Old Friends

Although the cultivators of Xun Kingdom somewhat sensed that an immortal had suddenly appeared and was collecting books, a quick scan with their Divine Sense revealed that they couldn't discern the other party's true strength. They knew that this was probably some kind of reclusive old monster who had come out to play. You may be having fun in the mortal world, but everyone else is just getting paid by the army. Fortunately, the city has been captured, so there's no need to be stubborn and rush to your death.

So Li Fan brazenly put out the fire and snatched the books while the army watched. In the end, Li Fan and Kun rescued a total of 70,000 scrolls from Jiangling City, of which tens of thousands of fragments were charred and half-destroyed, and most of the writing was illegible. As for those destroyed by the fire and damaged during the previous siege, the number was unknown.

Since he was already here, and with his business settled, Li Fan flew away and circled around Jiujiangkou, revisiting the place.

Outside Jiangling City, most of the eastern hill of the Prince's Mansion was submerged. The Iron Apricot Temple Nunnery had been transformed into a military camp and a key point in the water attack formation, where a large army had gathered. The entire mountain of ginkgo trees had been cut down, and of course, the Xiao Family's Golden Silver Treasure Tree had also disappeared without a trace, it was unknown whether they had fallen into the hands of Penglai or Hengshan.

Jiujiang City was also shrouded in a somber atmosphere. The Iron Buddha Temple was closed to visitors, with only a few elderly monks sweeping the floors. There wasn't a single cultivator at the Golden Core or Nascent Soul Realm. Li Fan inquired and learned that the Iron Buddha Iron Buddha Temple, having received offerings from the Xun Kingdom for so many years, naturally had to accept orders and go to war during this time of great chaos. Abbot Fa Jue and his three bald-headed companions, along with nearby rogue cultivators, were currently fighting alongside the army in the Luofeng Mountain. As for the others, these sweepers were unknown.

So Li Fan casually cast a divination in the temple and found that Xie Mingchen had already died and was in Luofeng Mountain. He was definitely useless in the current battle and was probably hiding in Luo Feng Cave Heaven, just like the new disciples Xiang Xiaoyu Nie Feilian.

As for Yang Sheng, to Li Fan's surprise, it seemed he had gone back to Li Country again. Wasn't this guy still wanted by the authorities? And he was clearly a talent appreciated by the Grand Tutor, so why didn't he return to Sanyuan to serve as an official?

Forget it, everyone has their own ambitions. If he's not dead, then let's leave him be. Anyway, there are already a lot of new recruits in Li Family Village. Let's go and bring Xiang Xiaoyu and Nie Feilian back to Moshan to raise them together.

So Li Fan did the math and realized that he had to teleport to the Luofeng Mountain, where the armies of Xun Kingdom and Luofeng were fighting each other, creating a bloodbath.

Li Fan had originally intended to secretly offer his help and take sides. But upon closer inspection, he realized that Luo Feng didn't seem to need his assistance...

For example, what he was seeing now was a Xun Kingdom army being attacked in the dense forest. Luo Feng's Mountain Ghosts soldiers burst out from all directions, cutting this Xun Kingdom army, which consisted of only a few Golden Core Realm generals, into several pieces, slaughtering them and returning with their heads. They disappeared into the dense forest like ghosts. In less than half an hour, this small team of hundreds or thousands of people was cleanly and efficiently wiped out and swallowed up by the mountains.

These Luofeng Mountain are actually putting up a good fight against the Xun Kingdom. But why is the Xun Kingdom so weak? Even though they used to send 100,000 troops to besiege them in the past, they weren't this easily defeated, were they? How could they be ambushed and wiped out? What about the cultivators from Hengshan?

Actually, there were some, and they weren't far away. There were military camps and strongholds set up by the Xun Kingdom at the nearby mountain peaks and spiritual vein nodes. However, the cultivators from Hengshan and the Xun Kingdom were in seclusion within the formations of those strongholds, completely ignoring the annihilation of this small team and not coming to their aid.

What's going on? Nobody betrays their teammates like that!

Li Fan disappeared and circled around, observing the battle situation and making calculations, roughly figuring out the cause and effect.

The strategic goals are different now.

In the past, when the Ruler of Xun Country, the suppression of the Luo Feng rebels was a collective activity aimed at enhancing national cohesion. Anyway, the Thunder Department would take the lead, and Xun would follow behind, capturing serfs, plundering people, seizing resources, and training private armies. The various armies usually stationed themselves on the outskirts of the mountains to carry out mopping-up operations, and would not go so deep. It was just a token effort and that was it. To put it bluntly, it was about nurturing bandits to enhance their own prestige.

