Protocol

In the end, Li Fan attributed all the inside information about the Death Gate Dao to a bald man he had made in the Central Plains known as "Fake Daoist."

Since 'Fuck' has already been killed by Canglong, Lao Liang definitely won't be able to find out his background, so he's perfect for taking the blame.

Because his memories had been altered, Real Person Liang was somewhat suspicious, but he accepted the explanation for the time being. So the two of them discussed it and decided that Real Person Liang would go out of the Li Country to investigate the Death Gate Dao in the Li Kingdom.

Of course, it was under the pretext of searching for the remnants of the Black Lotus Sect. Since they were both arresting remnants of demonic cults, they might as well deal with both cults at the same time. Real Person Liang also had a personal grudge against the Black Lotus Sect, which could lead to their deaths and the extermination of their entire family. With years of experience in fighting, he was naturally the most suitable candidate.

As for Li Fan, he still has to stay in Ink Bamboo Mountain and wait for Yao Xuanzhou to return. He will probably have to go around the Ten-thousand-mountains again, since it's a matter of going south first and then north. There are so many sect missions in Ink Bamboo Mountain, and the side story of the Abbot is obviously going to be very long. Moreover, if his cultivation level doesn't increase to a certain extent, he will probably be hit on the head and fail the mission. He should wait for Lao Liang's investigation report to come out first.

But the soul-altering technique of touching someone's head to modify memories... Li Fan carefully recalled those who had touched his head back then, besides the Abbot...

Ah! So that brings it up! When he first transformed into the Qiongqi Dao Body and almost lost control, wasn't it Old Liang who used this trick—touching the tiger's head—to pull him back from the brink?

So, could this technique have helped with the changes in Tai Su Dao and the loss of control over his Dao heart? In that case, it seems the two times the Abbot stroked his head weren't so much about altering his memories, but rather about stabilizing his Dao heart? Ah, Fei Mountain Lord lost control, it was also the Abbot who patted his head and healed him?

Li Fan couldn't help but imagine the scene, but it was still too gruesome. Li Fan shuddered and wished he could touch his head to forget about it.

But regardless, this trick should be quite effective; it's worth learning.

After leaving the mortuary, Li Fan went to Lou Guan Tower to pay his respects to the abbot. He figured as long as he didn't mention the Wisdom Dharma King or the Divine Cult, the abbot probably wouldn't bother to pat him on the head.

"Qingyue, have you successfully refined your True Yang Dao Fire? Show it to me."

Unexpectedly, the abbot went straight to the point, pressing for details about the most crucial aspect: the progress of his Supreme True Yang Technique cultivation.

Li Fan, steeling himself, opened his mouth and spat out True Yang Dao Fire, replying...

"Yes, disciple has already consumed the true yang energy and ignited the true fire. I feel that with this true fire in my chest, my energy is inexhaustible and my power is boundless. However, disciple has not practiced fire escape techniques much, and I am still exploring how to apply them."

The abbot nodded and smiled, quite satisfied. "Very good. Your cultivation is on the right track. As long as you patiently hone and refine your skills, with your talent and comprehension, your future achievements will be limitless. As for the Fire Escape Technique, I do have a superior Cultivation Method here that I can give you for reference."

"Thank you for the instruction, Abbot... Huh?" Li Fan took the jade slip from the Abbot and was stunned. "<Samadhi Bright Flame Phoenix Profound Technique>! This, isn't this the Nangong Family's Cultivation Method!"

The abbot nodded and said, "Indeed, let alone the Li Country, even among the Three Great Sects, this method ranks among the top in terms of secret fire cultivation techniques. This method is not only a fire-related secret technique that has been tested since the time of the Immortal Venerable, but later generations of Immortal King Nangong also often consulted with masters of fire escape techniques from the Xuanmen sect, constantly refining and improving this method, combining the strengths of various schools, and including the secret manuals of fire escape techniques from various schools. It can be called a top-tier classic in fire escape cultivation."

"Ugh..." Li Fan hesitated for a moment, or rather, felt a little disgusted, like he had swallowed a fly.

The abbot, of course, saw Li Fan's resistance and shook his head, saying, "There is no distinction between Cultivation Method. Back then, the Nangong Family was able to cultivate many experts by relying on the power of this technique, gradually developing an ambition to dominate the world. But whether to use this technique to bully the weak or to punish evil and eliminate demons ultimately depends on the cultivator himself."

Li Fan understood this principle, and bowed in thanks, saying, "Yes, disciple understands... but... won't this Cultivation Method make my face look like the Nangong Family's while I'm practicing it?"

