The Wall

The matter in Xiping Prefecture quickly came to an end. On the surface, Li Fan was holding three Golden Core cultivators hostage, while in the shadows, Qingting Sou was plotting against them. Huang Hai was also absent, and although other forces still had manpower, without the support of Golden Core cultivators, they naturally couldn't cause any major trouble.

That very night, the five commanders led their troops into the city and slaughtered all four or five thousand recruits that Huang Hai had somehow acquired.

They were all truly slaughtered. The people of Xiping Prefecture had enjoyed many years of peace, but they were terribly ravaged by these foreign soldiers who suddenly rushed in from the north. They hated them so much that they gritted their teeth and wanted to devour their flesh. So they helped the local Armored Soldier of Li Country Door Opening the gates and lead the way. None of the swordsmen from other places could escape. They were all bound, captured, and beheaded. Some were even beaten alive for a whole night before they died.

Although he was covered in blood and drenched in sweat from the fighting all night, Li Fan felt that it was all worthwhile after he helped the girl identify the head of her enemy, got two eggs, and received three bows from her, hearing her say "Thank you, benefactor."

So the next morning, as Li Fan sat atop the city gate, slowly munching on a boiled egg, Qingting Sou also arrived late.

Then Li Fan watched coldly as Junior Brother Liang and two friendly passersby appeared. The group spoke eloquently, putting on a show of acting, and went over each other's testimonies, detailing Huang Hai's collusion with the Demonic Sect, his secret dealings with the Nangong Family, his harm to the people, and his framing and defamation of Ink Bamboo Mountain's reputation. Qingting Sou also expressed his 'great shock' and proposed to jointly write to Ink Bamboo Mountain, requesting the Discipline Institute to come and investigate.

Li Fan left the rest to himself. Since Qingting Sou cared so much about balance and the big picture, scheming and plotting, even using Li Fan as leverage to get things done, it was perfectly reasonable to leave the mess in Xiping Prefecture to the old man to clean up himself. That guy probably couldn't be happier.

So he left that treacherous riddle-maker from the Shenxiao Sect in Xiping Prefecture to stabilize the situation, and Li Fan himself, under the pretext of 'personally delivering a letter to the Abbot,' flew straight towards Changsi City on his flying sword.

I definitely have to go to Changsi City. Besides delivering the message, I also need to hunt down that son of a bitch Huang Hai, and to find out the cause and effect of his original body, 'Li Yi'.

Having experienced so many people and events, if he had to choose, Li Fan would also like to be a disciple of the Southern School of Mozhu Mountain, wearing straw sandals, focusing on fighting monsters, leveling up, cultivating immortality, and ascending to immortality. This simple and pure single-player game, this unpretentious and unadorned life of a recluse immortal, is infinitely more carefree and enjoyable than the intrigue, scheming, and deceit of the North.

But when you're in the world of martial arts, you're not always in control of your own destiny, especially since Li Fan has already been caught up in the vortex.

Because the two mentally challenged brothers from the Yu Family brought this upon themselves, it will probably be difficult for him to get along well with the rogue cultivators of the Fourteen Peaks for the time being.

Moreover, Qingting Sou's riddle-like words were full of hidden meanings. When he called out the name "Li You" at the end, it was probably not a case of senile dementia causing him to misremember. Rather, it was because the people of the Southern Faction genuinely accepted his real name as "Li You."

But the system did say that the body Li Fan was using was originally named 'Li Yi'. Although the system also had grand schemes, there was no need for it to cause trouble with the name, was there?

So there might be some misunderstanding between these two names.

All these mysteries can probably only be solved by going to Changsi City.

Without settling these old debts from the Human Dao, one cannot peacefully cultivate immortality.

Ugh, this is so annoying...

But what's even more annoying is that Li Fan can't fly directly into Changsi City to investigate the place that says, "It is located 350 steps west of Guangzhai Lane in Changsi City and 450 steps south of Xuanfu Gate."