But now Hengshan is truly going to destroy the mountain and its temples, and wipe out the entire clan.

After all, Luo Feng is still very strong. It is no joke that he has seven Divine Lords in one family. Moreover, the quality of the Mountain Ghosts Soldiers is significantly higher than that of the Xun Kingdom. Not to mention that they were originally the successors of the Eight Feudal Immortal Armies, and in recent years they have been training with the special forces of the Three Enclosure Thunder Department and the elite private troops of the Xun Kingdom generals. Their tactical skills have been honed.

On the other hand, in the Xun Kingdom, the Thunder Department was transferred to the Kun Country and destroyed. Due to the power struggle between the two palaces, Quan Huang, the commander -Quan Huang who was originally in charge of conquering Luo Feng, abandoned his army and fled with his family because he sided with the Prince of Lu. His generals and officers were implicated and purged, causing widespread panic.

Command of the Xun Kingdom's army has now completely fallen into the hands of the immortals of Hengshan.

Just kidding. A proper immortal is in seclusion every day, too busy practicing the Five Arts to learn how to command. He'd be lucky to even be able to trap people and attack them!

The immortals themselves weren't stupid; on the contrary, they were very shrewd. So they didn't bother with any new tricks or fancy maneuvers. Instead, they adopted the simplest tactics: advancing step by step, encircling and suppressing the enemy from all sides.

Therefore, Hengshan not only transferred troops from all over Xun Kingdom, but even filling the mountainous area with 100,000 to 200,000 troops was not enough. He also mobilized scattered cultivators from all over the country, borrowed troops from the Nangong, and even strategically transported demons to launch surprise attacks.

Along the entire front, small groups of troops from both sides were constantly infiltrating each other's defenses, engaging in fierce battles and struggles on hilltop after hilltop and node after node. The cultivators only showed themselves when attacking the spiritual vein nodes on the hilltops; otherwise, they held their positions and guarded each stronghold to prevent Luo Feng from launching a counterattack.

Those cannon fodder soldiers from Xun Kingdom, numbering in the hundreds or thousands, would advance headlong into the dense forest. If they were wiped out, so be it. But as long as they could advance to the next hilltop and establish a camp, the immortals would arrive to set up defenses and formations, shrinking the encirclement considerably. Yes, it's about having more people to bully you when you have fewer.

With the overt and covert support of Hengshan and the Demon Race clan allies, relying on their superior numbers and relentless attacks day and night, they pushed the battle line across each mountain peak, eliminating the spiritual vein nodes of Luofeng Mountain, and sparing no expense to send in more people, gradually compressing the Luofeng mountain area. It is estimated that once they occupy the outer peaks and completely seal off the mountain veins, they will establish a grand formation to besiege Luo Feng Cave Heaven.

When that time comes, it will be the time for the immortals of Hengshan and Luofeng to fight to the death. Therefore, the cultivators are trying their best to avoid unnecessary battles and losses. If they are injured, they will most likely perish in the calamity when the final battle begins.

Luo Feng was well aware of Hengshan's dull and bloody tactics, but instead of staying in his cave and waiting to die, he took the initiative to attack, relying on the elite of the Mountain Ghosts soldiers.

Relying on their familiarity with the complex terrain, they moved stealthily through the mountains, employing mobile warfare and surprise attacks to cut off supply lines, burn hastily built camps, launch counterattacks on hilltops, and ambush and encircle the enemy. They repeatedly depleted the Xun Kingdom's troops and supplies, breaking through encirclements time and again to recapture camps, forcing wave after wave of Hengshan soldiers to commit suicide. They probably intended to use tactical victories to delay the strategic process, waiting for a dramatic change in the global situation.

Their fighting spirit alone is admirable, but Li Fan also knew that Luo Feng definitely couldn't hold out.

So what if one sect has seven Divine Transformation? Even if two of them recently suffered injuries during their enlightenment, Hengshan definitely still has many old Nascent Soul masters hidden away. Moreover, Hengshan is now the leading force of the Shangqing Palace, and it has the support of so many Xuanmen sects. When the time comes, each sect can easily send one or two Divine Transformation to help, and destroying Luofeng will be a piece of cake, right?

