Preparations

The corpse-refining pill Lin Xiang used might cause a lot of trouble, Li Fan first returned to Jiujiang Prefecture to check on the safety of the Lin Family siblings. Fortunately, it was only a day, and they were safe and sound. Li Fan's Divine Sense detected that the siblings were both alright, and the Thunder Talisman he had placed outside the room beforehand had not been activated, so it seemed they hadn't run away.

Lin Chen was, after all, a normal person. He had been injured and had been on the run all day, so he was exhausted and hadn't recovered yet. He was still asleep and resting. Lin Xiang was lying by the bedside watching over her brother.

To test her perception, Li Fan deliberately used his Divine Sense to lock onto Lin Xiang, but she seemed to lack awareness in terms of perception. It wasn't until Li Fan entered the inn that Lin Xiang sniffed, as if she could smell his return, and then, like a frightened kitten, she darted back into the coffin, opening a crack in the coffin lid and peeking out with her eyes to observe secretly.

The detection range is too small, which means that the pill did not enhance the soul. At most, it made the soul more sensitive to the aura of living people and the ability to locate by sound. It seems that the corpse is more suitable for close combat.

"Let me see your hand," Li Fan instructed as he entered the room. Lin Xiang obediently emerged from the coffin, extending her small, white, lotus-root-like arm to take his pulse.

Her physique has indeed been strengthened to the Golden Core level, but can this child's heart, lungs, and meridians withstand such rapid enhancement by the medicine? Is it because of her innate talent, or the uniqueness of this pill formula? Moreover, she has been so energetic all day, working tirelessly without sleep or fear of sunlight, and can even control her power. She is truly different from ordinary demonic corpses.

A five- or six-year-old girl, after taking drugs, was able to fight on equal terms with Golden Core Stage constable who had practiced martial arts diligently and had considerable combat experience, and even had a slight advantage. If it were a Golden Core Stage assassin, beating up the Imperial Guards would indeed not be a big problem.

The fact that the Divine Cult dared to directly deploy this new drug in large-scale combat on the Kun Country battlefield suggests they have considerable testing experience. However, since it hasn't been used across the entire army yet, and the front lines are advancing, Li Fan estimates that this drug likely has limitations in production volume, side effects, or certain conditions for success. Now, they'll have to wait and see what happens to Lin Xiang to understand the drug's properties.

Li Fan noticed that only Lin Chen had eaten the food prepared on the table, and asked, "Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"

Lin Xiang shook her head, held up the Jade Pure Bottle in her arms for Li Fan to see. It was the Jade Pure Bottle he had kept for Lin Chen to absorb the remaining evil energy. Then Lin Xiang gulped down the evil energy in the bottle.

Li Fan guessed for a moment, then took some ink lines for her. Lin Xiang smelled them, then threw them into her mouth and chewed them like noodles, eating them quite happily, her cheeks puffing out like a hamster.

So it really needs something like malevolent energy to maintain its existence? Strictly speaking, then she can no longer be considered a living person in the Taiji Realm; she should be called a 'non-human' in the Tai Su Realm, right? We can take her back to Ink Bamboo Mountain for the Master to see.

Seeing that the brother and sister were alright, Li Fan didn't disturb their rest. He went to the next room, took out the jade pendant, and checked the harvest from his trip to Yuntai Peak.

First is a talisman for warding off evil spirits, a palm-sized silver ornament carved into the shape of a mythical beast, inscribed with runes; this is the very body of the Pixiu a mythical creature believed to ward off evil). Shaking this talisman will cause Spirit Coins to pour out from the beast's mouth. There are probably a little over two hundred silver coins in this talisman now. Li Fan mainly bought a lot of miscellaneous books on unofficial histories from the Beichen Sword Sect.

Then there was a pile of books, including miscellaneous books, mathematical scriptures, a battle report from Blue Fatty written on a bamboo scroll, and a secret letter, somewhat like a memorial to the throne, sealed with a talisman. It was addressed to 'Li Yaoshi,' presumably only he could unseal and view it; it was probably the secret mission order from Zhang Chongyang. We shouldn't rush to accept this mission; let's put it aside for now.

Finally, there are the two magical treasures that Li Fan acquired this time.

Not bad, two items. One is an amethyst rosary wrapped in talisman paper, which he exchanged for eight thousand strings of cash from Cihui. The other is the rabbit sword.

Although the rabbit was kicked out of the warehouse, its body was still sent to the Storage Jade warehouse under the name of Li Yaoshi.