Unexpectedly, this was what Li Fan was worried about. The abbot was speechless for a moment, shaking his head and saying, "This is just a fire technique. It's a body-shaping and refining technique passed down from the Nangong Family, along with a secret dual-cultivation technique for body refining in the Immortal Palace. It also involves taking elixirs and medicinal wines, and using rare Heavenly Treasure like phoenix blood. This technique is called the <Phoenix Profound Technique>. It has a secret method that can enhance the medicinal effects of phoenix blood, making cultivation twice as effective, but it won't change your appearance."

"Oh, that puts my mind at ease! Thank you for transmitting the Dharma, Abbot!"

Actually, as the old rival of Ink Bamboo Mountain, Zhang Jiugao had taught the Nangong Family some basic cultivation methods of the <Samadhi Bright Flame Phoenix Profound Technique>. However, the book given by the abbot was a transmission jade slip, which contained authentic Daoist secret manuals. It was probably full of the Nangong Family's secrets and secret teachings. It seems that Lou Guan and the Nangong Family were quite close back then.

And you know what, while the Nangong Family may be a bunch of trash, you can't really blame the Cultivation Method itself. After all, if you think back carefully, Xuan Tian's initial assessment of this Cultivation Method wasn't exactly 'trash'...

After checking his cultivation level and giving him pointers on his studies, just as Li Fan was about to bow in thanks and take his leave, the abbot raised his hand to stop him, saying...

"Qingyue, regarding the capture of the Saintess of the Divine Cult, have you found her protector?"

Li Fan was startled. In a flash, he quickly considered the situation and decided that in order to conceal the fact that he had been impersonating the Wise Wisdom Dharma King of the Divine Cult, he should keep Duan Ye a secret.

"Yes, disciple has found the remains of four cultivators, all of whom came to cause trouble in the mountains that night. They have been handed over to the Discipline Institute. Apart from one of them being an assassin from the North Star Guard, the other three appear to be dressed as Xuanmen disciples, and their faces have been completely disfigured."

To determine who the true protector of the cult is, we need the Saintess to personally examine the corpse...

The abbot nodded, then shook his head. "Since they're all dead, let's leave it at that. Tomorrow I'll arrange for someone to secretly send the Saintess to Kun Country and return her to the Divine Sect."

Upon hearing this, Li Fan was stunned. Seriously? They're openly and honestly protecting the Divine Cult?

"I wonder why this is?"

The abbot sighed, "My Ink Bamboo Mountain, Hengshan Mountain, and the Divine Sect will secretly sign a non-aggression pact, agreeing that my Ink Bamboo Mountain will take the Ten-thousand-mountains, Hengshan Mountain will take the Xun Kingdom, and the Divine Sect will take the Kun Country."

Li Fan was shocked. "Isn't this... betraying the Grand Tutor?"

The abbot shook his head. "There's no such thing as selling or not selling. If we really think about it, it was the Three Enclosures that broke the agreement first. The day before yesterday, it was Daoist Qing Sixuan from Mount Heng who came. He showed me the secret agreement between Mount Song and Mount Heng. The Three Enclosures withdrew the Southern Guards from their posts and gave up the entire territory of the Southern Country to Mount Heng. Moreover, they promised not to interfere with Mount Heng's attack on and destroy my Ink Bamboo Mountain."

Meanwhile, the Grand Tutor had already reached a secret agreement with Gao Xing, the Heavenly Soldiers Army Jiedushi of Gen Province, to watch Gen Province be unified and to mobilize the three guards of Beisu, Nansu, and Dongsu to advance eastward into Zhen Country, quell Hou Gu's rebellion, and confront Penglai head-on.

Hengshan could have taken this opportunity to mobilize forces around Ink Bamboo Mountain to besiege it, but because of some trouble in Emei, their attention was drawn to Qianguo.

This time, Daoist Sixuan brought with him a secret agreement signed by the Divine Sect, stipulating that the three parties would not wage war. If they refused, the Li Country would surely suffer devastation. Although I signed it, it only provides temporary respite.

Once Hengshan unifies Xun Kingdom and wipes out Luo Feng Immortal Palace, or the Divine Cult suppresses Kun Country and drives out the Western Imperial Guards's army, either of them could immediately break the agreement and turn south to invade. Therefore..."

"South first, then north... I understand."

Li Fan remained silent for a moment, then asked, "So, what exactly is Emei...?"

