Hometown

This time, Li Fan rushed to Changsi City to catch the thieves but found nothing. The ten bastards had escaped without a trace. So, he went to the East Palace for a stroll. As a result, he was stopped by a group of eunuchs and doctors. During the conversation, he used his influence to free the million people in the Jingji from slavery.

The face of an immortal is indeed incredibly powerful, but unfortunately, every time it is used, it inevitably involves karma, leaving behind endless hidden dangers and karmic consequences that will entangle one in tribulations. Therefore, the Xuanmen (Daoist sect) has always avoided using it if possible. After all, once it is used, one must settle all the karma before daring to break through to the next realm. Otherwise, being entangled in karma and facing endless heavenly tribulations is simply courting death.

Li Fan was still too young this time. He was so overwhelmed by the Black Lotus Sect's howling that he softened his heart and made promises to others without thinking. Now look what happened! What could have been a simple act of venting anger, ending with killing a few hundred people, has escalated into something as large as the liberation of slavery. The implications are just too damn wide!

Conservatively speaking, if we actually succeed in this endeavor and come into contact with the slaves of millions of people, the debt of gratitude we'll owe will be immense!

There's no way Li Fan would go through the trouble of doing tasks for each of them to pay off their debts! Especially since these are a group of powerful and influential families who have harmed countless people and deserve to die!

Therefore, he never intended to properly settle this matter from the beginning. Instead, he planned to use the Xuan Tian Liu's Karma-Settling Technique. After some calculations, he estimated that he would have to exterminate tens of thousands of powerful families in Changsi City to clear up the grudges.

These high-ranking officials in purple robes who Li Country were, after all, barbarians from the southern mountains. They didn't know the ways of the Central Plains' Xuanmen (Daoist sects) in handling affairs. When it came to repaying favors, they were always quick to turn their backs and cut things off without hesitation. They actually thought they had gained the favor of the immortals and received a great blessing. They were all beaming with joy at this divine opportunity that would bring blessings to their descendants.

Li Fan, however, was still a bit too thin-skinned to do something like asking for help, turning around and leaving, only to come back and wipe out the whole family later. Feeling guilty, he relented and agreed to stay a little longer until he attended the enthronement ceremony of the King of Li Country.

Fortunately, seeing that Li Fan had initially refused to attend the banquet but then rushed over in a flurry, perhaps indicating some unforeseen circumstances, Real Person Wei of the Discipline Institute promptly delivered the Abbot's decree. This allowed Li Fan to represent Ink Bamboo Mountain at the Ink Bamboo Mountain Ancestral Temple under the name of "Master Qingyue, Guardian of Mozhushan," instead of sitting at the table of "relatives" and further escalating the situation.

Li Fan took this opportunity to calm down and think things through.

Alas, well then. Ink Bamboo Mountain is in dire need of manpower, and his Tai Su New Method is lacking test subjects. Nangong's immortal soldiers are also insufficient. Since we owe these people such a great debt, it would be too wasteful to call for war. So, let the noble families and aristocrats of Li Country be the first batch of test subjects for his Tai Su Dao. Cough cough, let them enjoy the privilege of cultivating the new method first, make some small contributions to the survival of Human Race civilization, and become the light of the righteous path!

Having so pleasantly decided the fate of these people, and feeling that he had made the best use of the wasted food, Li Fan's mood brightened, and he watched the ceremony with a smile.

Speaking of which, the sons of the princes who have inherited the bloodline of Li Heng's three illegitimate sons will now become the legitimate heirs of the Li Country after this ceremony. Among them, Li, will inherit the throne, while Li, Li, will be granted the title of Prince of the Commandery and will be able to officially establish their own fiefdoms.

Of course, the sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple were just a formality; the power transition and territorial division within the court had long been completed. There were so many princes among the imperial family, yet these three names appeared before the abbot and Li Fan, indicating that each of them had considerable support from powerful clans.

Although the influence of these "maternal relatives" cannot compare to that of the Xuanmen Ink Bamboo Mountain, in common parlance, they are still powerful supporters of families with "four generations of high-ranking officials," "cultivation families," and "hereditary military families." Interestingly, Li Fan actually knows one of these three!

