A Relaxing, Carefree Time

Even the fiercest tigers and leopards, once they lose the protection of their pack and are left alone, are doomed to be slaughtered. Moreover, the demons already knew the gap between themselves and cultivators, so they didn't find their defeat by Human Race unexpected. Instead, it awakened the fears buried deep in their memories, reminding them of how they once thrived in the Central Plains and how they were driven to these desolate mountains and valleys.

Thus, a great war between humans and demons, after a week of stalemate and an hour of fighting, evolved into a grand hunting operation. The demons clearly still had the advantage in numbers and even combat strength, but they dared not entangle with the Human Race at all. They just fled for their lives outside Lei Marsh, not daring to take any opportunities, only wanting to save their own lives.

It's quite common for a Golden Core cultivator to chase down a dozen or so demons. Li Fan even witnessed three or five Golden Core cultivators cornering a wounded Nascent Soul Stage demon on his return journey, leaving it with no way to escape. The demon eventually begged for mercy and was taken as a mount. It was truly unbelievable...

Well, the Demon Race is indeed a rabble, no wonder they are looked down upon by Human Race. But then again, if the demons were to truly organize themselves, they would surely face a combined attack from the Human Race, like the Gonggong Temple, being wiped out and suppressed for eternity, right?

Sigh, if all humans in this world are this fierce, at least the monsters in your world haven't gone extinct, and you still maintain rich biodiversity and beautiful natural habitats, right? Be content.

However, having personally experienced this small battle against the monsters, Li Fan gained a completely new understanding of the roles of cultivators from various schools of Daoist Tradition on the battlefield.

The divine generals of the Immortal Palace, especially the Thunder Department of the Xun Kingdom, are professional soldiers who serve as scouts, surprise troops, battlefield commanders, and special forces. With them at the core of tactical command, other cultivators only need to unleash their magic techniques and treasures at appropriate times, acting as artillery platforms. However, the sword immortals of the Beichen Sword Sect are subtly different from the image Li Fan initially imagined of—a lone, unparalleled swordsman who could take down thousands of enemy generals with ease.

Based on his own experience, it felt more like he was playing the role of a bomber... well, like a ground attack aircraft or attack helicopter, the kind of bomber that fires suppressive fire into crowds of people.

Flying towards the densest concentration of monsters, unleashing the most powerful sword techniques upon their heads, directly creating a breakthrough for the rear guard. If the Immortal Palace's high-level celestial soldiers and giant statues, along with elite divine generals like those from the Thunder Department, followed behind, then any monster formation would crumble in a single charge.

Of course, this is just a tactic for slaughtering monster minions. The strategy for besieging and killing large monsters and demon kings is clearly more in line with a fantasy/martial arts setting. Those battlefields are filled with particle cannons exchanging fire and air cannons clashing, the light and shadow effects are dazzling. To survive in such a chaotic battlefield, even Golden Core realm cultivator would be somewhat lacking...

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao is not entirely true. As long as one's escape technique is adequate and can evade dangerous killing moves, escaping from a Nascent Soul or Nascent Soul Stage Divine Transformation cultivator is not a problem.'

Escape technique? Another skinning? Forget it, skinning hurts too much...

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Heh, I'm not referring to that move. Seeing you fight in the battle formation for so long, your qi is still abundant and your mana plentiful. It seems that the Five Mountain Gods Divine Body really has some merit. Using escape techniques shouldn't be a problem now. Since your Gonggong Dao Body has been perfected, I'll pass on to you another technique, the Profound Nether Escape Technique.'"

The Profound Nether Escape Technique? Great! Come on, come on!

It should be noted that the Three Great Sects do not have as many systematic Daoist robes, Tai Su's transformations, or Nangong's reincarnation methods to save their lives. The truly powerful core technique of the Three Great Sects is this method of escape.

Therefore, in the academy of Ink Bamboo Mountain, the Five Elements Dao Techniques is also recorded as a method of escape. This is because controlling fire and water, flying into the sky and entering the earth, releasing a fire phoenix or throwing a water dragon are all just the most basic operations practiced in order to learn the ultimate escape method.

Those who truly master the highest level of escape techniques can transform into a shadow, instantly covering thousands of miles, escaping directly from the enemy's Divine Sense detection range, even beyond the reach of flying swords.

