Jiujiang Prefecture

You won. Although I don't know what kind of ghost you are, and although you lost eleven Golden Core cultivators, four Nascent Soul Stage, and two flying swords, you still won. You're so lucky you're numb.

There's no sarcasm intended, but Li Fan truly lost this time. He was forced to reveal many of his trump cards and secrets, and was also compelled to abandon his hostage. This caused Luo Feng Immortal Palace to miss the opportunity to use Princess Quan as a pawn to instigate infighting between the two factions in Xun Kingdom. Moreover, it added a glaring stain to the Beichen Sword Sect's perfect kidnapping record.

What a disgrace!

Alright, this feud has really gotten to a head. I swear I won't rest until I get my revenge!

Seriously, Li Fan's hatred for this damn thing has now surpassed that for the Nangong Family, can you believe it...?

Despite his resentment and complaints, Li Fan's body remained obedient. As the Xun Kingdom's army approached, he had already slipped away along the earth's veins, escaping to an unknown distance.

He traveled underground, far away from Xingye City, before finding a spiritual vein acupoint beneath the ground. Using the "<Jade Pure Jade Quality Flawless Escape>," he concealed his aura while simultaneously healing and repairing the external and internal injuries his body had sustained from the series of fierce battles.

This truly lives up to its reputation as a divine skill from the authentic Qingcheng Mountain of Xuanmen; it indeed possesses miraculous effects. After using it, Li Fan's entire body gradually changed color, transforming into a jade sculpture deeply buried in the earth and rocks. His bones, muscles, and organs, all imbued with the Return to Dust True Qi, also turned into a jade stone with a mixture of ice-purple and mutton-fat jadeite, alternating between blue and white. The wounds on his body, those minor hidden dangers, the damage to his meridians, and the cracks in his bones, were now revealed, becoming clearly visible cracks and blemishes on the jade stone. This allowed it to directly and specifically absorb the surrounding Return to Dust True Qi, achieving highly efficient healing and recovery.

While recovering from his injuries, Li Fan also engaged in deep introspection, using his Divine Sense to review and summarize the previous battles. He repeatedly reenacted and simulated the battles, analyzing the cultivation levels of the assassins and reflecting on his own responses to identify any oversights, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

First of all, among these three groups, the one who posed the greatest threat to Li Fan was actually the one who self-destructed his Golden Core in the first wave. Not only did he self-destruct, but he also possessed the Crimson Vein Child Sword. In fact, it could be said that most of the damage Li Fan was currently taking was caused by him alone.

In comparison, the other three in the first wave were easily defeated. Now that I think about it, they probably sacrificed themselves to create an opportunity for the Golden Core cultivator to cast his ultimate attack. Li Fan was indeed careless this time. He wanted to capture a few alive for interrogation, so he only crippled them and didn't kill them, but he almost got killed in the process.

The second group of seven using the Beichen Sword Sect's sword formation, though all killed in one move, were by no means weak. Seven of them besieging a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, attacking without hesitation, each sacrificing themselves with a single sword strike—clearly death-defying warriors. They were obviously a seasoned veteran; an ordinary Fake Nascent Soul from the Immortal Palace would certainly have been dead. The ferocity and ruthlessness of the eleven Golden Core cultivators left a deep impression on Li Fan. They were clearly the kind of killers who had faced death countless times, an elite group with rich and experienced skills. If they weren't a realm below Li Fan in strength, and if he hadn't known the method to break the formation, they wouldn't have been so easily dealt with.

The four Nascent Soul Stage cultivators in the third batch didn't actually have many opportunities to reveal their true strength. After all, they immediately used their flying swords to behead their opponents, followed by a close-quarters battle with Li Fan. Both sides gave it their all, and after a bloody fight, they all <Against Fate> and were captured by the Soul-Seizing Clan. They didn't even have time to cast spells. So at first glance, it seemed like nothing special.

However, through subsequent reflection and comparisons, Li Fan could also see that these four people were no slouch in terms of strength. Of course, he wasn't comparing them to those at the Golden Core stage, but rather to the five Nascent Soul Stage cultivators from the Xun Kingdom that he had killed in Xingye City. To put it simply, their level was far superior.

The three generals and two scholars from Xun Kingdom were, in a sense, representative of the Immortal Palace Nascent Soul Stage in the general sense. You could say they were Nascent Soul Stage, and they were, but that was all—just 'Nascent Soul Stage,' nothing more.

To put it bluntly, Li Fan could easily subdue those people using only the Puhua Sword Method, even with just one hand, and he could easily defeat them with Dalu Jing Tian Finger. To use a metaphor, they were like a crumbling building, an empty shell made of paper, seemingly beautiful but with a weak foundation, ready to collapse at the slightest gust of wind. Li Fan's feints could terrify them half to death, but once he got serious, they would be killed instantly.

