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Damn, this is really bad... Why does he keep running into these power struggles everywhere he goes? Don't you Three Great Sects have anything else to do besides fighting for the world? It seems like you don't... cough

Li Fan shook his head, borrowed only a few arithmetic manuals, then bought a bunch of the Beichen Sword Sect, bid farewell to Jia Gui, and flew back to Xinglin, still thinking about what had just happened.

That Zhang Chongyang, though it's unclear whether he's truly a trusted commander of the Central Guard or the Central Guard itself, is nonetheless a core figure in the Grand Tutor's faction, capable of commanding assassins to plot the assassination of the Twelve Countries. This guy has some insight, recognizing Li Fan's abilities... cough cough! People like him—powerful, resourceful, influential, with subordinates and ambition—are really difficult to deal with.

Of course, if Li Fan had a sword at the time, he would have given this guy a good beating and taught him not to show off in front of Li Yaoshi! Ugh, I should have just brought Rabbit out and grabbed his ear, smashing it to pieces...

Li Fan flew around lost in thought for a while, and just then he flew over the sword fighting arena again. He saw that those people were still making calculations, so he flew down to join in the fun and see what they were coming up with.

"Hey Blue Fatty, what's going on? What's the situation now?"

"Who are you calling Blue Fatty?!" Blue Fatty was about to explode, but Li Fan hooked up with him and stuffed a Spirit Coins into his sleeve, so he suppressed his anger, put the money in his sleeve, and said, "I've figured it out. The Demonic Sect was able to launch a successful sneak attack because of their inside assassins."

"Another suicide squad? Are there really that many suicide squads these days?! Do the Three Great Sects have such good benefits?" Li Fan exclaimed in surprise.

The Blue Fatty, equally shaken, remarked, "It's truly astonishing. Someone who's embarked on the path to immortality is actually willing to sacrifice their life. I really don't know what they're thinking..."

In summary, based on the information we gathered, we deduced that before the Demonic Cult's sneak attack, there was a disturbance within the camp. The instigator attacked the central command tent, burned the granary and weapons, and broke the array's restrictions. This was done to coordinate with the Demonic Cult's surprise attack. The simultaneous actions, orchestrated by the Demonic Cult, caused the Imperial Guards to be overwhelmed and thrown into disarray, ultimately leading to their crushing defeat in a pincer attack.

Besides its core veterans, the Western Imperial Guards also consisted of a new army composed of sons of military families and recruited rogue cultivators. Due to the heavy casualties, we don't yet have the full details, but we suspect that these elite warriors were likely mixed in with the recruited rogue cultivators. They seized the opportunity to cause chaos during the Demonic Cult's attack, leading to the breach of the Imperial Guards's main camp in a single battle."

Could it be that the Demonic Sect also has such assassins? But if these aren't assassins from that side, then... isn't that a bit too insidious...?

"Did you capture any of these assassins alive? How could an enemy spy so easily infiltrate the Western Expeditionary Army? And how many elite soldiers must they be to do so much, from raiding enemy camps to burning them down?" Li Fan asked, narrowing his eyes.

"The Immortal Palace is already investigating the inside accomplices. They were just some recruited cannon fodder mercenaries. We are also puzzled as to why they suddenly displayed such combat power. All we know now is that these recruits are mostly rogue cultivators at the Golden Core Stage, who were originally no match for the regular army. But we don't know that they used some kind of demonic secret technique to suddenly transform into demonic Devil Embryo, causing their strength to skyrocket! Their destructive power is approaching that of the Martial God realm!"

The Imperial Guards was caught off guard and suffered a crushing defeat. Against demonic soldiers of that caliber, even self-preservation was difficult; in their rout, they had no strength left to capture any survivors or investigate their backgrounds. "Hmph, it can only be said that these demonic cultists are truly vicious and despicable! To resort to such low-down methods as Devil Embryo! Truly hateful!"

Li Fan was shocked and furious, "A fiendish corpse! Could it be... a corpse-refining pill?!"

However, the Blue Fatty shook his head, "I also wondered if it could be a corpse-refining pill, but it doesn't seem like it."

"Don't you think it looks like it?"