The abbot shook his head. "I really can't predict what will happen to Emei, but it's probably an internal struggle within their sect. It's just a pity that Cangsong Lord Cangsong has already ascended to immortality and can't help them. I'm afraid the fighting in the Central Plains will become even more chaotic."

And there's something even more troublesome: the Li Country is about to run out of food.

Li Fan was numb. "No food? Is it because of the pigs on Yangshuo Peak? I mean, Dang Kang didn't sleep well? I've already sent a veterinarian..."

The abbot still shook his head, "The Dang Kang is only a temporary fix, not a cure. I have exhausted all means, but given the current climate, the drought and floods Li Country, I estimate that this year's grain production will decrease by at least 30%."

One of the main reasons why Hengshan and the Divine Sect did not immediately invade was that they were worried that the outbreak of war would inevitably damage the grain production of Li Country, which would then affect their respective military supplies for suppressing the vassal states. Therefore, a prerequisite for the three-way non-war agreement proposed by Daoist Sixuan was that the two parties should be given priority in grain supply, and the supply should be doubled.

Although I arranged for Grand Tutor Wang to cultivate land in advance, which can keep us going for a while, and Bamboo Mountain is also stepping up its land reclamation efforts, if things continue like this, the weather will become increasingly unfavorable, and a food shortage is inevitable sooner or later. If we cannot supply food to the Divine Sect and Hengshan, and they don't have enough to eat, they will naturally have no more scruples and will surely break the treaty, vying to lead large armies to plunder the granaries of Li Country.

If only one side attacks, we might be able to resist, but in the struggle for food, all sides will surely attack at once, and then... Therefore, the pacification of the Ten-thousand-mountains must be expedited. In the worst-case scenario, that will be the place where my disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain will be forced into exile."

Holy crap... this is just too hopeless...

Isn't this just like that saying, "My neighbor hoards grain, I hoard guns; my neighbor is my granary"?

But does the abbot not want to stockpile guns? Of course he does, but new disciples are dying in droves! It's simply impossible to stockpile them!

Of course, one could also choose to simply give up. If there's a food shortage, so be it. If you don't plant, I won't plant either, and we'll all starve to death. After all, immortals can abstain from grains and live by breathing clouds and mist. As long as the limited food supplies can be gathered to feed the army, the starvation of some refugees won't have a significant impact on the various factions.

It's just that those Immortal Kings and sect Sect Leader might choose that way, but the Abbot would definitely not...

To be honest, Li Fan is now somewhat hoping that the Abbot really is the Wisdom Dharma King. That way, at the very least, there might be a surrounding force that could become an 'ally,' right? No, perhaps if that really happens, given the style of the Divine Cult, they might actually demand that the Wisdom Dharma King supply all the food from the Li Country to the Divine Cult, starving the people of the Central Plains and creating even greater chaos...

Ugh, what kind of hell is this... Even if Li Fan's combat power skyrockets to become invincible, he can't conjure food out of thin air... Wait a minute! He can't, but the system can!

Li Fan had an idea, but he still needed to confirm it with the system. So he first bid farewell to the abbot, assuring him that Qingyue would definitely practice diligently and kill all the demons and monsters around her once she had mastered her divine skills.

Then he immediately flew to Yangshuo Peak to find the two guys who treated the pigs. The mental health of these pigs is now a matter of life and death for millions of people!

"Ugh... this is so disgusting! Ugh... holy shit!"

Upon arriving near Yangshuo Peak, Li Fan discovered Li Kun frantically bathing in a pool, while Li Gan and Leopard watched from the shore.

"What happened to him? Are the pigs alright?"

Li Gan shrugged. "Oh, it's nothing. It's just a difficult birth. We can just reach in and pull the piglet out."

Li Fan glanced silently at Li Kun, who was frantically taking a bath, and then at the clean-looking Li Gan.

Li Gan shrugged, "He lost at cards."

Li Fan's lips twitched slightly as he took out the bowl. "Let's put that aside for now. The Li Country a food shortage. Can you solve that? For example, could you make this bowl—the one that turns one bowl of rice into two—bigger? Or perhaps a printer that produces clone supplies, or a machine that turns soil into bread? Or maybe, large-scale cloning of pigs that can bring a bountiful harvest?"

Li Gan nodded, then shook his head. "Food shortages aren't a problem for us; there are many solutions. But we can't interfere with indigenous civilizations on such a large scale. Like I've said many times, the deviation is too high; it will trigger an alarm."

Li Fan frowned. "It's just getting some food, what's the deviation value in that?"

