Peach Blossom Mountain

The peach blossoms bloom first in the warm spring, their bright beauty attracting all who behold them. Alas, the fierce wind has swept them away, leaving only crimson petals scattered on the mossy ground.

Peach Blossom Mountain is named so because peach blossoms are planted all over the mountain. Legend has it that a peach blossom fairy once cultivated here. She was from the north and had reached the realm of a divine lord but could not advance any further. In order to comprehend the Dao of Heaven, she came to the Yellow Court Palace on Mount Heng to become a disciple. Because the immortal veins of Mount Heng were limited, she came here to cultivate in seclusion. Perhaps because of homesickness, she planted peach blossoms all over the mountain.

Unfortunately, the Peach Blossom Fairy never attained enlightenment, nor could she return home. Her immortal abode has long since vanished, leaving only the mountains ablaze with crimson blossoms, a testament to the peach blossom's name.

When Li Fan arrived at Peach Blossom Mountain, it was the season when the peach blossoms were in full bloom.

At this moment, he put on a coarse hemp robe under a straw raincoat, straw sandals on his feet, and a rain hat on his head, dressing himself up as an ordinary mountain villager. He also put a 'Unknown Face mask' on the maid of the Nangong Family and told her to change her silk clothes into cloth clothes, put them in a basket and carry them on her back. They walked through the peach forest covering the mountains, accompanied by the drizzling rain, stepping on the spring mud and petals, down the path in the Peach Blossom Mountain.

Both had traveled far and wide, yet returned to their homeland. As the saying goes, the closer one gets to home, the stronger the feelings become. He certainly wasn't leisurely strolling through this sacred mountain and peach grove because he had the leisure to go on a spring outing.

There was really no other way; there were just too many Nangongs around. Looking out over the entire camp for a hundred miles, there were scouts and sentries everywhere. From time to time, Vermilion Bird Guards and Feathered Forest Cavalry would fly by, patrolling in the sky. If he stubbornly charged through them, he would inevitably reveal his whereabouts and have to break through the defenses. It wasn't that he was afraid, but he had been handling too many cases lately, so it was best to keep a low profile.

So he concealed his aura and cultivation level, pretending to be an ordinary passerby. He casually used a few invisibility spells to slip past the sentry post and successfully made it to the inn at the foot of Peach Blossom Mountain to rest and inquire about the general situation of the world.

The world is truly in chaos. The Empress Dowager died of anger in the Ziwei Yuan, and the political situation in the Three Fourth Department is turbulent and unpredictable. The remains of the Zhu Long are scattered across the Central Plains. Needless to say, those rogue cultivators who have been waiting for a chance to turn the tables have emerged from seclusion, and elites from all sects, both internal and external disciples, have set out to search for and seize extraterrestrial meteorite iron and divine weapons from beyond the realm.

It is said that of the Nine Great Xuan Sects, only Emei remains unmoved, guarding its own mountain. However, this only applies to the Golden Summit. Most of the Outer Sect Disciple, unable to bear the loneliness, are unwilling to miss this heaven-sent opportunity, and quite a few secretly leave the mountain.

The southern powers, of course, wouldn't miss out on this feast just because they were far away. Many rogue cultivators from the vicinity of Peach Blossom Mountain went to the Central Plains to seek opportunities. It's said that the war throughout the world eased up overnight...

Needless to say, the Divine Cult's situation is even worse. That wicked system threw at least half of its remains into the Western Regions. Xuan Tian said he predicted at least dozens of comets would fall into Kunlun, and rumors were spreading throughout the land that the Divine Cult was about to rise to power, destined by heaven, and would soon unify the Central Plains. The Divine Cult had no choice but to take the blame.

After the brief period of chaos in the Central Plains, the important task of the Yuntai Peak Allied Forces to punish the Divine Cult will probably be put back on the agenda.

In short, given this valuable strategic window, the various factions in the Central Plains probably won't be able to interfere with Ink Bamboo Mountain anymore. After all, unless someone is truly out of their mind, only an idiot would come to this barren South Border to fight to the death.

Li Fan also planned to take advantage of this opportunity to sneak back to Ink Bamboo Mountain for seclusion as soon as possible.

These successive battles have taken a toll on the Gui Xu Nascent Soul the Divine Transformation stage within ten years is still a stretch. However, he can at least digest what he has learned over the years and prepare for the upcoming great battle. If all else fails, he will have to rely on the Primordial Transformation to boost his combat power. We can deal with the potential hidden dangers later.

Oh, right, Qiongqi's clone was also in the treasure hunt phase when the system just dumped a grave on it, throwing it into an ice cave and sinking it into the sea...

