Planning to Escape

The three men under the tree were chatting idly. Chen An and Li Yin were clearly distracted, glancing at the entrance of the Marshal's residence from time to time. When they saw Li Yan walking out, their faces lit up. They had inquired about the situation from Liu Chengyong earlier. Although they were told he went to complete some personal military information, they couldn't help but feel suspicious. Such a matter could be a big deal, after all, the military chief was responsible for the officials appointed by the Imperial Court. Or it could be small, as it wasn't a critical position. Frankly, it was just a matter of a few words from a local official.

Li Yan saw the three of them approaching and said with a smile, "It's done, haha. Next, I still need to see Li Shan and the others. How about we go for a drink at noon?"

Liu Chengyong naturally had no objections. Seeing Li Yan come out so quickly, he still felt something was amiss, but seeing him come out with a smile, he figured there really wasn't anything major happening with the Marshal. Besides, he had another chance to get closer to Li Yan at noon, so he readily agreed.

Although Chen An and Li Yin wanted to go back earlier, they didn't dare to say it, so they could only nod in agreement.

Next, the four of them went to the Ironware Pavilion to find Li Shan. Li Shan was overjoyed to see Li Yan's arrival. Li Yan immediately sent Chen An and Li Yin to personally ask Li Shan's master, Lu Kui, for leave for Li Shan. He and Li Shan went inside the Ironware Pavilion to talk.

Liu Chengyong had nothing to do, so he wandered around the Ironware Pavilion alone. He was very interested in picking up and wielding any good weapons he saw. After Chen An and Li Yin came out, the three of them, all from military backgrounds, excitedly studied the weapons together.

After a while, Li Yan and Li Shan came out. However, Li Shan looked a little puzzled when he first came out, but Li Yan put his arm around his shoulder, joking and laughing, and asked him to call his senior brother, Liang Shi. The group then went to the Natural Wine House to find Li Yu, and they set up a table there at noon, where the seven of them drank heartily.

In the afternoon, Li Yan and the other two rode back slightly drunk. In the days that followed, Li Yan's cultivation clearly improved, and his mood was very stable. Military Advisor Ji was relieved to see him like this and would come out to guide him from time to time.

Time flew by, and spring was in full bloom. It was already a time of lush grass and flying orioles. Li Yan had been in the military residence for more than half a year. At this moment, he was soaking in the cold Water Pool, his eyes slightly closed, his upper body naked, only his shoulders and above exposed. Hot air was rising from his body and dissipating into the air. His aura was already at the peak of early Qi Condensation Stage, but he didn't look too good, with faint traces of blood remaining at the corners of his mouth.

Since last winter, he had been cultivating diligently, and his realm had increased after a period of time, but his temperament had become increasingly irritable. In addition to going into the city every now and then, he had many more strange behaviors. Every time he returned from the city, he would buy more clothes, belts, boots, and other items, which annoyed Military Advisor Ji's Divine Sense.

Besides cultivation, he either soaked in the Water Pool or locked himself in his room, scribbling wildly. Later, he somehow shoveled all the vegetables in a vegetable garden on the south side of the original Water Pool and planted many unknown wildflowers in it from the mountains outside the valley. For a time, various wildflowers and grasses grew in the valley, and the fragrance was mixed, even sticking to the dried clothes, filling Military Advisor Ji with floral fragrance when he went to the city to participate in military affairs, causing Marshal Hong and a group of soldiers to look at him askance. Military Advisor Ji could only smile wryly.

That vegetable garden was originally planted by Military Advisor Ji with some vegetables and a few flowers. He would occasionally water and fertilize them, stopping to admire them. In fact, this was also a way for Military Advisor Ji to calm the restlessness in his chest, but now it had been turned into an extremely gorgeous sight by Li Yan. From a distance, it looked like a colorful dye vat. He just shook his head and gave up.

As long as Li Yan's cultivation was still improving, he basically let him do whatever he wanted. However, Li Yan had seemed to have been growing more and more irritable recently. After cultivation, blood would often spill from the corners of his mouth, as if he couldn't suppress it. This worried Military Advisor Ji very much. He also checked the condition of his body and noticed that the Wood Spirit Qi in his body was faintly mixed, and some Fire Spiritual Power seemed to be generated, which made him start to worry. But currently, Li Yan was still able to suppress it, and his cultivation was still improving. Otherwise, he would have already had the idea of absorbing Li Yan's Spiritual Power while the Spiritual Power in his body was still relatively pure. But in the following period of time, the Wood Spirit Power in Li Yan's body began to slowly become pure again, and the number of times he vomited blood also decreased, which suppressed this idea.

