The Seat of Honor

Heading north, Li Fan soon arrived at the Ba Fu.

The term "Ba Fu" originally referred to the residence of a general or prince. In Gen Province, the place that was respectfully Ba Fu was a vassal state, specifically referring to the main base of the Grand Commandant's Northern Expedition.

This city was originally built as a military camp for the Northern Expedition Army. The city site was chosen in a basin, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with a low and flat area in the middle. To the north of the basin, the mountains are winding and continuous, which is called Longshan by the locals. There is a large lake along the mountain, which is naturally called Dragon Lake. The lake water flows south, and there is also Dragon River that runs through the middle, dividing the plain into the east and west sides.

From the Xuan Girl Mountain Range in the northwest, there is also the Lan River. Irrigated by the two rivers, the basin land is exceptionally fertile, densely populated, and economically developed, making it an ideal place for city construction. Ba Fu was built at the confluence of the two rivers. To the north, a fortified village can be built against the mountain, and to the south, local farmland can be cultivated to raise military supplies. It can be said to be able to advance or retreat, and can be used to establish a foundation for a kingly and hegemonic empire.

The Ba Fu back then was able to support the Northern Expedition Army, and now it is naturally the base of the Heavenly Army, the Dragon Nest that the Gao family has been cultivating for many years.

The name "Dragon's Nest" isn't just a boast; the Heavenly Soldiers Army really does raise dragons in Dragon Lake and Dragon Mountain to the north.

As soon as Li Fan arrived at the outskirts of Ba Fu, he saw six black dragons and eight Chi Jiao flying through the clouds, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws. These demonic dragons were similar to the coiled Coiled Dragon he had herded before, only a bit thicker. A hundred or so Golden Core Realm soldiers were enough to keep them under control. They moved with the wind and lightning, and their momentum was quite impressive.

I remember hearing before that raising dragons was also a specialty of the Immortal Palace, but the Dragon Repository of the Three Enclosures was long ago embroiled in conflict and wiped out. There is an Azure Dragon Peak in Ink Bamboo Mountain that seems to be a lost inheritance, so it seems that the Ba Fu has also left behind some inheritance.

Besides the Mu Long in the north, the garrison farming in the south, the Daoist temples in the west, and the Buddhist pagodas in the east, the city was also divided between the Han and the barbarians, with soldiers and farmers separated. In this Ba Fu, the various ethnic groups and armies lived in separate camps. Although the conflicts between the ethnic groups were not so easy to resolve, at present, it was well-governed and orderly, unlike Dizhou where the warlords fought each other to the death.

It seems that Gao Xing, the military Jiedushi of the Heavenly Soldiers Army, was indeed quite capable and shrewd to be chosen by Wangwu Mountain. At least the other military governorships that Li Fan visited were very xenophobic. Foreign merchant caravans, regardless of their ethnicity, were stationed outside the city, and their troops would often plunder and massacre them.

However, the Gao family did not oppress the foreign tribes much. On the contrary, they dared to employ a large number of Hu Barbarians mercenaries. The agricultural, commercial and handicraft industries in the city were not backward. At least they could rely on the workshops left by the Northern Expedition to carry out production and prepare their own armaments. Not only were they not short of food and pay, but they could also be self-sufficient in weapons, armor and bows. Compared with other vassal states, they naturally had great potential and seemed to be able to achieve a great kingdom.

Li Fan wandered around Ba Fu twice, relying on the foreign language he had just learned, and found some Hu merchants and herdsmen to exchange for some felt clothes. He cut off some horsehair and stuck it on his mouth and head to act as a wig and fake beard. He introduced himself to everyone as Aruba, a refugee from the Fuli tribe, and asked the herdsmen about things on the grassland, the location of the Royal Court, and gathered information on the various tribes on the icy plains, making final preparations for leaving the pass.

Indeed, once you leave the pass, heading north from the Heavenly Soldiers Army's Ba Fu in Bafu, you'll actually be entering the grasslands. The five armies of the Ten Jiedu —Qingyi, Kelan, Beiping, Jingsai, and Shuofang—all have large armies stationed on the border, patrolling and conducting guerrilla warfare on the vast grasslands that the Hu Barbarians call 'South of Yinshan'.

Because the monsoon air from the south and the cold air from the north are blocked by the Yinshan Mountains, a naturally rich grassland was formed on the south side of the mountains. In the past, the entire area north and south of the Yinshan Mountains was transformed into the territory of the Kan Country by the Immortal Palace. Later, due to the assassination of the Immortal Emperor and the internal strife in the Immortal Palace, this southern grassland was occupied by the rising Hu Barbarians barbarian Chanyu Royal Court for a long time. The Hu Barbarians often used this as a bridgehead to invade the Gen Country from the south.

