Ruler of Xun Country

This is bad, what should we do...?

Li Kun's eyes darted around as he quickly considered countermeasures.

First of all, the scene of this banquet should be a mental world completely controlled by the Beast's Child, which to a large extent is the same as the soul illusion constructed by Yuntai Peak.

Everyone at this banquet was actually in a state of astral projection, their physical bodies wrapped in the silver cocoon of evil water. Judging from the Yang Sheng afterward, it was likely that once the souls of those trapped in this banquet were completely devoured, their external bodies would be absorbed by the Beast's Child, forming its own Devil Embryo body.

This means that Li Fan cannot truly resolve the root of the problem within the context of this banquet. Even killing the 'Ruler of Xun Country' would be useless, as the 'Beast's Child' is still outside. He doesn't even have a clue how to kill the 'Ruler of Xun Country' —should he just jump out of the pot like a salted fish and lunge?

Leaving aside the fact that he lacks any real means of inflicting damage on the primordial spirit, this is within the spiritual world of the Tai Su Dao Ancestor. The Beast's Child could easily start over again and again! To pin one's hopes on a single, decisive blow is simply absurd...

So, what if we jump outside the illusion and directly destroy the Beast's Child's true form with Crimson Eyes?

That would be difficult. He would first need to find the Beast's Child's true form, and then destroy it. If he failed and alerted the Beast's Child, it could simply hide until the banquet in the spiritual world was complete. Once it had completely devoured and absorbed so many Divine Transformation and Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, and fully evolved into a Dao Ancestor, then the Beast's Child would have won!

Li Fan remembered that last time in the Ten-thousand-mountains, that lamb was hiding underground, ready to escape at any moment. He analyzed the map of the mine and found its hiding place, so he took advantage of the other party's infatuation with dual cultivation and caught it in a surprise attack.

Although the Beast's Child is currently trapped in a killing frenzy, Li Fan is not familiar with the underground terrain of the Forbidden Garden and has no time to search slowly. Moreover, if he transforms into human form and burrows underground, he might alert the Beast's Child and cause it to escape before he even finds the other party.

Besides, he had to maintain his Kun form to avoid being cocooned by the evil mercury, but his movement speed was just too slow; he could only leap, splash, and flick his tail... Sigh, Kun, when will you evolve into your complete form...?

Li Kun shook the fish head, focusing his attention on thinking of a solution.

Therefore, we must first disrupt this banquet. Even if we cannot interrupt it, we must delay the speed at which the Beast's Child's Dao Body is refined to buy time.

The key is to find a way to wake up all the cultivators who are being controlled by the Beast's Child!

Those trashy Nascent Soul Stage from the Immortal Palace lineage are unreliable; their cultivation lies entirely in their external cores, and in this spiritual world, they are not much stronger than ordinary souls.

But the True Cultivator from the Penglai, Songshan, and Hengshan sects are different; these are twelve true Nascent Soul Stage cultivators! They were so energetic during the fight just now, no wonder the Beast's Child had to start over again and again, and hasn't even digested them all yet.

Yang Sheng might also be an asset. Even disregarding the fact that he's in control of the killing, the fact that he seems to have retained his memories despite repeated reincarnations is quite useful. But then again, this isn't the first or second time he's encountered this situation; it's happened repeatedly, so he's bound to develop some resistance...

Furthermore, killing the 'Ruler of Xun Country' is a difficult objective to achieve, but it's worth a try. After all, if it doesn't matter that the 'Ruler of Xun Country' dies in the illusion, then why did it slit its throat to block that seemingly ordinary slash from the White-Headed Moth? Perhaps a serious injury would cause it to lose control? In any case, there's a chance, right?

So Li Fan sank his Divine Sense into his divine court, Gui Xu Nascent Soul opened its eyes, looking at the rabbit hiding under the Crimson Eyes.

"Moon Soul, you understand the situation outside now, right?"

The rabbit nodded.

"Do you have a method to kill the soul of the Ruler of Xun Country? An attack method in his primordial spirit state will do. Teach me now!"

The rabbit was taken aback, then transmitted its voice, "Teach now? Is it too late?"

Li Fan urged, "Even last-minute preparation can be effective. Come on! My comprehension is unparalleled!"

The rabbit frowned. "But this is not only related to comprehension. In the Yuan Shen method, the techniques are secondary. To deal with the soul, it is all about the impact of divine light and divine thought. The spells and incantations are all similar, but if the power is not enough, the effect will be unsatisfactory. So the most important thing is to compare the Dao heart."