After all, Li Fan had a photographic memory. When he saw the youngest and tallest of the three, the handsome young man, Li, he looked him over and over, feeling like he had seen him somewhere before. Finally, halfway through the ceremony, he remembered.

Damn it! Isn't that the fat guy who fought with him for the basic sword energy of Ink Bamboo Mountain in the academy when he first entered the mountain gate, and who even got slapped by Xuan Tian and was chased out of Ink Bamboo Mountain by Fairy Wangshu?

Tsk tsk, this kid has also Foundation Establishment Perfection, and he's actually following the proper path of immortality. He probably has a chance to form his core, and he might even have some royal destiny or some protective buff...

Of course, Li Fan wasn't a petty person, and he wouldn't bully the weak. Now that he was the ancestor of the Li family who was about to become a Nascent Divine Transformation, he still went to settle the score with the little fat guy who had just Foundation Establishment because of a small matter that had offended him in the first five chapters.

He just took one more look and asked Mr. Wei next to him how to pronounce the word "", and made up his mind that if he heard that this guy committed crimes in the future, he would rush to the door and beat him up.

As for the other members of the imperial clan, most of them were useless individuals who had only reached the Golden Core Nascent Soul Stage stages through external alchemy and drug use. Li Fan glanced around casually and suddenly realized that the person he had been looking for was not there.

"Hey, where's Taiping Temple?"

Qiu Liang was overjoyed to be summoned by Li Fan, but upon hearing the question, his face fell.

"Princess Li? She has been in seclusion for many years. I heard that she was assassinated in Lei Marsh and was seriously injured, which left her with a chronic illness. She hasn't appeared in public for a long time, and her attendants attend to everything on her behalf."

Huh? An assassination attempt? Who...? Oh! Was it me? But wait, he didn't seem to have succeeded??

Li Fan was momentarily puzzled. He frowned, rubbed his sparse stubble, and pondered for a while.

"Do you recognize the white-browed eunuch at Taiping Temple?"

As expected, Qiu Liang also remembered this person and immediately replied respectfully.

"This man's surname is Cen, and his Middle Palace Yellow Gate Redundant Servant name is Hun. He is the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat in the Xun Kingdom. A few years ago, he accompanied the new ruler of the Xun Kingdom on a diplomatic mission to the capital to deliver the letter of state. I heard that Princess Li took a liking to him because of his appearance and wanted to keep him by her side to serve her. He is very favored!"

"What? Cen Hun?"

No, it's not the same person at all!

... No, perhaps... it really is the same person...

Li Fan squinted, still unable to figure it out for a moment.

However, Qiu Liang also noticed Li Fan's great interest in Taiping Temple and tentatively asked...

"Young Master, have you taken a fancy to some magical treasure or beauty in the Taiping Temple? Actually, the Taiping Ship made quite a lot of money back then, but in recent years it has been acquiring properties on a large scale and spending money like water. Many things have been pawned."

"But my lord, just name your name! Whatever you desire, we'll get it for you! If that old woman is ungrateful, we'll beat her until she spits it out!"

Upon hearing this, Real Person Wei, with his stern old face, couldn't help but glance at Li Fan sideways.

Li Fan wasn't surprised. He could tell that these eunuchs from the west of the city didn't get along with the Taiping Temple from the east, and they probably wanted him to stand up for them. Now that the ruler had changed, it did seem like the west was gaining the upper hand. He smiled for a moment, then suddenly his expression hardened.

Whose land is that in Heping Fang of the city?

Qiu Liang was overjoyed. "It was taken by the Taiping Ship! So that's the land you've set your sights on, Lord Marquis? I'll go through fire and water to get it for you!"

This time, Li Fan didn't refuse. "Okay, give it to me!"

Then he turned his head and whispered something to the head of the Discipline Institute, who looked depressed. The latter listened for a while, nodded with a gloomy face, and then, disregarding the fact that the ceremony was still in progress and the surprised looks coming from all around, he wrapped himself in his robes and suddenly transformed into a flock of crows and flew out of the Imperial City.

The royal relatives, officials, and ministers were initially surprised, but when they saw Qingyue sitting calmly to the side, seemingly dozing off and lost in thought, the commotion subsided, and they continued their worship of the heavens and ancestors of the Li Country.

