Gongsun Haoyue and Flowing Cloud Matriarch discussed for a long time before parting ways.
It's unclear what the two discussed, but the two factions remain hostile, maintaining a facade of cooperation as before. Whether they are truly cooperating is something only the two of them know.
However, both of them announced that they would go into seclusion at the same time. Both sects felt this was normal, as both of them often went into seclusion.
However, not long after, the True Inheritor Disciple of both sects received new cultivation techniques, and these new techniques were included in the criteria for assessing True Inheritor Disciple.
True Inheritor Disciple must successfully cultivate this new technique to become a true disciple; otherwise, they will be demoted to Core Disciple. Only by successfully cultivating it can they be promoted back to a true disciple.
This caused a huge uproar among the True Inheritor Disciple of the two sects, who couldn't understand what their sect leaders were thinking. However, since the order had already been issued, they had to carry it out.
Cultivation, well! Anyway, their main daily activity is cultivation. Only when they feel restless and yearn for movement will they go out for a walk and travel around the Great Qian Dynasty.
Jiang Liu made a trip to Azure Dragon City, brought back the Three-Eyed Flying Tiger, and also sent a letter to Wind City. Then he began to focus on cultivating at the Flowing Cloud Sect.
Every day, I mainly practice the Nebula Art and Nebula Shrunken Earth, as well as the combined use of various martial arts techniques.
Jiang Liu then practiced both the Saintly Sky Art and the Nebula Art again to analyze the differences between the two techniques.
As it turned out, Jiang Liu actually figured out the difference: although the Saintly Sky Art was stronger than other graded cultivation techniques at absorbing vital energy, it was weaker than the Nebula Art.
However, when cultivating the Saintly Sky Art, the speed at which one's spiritual power increases is much faster than that of the Nebula Art.
Although both cultivation methods increase vital energy and spiritual power simultaneously, they each have their own focus.
The Nebula Art focuses more on primordial energy, while the Saintly Sky Art focuses more on spiritual energy.
This results in different attack effects for the two different techniques and sacred skills.
However, for now, Jiang Liu still needs to focus more on cultivating his vital energy, since there are Soul Techniques and Beast Mastery Art for cultivating spiritual power, which are faster.
Moreover, Jiang Liu's Divine Sense now possesses the ability to devour, allowing him to directly absorb and cultivate the spiritual power of others or his beasts, thus accelerating his progress.
Jiang Liu then settled down to cultivate at the Flowing Cloud Sect.
While Jiang Liu was peacefully cultivating at the Flowing Cloud Sect, the entire Daqian was becoming increasingly chaotic, with war breaking out in every prefecture and county.
The major powers in each state began attacking the Martial Prohibition Hall in each state and county, following the previous division of power.
First up was the Lotus Sect, which had always been ambitious. Kuang Qianzi led her two Grandmaster- level vice-leaders to besiege Zhen City, the capital of Zhen Province.
They planned to eliminate the deputy commander of the Zhen City Martial Prohibition Hall directly, and then sweep through the other counties.
However, they discovered that Ye Bolun, the cunning patriarch of the Ye family, had directly dispatched his two Grandmaster elders to sweep through other prefectures.
After Kuang Qianzi managed to take down Zhen City, she discovered that the Ye family had already swallowed up three counties in Zhen Province. She could only send out her two Grandmaster to fight on their own.
After a series of battles, the Lotus Sect controlled five counties, including the state capital, while the Ye family controlled six counties. The two major powers had effectively divided Zhen Province equally.
Next came Feng Province. The Wang Family launched a full-scale attack on Wind City, annihilating the Martial Prohibition Hall in Dingfeng Wind City, the capital of Feng Province, in a single battle. They took Wind City directly.
White Saint Society left a remote prefecture for the Wang Family to conquer, while he himself occupied seven prefectures. In the end, the Wang Family only controlled two prefectures, including the state capital.
The Ghost School of Xun Province was even more direct. Moreover, the Ghost School had been operating in Xun Province for many years. Once it was launched, the three Grandmaster worked together to destroy the Martial Prohibition Hall in Xun Province's capital city. Most of the Martial Prohibition Hall in the surrounding counties surrendered.