Infuse your divine light with intense emotions and absolute will, destroy the opponent's Dao heart, and the illusion will naturally be seen through; it can even obliterate their Divine Sense!

But I just noticed that your emotions didn't fluctuate at all. Even a Heavenly Demon at the peak of the Divine Transformation Realm outside! Even a weapon spirit couldn't be as calm as you! In this Inner Landscape, you're completely undisturbed, your heart is as still as water, and not even your heartbeat has changed... No, is this really normal?"

Li Fan casually explained, "You're used to it, aren't you? You know how these days, Devil Embryo pop up all the time... Oh, you haven't really experienced this world yet, have you? It's okay, you'll get used to it soon."

The rabbit paused for a moment, "... In short, being able to maintain such a superior state of mind is indeed a rare talent for cultivation, but in terms of divine light magic, the user is too calm. I'm afraid that relying solely on the divine light, and given that you are only at the Nascent Soul Realm, it will be difficult to harm the opponent..."

Uh, so to some extent, damage to the primordial spirit or mind is linked to mood fluctuations. Lower mood fluctuations mean lower damage... That seems to make sense. The primordial spirit techniques from the cult barely scratch him, but when he attacks others, he gets critical hits every time. That's not very fair, huh?

Tsk, I didn't expect that calming down would backfire this time. Looks like there's no such thing as an absolutely invincible and perfect talent after all...

However, he did have an idea: if he couldn't beat them himself, he could just call for backup...

Banquet at the Forbidden Garden of the Ruler of Xun Country

Representing the Grand Tutor Manor, Yang Si'an, seated at the head of the table, frowned deeply, ignoring the delicacies on the table before him and staring intently at the tablet in his hand.

Something's not right...

Something's not right...

Something's not right...

This jade tablet, also called the court tablet, is Divine Transformation artifact bestowed by the Three Envoys upon the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers and Nine Ministers, both civil and military officials, specifically for recording imperial commands and court decrees to prevent them from forgetting their duties and responsibilities.

Although this treasure does not possess a spirit, it was crafted using the techniques of Divine Transformation Realm artifact and is specially sealed with restrictions to prevent court officials from being controlled by demonic arts and evil spells, thus preventing them from altering the court's laws. Furthermore, the tablet can be used to cover one's face, which can also help prevent one from being influenced by the powerful primordial spirit of the Celestial Emperor when paying homage to him.

At this moment, Yang Si'an stared intently at the scepter bestowed upon him by the Grand Tutor Manor, the one he had lent him to launch the massacre. He could see many words written on the scepter: the Grand Tutor's instructions, the plans and schemes for this massacre, everyone's tasks, rewards, weaknesses, and countermeasures. It all seemed perfectly legitimate...

However, the word count is incorrect.

Yang Si'an had been writing for many years. Although he didn't remember everything, he knew by heart how many words were on the tablet and what each word meant, especially regarding the major event of kidnapping the Ruler of Xun Country.

That's how it should be, but the word count is wrong.

There are things he's forgotten, things he clearly remembers, and things he's seen but can't recall for some reason...

Yang Si'an slowly raised his head and subconsciously looked around, but there was no one there, only an old box with rusted golden discs on it.

Who is this...? No, isn't this a box?

Then he slowly raised his head and looked behind him. Beside an old eunuch who looked frail and about to faint was his target, Sun Zhonghu, the ruler of Xun Kingdom.

Is the king really that young...?

He was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He was strong and tall, exceptionally handsome, with bright and piercing eyes. His body seemed to be filled with inexhaustible energy. He had a fuzzy, slightly yellowish beard on his chin, giving him a rather imposing air of a young hero.

He also looked at Yang Si'an, laughed heartily, and raised his glass in greeting.

Perhaps in order to reassure everyone at this banquet and demonstrate that he could still control the Xun Kingdom, he used some kind of youth-preserving pill.

Yang Sheng hesitated for a moment, then raised his cup to thank the king for his kindness. He drank a small amount, and felt a little dizzy and lightheaded. For a moment, he was even a little confused, as if he didn't know what he wanted to do.

"Cough, cough cough cough." At this moment, the old eunuch coughed, took out a handkerchief, and spat out blood.

Then Yang Sheng realized, "That's right, this is Tai Changqiu, a Divine Transformation expert by the side of the Ruler of Xun Country, and the last problem that needs to be solved."

However, poisoning had been arranged beforehand, and drugs had also been added to the banquet. With a large number of experts surrounding the king, and given the eunuch's weakened state, he probably couldn't protect the king.

The forces behind the Crown Prince of Lu's palaces, the Penglai and Hengshan factions, will check and balance each other. But it doesn't matter which side wins; they can simply unite to appease Winner losers without creating any additional problems.