Later, after the Grand Commandant's three Northern Expedition, the Immortal Palace finally reclaimed the vast area south of Yinshan Mountain, driving the various Hu Barbarians tribes back to the icy plains north of Yinshan Mountain. Looking back, this was probably when Xuan Tian bestowed the title of Duke of Kan Country.

Those tribes and clans willing to submit to the king's rule were also allowed by the Three Enclosures to graze horses for the Immortal Palace in the south of Yinshan. Later, when the Gen Country rebelled, the Yuan Clan even armed these southern mountain tribes as cavalry. Now these tribes and clans have become powerful again and are serving under the Ten Jiedu Governors. Some of them frequently rebel and even collude with tribes in the north of Yinshan to invade.

The generals of the border regions had differing opinions on how to deal with these Hu Barbarians south of the mountains. To exterminate them all would force them to the enemy's side. But simply recruiting them might risk alienating them, as they were unpredictable and difficult to control.

General Gao Xing, who claimed to be the successor of the Yuan Clan, advocated for the incorporation of the more cooperative Shannan Hu tribes into his own forces. His Gao family was powerful and indeed able to suppress these assimilated small tribes.

Meanwhile, General Zhang Ji of Shuofang in the north advocated killing them all. Okay, that was a bit extreme, but there were reasons for it. The three armies of Beiping, Jingsai, and Shuofang were directly under the pressure of the invasion of the Chanyu of Yinshan. Who had time to distinguish whether you were from the south or north of the mountains, a barbarian tribe under the rule of the king, or which banner or tribe you belonged to? As long as you weren't from the Central Plains, killing them all was the simplest solution.

Therefore, the biggest obstacle preventing General Gao Xing from unifying the Ten Jiedu northern military commands was probably General Zhang Ji of Shuofang. It was also this man who led the Northern Expedition this time. The two generals were at odds, but they did not fight each other because their territories were not adjacent.

It wasn't just an internal power struggle between the two generals; the intelligence gathered by Li Fan and the herdsmen also seemed to have some issues.

He asked many people from the southern tribes, both merchants and herdsmen, but it seemed that no one had discovered any signs that the Left Wise King had crossed the Yin Mountains to invade the southern plains. Nor had anyone heard of any northern tribes that had submitted to him and fled south to escape the war.

The grasslands south of Yinshan are fertile, teeming with cattle and sheep, and rich in resources. However, the Left Wise King's army took a roundabout route, bypassing Gao Xing's defense zone to the Hengye Army.

Najidu also disregarded the large army gathered in Shuofang, believing that the Chanyu's own forces could easily handle it. He also thought that if he launched a surprise attack on the Hengye Army, other vassal armies would not come to its aid.

Judging from all indications, this Northern Expedition is likely to end in disaster. The worst-case scenario is that the Heavenly Soldiers Army and the Xianbei have reached some kind of agreement, such as signing a ceasefire agreement, and joined forces to deal with their common enemy Shuofang Army.

Even if Gao Xing doesn't directly join forces with the Chanyu, if he deliberately misses his appointment on the ice plains and sabotages his teammates, probably no one will be able to find any evidence against him.

Anyway, given Li Fan's understanding of the kings and generals of the Immortal Palace, he wasn't surprised at all by the bizarre things these ambitious and ruthless figures did.

Since I never had any expectations in the first place, there's nothing I can't accept psychologically.

Moreover, in a sense, Li Fan was too lazy to interfere in the Gao family's affairs. Firstly, such side matters were too troublesome, long and tedious, and since he himself didn't even want to be the emperor of the Li Country, he had no interest in meddling in the messy affairs of the Gen Country.

Secondly, even Li Fan had to admit that the Twelve Countries system designed by the Immortal Palace did indeed have a certain mysterious positive effect on maintaining peace. The private morality and abilities of a small group of kings, nobles, and generals were not important; what mattered was the stability of the entire order.

If the Gao family could rebuild the Gen Country, end the warring wars among the regional warlords, re-establish the Investiture of Gods and the suppression of demons, compile the Book of Immortals, and restore the destiny of the land to the right path, then the calamity of the Gate of Life and Death, which has harmed countless people, would not have been formed. The evil cult members like Yellow Heaven, the Gate of Death, and the Black Lotus could have been apprehended by just a few constables, and there would have been no hundreds of thousands or millions of displaced people and bandits, nor would there have been any non- Material Dao Ancestor descending to earth.

However, since it is already a chaotic world, even if the Gao family has a chance, it probably won't be so smooth.