Now that Jiujiangkou has been captured by Xun State, even if Grand Tutor sweeps through Zhen with overwhelming force, it probably won't advance westward along the Yangtze River so quickly. Moreover, that cunning Grand Tutor might just sit idly by and watch Hengshan and Luofeng fight to the death, hoping they'll both perish, so he can reap the benefits and digest Zhen Country's legacy.

So the only question is, since the Grand Tutor and Penglai have also secretly colluded, what choice will Hengshan make?

When will Luo Feng, this thorn in our side, be eliminated? To what extent? What price are we willing to pay? How much support from the various sects will we need to secure?

Of course, the longer Luofeng Mountain persists, the more beneficial it will be for Ink Bamboo Mountain. However, the main force of Ink Bamboo Mountain's cultivators is currently engaged in the development of the Ten-thousand-mountains, and they cannot yet do what Hengshan did, which launched attacks from two directions simultaneously.

Li Fan still has a last resort: he can personally launch a dimensional attack, unleashing his true form to destroy the heavens and the earth, wiping out the Hengshan Xuanmen and the Xun Kingdom's army, which could turn the tide of the battle.

But it's easy to unleash the demons in one's heart, but difficult to rein them in. If he does that, he might truly become the complete and utter Demon Ancestor of the Primordial Chaos, and what difference would there be between him and the Nangong Seven Thieves?

Although he has lost all humanity and is now just a shell of a person, Li Fan still hopes to be a 'human being'. Therefore, he can only restrain himself at all times and remember to act according to human rules.

So Li Fan visited Luo Feng Cave Heaven again, delivering a letter to express his intention to take back the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain who were being held there. He also hinted that if any young disciples of the Luo Feng lineage wanted to be sent to Ink Bamboo Mountain for refuge, they could be taken along as well.

Luo Feng Cave Heaven also treated him with exceptional courtesy. As soon as Li Fan's visiting card was placed inside, a Thunder Roar erupted, followed by a dazzling display of light, rolling clouds, and magnificent palaces that opened up to welcome him into the cave heaven.

From afar, a cultivator dressed in a bright yellow robe appeared, his upper body clad in magnificent immortal garments, while his lower body was shrouded in a golden, shimmering armor. At first glance, he seemed to be standing on the head of some kind of four-legged monster, riding the clouds and mist as he approached.

But upon closer inspection, one can vaguely see four enormous, hairless claws peeking out from beneath the floor-length battle robe, resembling the claws of an ape, as if a humanoid monster were crawling beneath the robe.

It turned out that the Jueyin Shenjun himself came out to greet them.

"When we met last year, Li Daoyou had only just entered the True Person realm. I never imagined that you would have already transcended the Tribulation Divine Transformation! Your advancement in realm has been so rapid. The cultivation of the Divine Lord Qingyue is truly astonishing. I wonder if you have any secrets?"

Li Fan bowed to the monster shrouded in battle robes below, "You flatter me, Divine Lord. Just bask in the Moon and eat more meat."

Well, this is the real Lord of Absolute Sound. The one above is just an ornament. But Li Fan has seen all sorts of strange things, and it's impolite to just glance at everyone. He won't bother to see what kind of bizarre thing he's cultivated into that he needs to cover it up with a cloth...

"I see, I thought so too. It just so happens that my elders have just emerged from seclusion and have been talking about Lord Qingyue. Please."

The Jueyin Shenjun didn't mind that Li Fan had seen through his true form. The human figure on his waist smiled, and the mysterious clouds beneath his feet swirled, transforming into a fragrant carriage. He raised his hand, gesturing for Li Fan to ride with him into the cave heaven. Perhaps the defensive arrangements, formations, and barriers within the cave heaven were not convenient for outsiders to see.

Li Fan was taken aback. "Luo Feng Patriarch has emerged from seclusion? Uh, well, in a time of crisis, it's certainly necessary to intervene. However, that Taiyin Heavenly Demon Cave, the forbidden area that your sect has guarded for generations..."

The humanoid figure atop the head of the Jueyin Shenjun replied, seemingly unrelated to the question, "I, Luo Feng, have been preparing for the decisive battle to come for a long time. When the crucial moment arrives, we will retreat into the Taiyin Jing Tian Palace and wait for the heavenly secrets to be settled before emerging from the mountain again."

Oh, so you guys are planning to wait for Hengshan to break into the cave, then Door Opening, unseal all those demons, let them fight to the death, and watch from the sidelines, right?

The Jueyin Shenjun also chuckled.

