Chaos

"Taiyi Dao Lord Wuyang, it seems that Grand Tutor really intends to leave the mortal world to cultivate immortality, giving up on taking another step forward in the Immortal Palace..."

Indeed, this was the case. The resistance to dynastic change was too great. Even if the imperial family was in decline, becoming an Immortal Emperor was not something one could simply decide to do. The Xuanmen sect could not possibly allow Mount Song to continue to hold sole power. Between the roles of Grand Tutor and Dao Lord, there had to be a choice, and that was the crux of the matter.

However, with him avoiding the issue, the unification of the world became even more distant a prospect.

In the Daoist branch of Yuntai Peak, Li Fan sat in the meditation room, his primordial spirit leaving his body to play chess with the abbot.

Originally, this trip to the capital to pay tribute was only to strengthen ties, gather intelligence, and broaden horizons by observing how Enlightenment Stage expert undergoes tribulation, while also giving Yuepo Qin Jiu some experience.

Who would have thought that the Ten Ultimate Formation would start right away, and then two more would appear, while the two juniors would also suffer various misfortunes. The Grand Tutor had also hidden a big one underground in the capital, and Yuntai Peak was even more turbulent. The Divine Sect didn't mind making trouble either. The Three Enclosures were unpredictable and the killing intent was far beyond expectations.

It wasn't until Li Fan revealed his true abilities this time, confronting the assassins of the North Star Guard head-on, that the Guardian General Tutor, who had been avoiding the situation, was forced to step forward and issue the letter of recommendation in the name of Dao Lord Wuyang. In the eyes of the fortune tellers, this was tantamount to acknowledging his true intentions and preventing further conflict between the two sides.

Therefore, upon receiving this letter of confirmation, Li Fan already had some guesses about the Grand Tutor's plan. He quickly reported to the abbot while simultaneously grinding the black stones in his hand, deducing the current situation.

"This time, I have received a favor from Dao Lord Wuyang, so it is not convenient for me to interfere in his affairs again. However, I still have some doubts. If Daoist Taiyi Wuyang becomes the leader of Songshan Sect, and his son is still serving as Guardian General in the court, no, he will probably be promoted to Chariot and Cavalry General soon, then the world will still be in the hands of the Songshan faction. Can the other sects of the Xuanmen really accept this?"

The abbot explained as he placed the pieces.

"Whether it's Guardian General or General Cheqi, they are only at the Transformation Stage. If their skills and abilities are not a level higher, they cannot intimidate the vassal states inside and outside the capital and maintain order in the court. Therefore, as long as there is no leader at the Enlightenment Stage, the Immortal Palace cannot escape the control of the Xuanmen. As for which faction will take charge, it is not a big deal."

Of course, it also depends on how much profit the Sima Clan can offer to the various sects. If the Xuanmen sect isn't fed, they'll take it themselves. If that happens, and the local authorities Gao Xing, warlord rebellions like Hou Gu's will continue to occur frequently.

Li Fan understood. "So this Yuntai Peak gathering is about dividing the spoils, and the conquest of the Divine Cult is also to see who has the bigger fist and gets the bigger slice of the pie."

The abbot placed a piece, "That makes sense. Of course, the Nine Great Xuan Sects will be decided this time, but the specific order, as well as the allocation of their respective Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, blessed lands, Spirit Pool, mineral deposits, and branch temples, will probably depend on the military merits of the western forces."

Li Fan thought for a moment and then placed a piece, "So, should I Ink Bamboo Mountain, try to earn one?"

The abbot shook his head. "What Louguan Dao could divide, he has already given to us in full. In this great battle, both the Divine Sect and Hengshan are tied up, so we can take this opportunity to seize Yudu and then annihilate the Nangong. If we can also cut off one of the Seven Friends' arms, it won't hurt. I'm already arranging the troops. As for the other places, they were all re-divided within the Xuanmen, so there was no room for my Dao to interfere."

Furthermore, there are still many variables in this round of Duizhou. I believe that the Divine Sect is not entirely without a chance to turn the tide. There are many people in the Xuanmen who are operating on both sides at the same time. These people are opportunistic and will help whoever they can predict. Last time, it was because Cangyun was more skilled and defeated Sect Leader Zhang by one move that the Ten Ultimate Formation were broken and the Xuanmen won, instead of the other way around.

It's one thing for Dao Lord Wuyang to become the head of Mount Song, but he also aspires to be the leader of Yuntai Peak. If he cannot demonstrate his strength and directly defeat the new Sect Leader of the Divine Sect, he will not be able to win over the masses. No matter how many followers he has or how wealthy he is, he will still lack popular support and will not be able to secure his position as the leader of the Xuanmen sect.

"So that's how it is, the human heart..."