Li Yan soaked in the Water Pool, with a few traces of blood on the corners of his mouth, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was enjoying the cold air in the pool. But in fact, he was using the Spiritual Qi that slowly overflowed from the bottom of the pool to circulate the Gui Water True Scripture.

After these months of hard training, his Gui Water True Scripture had already reached the middle stage of the first level of Qi Condensation, and his cultivation speed was quite fast. This speed was good even in the immortal sects, but it was a bit strange to be like this in a place where Spiritual Qi was not abundant.

However, Li Yan didn't compare his cultivation method with anyone. He just felt that his cultivation was still too slow. Although he spent most of the day soaking in this Water Pool to cultivate, and he often came over to soak in it in the middle of the night, he still felt that his time was tight. But there was nothing he could do. He had to use the rest of his time to pretend to cultivate the Wood Yin Skill and perform. In the morning, he had to pretend to cultivate the Wood Yin Skill in the house, and he had to act like a rascal appropriately.

He only had one idea now: to improve his Spiritual Power cultivation as his capital for fighting for his life.

After another half an hour, Li Yan's eyelashes trembled, but his eyes did not open. He ended today's daytime practice. At this time, he was thinking about the events of the past few months in his mind.

My cultivation speed is still too slow. I have clearly felt that the improvement has been very small in the past few days. I don't know why.

Li Yan didn't know that his speed was very fast in the early stage. On the one hand, he had just entered the first level of Qi Condensation, and his meridians were several times wider than those of normal cultivators who had reached the first level of Qi Condensation, so absorbing Spiritual Qi for cultivation was faster. Second, his physique and cultivation method were completely compatible, and it was the early stage of the first level of Qi Condensation, so not much Spiritual Qi was needed, and he was soaking above the Spiritual Eye, so naturally he progressed quickly. But since entering the middle stage of the first level of Qi Condensation, the Spiritual Qi here had begun to not keep up, and cultivation was inherently more difficult as one progressed, especially when reaching the Golden Core and Nascent Soul Stage, where being stuck for hundreds of years was normal.

Although I haven't shown all my strength, and only revealed a little bit to the peak of the early stage of the first level of Qi Condensation, this is one of the conditions to ensure my current survival. Otherwise, if I stayed at the entry stage for several months, he would probably think that I am useless and wouldn't have the patience to wait.

After Li Yan cultivated the Gui Water True Scripture for a period of time, he found that his cultivation speed was very fast, which made him worry that Military Advisor Ji would see something different. But he solved this problem after carefully studying the Gui Water True Scripture with his Divine Sense and repeated attempts.

"Qi has length, gathers in the sea, scatters and hides." He didn't understand it at first, but after some attempts, he realized that the Mana cultivated by the Gui Water True Scripture could freely scatter the Spiritual Power in the Dantian into five Spiritual Power vats, so that the surface display was the level of the highest Spiritual Power vat. But this could only hide from cultivators who were not much higher than him, preventing them from seeing his true cultivation. In addition, these five Spiritual Power vats must be full, otherwise there would be nothing to scatter, and the strongest Spiritual Power would still be reflected. At that time, he could only impact a higher level.

During the cultivation some time ago, I accidentally injured myself and vomited some blood, so I had to scatter some Fire Spiritual Power to show that it was due to Fire Poison. He was a little unable to restrain himself, but fortunately, I have made progress in cultivation recently and hid the Fire Spiritual Power, so he suppressed this idea again. However, as my Mana increases, I can now feel that the Fire Poison in his body is also getting stronger and stronger. I think the time is not much.

Although Li Yan couldn't separate his Divine Sense from his body, he could vaguely feel that there was more and more Fire Poison in Military Advisor Ji's body with his current perception as a cultivator. When he couldn't suppress it, it would be the moment of his death. At that time, no matter what level he cultivated to, Military Advisor Ji would not wait any longer.

These few times I went out, I also reached some consensus with Hong Linying through Liu Chengyong in the form of letters. As long as he can help me get out of trouble, I will give him the Wood Yin Skill cultivation method. Now all that's left is to find an opportunity, but I can't wait too long.

Li Yan calculated in his heart. What he was considering now was not just how to escape. He had a bigger plan, which was how to kill Military Advisor Ji, otherwise his family members might not be able to escape Military Advisor Ji's anger.