Right now, Li Fan is making his own preparations, mainly studying and imitating the customs and habits of the Hu Barbarians people in preparation for his plan to infiltrate the tribe and steal their guardian spirit. The issues of language, appearance, and customs are relatively easy to resolve with some learning. The more troublesome issue is that his cultivation level is too high, making it difficult to conceal.

Although he used the Heavenly Garment True Qi to transform the overflowing true qi into immortal robes to protect his body, and added layers of fur coats, his head no longer flickered like a neon light, and to the naked eye, he looked no different from an ordinary barbarian.

However, using the Xuanmen Qi-observation technique, one could still see that Li Fan's divine court had Dao Breath at the Nascent Soul Stage level, piercing through the sky and soaring straight into the heavens.

Nascent Soul Stage cultivators are rare to see, let alone Li Fan, who, upon arriving at the Ba Fu, immediately mingled with the herdsmen and stayed there for an entire day. How could the Gao family not be wary? Sure enough, upon seeing this outsider, Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, who refused to leave after a whole day, a general led over a hundred elite soldiers to invite him over that very evening.

"I am Duan Tie, Commander-in-Chief of the Heavenly Soldiers Army's Martial Guard. May I ask your name and what brings you to the Heavenly Army's Ba Fu?"

This Duan Tie man has a dignified appearance, exuding authority without anger, and is actually a Nascent Soul Stage Martial God!

Wow, the Li Country only has two Martial God, and the other one is a eunuch! This Heavenly Soldiers Army is truly full of talented people!

Li Fan also wanted to test the effectiveness of his disguise, so he deliberately spoke in a strange voice, "Wo! Fuli! Aruba! Shaman! Looking for Anda! Bojin! Have you picked up the mud yet!"

Then he pulled down his collar, revealing a two-headed wolf on his chest—well, he painted it himself with oil paints...

"The Northern Hu Fuli Clan..." Duan Tie's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your cultivation is profound, very good! My lord has always harbored great ambitions! He is currently recruiting heroes from all over the world! Why don't you come to my residence for a chat..."

Li Fan waved his hand, "No, no! I'm hungry! I want to eat meat! I'm going out to hunt a few dragons to eat! Let's go!"

Duan Tie, "That's easy! It just so happens that my general's mansion is hosting a banquet today, and I'll just kill one on the spot. If you have some free time, you might as well come over and enjoy it!"

Wow! So generous? They're actually going to kill a dragon and eat it? Goodness, is the Gao family really that generous...?

"Alright! Let's go! Let's chat!"

Li Fan really wanted to taste dragon meat, so he swaggered over to Duan Tie's Heavenly Soldier General's Ba Fu. After passing through the barrier and entering the heavily guarded mansion, Li Fan immediately felt the pressure.

The barrier outside couldn't detect them, but this mansion was filled with many extraordinary individuals. Besides the Heavenly Soldiers Army's own vassal troops, there were also various independent cultivators, monks, and shamans. There were hundreds of Golden Core Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. Although their strength varied greatly, with most being trash, they weren't satisfied with the support of Wangwu Mountain and wanted to recruit so many cultivators as henchmen. The Gao family's wealth and ambition were indeed extraordinary.

"Please follow me, Your Excellency!"

Duan Tie was experienced and knew that Li Fan's level was not like that of an ordinary True Person, so he couldn't be negligent. He directly invited him to the innermost courtyard, where there were eight Nascent Soul Stage cultivators seated on each side, waiting for the banquet to begin.

Li Fan sensed them briefly, then glanced at them out of the corner of his eye. Seeing these strangely shaped figures of varying heights and builds, he knew they were all demons and monsters, heretics and evil spirits. To have survived to this day in the Xuanmen world, they were probably no ordinary people; they were clearly rogue cultivators recruited and worshipped by the Gao family.

The seat of honor, occupied by the young master of a noble family, was occupied by a pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm. He appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Although his strength was not particularly high, he possessed a handsome and dashing appearance, and his demeanor was composed and elegant. He chatted and laughed with the Nascent Soul Stage experts around him, joking and laughing as if they were close friends. His every move exuded an extraordinary air. The retainers around him did not look down on him because he was from a noble family. Although they looked at each other with disdain, they spoke to him with great politeness, as if they were genuinely convinced of his abilities and perhaps not simply there to collect their salaries.

Li Fan had a pretty good idea of who this person was, and sure enough, Duan Tie introduced him as well.

"Greetings, Your Highness. This is Aruba, the brave warrior of the Fuli clan. I heard there is a Dragon Feast today, so I have come to attend."

