Split Mind

"Qingyue, Qingyue, Qingyue? What's wrong? Did you faint from the water?"

Li Fan blinked, looking left and right. As Xuan Tian called out, the vast white snowfield melted in his field of vision, as if the screen had been burned away and blurred from his retina. After a moment of blinding light and dizziness, the scene of the Jade Pool was once again imprinted in his field of vision, pulling his consciousness back to his body.

"Ah... ah? That's it? Weren't you going to soak a little longer? Can we add another hour?"

Xuan Tian: "Well, it's all soaked, and you drank all the soup..."

Li Fan rubbed his eyes and found that the hot spring pool had indeed dried up, and the surrounding stone sculptures no longer spewed water. Of course, his body had largely recovered, new skin had grown on his hands, and his internal meridians had been repaired, allowing him to regulate his breathing without any obstruction.

The 'Blood Execution Seal' had finally dissipated, but within the Divine Court, the primordial sword power of the Blood Talisman Sword Divine Sword still lingered and hadn't been completely eradicated. A vast forest of crimson blood swords stood embedded in the ground, making the Divine Court resemble a thorny forest and a sword mound, a battlefield after a bloody battle. This sense of déjà vu made Li Fan want to loudly proclaim that his body was forged from a sword...

Looking at this mountain of swords, Li Fan felt helpless. He could use the Moon Soul to neutralize the power of the Taiyin Sword Art, but the Blood Infant had followed Qiongqi. How could he neutralize it now? Oh right, speaking of which...

"Qiongqi's clones? Can't Moon Worship?"

After listening to Li Fan's description of the memories he had previously retrieved from his clone, Xuan Tian pondered for a while.

"You've been soaking in the pool for over a month. Logically speaking, a spirit that has transcended its physical form and is not protected by its physical body usually dies as soon as it sees the light, and at most it can wander in the heavens for seven days before dissipating."

But the fact that you can still sense each other now is probably because the white evil spirits that Canglong collected have a special effect, which can preserve the Tai Su Dao Yuan Shen for a long time, thus indirectly creating clones.

Although you have practiced the Five Luo Sword Ghosts Split of my Sword Sect, your two Dao bodies are now too far apart, even separated by the Yinshan Ice Plain and the various restrictions of Yuntai Peak. It is already very difficult for the Sword Ghost to sense and communicate with each other in this kind of sword fighting technique, let alone remotely control it.

However, this is not difficult. This is Yuntai Peak, a gathering place for Xuanmen (mystical sects) and Real Immortal. You can ask for a Yuan Shen (primordial spirit) cultivation method that allows you to remotely control your clones to cultivate, and then cultivate on both sides simultaneously. This is not exactly a secret technique for Qi Refinement Stage, and besides, many True Cultivators are currently setting up external clones on Yuntai Peak. You can probably get it in exchange for a few immortal pills."

It's really great to have Xuan Tian by my side. He's practically an encyclopedia of cultivation knowledge. As long as it doesn't involve Tai Su or science—extraterrestrial demonic paths—he'll definitely have a solution.

So Li Fan climbed out of Yaochi, found a change of clothes and a Daoist certificate and jade pendant at the door, put the flowerpot in his bosom, and went out dressed as Lou Guan.

He had been brought by the abbot and flown into Yuntai Peak for treatment, and his mind was in turmoil, so he hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings. Now that his emotions had calmed down a bit, he was finally able to take in the sights of Yuntai Peak.

Well, if his primordial spirit leaving his body and using the Xuanmen method to go to 'Yuntai Peak' was a virtual world of illusion created by a fantasy world, then the real Yuntai Peak was an even cruder, or even a stage set disguised with fantasy-style architecture.

When Li Fan stepped out of Yaochi, he found himself standing on a square platform halfway up a mountain, resembling a helicopter landing pad. Above him stood a majestic Immortal Palace tower, with various pearls and jewels shimmering with iridescent light, as if bubbles were carrying flying Immortal Palace floating above his head.

Looking around, there was only a sheer cliff and abyss, with no way out, so the only way to get there was through sword escape. From this vantage point, one could see rows of iron cliffs below, their lights twinkling, and in the distance, cultivators who looked like birds in flight, their wide robes billowing, soaring through the air.