Li Fan naturally understood Jueyin Shenjun meant. "Our Luo Feng lineage has guarded the Immortal Palace for so many years. Even if we haven't achieved anything, we've certainly put in the effort. And you bastards actually dared to try and destroy my sect? Twice?! This is intolerable! Even if I can tolerate it, I can't! Let's flip the table! At worst, we'll all perish together!"

"..." Li Fan sighed and reminded him, "Divine Lord, when I was exorcising demons in Lei Marsh Swamp, I discovered that many demons had demons possessing their bodies. It seems that the Demon Race has already developed a method for cultivating the primordial spirit of demons."

Moreover, many of them are now under the command of Hengshan and have come to besiege your sect. I'm afraid Hengshan already has countermeasures against the demons beneath the Taiyin Heavenly Demon Cave, so we must be on guard."

Upon hearing this, the Jueyin Shenjun chuckled and the humanoid figure atop him smiled as he inquired,

"In this situation, I wonder what good advice the Divine Lord Qingyue has for me?"

Li Fan thought for a moment, "How about we negotiate? The journey to the South China Sea isn't far, and there are still established sects there that can help us avoid this calamity. After all, those sea monsters are easier to fight than the Xuanmen. Hengshan's ambition lies in the Central Plains, and they won't go to extremes. My Ink Bamboo Mountain will mediate, and the three families can swear an oath of non-war and jointly guard the Heavenly Demon Cave, how about that?"

The Jueyin Shenjun chuckled.

The humanoid figure nodded, "Fellow Daoist is quite right. I share the same sentiment."

"Bah! Anyone who wants to escape, just get lost! I won't stop you, but if you escape, don't call yourselves the Luo Feng Immortal Army!"

The human form of the Jueyin Shenjun spread his hands, making way for Li Fan to step out of the carriage. The two had already arrived inside the main hall of the Luo Feng Immortal Palace. The Jueyin Shenjun Lord bowed to the throne, gave Li Fan a look, probably asking him to persuade him, and then withdrew from the hall.

Then Li Fan looked up and saw a giant sitting on the throne in the main palace! He was a giant of steel and muscle! It was as if he had just emerged from the pool of blood, and his pores were radiating hot currents, just like cooking smoke!

Good heavens, is this Luo Feng Old Lord undergoing a transformation? He's grown ten times taller and his cultivation has increased tenfold?

However, it was also clear that this guy had clearly risen to the path of Martial God, as if his muscles were getting stronger with every breath. In the giant's hand, he held a huge banner that was five zhang long. Although it was also the Luo Feng Army Banner of Purple Heaven and White Phoenix, it was not the spirit banner magic weapon that Li Fan had seen before. It was just a long spear with the banner rolled up.

Therefore, Li Fan guessed that although Luo Feng Patriarch had emerged from seclusion, the supreme treasure was probably still suppressing Chi Mei Wangliang beneath the Heavenly Demon Cave. Reassured, he advised...

"Why bother, Ancestor? The fate of heaven has changed, and demons are running rampant. Only through unity and cooperation can we overcome this crisis. In such a calamity, wouldn't it be better to have one more person contribute? Fighting to the death with Hengshan will only result in mutual destruction and is not worth it... Wait a while, perhaps there really is a turning point?"

If you can wait a bit, Lao Tzu will attain enlightenment. At that time, this wild animal will directly jump from six dimensions to two dimensions. Why not take advantage of that?

"Pah! What's there to be afraid of! Is a Dao Lord so great? Even if I can't beat him, I can still bite off a piece of his flesh! Let's see who dares to touch me!"

Luo Feng Old Lord said to Li Fan, "You don't need to try to persuade me. I, Luo Feng Jun, have been entrusted by the Immortal Lord to guard the Immortal Prison for the Human Race, not to guard the gates of the Immortal Palace and Xuanmen! Even if we retreat all the way to the Taiyin Heavenly Demon Cave, we will not be able to break the seal until all the Luo Feng soldiers are wiped out!"

Upon hearing the immortal's entrustment, Li Fan knew he couldn't dissuade him. This matter was definitely related to one's Dao heart, and he couldn't give up easily. This old ghost was still such a martial artist; he was determined to fight to the death.

"How come your cultivation has progressed so quickly, kid Tai Su Dao's truly unbelievable..."

Feeling uncomfortable under the intense gaze of this muscular man, Li Fan quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, I have a question for you. Laozi is acquainted with my master and the abbot. I wonder if you have ever heard of the Nangong Seven Thieves?"

Luo Feng Old Lord, raised his eyebrows. "How could I not know? I was the one who named it."

