The Fool Was Blessed with Fool's Luck

At first, I thought I was going to see an assassination duel, but it turned into a mobilization meeting instead.

Thinking about it carefully, Wei Hu probably had this whole series of blood oaths and army mobilization arrangements planned long ago. When the guy surnamed Niu came charging back, Wei Hu couldn't possibly have any solid evidence, he only had some suspicions, so he decisively and casually beheaded him, even using the head as a sacrifice for his flag. It was all done smoothly, decisively, and ruthlessly.

Li Fan admitted that he couldn't learn that kind of skill.

Years ago, he was tricked by a Confucian scholar and nearly killed, which led Li Fan to have a negative stereotype of the civil officials and Confucian scholars in the imperial court. He felt that these people were pedantic, power-hungry, treacherous, wicked, and prone to empty talk and lies.

However, it must be acknowledged that elites like Wei Hu and Yang Sheng truly possess the ability to rise to high office and the vision to lead the world. If we want to end this chaotic and bloody era, we certainly need the assistance of their skills.

At least for now, the Nangong Family's idiots seem much easier to deal with. If we ignore them and wait for Wei Hu and his group to surrender and be pushed to the enemy's side, achieving peace will not be so easy.

Xuan Tian said, "You want to help him? There's no need for that."

Why? Although Wei Hu's intelligence is overwhelming, his military strength isn't so easily overcome, is it? Even if Nangong Wushuang himself isn't there, the northern army still has many Nascent Soul Stage level generals. Are they really going to end up like Zhang Dali, sitting in a lonely city without any reinforcements?

Xuan Tian said, "That's not what I meant. He doesn't need your help. Haven't you noticed that there isn't a single Lou Guan temple in this city? This should be the territory of the Divine Sect."

What?! A cult?

Xuan Tian, "I can't be wrong. That tomboy in the yamen just now used the Soul-Snatching Curse of the Divine Cult. And many of the guards around him have cultivated the Divine Cult's Body Domination Technique. There are quite a few people like that in the city, occupying strategic positions at the city gates. They should be Divine Hardness Soldiers of the Divine Cult themselves."

In this northern town, there's a high probability that there's a cult's altar and lineage within it. It's obvious the local altar master supports Wei Hu's defense of the city. The cult's Nascent Soul technique is specifically designed to deal with the Immortal Palace; a dozen or so Nascent Soul Stage level trash are no problem for them."

Li Fan was confused. Why was it the Divine Cult again?! But wasn't the Divine Cult allied with Nangong Du?

Xuan Tian said, "The factions are different. Kunlun is alright, but the Divine Sect in the Central Plains is being hunted down Fourth Department. Locally, the sect leaders are all single-line organizations that have been lying in wait for a long time. The God Lord Jade is not commonly seen, and the followers only recognize people from their own sect. Even if Nangong really joins forces with the main sect of the Divine Sect, these local sects in Li Country have been fighting for so many years and they are not willing to surrender easily."

Actually, there's nothing abnormal about it. In the Divine Cult, not only the altar leaders but sometimes even the Dharma Kings engage in covert struggles for credit. Even the Sect Leader has faced impeachment and assassination attempts. As long as the Enforcement Venerable don't find out, everything will be fine. Compared to other organizations, it's quite secretive. I guess the Nangong Family isn't attacking immediately because they haven't settled things with the Divine Cult, making it difficult to act."

How could you possibly infiltrate such a heavily guarded area?

Xuan Tian: "Hehe, back then I was the Western Enforcement Venerable, who dared to investigate me!"

Damn, you're the real swindler...

However, after hearing what Xuan Tian said, Li Fan suddenly had an idea. So he ran to the backyard, changed into his divine sect attire, stood on the eaves, and took out a string of God Lord Jade from the seashell.

A flash of red light, and sure enough, the tomboy disguised as a girl sensed it. She lightly leaped out of the inner room and looked around. When she saw Li Fan appear, she was greatly surprised. She knelt on one knee, crossed her wrists, and quickly pinched her index and middle fingers with her thumb nails, piercing the tips. Then, she extended her index and middle fingers like sword fingers, revealing four drops of blood essence at the tips, and transmitted her Divine Sense.

"Disciple Xue Tao of the Four Hearts pays respects to the Dharma Protector!"

What's this for?

Xuan Tian said, "The ten fingers are connected to the heart. Members of the Divine Sect can only obtain Blood Essence by accomplishing tasks for the Altar Master. Some receive more, some less, mainly to test their aptitude, ability, and loyalty. In the Ten Absolutes God Sect, usually, only those who accomplish ten tasks and possess the 'Ten Hearts' are considered formal members. They can then exchange their merits for the sect's secret techniques and heavenly books, and even be selected as Altar Sect Leader."