Without a noble title from the Immortal Palace or a Daoist certificate at the level of a Celestial Master, unsophisticated, unaffiliated cultivators from the mountains are not allowed to fly in the air in the Jingji.

This is also one of the rules of etiquette in the Central Plains. To put it bluntly, it means that people of lower status are not allowed to pass over the heads of kings, nobles, and generals, so as to prevent someone from suddenly jumping down from the sky to assassinate them. In short, it is more about showing respect for the Immortal Palace system. Unruly cultivators who do not follow the rules will be captured by the cultivators who are responsible for guarding Changsi City in shifts.

Previously, this task of patrolling the heavens was handled by the immortal soldiers of the Nangong Family. Now that Ink Bamboo Mountain is in charge of the Li Country, the Inner Sect naturally doesn't have enough manpower to perform the duties.

Therefore, the cultivators who roam the skies above Changsi City, stopping those who fly by riding beasts and artifacts to check their licenses, and the immortal cultivators and mages (security guards) responsible for protecting the safety of the Liqiu Palace, are all nobles who have been granted titles and ranks in the immortal register of Li Country, the heads of aristocratic families and their sons, that is, the Outer Sect disciples who hold the Daoist certificates and talismans of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

In the past, everyone was a fellow disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain, so no one interfered too much. But recently, there has been a lot of commotion in Changsi City, and the conflict between the North and South factions has become so big that it's hard to say whether they will still be 'fellow disciples' in the future.

Li Fan didn't want to cause trouble. Since he had no official duties, he looked out at the outer city walls from afar, landed, cast a spell to move quickly, and patiently headed straight for Changsi City along the official road.

Changsi City, Changsi City, Changsi Imperial Capital City.

This city was once the residence of Empress Nangong, one of the four empresses of the Celestial Emperor. It is located Li Country city of Zhongjing. The entire city wall is modeled after the imperial capital's Three Enclosures of the Immortal Palace. The three cities are surrounded by six slopes, forming a square shape with 108 wards, all neatly arranged. The palace city, Imperial City, and outer city also follow the Three Enclosures' design, all arranged according to celestial constellations. The city covers an area of 3,600 hectares and has a population of 2.4 million.

Changsi City alone has such a large population. According to the general situation in the Immortal Realm, at least a quarter of them are qualified to cultivate Qi. Now that the False Moon high in the sky, it is easiest to cultivate for a thousand years. Among them, there may be one or two out of ten who have the opportunity to Foundation Establishment. In this way, there are fifty to sixty thousand people who Foundation Establishment.

Even if the vast majority of people are stuck at the Foundation Establishment Perfected Realm and cannot make any progress, there are still so many people and so many powerful families, each with their own family traditions and resources. If we make a rough calculation, there are probably at least seven or eight hundred Golden Core cultivators who can attain the Postnatal Immortal Dao, if not two thousand.

The valuation difference of three times is so large, which shows that the Golden Core is indeed difficult to cultivate. Therefore, most of them are fake Golden Core that have not been cultivated properly. They can only be used to guard the gate or for dual cultivation of sexual techniques. They are trash similar to the inner cores of demons.

There are very few True Cultivator who can reach the Nascent Soul Stage, probably one in a hundred, and of course, they are chosen from among the genuine Golden Core cultivators. At least Li Fan only saw seven or eight Nascent Soul Stage level radiances blooming in Changsi City by observing the aura with his Divine Sense along the way.

At first glance, it seems similar to the island of Xuanzhou in the South China Sea. However, there must be more than just this number of Nascent Soul Nascent Soul Stage in the city; some are definitely hiding their auras. It's not that those who unleash their divine light without restraint are arrogant and overbearing.

Those who deliberately exposed themselves were probably representatives of the forces within the city. In order to maintain a balance of power, they were deliberately displaying their strength to intimidate the lesser ones. They were indicating that they were staying in Changsi City and shouldn't be thinking of plotting anything.