But those four were different. These were True Cultivator; their Nascent Soul Stage bodies weren't just fancy cardboard cutouts, but refined steel forged through countless trials. Although they might look similar at first glance, they were worlds apart. When fighting them, Li Fan went all out from the start, aiming for vital points with every move. His Dalu Jing Tian Finger and Wind and Rain Style struck the four of them dozens of times. Can you believe the effect was minimal?

Although the Wind and Rain style was less powerful than the Yang style, and Li Fan hadn't used his full strength, it's important to understand that finger techniques ignore the defenses of flesh and directly damage the meridians and internal organs. Even if it didn't kill instantly, it should at least inflict serious injury or strike acupoints, right? If it were a trashy Nascent Soul Nascent Soul Stage from the Xun Kingdom, they would have been paralyzed and at the mercy of others after being poked so many times. But these people withstood it all, which is a testament to their solid fundamentals and profound cultivation.

Although their acupoints were temporarily sealed and their qi blocked, they could still use other meridians to circulate qi and launch attacks. They could avoid vital points and endure their internal injuries to compete with Li Fan. Moreover, three of them had already broken their flying swords and were in a state of rebirth, yet they managed to withstand Li Fan's fierce attacks with both sword and finger strikes until he used his flying sword to backstab them before collapsing. This level of skill is absolutely impressive.

Are these people merely assassins used as disposable tools by assassins on the spot?

Without a doubt, these elites are not someone a vassal king like the Ruler of Xun Country could control. Moreover, they are certainly not descendants of the Beichen Sword Sect, just as Li Fan was not from Qingcheng Mountain or Tan Flower Island. After all, what respectable person would use their own family's Cultivation Method to harm others outside, right? cough

It's safe to say that these are individuals cultivated by the most elite sects at the level of the Three Great Sects.

Conversely, if we think about it carefully, we can guess that the other party was able to seize the Crimson Vein Child Sword and the true teachings of the Celestial Dipper Sword Formation after the Beichen Sword Sect was wiped out. At the very least, they must be one of the top sects in the Central Plains, definitely a force that is in charge of the first line of the Three Great Sects.

And that guy who's behind the scenes, mobilizing troops, strategizing, and lurking like a ghost, is probably a core member of that powerful group.

Is this the struggle of the Central Plains series?

Sigh, Profound Heaven Sword Intent is right, Ink Bamboo Mountain really is a backwater. Rogue cultivators can only engage in love-hate relationships with some demons, causing a ruckus...

Li Fan opened his eyes and confirmed that his injuries had been completely healed.

Although the <<Jade Pure Jade Quality Flawless Escape>> is slower than rapidly repairing the Dao body with evil energy, its advantage lies in its ability to completely eradicate hidden dangers and further refine the Dao body.

Li Fan also discovered that after using this method to reshape his refined Dao body, the efficiency of condensing Return to Dust True Qi and Yuqing Zhenyuan also increased significantly—no, "significantly" is a bit of an understatement; it doubled. It seems this Cultivation Method is like a human being; every time he's beaten half to death, his fighting power doubles when he gets up. It actually fits Li Fan's fighting style of "if he can't die, he'll go all out!"

Of course, the Jade Perfection Divine Skill still has its flaws. The most significant flaw is that Li Fan, damn it, doesn't cultivate the Jade Purity Nascent Soul Stage!

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that a significant amount of his Inner Landscape Wuji Zhenyuan had been depleted!

The True Qi of Return to Dust from the Earth Vein Spirit Cave alone was not enough; the Wuji Zhenyuan he had painstakingly accumulated was also reverse-refined into Yuqing Zhenyuan and used to repair his Dao body!

It's not worth it at all! If it were the Returning Void True Essence, it would be easy; Moon Worship could fill it up with just a couple of breaths. But accumulating Wuji Zhenyuan is so slow!

No wonder not many people cultivate dual Nascent Soul Stage. After all, Dao Breath is ever-changing; if one increases while the other decreases, it's equivalent to not cultivating at all. Sometimes there are also conflicts when circulating Qi and meridians, increasing the risk of Qi stagnation and paralysis. It's better to specialize in one Dao.

Li Fan was now truly hesitant. His progress in cultivating the Limitless Nascent Soul Stage was far too slow, while the Qingcheng Mountain Cultivation Method was remarkably effective at healing. Should he simply reset his cultivation points and start over with the Jade Purity Nascent Soul Stage? However, he hadn't yet thoroughly grasped the Cultivation Method for cultivating the Nascent Soul Stage from the immortals of Qingcheng Mountain. He had also been steadily cultivating his Wuji Zhenyuan for so long, always with impeccable stability; it would be such a waste to reset it now.

