Ripples

"Huh? Qingyue, why are you all disheveled and your clothes are messy? And your dark circles are so heavy! Are you still not healed? You've been in seclusion for seven days, you should have recovered by now, right?"

Yao Xuanzhou pressed Li Fan's pulse and took a look, then exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my! Your cultivation has improved so much! Can someone cultivate to the Limitless Nascent Soul Stage so quickly? You're truly a genius, almost like a ghost..."

Why do you look so down? Hmm? Did someone scratch you?

"No, no, no, it's nothing, it's nothing!" Li Fan quickly shook his head, pulled his hands back into his sleeves, and winked, "Yao the Supervisor, did you call me because the sect has another mission for me? Just give the order! It's my honor, Qingyue, to serve Ink Bamboo Mountain! Leave everything to me! Please!"

Yao Xuanzhou chuckled and said, "You're still quite the chatterbox. It's alright, with the Abbot here, the sky won't fall. You're just a junior, so just stay here and cultivate in peace. I'm going back to Ink Bamboo Mountain. Xuan, cough cough, I heard you had a big fight in the city and your flying sword is badly damaged. I'll take it back for you to repair and practice with."

Li Fan looked grief-stricken and indignant.

Yao Xuanzhou shrugged. "Hey, don't be stingy. It won't break. If it does, I'll just buy you another one. Here, here."

Li Fan sighed, took out the two sword boxes, then thought for a moment, and spat out a sword pellet, "You can study this one too, Supervisor. It's alright, just focus on studying it thoroughly!"

"Sword Pill!" Yao Xuanzhou gasped. "You've got a lot of good stuff, kid! You stole it from the Divine Cult? Good, good! Perfect for me to study their sword techniques! Good lad, you deserve credit!"

Oh, I didn't expect you to progress so quickly! Well then, this pill box is all yours. Don't worry, the sect has its eye on you; you'll get plenty of Qiankun Huaqi Pill!"

Li Fan gasped in shock, "I'm so damn grateful to my sect!"

Yao Xuanzhou laughed heartily, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't mention it, keep up the good work."

So the fat man happily flew away.

Li Fan held the pill box, looking at the sixteen Qiankun Huaqi Pill inside. He could only sigh, then closed the magic array with a hand seal and returned to his study.

Li Fan had just placed the pill box on the furnace rack when a white shadow flashed before his eyes. Qin Nanxin snuggled into his arms, laughing hysterically at the sight of so many pills. "What a stroke of luck! I just ran out of pills, and yours has already arrived. Let's continue our cultivation."

"Uh, Nanxin, it's been seven days already. How about we take a break? Rest a bit?" Li Fan was held in the arms of this powerful white-haired witch, unable to move, and could only smile wryly.

Qin Nanxin rested her head on his collarbone and laughed, "What, you still want to rest? No, we shouldn't indulge in leisurely play too much. We cultivators should uphold our Daoist principles and prioritize cultivation. Alright, alright, accompany me to refine three more furnaces, and I'll do as you say."

Li Fan almost cried. "No, I really just need some time to calm down..."

Qin Nanxin grabbed Li Fan and led him to the prayer mat. "Hehehe, Qingyue, you're really funny, all talk and no action... Alright, alright, let's refine another batch..."

So Li Fan, who was all talk and no action, and who got the benefits but pretended to be innocent, reluctantly gave in again.

Well, all I can say is that Li Fan really got tricked by Ink Bamboo Mountain this time. He had no idea that the disciples of the orthodox Xuanmen sect were so extravagant and domineering, each with their own room and stove during cultivation. Li Fan had always seen groups of people gathering around stoves to drink porridge in the mountains, and he thought that was how it was everywhere! Now, he was completely unprepared and inexplicably began a blissful life with a direct disciple of the Emei sect, a life of unparalleled bliss.

Basically, it's like this: everyone cultivates, cultivates, cultivates, cultivates, cultivates, then takes a break, and once their minds are clear and they both enter a state of complete enlightenment, they continue cultivating, cultivating, cultivating...

After a full month of secluded cultivation, Qin Nanxin finally finished refining the entire box of pills. His cultivation level had also greatly increased, and he was completely satisfied.

