Southern Ridge Chancellor Lu

Even if one is in seclusion deep in the mountains and forests, a single oversight could lead to disaster.

Extremely dangerous.

However, as the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined.

In times of calamity, crisis and opportunity coexist, which may well be a great fortuitous opportunity.

A hint of ambition flashed in the middle-aged Daoist's eyes. He looked north and shook his head repeatedly. "The situation in Lingnan Commandery is already settled, and it has the potential to take off. It's really a shame that my West River Sect only discovered this now."

There was no regret in his words, but rather a strong sense of surprise.

He had remained at the Yin Spirit Realm for many years, seeing no hope of breaking through. Now, however, the Great Sui calamity might allow him to make a breakthrough.

How can I not like it?

Upon hearing this, the old Southern Ridge priest's gloomy expression eased slightly, and he smiled, "It is said that Zhao Jian, the governor of Lingnan, has risen to power in just over ten years, yet he has already made a name for himself with unstoppable momentum. Now the entire Southern Ridge is under his control, and he is likely to be ennobled and become a king soon, and may even rise to great heights in the future. It is not too late for our West River Sect to discover this now."

It has only been about twenty or thirty years since the Great Sui truly descended into chaos.

Zhao Jian's rise to power took even less time.

For these practitioners, twenty or thirty years is merely a period of seclusion, so of course they wouldn't be able to perceive it so quickly.

"Right."

"It's not too late."

The middle-aged Daoist chuckled and said easily, "These days in Lingnan Commandery, there are only a few cats and dogs, and all the Daoist sects are insignificant. There is only one Changqing Temple that appeared out of nowhere. Although it claims to be the 'Number One Daoist Sect in Southern Ridge,' it ultimately has no foundation. It is just a case of the monkey becoming Overlord in the absence of the tiger, and it is not worth fearing."

The two Daoists came from the West River Sect, which even had Yang Spirit Celestial Master in charge. They had every right to say this when they came to Southern Ridge.

The old Daoist Human Path glanced at the sun and said to the middle-aged Daoist priest, "Zhou Fang was ordered to come to Southern Ridge to promote the lineage of my West River Sect. He died in Southern Ridge under mysterious circumstances. This matter must be related to Changqing Temple. You and I should first find a Daoist priest in Southern Ridge to inquire about the background of Changqing Temple, and then ask him what happened."

"Good--"

The middle-aged Daoist was about to respond when his voice abruptly stopped. The old Daoist beside him did the same, and the two of them took two steps forward with their expressions remaining strangely unchanged.

Call!

A gust of wind blew by, and the two figures vanished like a spring breeze, disappearing without a trace.

Unseen.

A burly Daoist priest sat cross-legged deep within the void storm, his eyes seemingly open yet closed, and he could even faintly make snoring sounds.

This day.

The deaths in Lingnan Commandery were not limited to these two Daoist priests from the West River Sect. To the north, in Qingyi County of Southern Ridge, which borders Great Sui West Ridge Commandery, two more Daoist priests strode in.

During the conversation, he suddenly looked terrified, and his body was torn to pieces and turned into dust.

Two days later.

In Qianshan County.

A barefoot Daoist priest was having a pleasant conversation with a scholar and a military officer. Suddenly, the scholar and the military officer's expressions changed, and they pointed at the barefoot Daoist priest and shouted.

The barefoot Daoist was puzzled. He only saw the two people in front of him opening and closing their mouths, looking quite flustered.

Just as he was about to ask a question, everything went black and he fell silent.

"Immortal Gongsun!"

Zhao Gong and Zhao Xun noticed that when Gongsun Qing, the highly skilled Gongsun Qing from Radiant Sun Dao, spoke, black lines suddenly appeared on his face. These lines intertwined and quickly spread like a spider web, filled with an eerie and ominous aura.

The two of them shouted out loud.

This caused a great commotion in the mansion, but Gongsun Qing had already fallen backward and was lifeless.

Not just the West River Sect, not just the Radiant Sun Dao.

Any Daoist priests with ulterior motives who stepped into Southern Ridge perished silently. Within days, Southern Ridge was transformed into a desolate and extraordinary place.

This shocked the surrounding Daoist sects.

Fearing the deaths of several Yin Spirit Masters in Southern Ridge, many Daoist sects dared not test the waters any further. They also realized that Changqing Temple, as the premier Daoist sect in Southern Ridge, could not tolerate any conspiracies or intrigues, much less be violated, in its home turf of Southern Ridge.