Oh, should I prick my finger or something?

Xuan Tian said, "Are you bored? But you can collect a drop of her blood and see what she has accomplished. This essence blood is condensed using the secret methods of the Divine Sect. If the altar master is killed, you can use the blood essence to verify her achievements at other altars."

So Li Fan silently memorized the Xuan Tian Sect's incantation, casually drew the Blood Talisman Sword with one finger, and flicked the tip of the sword, picking a drop of essence blood from Xue Tao's right index finger and letting it fall onto the tip of the sword, like a blood-red pearl rolling.

Li Fan used his Divine Sense to look around and indeed saw a scene imprinted with his Divine Sense: a desolate wilderness, a dark night with no starlight, a blood-red altar, and a group of people in red robes holding torches around it. Xue Tao was still in the same posture, kneeling and worshipping in the altar, just like a blood sacrifice of a cult.

Li Fan quickly realized that his perspective was focused on a large, ghost-faced deity statue on the altar.

Then a fellow dressed in the same religious attire, wearing a ghost mask, and looking exactly like Li Fan— not quite similar, but practically identical—came up, bowed to the statue of the deity, wiped his right palm with the Blood Talisman Sword, and dripped blood from his hand into the altar, saying as he did so.

"My fellow disciples, Xue Tao, a disciple of the Three Hearts Sect, has been appointed as a proofreader in the Northern Town Protector to coordinate matters related to the uprising. If any of my sect's protectors see him, please grant him protection."

Then the man handed the blood wine to Xue Tao, saying, "From this day forward, you will be a disciple of the Four Hearts sect. Once the altar master succeeds in his great undertaking in Changsi City, you must persuade Protector Zhu Zi to raise an army and open the city gates to support the vanguard of our sect's entry! The altar master promises that if this task is accomplished, you will be promoted to a disciple of the Ten Hearts sect!"

"How dare this disciple not do his utmost!" Xue Tao picked up the blood wine and drank it all in one gulp.

Oh... they're actually remnants of Lu Chai's forces...

Li Fan understood, flicked the tip of his sword, and sent the blood essence back to Xue Tao. He then asked, feigning seriousness, "I heard that Master Lu was harmed by Ink Bamboo Mountain and has already perished in Changsi City. Who is in charge of Li Country now?"

Seeing that Li Fan could read the heart's blood, had a large handful of God Lord Jade in his hand, and even knew the identity of the altar master by name, Xue Tao naturally dared not question him and obediently knelt down to answer.

"Reporting to the Protector, there is currently no one in command. Master Lu once instructed that if the great undertaking fails and no disciple of the Ten Hearts can escape to take charge, then each disciple should lie low to protect themselves and remain in good standing to be dispatched by the main altar."

The sect leader once said that Wei Gao, Li Country, was learned in both literature and martial arts and would surely achieve great things in the future. He also had some old friendships with Wei Gao. Therefore, I have contacted a group of brothers in the sect to seek his protection. We will wait for the arrival of the envoy from the main altar before making any further arrangements."

I never imagined that Lu Chai had planned so far ahead, not only for Changsi City, but also for the five border towns. If it weren't for the failure of that one night, the elite troops of the Northern Divine Cult would probably have already marched south. It truly was a close call...

At this moment, Xue Tao bowed to Li Fan and said, "Rumors are spreading everywhere. The Nangong army is out there, and we have heard that our sect has joined forces with the Nangong Family. We do not know the truth. If there is anything we can do, please just tell us, Protector!"

Li Fan decisively replied, "No, you bunch of good-for-nothings, just stay put and don't cause any more trouble."

Xue Tao, "..."

"In short, I have other missions. Those of you who just happened to be passing by and came to watch the show, you can still follow Master Lu's instructions and follow that Wei fellow in hiding. As for the Nangong, ha, a bunch of good-for-nothings, they can't accomplish anything. Don't give me any face, just kill them."

"Yes..." Upon receiving the instruction from the 'General Protector,' Xue Tao was unsure whether he felt relieved or confused. Li Fan then spoke up.

"However, I passed by Peach Blossom Mountain earlier and overheard the Nangong Family and several soldiers plotting to behead Wei Gao and surrender the city. If that fails, they might even impersonate envoys of the Divine Cult to persuade us to surrender. I am the only true member of the Divine Cult around here. If anyone else comes, they must be fake. Don't believe them."

Then Li Fan thought for a moment, took out a Golden hairpin from his sleeve, and tossed it to Xue Tao, "By the way, you've lost contact with the main altar, and it's probably been a long time since you received any financial support. I'm a bit short on cash, so take this small amount as operating funds. Once I've finished my business, I'll come back and help you rebuild the Li Country branch altar."