First-grade Nascent Soul Stage Sword Pill, Moon Soul.

At first glance, this sword pellet looks like a pearl the size of an egg, or a full moon radiating a bright light. However, unlike the Suihou Pearl, which shines brightly, this one has a restrained radiance, as if bound by some kind of magnetic field, forming concentric arcs of light around the pearl.

Li Fan tried to control the sword using the Ruyi Sword Scripture. Although the sword pellet seemed somewhat reluctant, it still leaped twice like a rabbit, so fast that it was invisible, like a beam of moonlight reflecting in the room. It circled around Li Fan a hundred times, testing the sword's speed. However, when the sword was sheathed, the Sword Light that had just grazed the walls and floor was enough to slice through the tables, chairs, beds, and brick walls like tofu, leaving them scattered in a mess.

Wow... is this the genuine flying sword of the Beichen Sword Sect?... It's kind of fancy...

Li Fan was impressed after just one try. He could clearly feel that the rabbit was not using its full strength at all, and even had some resistance. But the speed of its perfunctory sword strikes and the smoothness of its Sword Light manipulation were already far superior to Golden Dragon White Star!

Yes, the Zhu Hong and other consumable items at the Golden Core level are simply incomparable! The Golden Dragon White Star are also swords mainly engraved with sword talismans, but the Moon Soul is a sword pellet from the Beichen Sword Sect! A first-grade Nascent Soul Stage! All attributes are maxed out! Although the sword spirit has only transformed into a rabbit, it is already at the 'object' level in some respects! Such a divine weapon, combined with Li Fan's radar far exceeding that of ordinary Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, cough cough, his Divine Sense's enemy-finding range, is simply amazing!

Alright, Li Fan felt he was invincible. He could easily storm the Xun Kingdom's palace!

Li Fan opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing the brilliance of the bright sword. He then nurtured the moon's essence within his divine court. He then entered a state of spiritual observation and saw that the rabbit had joined the chaotic hustle and bustle within his divine court. It hopped and darted around Li Fan's Gui Xu Nascent Soul for a while, getting kicked by a passing Kun, then kicked in the rear by a Qiongqi, before chasing after the six small silver swords, catching them and devouring them like carrots. It quickly devoured the six Taiyin Sword Intent darting around Li Fan's divine court, thus removing Li Fan's Nascent Soul Stage and creating its own den. It occupied the center of the vortex within his divine court, staring directly at the red eyeball in the sky. All the Dao Breath energy transmitted from his Inner Landscape was also monopolized by this rabbit.

Thus, within Li Fan's divine court, a three-way standoff was formally established between the Gui Xu Nascent Soul, the Crimson Eyes, and the Rabbit. Incidentally, Kun, having been kicked away by the Rabbit, had no choice but to hide in Li Fan's arms, glaring at the Rabbit alongside Qiongqi in shared hatred...

Well, Li Fan also noticed that this rabbit had a huge appetite and was actually quite difficult to raise. After all, his Limitless Nascent Soul Stage was not yet fully formed, and the true energy supplied by the Qiankun One Qi Divine Pill was barely enough to maintain the consumption of the sword pellet. However, his Gui Xu Nascent Soul and a group of Tai Su Dao Body, all of whom relied on baleful energy for cultivation, could still maintain it.

However, this is only enough to maintain the status quo. As a result, a large amount of true energy is used to nourish the sword. If we want to engage in fierce battles with various escape techniques, finger techniques, and sword techniques as before, we will probably have to use the Gui Xu Nascent Soul to lose some of our cultivation and replenish it by consuming some Returning Void True Essence to convert it into Dao Breath in order to maintain the status quo.

It seems that acquiring a bunch of magical treasures in the early stages is not very useful. Equipping a rabbit is already barely enough; the Sword Sect has so many divine swords, they simply can't afford to maintain them...

So, has his overall combat effectiveness increased or decreased...?

Well, no matter what, with Moon Soul in hand, a mere four or five Nascent Soul Stage attacking him together isn't much of a show. What Li Fan is worried about now is that his attack range is too far, and he might not be able to stop when he starts killing, and it would be awkward if he even annihilated his own people in the process.

Having made a conservative assessment of his own combat capabilities, Li Fan opened Zhang Chongyang's secret letter to see how the Central Guard planned to deal with the Ruler of Xun Country.

Zhang Chongyang's plan in his letter was quite clear: three days later, the Ruler of Xun Country would lead his officials out of the city to hunt tigers in the forbidden forest. At that time, someone would launch a mutiny, planning to kidnap the officials, cross the Jiujiang River to the north, and invite the Ruler of Xun Country to the Sanyuan Crown Prince in charge of the country.