Objectively speaking, Li Fan made greater progress, after all, he had higher aptitude, and it was also rare that Qin Nanxin and Li Fan were really compatible and congenial in many ways. After all, they were both geniuses of the Inner Sect of Emei, and could keep up with each other's pace, cough cough, cultivation pace. In short, both of them benefited greatly from this cultivation.

Furthermore, it must be said that after a month of this, Li Fan felt his Dao heart was pure and clear, and he was now in a state of sagehood, completely free of worldly desires... not even a little bit...

"Qingyue, this is for you."

Li Fan opened his eyes to find a jade slip being handed to him. "... This is..."

Qin Nanxin combed his hair with her fingers and said, "This is the Emei <Pifeng Biyue Palm>. Although you have extremely high comprehension, you only practice sword techniques and sword fingers. The meridians in your hands are not fully developed. Before, practicing with your palms facing each other was not very efficient. It got a little better when you got closer, but then you couldn't concentrate..."

You can practice this method more often to strengthen the meridians in your ten fingers. In the future, when you don't have as much free time as you do today, practicing with your palms together will be more efficient. If something unexpected happens and you don't have a sword, you can use this palm technique to unleash your full power to attack or defend yourself."

... You brought me Emei martial arts to learn, just so we could train together more efficiently...

Li Fan stood up and looked at her, "Nan Xin, are you going back to Emei?"

Qin Nanxin smiled and said, "It's been a month already, haven't you had enough yet? Alright, I haven't completed my apprenticeship yet, so naturally I have to return to Emei. But thanks to your help, I've increased my cultivation by at least two hundred years. This time I can save a lot of time and focus on preparing for the Five Arts exams to become a true disciple."

"Don't rush. Wait until I've refined my Kunyuan Guizang Nascent Soul Stage and reached the True Person realm, then I'll come down from the mountain to find you as my cultivation partner."

Li Fan nodded, thought for a moment, and realized that Qin Nanxin, as an Emei disciple, truly lacked nothing, except perhaps the need to prepare for the Five Arts exam.

So he took out the Tianyu Sect Sanyuan Sanhe Thirty-Six Dragon Seeking Compass and the Thousand Mechanisms Dragon Tooth Calculating Rods and gave them to her, saying, "Nanxin, you can use these. You are Lingyunzi's disciple, and to do a good job, one must first have the right tools. These should help you improve your skills in divination."

Qin Nanxin, being a discerning person, was startled. "Why did you buy something so expensive? This set would cost 30,000 strings of cash in Emei!"

Li Fan laughed heartily, putting his arm around her slender waist, "Looking back now, it was actually a freebie with the book purchase, so it was quite worthwhile."

Qin Nanxin glanced at him, her cheeks flushed like peaches, and said nothing more. The two rested until the next day before emerging from seclusion.

A month has passed, and the grand gathering at Ink Bamboo Mountain has naturally ended. However, Emei Temple has left behind a Nascent Soul nun, claiming she wants to consult the abbot about some pill formulas. In reality, she is waiting for Qin Nanxin and Qingyue to finish their seclusion. This has put the two of them in a rather awkward position. With their elders watching, they cannot be too intimate and can only politely see them off at the temple gate.

Li Fan watched from afar as his first Dao Companion from another world departed on a cloud with his sect elders, and felt a pang of melancholy.

Then, a Kun with a silver leaf stuck to its forehead jumped out of the void and perched on Li Fan's shoulder.

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao, kid, you had your fun, huh?"

That felt great...

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, tsk tsk, I didn't expect you and Emei to have such a connection. But don't cultivate the Limitless Nascent Soul Stage for now.'

Ah...

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'If you want to cultivate three Nascent Soul Stage Cultivation Method simultaneously, it's best to maintain a consistent pace. Otherwise, you'll inevitably neglect one for the other. Once you prioritize one, your Dao Body will resist the others.'"

Oh...

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Now that your Wuji Zhenyuan has increased significantly, and your Returning Void True Essence seems to be no problem either, you should start working on your Dao Heart. While your Dao Heart is still stable, find a way to subdue the Qiongqi Dao Body.'"

Kindness...

'The Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao, damn it! I rarely feel like lecturing, yet I'm completely distracted! Kun! Chop him down!'

Then, Kun leaped out of the water! Smack! Its tail lashed out and struck Li Fan's face!