Xue Tao took the Golden hairpin and examined it, nearly fainting from shock. "Twenty million! Twenty million! Yes, yes! Disciple Xue Tao will certainly not let the Protector down! I vow to defend the Northern Town branch!"

"Okay, good luck, I believe in you!"

Li Fan made up a couple of casual remarks, then turned and slipped away.

Wei Hu is intelligent and courageous, has many righteous followers, the entire city's soldiers are willing to fight for him, and now even these remnants of the Divine Cult are secretly assisting him. Defending the city should be no problem, right?

If he were to turn back and kill more than a dozen Nascent Soul Stage from Nangong, he might very well provoke the army of Crown Prince Wushuang to attack him, and then the Northern Town would suffer a devastating loss of lives. Now that there are no Nascent Soul Stage cultivators left, and there is a strategic buffer zone with a third party, perhaps both Nangong and Ink Bamboo Mountain can rest assured.

Although Nangong is somewhat foolish and acts alone, Wei Hu's forces should be enough to deal with these petty scoundrels.

Never mind him, let's go back to Ink Bamboo Mountain.

So Li Fan flew south and passed through Bianzhou. As a result, less than eighty miles south of the city, he saw soldiers and horses hidden in a valley. When he flew over, he saw that it was Li Guo's army, with more than a thousand cavalry and ten thousand soldiers. The flag read the word "king", and it was clear that Yuanying Zhenren of Mozhu Mountain was following him with a group of Jindan disciples. It seemed that Lieutenant Wang had arranged a back-up plan.

Li Fan only glanced at it from afar with his Divine Sense, but the True Person in the army was also very vigilant. Sensing that someone was secretly spying on them, they immediately activated a barrier to conceal the aura of their army.

Seeing this, Li Fan quickly took a detour to force them away, to avoid fighting with his own people.

At this moment, he realized that he had now arrived in the Li Country Ink Bamboo Mountain. So he found a forest, went down there, changed his clothes, and changed his face, transforming into Qingyue, a disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

Li Tangyuan lay in the basket, craning her neck and glaring at him with eyes that seemed to say, "Who are you?!"

Li Fan was also in a relaxed mood and jokingly teased her, "Li Tangyuan, come back to Li Family Village with me and we'll have tangyuan to eat."

Li Tangyuan still glared at him.

"And there are also xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), yusu bing (crispy jade cakes), fermented bean curd, steamed lamb, stewed bear paw, deer tail, roast duck..."

Thus, Li Tangyuan was easily dealt with.

However, this child seems a bit dim-witted, especially after sealing Nangong Wuqing's primordial spirit. He just sits in the basket, wakes up, eats, and sleeps again, without crying or making a sound. He doesn't react much to his surroundings and seems quite slow-witted.

Thinking about it carefully, considering the Nangong Family's practice of consanguineous marriage, their offspring might be somewhat lacking in intelligence. I wonder if she'll be able to cultivate to the Nascent Soul Stage...

Xuan Tian said, "That doesn't matter. Even idiots have their own cultivation methods. My Sword Sect even has a monkey as its sect leader."

Hey, is it really alright for you, the dignified sect leader and Sword Ancestor, to be so disrespectful to Lord Yuan?

Oh well, raising one Kun is the same as raising multiple idiots, so it makes no difference.

So Li Fan stopped and traveled without stopping, no longer bothering to conceal his whereabouts, his heart set on returning home, flying day and night.

Then they were stopped in Bianzhou South Town.

Well, there are even more troops here. Back then, Grand Tutor Wang took away 80,000 imperial guards from the Jingji, and with the addition of the troops stationed in the five border garrisons, the Li Country the northern front. Now, even excluding the defenses of the other four garrisons, the southern border garrison still has at least 100,000 of the Li Country.

Of course, these are just figures on paper. It can only be said that the Li Country's court supplied provisions for 200,000 troops. But in reality, the true organization of this army, how many people were paid for their labor, and its combat effectiveness are probably only known to Grand Tutor Wang, who recently led his troops on a training exercise in the Kun Country.

However, at least for now, it seems that Grand Tutor has not yet betrayed the Li Country and rebelled; he has merely been somewhat self-serving in terms of military power. However, with Ink Bamboo Mountain Lou Guan Dao officially joining the Grand Tutor's group of Yuntai Peak, and the abbot breaking through to the Enlightenment Stage, the attitudes of various factions within the Li Country have indeed undergone a drastic change.

Not to mention Grand Tutor, a mere Martial God, all the warlords of the Li Country are aligning themselves with Ink Bamboo Mountain. For example, when Ink Bamboo Mountain organized the defense of the Li Country, the aristocratic families also sent their eldest sons, along with a large number of servants, to join the army and pay their respects, showing a very friendly and compliant willingness to cooperate.

