The Storm Was Brewing

Li Fan traveled through the tunnels for several days, chasing the trail all the way to the outskirts of the Jingji, but he was unable to trace the source of Yuan Feng's iron flow. He discovered that the rat's nest seemed to be just a transit point. The underground world that these rats had dug was far beyond his imagination, and they had even created an underground world in the entire Central Plains Jingji capital region!

In reality, the direct workload of the rats was not large, because the current Sanyuan was originally the new Wang Jing. The Immortal Palace had existed for a long time, experiencing wars and repeated reconstructions. It had been razed to the ground several times by civil wars. The turmoil that occurred a few days ago, such as burning Sand Scroll and leveling half of the city, was not worth mentioning at all.

Therefore, the real old capital had long been submerged underground. The ruined royal city, the destroyed palaces, and the ancestral tombs of the local noble families were all built under the sand and soil of the Three Walls. Some of these buildings still possessed spiritual power and could generate spaces similar to underground palaces. So what the rats did was dig tunnels, digging tunnels under the entire royal domain to connect all these tombs and old palaces.

But this threw Yuan Feng and Tie Liu's whereabouts into disarray. Various forks in the road had their own causes and effects, and there were probably some minor side quests and opportunities in the Fourth Department underground palaces as well. So Li Fan could only dart around in the rat hole, trying his luck. After hiding in the tunnel for an unknown amount of time, a stone door suddenly appeared in front of him, and a maid was peeking out of the door and staring at him, which startled him and made him feel a little down.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that this wasn't a real person either, but rather an entrance design featuring a maid opening the door, likely intended to scare away tomb raiders.

Li Fan took a closer look and discovered that the maid was a stone sculpture covered with a layer of dried skin. There were two bloody holes around her eyes. The inside of the stone sculpture was hollow, seemingly filled with bits of flesh, which had probably been eaten by worms and rats. The maid's back was covered with evil curses, which looked as if they had been dug out by hand.

After studying it, Li Fan deduced that it was a kind of witchcraft. It involved killing a living person, skinning them, mashing them into mud, pouring the mud into a stone-made clay doll through the holes in their eyes, then covering the doll with the skin to seal their soul, preventing them from being reincarnated. The doll was then placed at the entrance of the tomb to guard the tomb owner. If a tomb raider broke in, they would be cursed to death by the vengeful spirit on the spot.

Why does Li Fan find it so familiar? To be honest, it's somewhat similar to the Sword Child Ancient Technique of the Sword Sect. The Child Sword also has some similar pupil light techniques, probably some evil techniques passed down from the ancient Immortal Palace period.

So many years have passed, the Dharma has dissipated, the Tao has vanished, but I wonder if this maid's hatred has dissipated...

Li Fan glanced at the stone maid's pair of blood-filled eyes, sighed, pulled the stone sculpture out, tucked it under his arm, and went straight into the main tomb. He slapped the jade door open, then grabbed it and flipped open the coffin lid of the tomb's occupant.

"Ah--!!"

The moment the coffin was opened, the spiritual energy within was activated, and the owner of the immortal zombie in the tomb leaped out!

This corpse remains incorrupt to this day, dressed in the robes of a high-ranking official, all woven from pure silk, as bright and fresh as ever. The nine orifices of its body, including its eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, are still filled with burial jade to replenish its vital energy and protect its body. Although its lifespan has ended and its soul has dissipated, the way its palms pierce the face still has the power to break the sound. It is likely that it was once a master of the Divine Transformation Realm!

Li Fan was prepared. He dodged and grabbed the immortal zombie by the collar, shaking it to shatter the talisman, yin jade, protective magic Magic Treasure, and even the skin and flesh of the zombie's shinbone. The zombie instantly lost its ability to move and was thrown out of the tomb like a rag doll, landing with a thud in a rat hole. Its skin began to decay and rot at a visible speed.

Then Li Fan placed the stone maidservant he had been carrying under his arm into the coffin, picked up the coffin lid and covered it for her, chanted a few incantations to help her pass on to the afterlife, and as he turned to leave after completing this side quest, Li Fan suddenly heard a crisp snap behind him.

Turning his head, he saw that the eternal lamp in the tomb had been blown to the ground by the cold wind. Li Fan lifted the lamp and picked it up. His eyes glanced at the silk robes and burial objects scattered on the ground outside, and a thought suddenly struck him. He circled the tomb, calculating as he went, feeling a bit puzzled and suspicious.