Even if not all the heads of powerful families are stationed in the capital, and even if the number of hidden Nascent Soul Stage cultivators in each family were increased two or three times, compared to a population of 2.4 million, a dozen or so genuine Nascent Soul Stage are still far too few.

This is because the quality of one's Cultivation Method is especially important when breaking through the threshold of the Nascent Soul Stage. The mass-produced Nascent Soul Stage cultivators and Nascent Soul furnace Nascent Soul Stage in the Immortal Palace can fight to a standstill with Golden Core mages. They really cannot be compared with the True Cultivator of the orthodox Lou Guan who are breaking through tribulations and spreading the Dao.

After all, even a hen evolved from a dinosaur and can flap its wings and fly a couple of times. But if you had a choice, would you choose a hen or a real roc? If given the chance to attain a higher level of enlightenment, who would willingly acquire Fake Nascent Soul that, besides being able to separate from the body and replace the physical form, has virtually no other use?

Therefore, these powerful families from the Li Country kingdoms actually admire the Great Dao of Ink Bamboo Mountain. If they sincerely attached themselves to Ink Bamboo Mountain and accepted its alliance system like the rogue cultivators of the Fourteen Peaks, then the combined wealth of these families could bring in several hundred Golden Core cultivators, which would truly allow Ink Bamboo Mountain to rank among the most powerful forces in the world.

However, given the size of the family and the number of people, it's inevitable that some members might have all sorts of ulterior motives.

However, on the other hand, no matter how unpredictable people are or how elaborate the schemes are, they are useless without strength.

As soon as Li Fan arrived near the outer city wall, he could see from afar the vast and unparalleled Divine Transformation stage, soaring into the sky and covering the Jingji, righteous and peaceful.

This immense power, akin to that of heaven and earth, was none other than the aura of the current Imperial Preceptor, Feng Qingniu, the abbot of Ink Bamboo Mountain Lou Guan Dao, emanating Dao Breath that could intimidate all demons. Faced with such absolute strength, what room did those ghosts and monsters have to cause trouble?

Li Fan's chaotic state of mind dissipated as he gazed at the mighty pillar of energy in the distance. That enormous fist was there, its power crystal clear, making him utterly unafraid of Chi Mei Wangliang or ghostly tricks.

Just like Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, why bother with all that nonsense? It's all about slashing with one sword. Those trash who can't even withstand one strike have no right to jump out and recite lines.

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent, when did I ever say that? But that's the general idea. Also, there's something else important: Qingyue, your Dao Heart is unstable.'

Li Fan was shocked. What? His comprehension wasn't the best in the world, so how could his Dao heart be unstable??

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent, hehe, cold-blooded and ruthless, a natural bloodthirsty talent is rare, and a born killer is one in ten thousand. Although your comprehension is not bad, your temperament is just that of an ordinary person."

In the past six months, you have survived two major calamities, slaughtering too many people. Your life force is filled with bloodlust, and your killing intent is excessive. However, now that you have embarked on the path of proper internal alchemy and are not cultivating the way of sword immortals, it is not a good thing that you are burdened by these karmic debts without a corresponding Cultivation Method to transform them.

To make matters worse, you watched the ferocious beast refine its Dao body. Although your cultivation has greatly improved, you usually suppress the beastly Dao body subconsciously to avoid losing control, which takes up a lot of your Divine Sense. Now, you think of killing anyone you see, which shows that your personality has been influenced by that ferocious beast and that your Dao heart is unstable.

To put it more seriously, if this continues—no, given your cultivation speed—it won't be more than two or three years before you're consumed by murderous intent, your body seized by a fierce spirit, your temperament drastically changed, and you become a demon who wants to kill anyone you see.

There are only three ways to resolve this potential problem.

Li Fan couldn't help but roll his eyes. Damn, that scared me half to death! I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown like that Qingyang old demon, but it turns out there are three solutions... Tell me about them!