Meanwhile, Li Fan, or rather Li Fan's clone Li Er, was carrying the remnants of the Black Lotus Sect he had captured from underground, and following the old man selling wontons and the girl eating wontons, into Heping Fang in the Changsi City.

Actually, he had originally captured the remnants of the Black Lotus Sect and intended to hand them over to the Discipline Institute for interrogation. However, after coming to the ground, he first checked on the condition of these two people, since they had been affected by his Xuanhuo. So, Li Fan casually stuffed a handful of elixirs into each of their hands, which they swallowed with wonton soup. This cured their disabilities and gynecological diseases, and brought them back to life, thus settling the karmic debt.

Then Li Fan casually asked if they knew anything about the Black Lotus Sect, but to his surprise, they knew everything.

"The Black Lotus Sect has long been known in the streets of Changsi City. As long as one worships the Wusheng Laomu at home, all evil spirits will not harm them and all ghosts will not invade. Therefore, every household worships her. Although the imperial court strictly investigates demonic sects and rebels, the people below dare not offend the gods and lose their protection, so they all turn a blind eye."

But then Young Master Lu came. If you worshipped the ancestral tablets they distributed and attended religious gatherings, you could receive a monthly allowance and have porridge to drink. So, for a while, worshipping the ancestral tablets became popular. But now, people have gone back to worshipping their mothers.

The girl, named Xiaolian, was quite lively and adorable; she had recovered from her illness and eaten her fill of wontons. The old man, named Huaiwu, was grateful to Li Fan for healing his legs and eyes, and offered to lead the way to the Black Lotus Sect's headquarters in the city. In a good mood, he talked quite a bit.

"Yes, I remember a few years ago when Young Master Lu was in charge, it was a rare time of peace in Changsi City. Everyone had money to earn and porridge to drink. The unruly scoundrels in the neighborhood would be dealt with by Young Master Lu without the government having to give any orders."

"And with a rare good official like Wei Hu keeping order in the court, the court's lackeys dare not set foot in Young Master Lu's territory to act arrogantly and oppress the people. Even Wang Lang and Guo Bao, though fiercely fighting among themselves, rarely bother us servants. It's just a pity that those good days are gone forever."

Xiao Lian nodded repeatedly, "The city was so lively when the Fourth Young Master was here. I even earned a gold coin one day!"

Huai Wu shook his head with a bitter smile, "Now, hehe, the imperial court says that Young Master Lu is a remnant of the Demonic Cult. All the leaders under Young Master Lu were arrested and killed back then. Now, none of the Four Young Masters are left. That plague god sits in the yamen, and bullies and gangs run rampant in the neighborhoods. They are all lackeys and henchmen of those powerful people in the east. They run rampant in the neighborhoods every day, bullying the good and honest."

Li Fan couldn't help but ask, "Doesn't Ink Bamboo Mountain care?"

"Ink Bamboo Mountain? Why would those immortals concern themselves with such matters?" Xiaolian had never heard of it.

"You mean the Mohists?" Huai Wu did remember. "I heard that in the past, there were often swordsmen from the south, chivalrous and righteous, but they liked to assassinate high-ranking officials and behead regional governors, often causing rivers of blood to flow. This would attract the Imperial Guards to rush into the neighborhood from all directions to sweep through, making it impossible to do business or survive. Now they don't come as often, so it's actually easier for them..."

This is it. Over the years, strange and monstrous creatures have frequently appeared in the Yong'an Channel. They are very active at night and often eat people and cause trouble. However, in these chaotic times, there are dead people everywhere for them to eat, so the big shots above don't care.

The Black Lotus Sect is located in Heping Fang. They captured a demon and sealed it away. Sometimes, poor people, starving and desperate, would come begging for meat. If they were lucky, they could join the Black Lotus Sect.

... What??

At first, Li Fan didn't understand, but then he saw it for himself.

One of the Non-Thing Devil Seed was actually trapped.

The six altars of the Black Lotus Sect's Vacuum Home formed a black hole resembling a six-petaled black lotus, trapping the demon god within its core.

