A Deal, Beitai Province!
"The next step is the Beigao Clan!"
"Southern Province has been captured; the next step is to take Beitai Province, thereby establishing the Qin Clan's future position in the Northern Frontier..."
"As planned, the cause is legitimate."
"The remnants of the Nangong Clan fled to Beitai Province and informed the Beigao Clan that our army was about to enter Beitai Province to apprehend the most serious criminals..."
"If the Beigao Clan obstructs us, it will be a provocation against the might of our Great Qin!"
"If the Beigao Clan grants permission, then they harbor malicious intentions and have secretly fled with the remnants of the Nangong, which is also a provocation against our Great Qin!"
"They should be destroyed!"
Inside the main hall of the Qin Palace, Qin Xiao set the tone for his subsequent actions...
But before the decree could be conveyed, Qin Lu sent a telepathic message: "Suspend operations against Beitai Province. Send someone to take over Beitai Province in one month..."
"We won this war."
Upon hearing this—
Sitting on the throne, Qin Xiao was taken aback. Before he could think further, he issued a new order, temporarily suspending the operation against Beitai Province...
The various Great Qin legions were to be stationed outside Beitai Province, ready to be deployed at any time.
at the same time--
In the Baxuan Immortal City, several men and women sat in a roadside restaurant, eating ordinary food and drinking fermented rice wine...
Seeing Qin Lu slightly stunned, a female cultivator couldn't help but tease him:
"Let me guess, is it Fellow Daoist Qin's eldest son? That young Qin Wang can't hold back any longer and is preparing to make a move against the Beigao Clan?"
Upon hearing this—
Qin Lu snapped out of his daze, teasing the Qing Centipede soaking in the large bowl. Judging by its lazy appearance, it seemed to have drunk too much...
"Fairy Chang is indeed wise. Xiao'er is still young, so it's normal for him to be a little impatient. However, if it weren't for Medicine King Valley's intervention..."
"This Beitai Province should have been taken over by my Qin Clan long ago!"
"The situation in the Northern Frontier is currently chaotic, and Emperor Zhou intends to unify the north. We, as his subjects, naturally must share His Majesty's burdens..."
"The sooner the north is stabilized, the sooner His Majesty will feel at ease!"
"Fairy Chang, don't you think so?"
Hearing these barbed words, Fairy Chang's expression remained unchanged, but she didn't respond. Then, another male cultivator beside her replied:
"Fellow Daoist is right!"
"To serve the country loyally and share Your Majesty's burdens is the duty of us subjects!"
"But one more day won't make a difference, and one less day won't make a difference. The situation is already settled; a slight difference in time is no big deal, no big deal at all!"
Speaking of this--
Lu Ming, standing beside Qin Lu, sneered, toying with his wine cup, and said with a hint of disdain:
"Yes!"
"Some people just talk without understanding the situation; when it comes to dividing things up, they're incredibly domineering. Now the situation is settled..."
"It's nothing serious, just my duty. What a kind and benevolent person!"
"Fellow Daoist Mu, aren't you right?"
"How can there be such a shameless person in this world? He takes the benefits, plays the good guy, and then pretends to be a prostitute!"
"How despicable!"
Hahahahaha...
As he spoke, Lu Ming took a big gulp of wine. Although his killing intent wasn't outwardly apparent, it was extremely pure, almost as if he was about to deliver a fatal blow...
Seeing the atmosphere gradually becoming serious, Qin Lu finally spoke to ease the tension:
"Alright, Fellow Daoist Lu, let's not bring this up again..."
"As agreed, Beitai Province will belong to Qin, and you can take the Beigao Clan with you. In exchange, I will tell you everything that happened back then..."
At this point, Qin Lu paused slightly.
He then recounted his ordeal to Chang and Mu, though he modified the details...
The story goes that the three of them went to the Frost Spirit Demon Domain to search for treasure and accidentally witnessed Fellow Daoist Chunyang being killed by the Frost Demons.
Later, the three were hunted down by the Frost Demons, and in the end, only he managed to escape...
Whether the other party believes it or not, Qin Lu will stick to this story in public. After all, there's no way to verify the story since the dead can't tell us anything.
Things have come to this point--
Chang and Mu remained silent, seemingly speculating about the truth of the matter, back when Chunyang and Gao Xiong perished...
Medicine King Valley learned of this immediately, and based on the life tokens left behind, they confirmed that both of them had perished in the far north!
Furthermore, the two perished around the same time, hence their search for answers from Qin Lu...
In their view, Qin Lu might have been hiding something, but that was enough to prove that Chunyang and Gao Xiong were indeed not harmed by Qin Lu!
Knowing this is enough.
"Thank you for informing us, fellow Daoist. In that case, we will take our leave now. One month from now, Beitai Province will be presented as desired..."
Speaking of this--
The cultivator surnamed Mu clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and then disappeared from their original spot along with Fairy Chang, all under Qin Lu's Divine Sense probing...
The two had already left Baxuan Immortal City and quickly disappeared without a trace.
Hehe~
"Medicine King Valley is getting desperate too. With five Dao Foundation cultivator, they were once a powerful force in the western part of the Da Zhou, having later annexed large swathes of the former Chiyuan territory..."
"Now, one has fallen, and he was a seasoned alchemy master!"
"One of the Dao Foundation who broke away from the sect subsequently died tragically, the northern strategy collapsed, and its own strength was weakened..."
"This resulted in heavy losses and a sharp decline in influence!"
"There's also the Xiashang Dao Academy..."
"His strength is unfathomable. His own power is already extraordinary, and he has also annexed a large part of the north. His influence is comparable to that of Medicine King Valley!"
"Fellow Daoist Lu, what do you think these old foxes are really up to?"
Upon hearing this—
Lu Ming shook his head, silently sipped his wine, and finally gave his answer:
"Cultivation is for achieving immortality, for satisfying one's own desires..."
"Power and wealth are the foundation upon which one climbs to the summit, and are also indispensable on the path to immortality!"
"And to live longer, you naturally need to consume more resources..."
"When they reach the end of their current realm, all that remains is to strive for higher realms. So whatever they do is ultimately for immortality!"
"If there are gods above us, then all we can do is slay them!"
After listening--
Qin Lu nodded slightly. Although Lu Ming had been very subtle in his words, this was the stark reality: when the path to advancement was blocked...
Then the only option is to seize it by force, using this as a substitute!
Perhaps one day in the future, Qin Lu will also walk this path, or perhaps it is an inevitable path for everyone on the road to power...
Let it all go!
"The journey is still too long; let's take care of the present first, then look to the future..."
"We have successively annexed Southern Province and Beitai Province. Including Northern Province, we now occupy three states, which is one-third of the Northern Frontier territory!"
"With gradual and meticulous management, the situation in the north can be stabilized within thirty years..."
"After that, we gradually reached a consensus with the Xie Clan and Wu Clan, and then slowly annexed and assimilated some idle prefectures and counties."
"A hundred years from now, the Northern Frontier will truly belong to the Qin Clan!"
"By then..."
"Perhaps we are the ones who have the ability to contend for the Central Plains. If things don't go well, we can always continue to expand northward until we border the Frost Spirit Demon Domain!"
"Moreover, the Demon Race is now poised to attack, and we must be on guard..."