He immediately circled the rat hole several times, explored several more tombs and underground palaces, and drew a route map on the ground from memory, which made everything clear at once.

These rats weren't there to rob a tomb, and their burrows weren't dug randomly. Their entry into the tomb's underground palace wasn't a coincidence. It's just that our ancestors happened to place the tomb's underground palace at the nodes of the earth's veins, and these rats' purpose was to open up these nodes and connect the energy veins of the Three Enclosures Underground Array.

Someone is using these rats to set up an array—a massive array encompassing the entire Wang Jing!

Were they here for the Grand Tutor?

Li Fan looked at his sketch, his brows furrowed. He could only glimpse a part of the whole picture through a small part. The Sanyuan region was so vast; he couldn't figure out who had set up the formation, what its effects were, where the rats had built their nests, how long they had been secretly transporting Yuanfeng Liutie, or how much weaponry they had accumulated. He also couldn't fathom the extent of the rat army's preparations underground.

What if this formation is another massive Ten Ultimate Formation? How many people in the Jingji could survive...?

Even if it's not a powerful killing move like the Ten Ultimate Formation, just the sudden appearance of so many rats would surely cause widespread destruction.

Given the typical behavior of high-ranking officials, they wouldn't care about the lives of ordinary people. Besides, they're all high above them now, living on a flying immortal island. Unless they're unlucky enough to be caught in the grand formation, they'd be gone in a flash if anything happened. Even landslides and earthquakes wouldn't harm them in the slightest.

As for the Grand Tutor, well, with his cunning and patience, what's a rat infestation and the deaths of some commoners? He probably already anticipated this; he's just playing the long game, waiting for the right moment to catch the bigger fish...

Li Fan was also having a bit of a headache. Should he continue searching to find the culprit and defuse the bomb, or should he immediately go out to report to the authorities and organize the evacuation of the people?

If we wipe out the rat nests underground in North Mang Mountain immediately, what will we do with the remaining forces in other places? What if those who secretly plotted this realize their scheme has been exposed and launch their plan ahead of time? After all, Sanyuan is such a large area; how could they possibly arrange for so many people to escape? What if this underground rat trap isn't actually that serious?

This time, the outcome is truly uncertain...

Li Fan gritted his teeth and finally decided to take the gamble.

He was betting that the lives of ordinary people were insignificant to either the Grand Tutor or the forces opposing him.

As long as the Grand Tutor remains at home and doesn't give him a chance, the others on the chessboard won't take the initiative to reveal their hand!

So as long as Li Fan doesn't reveal this card first, he still has time!

So Li Fan immediately teleported back to the surface, first finding a map of the Three Enclosures and studying it for a while, making a plan, and then, in the name of the Minister of Works, approaching the contractors and expressing his intentions.

Cao Yuan, I have discovered that the waterway for transporting goods to and from the Jingji has been in disrepair for many years and is blocked. Moreover, the waterway is quite different from that of Xinjing (the capital). I have decided to conscript the people of the Jingji to clear the blocked waterway and rebuild the canal. This will make it easier to transport stone and timber when rebuilding the capital city, and it can also be used as a commercial port and wharf in the future. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

The contractors were all taken aback, then exclaimed, "Cao Yuan is awesome! But who's going to pay for this?"

Li Fan said, "You can rest assured. I will sell the Yuhou Mansion to raise start-up capital and get this project up and running. Later, the operating rights of the canal will be auctioned off, and I won't have to worry about raising money."

The contractors were all stunned again, and they all said, "Yu Hou is awesome, but what are you after?"

Li Fan said, "Of course it's to serve the court. Fine, just think of me as someone who wants a promotion and wealth, someone who's after empty fame. Let's get to work, it's a matter of life and death, stop talking nonsense."

In fact, the imperial court had been delaying the reconstruction of the canal for a long time, but no one was willing to take the lead in doing such a thankless and troublesome task. Developing real estate was much more profitable, wasn't it? It was rare to find a country bumpkin lunatic who was willing to build infrastructure at his own expense. So, fearing that this fool would realize his mistake and change his mind, the court pushed for it from top to bottom, and it really got going. Tens of thousands of people in the Jingji were conscripted and mobilized to go out of the city to clear the long-blocked canal channel.