This Non-Thing Devil Seed is enormous and rather weak; it cannot fly or burrow underground. Once it touches the altar's area, it screams as it is torn apart by the Vacuum Home, which takes away a large chunk of tentacle-like flesh. Therefore, even though it is illuminated by the False Moon every night, it cannot grow too big. It is left with only a bizarre, indistinguishable mass of flesh, with its head and torso blurred and trapped in the altar of the Black Lotus Sect's Vacuum Home.

Meanwhile, some members of the Black Lotus Sect, some cloaked in black and tattooed with black lotuses, used knives, forks, axes, and halberds to poke through the gaps in the Vacuum Home magic array, stabbing wildly until they pulled out a large lump of rotten mud-like Devil Embryo flesh.

Then many poor people in line went up one by one, first worshipped their mother, then called out to their Vacuum Home, and then picked up the demon god's flesh and blood, swallowed it into their mouths to digest and transform.

Nine times out of ten, they'd be fried into a pile of mangled flesh on the spot, which meant they'd at least had a good meal before they died.

However, only one or two out of ten survive. Although they are all deformed and grotesque, they are given a robe to cover their bodies and branded with a black lotus, becoming followers of the Black Lotus Sect.

"Holy crap..."

Li Fan was shocked, especially when he saw hundreds of poor people numbly watching as those in front of him exploded into blood and flesh, leaving a mess of bones and shattered flesh on the ground, yet still rushing forward to receive the blessing of the Wusheng Laomu. He was truly shocked.

"No, you guys, aren't you scared when you see that thing?"

Xiao Lian looked at the freakish Black Lotus Sect and said, "It's alright, everyone's just gambling with their lives because they can't survive. If they could have a bowl of wontons to eat every day, who would want to become like that?"

Then Li Fan saw a child who was probably malnourished eat a piece of demon god's flesh and blood. Four wings sprouted from his shoulders and two thighs grew from his pelvis, supporting him as he stood up.

Then a group of the Black Lotus Sect followers smiled and opened their arms to greet him and embrace him.

The child was initially frightened and casually tore two Black Lotus Sect members to pieces, but the members smiled and continued to approach and embrace him. The child then calmed down, embraced the other cult members, accepted the Black Lotus tattoo, withdrew his deformity, and returned to his small, frail human form.

Huai Wu sighed, "Alas, what won't a dying man do? I've heard that becoming a member of the Black Lotus Sect can free one from suffering, lead to Vacuum Home, and end the bullying. Many people probably come for that reason, right?"

I don't know if there's Vacuum Home, but I've heard that if you join the Black Lotus Sect, they have a secret method to break the indenture and allow you to freely leave Changsi City and live in a Black Lotus Sect village.

Look, they even give out amulets!

Then Li Fan saw a man who was probably the leader come out and take out a sachet to hang around the child's neck.

Li Fan suddenly understood something, threw down the Black Lotus Sect members he was carrying on his shoulder, and took out the sachet around his neck and opened it.

There was a tofu voucher in the sachet, indicating that the cause and effect had been settled.

"Hometown... Vacuum Home... hometown..."

The man, who had been knocked unconscious by Li Fan, was still dazed, tears of joy streaming from his eyes as he drifted in and out of consciousness, lost in a dream.

Okay, so the Luo Sect, the Black Lotus Sect, so the tofu tickets from the Heavenly Clothes are being used here?

Li Fan sighed, stuffed the tofu ticket back into the sachet, and returned it to the follower.

... Yeah, that's true. Demons, ghosts, Non-Thing, demon gods, Daoist ancestors—ha, what are they anyway? What if you run into them? It's just death. What's so scary about death? Death is liberation, okay?

As long as a person lives in this world, there will be all kinds of suffering, fear, resentment, jealousy, hunger, and the inability to live or die. Living is like being in hell.

The most terrifying thing is always this human world.

People who can survive even in this kind of world, what are you, some Devil Embryo or demon god, afraid of...?

Amidst the cawing of crows overhead, Li Fan stood up, waved his hand, and unleashed a stream of fire that ignited the sky.

"Hey, come with me! I promised, no one will hold you back anymore! Come with me to Vacuum Home!"