The Enlisted Army Talisman

Thanks to Sun Fu's timely release of the message talisman, Ge Yangwei and the hunchbacked middle-aged man were ultimately unable to sneak back to the Changning Sect. They were intercepted by Jiang Qing halfway there.

After the two leading figures from the major sects were escorted back to the Chongming Sect, they were not so lonely. This was because the group of companions they had abandoned earlier had been captured by Leader Wang and the Dragon Beast Master's group, who had split up with Jiang Qing.

From this point on, Changning Sect's probing attempt was a complete failure, but Chongming Sect did not gain much advantage either.

Li Bing died, and many of the guards from Green Lotus Courtyard also perished, including a highly skilled Alchemist. If you really think about it, they might have actually suffered a considerable loss.

These people had their Dantian locked and were guarded by Jiang Qing, awaiting Kang Dabao's return to the sect for further action.

Two days later, Sect Leader Kang Da, who had personally escorted Lord Shan all the way to the Jade Toad cave abode, returned to the sect. After clarifying the cause and effect, his expression turned solemn as he turned to Yuan Jin and asked, "Have you found out everything?"

Yuan Jin's face was ashen, and his mood was equally heavy.

"After asking around, the Ge Household who was leading the group said that they were the only team. However, he himself couldn't say whether anyone else was coming from behind them."

As for whether the Changning Sect is about to take some major action against us in the near future, he wasn't sure. He then interrogated several people separately, and their testimonies all matched up.

Ye Zhengwen, who had just emerged from seclusion, rushed over to discuss matters. Upon hearing this, he said, "In other words, they may not be the first group to infiltrate here. Perhaps before them, thieves from the Changning Sect had already hidden themselves in the Cold Crow Mountain Range."

This is something we must be wary of. Kang Dabao frowned upon hearing this, turned to Fei Shuhe, placed his rough hand on her fair skin, and said, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, Madam, to take extra care."

In front of everyone, Fei Shuhe, who was known for her capable and efficient manner among noble ladies, couldn't help but feel a little shy when the Sect Leader Kang Da made such an intimate gesture.

Without Fei Shuhe withdrew her small hand. Her voice was clear and melodious as she pointed to someone. "Dragon Beast Master, double the number of Golden-Feathered Owl released into the outer area of Cold Crow Mountain."

The dragon beast master looked troubled and cupped his hands, saying, "Reporting to Miss, if that's the case, then we won't have enough owls around Green Lotus Courtyard."

"It's alright," Fei Shuhe said, turning to Nanny Sun. "Granny Lao and Leader Wang should select reliable people to leave some guards in the outer courtyard to maintain the operation of the formation in Green Lotus Courtyard. The rest of the guards should be temporarily relocated to the Chongming Sect for safety."

Nanny Sun's eyes gleamed with admiration, but Leader Wang, being somewhat dim-witted, almost blurted out, "Where do the maids in the inner quarters and you, Miss, live?" upon hearing Fei Shuhe's words.

Fortunately, he wasn't entirely naive. Seeing the harmonious scene Sect Leader Kang Da and his wife, he swallowed his words back down.

Kang Dabao looked at Fei Shuhe with gratitude in his eyes, and was about to speak when Yuan Jin spoke up first, "Sect Leader, Ingenious Craftsman Fort must be involved in this matter. We need to summon them for questioning."

Pei Yi had previously felt this was inappropriate and used persuasion to temporarily calm Yuan Jin down, but Sect Leader Kang Da felt that Yuan Jin's words were not without merit.

Admittedly, given the long borders on both sides, it was difficult to defend Ingenious Craftsman Fort against a small group of elite troops infiltrating there. However, it is also an undeniable fact that Chongming Sect lost his disciples as a result.

Ingenious Craftsman Fort was already guilty of a crime, so Kang Dabao didn't need to be polite to them. He didn't believe they would dare to betray him and go back to the Two Instruments Sect to live.

The high-ranking members of the Two Instruments Sect, led by Jiang Yuan, certainly remembered this force that had slapped them in the face and broken their alliance.