"Ouch! I was listening!" Li Fan was speechless, his mouth filled with the fishy taste of the slap. "Cultivating the Dao Body, huh? I get it."

Anyway, he's in a good mood.

In fact, it's almost full.

3333/3700, after all, I've been doing things to improve my mood day and night this month, cough cough, I mean spiritual practice, spiritual practice makes people happy, spiritual practice improves one's mood.

In short, with so much emotional support, I can offer another round of moon worship to stabilize the Qiongqi Dao Body. But before that...

"What's the situation now?"

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'It's a wonder you still remember to ask. But nothing's really changed. If it were me, I'd just gather my forces and fight. But your abbot isn't the type to make decisions unilaterally. What conclusions can be reached from this large meeting with so many people offering their opinions? It's all just empty talk. It's just about calming people down.'"

Although it was meant to reassure people and let the cultivators of the Li Country know that with the Abbot of Ink Bamboo Mountain as a stabilizing force, the demons outside couldn't cause any major trouble, a certain degree of consensus was still reached.

Yes, although Li Fan didn't want to see this scene, Ink Bamboo Mountain had once again joined forces with the Nangong Family.

The abbot did not relinquish his positions General of the South and Li Prefecture Governor, but instead nominally held the Kun. He appointed Immortal King Nangong as General of the West, granting him the authority to act on behalf of the emperor, and appointed Crown Prince as General of the South, granting him permission to open a campaign.

This is tantamount to agreeing to the Grand Tutor's proposal that Ink Bamboo Mountain and the Nangong Family join forces to send troops to Kun Country to strike at the Divine Cult. Moreover, the General of Annan is essentially the deputy general of the General of the South, which is also a sweet treat and a promise to the Nangong Family. If you wait, Li Country will be yours sooner or later; if you can't wait, Kun Country is yours now.

After all, the Divine Cult did indeed have 5,000 Divine Warriors pressing in. Without the immortal soldiers and generals of the Nangong family to hold them off, relying solely on the elites of Lou Guandao and the troops of the Li Kingdom's human realm, they might be able to stop them by force, but they would certainly suffer heavy casualties.

Furthermore, it should be understood that the Divine Cult has no plans to conquer the Li Country. Once a war breaks out, they will not care about the casualties of the people and may use any means necessary. Summoning the Blood Lord in Changsi City is a show of force.

With such a formidable enemy at hand, the Nangong Family agreed. After all, they already controlled half of the Li Country, though their claim was illegitimate. Now, with the abbot's petition for assistance, if they could obtain two official generalships from the Immortal Palace, both of which could be granted fiefdoms, they would be able to stabilize the people's hearts and legitimately expand their territory westward.

Moreover, the Nangong Family is determined to secure their position in Li Country and will inevitably clash with the Divine Sect sooner or later. They can use this pledge of allegiance to ease tensions with the Sanyuan and Ink Bamboo Mountain. Therefore, they can accept the abbot's proposal.

If the abbot treats the Nangong Family this way, he will be even more open to any offer from the Xuanmen sect. He even actively stated that returning to the Central Plains is the origin of all the abbots of the sect, and he will actively promote the return of the Lou Guan to its roots.

In fact, it was because of the abbot's statement that the Nangong Family felt that Lou Guan still admired the prestige of the Central Plains and wanted to become Hidden Immortal Sect that transcended the world. Therefore, once Lou Guan left, Li Country would eventually return to the hands of the Nangong Family. At most, they could follow the example of the Northern Xuanmen and appease the remaining Ink Bamboo Mountain cultivators with some privileges.

However, this would be tantamount to the Lou Guan lineage, the core of Ink Bamboo Mountain, abandoning the sect and escaping. The forces that had gathered around Ink Bamboo Mountain over the years would lose their leader and inevitably fall into division.

Therefore, the abbot's decision initially caused some panic among the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain, and it took seven days of discussion to gradually calm them down. After all, the situation wasn't actually that serious, and Ink Bamboo Mountain was a very loose refugee alliance. To put it bluntly, they were still relying on Lou Guan for protection; were they really going to refuse them permission to return to the Central Plains?

The fourteen peaks of the Southern Faction are actually alright. The rogue cultivators only seek to cultivate in seclusion in a corner of the land, and they are very self-aware. They are too lazy to bother with the mess of the Three Great Sects of the Central Plains. Anyway, there are still mountain lords in the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, as well as ten dojos in the mountains to the south, and many monsters to play with. So let them divide it up.