Li Fan's mission was simple: if the coup succeeded, he wouldn't need to lift a finger; but if the plan went wrong and failed, he would have to take advantage of the chaos to kidnap the Ruler of Xun Country and hand him over to someone designated by Zhang Chongyang.

The words were simple and clear, and even the names were listed, including the token of authority for mobilizing Tiger Tally, the external commander who held military power, the commander of Wunan, the general in charge of guarding the Forbidden City gate, and several Nascent Soul General conspired in the plan. They were all military generals who held key positions and were in charge of their own private armies.

Even the gatekeepers are here! It seems someone's been eyeing the Ruler of Xun Country for a while now, hoping to catch him while he was hunting tigers! And look at the banners they're using, they sound so convincing. The ruler has worked hard his whole life, he should retire to the Three Palaces, and the Crown Prince is wise enough to oversee the country. Heh heh, it's like the four great clans and the Three Palaces are in cahoots to arrange this.

It looks quite meticulous, but the danger within is obvious at a glance. Even Li Fan knows that this kind of plan is bound to have problems.

The Ruler of Xun Country is not like the ruler of Li Country, who can't even leave Liqiu Palace. He is a long-reigning, decisive ruler. Xun has a strong military and a peaceful and prosperous population; the only reason some people are unsettled is because of the recent coup of the two palaces. Do you think a single coup would so easily "invite" him to be a guest at the Three Palaces?

Furthermore, even if the Ruler of Xun Country is indeed summoned away, who will rule Xun afterward? Will it truly be the Crown Prince as regent? Or will it be the Prince of Lu of Lu, who is also being punished with confinement and is currently in Xingye City? And for this tiger hunt, which of the two will the Ruler of Xun Country take with him, and which will stay behind? Is the one he keeps by his side more favored, or is the one left behind as regent entrusted with important responsibilities?

Who were the people who launched the coup? Did they truly intend to kidnap the ruler and take him to Miyazaki, or was it merely an assassination attempt, or perhaps a form of espionage? If the coup succeeded, who would benefit? If it failed, who would be suspected?

Furthermore, the letter specifically mentions heading north from Jiujiang, which isn't entirely irrelevant. The one currently guarding Jiujiang is Divine Transformation cultivator from the Lu Family. So what do you mean? Has this General of Pacifying the East already joined forces under the secret orders of the Three Realms? Or will the Prime Minister of Xun Kingdom be dealt with ahead of time? Or does it mean the Lu Family head will tacitly accept whatever happens and not interfere?

The changes are too unpredictable. Even if Li Fan takes this "real evidence" to the authorities, it will probably be of no use. He might even be accused of spreading rumors and slander, which could become another trigger for the infighting between the two palaces.

In short, when it comes to mutinies, you can't predict the outcome by simply calculating the numbers; you have to fight them to the death and let them fight it out.

Based on Zhang Chongyang's previous hints, there were at least three forces at play: kidnapping the king, assassinating the king, and protecting the king. Although Zhang Chongyang had placed people on all three sides, it was more reasonable to place the heaviest bets on the piece with the highest chance of winning. This was probably why he recruited Li Fan.

From the perspective of the Grand Tutor Manor, it would be most beneficial to invite the Ruler of Xun Country to come and sit down. After all, Xun has so many princes and grandsons, it doesn't matter if he is the Crown Prince or the Prince of Lu of Lu. As long as the Ruler of Xun Country himself falls into the hands of the Grand Tutor, he won't be able to cause any trouble. In the end, the new king who emerges will have to come to Luoyang to submit and ask for the support of the Grand Tutor in order to secure his throne.

The forces protecting the Ruler of Xun Country are relatively easy to guess. Whether it's the local powerful clans of the vassal state or the personal guards promoted by the Grandmaster, over the years, there has always been a group of people united around the Ruler of Xun Country. Although protecting the Ruler of Xun Country is not the same as protecting Xun, the Crown Prince and Prince of Lu are not necessarily so extreme as to want to betray their fathers to gain the support of the Three Palaces while the outcome is still uncertain. They might even choose to rescue the ruler to show their loyalty. Of course, if the situation really changes, these Wang Family members and their forces will probably not miss the opportunity to defect. Of course, both factions definitely want to 'protect' the ruler and keep him in their own hands.

