Interest

This incident took up a considerable amount of time.

Yao Xuanzhou no longer hesitated and directly brought Li Fan flying into the inner courtyard of Luo Temple. They saw a small building in the garden behind, surrounded by nine coiling bronze pillars. Dragon heads protruded from the tops of the pillars, mouths agape towards the courtyard. To the naked eye, there was no divine splendor, just nine pillars. But with divine sense, they saw blazing golden-red flames, like a great bell covering the small building. This was likely the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover magic treasure.

The tall, dark, and thin Real Person Wei expressionlessly formed hand seals, stepping in a ritualistic walk and circling the nine bronze pillars. With roughly every three steps, a pillar would tremble. After five steps, it would shake. Once the seven stars were completed, a pillar would rumble and be pulled three feet out of the ground. Shaking them one by one like this was a very direct way of breaking the formation. However, these nine pillars had to be moved and pulled out in a specific order, so it was indeed not something that could be rushed.

After watching for a while, Li Fan felt it was incredibly boring...

Master Yao explained slowly, "This magic treasure is used to trap people. If the person inside doesn't understand formations and has no protective magic, they'll be helpless. Once all nine pillars are sunk into the ground, with only the nine dragon heads exposed, the dragons will spew flames and turn the person in the formation to ashes.

Heh, to be honest, this isn't some incredibly powerful formation. The Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover is a signature of the Nangong family. My Ink Bamboo Mountain has long collected the method to break it. Anyone who recognizes this formation, seeing it being broken like this, should know it's safe outside and can walk out on their own.

It's a pity that nowadays everyone flies around on swords, and few cultivate formations. Like this bunch of idiots, trapped and can only sit there, foolishly waiting for rescue. Alas, they deserve to be stuck at the threshold..."

Thinking that his sect either had traitors or was full of blockheads, Yao Xuanzhou felt deeply worried about Ink Bamboo Mountain's future.

Li Fan was speechless. Indeed, someone like Yuan Xuanbao, who charged forward screaming when his dao companion died and was easily tricked, didn't seem like someone who understood formations.

So, Master Yao and Li Fan could only stand by and wait. After a while, Yan the Real Person, Lu Xing, and about thirty other Foundation Establishment Realm disciples arrived in support on a flying boat. Tiantai Mountain had already been swept clean by Zhang Jiugao, but there were still fragments of magic treasures scattered everywhere, as well as the wealth plundered by the heretical cultivators. Thus, these disciples began to clean up the battlefield.

Li Fan saw Fuling standing at the bow of the ship from afar. He bid farewell to Master Yao and went to visit her.

"I'm fine," Fuling said, shaking her head with a wry smile upon seeing Li Fan approach alone. "You must have been worried. What, did Zhang Jiugao, that meddler, bring you here? Where is he?"

Li Fan stiffened, holding back many words. He hesitated and asked, "Sister Fuling, are you very familiar with Master Zhang? I think I saw you two arguing before. Is there some misunderstanding?"

"Arguing? Oh, you don't need to worry. There's no misunderstanding. It's just that I had an elder in my family who was a fellow disciple of his during the Foundation Establishment stage. They were close, but it seems there was some enmity, and my family was harmed because of it. Miss told me that he was the one who snatched me away back then, wrapped me in swaddling clothes, fought his way through enemies, and brought me to the mountain to ask Miss to take me in!

But I don't know the specifics. He refuses to talk about it. Hmph, he's quite shy for his age.

But because of this connection, Zhang Jiugao often acts like an elder, watching over me. Even after all these years, he's still the same, telling me 'don't do this' and 'don't do that.'

Alas, it's also my own slow progress. If I had broken through to Golden Core earlier, I wouldn't have to be under this old Daoist's restrictions. What, isn't he here? I thought he'd scold me again for taking risks."

This sword fight didn't seem to have yielded any advantage; instead, she had sustained some hidden injuries. Fuling forced a smile, looking helpless.