A nearby cultivator interjected, "The cultivation methods of this world are incompatible with malevolent energy. While assassins and ambush warriors might have a slim chance of survival and achieve the merit of being the first to charge, some might be willing to take the risk. But swallowing a Corpse Refining Pill is a death sentence! It's understandable for rogue cultivators to seek rewards from the Demonic Sect, but why risk their lives to fight for someone else? Even if the Demonic Sect promises to help them achieve rebirth through physical transformation, there's no guarantee of success, is there?"

The Blue Fatty added, "Moreover, the Corpse Refining Pill is inherently difficult to refine. It requires collecting the evil energy of hundreds of evil corpses to refine just one pill, and there are many precious materials that are not easy to store for a long time, so it is not cost-effective. Moreover, evil energy is not a natural phenomenon of the Taiji Realm, and once it appears in the world, it can be easily detected. Therefore, whenever any evil corpses in the world are resurrected, they are killed by the nearby guardian immortals as soon as possible to prevent them from harming the human world."

If the Demonic Sect were conducting large-scale corpse-raising, spirit-gathering, and alchemy, surely the spies sent by the Immortal Palace and Xuanmen wouldn't have been completely unaware of such a massive operation? At this critical juncture, they should have been prepared long ago! Furthermore, according to calculations, there are numerous assassins simultaneously rebelling within the army, almost all of them powerful demonic soldiers akin to Martial God, numbering at least a thousand. How did they manage to gather so many corpse-refining pills? How could they assemble so many assassins? And... I've never heard of corpse-refining pills being so potent."

Li Fan glared at him, "... What do you mean by 'never heard of the Corpse Refining Pill being this powerful'?"

The Blue Fatty hesitated for a moment, but Li Fan stuffed another coin into his hand, and then explained, "Actually, the Corpse Refining Pill has been researched since the Immortal Venerable era, and it has the same origin as the Foundation Establishment External Pills for Immortal Soldiers in the Immortal Palace now. If we're talking about the development of Corpse Refining Pills, the Immortal Palace is the most proficient, so how come the Divine Sect has suddenly surpassed them...?"

Li Fan was shocked and added another coin to his account, urging him to say more.

The Blue Fatty waved his hand, indicating that that was enough and he didn't need to say so much. He explained directly, "During the era when the Immortal Venerable conquered the Demon Race and dominated the twelve states of the Central Plains, the biggest problem was the lack of troops. Although the Immortal Venerable was a peerless genius, invincible under heaven, the generals and soldiers under his command were still inferior to the Demon Race's army. Mortals were even less able to match the Demon Race's powerful physical bodies. And there was only one Immortal Venerable, while the Demon Race attacked from all sides, so the expansion of the Immortal Palace was once slowed down. Demons in various places would hide when they saw the Immortal Venerable, and would come out to counterattack as soon as the Immortal Venerable left."

Therefore, the Celestial Venerable had been researching ways to enhance the combat power of his celestial soldiers, and various pill formulas began to appear in that era. This Corpse Refining Pill was Oldest One called the Soldier Refining Pill. It was an enhancement pill developed by the Celestial Venerable after he defeated the Demon God Drought Demon, studied the Demon God's Devil Embryo, and collected the evil corpses from various places.

After consuming this pill, warriors can unleash their full potential, becoming as strong as steel, possessing immense strength, and moving with lightning speed. They can tear any demon or monster to shreds. However, the pill's potency is too strong, and human strength is limited, so it cannot be maintained for long. Once the vital essence is exhausted, the celestial soldier will die. Even if the potency is reduced, the user will still lose control of themselves, completely losing their mind, becoming like a walking corpse, only thirsting for blood and killing. Therefore, it is known in the army as the Corpse-Refining Pill.

Later, the Immortal Palace developed the Foundation Establishment Pill series of external pills, gradually progressing to the Divine Infant Pill's Divine General level, resulting in astonishing combat power. The Corpse Refining Pill was no longer commonly used. However, the formula for the Corpse Refining Pill has always been a top secret of the Immortal Palace. Even the Demonic Sect's God Lord couldn't obtain it, forcing him to develop his own Body Domination Technique to train the Divine Sect's army to fight against the Immortal Palace's army. Why is it suddenly being used in large quantities now? Could it have been leaked by the Immortal Palace's upper echelons?