Therefore, once a mutiny occurs, although there won't be as many as 'fourteen Nascent Divine Transformation's coming, there will definitely still be a few Divine Transformation cultivators coming to rescue Hu. Then there will need to be a group of people of at least the same level to block these reinforcements.

It's unlikely that the four powerful clans, being opportunists, would openly betray the regime when the situation is unclear. Furthermore, Zhang Chongyang only had four Nascent Soul Stage prepared to impersonate members of the Beichen Sword Sect for kidnapping, and Li Fan killed them all. With the fighting so fierce in the Kun Country, it's doubtful that Zhang Chongyang has enough Divine Transformation to command.

Therefore, Li Fan's prediction was correct; Luo Feng Immortal Palace must have received an 'invitation' to this tiger hunt. Moreover, they would absolutely not miss this golden opportunity to assassinate the Ruler of Xun Country.

With the death of the Ruler of Xun Country, the now divided Xun kingdom will inevitably descend into a quagmire of civil war, not to mention that Luo Feng has already laid out a clever plan. According to Jueyin Shenjun's own calculations, six Luo Fengs can defeat nine Xun kingdoms! Add to that a hidden bomb! In fact, they have a considerable chance of winning!

However, the Divine Transformation in the Xun Kingdom's camp are all meticulously planned. Since there's a traitor within the Luo Feng Immortal Palace, their six Divine Lords are probably already openly involved. Once a battle breaks out, these publicly known Divine Transformation will likely immediately check and balance each other. If they don't fight, the outcome is truly unpredictable...

Of course, Li Fan had no intention of helping Zhang Chongyang. Kidnapping a king was such a risky undertaking; even with his high asking price, he wasn't guaranteed to survive. Moreover, he doubted whether Luo Feng Immortal Palace needed his help. Although the friendship between the two mountains traced back to their ancestors and had endured for so long, the estrangement over the years meant it was unlikely that an unbreakable alliance could be rebuilt anytime soon.

Moreover, Li Fan's goal was still to ensure that he obtained the Heavenly Book. Therefore, his initial plan for the chaos in Xun Kingdom was not to get involved in the first wave. If he could confirm that the Divine Transformation experts were all tied up and that the various forces were fighting each other to the death, there would indeed be an opportunity to fish in troubled waters. He would be a fool not to take advantage of such an opportunity and would sneak into the palace to steal the Heavenly Book.

If Luo Feng's inner chamber happens to be hit by a 'nuclear bomb' that day, he might be able to easily seize the book. Hehe, thinking about it, it really is a case of the snipe and the clam fighting while the fisherman benefits. Maybe he can even rack up some points. How wonderful!

However, based on this analysis, the entire Xun Kingdom, stretching from Jiujiang Prefecture in the east to Xingye City in the west, and reaching Baiyue Mountain in the south, spanning thousands of miles, will likely be engulfed in bloodshed and flames of war within three days. Moreover, Li Fan originally thought the Lin Family matter was just a side story and was even considering casually introducing Lin Xiang to the Luo Feng Immortal Palace for cultivation. Now it seems that the elixirs on Lin Xiang's body are probably no less important than the major secrets of the Kun Country's war and the Xun Kingdom's internal strife. It's still necessary to bring the Lin Family siblings back to Ink Bamboo Mountain and let the Abbot take a look at their secrets.

After much deliberation, Li Fan decided that he would do all of these tasks! Of course, he would prioritize them, depending on the situation, first the Heavenly Book, then Lin Xiang, and only if he had the chance would he try to take on the Ruler of Xun Country.

So the next day, at the crack of dawn, seeing that Lin Chen had almost recovered, he took the two siblings and set off.

The coffin was too conspicuous, so Li Fan went to the street and bought a basket of oranges. He told Lin Xiang to hide inside, and then used talismans to cover the outside to conceal her presence. He put the coffin on Lin Chen's back and then took him onto the merchant ship that traveled between Jiujiang Prefecture Ink Bamboo Mountain.

Li Fan calculated that the fleet would arrive in Xingye City around the same time as the exciting major event in Xun Kingdom. During this time, he could prepare battle talismans, observe Lin Xiang's condition, and then study and familiarize himself with the operation of the Moon Soul at night. If he was lucky enough to have the False Moon appear, he could also Moon Worship and cultivate to replenish his baleful energy. In short, with a great battle imminent, he needed to be fully prepared.

Of course, just in case, Li Fan also instructed Lin Chen and his sister that if they got separated along the way, they should follow the fleet westward along the Li River to Li Family Village in Qingyue Creek of Ink Bamboo Mountain for refuge.