Fellow disciples from the same Foundation Establishment period... like Lu Yu, Chen Daotong, Yuan Xuanbao. Senior Brother Gao was probably from the same batch. Li Fan could be considered in the same group as Lu Xing, Lu Qi, and Zhang He.

So, the senior sister who was harmed by the Nangong family was Fuling's family in the Human Dao...

Li Fan hesitated and was about to speak when he suddenly felt his divine sense alert. He realized Yao Xuanzhou was watching him from not far away. He sighed, " Master Zhang eliminated the demons on Tiantai Mountain and seems to have some private matters to attend to, so he left on his sword.

Sister Fuling, don't worry. In the future... we'll meet again soon."

Fuling chuckled, "Who wants to see him? He drones on all day, it's so annoying. Alright, you don't need to look after me anymore. I'll rest for a while longer and put on some makeup. That way, I'll look better and won't get scolded when he arrives."

Li Fan opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing. He didn't want to disturb Fuling's rest, so he just nodded and stepped aside.

He went to sit alone in the shadow beneath the treasure ship, gazing blankly into the distance. Real Person Wei was swaying and circling, pulling out pillars. His steps were uneven, like a drunken rooster, which was quite funny.

But Li Fan couldn't laugh.

At this moment, Lu Xing walked up to him.

"...What do you want now?" Li Fan was annoyed and drew his club, retorting impatiently.

"Junior Brother Li, I've seriously considered what you said earlier," Lu Xing said softly. "There might be some misunderstanding here."

Li Fan rolled his eyes. "Oh, so I misunderstood you? I'm so sorry."

Lu Xing ignored his tone and calmly stated, "Lu Xing did not leak the plot to attack Tiantai Mountain to my elder brother. Once Real Person Wei breaks the Divine Fire Cover and rescues everyone, we can confront each other publicly."

After all that had happened, Li Fan couldn't be bothered to pay attention.

But Lu Xing's next sentence caught his attention.

"Because I originally didn't know that Tiantai Mountain was the target."

Lu Xing said, facing Li Fan, who suddenly turned his head to stare at her, "We originally thought the ambush on the Jiang Ji Merchant Association was by ordinary bandits. To prevent any enemies from ambushing us, we temporarily invited Yan the Real Person to secretly guard us.

We tracked the traces at the scene and followed them using a secret method. It was only when we followed them to Tiantai Mountain and saw the heinous deeds of these demonic monks that Lu Xing couldn't stand by and watch. So, I consulted with the Fellow Daoists and attacked the monastery in the dead of night, rescuing the women who were plundered by these demonic heads as witnesses, and requested our sect to take action."

Li Fan stared at her, "Are you telling the truth?"

Not only was she telling the truth, but she hadn't finished. "Earlier, Lu Xing searched the monastery's treasury and did not find the lost wealth of the Jiang Ji Merchant Association. As Junior Brother Li said, then this sword fight was indeed orchestrated by someone behind the scenes. They probably wanted to provoke a dispute between Ink Bamboo Mountain and the Nangong Immortals. And now it seems they have succeeded."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes and looked at her for a moment. "What you've said still leaves one point unexplained, and you can't explain it."

Lu Xing nodded. "I know what you mean, Junior Brother Li. Lu Xing truly has no defense on this point. But since you've come to enlighten me in person, I think perhaps only you, Junior Brother Li, have not lied to me in this entire matter.

So, it doesn't hurt to tell you."

She took out a ledger from her embrace and handed it to Li Fan. "This is the wealth entrusted to Jiang Ji for transport by the Lu Family."

Li Fan didn't reach out to take it. He just glanced at it. The accounts listed were all saws, tools, and mechanical parts, which looked like the usual commercial goods shipped by the Lu Family. There was nothing unusual.

"The items were swapped. What was transported out were not ordinary woodworking tools from the market," Lu Xing said slowly. "They were all from my father's workshop, secret family heirlooms passed down for generations by the Lu Family.

