Chapter 1023: Contact

Meng Zhang's intuition was right; Feng Baoshan indeed had a method to urgently contact his superior, Han Yao.

According to the Five Punishments Guard's usual practices, this method of communication could only be used in extremely urgent situations.

Facing Meng Zhang's request, Feng Baoshan appeared distressed as he revealed his predicament.

Meng Zhang had refrained from seeking help from Feng Baoshan when he couldn't meet Han Yao before. He had done so to avoid this exact situation.

However, now Meng Zhang had no other options but to seek Han Yao's assistance. Furthermore, he reasoned that Han Yao and Ouyang Jian were at odds. If Han Yao learned of Ouyang Jian's scheme, he would likely actively work to thwart it.

While Shou Zheng had merely requested Meng Zhang to trail Ouyang Huajin and accompany him into the Netherworld, if circumstances allowed, Meng Zhang was more than willing to disrupt Ouyang Huajin's plans.

Upon Meng Zhang's repeated pleas, Feng Baoshan eventually agreed.

After all, Meng Zhang had claimed that the matter was connected to Ouyang Jian's schemes and plots, which couldn't be taken lightly.

While contacting Han Yao in an emergency came at a price, if a significant event were truly missed due to inaction, Feng Baoshan would also bear responsibility.

At the core of the Five Punishments Guard's base, there was a special communication formation. By expending some precious materials, regardless of where Han Yao was within the vicinity of the Dali Dynasty, they could establish contact and exchange messages.

The location of the formation was a vital area of the Five Punishments Guard's base. Normally, someone like Meng Zhang, who had recently joined, wouldn't have the qualification to enter here.

However, since Meng Zhang stressed the urgency of the situation, Feng Baoshan made an exception.

Feng Baoshan brought Meng Zhang to the side of the formation and activated it.

The process of contacting Han Yao wasn't smooth. It failed several times in a row before barely succeeding.

After Feng Baoshan managed to contact Han Yao, the conversation was somewhat disjointed. It was intermittently unclear, making it challenging to maintain a stable connection.

Feng Baoshan instructed Meng Zhang to step forward and report directly to Han Yao.

Seeing the situation, it seemed that things weren't progressing well on Han Yao's end. Meng Zhang concisely recounted his situation with Ouyang Huajin during their spar and Ouyang Jian's recent actions.

After Meng Zhang finished his report, he nervously awaited a response.

Regarding Shou Zheng, as he was a senior of the Taiyi Sect and the matter concerned the sect's secrets, Meng Zhang naturally wouldn't disclose it to an outsider like Han Yao.

Whether it was Ouyang Huajin's deliberate act of seeking death or Ouyang Jian intentionally sending Ouyang Huajin's Primordial Spirit to the Netherworld, these were all Meng Zhang's claims without substantial evidence.

As for Ouyang Jian having a grand plan and nefarious intentions in the Netherworld, that was even more speculative.

With a person who didn't fully trust Meng Zhang, they might assume he was being fanciful or attempting to frame Ouyang Jian, using someone else's power against his own adversary.

Due to the communication issues, after Meng Zhang's report, at Han Yao's request, he repeated the contents he had just relayed.

Meng Zhang wasn't aware that the enmity between Han Yao and Ouyang Jian ran much deeper than he imagined.

If it were under his role as the Minister of Judicial Affairs, Han Yao would ensure a fair and impartial trial, requiring irrefutable evidence for a verdict.

However, when it came to his old adversary, Ouyang Jian, Han Yao would be more inclined to believe there was something rather than nothing. Even if it was mere speculation, he wouldn't easily let it go.

Furthermore, Han Yao had a fair understanding of Meng Zhang. He knew Meng Zhang wasn't someone who spoke lightly or lacked good judgment.

Han Yao agreed with Meng Zhang's speculation.

However, when it came to Ouyang Jian's plans in the Netherworld, due to the limited information, Han Yao was at a loss.

Nevertheless, as long as it was something Ouyang Jian was meticulously plotting, Han Yao was willing to pay a price to thwart it.

Unfortunately, Han Yao wasn't currently within the Dali Dynasty's borders. He was outside, undertaking a covert mission. In the short term, he couldn't return.

In conflicts of this magnitude, ordinary cultivators were practically irrelevant; only Primordial Spirit True Monarchs had the qualifications to participate.

There weren't many Primordial Spirit True Monarchs within the Five Punishments Guard. Apart from Feng Baoshan stationed at the base, most of them had other tasks and couldn't return to the capital city immediately.

What was most important was that, until now, Ouyang Jian hadn't taken any actions that harmed the interests of the Dali Dynasty.

Even if Han Yao wanted to use the official power of the Dali Dynasty, he couldn't do so.

Given the tense relationship between Han Yao and Ouyang Jian, even if Han Yao contacted Ba Wudi and accused Ouyang Jian of plotting something in the Netherworld, Ba Wudi would probably consider it just another squabble between the two. In either case, Ouyang Jian had no reason to cause trouble in the Netherworld and undermine the foundation of the Dali Dynasty.

Ouyang Jian had been loyal to the Dali Dynasty for many years and held a high position. He was already intertwined with the dynasty, their fortunes and losses shared.

With Han Yao unable to return and the power of the Five Punishments Guard insufficient, using the Dali Dynasty's official power was also unjustified. It seemed that thwarting Ouyang Jian's plan wasn't going to be an easy task.

Meng Zhang took the initiative to inform Han Yao that he had a longstanding feud with Ouyang Jian and couldn't wash his hands of this matter. He expressed his willingness to take great risks to go to the Netherworld and stop Ouyang Huajin.

However, he couldn't enter the Netherworld through the royal family's special channel.

Meng Zhang's declaration pleased Han Yao, but it also put him in a difficult position. The special channel to the Netherworld was essentially owned by the Dali Dynasty's royal family. It was their private property and related to the dynasty's foundation.

While Han Yao held a high position and Ba Wudi's trust, he was, after all, an outsider and couldn't interfere in the royal family's affairs.

In the end, Han Yao could only suggest that Meng Zhang think of a solution within the royal family.

According to Han Yao, it seemed that some important members of the royal family had a certain power.

They could recommend cultivators with clean backgrounds to have their souls pass through the special channel to enter the Netherworld.

The area in the Netherworld behind that special channel was under the control of the Dali Dynasty's influence, so safety wasn't an issue.

Many cultivators in the mortal world practiced special techniques or crafted magic tools that required them to enter the Netherworld to harness its unique environment or gather special materials.

If a cultivator passed the Dali Dynasty's inspection and had a recommendation from a royal family member, they had a chance to use the special channel to enter the Netherworld.

Currently, Han Yao found it challenging to provide direct help and could only let Meng Zhang handle this on his own.

However, he informed Feng Baoshan that the connections of the Five Punishments Guard within the Dali Dynasty and the intelligence system in the capital city were at Meng Zhang's disposal. They would temporarily serve Meng Zhang's needs.

Additionally, the treasures within the Five Punishments Guard's treasury were temporarily available for Meng Zhang's use.

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