Yesterday, Military Advisor Ji came to guide his cultivation, but the look in his eyes at Li Yan had changed a little, becoming more gentle and more amiable, but it was expressed on his grayer and darker face, which made Li Yan feel the urgency of time.

Then let's set it in two months. It will be early summer then. I have to fight anyway.

Li Yan closed his eyes in the Water Pool, and his hands under the water were clenched tightly into fists.

In the deep forest millions of miles away from the Green Mountain Pass, inside a grand palace on a mountain peak that reached into the clouds.

"Elder He, what brings you here today?" The Blue-Robed Scholar looked at the hawk-like old man in a dark green robe with a smile.

"Peak Lord, the five-yearly competition between the peaks, your subordinate has discussed it with the other elders. This time, about twenty elite disciples and several true disciples from this peak will participate in the competition. These people were all heavily screened by the inner hall some time ago."

"Oh? The true disciples are fine, there are not many of them anyway, but this year there are fewer elite disciples participating in this peak. I remember that this peak had more than thirty five years ago."

"Oh, there are fewer than before. In recent years, there have not been too many new disciples in each peak, and many people with Spirit Roots have been taken away by those so-called righteous Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian sects." The hawk-like old man said a little embarrassedly.

"Hehe, those 'famous and upright sects'? They are good at using the human heart in the mortal world. They use Taoist temples, temples, and lecture halls in the mortal world to constantly brainwash people, and they have recruited many good immortal seedlings."

"Yes, Peak Lord, it's really not easy for sects like them to contact mortals." He paused and continued.

"But even if my peak has fewer, it has more than Small Bamboo Peak. They almost always have a few people participating in each session." The hawk-like old man said with a chuckle.

"That's Wei Junior Brother's place, hehe. Their peak has less than twenty people, including servants. There are seven disciples, and if you remove the three who have entered the Foundation Establishment middle stage or above, there are only a few who can participate." The Confucian scholar showed a helpless expression when he heard this.

"Okay, let's not talk about Wei Junior Brother's side. This time, I hope that two or three of our twenty-odd people will enter the top ten in the Foundation Establishment early stage competition, and three people will enter the top ten in the Qi Condensation competition. Is that clear?"

"Peak Lord," the hawk-like old man said with a bitter face.

"What? No confidence? Has the cultivation of the people below reached this level in the past five years?" The Confucian scholar frowned and said.

"Peak Lord, the other peaks are not to be trifled with. Take Small Bamboo Peak as an example. Don't look at the few people participating, but those few people have a great chance of entering the top ten in their corresponding realm competitions."

"Hmph, that's your business. You pass this on. If the results of this competition are not good, you elders will have your offerings deducted."

"Okay, Peak Lord," the hawk-like old man said helplessly, thinking in his heart, "I'll go back and discuss with the other elders to put pressure on these bastards. Otherwise, their cultivation resources for the next five years will also be severely deducted."

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you may leave," the Confucian scholar said, waving his hand when he saw the hawk-like elder was no longer speaking.

"Reporting to you, Peak Lord, there is one more matter. News has come back today regarding the search for the person from the Seeker Lineage," the hawk-like elder hurriedly said.

"Oh? Are you talking about the person who took the cultivation method from that traitor of the outer sect?"

"Yes, we expanded the search area, and finally found a lead in a place called Green Mountain Pass on the eastern edge of the Great Green Mountains. A military advisor in the Imperial Dynasty garrison there may be the person we are looking for. He has been buying medicinal herbs from pharmacies in nearby towns for the past few years, and these herbs are all ingredients in our secret recipe."

"A garrison? A military advisor? In that case, you need to investigate carefully. Otherwise, meddling with officials among mortals, especially military officials on the frontier, will give other sects cause to criticize us, leaving us open to attack. Immortals and mortals walk different paths. Unless mortals provoke us, we will not take action against them. Although we are not some prestigious sect, we must still abide by this principle."

"Yes, Peak Lord, that is how I have arranged it. Because of the upcoming five-year competition within the sect, some of the disciples who were enforcing the law outside and need to participate in the competition have already returned one after another. Only some people in the middle and late stages of Qi Condensation Stage are left there now. Once the investigation is clear, they will begin the arrest."

"That will do. Considering he's still been searching for medicinal herbs these past few years, his cultivation probably isn't that high. Disciples in the middle and late stages of Qi Condensation Stage should be enough."