Of course, the powerful and wealthy families wouldn't come to serve; only ordinary people from the lower classes came to work. Although they received wages and food, they still complained bitterly, blaming the newly appointed clerk for doing such a wasteful and wasteful thing in order to curry favor with his superiors and the court. He said that even though there were river transport and airships available, he still made them travel dozens of miles to repair some ancient river channel.

Li Fan didn't bother arguing with them. After all, the rat formation covered a rather large area, and it would be safer to go outside the city to avoid disaster. The canal would take at least three to five months to repair, and besides, if something serious happened, there would be no need to repair the canal.

After all, according to Li Fan's calculations, with the undercurrents surging in the Three Realms and the urgent military situation of the Western Divine Cult's invasion, if the Grand Tutor stayed at home any longer, something bad would really happen. Sooner or later, he would be forced to come out and undergo his tribulation, which would mean the outcome would be decided this month.

Yes, these past few days Li Fan has been busy with divination, drilling tunnels, and repairing canals, leaving the imperial court with no time to attend to him. Urgent military reports from the Western Regions have been arriving one after another, and the incompetent officials of the Three Realms have realized that this is the prelude to another large-scale invasion of the Central Plains by the Divine Cult. They are urgently mobilizing a large army for a western expedition. Even Li Fan's proposal to clear the canals was partly motivated by the need to alleviate the transportation of military supplies, which allowed the canals to pass smoothly.

Although Li Fan has managed to arrange for many people to leave the city under various pretexts, it is far from enough given the impending calamity. He decides to seek advice from Zhong Hui, the current true power holder in the Jingji and the Sili Xiaowei.

Yes, Zhong Hui has now been relieved of his post as Zhongshu Lang and officially appointed Sili Xiaowei. It seems that they are wary of his great achievements in pacifying Zhen. In preparation for the western expedition, the Grand Tutor simply replaced the entire staff and promoted a Taiwei Yuan (Grand Tutor's assistant) surnamed Deng to be the governor of Duizhou, responsible for controlling the imperial army and arranging provisions. This also serves as a check on the General Who Conquers the Conquering West General and the border troops of Dui Country. He is cautious in his actions and has many trusted subordinates, all of whom are on guard.

Although Zhong Hui relinquished his military power, he performed extraordinary feats. Wasn't it previously said that the Xinling County Duke was accused of colluding with the Demonic Sect and assassinating the Minister of Works? Now the situation has reversed. It turns out that the assassin of the Minister of Works was someone else entirely— the Chariot and Cavalry General! This ambitious man infiltrating the Three Palaces colluded with the Demonic Sect, assassinated three high-ranking officials, and attempted to overthrow the Grand Tutor! He is truly guilty of heinous crimes!

But my lords need not worry. With the joint efforts of the Guardian General, the Central Guard, the Tingwei, and the Sili Xiaowei, the criminal has been brought to justice! His entire family has been exterminated! The net of justice is vast and its meshes are fine, yet nothing escapes its reach. No criminal can escape the iron fist of punishment!

So Li Fan went to the execution ground to visit the Sili Xiaowei, and coincidentally happened to witness the execution.

Wow, over four hundred members of the family were kneeling, filling the entire execution ground. A high platform stood on the execution ground, with two great spirit officials standing below, and three guillotines—one with a dragon head, one with a tiger head, and one with a dog head—serving on the platform. These were the three first-rank Divine Transformation guillotines, capable of beheading kings and nobles, and beheading commoners! When displayed, they were truly a sight to behold, radiating bloodlust, exuding murderous intent, and displaying overwhelming power!

On one side of the stands, Zhong Hui, dressed in the official robes of the Sili Xiaowei and ordered to oversee the execution, looked up at the sky, calculated that it was noon, threw down his command flag, and shouted, "Execute!"

The captains and guards in the stands roared in unison, "Execute!"

"I obey your command!"

The two innate generals, the Qi Divine Lord, and the Great Spiritual Officer of the Capital Punishment clasped their fists together, opened their divine eyes, and unleashed divine light, shooting straight at the Tiger Head Guillotine!

"Chop!"

A tiger's roar echoed Jingji! The tiger-headed guillotine slashed down! Blood flashed, heads rolled wildly, crimson blood shot into the sky, and the ground was covered in blood; the entire family was wiped out! What a magnificent sight!