Some sects were furious, but remained silent.

There are also Daoist sects that are driven to extreme anger, such as the Xiling Radiant Sun Dao.

"War!"

"Start the war!"

Southern Ridge is not allowed to enter at will, Radiant Sun Dao will start a war to drive Xiling into Southern Ridge.

True skill is revealed on the battlefield.

"Beat Azure Dragon Ridge!"

"Occupy Lingnan Commandery!"

"Destroy Changqing Temple!"

Xiling mobilized, and the shadow of war loomed over Southern Ridge.

At this critical juncture, several major events occurred in Southern Ridge in succession—

First, Zhao Jian a marquis, which brought great joy to the people of Southern Ridge, and the news spread like wildfire.

However.

Extreme joy can turn into sorrow.

A few days later, Zhao Jian's old illness relapsed, and he died in the Southern Ridge Marquis's Residence. Before his death, he entrusted his son Zhao Ce, to Lu Changqing, the Prefect of Lingnan Commandery.

In this way.

Zhao Ce, who was only eight years old, was put on the throne as the Marquis of Southern Ridge.

Meanwhile, Lu Changqing, the Lingnan Commandery, held absolute power, acting as a regent and tutor to the young marquis, and monopolizing all military and political affairs in the twenty-one counties of Southern Ridge.

Chief Clerk Zhao Gong and Zhao Wu Colonel Zhao Xun, taking advantage of the emperor's youth, rebelled and were suppressed by Wu Guang, a disciple of Lu Changqing and Colonel Zhenwei.

The ringleaders Zhao Gong and Zhao Xun, along with 107 accomplices, were executed, their heads rolling in the air.

Human lives were terrified.

Southern Ridge was thus brought to peace.

With this fierce power, Lu Changqing boldly reformed corrupt practices, promoted civil and military officials, and turned the twenty-one counties into an impregnable fortress.

He was known as the "Southern Ridge Chancellor Lu".

While employing various means to encourage the people's livelihood, this Minister Lu also drilled his soldiers.

A large army gathered in the northern counties of Fanchang and Qingyi, with the newly appointed Zhaowu Colonel Wu Guang as the main general, and 100,000 troops were deployed.

A major battle is imminent.

At this time.

The "Prime Minister of Southern Ridge," who held the power of life and death in Southern Ridge Chancellor Lu, was already tens of thousands of miles away.

"Teacher."

"With the war in Southern Ridge imminent, there are many matters that still require the teacher's decision, so there is no need to rush."

High above, Lin Ye, riding a palm-leaf fan, cut through the wind and waves, looking at his teacher riding alongside him on the clouds, and said...

She felt a little guilty.

Over the past decade, the teacher has been running a business in Southern Ridge, and his third junior brother Wen Guang, has also devoted himself to Southern Ridge, using the alias "Wu Guang," and leading troops to fight in various places.

She alone, aside from serving her teacher's daily life and doing trivial tasks like serving tea and water, was always instructed to cultivate herself diligently.

She was not allowed to get involved in any of the military, political, or social affairs of Southern Ridge, or in the affairs of Changqing Temple.

Lin Ye knew that worldly affairs were fraught with cause and effect, and that one could easily be entangled in calamities if one was not careful. For orthodox Immortal Dao cultivators, the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.

After all, the Immortal Dao cultivation is Fangxian Path and military arts.

The latter can benefit from the fortunes of a secular Wang Chao and progress extremely quickly in their cultivation. However, the Immortal Dao immortality emphasizes a solid foundation and requires years of arduous training and refinement. Entering the secular world might allow for rapid advancement in the short term.

But more likely, they will sink into oblivion and be unable to make any progress.

Since there's neither the rapid cultivation speed of the Fangxian Path nor the danger of sinking into depravity, it's better to live a carefree life outside the world, free from constraints.

That is precisely why.

Whether in the countries of the Meng Kingdom, Hao Kingdom, or Great Sui, the Fangxian Path can be seen everywhere, but cultivators of the Immortal Dao are extremely rare. Most of them live outside the secular world, in the Spirit Mountain and rivers, and are rarely seen by ordinary people.

Lu Qingfeng's decision not to allow Lin Ye to be involved in Southern Ridge affairs was based on this consideration.