Sigh, I wonder when Qin Meimei can come over for dual cultivation, so we can all improve together...

Li Fan thought of Qin Nanxin, of dual cultivation, of the princess he was forced to abandon, of BCCD, and of the specialties of Quanke Island. He was momentarily lost in thought, but remembering the recent tense situation, he quickly shook his head to banish the more than two thousand words of dual cultivation he had imagined, steadfastly guarding his Dao heart. After confirming his safety with the Gu Guan Method, he directly broke through the ground.

It's daytime now, so that persistent ghost probably can't cause trouble. But who knows how many suicide bombers we still have? And who knows if he's already been targeted by that guy? To avoid ruining Luo Feng's inside man, Li Fan can't go to Xingye City for the time being. Let's just go to Jiujiang Prefecture to steal the Heavenly Book.

The only decent clothes he had before were from a scam at the Heavenly Clothes, and now they were all ruined. He couldn't wear the uniform of the Ink Bamboo Mountain disciples, nor the Daoist robes of the Luo Sect and Guixu. Li Fan had no choice but to wear hemp clothes and straw sandals, torn to shreds, wipe some ash on his face, and make a mess of his hair to look like an old beggar, heading straight towards Jiujiang Prefecture.

Starting from Xingye City, following the Li River eastward, you can reach Jiujiang Prefecture. This place is the border area between Xun Kingdom, Zhen Country, and Si Prefecture, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the Three Enclosures, which is the Central Plains in a narrow sense.

In addition to natural rivers and tributaries like the Li River, there are also many artificial canals dug in the past for various reasons such as grain transport, trade, irrigation, city defense, and river management. This fertile plain, divided by a dense network of rivers, is thus called the Jiujiang Plain.

To the west of this plain lies Xunzhou Jiujiang Prefecture, and across the water to the east is Zhen Jiangling Prefecture. Further north are the fiefdoms of the direct descendants of the immortals who were once settled in the south. Now, it is the territory of Si Prefecture, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the Three Enclosures. The Seven Guards of the Southern Constellation and the Well Lodgings Guard, which guard the gateway to the Central Plains, are also stationed here.

The Jiujiang Plain boasts excellent geographical advantages, making it ideal for agriculture. The states of Zhen and Xun are stable allies formed through marriage and are also close vassal states loyal to the Immortal Palace. The stable situation and lack of war, coupled with the dense network of rivers suitable for trade among the three states, have resulted in a large population. The villages are densely packed with farmhouses, and large towns with populations of tens or hundreds of thousands can be seen everywhere. This is a stark contrast to the desolate landscape of the Li Country, where even ghosts are rarely seen in the remote mountain valleys.

However, no matter how good the relationship is, the more people there are, the more complicated the place becomes. This place is equivalent to the gateway between the Three Kingdoms, the gateway where the Southern Country directly contacts the Central Plains. Moreover, it is located on a plain with no defensible terrain. The taxes and grains paid by the two major vassal states to the Immortal Palace are all transported through the canal of Jiujiang, directly to the granaries and treasuries of the Three Enclosures. It can be said to be the main artery of the Immortal Palace.

Therefore, all parties coincidentally stationed heavy troops here. This time, the three armies of the Immortal Palace to attack the Kun Country, Thunder Department, Xun Kingdom and Zhen Country, along with countless provisions and military supplies, also traveled north via the Jiujiang Canal, with boats and carts, banners stretching to the sky, all the way to Sanyuan.

The Divine Transformation cultivator currently stationed in Jiujiang Prefecture is Lu Yi, the leader of the four great clans of Xun Kingdom, the Marquis of Jiujiang County, General of Pacifying the East, Prime Minister of Xun Kingdom, and head of Lu Yi Lu Family.

This person's position in Xun Kingdom is equivalent to a combination of the Grand Preceptor and the Imperial Censor of Li Country. The head of the Lu Family is not only the head of all civil and military officials in Xun Kingdom, but also the gentry of the four major clans follow his lead.

He was indeed a capable man. It is said that in his youth, he cooperated with General Wen Tianjun, the Conquering East General of the Thunder Department, to lead the allied forces of the Immortal Palace and the Xun Kingdom to sweep through the Baiyue Mountain. They were almost invincible. It wasn't until the Ruler of Xun Country said, "Put down that head! Let me take over!" and transferred him to the north to guard Jiujiang that the Luo Feng Immortal Palace was given a chance to breathe. Of course, Jiujiang was also very important, cough cough!