Li Fan understood. If you ignore the palace towers forcibly built on the very top and outermost layer of Yuntai Peak, this immortal island is essentially a metal city made up of honeycomb cells.

So he leaped off the platform, his black robe billowing, and like a crow, he darted swiftly through the steel cliffs and jungle, landing in the labyrinthine stairwells below.

Everywhere were pigeon lofts, hundred-meter-high fortresses stacked together like building blocks, with densely packed rooms on both sides. Most of the gates were tightly closed, and the few that were accessible had been emptied, their original state unrecognizable. The walkways were only wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and the tall buildings opposite could almost be jumped over. Indeed, the immortals had added many illegal structures such as bamboo bridges, iron chains, and Plank Road, connecting the numerous buildings together. This allowed the Yuntai Peak attendants, who could not fly like Real Immortal, to quickly climb and travel between the various Daoist palaces.

Yes, the children of Yuntai Peak. Ancient immortal sects like Penglai have spirits and children from the Demon Race and Spirit Race to serve them, but in a place like Yuntai Peak, the Xuanmen naturally wouldn't trust those who are not of their kind to use.

This time, Li Fan saw Yang Sheng and Jia Gui, the servant boys from Yuntai Peak, in their true forms in the outside world. No wonder these old fogies of the Xuanmen were actually interested in the mechanisms of Ink Bamboo Mountain. Upon closer inspection, the Dao bodies of these boys were clearly wooden Mechanical Puppet.

These puppets were sculpted with lifelike skill and exquisite craftsmanship, indistinguishable from real people. Each of them wore Daoist robes and had talismans pasted on their faces. Like monkeys and spiders, they moved nimbly and leaped between the corridors and palaces. Since Storage Jade could not be used on Yuntai Peak, one of their main tasks seemed to be to store letters, pills, and magical treasures in their bodies and move them back and forth.

Li Fan glanced at them and saw that there were hundreds of these busy, bee-like children. Perhaps behind each of them was the soul of a captured human child, manipulating things within the illusion?

"These things aren't from Yuntai Peak; they were probably brought over from elsewhere by other sects or were newly made."

Xuan Tian circled around a boy once, then returned to Li Fan's palm.

"It's not just the talismanic arts of major sects like Emei and Songshan, but also those of Mao Mountain, Hotong Mountain, Qingcheng Mountain... those ancient sects that have been out of the public eye for a long time, the Hidden Immortal Sect, they all have these methods. It's the old folks getting together and coming up with new things."

Tsk, this place is completely different from Yuntai Peak of Nine Yin Mountain back then. I can't even sense where Sword Pavilion is anymore..."

Absolutely! This map is like the Kowloon Walled City, with one moment it's a magical illusion barrier, the next a maze of traps, and then a scientific access control system. It's practically hellish for someone with no sense of direction...

Li Fan glided and flew through the corridor, trying to memorize the layout and routes of Yuntai Peak, thinking it might be useful later. But when he flew to the outer edge, he discovered that the many Yuntai Peak child puppets seemed to be not only maintaining the operation of the entire Yuntai Peak, but also continuing to expand the Immortal Capital. On the framework of Gangtie City, they were building more Daoist palaces and residences, setting up talismans and magic arrays, and transforming the entire Yuntai Peak into a true immortal mountain.

Besides places for cultivators to live and practice, they also built shelters such as warehouses and planting areas. At this moment, you can see many flying skyscrapers entering the temporary docks, transporting boatloads of soldiers and civilians from Shuofang Town to the immortal mountain.

This massive, grid-like immortal city was certainly not built specifically for the search and rescue of the northern soldiers and civilians; it was just a temporary measure. Now, accommodating the soldiers and civilians of the three towns is a piece of cake. And there are unfinished fortifications everywhere around it. Judging from its scale, there are probably quite a few people who want to take it away.

It seems that, just as Hengshan said, Yuntai Peak is the second Emei Golden Summit jointly created by the Immortal Palace Three Enclosures and the Xuanmen, an ark for escaping to the Immortal Realm immortal world. Perhaps the Yuntai Peak organization was established with the support of the immortal clans' 'tickets'.

