does have the experience." Wu Hei replied.
"That'll be good. You can make use of her." Lin Mu agreed.
"I'll send out the messages for them by evening and they should be here by tomorrow, hopefully." Wu Hei stated.
Lin Mu nodded his head, finding it to be fine.
The two of them along with Jing Luo, talked for a while more discussing the plans and issue that would arise. They after all, needed a solid battle plan if there was going to be an all out war.
"Can't I just take the war to them? Enter the forbidden continent and stop them before they even move?" Lin Mu asked. "Little Shrubby did that before, didn't he? He can help guide me too."
"That might have been a valid option before, but now that the tribes know and are mounting an offense, it will be greatly difficult. Not to mention they will know the moment you step into it." Wu Hei answered.
"How? I'm sure I can avoid their surveillance with my skills." Lin Mu stated.
"It's not just that. They have other methods to make it so that they will find you. And that is merely the start. They will now bring out all their hidden trump cards, things that can even hurt you." Wu Hei replied. "Or if not hurt you, they can at least restrain you for a while. That alone might become a great disadvantage for us." He added.
Lin Mu recalled the Xieye Yun Frost Cage and the spirit Qi prison array that could stop one from using their spirit Qi cultivation base. He had suffered from both of them while fighting Ku Waowen, and if it were not for his body cultivation and the Burning Heart Sutra, he might not have been able to leave that place alive.
Seeing the look in Lin Mu's eyes, Wu Hei guessed what he was thinking about.
"The Northern Tribes have a better version of the arrays they used on you. You might be able to escape the ones used by a Dao Shell realm or perhaps even a Dao Treading realm expert, but one used by several Immortal Ascension realm and Dao Treading realm experts will certainly restrain you." Wu Hei explained.
"He is right, Lin Mu. We cannot take the risk of you being restrained." Jing Luo agreed.
"Yeah… it'll be best to be a bit cautious." Lin Mu agreed as well.
"And that is not the only thing I'm concerned about. There is something else…" Wu Hei spoke in a serious tone.
Lin Mu and Jing Luo raised their brows, wondering what could be even more troublesome than the issue they had just talked about.
"Let me show you guys first." Wu Hei said before talking out a large and wide scroll.
~roll~
The scroll when opened, was two meters wide and five meters long. There were several diagrams drawn on it along with words written in a different language than what Lin Mu knew of.
The scroll was rather old and many words and diagrams on it were now faded.
"What is this?" Jing Luo questioned.
"Did you get this from Gu Yao?" Lin Mu asked, recognizing that some of these letters seemed to be from the Northern Tribes' language.
"No… not directly, at least. About three years ago, Gu Yao had asked the Gu legion to search for some old ruins of the Northern Tribes. These ruins were from the ancient times, back when the immortals had descended and when there were still five continents.
We were supposed to find those ruins since they contained old teleportation arrays that could operate over large distances. Additionally, Gu Yao also wanted to use them as a base if it was viable.
We certainly did find those ruins, and even the remnant of the old teleportation array. But in addition to that, I found some old and tattered documents. Most of them were too damaged to even be read, but this… was still intact. It's made from the aged beast's hide of the tribes." Wu Hei explained.
"And what's so important in this?" Lin Mu asked, since he couldn't actually read the words.
"This scrolls mentions of one 'Ancestral Bell'. It is an artifact that the Yao Clan brought with them." Wu hie answered.
