Magpie's Nest, Cuckoo's Takeover? Pulling Teeth from Tiger's Jaws!

Boom!

The moment the words "thorough investigation" fell, a thunderous boom filled the ears of every god in the hall!

The echoes lingered long after.

"What was that?" Having recovered quickly, the Mountain Envoy stirred his Divine Sense and deployed the Divine Hearing Method. Before long, he had taken in the scenes of every mountain range throughout Jiannan Circuit.

What he saw gave him a fright—

Rumble!

A bolt of lightning was descending from the Nine Heavens, piercing sky and earth alike as it struck directly toward Nine Spirits Mountain, which separated the Shu Region from the Five Marshes!

Nine Spirits Mountain, summit of Stove Mountain.

The place had changed completely. It was no longer as simple as it had been when Qiu Yan was there. A palace now stood atop the mountain, built from massive stones. Though crude, it possessed a grand and imposing air.

The interior was somewhat gloomy. A throne stood at the highest step in the deepest part of the palace, occupied by a tall, burly man. Beside the palace, however, stood figures bound in iron chains.

At their head was a burly man with golden hair. His loose, shaggy locks hung over his shoulders like a crown. His limbs were shackled, refined iron pierced through his shoulder blades, and his body was covered in dried blood. His face was pale, and he was barely clinging to life.

Beside the golden-haired man were two more bound figures, one tall and one short. The tall one was thin as a pole, while the short one was round as a ball. Blood streamed over their bodies, and their Three Souls and Seven Souls showed signs of dispersing.

Beyond them, all the demons on the mountain, including the Mountain-Patrolling General and Water-Crossing General, had been bound and lined up