There were also three layers of barriers set up by rogue cultivators and the rebel army blocking the way, just in case reinforcements arrived. However, he didn't have much hope for those rogue cultivators. Xun Kingdom probably didn't expect him to make a move as soon as the banquet started. At this rate, the Tiger-Binding Ceremony would be completed before Xingye City received the news. The Imperial Guards wouldn't have time to react.

However, even if it drags on, it doesn't really matter. If Yang Sheng's assessment is correct, his plan here is probably just one part of a larger scheme. The Grand Tutor Manor in Xingye City must have other trump cards to prevent his side from failing. Of course, that wouldn't be a simple matter of having a banquet or inviting guests—methods that allow for a peaceful parting.

It's truly unbelievable that it could be so easy to kidnap the ruler of a country...

But why does it feel like something's missing...? What is it...? Who...? What happened...? (Word count is wrong...)

A loud "bang!" interrupted Yang Sheng's thoughts.

He looked up and saw two strongmen carrying a large earthenware pot in front of him. Inside the pot, a huge fish head was sticking out its tongue and staring at him with wide eyes, leaving Yang Si'an completely dumbfounded.

What?! This is a dish?!

Then the fish head gave Yang Sheng a wink. It stuck out its tongue, revealing a talisman in its mouth with the following written on it:

"Constant dancing leads to debauchery, and excessive singing leads to moral decay."

Yang Sheng stared in disbelief, rubbing his eyes hard. Just a few dishes and he'd gotten this drunk...

The fish head rolled its eyes, opened and closed its mouth, and the words on the talisman changed again.

'Old pestle, candlestick, bucket, broken pot.'

Yang Sheng startled, his grip on the scepter tightened, and a glint flashed in his eyes.

Seeing that it was effective, the fish head spat out the talisman a third time, this time with the following written on it.

'Du Xia of the Peony Pavilion.'

Yang Sheng jumped up!

The entire banquet fell silent for a moment, all eyes fixed on him. It was as if everyone knew, almost instinctively, that something was about to happen again... Wait, why "again"?

The Ruler of Xun Country took a sip of wine with a half-smile.

Yang Sheng paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and kicked over the casserole dish in front of him. "This fish is rotten!"

Then he sat down.

The Ruler of Xun Country froze, frowned, and was momentarily unable to react.

The old eunuch coughed as he came out, glanced at the fish on the ground—it did look rather dirty—and waved to the servants around him, apologizing, "Cough, cough, Your Excellency, please forgive us. Our servants were too busy and didn't know any better. They served the fish before it was even cooked! What are you all standing there for? Quickly clean it up!"

Yang Si'an watched the waiter prepare the fish, then suddenly seemed to understand something. He slammed his hand on the box, picked up his wine cup, and cursed, "How can you Xun Kingdom do things like this! Is this how you treat the envoys of the Three Realms?! I was a page on Yuntai Peak for three years! I've never eaten such a stinky fish!"

"Thank you for the hospitality of the King. This place has some of the grandeur of Yuntai Peak, but look at the food and wine you've served! Bah! Rotten fish and shrimp! Utterly tasteless! Such neglect, are you trying to make me lose my temper? Forget it! I won't eat anymore, let's get down to business!"

The Ruler of Xun Country hesitated at first, but when he saw him pick up his wine cup as if to smash it, he felt relieved and took a sip of wine with a smile.

The cultivators who were paying attention to Yang Sheng's actions were all stunned when they heard about Yuntai Peak, and they looked down at the food and wine in front of them.

The old eunuch frowned as well. "Xuanmen Yuntai Peak... So, what brings you here, sir...?"

Yang Sheng laughed heartily, put his wine cup away, stood up, walked to the center of the room, and said, "Since you've asked so sincerely, I'll explain it clearly! I was once a disciple of Yuntai Peak, and now I work in the Grand Tutor Manor. This time, I've been sent on a mission to Xun Kingdom, which is actually a very important task!"

Some of you have probably already guessed it, right? That's right! I'm here to investigate the murder of my senior brother, the former chief scribe, Tong Jiajia!

The Ruler of Xun Country, "What do you wish to do... ah, ah?"

Yang Sheng immediately looked at him and said, "That's right! You may not know this, but the young scribes on Yuntai Peak who can appraise the highest level of rank are all at the level of prime ministers, geniuses worthy of being prime ministers!"