Qiongqi had no choice but to dive down to explore and search for treasure. Fortunately, many of the mechanisms in the immortal tomb were still functioning, and not many people were coming from the northern ice plains. If all these immortal tomb guards were refined, they would become several hundred Nascent Soul Stage level helpers. If they could really bring them all back to Ink Bamboo Mountain, they would definitely be a powerful army that could change the course of the battle. It was something to look forward to...

"Eat that..."

Nangong Wuqing lifted the 'Unknown Face' and tugged at Li Fan's sleeve, interrupting his thoughts. She pointed to the table next to her, where peach blossom petals adorned the pink sweet rice balls in fermented rice wine.

"... Two bowls, please." Li Fan was speechless. Yes, time was already so tight, he should have rushed through Peach Blossom Mountain, but this girl was craving something. Spirit rice was mainly for replenishing spiritual energy, it could fill her stomach, but it didn't have much flavor. He had spent so much effort on the surgery, he couldn't let her starve to death.

By the way, she shouldn't be called Nangong Wuqing anymore.

"What's your name? Tell me, and you can have this too," Li Fan asked.

The waiter glanced at Li Fan with the same look he gave a child trafficker, then put down the glutinous rice balls and left.

The little girl slurped down her glutinous rice balls, blinked at the portion in Li Fan's hand, and whispered, "Ah Qing..."

Is it still Ah Qing? Why couldn't they even bother to give her a name? The Nangong Family is truly despicable...

Li Fan thought for a moment, looked at the fermented rice wine in his hand, handed it to her, and casually said, "Don't use the name A Qing anymore. From today onwards, you'll be called Li Tangyuan."

The little girl frowned, sensing that something was amiss.

"What's wrong? Don't you like it? I'm telling you, a more down-to-earth name is better. Look at names like 'Wind' and 'Cloud,' they're not good, too artsy. And some superstitious people might find them offensive. Names like 'Dog Leftover' or 'Iron Egg' are much better, down-to-earth, and easy to raise..."

Xuan Tian: "Hey! Kid, you're getting cocky! Do you even know how to name things? You're just naming things based on what you see?"

No way! Doesn't her face look like a glutinous rice ball?

Xuan Tian, "..."

Just as they were resting, they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves. A group of people galloped along the mountain path from the eastern foot of Peach Blossom Mountain, dismounted outside the tavern, and filed in.

These men wore blue cloaks, soaked with dew, indicating they had been riding in the rain for a long time. Each wore armor and carried a sword beneath their cloaks, clearly indicating they were government troops. The twelve riders were all protected by Divine Hardness qi; two stood in the rain watching the horses, two circled around to the back of the shop to keep watch, two entered and guarded the entrance, and the remaining six filed in, asking the shopkeeper for some flatbread and dried meat. They drank only the wine they had brought, pushed two tables together, and began to eat and drink heartily. Once the six had eaten about eight-tenths full, they stood up and took turns, ensuring that half a squad of men was always on guard.

Li Fan had sensed them as soon as they entered his Divine Sense range, so he prepared accordingly. He dipped his middle finger in wine and drew a talisman on the table to conceal his aura, so these people naturally couldn't notice the presence of the two people at his table.

Li Fan wasn't worried about the abduction of the Nangong Family master being exposed, since these people weren't from the Nangong Family; if he wasn't mistaken, they were from the Li Country.

Although the Nangong Family also has vassal and auxiliary troops, the vast majority of soldiers in the Immortal Palace lineage still use External Alchemy combined with body tempering, while the soldiers of the Li Country mostly follow the martial arts path of the Body Domination Technique. After all, the formulas for external alchemy are all in the hands of the Immortal Palace. In recent years, the Ink Bamboo Mountain and the Nangong Family have split, and the quality and training methods of the two armies have begun to differ.

Li Fan, having traversed the Central Plains, could see that whether it was the Three Enclosures Guards or the Immortal Army of the vassal states, they mainly relied on alchemy to mass-produce soldiers. Currently, the regular army of the Immortal Palace was built up with external pills, but the actual training level varied greatly, depending on the individual general's training skills.

In Li Country, there aren't many Foundation Establishment Divine Essence Pill. Various mortal martial arts and Body Domination Technique are prevalent in the military camps. Soldiers undergo rigorous training, relying on military formations and equipment to compensate for deficiencies in cultivation levels. As a result, while Li Country's army is quite large in number, its quality doesn't seem very good.

Perhaps only the Hebei warlords were such oddities in the world, wanting everything, possessing all kinds of ancient and modern methods of warfare.