Of course, the soldiers and civilians of Shuofang were unaware of this. Li Fan landed beside the stairwell and saw the residents who had disembarked being organized by the immortal army to receive food and clothing and to stay temporarily in the warehouse. They were all moved to tears of gratitude and knelt on the ground to thank the Grand Tutor for saving their lives, calling him a benevolent prime minister and wise ruler, a saint reborn.

On the spot, the vast majority of the vassal soldiers pledged allegiance, willing to become the Grand Tutor's household servants and retainers. A small number of those with talent were selected by the Xuanmen cultivators to become their servants and disciples. Although it was unclear whether this Grand Tutor was truly benevolent, or simply used to putting on airs to win people over, or whether the Immortal Palace was genuinely short of manpower recently, in any case, compared to those immortals who were completely disdainful, it was already quite good.

Li Fan watched silently for a while, then turned and flew up, using the blind observation method to track the Divine Sense signal, searching for the abbot and Yao Xuanzhou, and found a newly built Daoist temple.

This was Lou Guan's branch temple on Yuntai Peak, so Li Fan could come and go freely. He first took out his Daoist certificate and talisman to register, and then inquired about where he could exchange them for the method of cultivating the Divine Soul.

Lou Guan's foundation was still relatively shallow. At this time, the abbot and supervisor were still in seclusion. Perhaps Xiao Yao hadn't been punished yet, and Yuntai Peak hadn't rewarded him with a sauna, so he hadn't recovered yet.

There is only one Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, Real Person is in charge. Real Person is also an unremarkable middle-aged man, who looks just like Lou Guan. If you have to find a characteristic, it is that he lost his legs when he broke the Ten Ultimate Formation. Now he is slowly getting them back with the Bone Regeneration Pill, so he simply stayed on Yuntai Peak to guard it. He always comes and goes in a wheelchair.

Real Person had nothing better to do, so when he saw his disciples coming to check in, he casually helped Li Fan calculate his monthly salary for the past two years.

Well, because Qingyue still owes the sect two dragons, he is not yet considered Mu Long Judicial Master, nor does he have any other guard post. Therefore, he can only be considered an ordinary Inner Sect disciple of Lou Guan. Of course, Nascent Soul Stage True Person receives 2,000 shi of grain per month. Li Fan calculated that he has been away from the mountain for almost two years, and he has about 40,000 shi of grain that he has not received. If he were to withdraw the grain at the current price of 2,500 wen per shi, it would be equivalent to about 100,000 guan of Divine Astral Coin.

However, Real Person told him that 'Qingyue of Ink Bamboo Mountain' did not have 100,000 guan or 40,000 shi of grain under his name. In fact, he owed his sect a lot of grain money, which amounted to nearly 20,000 shi. He suggested that Li Qingyue pay it off when he had the money.

Li Fan stated that this was impossible; it must be a rumor, slander, and defamation.

Real Person then asked, "Is that loach that freeloads Fourth Department and uses Qingyue's name to write IOUs yours?"

Li Fan...

In short, not only did he not receive a salary, but he also had to pay off a mountain of debts for Kun. It was all for nothing...

Well, Li Fan and Real Person chatted about rice prices and the recent situation, and Li Fan did hear a lot of new information.

Now grain is a strategic resource, and it's expensive but unavailable. Presumably in preparation for the second western expedition, the Immortal Palace has implemented a grain embargo. The Grand Tutor has ordered that not a single grain of rice should leave the Central Plains and fall into the hands of the Divine Sect.

Of course, it wasn't just rice; it also included various Spirit Stones and silks, materials for making talismans and refining weapons, and materials for repairing weapons and formations. All military resources were strictly controlled. The Immortal Palace not only blocked all the passes leading to the Kun Country, but also stockpiled military supplies on a large scale in the west in preparation for a large-scale western expedition in conjunction with the Immortal Palace and the Xuanmen. The reserves of the entire Central Plains were being gathered into the Three Enclosures at a visible speed.

And it wasn't just for preparing for the western expedition, but also for the eastern expedition!

It turned out that during the months that Li Fan had been traveling north, the kings, nobles and generals of Zhen Country thought that San Yuan had suffered a recent defeat and lost face. They believed that they would not have the energy to focus on other matters before dealing with the Divine Sect. In addition, they had spent three years preparing for the campaign against Kun Country, so they would certainly not have time to look eastward at the chaos in Zhen.