For Lin Ye, not being able to help her teacher already made her feel guilty.

With war imminent in Southern Ridge, her teacher has abandoned the war and led her far away from Great Sui, heading straight for the Four Sages Immortal Domain to break through to the Earth Immortal Realm. She felt increasingly uneasy.

Heaven creates all things to nourish humankind, yet humankind has nothing to repay Heaven.

His kindness is as boundless as the heavens.

Don't overthink it.

"This trip to the Four Sages Immortal Domain to help you break through to the Earth Immortal is just a side trip; the main purpose is to find your elder brother."

Lu Qingfeng, riding on auspicious clouds, looked down at the earth, constantly adjusting his direction, and casually replied.

"..."

Lin Ye's expression froze, his emotions that were building up were broken, and he said with an awkward smile, "This disciple is also worried about the situation in Southern Ridge. After all, Master has devoted ten years of his life to this."

As he said it, Lin Ye couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation in his heart—

She has been separated from her elder brother Lin Feng for tens of thousands of years, and over the years, she is almost at the level of Earth Immortal.

Even.

By the time she sees her elder brother this time, she will likely have already attained the Earth Immortal Dao Fruit.

Of the four fellow disciples who came to the Southern Florescence Realm together, she had the worst aptitude and the lowest cultivation level.

Forty thousand years ago, when Lin Ye was separated from his eldest brother Lin Feng, he was still stuck in the Mahayana Sensing Realm, while Lin Feng and Zhang Yang had already passed through several Heavenly Tribulation. As for his third junior brother Wen Guang, who was the most talented and extremely hardworking, he had already reached the True Profundity Realm long ago, leaving others far behind.

Forty thousand years have passed.

I wonder what level my eldest brother and fourth junior brother have reached. Perhaps they have already become Earth Immortal before her.

Lin Ye was full of anticipation.

Wen Guang, on the other hand.

"It's a pity about my third junior brother—"

Thinking of Wen Guang, Lin Ye felt a pang of sadness and fell silent for a moment.

"With your third junior brother in charge of the Southern Ridge campaign, and me leaving a divine thought in Southern Ridge, it's enough to handle daily affairs, so there's no need to worry," Lu Qingfeng said to Lin Ye.

He had made all the arrangements before he left.

Let's not talk about Wen Guang.

This time, Lu Qingfeng will also leave a total of four demon gods, including the Di Jiang Demon God and the Tianwu Demon God, to reside in Southern Ridge and guard the four directions of the extraordinary.

As long as it's not a master like Dao Jiyuan Mount Mao Dao or Zhengqing from the Divine Empyrean Sect who comes, we can handle any situation.

Hearing this, Lin Ye felt somewhat relieved. Seeing that her teacher mentioned her third junior brother, she took the opportunity to ask, "Teacher, you didn't allow Ye'er to help, but you put your third junior brother in the army. Is there some special arrangement?"

Both are cultivators of the Immortal Dao, and both are disciples of the same teacher.

One was shelved, while the other was deeply involved. Lin Ye pondered the reasons for this for quite some time, considering several possibilities, but he wasn't sure.

I finally found a topic to talk about today, so I asked it.

She naturally hoped that the teacher could find a way out for her third junior brother.

But Lin Ye also knew that his third junior brother had been torn apart by five horses and imprisoned for more than ten thousand years, causing his cultivation to stagnate and even ruin his cultivation, with his Daoist power and magic Law Power all regressing.

Thirteen thousand years ago, it had already reached the peak of the Mahayana True Mysteries.

When he escaped ten years ago, he barely managed to preserve his Mahayana cultivation level, leaving him with only the early stage of the Resonance Realm.

In this situation, even the gods and Buddhas in heaven probably couldn't remedy it, and the teacher would likely be powerless as well.

This is also why Lin Ye has never asked.

"Special arrangements?"

Lu Qingfeng also fell silent.

Human effort can never overcome the forces of nature.

Wen Guang was suppressed for thirteen thousand years, first torn apart by five horses, and then subjected to the Yanxiao Torture. Suppressed under the dragon vein, he could only feed on earth, stone, metal, and iron, suffering endless torment, and his very foundation was long since destroyed.

Lu Qingfeng generously provided elixirs to help Wen Guang recuperate his Immortal Body.

He could only barely maintain his cultivation at the Resonance Realm, and was powerless to do anything more.