Therefore, the defenses of Nanzhen are indeed sufficient. Not only are there a large number of Lou Guan masters gathered here, but there is also strong support from local families in Li Country. A large number of cultivators rely on the military town to set up magic arrays and dojos, establishing a defensive line centered on Nanzhen. This is not only to guard against Nangong Wushuang's army from the direction of Peach Blossom Mountain, but also against Xun Kingdom in the east, Kun Country in the west, and the Divine Sect in the direction of Kunlun. At least it seems that everyone is united in defending the territory.

As soon as Li Fan took to the air, he was immediately locked onto by the Divine Sense of many cultivators. Fortunately, he had switched back to Qingyue's identity and appearance beforehand, so he was able to enter the Lou Guan altar in the camp smoothly, register his Daoist certificate and talisman to verify his identity. He also happened to meet the warden master in charge of this place, an old acquaintance, Real Person Wei of the Discipline Institute.

Currently, he is personally in charge of the South Town defense line, leading the disciples of the Discipline Institute to supervise and manage those scions of powerful Outer Sect families.

"Qingyue, weren't you supposed to be with Yao the Supervisor? Why are you so late? Did you sneak off to play somewhere else?"

I'm a fugitive, wanted by five stars, hunted across the entire map, my life hanging by a thread! How can you call this playing around...?

"No, no, I wasn't playing around. I just got lost on my journey through life... Ahem, Yao the Supervisor is back already? Did he manage to buy any raw silk?"

Fortunately, Real Person Wei went to the battlefield without bringing his cat, so he could only let Li Fan make jokes.

Real Person Wei glared at him with a stern face, "I heard that you used your connections in Songshan to help our sect obtain a batch of spirit silk. We'll let it slide this time, but if anyone else leaves without saying goodbye while doing errands for the sect, or goes off on their own, the Discipline Institute will punish them severely!"

"Yes, disciple understands..."

Li Fan had just finished his lecture and was about to take his leave Real Person Wei spoke again.

"I have a job for you, but we're short-staffed. You're free, would you like to take it?"

"Oh? Tell me about it... cough cough, please speak, sir."

Real Person Wei took out a letter from his sleeve. "This is a secret letter from Wei Gao, the Imperial Censor."

Li Fan was taken aback. "This... Wei Gao... Could this person be the real you...?"

Real Person Wei glared at him, "What nonsense are you spouting! Where did all these connections through marriage come from! But this matter does seem to have something to do with you; it seems to be your destiny."

Li Fan was sweating bullets. Wasn't that fate? He'd just passed by and was now going back?

"What is it?"

Real Person Wei handed over the letter. "Wei Gao discovered that Huang Hai is hiding in Nangong. This is because Huang Hai is a traitor that my Ink Bamboo Mountain is hunting. Therefore, I am writing to inform you. Do you remember Huang Hai? He is from the Xiping Protectorate..."

Just kidding, Li Fan remembers every egg he's ever eaten, how could he possibly forget something like this?

He immediately became serious, "Alright, leave it to me. I'll break through Nangong and chop off this scoundrel's head to eat with my wine!... I mean, make it into a chamber pot!"

"No!" Real Person Wei glared at him. "You were the one who reported it to the Discipline Institute, asking Ink Bamboo Mountain to seek justice for the people of Xiping Prefecture! Then capture him alive and have the Discipline Institute execute him in accordance with the law. No private executions are allowed!"

"And you are not allowed to attack the Nangong! My Ink Bamboo Mountain has signed a pact of no war with the Nangong!"

Li Fan frowned deeply. "Why not fight?"

Real Person Wei glanced at him and said, "In recent years, our Ink Bamboo Mountain has been short of manpower. The Demon Race of the Ten-thousand-mountains Bamboo Mountain have launched a counterattack. The various sects of Mozhu Mountain are outnumbered and have been overtaken. Tianyu, the Nangu Valley, and all the mountains west of Yangjia Mountain have been lost. The Yushan has also been besieged by the demons. Now, of the four major dojos, only the Zhonggu Dojo remains."

The abbot has ordered that the south be visited first, then the north. You must quickly capture Huang Hai and bring him to justice, then return to Ink Bamboo Mountain to help."

Alas, there's a shortage of manpower. Ink Bamboo Mountain is missing an entire Moshan Mountain; isn't that a sign of a manpower shortage...?

"Okay, I'll do it now. Oh, could you please watch over it for me for a while?"

So Li Fan put down the basket on his back, lifted the Unknown Face, and said, "You just said that we can't start a war with Nangong right now, didn't you?"

Li Tangyuan lay in the basket, craning her neck and glaring at her with eyes that seemed to say, "Who are you?!"

Real Person Wei's brows were furrowed into a knot.

"Just feed her whatever you want, she's easier to take care of than your cat."