Li Fan frowned and said, "But so many years have passed, and the Heavenly Dao has changed drastically. The evil energy is not so rare anymore. Could it be that the Demonic Sect has produced a Grandmaster of Alchemy who has upgraded a new pill formula that has similar effects?"

The Blue Fatty sighed, "That possibility cannot be denied. Actually, there's another point. The Immortal Palace already had many ways to deal with the Fiend Corpses. They could easily suppress and resolve them using lightning magic and talismans. But strangely, the survivors said that the Fiend Corpses seemed to have undergone some kind of mutation."

Not only did their strength surge dramatically beyond their current level, but they also seemed to retain their rationality. Unlike ordinary corpse soldiers who ran around and killed indiscriminately like headless flies, they were not only highly skilled in martial arts but also obedient to commands, attacking like elite troops, distinguishing friend from foe, and even unafraid of sunlight and fire. Talismans were of little use, and only lightning magic could barely be effective, but the elite of the Thunder Department were trapped at the front. Therefore, the Western Imperial Guards was caught off guard and had no good solutions.

Therefore, I suspect that even if it is a strengthening elixir, it probably can't be called a corpse-refining pill anymore. It might be some other kind of secret treasure or technique. The Demonic Sect has always abused the various 'Non-Thing' Devil Embryo that have appeared in the world since the False Moon was in the sky. They were probably born using some kind of forbidden spell from the demon gods. It's just that their immense power after taking effect makes them somewhat similar to the Fiend Corpse.

These calculations were unfathomable, and Li Fan was equally clueless. He felt that the new Corpse Refining Pills of the Divine Cult might have some similarity to Lin Xiang's pill. But how did the Lin Family come to possess the Divine Cult's new Corpse Refining Pills? Were they also spies within the Divine Cult? Or was it something that had never been the Divine Cult's business, and whether it was the Corpse Refining Pills or the new ones, it had always been a secret among the Imperial Guards?

Sigh, it seems it's not just Ink Bamboo Mountain; the Three Great Sects have quite a few hidden trump cards up their sleeves. The Immortal Palace has been researching Fiend Corpses and Super Soldiers since ancient times, the Profound Sect's research on objects, artifacts, spatial teleportation, and the Five Arts is unparalleled, and the Divine Sect uses every means possible to combat Non-Thing and various demons and gods born of heaven and earth. This game of vying for supremacy in this world is truly not for normal people...

However, the Blue Fatty man was a decent person. He said that Li Fan had Spirit Coins. He believed that in business, one should be honest and fair to all, regardless of age or gender. Therefore, he would send a complete version of the detailed battle report to Li Fan's Storage Jade later.

Okay, so these so-called "calculators" are all those who passed the college entrance exam and are preparing for the mathematics master exam. They usually come from second- or third-rate sects in the Xuanmen (Daoist sects). Although they have cultivated to the Nascent Soul Realm, due to limitations in aptitude or sect resources, or because they are not core disciples of their sect, it is already difficult for them to cultivate to the Divine Transformation with the support of their sect, let alone become a Grandmaster by discussing the Dao at Nine Yin Mountain and reading the Heavenly Book. However, there is always a way out. Generally, if someone passes the master exam in one of the Five Arts and obtains the title of "Master of a Certain Arts," they can be recruited by a major sect and become Outer Sect elder or guest, receiving resources and offerings.

However, the process of becoming a master through examinations becomes quite difficult. Alchemy, weapon crafting, and talisman crafting are still relatively popular professions, especially when the Three Great Sects are fighting, as these professionals are needed to produce war supplies. Array crafting is also very popular, since one can help aristocratic families decorate their houses, set up arrays, and do feng shui consultations, earning a fortune.

But the calculation method is a bit awkward. Since you're not a trusted confidant of any powerful faction, your employer certainly wouldn't dare to give you top-secret information to calculate or analyze. Are you supposed to go under a bridge to tell fortunes, read faces, or work as an accountant? So, apart from the powerful families who serve in vassal states, it's more common for people to do their own calculations in places like Yuntai Peak, where they can predict the major events of the world, publish daily reports, and then sell them to the old monsters who have been in seclusion for hundreds or thousands of years in the deep mountains and forests for entertainment.

Well, to put it nicely, they're information brokers; to put it bluntly, they're just newspaper vendors...