Seeing such a grand scene for the first time, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. Upon inquiring, he discovered that this wasn't the first batch. The direct descendants of the former General of Chariot and Cavalry General, Dong, had long been wiped out, and now they were starting to eliminate the Dong clan's vassals, the families of the third branch's sons-in-law, and even exterminate their entire clans.

Besides these relatives, there were also the General of Chariot and Cavalry General's trusted advisors, his subordinate captains and personal guards, all of whom were executed along with their families. In short, don't be fooled by the Grand Tutor's cowardly demeanor; once he gets down to business, he's incredibly decisive. He doesn't play the exile game; he just wipes them out in droves. In total, he must have killed four or five thousand people.

Alas, although powerful clans have a long history and many offspring, they still leave no survivors when they are slaughtered.

Li Fan didn't disturb their work, waiting until all the officials had been beheaded before coming up. Zhong Hui, of course, already knew Li Fan was watching the show, so she stepped out onto the jade steps, covered in blood and mud, and greeted Li Fan with a beaming smile.

"Lord Yu, what brings you here? May I ask what you wish to do for Hui?"

"Oh, I heard that Sili cracked the case of the traitor within the Demonic Sect and made a great contribution, and was awarded the title of Marquis of Dongwu. I've come to offer my congratulations."

"Haha, Lord Yu, you're too kind. Come, ride with me."

Li Fan's matter was actually quite simple. He said that in order to meet the construction deadline, a lot of laborers had been conscripted, and many families were separated from their spouses and children, which caused complaints and affected production efficiency. Since they were all in the capital, could they all be conscripted to live on the construction site outside the city and not be allowed to return to the city until the river channel was completed? This way, the project could be completed faster.

Zhong Hui, ever the obliging one, laughed heartily and said, "Lord Yu is too clever! I understand what you mean. I'll drive all these poor bastards out of the city right away and make room for your construction. Come, let's drink."

Li Fan wanted to say that this wasn't what he meant, but after thinking about it, it was pretty much the same idea, so he thanked Sili for his help and said, "This clerk will allocate a piece of land for you."

The two laughed and toasted each other again. Zhong Hui, who was thirsty from killing so many people, drank a few more cups and then chatted with Li Fan about military affairs in the imperial court.

According to the latest intelligence from the Immortal Palace, it has been confirmed that the vanguard of the Divine Cult has advanced rapidly, starting from Shazhou, making a thousand-mile raid, breaking through the Heishan Pass, capturing Quanzhou, and cutting off the supply lines of the two major military towns of Yumen and Quanzhou outside the pass. Communication from outside the pass has been cut off. There are rumors that the western army of the two towns outside the pass has surrendered, rumors that they are still holding on, and rumors that they have been ambushed and suffered a crushing defeat. In short, the Divine Cult's actions are too fast, and the garrisons guarding various places will definitely not be able to return to regroup. With the supply cut off, there is only one way out: to be defeated one by one. The area west of the Qilian Mountains is basically no longer under the control of the Immortal Palace.

Now, the capital of the Five Liang Kingdoms of Dui Country has already been attacked in the three prefectures of Sha, Yu, and Quan, and now there are still two prefectures of Pingliang. The various units of the Western Army are urgently assembling, but Pingzhou is already under attack from the Fourth Department. For a time, the Great Wall of Xiguan was ablaze with fire everywhere, as if it were under attack from the Divine Cult's army. No one knows how many troops have crossed the vast yellow sands to fight their way over. Therefore, the main force of Pingzhou can only assemble in the prefectural city first and hold the line of Heihe Ruoshui to the death, not daring to cross the river to provide reinforcements. This is the first line of defense.

Meanwhile, the troops of the various Dui Country gathered in Liangzhou City behind them. Xinling County Duke also received an imperial Conquering West General and was appointed General Who Conquers the West. He was ordered to rush to Liangzhou to serve as the nominal commander-in-chief of the Western Kingdom's armies. As a member of the imperial clan, Xinling County Duke was tasked with suppressing these local vassal armies that did not obey the imperial court's orders, thus forming a second barrier against the advance of the Divine Sect.

As for the main force on the Sanyuan side, the Imperial Guards who had pacified Zhen were led by the Governor of Duizhou to advance rapidly westward under the arrangement of the Grand Tutor. The army's provisions and fodder were gathered in the Western Imperial Guards, and the troops under the General of General of Anxi were also mobilized to prepare for a decisive battle with the Divine Sect in Dui and Kunzhou.