Li Gan spread his hands, "It's fine if you want to save a few people, but the level of civilization has increased too much from a world full of starving corpses to a world where there is no worry about food and clothing. Besides, you're going to use system technology, so this won't just be a problem that attracts the company's attention. At that time, even the Pest Management Bureau will be alarmed."

To be honest, due to some historical reasons, our side isn't very friendly towards advanced civilizations from other realms. I'm not kidding, but it might trigger a purge agreement."

Li Fan scratched his head and pondered for a while, "So, how about we do it ourselves? Or you provide technical support and set up some cloning farms in Ink Bamboo Mountain? Or, instead of using the system's technology, how about using other alien technology?"

Li Kun climbed out of the pool. "What? You have other alien technology? That pig wasn't alien technology, was it? Damn aliens!"

Li Gan seemed to understand something. "Oh, so you found what was hidden in Ink Bamboo Mountain, right? Great, if you're willing to share those technologies, we can help analyze things that could solve the food crisis in our personal capacity. But... are you sure?"

Li Fan didn't understand what he meant.

So Li Gan pressed further, "Are you going to offer them up for exchange now? I mean, after you break through to enlightenment and sign a contract with us, then you can offer them up for trade. In that case, our emotional system will pay you for these things. But for now, it can only be considered as relics you found for the system during the contract period. We're helping you out in a personal capacity, okay?"

Li Fan rolled his eyes. "That kind of thing doesn't matter! You guys think those alien pots and pans are valuable, but I think human lives are more valuable, so let's make a trade."

Besides, if Ink Bamboo Mountain is really gone, those things won't be mine anyway. If you only have motivation if there's a reward, then here's the reward I've promised, so get to work!

The two boys exchanged a glance, nodded, and said, "Alright, let's get to work."

So Li Fan first took the two of them—cough cough, the two fish—to Lou Guan Tower to register, officially registering Li Gan and Li Kun as servants of Master Li of Mo Mountain. Although they were demons, it was normal practice in the Three Great Sects to take demons who had transformed into humans as servants, protectors, maids, mounts, and so on. Everyone in Ink Bamboo Mountain had a demon body, so there was even less discrimination against demons. In this way, the two fish could rely on Master Li's name to act arrogantly and freely enter and exit Ink Bamboo Mountain Grotto-Heaven and the Thousand-Faced Immortal's secret realm.

By outsourcing problems that can be solved by science and technology to the system, and now that the Abbot of Ink Bamboo Mountain is personally overseeing things, Li Fan can focus on cultivation and strive to raise his combat power to another level before the flames of war reach Ink Bamboo Mountain.

After all, in this world, problems that can be solved by killing are not real problems.

However, before embarking on this intensive retreat, there are a few personal matters that need to be taken care of.

Yes, a few small things concerning women. Qin Nanxin, Duan Ye, and the Yan sisters.

Ahem, just to clarify beforehand, these Yan sisters really have nothing to do with Li Fan. He didn't provoke them; they came to him on their own.

It turned out that Yan Jiyue was seriously injured that night, but many Daoist masters and immortals were gathered at Lou Guan Tower at the time. She did not want to implicate her sister's family, so she hid in Bamboo Mountain. However, she did not have the ability of the Xuanmen to conceal the secrets of heaven and hide her origins. Moreover, she needed medicine to treat her injuries. So after hiding for a few days, she still revealed her demonic aura and was arrested by the Discipline Institute. They also found out that she had visited Madam Yan's house.

When the Discipline Institute came to question Madam Yan, she knew that something terrible had happened. She couldn't possibly stand by and watch her sister be suppressed under the Demon-Locking Tower. However, the Abbot of Kao Shan also had a lot of important matters to attend to and had no time to receive her.

Having exhausted all other options, Madam Yan sought help from Qingyue, the newly appointed master of Moshan Mountain, who was currently enjoying great influence and whom she had met a few times.

Of course, it's not that she thinks she's so beautiful that the other person would be unable to resist and would help her. Is Li Fan that kind of person? Besides, she hasn't even revealed her true appearance yet.

But Li Fan still agreed to Madam Yan's request.

Let me say it again, it's definitely not because Madam Yan were slightly red, she knelt down in front of me with a mournful voice, her hair was disheveled, her cheeks were flushed, her figure was delicate, and she was falling against the wind, making her all the more pitiful.

The main reason is that she has a bunch of tofu coupons...

Oh my god! Kun, how much of that flirtatious behavior did you do to her?!