The counties that did not surrender were also wiped out by the Ghost School.
Only one prefecture was left for the Heaven One Sect and the Hundred Craft Hall to handle themselves; this was agreed upon beforehand.
Therefore, the Ghost School directly controlled nine prefectures, and its power expanded to an extreme extent.
In Kun Province, the Daoist and Buddhist sects had divided the territory beforehand and were even preparing to fight each other to seize the city. However, the Daoist sect eventually retreated and ceded the city to the Buddhist sect.
As for the Sun Moon Sect, it occupied one prefecture, while the other ten prefectures were divided between the Daoist and Buddhist sects.
As for Kan Province, Horizontal Blade Cliff did not dare to make any big moves while the fighting was fierce in the various states, because he assessed his own strength and found that he might not be able to defeat the Martial Prohibition Hall, and Kan Province was close to Tian Province.
He feared that if war broke out, Tian Province would come to his aid, leaving him in a predicament. Helpless, he had no choice but to compromise with the Medical Saint Pavilion and the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, and the three forces joined forces to attack the Kan Province Kan City Martial Prohibition Hall.
The state capital was captured and divided equally among the three parties. As for the surrounding county towns, it was a matter of who acted fastest. In the end, Horizontal Blade Cliff seized four county towns, while the Medical Saint Pavilion and the Hundred Herbs Pavilion each seized three.
Upon Li Province, the Li Family directly and with all their might destroyed the Martial Prohibition Hall in Licheng, and then dispatched their Lineage forces to attack other prefectures.
This Lineage had been operating in the Li Province for too long, and once they launched their attack, they quickly occupied the entire state, mostly without bloodshed.
In the end, only one prefecture was left for Medicine King Valley, while the other ten prefectures were monopolized by the Li Family.
The situation in Gen Province was similar to that in Li Province. In the end, one county was left for Exotic Poison Valley, while the Liu Family monopolized the remaining ten counties.
In Dui Province, the relationship Sword Worship Villa and Hundred Fists Gate was much more harmonious. The two major forces cooperated directly and then divided up the conquered territory, including the state capital Duicheng.
In Yunzhou, the Sun Moon Sect, the Deity Summoning Society, and the Exotic Weapon Valley actually cooperated and directly destroyed the Martial Prohibition Hall of Yuncheng. The three major forces in the city divided the spoils equally, and then each launched their own attacks.
In the end, the Sun Moon Sect seized two county towns, the Deity Summoning Society seized two county towns, and the Mysterious Exotic Weapon Valley also wanted to take over Feng County, but was stopped by the other two forces.
The last remaining county town was left to the Five Poisons Sect.
Qi Province was much more decisive. Mo Han took Elder Bai and Elder He to Qi City, Qi City Martial Prohibition Hall surrendered. Then, most of the Martial Prohibition Hall in the surrounding counties followed suit. As for those that did not surrender, Mo Han let them go.
Mo Province was quite strange. Instead of attacking Mocheng, the Ji Family, and the Vast Righteous Sect, they started seizing other county cities, causing the Mocheng Martial Prohibition Hall to be constantly on the move. However, most of them were eventually captured by the two major powers.
The Ji Family and the Vast Righteous Sect each occupied five county cities. In the end, one county city and one state city were occupied by the Martial Prohibition Hall, and one county city was left for the Calligraphy Studio.
No one knows what the two major forces are planning. Anyway, even though they have almost conquered all the states, they have not joined forces to destroy the Mo City Martial Prohibition Hall.
Meanwhile, the Mo City Martial Prohibition Hall dared not attack other captured county cities, and the three forces remained locked in a stalemate.
At this point, the entire Great Qian Dynasty officially fell into division. The Tian Province Martial Prohibition Hall was powerless to help the other states, as the Zheng Family, the Confucian school, and the Moonfall Sect in Tian Province also began to exert their influence.
Although there was no overt confrontation, the underhanded tactics continued unabated.
This turmoil lasted for one to two years before gradually subsiding. The entire Great Qian Dynasty, however, could hardly return to its former state.
PS: Starting in the next chapter, the protagonist will begin to dominate the lands, officially beginning his conquest of the various states.