In short, the quality and discipline of these twelve soldiers were clearly different from those of the celestial soldiers in the Immortal Palace, and they were obviously not from the same army.

However, within the Li Country, there is a distinction between the Ink Bamboo Mountain faction and the faction of the cunning Grand Commandant Wang E. Although the Li Country and Nangong have not yet openly started fighting, the situation is already very tense.

These soldiers had ventured deep into enemy-occupied territory like Peach Blossom Mountain; who knew what grand scheme they were plotting? Li Fan naturally wouldn't rashly approach and strike up a conversation with these villagers. He simply waited for them to finish eating and leave, then they would go their separate ways.

But unexpectedly, a sudden change occurred. Li Fan Divine Sense sensed eight fast horses flying in from the direction of the southern military camp. They were clearly immortal soldiers from the Nangong Family, all at the Golden Core stage, riding their horses and swirling in the sky.

The Nangong Family never hides their actions; they openly unleash their divine fire, burning away the misty drizzle with its flames, filling the air with smoke and the smell of gunpowder—a truly unsightly sight.

The soldiers from the Li Country naturally noticed this, but they showed no intention of drawing their swords to fight, clearly indicating that they had come to keep their appointment.

So only two samurai remained in the inn to eat and drink, while the other four finished eating, stood up, and "invited" the innkeeper and waiters to the stables outside for temporary shelter. They then guarded the entire inn lobby.

Of course, there was still food left at Li Fan's table because Li Tangyuan was still eating glutinous rice balls. Li Fan was too lazy to move, so he just sat there, taking advantage of the fact that these people were less skilled.

So two of the Nangong Family's cavalrymen outside also set off, landing directly at the entrance of the tavern, dismounting, and entering the shop.

Judging from their appearances, these two were clearly direct descendants of the Nangong Family. One was a boy and the other a girl, both around seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in military uniforms. They stood in front of the long table, one with their hands on their hips and the other with their arms crossed, looking down at the two warriors with their chins held high. It was truly the Nangong Family's way of raising their children...

Li Fan sipped his tea and watched the show, glancing at Li Tangyuan beside him. This girl wasn't making a fuss like her older siblings; she was actually licking her bowl... Was it really that delicious? He'd try a bowl later...

"It's you two who want to surrender." Nangong Nan looked down at the two soldiers from the Li Country. "Where are you stationed, and why did you come here?"

The two soldiers wearing straw hats looked up at the Nangong Family's tone, exchanged glances, stood up, clasped their hands in greeting, and sang in homage.

"Niu Yunguang, the patrol captain of the northern border town."

"Su Yu, the military commander of the Northern Garrison of Bianzhou."

"We were originally the troops of Zhu Zi, the Northern Town Protector of Bianzhou. But because Grand Commandant Wang E led a large army, he plotted to seize the military power of our commander. We, his trusted men, were also ostracized, suppressed, and had our pay withheld. We were sent to patrol the mountains outside the Northern Garrison as scapegoats. We are resentful..."

"Your esteemed army has assembled; we have no intention of being enemies, nor dare we presume to stop you. Therefore, we have come with sincere intentions to join you..."

Nangong Nu raised an eyebrow, put her hands on her hips, pointed at them, and scolded, "Stop talking nonsense! Since you are the Northern Garrison Commanders, you should at least have a thousand men under your command. Why don't you change your flags and lead your troops to surrender? Why are there only a few of you! I have to come and meet you personally!"

The Commandant Niu and Commander Su were rendered speechless and frustrated. They thought to themselves, "I just said I'd been stripped of my military power and was being ostracized and suppressed. Are you deaf or something? Didn't you understand? Where did this thousand or so men come from? And how did they get all the way here? If they really did come, would you dare to come and meet them?"

Nangong Nan realized the question was a bit off and coughed, "You patrol the northern town, you should be familiar with the city's defenses, right?"

The two men quickly bowed, saying, "Yes, yes, yes." "When your army raises its troops, we are willing to be at the forefront."

Nangong Nan nodded, about to say a few words of comfort to them and leave, when Nangong Nu's eyes lit up, "In that case, you go back and act as inside agents, opening the city gates to help our army seize Beizhen!"

Upon hearing this, Li Fan nearly spat out his tea, and the other three were even more bewildered.

"Ah... this... General... this matter of Door Opening the gates and surrendering the city is of great importance and requires careful planning..."

"We have come here personally with our trusted confidants, with absolutely no intention of deceiving or misleading. If we were to return, we fear our secret might be exposed..."

"Princess! The Crown Prince has not given the order; how can the army move lightly..."