Mortise drills, precision measuring rulers, band saws, and boring machines. These basic tools look no different from ordinary objects. Those who don't understand have no idea of their value. But only these high-precision, high-strength exquisite jigs can be used to manufacture and control the mechanisms of the 'Object Source Hub'!

But these family heirlooms were all secretly sent out by the main wife to my elder brother in Changsi City. I wanted to get them back, but they were intercepted halfway."

Li Fan understood. For mechanical craftsmen, these items were more crucial than magic treasures. They wouldn't speak of them lightly.

To put it plainly, whether it was the study of mechanisms or swordsmithing, everyone understood the blueprints and principles, and people were the same. Why could your creations be imitated by me, but I couldn't? Why could Lu Xing, at such a young age, create a powerful lotus arm that defied nature, while Li Fan, after tinkering in his workshop for a long time, could only assemble a ballista?

The gap lay in the 'tools' of "to do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools."

If your jigs lack precision, the things you make will be crude. Even if you assemble them, they'll only be as large as a ballista. What's the point of studying mechanisms then?

What's the use of snatching a Lotus Arm and attaching it? As long as one has this set of tools, how many Lotus Arms can't be made?

These things, passed down through generations, the Heavenly Craftsmanship artifacts, are the Lu Family's true heritage. Of course, we have to fight to get them back!

Lu Xing saw that Li Fan understood and slowly smiled, her eyes once again flashing with the deep-seated arrogance and madness hidden in her heart. "Before, Junior Disciple Li pointed out that the one who benefits the most is the most suspicious. Lu Xing also followed this logic and has repeatedly speculated about the mastermind behind the scenes. I have a guess, and I'd like to discuss it with Junior Disciple."

"I suspect it's Liqiu Palace. They used the matter of the Li River Dragon Herder disturbing the people to lure my father to Mount Buzhou for an ambush. Then, they used my eldest brother, Lu Qi, who is in Changsi City, as a hostage to steal the Lu Family's Heavenly Craftsmanship heritage. They also used this incident to lure us into eliminating the demons of Tiantai Mountain, thereby triggering the conflict between Ink Bamboo Mountain and the Nangong Immortal Family, allowing the imperial court to profit from it. In the end, they could even pin the blame on me.

Heh heh, to make such a meticulously planned arrangement, it can only be Li Country's Censorate Grand Official Wen Jin."

Liqiu Palace is the palace of the Li Country's ruler, meaning the Li Country's imperial court.

Li Fan listened, stunned, and couldn't help but ask, "This... the imperial court... why would the Censorate do these things? What benefit would provoking a war among immortal families bring to Wen Jin? Does he want a promotion? Or does he have a grudge to settle?"

Lu Xing chuckled coldly, "The Twelve Kingdoms have never had a Chancellor. The positions of Chancellor and Minister are managed by immortal families. Currently, the position of State Preceptor is technically held by the Abbot, but he has been in seclusion in the outer sect for two hundred years and has not entered the palace to see the Emperor.

In the Li Country's court, the Censorate Grand Official is the head of the high officials, the leader of all officials. So, Wen Jin's official career has already reached its peak.

Planning these matters probably brings him no personal benefit at all. As for personal grudges, perhaps there are some, but one who reaches this position would never have too poor a relationship with immortal families on the surface.

However, all the events that have occurred these days, such as slaying the evil dragon, sweeping away the demons, and using Heavenly Craftsmanship techniques for the benefit of the people, are all good deeds that benefit the country and its people.

If he could truly instigate a duel among immortal families and trigger another calamity, then every Heavenly Immortal who dies would mean one less tax burden. A period of war and chaos like the Black Lotus Sect rebellion in the past could be delayed, at least allowing Li Country's Human Dao to recover a sliver of its strength.

Junior Disciple Li, you've probably heard of it. This is what those corrupt scholars call 'not for petty gain, but for great righteousness.' It's competing with heaven for benefits, for the great good of all beings."