A Chess Piece Wept

"Now that Lord Bo has cleansed Cloud Horn Prefecture of its filth, perhaps we could consider allowing Xie Yi Daoist Jieyi to return to the mountain gate for a visit?"

The Two Instruments Sect leader of Liangyi Sect Li Yun, sat cross-legged on a cloud, with a low black jade table in front of him filled with tea sets. He spoke to Kuang Liuting in a friendly tone, but without any of the airs of a sect leader.

"Xiu Ming Xie Yi handling mundane affairs for me in the state court, serving the country loyally and enjoying it, and has no desire to return. If Li Yun is worried that his disciples of the Hongyi Sect will be concerned, I will have Huo send a message from the state."

Upon hearing Li Yun's words, Kuang Liuting, who was sitting opposite him, shook his head slightly. Although his tone was normal, his words were barbed and sarcastic, which made Li Yun furious.

"Ha, the Kuang Household is truly as Master said back then; there isn't a single good person in the entire clan. Even if you killed them all and bled them dry, not one of them would be innocent."

Li Yun snorted coldly in her heart. While she was angry, she also felt a little wary when she looked at Kuang Liuting.

His years of Core Formation were only similar to those of the Supreme Elder Xie Yi of the Hongyi Sect, and his Cultivation Method and the quality of his pills were not necessarily superior to the latter's.

Xie Yi was captured by Kuang Liuting and brought back to the state court, which was certainly partly due to his carelessness and underestimation of his enemy, but the strength of Kuang Liuting, a member of the royal family, was truly terrifying.

If a mere Foundation Establishment True Cultivator can capture a Core Formation cultivator alive, what will become of him after he Core Formation?!

"No wonder I've heard that so many True Person above have high hopes for him, saying that he's destined to form Upper-Grade Golden Core. If that's true, then becoming Nascent Soul True Person is just around the corner."

Li Yun thought about it more and more deeply. The imperial family of the Immortal Dynasty Nascent Soul could emerge, the significance to the dynasty would be self-evident.

Logically speaking, a precious talent like Kuang Liuting, who could potentially reach the Nascent Soul, should be kept locked away, and it would be best if outsiders didn't know about him.

You should stay in the heart of the capital region and cultivate peacefully until you reach the Nascent Soul Nascent Soul Formation, then emerge to wreak havoc on all sides.

But how could the current emperor and the princes and nobles in the court bear to send him to such a poor and miserable place as Cloud Horn Prefecture?

Li Yun pondered for a moment, but still couldn't guess what the important figures were thinking.

Those Nascent Soul True Person above all live to be a thousand years old. The intricacies of their minds and their broad perspectives are beyond the comprehension of a mere Golden Core cultivator like himself.

The most important thing right now is to get Kuang Liuting to Xie Yi Jieyi Shangxiu back.

Ding Prefecture, which borders Cloud Horn Prefecture, is not a harmonious place either. Hongyi Sect is a long-established major sect of Golden Core Elixir cultivators and has always maintained good relations with the Two Instruments Sect, so its disciples have always been arrogant.

Now that Hongyi Sect has lost its prestige to Kuang Liuting, and the sect suddenly lacks Xie Yi of its patriarch, it's no wonder that other Golden Core cultivators in the vicinity will have ulterior motives over time.

Hongyi Sect and Two Instruments Sect are, after all, from the same school and share the same spirit. Two Instruments Sect would not sit idly by and watch Hongyi Sect be swallowed up by other Golden Core forces.

However, this is no simple matter. To accomplish this, the Two Instruments Sect will have to expend a lot of manpower and energy. As the current Two Instruments Sect leader of the Li Yun naturally does not want to get bogged down in that quagmire and waste resources.

"Lord, please tell me, what other conditions are required for Xie Yi Daoist Jieyi to return to the sect?"

Li Yun was by nature averse to mundane affairs.

But after taking on the role of sect leader for so many years and easily acquiring a large amount of cultivation resources, he tasted the sweetness of being a sect leader and finally understood why those sect elders used to turn against each other for whoever became sect leader.

It was best to keep this gleaming Spirit Stone in his own hands; Li Yun didn't want to get involved in the battles with other Golden Core forces.