So the princes and nobles of the Xiao clan went wild, fighting and killing each other to their hearts' content. The traitorous Hou Gu also joined in, jumping around and causing trouble. As a result, not only did no one manage to unify the Zhen Country, but the elite troops were almost wiped out, the kingdom was severely weakened, and some idiots even caused floods, digging rivers to inundate the city. As a result, a plague broke out, fertile fields were destroyed, and countless people died.

So at this critical moment, the Three Palaces launched an eastern expedition! And their actions were so decisive that they could be described as lightning fast. After reaching a consensus with Yuntai Peak, the Grand Tutor Manor displayed an astonishing level of execution. The granaries were fully stocked with provisions and supplies, and the main forces of the Eastern, Southern, Northern, and Imperial Guard armies were dispatched simultaneously! It is said that the fastest vanguard force penetrated deep into Zhen Country in just fifteen days, killing generals and capturing cities!

At this point, the feudal lords and chess players all realized that the Three Kings had been planning for many years and were about to strike again against the local warlords.

However, now that the period of the Divine Cult's rise in the Kun Country has passed, the heavy troops of the Hebei warlords can no longer control the Central Plains, and because of the ambitions of the Gao family of the Heavenly Soldiers Army, a war of annexation is bound to be launched in Hebei. As a result, the North Suwei of the Immortal Palace can be freed up to divert their main force from the Gen River defense line.

Meanwhile, the three old kingdoms in the southeast, Li, Xun, and Zhen, either collapsed in civil war or surrendered directly. In the northwest, they were intimidated by the Divine Sect's military might and had to rely on the support of the Immortal Palace. At the same time, Yuntai Peak was still endorsing the Grand Tutor. For a time, the offensive and defensive situation changed, and the Immortal Palace even had the momentum to unify the world!

Well, there's another force on this chessboard threatening Mikami's strategic plans.

That's the Nangong Family.

The Nangong now controls Li Country. They are allied with the Crown Prince's faction in the east and collude with the Divine Cult in the west. Currently, the Crown Prince of Kun Country Li Country Kun Country Kingdoms, helping the Divine Cult to quickly recover its combat strength and alleviate the supply pressure of crossing Kunlun.

Therefore, if the Grand Tutor wanted to achieve his strategic goal of completely cutting off the supply lines of the Divine Sect's army, he had to deal with the Nangong Immortal Army. This is the main reason why Lou Guan was able to successfully gain the Grand Tutor's support and join the Yuntai Peak Alliance.

"... So Ink Bamboo Mountain is going to be responsible for cutting off this supply line to the north? Does this mean they've officially turned against the Nangong Family and started a war?" Li Fan was filled with anticipation, finally hearing some good news.

Real Person shook his head. "What are you thinking? We can barely protect ourselves, how can we do this? Now we have a letter from Ink Bamboo Mountain. The demon kings of the Ten-thousand-mountains have begun to coordinate. There are secret reports that they have already contacted the Ling King of the South Sea to join forces. There are also unusual movements in the Kunlun direction. In the worst case, Ink Bamboo Mountain will have to stand alone and resist the siege from the four directions of Nangong, the Demon Race, the Ling King, and the Divine Sect."

The Grand Tutor hoped we would hold out until Zhen was pacified, at least to prevent the Divine Cult from taking advantage of the situation to unite the three regions of Kun, Li, and Xun and establish a foothold in the south. He promised that as long as the various sects of the Xuanmen at Yuntai Peak completed their mobilization and the Western Expeditionary Army launched a counterattack against the Divine Cult's army in Kun, everything would be fine."

Li Fan: "... So may I ask how far the Xuanmen has been mobilized?"

Real Person shrugged. "I don't know. Originally, Mount Song had taken the lead in making preparations, but Mount Emei suddenly closed its gates, and Mount Penglai and Mount Heng also changed their minds, saying that their disciples were not in good standing and that they lacked manpower. Seeing that even the leading sects were making excuses, the other sects in the Xuanmen were not very enthusiastic about participating in the war. I think we'll probably have to discuss it for another year or two..."

Li Fan, "..."