For example, the "Profound Nether Ice River Escape" from the Profound Heaven Sword Intent Transmission is a movement technique favored by cultivators of the Northern Ice Sea. Once unleashed, it transforms the cultivator's body into Dark Underworld ice energy and allows them to escape, creating a thousand-foot-long glacier along the way. From a distance, it appears as if a line of ice river has fallen to the ground, which is truly awe-inspiring.

Of course, if this escape technique were used in the south, it would probably only result in a rain shower. Moreover, the consumption of Profound Nether True Qi each time would probably be more severe than the consumption of fighting a fierce battle. However, it is still much better than the Blood Shadow Godly Movement, which causes a huge amount of blood loss.

This also shows that the logic of combat between Nascent Soul Stage cultivators and Golden Core cultivators is different. As long as they are not trapped in a formation due to a fatal calamity, they can use escape techniques to break free from most battles at any time.

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao, although there are many Daoist techniques that are called Five Elements Escape Techniques, very few are actually effective, and it is even more difficult to achieve great success in cultivation. My Sword Sect mainly uses sword escape, and that guy called Qingting Sou, his lightning escape technique is also quite powerful."

This technique, <Profound Nether Ice River Escape>, isn't exactly a top-grade method; it's barely usable, but the main problem is its overwhelming presence and obvious escape direction. If you try to use it to escape, you'll eventually be caught. However, it's not bad for dodging and weaving. The Lei Marsh's abundant moisture makes it easier to control. You should practice this first to familiarize yourself with it.

So, under the guidance of the Profound Heaven Sword Intent, Li Fan cultivated the Ice River Escape. After achieving minor success in the Gonggong Dao Body, his understanding and manipulation of Dark Underworld Water Qi clearly improved. In addition, given his already top-tier comprehension, mastering the escape technique was naturally not a problem. However, this escape technique really consumed too much Dao Breath.

As Li Fan made a hand seal to escape, he transformed into a wisp of Dark Underworld Ice Qi and flew a hundred miles in the blink of an eye, leaving a clear line of frost in the sky behind him. The Dao power within his body was also clearly evaporated, and frost breathed out from his mouth and nose, forming a layer of water mist on his Daoist robe.

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says that escape techniques place a heavy burden on the body, and are only easily mastered at the Nascent Soul Realm. However, with the foundation of the Tai Su Dao Body transformation, you should be fine. Practice makes perfect, just keep practicing."

He needs more practice; he'll freeze to death after flying three or five times. It's better to just fly with Sword Light...

Just then, a talisman was suddenly launched into the air from not far away, exploding into a blue-green fire phoenix. It seemed that someone nearby had encountered trouble and, seeing Li Fan leaving such a large trail in the sky, knew that he was True Cultivator of escape techniques passing by, so he sent out a talisman to ask for help.

Wow, it's the Fire Phoenix again? Li Fan's got Phoenix PTSD now, so I'll just pretend I didn't see it...

'The Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao, Azure Luan, from the Xiao Family.'

Oh! Little Sheep, is it? I'll have to go check it out. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda! Ten thousand strings of cash could build so many pagodas! But this family keeps getting into trouble, it's unbelievable...

Li Fan flew over with his sword and saw that this time it wasn't a demon who was behind it, but four human cultivators with their faces covered by inscribed scarves. They were clearly not from the vicinity of Ink Bamboo Mountain. 'Unknown Face', you know...

"Friend! Don't meddle in other people's business!"

Two of the masked cultivators immediately stepped forward to meet Li Fan. At first glance, they didn't seem to be particularly formidable, but Li Fan didn't rush to attack. He glanced at the heavily injured boy who was surrounded by the other two masked men, slumped in the magic array.

"Did you throw the firecracker?"

"I am a member of the Xiao Clan of Lanling, and I have been attacked by villains! I beg you, fellow Daoist, to lend me your assistance!"

The boy appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old. Beneath his expensive armor, his clothing was clearly made of fine silk and satin, suggesting he was Golden Core cultivator from the Immortal Palace. However, his appearance was striking: he had sword-like eyebrows and slanted sideburns, exuding a heroic and handsome air, and possessed a distinctly square face, completely different from the faces of the female members of the Xiao Family he had seen before.

And there's something quite interesting: he was clearly wounded by an arrow, with the arrow lodged in his back. If they can blame that on the monsters, wouldn't that be going too far?

Sigh, to be honest, the Immortal Palace really seizes every minute to fight amongst themselves. One moment everyone is working together to defeat the demons, and the next they're shooting arrows at you from behind.