Indeed, for cultivators or sects, the shift in public opinion is actually quite simple. Once you reach that level, there is no longer any distinction between good and evil, or between the mystical and the demonic.

Both the Daoist sects and the divine sects are the same; whichever side has the better fortune and the greater chance of winning, that's the one to stand on.

Li Fan then remembered something else.

"I've heard rumors that ancient sects like Great Yi Dao Supreme Purity are currently vying for power within the Xuanmen. I've also encountered the lineages of Taixuan and Hunyuan Dao before. Could it be that these ancient sects are also fighting for destiny and beginning a revival?"

The abbot nodded, "When there is no way forward, people will naturally look for another way. Conversely, when the Great Way reappears and the path is wide, more people will naturally walk it. The method of cultivation is to innovate and develop in the process of constantly seeking the Way."

The destiny has now been set, and the Tai Su Dao will inevitably take the lead. These ancient sects of Taiyi and Shangqing are beginning to revive, but it's not necessarily true that they want to follow the ancient path. Rather, it's more about raising the banner of uniting fellow practitioners.

After all, even powerful sects like Emei and Songshan cannot suppress the entire world with the power of a single sect. Right now, relying solely on the name of Songshan, they can only achieve the limit of controlling the Immortal Palace from behind the scenes. They are still not powerful enough to have absolute authority on Yuntai Peak.

The same principle applies to the Supreme Purity. The lineage of this sect has a traceable history, and with its large number of members, it has great influence. When Yuntai Peak made its decision, the Hengshan family alone might have little influence, but the Supreme Purity united, could influence the decision of the entire Xuanmen. It can be said that it is now a powerful alliance that effectively controls the majority of votes in Xuanmen. However, the Supreme Purity Sect is also hampered by the lack of core figures like the Three Elders of Emei, the Sword Ancestor of the Sword Sect, or the Two Elders of Songshan who can command respect and lead the group. This is why it cannot achieve a substantial merger and alliance.

Meanwhile, with two elders overseeing things on Mount Song and having recruited many disciples, the region has grown from a small corner of Tai Shi Mountain to encompassing all thirty-six peaks of Mount Song and continuing to acquire the sixteen divine palaces of Mount Taiyi, achieving great success.

Even if the various mountains of Supreme Purity fail to achieve unification this time, they certainly cannot sit idly by and watch Great Yi Dao continue to grow stronger, seizing their Main Peak and building it up against Songshan. The two sides will likely really have to fight and compete at the meeting. You can go and see for yourself, but there's no need to get involved.

Now that the Way of Heaven has been revealed, every family has new skills to employ, and the heroes of the world should not be underestimated.

"Yes, I will follow your teachings."

So he discussed the situation in the capital with the abbot, and in the process of losing another game, Li Fan also understood the abbot's strategy.

It's better to play it safe, which is understandable. The abbot has calculated everything perfectly. Even with a system supporting rapid development, how can ten years of operation catch up with the foundations of the various factions in the Central Plains? Let's be realistic. The waters in the Central Plains are very deep. If we can't control them, we'll be lucky to be able to carve out a territory.

Even a powerful sect like Songshan, with its vast resources and advantageous position, is struggling to cope with the combined attacks from all sides now that the Grand Tutor has overcome a calamity. Therefore, people must have self-awareness, form alliances when necessary, and make concessions when appropriate. Small, rural sects shouldn't dream of sweeping away Six Combinations; trying to eat too much at once will only lead to choking.

Having grasped the strategic policies of the Ink Bamboo Mountain leadership, Li Fan also held a small meeting with Moon Worship and his system group to convey the sect's strategy.

Of course, those two fish didn't really care about the future development of the sect. To them, Ink Bamboo Mountain was just a local factory in a rural plane. At first, they helped Li Fan with scientific research, assisted in agriculture and industry, and built up the industry. Now that the fish farm was on track, the two of them spent all day online, busy selling their mining machines and meat fish.

Meanwhile, Kun was also busy. With Li Fan and Yue Po not stationed at Ink Bamboo Mountain, this guy was left to guard the South Border and wreak havoc. Now, the Great Lord Kun's ability to instantly kill all the demon gods and swallow tons of flesh and blood in one gulp has spread throughout the Ten-thousand-mountains. Its reputation is renowned, and it has become the spiritual leader and big brother of the demons who have surrendered to Ink Bamboo Mountain as spirit pets. Wherever it swims, people call it the Great Lord. It is very proud and doesn't even remember who used to complain about the extra bump on its forehead.

Of course, Li Fan didn't expect these comedic figures to be there just to fill the numbers. He mainly wanted to use the system's communication channel to ask Xuan Tian what he thought.

Sword Ancestor said that his brother had been researching flashlights lately, and he thought it was some trivial matter he was going to bring up and ask about again. Oh, that's it??