Li Fan sighed; that damned Xuan Tian Iron Egg had really shown him the right path...

Although the ordeal at Yuntai Peak didn't take much time, it really left Li Fan feeling dizzy and confused. Damn, every time the Three Great Sects get involved, it's always some kind of conspiracy or scheming. Now that both Kun Country and Xun Kingdom are in trouble, Li Fan really doesn't have the energy to get involved in too many things.

Thinking about it carefully, his ultimate goal was the Heavenly Book of the Ruler of Xun Country. Now, the copied version he was tracking had vanished without a trace, and the whereabouts of the Purple Hairpin and Yin Dai were nowhere to be found. But then, a glimmer of hope appeared. Regardless of whether they assassinated, bound, or rescued the tiger three days later, with the entire Xun Kingdom in such jubilation, wasn't the original Heavenly Book in the Tiger Crouch Palace now a possibility?

In short, let's go back and calm down first, and organize the intelligence before making any further decisions.

Li Fan returned through the apricot grove's passage, opened his eyes, and was lifted to the surface by tree roots. He saw Cihui standing at the edge of the grove, seemingly waiting for him.

"Oh, Master Cihui, how was the harvest? Did you manage to buy the Divine Infant Pill?"

Cihui seemed to be gazing absently at the apricot grove when he heard the call. He turned around, clasped his hands in prayer, and said, "Thank you for your concern, Master. It's just a pity that my luck has run out, and in the end I didn't get a single apricot."

"Huh? This..." Li Fan was taken aback, then comforted him, "Perhaps the Xiao Family still has some left..."

Cihui shook her head and said, "Suddenly, a big buyer appeared, very generous, and bought all the remaining twenty-four Divine Infant Pill, not even giving away a single one. Alas, it's fate. I'm very grateful for your help this time, but my days are numbered, and I need to prepare for my passing. I hope to be reborn into a good family in my next life..."

"Oh, by the way, I don't have the cash to repay the eight thousand strings of cash you borrowed. I have a magic treasure here that I originally planned to use to exchange for elixirs, but I don't need it now, so I'll consider it a token of my gratitude."

As she spoke, she took a string of crystal-clear purple prayer beads from her wrist. They looked like purple glass, emanating a faint sandalwood fragrance. Moreover, upon touching them with her Divine Sense, she clearly sensed a unique, self-willed force emanating from the other side...

Li Fan glanced at it and was shocked. "This... this is a high-grade Nascent Soul Stage weapon! How can this be used!"

Cihui smiled bitterly, "What's wrong with that? I've fallen to this state because I coveted these external things, ruining my Dao heart and cultivation. Back then, I had already reached the Golden Core stage and was on the verge of Nascent Soul Stage, but I thought of entering Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land to seek a magic Magic Treasure for Nascent Soul cultivators. That's when I was tempted and stole this treasure, ruining my cultivation. For many years afterward, I couldn't bear to part with it, couldn't let it go. Only today did I realize my mistake and try to exchange it for a Divine Infant Pill to save my life, but I still couldn't get it. This is all karma and retribution; it's too late to regret it now."

The fate of this string of prayer beads is connected to the female immortals in the Phantom Moon Treasure Mirror. After much thought, I've concluded that since you, Master, still have karmic ties with those female immortals, giving this treasure to you is my last chance to settle this karmic debt. Only by settling this karmic debt can I have a chance to succeed in my reincarnation. I hope you will help me, Master."

Li Fan hesitated for a moment, but after thinking about it, he accepted the prayer beads and nodded, "Alright then, take care, fellow Daoist."

"Thank you, Master." Cihui finally seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, clasped her hands together to thank Li Fan, then turned and walked into the apricot grove, disappearing among the golden leaves that were blown by the wind.

Li Fan glanced at the prayer beads in his hand. Damn, eight thousand strings of cash for a mid-grade Nascent Soul Stage weapon... Suddenly making such a fortune made him feel a little guilty...

However, according to Cihui, having this Cihui weapon means that her connection with the female immortals of the Zichai Mountain Villa hasn't been severed yet, so she still retains the possibility of competing for that handwritten heavenly book, right?

Well... anyway, let's seal it up and wrap it up first. Who knows if Fahui turned into Cihui because of this radiation...