Even in Cloud Horn Prefecture, Li Yun actually had little interest.

With its Spirit Vein shattered and its remote borders impoverished, it's difficult to extract much from these poor folks. In recent years, it's even harder to find a decent seedling of immortality.

From beginning to end, the leading Golden Core cultivators of the Two Instruments Sect never really took Cloud Horn Prefecture seriously.

However, these Golden Core elders all shared the same opinion.

The world is so vast, Immortal Dynasty is rich beyond measure; there's nowhere they can't go. Yet they insist on repeatedly coming to this remote Cloud Horn Prefecture to scramble for food. This is rather embarrassing.

Even if the meat in your own bowl is rotten, it's none of anyone else's business to take it.

The elders of the Two Instruments Sect, harboring this mentality and resentment, and also wanting to demonstrate their loyalty to the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion, ended up in such an awkward situation with the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court of Kuang Liuting.

But now that Kuang Liuting is highly skilled, he has even captured a Golden Core is on good terms with the Two Instruments Sect. If this continues, it will be a loss for the Two Instruments Sect.

"The Golden Core will not be produced" is a red line set by the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion and His Highness the Prince of the South.

The fact that the Two Instruments Sect secretly instigated Xie Yi was a grave offense of disobeying True Person.

Putting everything else aside, if the Prince of the South were to make a few sarcastic remarks in his letter to the Master of the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion, the latter would feel that his pride had been slightly damaged, Two Instruments Sect would also bear a great sin.

But things have come to this point. In the Shannan Circuit, below the Golden Core, how many people can be found who can rival Kuang Liuting, a member of the imperial clan?

The Two Instruments Sect now wants to break this deadlock, but cannot resort to force. Therefore, the only way out is to have serious discussions with Kuang Liuting.

To be honest, Cloud Horn Prefecture was originally lost by the old master of the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion Tower to Prince of the South, and the Two Instruments Sect had been making underhanded moves for some time, so it could be explained away to some extent.

At this point, it would seem acceptable for both sides to cease hostilities.

Li Yun thought this way, and therefore assumed that Kuang Liuting thought the same way.

But Kuang Liuting did not do as he wished, and slowly said:

"I'll Xie Yi it again: Jieyi Shangxiu is staying in the state court to serve the country and has no intention of returning to the sect. If Sect Leader Li doesn't believe me, you can write to him, send a disciple to the state court, or go there yourself—all are acceptable."

Upon hearing this, Li Yun understood Kuang Liuting's meaning: if he didn't offer some tangible benefits, he wouldn't be able to force Kuang Liuting to back down.

"From this day forward, the Two Instruments Sect will no longer interfere in the affairs of Cloud Horn Prefecture," Li Yun paused, noticing that Kuang Liuting didn't even lift his eyelids, and inwardly cursed the arrogant young man, but continued aloud, "The Clear Cloud Alliance cultivators shall now withdraw from Little Wu Mountain, no, withdraw from Cloud Horn Prefecture!"

"Withdraw? Why withdraw?" Kuang Liuting seemed a little tired of listening, and took a pot of spirit wine to drink by himself.

"Gun Shilu has already led his slave army to Little Wu Mountain. Why should I let these rebellious villains go now? Since they didn't want to leave in the first place, then let them stay and contribute to the fertile land of Little Wu Mountain. When I distribute them as rewards in the future, it will make people more satisfied."

"Lord, please name your price. How can you release Fellow Daoist Jie?" Li Yun said gruffly, somewhat annoyed.

"Sect Leader Li, then I shall say this. Firstly, I will only return the person, and I can only take back a pair of underpants; I cannot take even a single fragment of spirit material with me."

Secondly, after Xie Yi returns to the mountain, Hongyi Sect must maintain ten Foundation Establishment disciples at the behest of the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court, and the remaining disciples must also be registered. As Xie Yi Jieyi himself, he must not leave the mountain for half a century and should focus on cultivation. I will wait for him to come and seek revenge.

Thirdly, regarding the remnants of the various rebellious families in Cloud Horn Prefecture, I, the Lord, must issue arrest warrants, and the Two Instruments Sect must fully cooperate.