In short, the head of the Lu Family did not move this time, remaining in the north to guard against demons and monsters from the Central Plains infiltrating the Xun Kingdom. However, most of his generals and elite troops, the battle-hardened elites of the Xun Kingdom, joined the Divine Sect's expeditionary force and followed Wen Tianjun on his westward expedition.

Li Fan toured the villages and towns one by one, and after a quick estimate, he figured that the Jiujiang Prefecture side of Xun Kingdom alone must have two to three million people. The entire triangular plain of Jiujiang, Jiangling, and Si Prefecture Well Lodgings Guard probably had no less than ten million people. Moreover, Li Fan also discovered that the local towns and villages had a very complete and systematic talent training system.

Each village and town had schools run by local gentry and clans, and teachers invited from academies to teach Confucianism. Children from powerful families and humble backgrounds could receive education at the academies. Commoners and the lowest of the low also had the opportunity to be selected to serve as retainers and private soldiers. To be fair, there were also channels for advancement in the Immortal Palace. The system itself was neither good nor bad; it was stable if it conformed to the development of productive forces, and it would collapse if it did not.

Moreover, outside of the Immortal Palace system, there are many rogue cultivators who have drifted from the north. After all, the cultivation world is really cruel, bloody, and terrifying. It's common to wipe out entire sects and clans, behead people for drinking, or create Devil Embryo. There are always people who can't survive there, and there are always people who want to live a peaceful life for a couple of days.

The Xun Kingdom didn't fawn over independent cultivators like the Li Country did. Both Ink Bamboo Mountain and the Nangong Family practically wanted to open their doors with a "Come and explore the wilderness!" sign. Of course, the Xun Kingdom didn't prohibit other cultivators from preaching and spreading their teachings. After all, in this era of the False Moon, even toads in the water, field mice in the ground, and corals in the sea could Moon Worship. How could you possibly manage them all? Besides, it could also keep the local academies in check, so why not?

Therefore, the principle of Xun Kingdom is to let these independent cultivators do whatever they want. As long as you don't court death and go against the Three Great Sects, and don't collude with the Luo Feng Devil Palace, the government won't bother to care which mountain or cave you're in to claim godhood. If there are truly outstanding talents, aristocratic families and the imperial court will be happy to recruit them as worshippers, giving them an official background and incorporating them into the system.

Thus, these outsider cultivators, those with weaker strength, usually attached themselves to local families and became their retainers, while those with stronger strength would choose a place to open an altar and preach, establish their own Daoist temples, collect offerings from local wealthy landowners and merchants, and select disciples to develop their own Daoist Tradition. This can be considered as providing a path outside the Immortal Palace system.

Iron Buddha Temple is a cultivation sect of this nature. Strictly speaking, it is the fourth path outside of the Three Great Sects, the Daoist Tradition of Buddhism.

Buddhism originated from the west, but the western kingdoms were almost entirely wiped out by the Divine Cult, and the area beyond Kunlun was entirely under their control. Therefore, the origins of this Daoist Tradition are untraceable. It is only known that this Cultivation Method is more reliable and safer than most independent cultivation Cultivation Method, and even most of the Three Great Sects' Cultivation Method, and it is not weak either. It is said that one can cultivate to the Divine Transformation stage, so it has recently become very popular in the Central Plains. Especially in Zhen Country, it is said to have ten thousand monasteries and a thousand temples. Even the ruler of Zhen Country, the renowned head of the Xiao Clan of Lanling family, is secretly cultivating it. It is said that the Buddhism cultivators of Zhen Country revere the ruler, calling him the Dharma Protector Bodhisattva King, and he receives strong support and influence from Zhen Country. Many independent cultivators, eager to join the Xiao Family, have also flocked to learn this method.

Iron Buddha Temple appears to be a branch of the Buddhism that expanded from Zhen Country to Xun Kingdom. Due to the alliance between the two countries through marriage, the Buddhism's development in Xun Kingdom has been relatively smooth. It is considered a loose sect trusted by the Xun Kingdom's royal family. Iron Buddha Temple is located in Jiujiang Prefecture, not far from the Marquis of Jianchang's Mansion's residence, which represents the royal family.

Li Fan grabbed a handful of soil and used his Return to Dust True Qi to mold it into a broken bowl. He put Si Nan compass inside and wandered around like an old Delia. He followed the opportunity into the city and eventually found the Marquis of Jianchang's Mansion. When he looked up, he saw black flags and white banners hanging at the entrance of the mansion, and the entire mansion was filled with mourners dressed in mourning clothes. His heart skipped a beat.

Isn't it a coincidence? He hadn't even done anything yet when the Marquis of Jianchang died.