However, after hearing about Li Fan's experiences in Sanyuan, Xuan Tian still gave him face and made a brief speech, which can be summarized as follows:

Screw him, fuck him... Ugh, my illness's acting up again...

"Who's having an episode? That's exactly right! Now's the perfect opportunity to fish in troubled waters!"

Your abbot advised you to mind your own business because he thought you were taking on too much and couldn't handle it all. If you really want to fight fate, sitting around waiting for others to share the spoils and waiting for things to be settled before making any plans is the worst possible strategy!

The world was won through battle, not by sitting around and calculating!

Besides, don't you know what kind of people the Xuanmen are? They take everything and leave nothing behind. Let me tell you, you have to fight for everything yourself! You deal with things after you've got them!

So what if you can't swallow it? It's better to snatch it and then give it to someone else than to not fight for it and just let someone else have it!

Oh? How are they going to rob it? Could it be that he's also joined the Xuanmen sect in this western expedition, going on an expedition against the Divine Cult?

"That's not necessary. When it comes to a direct confrontation with the cult, the spoils will be gone long ago; it'll just be a matter of fighting for the scraps. To put it bluntly, whoever eats the most gets the most credit. By then, it'll be too late to make a contribution."

What are you talking about...?

"Idiot! You won't get a chance to divide up the territory, and you can't even rob someone properly! Sanyuan! Go out and wander around, see if anyone comes to the gathering, then kill them and rob them. You did a great job with that Sanxiao Sect, didn't you? Just do it that way, kill their people, take their treasures, and wipe out their sect!"

Ah... he took advantage of the Grand Tutor's favor and then caused trouble, isn't that a bad idea...?

"Don't worry, there are so many people in the Jingji lately, their numbers are so diverse, and the fortunes are changing so quickly, who would know it was you who did it! At this time, those who dare to come to Yuntai Peak to participate in the meeting, aren't they all the real leaders of their respective sects in the Xuanmen? Normally they are all holed up in their caves in seclusion, you wouldn't even have a chance to make a move!"

Listen to me, this is the kind of time we old-school Daoists make our fortune. Go out and wander around at night when you have free time, and strike when you see an opportunity. Killing one is enough to break even, killing two makes you a profit! You won't lose out, trust me!

Won't this commotion ruin the Grand Tutor's plans and throw the world into chaos?

"Damn it! You're here again! So what if things are chaotic? Ultimately, all this chaos is caused by these people! Besides, even if you don't take action, the world won't necessarily get better!"

Chop! Chop until you're satisfied! We'll talk about it later!

As for that rat hole, you don't need to worry about it. That Grand Tutor doesn't know that he would face this calamity sooner or later. I think he had already planned all the schemes for the Three Palaces. This time, he was just afraid that you would mess things up by blindly rushing in.

You too, always walking into other people's traps, how can you possibly win? If you honestly follow the rules, you'll never be able to outmaneuver those old masters!

Listen to me, for a small force to grow, the only way is to be fast and take advantage of others' misfortunes! Turn the tide, use underhanded tactics, and disrupt the natural order! Only then will there be a chance to turn the tide!

Alright, I'm going into seclusion to forge this sword. Do not disturb me.

So Xuan Tian shut down his microphone again.

After careful consideration, Li Fan felt that Xuan Tian's words might have some merit.

The Three Enclosures are the Grand Tutor's stronghold, Central Plains are the Xuanmen's base. They set up traps everywhere. Li Fan, an outsider, is caught in the middle, being led by the nose according to their rhythm. He can only go from one pleasant surprise to another unexpected one. If he were even slightly weaker, he might have walked into some kind of Ten Ultimate Formation or Eight Deadly Formations and been annihilated, not even knowing how he died.

That was extremely dangerous.

So, the abbot's idea was to leave it alone and go back to clearing the wilderness. Xuan Tian's idea was to take advantage of the chaos to farm jungle monsters. In short, while others were team fighting, he was farming; when others were low on health, he was finishing them off. It might be cunning, but wouldn't he be happy to steal a pentakill?! cough cough

In short, after thinking it over, Li Fan made some changes based on Xuan Tian's suggestions.

On the surface, Li Fan accepted the recommendation of the magic scroll from Daoist Taiyi Dao Lord Wuyang, who also told him not to cause any more trouble. So Li Fan had to give face to the Grand Tutor and obediently stayed in his main body on Yuntai Peak to prepare his thesis and take the exam for the title of Grandmaster of Arithmetic.

Secretly, he entrusted a wisp of his soul to the Blood God Child's clone, and circled around to the outskirts of the Jingji to hunt. Seeing in the distance celestial boats, precious carriages, dragon chariots, and auspicious clouds—magnificent and priceless trophies—flying towards him, he used his Blood Shadow Godly Movement to travel over and transmit his voice.

