The Death of Ji Chengzong, the Water-Fire Spirit Ape Clan

"What?" Li Shentong stood up, dropping the teacup he was holding to the ground.

"Who did you say died?" he glared, his eyes wide with fury, like an enraged lion.

The steward trembled with fear and said in a shaky voice, "General Wen Qun is dead."

"How could this be?... Ji Chengwu!!" Li Shentong was furious. He couldn't imagine how the soldiers would react when this news reached the Front Lines; wouldn't they mutini?

As for the Zhao Kingdom, Guan Qin must be laughing in his sleep; his biggest enemy was eliminated without him lifting a finger.

With a swift movement, Li Shentong vanished from his spot and reappeared outside the Grand Marshal's residence, where he barged straight in.

The guards dared not stop this powerful Grand Preceptor of the court, and could only hurriedly report to Ji Chengzong.

"That old bastard is here, humph, quite arrogant indeed. Let's go, let's go meet him!" Ji Chengzong stood up, walked out of the room, and went to greet him.

Unexpectedly, Li Shentong completely ignored him, simply walked past him, and went inside.

This disregard undoubtedly enraged Ji Chengzong, who was in the prime of his life. He roared and threw a punch.

The space trembled. Ji Chengzong's punch was extremely powerful. Although he was not very bright, his cultivation was extremely high, and his Divine Ability abilities were also extremely proficient.

However, this time he was facing Li Shentong, a great master who Tribulation Transcendence. With just a casual wave of his hand, Ji Chengzong was sent flying.

At this moment, Li Shentong realized that something was wrong. Why hadn't Ji Chengwu come out after all the commotion he had caused?

Could it be...?

Li Shentong, with a serious expression, rushed into the backyard and saw a golden coffin placed in the center. Its surface was covered with dragons and phoenixes, and auspicious energy was rising. It was actually a High-Grade Spirit Treasure.

"I see..." Li Shentong's mind was filled with complicated emotions. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

At this moment Ji Chengzong also flew back, his face flushed. After seeing Ji Chengwu's coffin, he did not make any further moves.

Firstly, he couldn't defeat Li Shentong, and secondly, his respect for his elder brother prevented him from getting into a fight here.

"Did you kill Wen Qun?" Li Shentong narrowed his eyes and asked calmly.

"Indeed, he dared to defy me, why should I hesitate to kill him?" Ji Chengzong raised his head, his expression arrogant.

"Heh, very well indeed!" Li Shentong sneered and turned to leave.

Watching his retreating figure, Ji Chengzong clenched and unclenched his fists several times. Had he finally gone completely mad? He knew that the person in charge of the Tianshui Li Household was not to be touched.

"Brother, we're in trouble this time. It seems Li Shentong won't let this go easily," one of the younger brothers said worriedly as he emerged from the shadows.

"What's there to be afraid of? Would Li Shentong really turn against us for the sake of a mere Wen Qun? Besides, we haven't touched the Li Household's interests. That old guy is extremely shrewd; he wouldn't do something so self-defeating."

"By the way, elder brother, didn't the Grand Marshal leave behind any way to win over the Li Household?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Chengzong recalled his elder brother's previous instructions regarding the marriage between Lin'er and Gaoyang Commandery Princess of the Li Household family.

But recalling Li Shentong's arrogant attitude before, Ji Chengzong was filled with rage. He shook his head and said, "My brother didn't leave any instructions on how to win over the Li Household. He only told me that the Li Household is difficult to deal with, and that I should proceed with caution and plan slowly."

"The key is to seize military power as soon as possible. With Wen Qun dead, the border army is leaderless, which is perfect for us to do as we please."

"That's right. Our Ji Clan has countless talented people. Even if we replaced all the generals and officers in the army, we would still be nothing special."

The group talked all at once, and soon they had fabricated all sorts of charges against them.

After that, orders from commanders were sent to the border one after another, and officers began to be rotated frequently.

Li Household Li Shentong, his chest heaving, slammed his teacup to the ground again. "This brat is not worth dealing with!"

To prevent problems at the Front Line, Li Shentong, despite his dislike for Ji Chengzong, still cooperated with him to temporarily cover up the news of Wen Qun's death. However, this guy actually started to replace generals on a large scale, and the replacements were all highly respected figures. Several old generals who had grudges against Ji Chengzong in the past were even executed.

For a time, the atmosphere at the Front Lines was tense and fraught with fear.

If news of Wen Qun's death were to spread at this time, then...

Thinking of this, even with Li Shentong's composure and cultivation, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"No, we can't let him run rampant anymore." A cold glint flashed in Li Shentong's eyes as he decided to eliminate this guy.

But what should we do?

After much deliberation, Li Shentong finally decided to take action during the court assembly. However, before that, he had to arrange for the Ji Household to be prepared to control the situation, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

To suppress the Ji Household clan after Ji Chengzong's death, one must have the means and the prestige.