Fourthly, all twenty-nine provinces and over four hundred prefectures under heaven belong to the Immortal Dynasty! The Two Instruments Sect should never have interfered in the first place, and should not use these things as bargaining chips again! Otherwise, hmph, the day will come when your house collapses!

"Alright," Li Yun regained the composure befitting Golden Core cultivator, completely unconcerned by Kuang Liuting's final threatening words.

The decline of the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty was not a sudden occurrence.

The world is already on the verge of collapse. If the Kuang Household wants to clean up the mess, they'll have to try and produce another founding emperor.

Kuang Liuting's words did not frighten Li Yun, nor did he take them to heart. He simply regarded this member of the royal family as a "tongue-tied but tofu-footed" person.

As for the other three conditions, they are not particularly demanding.

Li Yun was confident that if he agreed to all these conditions now, given the prestige of the Two Instruments Sect in the surrounding states, he would have room to maneuver when facing the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court in the future.

Since Li Yun had already agreed to all the conditions on behalf of the Hongyi Sect, he did not waste any more words on Kuang Liuting.

He scooped a tea leaf from the teacup in front of him, blew on it slightly, and a simple yellow leaf-shaped Law Artifact landed at Li Yun's feet. At this moment, he had no intention of saying goodbye to Kuang Liuting. He stepped onto the Law Artifact and disappeared from the clouds.

Kuang Liuting stared in the direction Li Yun had left and took another big gulp of wine, his eyes gleaming with a strange light, but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Li Yunshang didn't care about the life or death of the fake Dan Master he sent out, let alone whether other cultivators were in danger.

The lives and deaths of countless minor cultivators were decided by Three Words from a powerful figure right there on this low table, only four feet long.

Kuang Liuting kept his word. The day after Li Yun returned to the sect, news spread from the Hongyi Sect in Ding Prefecture that the Supreme Elder Xie Yi had returned from his travels.

On the same day this happened, Fei Nanying Sima Fei, who had been besieged by the False Core, True Cultivator the False Core and, with the remaining few cultivators, broke through the Jiazi Xu Mountain in one fell swoop.

This left the Auspicious Brocade Gate cultivators in Little Wu Mountain in a helpless and isolated predicament once again.

Unfortunately, misfortune struck again. The day after Sima Fei escaped, the Zhou Tingnu army, escorted by Acting Sima Gun, had already halted at the foot of Little Wu Mountain.

"Now you want to surrender?" Sima Fei sneered as he looked at the surrender document personally signed by the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Little Wu Mountain formation, and crumpled it into a ball.

Sima Fei was very shrewd. The False Core who trapped him was quite remarkable. He couldn't have hurt Fei Sima at all, but he still managed to hurt him.

Therefore, there is only one possibility: Kuang Liuting and the Two Instruments Sect have reached a tacit understanding that the latter is unlikely to interfere in the fate of Auspicious Brocade Gate.

"Tomorrow I will personally beat the war drums, and you will lead the slave army in a fierce charge! Be ruthless; they are already surrounded." Before Sima Fei could finish out his strategy at the banquet that evening, the sounds of fierce fighting erupted from the great formation on Little Wu Mountain.

Just as the generals at the banquet were slightly surprised, a soldier led in a man dressed in tattered clothes.

"Reporting to the two commanders, this fellow says there's been infighting within the formation, with one faction wanting to surrender and the other wanting to fight. Even several Foundation Establishment have joined the fray."

"Alright! Hurry up and tell your master that if we can achieve the merit of offering up the battle formation, I will also put in a good word for him with the Earl, and he will have a bright future."

Sima Fei was cautious in his military tactics. Even after receiving the news, he did not rush forward. He waited until the two groups in the formation were fighting until dawn before the state government's slave army broke into the formation at Auspicious Brocade Gate.

Things progressed much more smoothly than Sima Fei had anticipated.

The several Foundation Establishment from the Clear Cloud Alliance who were seriously injured in the formation were quickly subdued one by one by Sima Fei.

The slave army, composed of traitors, now had their lives at the mercy of others, so they all fought with all their might, causing the Clear Cloud Alliance cultivators, who had been besieged for a long time and were exhausted, to retreat in defeat.