"Are you really a member of the Xiao Clan of Lanling? May I ask your father's surname?" Li Fan asked with a gossipy, analytical attitude.

The boy choked for a moment, and before he could speak, the four masked men could no longer contain themselves. The two in front attacked from both sides, brandishing their swords and charging forward, while the two behind also coordinated with their talismans and magical artifacts to launch a ranged attack. However, none of them had a bow.

The martial arts and spells used by these four were all commonplace among rogue cultivators. But if they truly had no background, how could they dare to attack a lone 'Xiao Family disciple'? This clearly indicated that they were concealing their sect's methods and did not want their identities to be exposed. After all, even without using their own sect's ultimate moves, it was still four against one, so logically speaking, it couldn't be considered underestimating their opponent.

Li Fan glanced at their positions and seven or eight ways to instantly kill them flashed through his mind. However, he wasn't some indiscriminate demon who would kill anyone he saw. Besides, that kid over there clearly didn't look like a Xiao Family. He was clearly betrayed by his own teammates, yet he released the Xiao Family's Azure Luan for help. It was probably some dirty business of power struggles within the Immortal Palace. This kind of struggle was too complicated; it was best not to get involved.

So, the instant the enemy's swords and blades fell upon him, Li Fan made a hand seal, instantly teleporting into a stream of ice on the distant horizon. Then, he flashed back, landing behind the two masked assassins responsible for ranged attacks, causing ice crystals to scatter and water mist to fill the entire area, freezing all four masked assassins.

"Your strength is so pathetic, I couldn't even withstand a few of your tricks. Why not give me some face and tuck your tails between your legs and get lost? Fourth Department so many monsters to hunt around, why bother chasing after this great fortune? Some opportunities are fatal if you can't hold onto them."

The four masked cultivators were shocked. Was this mere escape a minor skill? But seeing Li Fan calm and composed, seemingly unaffected, they realized they hadn't checked the almanac before going out on business and had run into a bored expert. They promptly admitted defeat, put away their magical artifacts, and yielded, saying, "Thank you for your mercy, senior."

Well, it seems that people can be reasonable if they speak politely.

"Thank you for saving me, senior!" The young man thanked Li Fan from within the formation, seeing that Li Fan had only driven away the masked assassins without pursuing them. However, he dared not immediately remove the formation, showing his caution.

Li Fan didn't mind at all, and casually said, "I'm a hermit from the mountains and fields, and I don't want to get involved in your karmic entanglements. However, last time I casually saved someone from the Xiao Family and received a reward of 100,000 strings of cash. You're using the Xiao Family's name to ask for help, so we can't break that precedent, can we?"

The young man was ashamed, but his face relaxed a little. "I dare not hide it from you any longer, senior. I am actually a distant relative of the Xiao Family... I happened to meet my uncle in Lei Marsh this time, and only when I was in danger did I think of using the Azure Luan Talisman to ask for help."

"I am extremely sorry for being so presumptuous, but please stay a little longer, senior. I believe my uncle's reinforcements will arrive soon. I am so grateful for your help this time; otherwise, I would have been nearly harmed by such a petty person. Please allow me to repay your life-saving grace."

Li Fan didn't mind protecting him for a while, but he was curious, "Who is your uncle?"

"It is indeed the Prince of Poyang of Zhen Country. My uncle is righteous and generous, valuing honor over wealth, and will surely be grateful for your help, fellow Daoist."

Oh, and the 100,000 strings of cash even came with a thank-you letter, addressed to the Prince of Poyang. That makes him a relative of the Xiao Family. It seems this kid's father's genes are stronger; to be able to form a marriage alliance with the Xiao Family, he must be some kind of prince or duke. But why does he always seem to encounter these princes and nobles in distress? Couldn't they use a princess instead?

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Hey, now the whole world is in the hands of aristocratic families. Cultivation opportunities are mostly given to the sons of noble families. Besides, these kings and nobles all have so many concubines and children. What's so strange about encountering a few mediocre people who get ambushed and plotted against?'"

At this rate, even if they don't get attacked in secret outside, they might choke on cold water at home!

That's true. I'll just squeeze more money out of him later; he probably won't need it later anyway.

Sure enough, Zhen Country's reinforcements arrived a while later.

Hi, it's an old acquaintance again.

"General Wang, we meet again."