After thinking it over, Li Shentong decided to change the emperor.

He first sent people to spread rumors that the emperor was dissatisfied with Ji Chengzong.

Upon learning this, the latter was indeed furious and began to work on replacing the emperor. This time, Li Shentong did not stop him and his attitude towards Ji Chengzong improved.

Ji Chengzong was first surprised, then became smug, thinking that he was right after all, that he had to be tough.

Since Li Shentong had given him face, Ji Chengzong reciprocated by agreeing to Li Shentong's proposed candidate for the new emperor, Ji Changming. Ji Changming was a generation younger than Ji Chengzong, and his abilities were, at least, so-so.

And so, the new emperor ascended the throne, a process that took some time.

This period was the most helpless time for Li Shentong. In his tens of thousands of years of life, he had never seen a person like Ji Chengzong. To describe him as a pig would be an insult to pigs.

With the ascension of the new emperor, minor adjustments were made within the Ji Clan. Ji Chengzong was busy seizing military power and had no time to deal with these matters.

He sent his younger brothers out to guard their respective regions, which greatly reduced his control over the clan, and this sowed the seeds of his fatal disaster.

On this day, in the Wanlong City court, officials had already taken their seats. Everyone attached great importance to the first court assembly after the new emperor's ascension to the throne. Ji Chengzong swaggered in with his sword at his side, completely unaware of the subtle atmosphere in the hall.

The newly enthroned Imperial Lord of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty Ji Changming, sat upright on the dragon throne, his gaze calm and profound as he silently watched Ji Chengzong bow to him. Although he was prepared, the man's arrogant attitude still greatly displeased Ji Changming. He was the emperor, after all! Even though he didn't currently hold real power, was he too lazy to even put on a show of respect?

Despite his burning anger, Ji Changming raised his hand in a gesture of support, saying, "My dear minister, please rise!"

Ji Chengzong stood up, turned to look at the assembled officials, and said loudly, "Those who have matters to discuss, discuss them; those who have nothing to discuss, dismiss the court!"

He had already come to regard himself as the master of this court.

At this moment, Li Shentong stepped forward expressionlessly, holding Jade Scepter. After respectfully bowing deeply to Ji Changming, he said loudly, "Your Majesty, there are now treacherous officials who have disrupted the court, framed loyal ministers, shown no respect for the emperor, and acted recklessly. I beseech Your Majesty to punish them according to the Great Zhou Laws!"

"Who dares to be so audacious?" Before Ji Changming could speak, Ji Chengzong angrily asked, "If such a traitor truly exists, I will tear him to pieces to vent my hatred!"

Li Shentong remained indifferent, pointing at Ji Chengzong: "It's you!"

"What?" Ji Chengzong was stunned at first, and then he was about to get angry, but Li Shentong did not give him the chance. With a wave of his sleeve, dense Array Mark appeared, turning into thousands of layers of Principle, binding Ji Chengzong within them.

Caught off guard, the latter had no time to use his trump card and was completely defeated.

Li Shentong bowed and said, "I beg Your Majesty to determine the punishment!"

Yang Tianyou could hardly believe his ears at Nine Refinement Mountain.

Looking at Muyunzi's worried face, he asked in surprise, "Brother Dao, are you perhaps joking with me?"

"How could I, your brother, joke about such a thing?" Muyunzi gave a wry smile.

"That Ji Chengzong is a pig-dog, he deserves to die, but in such a short time, he has turned our Great Zhou upside down, and the damage he has caused is even greater than the great defeat at Jiangbei City."

"Moreover, after his death, several powerful members of the Ji Clan who were loyal to him, fearing punishment from the Court, actually defected directly to the Zhao Kingdom and spread the news that General Wen Qun was dead. Now the army at the Front Line is in complete chaos, and the Great Zhao is reorganizing its troops. It seems that they will launch another attack soon."

As he spoke these words, Muyunzi gritted his teeth. He hated the Ji Clan brothers to the extreme. The two brothers had each risen to power and wreaked havoc, turning the once relatively stable Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty into a state of turmoil. Were they really members of the Great Zhou royal family?

Is it really possible to squander one's family's ancestral property like this?

"Then the current situation..." Yang Tianyou's expression also turned serious. Although Blackstone Prefecture's defenses weren't under much pressure, it was still located in a border region. What would he do if a major battle broke out and Great Zhao attacked?

Should we surrender or revolt?

In short, it is impossible to defend to the death and be loyal to the country.

Yang Tianyou has no sense of belonging to the Great Zhou Dynasty at all; only a fool would fight to the death for it.

Unless the benefits are large enough.

"There's no need to worry about that. Li Shentong Grand Preceptor has already mobilized the private armies of various Lineage and sects to the Front Lines. These are all absolutely elite troops, and the situation at the Front Line has been temporarily stabilized." Muyunzi said, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"I see. I didn't expect these Aristocratic Clan families in Wanlong City to be so united this time," Yang Tianyou said, stroking his chin.