Lou Guan had never given orders to them in the past, so how could the rogue Lou Guan possibly interfere with his choices? Of course, if a real fight broke out, a single letter from the Abbot would be enough for the Fourteen Peaks to provide their full support without hesitation. Moreover, none of the Fourteen Peak Masters, led by their respective mountain lords, were present at this conference, indicating that the Abbot was currently only negotiating with the Three Great Sects in his capacity as Lou Guan, and had no intention of involving the rogue cultivators of the Fourteen Peaks at this time.

The Northern Faction was actually in a better position, since they were still nobles of the Li Country. It was their personal choice to serve in the staff of which general they chose. As long as their families and clans served the legitimate Li Prefecture Governor who was backed by the Three Palaces of the Celestial Immortal Palace, that was enough.

Speaking of the Li Prefecture Governor, we have to go back to when the Profound Maiden killed the Immortal Emperor. The Immortal Palace lost all its authority, the world was in chaos, the mortal kings of the Twelve Countries were powerless to suppress the localities, and many immortal generals were fighting for the position of Immortal Emperor in the Central Plains. The Three Palaces were also unable to get away from the matter, so they issued an edict to appoint the great cultivators of each country to assist the Immortal Palace in guarding the region as governors.

As things have evolved, the governor has become the leader of local Cultivation Family and clans, wielding power that surpasses that of mortal kings. This has become a means for the Three Realms to check and balance the Immortal Kings in various regions, and also a form of recognition of local power. For example, the governorship of Ganzhou was given to Emei, and the governorship of Kanzhou was initially given to the Beichen Sword Sect, which was a similar gesture.

Therefore, as long as the abbot did not immediately relinquish his post Li Prefecture Governor, it gave the Outer Sect disciples from aristocratic families a lot of leeway. With more opportunities, they could observe the situation further and see who would ultimately prevail among the many powerful forces vying for power. Why place their bets on both Ink Bamboo Mountain and the Nangong Family so early? Perhaps the Divine Cult really did launch an attack, giving them another option.

Even if the victor is not immediately apparent, and the abbot truly stops interfering, they can still unite under the banner of the Li Country's royal family!

Yes, although the royal family of Li Country was so weak and easily deposed and installed by eunuchs, the title still held appeal. Or rather, as long as powerful families were willing to legitimize it, the position of the ruler still had a legitimate claim.

Of course, the current king is really incompetent. He has been hiding in the Liqiu Palace and hasn't come out even after such a big incident. He is probably really about to die. Li Fan also doesn't care about the position of king. So, the Outer Sect can only use Li You to fill the position.

That's right, Li You actually survived by some absurd means! The abbot even went to see him in person to confirm what had happened, and then recognized the type of Tai Sui he had eaten.

The Blood Demon Lingzhi is a variant of the elixir specially cultivated by the cult. Combined with secret rituals, the piece given to Li You was the mother's flesh, while the piece given to the beggars to make soup was the offspring's flesh. This connects their life force together, essentially using Li You as a vessel, borrowing his royal destiny and the lives of all the beggars in Da'an Fang to nourish the Blood Lord.

However, the Blood Lord was later killed by Li Fan and the Abbot, which meant that the beggars were supporting Li You again, which is why he survived even though he was seriously injured.

But that was the end of it. Before the Imperial Guards entered the city to quell the rebellion, the remaining members of the Divine Cult had already gathered their remaining forces and fled the city. And without the Blood Demon Spirit Mushroom flesh and secret rituals to sustain him, the beggars would not continue to prolong Li You's life. Although he had been revived by the Lou Guan, his vital energy was severely depleted, and it was unknown how long he could live. He certainly wouldn't live to be king for five years, and it was even unknown whether he or the one in the Liqiu Palace would die first.

However, since Qingyue had been hiding in the back mountains for a month and refused to take the throne, the nobles of the Outer Sect had no choice but to first promote Prince of Jian'a Li You as the heir apparent, confer the title of heir apparent, and change his name according to the custom of Li Country, becoming Jian'an Heir Apparent Li Heng, in order to stabilize the court first by taking advantage of the Guo Family's prestige.