'The primary Profound Heaven Sword Intent is still the Taiyin Sword Scripture. Just shout three times that you won't cultivate the Huashu. If you cultivate the sword scripture, all that killing intent you have is wasted on sword forging; it's better to kill as many people as possible, the more you kill, the better for your physical and mental health.'

Li Fan was speechless. Honestly, the Beichen Sword Sect's definition of mental and physical health was seriously flawed. Weren't they the ones who most needed a mental health maintenance system? With this safety net, there shouldn't be any major problems. However, he still wanted to try the Gui Xu Nascent Soul; after all, the Moon Worship skill's ability to regenerate mood points was incredibly appealing...

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent, tsk, what a stubborn mule. Alright, then the second option is to find a place to cultivate in seclusion now, stay there for thirty to fifty years, break through your Limitless Nascent Soul Stage, and make great progress in your primordial spirit. Naturally, you can suppress the cultivation of your Dao Body and use the Cultivation Method of the Nascent Soul Realm to slowly dissipate and resolve the karmic calamities on your body."

However, you must be careful not to kill indiscriminately during this period, otherwise I fear you will lose your self-control.

Wow, what you're saying is basically saying nothing at all. With the sect in such a powder keg situation right now, is it possible for him to stay out of it and hide away to cultivate?

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent... there's only one way left. Find a dual Cultivation Method to learn and break your primordial yang."

Li Fan covered his face, sighing... He couldn't figure it out, he really couldn't figure it out... To be honest, he thought he was already somewhat familiar with the style of the Profound Heaven Sword Intent, but he still couldn't understand it...

"What the hell kind of solution is this?! Are you kidding me?!"

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent, who's kidding you! It's you who kept insisting on dual cultivation, otherwise how would I have thought of it! But this time, it really is the only way to save your life."

It's a very simple logic. You're not some cold-blooded, ruthless genius. Now that you're burdened with the karma of killing, it's natural that you're feeling depressed. Besides, you've been teased by those few beautiful skeletons for too long, and your lustful desires have taken hold. You're just itching to be attracted by the scent of women, aren't you?

Judging from your current state of mind, it's clear you can't control your current cultivation level. Don't hold back anymore; holding it in will only cause more trouble. Go find a Golden Core realm Dao Companion and cultivate with her!

But remember, the main thing is to give up a little of your own cultivation. This way, by sacrificing two or three tenths of your power, you can suppress your physical body and stabilize your Dao heart. You absolutely must not absorb other people's true energy again! Otherwise, you'll really explode, understand?

Of course, I have little experience with such inferior methods of cultivation; I only heard about them from friends, so I can't give you detailed instructions. By the way, I heard there's a red envelope you can get, I wonder if that's true...'

"Holy crap! What kind of shady friend is that?! What kind of terrible idea is this?! It's basically asking me to become someone else's furnace!"

Li Fan truly going crazy. How could so many damn things suddenly come together like this?! It was driving him mad!

Besides, so suddenly, where is he supposed to find someone for dual cultivation? Is he supposed to immediately fly his sword to the South China Sea to find Island Master Mo for help?

"Hey, you Daoist priest, stop muttering to yourself. Are you going into the city or not? Take out your Daoist certificate and talisman. We'll collect twenty coins as a tax upon entry."

Just then, the queue reached the city gate. Seeing the gate tower above him that read "Qixia Gate," Li Fan had no choice but to compose himself, suppress his inner turmoil, and hand over his travel document for the gatekeeper to inspect.

Fortunately, there were many disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain, and their cultivation levels weren't listed on their certificates. Furthermore, Qingting Sou had previously mentioned that Li Fan resembled someone from the Li family, so to avoid attracting attention and getting involved in unwanted conflicts, Li Fan had already disguised himself as an ordinary person. The guards and officials at the gate naturally couldn't discern his magic or cultivation level; after verifying the certificate and accepting the copper coins, they let him pass.