"Hehe, how could we not be united? If the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty falls, they may continue to live in Great Zhao, but they will inevitably be inferior to the aristocratic Aristocratic Clan of Great Zhao. It's not as enjoyable as being arrogant and domineering in Great Zhou. Unless absolutely necessary, the Aristocratic Clan families, led by the Tianshui Li Household, will never give up on Great Zhou!" Muyunzi said with a sneer.

After several days of conversation, Muyunzi left.

He came to congratulate Yang Tianyou on his breakthrough to the Body Integration. After the great victory at Golden Pool City, Muyunzi was promoted to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Long'an Circuit Army, a promotion of two ranks. Originally, the plan was to transfer him to the Court, but due to the turbulent situation on the border, the Court decided to keep him in the army.

With this friend serving in the military, Yang Tianyou also had access to information about the changing situation.

According to the intelligence he currently possesses, the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty will not collapse anytime soon. After all, it is a behemoth. Even though it was ravaged twice by the Ji Clan brothers in a short period of time, it has a deep foundation and has stubbornly held on.

Furthermore, the Great Chen Imperial Dynasty also put considerable pressure on the Great Zhao Imperial Dynasty. The two sides were mutually supporting each other. Even if Great Zhao succeeded in destroying them in one fell swoop, it would be a Pyrrhic victory, not worth it.

If the power of the Seventh Heaven is greatly diminished, forces from other Eighth Heavens might intervene and take advantage of the chaos.

To avoid being used as a stepping stone for others, both the Great Zhou and the Great Chen were extremely cautious.

Since there was nothing to worry about regarding the situation, Yang Tianyou continued to quietly pursue development.

Blackstone Prefecture has completely fallen into the hands of the Yang Household. Now, if they want to expand, there are only two directions: internal and external.

Internally, they expanded into other prefectures of Longteng Circuit, but these places had already been occupied by various major forces and were extremely developed, leaving little room for profit.

Therefore, the best course of action right now is to expand towards the Kuanglong River.

The Kuanglong River is rich in resources, but due to the presence of the Water Tribe and Savage Beasts, as well as the presence of various Perilous Land, it has not been developed much by Human Race.

Yang Tianyou decided to trade with the Water Tribe.

The strongest of the Water Tribes in the Kuanglong River is the Flood Dragon Clan. Anyone who wants to do business with the Water Tribes must get past the Flood Dragon Clan.

Ninety-five percent of the trade between the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty and the Water Tribe was controlled by powerful forces such as the Tianshui Li Household Ji Household of the imperial clan, and the Tribulation Transcendence Sect. This was mainly because they had a good relationship with the Water Tribe, and some even directly intermarried with the Water Tribe. Yang Tianyou wanted to get involved and also needed to develop his own Water Tribe connections.

However, developing connections slowly was too time-consuming, so Yang Tianyou decided to use the old method: create Puppets, secretly train Puppet to rise to power, and then give back to the Yang Household after they achieved a high position.

After advancing to the Body Integration, Yang Tianyou's strength is no weaker than that of Body Integration Late Stage Cultivator. With the help of the Nine-Dragon Heaven-Burning Furnace, he can appropriately raise the bar when choosing his targets.

We won't attack the Flood Dragon Clan at first; we'll test the waters on other Water Tribe first.

After spending a large amount of Spirit Stones to purchase information about the Water Tribes, Yang Tianyou carefully selected the Water-Fire Spirit Ape Clan.

This is one of the most powerful Water Tribes in the Mad Flood Dragon Clan Kuanglong River, apart from the Flood Dragon Clan. The tribe has several warriors at the Tribulation Transcendence level.

With Zhiming by his side, Yang Tianyou infiltrated the Kuanglong River. Under the cover of the Formless Insects, he swiftly slithered underwater, encountering powerful aquatic Savage Beasts and some Human Race cultivators along the way, but none of them noticed him.

The Water-Fire Spirit Ape clan usually operates in the Core Area of the Kuanglong River. After Yang Tianyou arrived here, he quickly discovered several Water-Fire Spirit Apes playing around.

These creatures have light blue fur, but their pupils are crimson, as if carved from fiery crystal, shimmering underwater. In the Market, the pupil of a Water-Fire Spirit Ape is extremely valuable, a rare treasure.

These few Water-Fire Spirit Apes were too weak, only at the Spirit Transformation Realm. Yang Tianyou bypassed them without making a move. His target was the Water-Fire Spirit Apes at the Body Integration Early Stage.

Although this tribe likes to live together, when they are in a deep slumber, they often find a place to sleep alone. This gave Yang Tianyou a good opportunity to strike. After wandering for two months, he finally found a suitable target.