It really is that Nascent Soul Stage General Wang Juncai from before. Speaking of which, his job is truly exhausting. He's sent away a group of the Xiao Family nephews and nieces, and now he's rescuing another Xiao Family nephew. It's never-ending...

"Brother Li, I'm so grateful for your help again..." General Wang smiled wryly and cupped his hands to Li Fan. He glanced at the young general's injuries and guessed what was wrong, but he remained composed and bowed to him, saying, "I'm late, I'm sorry to have startled Your Excellency."

The young man wasn't arrogant at all, and seemed to know this General Wang as well. He finally relaxed and withdrew the magic array, saying, "Thank you for your help, General Wang. I was too reckless, chasing after you too far alone. Without your help, things would have been dangerous. When I get back and see my cousin, I must ask him to reward the general handsomely on my behalf."

The General Wang naturally knelt in gratitude, which is another story.

Li Fan observed coldly from the sidelines.

Serving in the Immortal Palace means kneeling before these good-for-nothings all day long, wiping the backsides of these pretty-but-nothings. It's like living a carefree life in the mountains, killing whomever you want, and even the Heavenly King himself can't save you.

Profound Heaven Sword Intent also agreed, but still thought the Guan Nei Hou should consider it...

So Li Fan decided to go back to the Human Race's stronghold with them first, to find the Prince of Poyang to complete the mission and receive the reward.

Halfway there, they encountered many Thunder Department who were chasing the Demon Race and joined them on their return journey north. These people clearly recognized the young man, and the leading generals dismounted their Thunder Eagles, clasped their hands in greeting, and offered him their mounts.

But the young man simply shook his head and thanked him, staying close to Wang Juncai, protected by the Nascent Soul Stage Divine General as they flew through the air, never leaving his side.

Incidentally, before setting off, he asked Li Fan to remove the arrowheads from his back, and he used medicine to suppress his injuries. He remained calm and composed, showing no sign of being seriously wounded. He held on until he reached the flying palace of the Nangong Family, and only then, under the protection of the Xiao Family's servants, did he enter the inner hall to recuperate.

Li Fan and Wang Juncai, neither of whom held official titles, were naturally unable to enter the inner Wang Family. Instead, they sat together outside where their mounts were tethered, chatting and watching the play.

It must be said that this young master from a prominent family was not a good-for-nothing; he was far more impressive than Nangong and his group. So Li Fan inquired about his background from Wang Juncai.

"He is Zhi, the second prince of Xun Kingdom and grandson of the Marquis of Jianchang. He serves as the garrison general in Jiujiang Prefecture Xun Kingdom. He lives across the river from my lord, the Prince of Xiangdong. Our two families have been linked by marriage for generations and have a long-standing friendship."

Xun Kingdom? Was it Thunder Department's scheme against him?

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'That's probably not the case. The Thunder Department is directly under the Three Enclosures, and it only assists the Xun Kingdom in subduing the Baiyue Mountain within its territory. It shouldn't have any connection with the royal family, right?'"

Seeing Li Fan looking at the passing Thunder Department cavalry, Wang Juncai said, "I heard that the Thunder Department has suppressed the Hundred Mountains for hundreds of years and has already sealed off the Ghost King. The remaining miscellaneous creatures can probably be dealt with by the Xun Kingdom itself. Therefore, the Sanyuan wants to transfer the elite troops of Conquering East General Wen Tianjun to the west to conquer the Divine Cult of the Kun Country."

Marquis of Jianchang is quick-witted and intelligent, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and highly appreciated by the king. Wen Tianjun, and therefore has always been responsible for coordinating the various armies of Xun Kingdom and cooperating with the Thunder Department's operations. It's possible that other forces might want to take this opportunity to cause trouble...

Speaking of which, my Zhen Country will likely send troops to assist us this time. Perhaps, in the near future, I will have the opportunity to meet you again, fellow Daoist."

"I see! Then General, you must come to Qingyue Creek for a few drinks then!"

It could be that the cult is causing trouble again, or it could be that the Immortal Palace army is about to set off, disrupting the power balance within Xun Kingdom. As a result, the princes and grandsons of Xun Kingdom will also experience some turmoil and a change of positions. This is a recurring event in the courts of the Twelve Countries Immortal Palace kingdoms.

However, it seems the Three Realms of the Immortal Palace are serious this time, actually gathering troops from the three southern kingdoms to attack the Divine Sect. The Kun Country is likely to be reduced to rubble.

Alas, fighting between humans isn't as easy and enjoyable as defeating demons.