"Oh? So you're a warrior from Yinshan? Your cultivation is indeed unfathomable!" The young master's eyes lit up, and he stood up to greet him, clasping his hands in a salute. "I am Gao Ming, the Marquis of Bohai County. My father is the Heavenly Army General, who is campaigning beyond the Great Wall. I am currently acting as the Commander-in- Ba Fu of the Hegemon's Mansion, overseeing all the Heavenly Army forces."

Gao Ming, so this is Gao Xing's eldest son, the prince who gave the sword pellet to Gu Panpan for her engagement. The Marquis of Bohai County—could that be a title bestowed by the Three Palaces? Then he's the eldest son, the first in line to inherit the Heavenly Soldiers Army?

Although this person's strength is not great, falling into the category of "one-shot kill," the magnanimity and wisdom of a faction leader are more important. It seems that he is not an easy person to secure the position of successor with just a mere external alchemy cultivator and almost became the son-in-law of Wangwu Mountain.

Li Fan's mind raced. Intending to test the other party's cunning, he deliberately ignored him and turned to look at Duan Tie, "Where's the dragon meat!"

"Hmph! Northern barbarians!"

"Barbarians are rude!"

"You don't even bow to the Crown Prince!"

"The Fuli clan is merely a small tribe in the Arctic. What makes you think you can get a share of the dragon's soup?"

Before Duan Tie could speak, four or five people in the arena glared at Li Fan with displeasure. Unfortunately, their Divine Sense were too weak; even the hairs on Li Fan's neck didn't bother to react.

Gao Ming chuckled, and as he sat down, he waved his hand, saying, "Young Master Hou has invited heroes from Hebei to this All-Dragon Banquet. Anyone who is willing to take a seat is naturally a friend of Young Master Hou and will have a place. Please, sir, be seated."

Although he asked him to sit down, no one offered to add a seat, and all eight people were sneering, clearly wanting to see if Li Fan had the ability to sit down.

What's so difficult about that?

Li Fan glared and lunged towards the Gao Ming position!

"You bastard!" "How dare you!"

Two people immediately stood up and rushed forward to block Li Fan's path and protect the prince's safety.

Gao Ming remained completely still, showing no fear or intention to dodge whatsoever.

He wasn't actually caught off guard or completely bewildered; rather, Li Fan was intentionally testing this person's courage by deliberately not using any escape techniques. Unexpectedly, the other party did indeed have some courage, remaining seated firmly. He was quite bold, not just a pretty face.

So Li Fan stopped halfway through his charge, turned his head and punched Duan Tie away, sending him flying. Then he turned sideways and kicked the two guards who rushed at him, sending them flying.

Then, in a flash, he lunged to the side, shifting left and right, ignoring whether the other six had moved or not. He threw punches and kicks at everyone, leaving no one out. He dragged all the villains hiding in the shadows, who hadn't even finished chanting their incantations, out of the room and knocked them unconscious with a single punch. He piled them up and flattened them all in the blink of an eye, leaving none of them even a match for him.

Basically, it was the kind of situation where I didn't even have to exert much force, but you guys were already down.

Okay, saying that makes Li Fan sound really amazing right now, and actually, he is just that amazing, cough cough.

The first three to attack were all melee protectors. The others who remained seated were all top-tier warlocks and mages, the kind who could rip off someone's head with a single snap.

These people's cultivation skills weren't necessarily bad. In the rush just now, several of them still managed to react, throwing out three talismans, casting four spells, and various other random spells, poisons, illusions, and so on. However, all of them were resisted by Li Fan's '<Against Fate>' power.

Those who came to the banquet probably didn't bring any magical artifacts. At such close range, they were likely concerned for the safety of the prince and dared not use any large-scale destructive spells. Since none of them knew how to escape, this was the natural outcome.

Even if he used his full power, it wouldn't matter. There were probably some kind of barrier or formation set up in this courtyard, which activated Li Fan's 'Shang Li' as well. If he didn't hold back, the scene could easily become very bloody...

Duan Tie, as expected of someone with the Martial God Physique, managed to get up after taking a punch, and now he's brought seven or eight of his personal guards and is charging in again to fight desperately.

Gao Ming, however, laughed heartily and clapped.

"The warriors of Yinshan are indeed formidable! Please take your seats! Come! Bring out the full dragon banquet! To entertain the brave warriors of the North! What are you doing! Put away your swords! You're making a fool of yourselves in front of our distinguished guests!"

So the group of soldiers immediately sheathed their swords and retreated, leaving only Duan Tie. Duan Tie knelt on one knee and bowed to the prince, then clutched his broken ribs and invited Li Fan to take a seat. He remained silently by Li Fan's side, shielding the prince from view as he served him.

Hmm, the Heavenly Soldiers Army is truly not to be underestimated... This dragon meat is cooked quite well, it smells so good...