"Fellow Daoist of the Demonic Sect, I foresaw that you are destined for death. Out of the virtue of Transformation Stage magic treasures. If my heart softens, I may lend a hand to help you avert this calamity. What do you say?"

In most cases, the opponent will turn and run when they see the Blood God Child. In a few cases, the opponent will say something like, "Damn it!" and punch out of the auspicious clouds.

So Li Fan also transformed his Blood God Child clone into a blood claw, which clashed with the giant fist formed from true qi.

Although his Blood God Child clone had suffered considerable damage from the Red Sand Formation, it had still been well-fed with essence and blood over the past ten years. In truth, its cultivation level wasn't necessarily weaker than that of genuine Dharma Kings. Moreover, Li Fan had updated his Blood Refining Method and had the added benefit of the True Yang Technique. So, having just one clone out to take advantage of the chaos and carry on the glorious tradition of the Sword Sect was more than enough.

Meanwhile, the guy opposite, who yelled "You little devil, take your daddy's punch!", was probably some old patriarch from some remote mountain village. He had recently come out of seclusion to attend a banquet at Yuntai Peak, only to be met with Li Fan's "My good grandson, come and eat my Blazing Blood Divine Palm!" which slapped his face and shattered his auspicious cloud mount. He was also enraged and transformed into a crimson fist to fight back.

This guy is quite talkative; he kept babbling on and on while he was fighting.

"Damn it! So this is the Divine Cult's Blazing Blood Palm! Damn, it's pretty durable, huh?!"

Li Fan was shocked; this was the first time he had ever encountered such a filthy person. He roared in anger.

"Fine, then fight! Did you grow up eating filth and your mouth is so foul?!"

Qi Quan was also taken aback, and cursed with a mixture of anger and delight.

"You son of a bitch! How dare you insult me! Haha! I'll fuck your damn bastard!"

Li Fan, his veins bulging from the constant nagging, roared with fighting spirit, "Rebound! Rebound! Rebound! I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Then, the Daoist Dao Breath in the sky materialized, and a crimson fist and palm clashed fiercely, creating a chaotic and intense battle. The Daoist power overflowed, fiery clouds filled the sky, red light shone brightly, and the earth shook! The curses echoed for miles, deafeningly loud, and simply refreshed the lower limit of the vocabulary of the people of Sanyuan. Even birds dared not fly over this area.

To be honest, Li Fan hadn't expected that the lucky audience member he randomly grabbed would be so powerful and foul-mouthed. Not wanting to reveal his true abilities, he deliberately concealed his cultivation level, foregoing any of the Tai Su Techniques or the Bei Chen Sword, resorting instead to the traditional tactics of Divine Transformation cultivator. He condensed his protective true qi, enveloping his entire body, and conjured various fists, palms, claws, jackals, tigers, leopards, war generals, giants, and other magical forms to fight.

This fighting method is not only versatile and ever-changing, but also incredibly powerful. It can be used at will, without needing to spend a lot of time chanting incantations. It is also suitable for sudden encounters. You can fight for a few rounds first, figure out the opponent's style and tactics, and then choose the appropriate tactics. Of course, if the opponent is a weakling, you can just slap him to death to save the trouble of wasting talismans and magic weapons.

However, since the transformation of Dharma form requires the release of a large amount of true Qi, without the support of spiritual vein arrays, it is still very difficult for Nascent Soul Stage cultivator to perform it using only the true Qi they have accumulated. It is equivalent to a ultimate move. Generally, one can only use it when one has reached the Divine Transformation, or even after undergoing several tribulations, and is in the mid-to-late stage of the Divine Transformation. Only then can one have enough cultivation to use it at will.

Moreover, each school often has its own unique methods of research and deduction. For example, strictly speaking, the Sword Rainbow Method is a profound Daoist method of transforming swords into forms. After being deduced from the Nine Heavens Sword Art of the Northern Stars, it became famous throughout the world.

Of course, other sects also have their own unique methods of transforming fists into palms. Moreover, Li Fan's Blood Hand move was, after all, a counterfeit of the Blazing Blood Divine Palm. Although his opponent seemed to be a country bumpkin from a remote mountain village who couldn't distinguish between the Ghost Hand and the Blazing Blood Divine Palm, without the enhancement of his cultivation Cultivation Method, Li Fan couldn't break through the opponent's powerful fist intent for a while.

After all, the opponent's moves were genuine; every punch was imbued with Dao power, driven by Cultivation Method, meticulously honed, and possessed profound skill, capable of overwhelming and destroying everything in its path. It's just a pity that it was ultimately useless...

"Dingjia Wuwang Divine Fist! Unfettered! Break--! Damn! He dodged it again!! What a pity!!!"

Well, after all, Li Fan has already learned this move, so the same move won't work on him...