Under such circumstances, Sima Fei led his troops to conquer Auspicious Brocade Gate's main camp in just a few days. Compared to him, Buse was simply worlds apart.

After doing some trivial tasks like sealing the sect's treasury, Sima Fei spent some time calculating and then found it all rather dull.

"I wonder how that lazy good-for-nothing is doing? He deserted at the last minute, what audacity! I wonder if the Lord is angry with him. Surely he won't make me suffer the consequences too?"

--Chongming Sect

"He can live, and he can regain his cultivation, but this severed arm is practically cooked through; it can't be reattached."

The Second Tier Alchemist invited by Fei Shuhe exchanged a few words with the Daoist Black Shoes. The latter nodded expressionlessly, glanced at Jiang Qing lying on the jade bed and his right arm, and then walked out the door with the Alchemist.

"I won't go see the other one whose skin is almost burned off. I've given him enough medicine; he should recover in less than half a year. However, he suffered a heart attack from the fire meridian, so his Foundation Establishment process will be affected. Fellow Daoist Black Shoes has a wide circle of friends; if you know any other outstanding Alchemist, you can ask them for advice."

The Daoist Black Shoes escorted the Alchemist all the way to the archway of the Chongming Sect, where the latter gave him some more instructions before leaving.

The Daoist Black Shoes remained expressionless and silent throughout the journey. He turned and searched the crowd following him for a long time before finally asking, "Where is he?"

"Uncle-Master, Senior Brother is in the ancestral hall." Yuan Jin said in a hoarse voice. The Daoist Black Shoes shook off the others and entered the sect's ancestral hall alone.

Kang Dabao, still wearing his filthy robes, stared blankly at Han Yundao's extinguished soul lamp, remaining silent.

He remembered that the soul lamp was not cheap. At the time, Sect Leader Kang Da was reluctant to spend this money on these newly arrived foreign affairs disciples, but he was also afraid of being criticized for favoritism. So he went out of his way to secretly make a trip to Han City to buy it.

I just didn't expect to need it so soon.

"When Yundao first came up the mountain, he was most afraid of pain. Now, I don't know how much suffering he has endured..." Kang Dabao's pale lips trembled uncontrollably. He stammered for a long time before finally reciting the words.

"Crying?" The Daoist Black Shoes asked, looking at the extinguished soul lamps without glancing at Kang Dabao as he entered.

"I didn't cry. My master once said that crying is the most useless thing to do," Kang Dabao replied hesitantly after a moment of surprise.

"The Alchemist you invited has examined him. Brother Qing's hand couldn't be saved. From now on, his body will be incomplete, his meridians will be blocked, all his acupoints will be damaged, and he will have difficulty Foundation Establishment. What do you think?"

"Does Uncle-Master know how difficult it is?"

"Below 1100."

"What if you have Foundation Establishment Pill here, young man?"

Less than 10%.

"Has anyone ever successfully Foundation Establishment without a complete Dao body, Master Uncle?"

"I've heard of it, but I've never seen it."

"I don't want Little Sanzi to Foundation Establishment, nor do I want to glorify this family name. I just want to stop fighting these terrible battles. I just want..."

"Heh." The Daoist Black Shoes sneered, "You might as well just cry it out. Your brain is full of water, spouting nonsense. You've lost your mind!"

Kang Dabao straightened his hunched back slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly said with his head down:

"Uncle-Master is right. If no one in my family reaches Foundation Establishment, these kinds of fierce battles will never end; they will only increase. Little Sanzi has a strong personality. If I don't allow him to reach Foundation Establishment, even without the aid of a spiritual object, he would dare to go behind my back to fight for that one in a hundred chance. But... but Uncle-Master! I'm afraid!"

Sect Leader Kang Da immediately burst into tears, "I am the sect leader, I am the senior brother! They are all people I'm afraid of!"

"After you've finished crying, go do what you need to do. You are the sect leader, you are the senior brother!" The Daoist Black Shoes did not offer any words of comfort. He stepped out of the ancestral hall, letting the crying behind him fill the entire Chongming Sect with sorrow.

She has always been like this; she only hopes that she will not be like this in the future.

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(Sorry, I've been getting off work too late lately, so I've been updating very late.)