Once inside the city, the most urgent matter wasn't finding the abbot, much less seeking Dao Companion for dual cultivation!

Li Fan planned to just find a random passerby and ask for directions to Guangzhaifang. He would do the tasks one by one, and leave the particularly unreliable ones for later.

"Guangzhai Lane?" The old man who had been stopped by Li Fan to ask for directions frowned and sized him up, glancing at the straw sandals on his feet. "What are you doing in a neighborhood where nobles gather, you wild Daoist?"

Li Fan was sweating bullets. "Are you all from Chaoyang District, so alert? Do I have to change my boots again to trigger the plot or something...?"

However, Li Fan's eyes darted around, and he quickly made up a story, "This humble Daoist is merely here on behalf of a friend to deliver a letter home. I heard he lives near Guangzhai Lane. This is also my first time in Changsi City. I apologize for disturbing you while you're drinking. Please give me directions."

As he spoke, he casually reached for a dozen or so copper coins as payment for the wine and stuffed them into the purse.

The old man still looked at him with some suspicion, but after tossing the money in his hand, and considering the cost of the drinks, he pointed behind him and casually reminded him, "It's easy to find. Just go north along this main street to the end, and it's the first archway in front of the North Gate. But a Daoist priest in hemp robes like you can't get in. If the Imperial Guards see you, you'll get a beating."

Your friend must be from a prominent family living there. If you need to send a letter, go to the East Market and wait for the steward who comes out to buy supplies, or find a courier and give them a couple of coins to deliver the letter. Which household does your friend belong to?

Li Fan was overjoyed. He could just ask around. "My friend's surname is Li. His family is probably a wealthy noble family. I heard his father's name is Li Chun. He's probably an official in the court. Have you heard of him, sir?"

"Li Chun, an official, quite wealthy..." The old man thought for a moment, then spread his hands, "Never heard of him. There are too many people with the surname Li in Changsi City; you could splash two or three of them if you poured a basin of water on them. Since he's an official and lives in Guangzhaifang, do you know what rank he is, what his official position is, and which government office he works in?"

"Ah... I don't know," Li Fan said, sweating. He couldn't get an answer from Li Chun, Zheng Mingzhu probably couldn't either. But what if everyone in the family looked alike, and they were mistaken for someone else...? "Have you heard of Li You? Oh, he's probably too young. What about the Guo Family? Perhaps they're relatives by marriage..."

"The Guo Family? Guo..." The old man was stunned, his expression changing drastically. "The Guo Family! The Guo Family, that Li family! I don't recognize them!"

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, watching the old man turn and run away, clearly recognizing him. There was no need to press him for answers or make things difficult. Judging from his reaction, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

So Li Fan put his boots back on along with his epic skin, took out the veil he bought from the Heavenly Clothes and put it on. The veil covering the veil was made by the 'Unknown Face' and hung down from the brim to his neck, covering his face.

He activated the invisibility talisman, made all the necessary preparations, and headed straight north. Like a phantom of smoke, he traversed the bustling streets, passing through the comings and goings of cars and people, yet it seemed as if no one noticed his presence.

Li Fan paid no attention to the scenery on both sides, and just kept walking until he reached the north city wall. In the distance, he could see the gate of the Zhulou city wall and the golden gate protected by the imperial guards. On the plaque, there were two big characters: Guangzhai.

However, there is no longer any need to infiltrate further, nor is there any need to search for Xuanfu Sect.

Because to the north of Guangzhaifang is the palace wall of the Liqiu Palace with its purple hall and golden roof.

However, if he went west from Guangzhai Lane, he wouldn't even have taken 350 steps before another towering green wall blocked his way.

Looking up, the green wall was actually five zhang high, which was still shorter than the palace wall of the Liqiu Palace.

But when Li Fan stood at the corner of the wall, craning his neck to look up, he felt as if even the blue sky above his head was blocked by that wall.

On the other side of the wall lies the Eastern Palace of the Crown Prince of Li Country.