"Your Majesty! The former chief scribe of Yuntai Peak has been murdered! We, the entire Yuntai Peak, are heartbroken! We must find the mastermind behind this! To be honest, he is none other than your confidant, Gu Mo, the Grand Master of Ceremonies of Xun Kingdom! And I have found the murderer who harmed him, right here at this banquet!"

"What!" "Grand Master of Ceremonies Gu Mo!" "Written by Yuntai Peak!" "Such a thing?" "Jia Jia, a talent of national minister level... What a pity..."

Upon hearing this name, the drunken nobles gradually came to their senses and sobered up somewhat. After all, this was a core member of the Crown Prince's faction, and he was actually from Yuntai Peak. Could it be that the Three Enclosures had some kind of explanation?

The Ruler of Xun Country frowned, somewhat surprised by this change, but considering that Yang Sheng's words were always different, he figured that as long as he found an excuse to smash the cup at the end, it wouldn't be a big problem. So he pretended to be surprised and angry, and with a flick of his sleeve, said, "Your Excellency, speak quickly! Who harmed Minister Gu!"

Yang Sheng chuckled, then moved closer to the old eunuch, grabbing his hand as if drunk, and said, "Dachangqiu, tell me, who harmed my senior brother Gu Mo?"

The Dachangqiu paused for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "This servant does not know; please enlighten me, Your Excellency."

Yang Sheng smiled and handed him the wine glass, "Okay, then I'll tell you! Fill it up so you don't spill it!"

Dachangqiu clenched his fists, smiled at him, and went to pour wine for Yang Sheng.

Yang Sheng turned around with a smile and said, "Actually, you may have heard the rumors that the Grand Tutor Manor cooperated with the Nine Great Xuan Sects to establish Yuntai Peak. They selected promising talents from aristocratic families and invited them to study at Yuntai Peak. Those with talent could have the opportunity to join the Mystic Sects, while those who were less talented could work for the Three Palaces. Even if they weren't chosen, they could at least make some useful friends. When they grow up, they will know their place and won't become arrogant, Central Plains, or cause trouble!"

Therefore, Senior Brother Gu deeply understands the principle that the Twelve Countries are one, and only through the concerted efforts of the Immortal Palace and the outer vassal states can the world enjoy lasting peace and stability. Thus, he secretly reported to the Grand Tutor Manor that someone in the Xun Kingdom was actually collaborating with the demonic forces of the outer realms, plotting treason! This is why his entire family was murdered! Senior Brother, you care deeply for your country and the world, yet you suffered such a calamity; how can you not avenge this?!

The entire room fell silent; no one had expected Yang Sheng to reveal such a confidential matter at the banquet.

The Ruler of Xun Country suppressed his shock and anger, looked at Yang Si'an, paused for a moment, put down his wine cup, sat up straight, and asked with a smile, "So, Minister Gu and the Grand Tutor have a long-standing relationship? Then where is this demonic cultivator now?"

Yang Sheng narrowed his eyes, then suddenly burst into laughter, "You have the guts to do it, but not the guts to admit it!"

Then Xie Mingchen jumped out, drew his sword, and charged forward, shouting, "I'm the one who killed Gu Mo! The entire Luo Feng Immortal Army is here! You traitor Sun, prepare to die!"

"Protect the King!" The Dachangqiu rushed forward and blocked the King's path!

"Kill the assassin!" A group of Xuanmen cultivators charged forward, swords drawn!

"Kill this demon!" Yang Si'an shouted, pointing his hand.

It was pointed directly at the face of the Ruler of Xun Country.

The king was stunned, then suddenly felt a jolt as he realized that a crimson sword had pierced through his chest! It was the Dachangqiu who had stabbed him! And she was grabbing his sleeve, preventing him from getting up!

A group of Xuanmen cultivators leaped over Xie Mingchen, their Sword Light flashing in yellow, blue, and green, and the chaotic sword strikes turned the king into a pincushion on the spot!

The Dachangqiu, holding the King, was also pierced by the chaotic swords of the Xuanmen Sect. His whole body turned into a crimson blood figure, but he did not let go at all. In fact, the blood, overflowing with divine light, even turned back and corroded into the King's body. The light of the crimson sword in his hand was as hot as fire!

"You, you all..."

"You damned brat! You actually fell for my trick! You've disgraced our sect!"

"You son of a bitch! What kind of lousy gadgets do you have to show off in front of me?! I'm not as good as your big underpants!"

"You little bastard! You dare to try again and again! Do you really think we mountain folk are made of clay?! I'll curse you, you immortal!"

"You scoundrel! You dare to betray someone you swore a blood oath with! You're a traitor! You've attacked me from behind! You're a despicable villain! Utterly shameless!"

"Die, you demon!" *N