Li Fan was embarrassed. "No, how did it become the name you gave it?"

Old Ghost sneered, "Back then, I had an elder brother who inherited the military leadership, so I went to the Three Palaces to serve as the Left Supervisor of the Tingwei, specializing in catching thieves and robbers. The case of the Nangong Seven Thieves was reported to me by Feng A when he went to the capital. Speaking of which, the Barefoot Guy was my informant back then, and I was the one who introduced the two of them. Now they've abandoned me and are hanging out with me all the time, humph!"

Li Fan: "Hiss... Explain in detail! Explain in detail!"

Luo Feng Old Lord, was also bored out of his mind. "Alright, actually Feng A has gathered intelligence that the Nangong Family is colluding with the Demonic Sect and performing a blood sacrifice to the Demon God. He came to me to report the case. That Nangong Wubu gang is not just petty thieves, they are plotting a rebellion! They definitely have to be taken down!"

But he was, after all, the ruler of eight vassal states, and his faction was spread throughout the court and the country, so he could not be easily moved. Therefore, I Feng A and found the then Imperial Censor, now the Grand Tutor, Duke of Shouyang, to help us. The three of us then secretly investigated the rebellion of the Nangong faction.

However, many things happened later, and the general trend of the world was beyond our control. Several attempts to capture them all failed, so we had to take action with the Three Great Sects to wipe out the Luo Sect. Later, even Nangong Wubu himself was captured and killed, and the matter of the Seven Thieves finally came to an end.

Later, the Three Enclosures attacked Luo Feng Immortal Army, changing the dynasty of Xun Kingdom and almost severing the Immortal Army's Daoist Tradition. I had no choice but to resign my official post and return to inherit the family business."

Li Fan broke out in a cold sweat. Damn, so there was this connection after all this time. And it turns out that Mountain Lord and Luo Feng Old Lord were actually in the same relationship as Bai Zhantang and Zhan Hongling...

"To be honest, senior, for some reason, I've also been investigating the whereabouts of the remnants of the Nangong Seven Thieves. I found out that there's a Zhi Jingzi who claims to be one of the Nangong Seven Friends. He also claims to be the reincarnation of Huangfu Jing, a disciple of the Beichen Sword Sect. Do you know anything about him?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Feng Old Lord raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Good lad, you've even figured out that seventh person. Feng A racked his brains but still couldn't guess who he was. How about becoming a constable?"

How come you're all so bald?! And you're all either jailers or constables!

Old Ghost rested his chin on his hand and said, "However, I have also investigated Zhi Jingzi, whom you mentioned. Although he had connections with the Nangong faction, he quickly returned to the mountain to go into seclusion and hardly participated in any other demonic activities. He cleaned up the mess very well. Unless we catch him performing a ritual on the spot, it will be very difficult to find out whether he was using a clone to cause trouble in the case of the Nangong Seven Thieves back then."

However, when we investigated back then, we also discovered that this "Seventh Friend" was from the direct line of Beichen. He often used the secret techniques of the Sword Sect when killing people, so he must have a close relationship with the Sword Ancestor Xuantian who had been missing for many years. Therefore, we even set up a trap to test Yan Xingyun twice, but found that they were not the same person.

Huangfu Jing... Could he be a descendant of Huangfu Yi...? It seems I guessed wrong. I thought he was Chen Jinu."

Upon suddenly hearing that name, Li Fan momentarily lost his breath, but he managed to calm down a bit, suppressing the inexplicable emotions in his heart, and slowly asked,

"... Who are you talking about?"

"Oh, you rarely hear of that in the Li Country, right? Ji Nu means a slave kept in a household. Many aristocratic families kept private slaves, and the children born to these slaves would remain slaves for generations. Of course, no one would bother to give them names. So they would all take their master's surname and be called so-and-so Ji Nu. Yuan Ji Nu, Xie Ji Nu, Wang Ji Nu, Xiao Ji Nu, there are many such names in the Central Plains."

The second disciple of the Sword Ancestor Xuantian was none other than Chen Jinu. I even inquired about him specifically. It is said that the Sword Ancestor originally wanted to change his name and give him a Daoist title, but he refused, saying that only by remembering this name could he remember his origins and know what kind of person he should be. The Sword Ancestor seemed to think that a humble name would make him easier to raise, so he let him be.

However, after he became an immortal and attained enlightenment, no one dared to call him by that name to his face anymore. They were generally respectfully addressed as Real Person, Swordsman Chen, or something similar.