Mystic Azure Lotus

"Boss, will these people really obediently do as they're told?" Da Niu voiced his doubts.

"They will!"

Bai Fan answered with complete certainty. Then he draped an arm around Da Niu's shoulders, turned, and instructed Goudan and Monkey behind them.

"Goudan, Monkey, I'm leaving this place to you two. I hope that when we return next time, we'll see a Republic Empire running steadily."

The two set off shoulder to shoulder toward Star Luo Empire territory. Their journey to Star Luo was about to begin.

Outside the Heavenly Screen.

Emperor Xue Ye had only just awakened when he saw the scene of the Barak Kingdom pledging allegiance to Bai Fan on the Heavenly Screen. He was so enraged that he spat out a mouthful of black blood.

"Someone! Quickly, someone! His Majesty is unwell!" A minister at his side hurriedly called for the imperial physicians.

Unexpectedly, after vomiting the black blood, Emperor Xue Ye's complexion became somewhat rosier. Without the slightest hesitation, he issued an order.

"Kill Yuwen Huai'an's entire family. I want Xue Qiu to suffer a fate worse than death!"

"From this day onward, if any woman in the empire is unfaithful, execute her immediately!"

The reason Emperor Xue Ye could speak such ruthless words was that he had realized something: an empire was an enormous machine.

He and the noble ministers existed in a symbiotic relationship. He did not need to forcefully monitor them, or the results would only backfire.

When one's abilities did not match one's ambitions, the most important thing was to first stabilize the present.

What was more, the Heavenly Screen had already revealed Yuwen Huai'an's dissatisfaction with the Heaven Dou Empire. Yuwen Huai'an had long since died of illness, and no one knew whether he had left behind any ticking time bombs within the Heaven Dou Empire.

With the Star Luo Empire's support, Zhang Jiao and his people quickly seized a city of their own.

"Big Brother, what should we do next? Though the Star Luo Empire is helping us on the surface, this will become a hidden danger sooner or later!"

"Hehe, there's no need to worry. They're merely a pack of crude warriors. Their minds can only come up with one scheme: letting the snipe and clam fight while the fisherman profits."

"From today onward, use part of the gold, silver, and treasures we seize to buy grain, and keep the rest for me."

His subordinate's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. "Boss, shouldn't we establish an empire of our own first? We need these treasures to build our empire."

"Who told you I intended to build an empire first?"

"Lord Bai Fan on the Heavenly Screen established the Republic Empire first!"

Zhang Jiao shouted angrily, "Fool! Is our situation the same as the one on the Heavenly Screen? Do we have top-tier strength like a Soul Saint? The empire is conscripting able-bodied men and confiscating ironware. Our circumstances are even harsher than those on the Heavenly Screen. Every step we take must be considered again and again."

"We have no room to retreat. Behind us lies a bottomless abyss!"

"Remember this: people must have minds of their own. Other people's methods and paths may not suit us. We must forge a path that belongs to us."

"Go now. Remember, we do not need to establish order yet. What we need to do is stir up these commoners' emotions and expand our ranks!"

After his subordinate left, Zhang Jiao stood with his hands behind his back and stared at the Heavenly Screen, asking himself, Why can't I encounter subordinates like Da Niu, Goudan, and Zhu Youcai?

"Hehe, so what if I don't have such subordinates? So what if the conditions are harsher? I, Zhang Jiao, am inferior to no one. I alone am enough to win this struggle!"

The Faith Red Lotus unconsciously manifested behind Zhang Jiao. At that moment, his powerful conviction nourished the Faith Red Lotus within him, and pure soul power swept through his body, bringing his soul power to level 20 in a single surge.

Zhang Jiao's hair had now turned white. Though his ambitions burned fiercely and his expression remained resolute, his graying hair still gave him the air of someone in his twilight years.

Logically speaking, even if the system had taken twenty years of Zhang Jiao's lifespan, he should not have looked so old in his current state as a man in his forties or fifties.

Inside the Heavenly Screen.

"Boss, what exactly are the two of us doing in the Star Luo Empire this time?"

"Sabotage and relocation!" Bai Fan answered Da Niu concisely.

Bai Fan snapped his fingers, and a group of youths wearing ghillie suits emerged from the surroundings.

"How are things going?"

"Reporting to the boss, the poor have gathered at the edge of the Star Luo Empire and are waiting for you at all times."

"Well done!" Bai Fan patted each of them on the shoulder. "You've worked hard these past days. After today, your mission will be complete."

"Serving the empire is no hardship!" the group answered in unison.

That was right. The information Bai Fan had revealed to the people of Spirit Hall last time had not been false. He truly intended to make a move against the Star Luo Empire.

However, Bai Fan had his own ideas; he did not intend to confront them with swords and spears.

The first step was to transfer the Star Luo Empire's lower-class commoners into the Republic Empire and expand the empire's scale.

As for the second step, it was what Bai Fan and Da Niu were about to do.

Having received Bai Fan's order, Little Golden Dragon headed alone toward where the poor were gathered, preparing to take on the transport work.

It was worth mentioning that Little Golden Dragon was currently the first beast spirit on the continent capable of existing apart from its host. It possessed its own thoughts and awareness.

Even in the original story, after Yu Xiaogang broke through level thirty, Luo Sanpao showed faint signs of evolving.

Little Golden Dragon had already been eating Immortal Herbs like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Its upper limit was certainly far beyond Luo Sanpao's potential limit in the original story.

As the saying went, there were no useless spirits, only useless Soul Masters.

Bai Fan was not useless. Little Golden Dragon and Luo Sanpao were not useless either. So who exactly was the useless one? What a difficult mystery!

The group split into two paths. Bai Fan led Da Niu toward the cities surrounding the Star Luo Empire.

Da Niu's World-Crossing Sacred Lotus, combined with Bai Fan's World-Destroying White Lotus, bombarded the Star Luo Empire's cities without pause.

Whenever the Star Luo Empire prepared to retaliate, Bai Fan and Da Niu would mysteriously vanish.

The moment the Star Luo Empire relaxed, the two began bombing again. When the Star Luo Empire prepared to retaliate, they vanished instantly.

In a desolate wilderness.

"Boss, your methods are truly incredible. They can't even catch a glimpse of us!"

Two azure lotuses spun on the ground behind them, and an azure lotus mark rested between their brows.

This azure lotus was something Bai Fan had developed during his last secluded cultivation session.

Back then, in order to unlock more varieties of lotuses, Bai Fan had madly experienced and comprehended the laws.

By chance, he recalled the Daoist Purification Divine Incantation from memories of his previous life.

"Heaven and earth are naturally so; foul qi disperses. Within the cavern lies mysterious emptiness, bright and vast as the primal origin."

At first, Bai Fan could not grasp the meaning within it, until he remembered that familiar Daoist saying: "Man follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows nature."

That saying itself contained the order of the universe. With the Radiant World Golden Lotus as his foundation, Bai Fan gradually began to comprehend the essence of Daoism. In the end, he succeeded in his realization and created the Mystic Azure Lotus.

"Cleanse foul filth, purify the mortal world."

"Mystic Azure Lotus, enduring for a thousand years!"

These past days, Bai Fan had been using the Mystic Azure Lotus's methods.