Nine-Ren Mountain's expression remained impassive. In truth, he didn't need these people to spell it out for him. As the city lord, he sensed the shifts in Nine Central City's fortune far more clearly than anyone else. Most obvious was the marked decline in the fortune gathered by his city lord's seal. Just as these immortal army officers had said, the foundation of his rule over Nine Central City had been shaken.
He had no direct evidence of who was behind the criticism of Nine Central City, but he was certain someone was fanning the flames from the shadows. The most likely suspect was undoubtedly the non-immortal commander, Wuming.
Though he had rejected Wuming's resignation the last time, a rift had already opened between them. The current criticism of Nine Central City had arisen from his own decisions, but once it gained momentum, the gulf between Nine-Ren Mountain and Wuming would be difficult to bridge.
Wuming was nothing like his name suggested; he was no obscure nobody in Nine Central City. On the contrary, his prestige there had grown steadily over the past few thousand years. He had slain countless demons, guarded Nine Central City without fail, and kept the region safe. His standing was second only to Nine-Ren Mountain's.
Nine Central City was at a critical juncture. With the Lotus Avatar no longer holding down the rear, Nine-Ren Mountain truly found it difficult to feel at ease.
But unlike last time, this time the Lotus Avatar's public resignation—brought on by the exclusion of an immortal general he had promoted—had become the talk of all Nine Central City. Even if Nine-Ren Mountain wanted to avoid the matter, he could no longer do so.
Nine-Ren Mountain did want to mend his relationship with the Lotus Avatar. In his view, all the