"Shut up! Don't call her princess! Call her general! Listen up! Wang E's army has retreated to Nanzhen! Beizhen is an isolated city outside, fortified with a scorched earth policy! There are no reinforcements from outside, so what if we take it! We'll just say that the two of them led their troops to surrender the city, are we not going to accept it?"

The female general from the Nangong clan launched into a tirade, pointing at the two men and yelling, "And you two! My Nangong Family doesn't keep good-for-nothings! Didn't Wang E embezzle military pay and sideline you? If we don't have enough manpower, we'll just find a few more equally dissatisfied people and open the city gates together. If we succeed, I'll reward you handsomely! You two said you were sincerely working together, so why are you making such a fuss over doing something I asked you to do!"

Niu and Su both wanted to cry, Nangong Nan wanted to cover his face, Li Fan almost burst out laughing.

The captain, Niu, still wanted to try, so he declined, saying, "General... it's not that we're unwilling to fight to the death and achieve such a great feat, it's just... it's just that the defenses of Beizhen are currently under the command of Counsellor Wei..."

Military Commander Su Yu echoed, "Yes, yes, this man was originally the Commandant of the Capital Region, and he was well-known in the capital area. He was sent to govern the border region for several years, acting as the military governor to manage military and political affairs. He was fair in his dealings and clear in his enforcement of the law, and he won the hearts of the people. Not only the soldiers and people of the five towns were all happy to submit to him, but even the displaced people and bandits who had always caused trouble on the border came to join him. Recently, the court even issued an edict to promote him to the position of Vice Censor-in-Chief and Military Supervisor of the Five Towns. He has real power in his hands."

Although he was also forced to come to the front lines by Wang E, I'm afraid this bookworm won't easily surrender the city... We, we're just afraid of ruining your army's plans..."

Nangong Nan was also taken aback. "Counsellor Wei? Is that Wei Hu? Hiss... This man was actually sent to personally guard the northern town? That Grand Tutor is truly cunning; no wonder he can sit back and relax. I'm afraid..."

Nangong Nu sneered, "Hmph! Military advisor? Censor-in-Chief? A mere scholar! You bunch of knives are cowering here! You're spineless! Are you even men? What Wei Hu or Wei Mao? Do you think you have three heads and six arms? If you won't surrender, just kill him! Do I have to teach you how to do things? Huh? Do I have to breastfeed you? Cowards!"

After being scolded like that, the three of them blushed and their faces turned red.

Captain Niu, unable to contain himself any longer, slammed his fist on the table, shattering it. The soldiers from both inside and Li Country immediately drew their swords and rushed in to surround him, startling the female general Nangong, who hid behind her deputy. Meanwhile, the Nangong Family's celestial soldiers in the sky didn't react at all. By the time they realized something was wrong and tried to come down to help, they were already blocked outside, left helpless.

The deputy general of the Nangong Family pushed the 'general' behind him forward, and couldn't help but roll his eyes. He gripped the hilt of his sword and stared at the captain, whose murderous intent was rising.

"Niu Yunguang, the patrol captain of the Northern Garrison of Bianzhou! Although my princess's words may be harsh, her reasoning is sound. We're all just risking our lives for fame and fortune! You have these brothers with you! Do you just want to surrender, become a guide, and collect some rewards? Or do you want to make a name for yourself by slaying enemy generals and changing your social standing? Have you thought it through?"

The soldiers from the Li Country stared at their captain, all looking like they didn't care who he was and would just hack him to pieces if given an order.

Under their gazes, Commandant Niu's eyes turned bloodshot. He glared at the female general Nangong, who was cowering in the back and dared not meet his eyes, and forced himself to speak, his breath coming in ragged gasps, "Fine! I'll go back! I'll behead Wei Gao! I'll hand over his head and Beizhen to you!"

Then, Captain Niu, along with his personal guards, donned cloaks, braved the rain, and rode swiftly against the direction they had come from, heading towards the eastern mountains.

The female general from the Southern Palace calmed down, realizing she had been humiliated by the other party's imposing manner. She slapped the adjutant across the face, saying, "Don't you dare call me princess!"

Such a simple rendezvous had been turned into this mess. The lieutenant was speechless and could only cover his face as he rode back to camp.

Li Fan watched the whole thing, then looked at Li Tangyuan, who was still licking her bowl beside him, and said, "When you grow up, don't be like her. You have to be polite in your interactions with others. If you're polite, you'll get tangyuan (sweet rice balls). If you're impolite, you'll only get slaps. Got it?"

"Oh..." For the sake of Tangyuan, Li Tangyuan obediently nodded in agreement.