As for the Wang Family, although Grand Tutor was "deeply aware of righteousness," "repented," and "quelled the internal strife," he was still entangled with the eunuch faction of the Inner Palace Attendants. Moreover, most fatally, his in-laws, the Lu Family, colluded with the Divine Sect, so he suddenly lost even the backing of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

However, Grand Commandant Wang E possesses the cultivation of Martial God, and he commands a large imperial guard force. He has been in charge of military affairs in the Jingji for many years, and the entire Imperial Guards is composed of his henchmen. In particular, the current Protector-General and Commander-in-Chief guarding the Five States of Li Country are all his former subordinates. If this Grand Commandant is truly punished, it will give the Divine Cult an opportunity to win over these former subordinates of the Wang Family. If not handled properly, it could lead to the collapse of the situation.

Therefore, the abbot simply abandoned any purge and, in his official capacity as the National Preceptor and Governor of Li Prefecture Governor, Li Country Wang E, to lead the Imperial Guards north out of the capital. He was also appointed as the Jiedushi, in charge of military affairs in the Five States border prefectures, to guard against any potential invasion by the Divine Sect.

This immediately drew away 80,000 imperial guards from the Jingji, plus 120,000 troops from the Li Country to 200,000. This massive army was deployed to the border of the Kun Country to confront the Divine Sect. This was an immediate response to the demands of the Immortal Palace and the Xuanmen Sect, fully demonstrating the sincerity of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

Yes, Grand Commandant Wang E, Prince of An, the Lu Family, the Divine Cult, and a whole bunch of losers, actually managed to escape unscathed in the end! Moreover, he was even allowed to take with him the resources he had accumulated in Changsi City over the years, return to his old home on the border, raise an army, and become a warlord and local emperor, thus ensuring the safety of the Wang family.

But it must be said that this time, the abbot's move was extremely dangerous.

Grand Commandant Wang E is entangled with various factions and has unexpectedly defected, making him untrustworthy. He is also cunning and shrewd. Now that he is stationed in Five States and commands 200,000 troops of the Li Country, he has the power to influence the political situation and has become the new key player in this game.

Moreover, the abbot's dispatch of Wang E to lead troops northward is likely not only intended to stabilize the Xuanmen and Immortal Palace, but also to stabilize the Shenjiao, and even to provoke the Shenjiao's strategist into another battle.

Because no matter what, the world cannot see the undercurrents beneath the surface; they can only see Wang E's actions.

He could either act as a shield for the Li Country, protecting the Divine Cult's army, or he could betray them, allowing the Divine Cult to launch a full-scale invasion into the heart of the Li Country. In short, if things went wrong, the abbot who made this risky move would be seen as having misjudged people and would become a laughingstock.

This is the challenge for the abbot: to determine the victor of the Divine Cult's calculations and see who can ultimately win over Wang E, this cunning and shrewd pawn. It's an opportunity to prove to the world whose calculations are superior!

Will the Divine Cult accept the challenge? Judging from their personalities, it's quite possible, but not necessarily. After all, Kun Country is surrounded by enemies on three sides, the situation is dangerous, and many other forces are watching from the sidelines. Even if that strategist is willing, he may not be able to extricate himself.

However, Wang E would only decide to choose a side after he had reorganized the warlords in the Border Prefecture prefectures and completely controlled the mixed forces of the Li Country's army.

The cult is unlikely to make any major moves in the near future, to avoid pushing this potentially valuable asset to the side of the Li Country. At the very least, they probably don't have the inclination to use methods like the Blood Lord to harm the people of Li Country in the already weakened Changsi City.

So for the next month, as the Imperial Guards set off, Changsi City remained peaceful and quiet. Even the Imperial City was repaired urgently, and there was no trace of the damage caused by the turmoil of that night.

Apart from the legend circulating that a certain scoundrel emerged from Da'an Fang, hacked his way through the Vermilion Bird Gate, slaughtered all the eunuchs, burned down the Taiji Palace, and even frightened the Grand Commandant into fleeing, nothing seemed to have changed.

How the situation will develop next depends on who has the better chess skills, the abbot or the fortune teller.

Thus, the overall situation of the world temporarily fell into a stalemate with undercurrents. But whether this was the calm before the storm or the end of the storm and the dust settling down, the calculations in the players' minds and the pieces on the board remained unknown.