After returning, ordinary disciples might have a very small chance of survival, but the sect leader and elders of Ingenious Craftsman Fort would certainly not survive.

However, the time when Daoist Black Shoes and the New Cloud Alliance agreed to launch a joint attack on the Changning Sect is still far off, and Kang Dabao does not want to do anything big to provoke Changning Sect.

If the latter were to act unpredictably and launch Chongming Sect. Even if they could hold out until reinforcements arrived, the losses would certainly be substantial.

However, the news of these people's capture could not be kept from the Changning Sect's higher-ups for long; it would be exposed sooner or later.

If the Chongming Sect is about to be discovered and remains silent, it will likely arouse the vigilance of the Changning Sect.

This is definitely not good news for Sect Leader Kang Da, who wants to gather his forces and launch a surprise attack.

If that's the case, then let Ingenious Craftsman Fort add more manpower and make the fighting in the two county camps even bloodier, so that the Changning Sect will mistakenly believe that this is Chongming Sect's revenge, thus allaying their suspicions.

Seeing that Kang Dabao was somewhat moved, Ye Zhengwen also wanted to get up to persuade him, but was stopped by the former's hand. "Junior Brother Ye, go and summon the magistrate of Pingrong County in Ingenious Craftsman Fort to come to the sect and explain to me."

Although the two junior brothers still had differing opinions, since Sect Leader Kang Da had made up his mind, they naturally could not refute him, and neither of them spoke.

At this critical moment Chu Huer, who had been waiting for a long time, finally got his chance to speak. He stepped forward and asked, "Senior Brother Sect Leader, Junior Brother Li has been killed by thieves. Junior Brother begs Senior Brother to behead the thieves to comfort Junior Brother Li's spirit in heaven."

Having the opportunity to sit in on such an important event for the first time, Sun Fu, who was at the very end of the hall, burst into tears, kowtowed to the ground, and said mournfully, "I beg you, Senior Brother Headmaster, for permission."

Kang Dabao sighed, "Junior Brother Li was a pillar of the sect, always diligent in his work. I never expected him to die at the hands of such a villain." After sighing, he asked Chu Huer, "Have you found out who committed this heinous act?"

"Ge Yangwei of the Changning Sect Refining lineage," Sun Fu answered hastily, his eyes bloodshot.

"Third, bring Ge Yangwei out later and let Junior Brother Sun avenge this for us!" Kang Dabao nodded in approval without the slightest hesitation.

After speaking with Jiang Qing, he turned to Pei Yi and said, "Junior Brother Pei, later you should go and find Deng Baichuan. The rest of the captured thieves should be taken to the Double Brightness Trade Market prison. Ask him to Enlisted Army Talisman on them and send them to the state army."

When Kang Dabao spoke of the "Enlisted Army Talisman," his envy was hard to hide.

The state court ultimately kept a secret from locals like Cloud Horn Prefecture. The "Enlisted Army Talisman," a truly vital military and state instrument, was always kept in the hands of trusted confidants like Deng Baichuan and Gun Shilu from the capital region.

Over the years, not even a single First Tier card has been revealed.

If we could also obtain some, then we could use the enemies we capture in the future. When facing the enemy in battle, our disciples would shed far less blood.

"Why bother Lieutenant Deng?" Fei Shuhe smiled lightly. Nanny Sun understood and took out a stack of silver-white talismans.

"This is the Enlisted Army Talisman?!" Kang Dabao exclaimed, a mixture of surprise and fear in his voice.

Since the beginning of the dynasty, countless Golden Core cultivators and Nascent Soul True Person have been locked into spirit slaves by this seemingly ordinary talisman, forced to serve the king and be loyal to the country.

Even today, many cultivators deeply resent these spirit talismans that imprison freedom.

Kang Dabao had heard the Daoist Black Shoes say that when the Great Ancestor had just lost the High Antiquity forbidden land, the high-ranking cultivators of the Immortal Dynasty had reached a consensus: the Kuang Household clan members after their defeat had to promise that they would not use Enlisted Army Talisman to detain people again, otherwise they would be attacked by the whole world.

However, as the first generation of Nascent Soul True Person and Golden Core cultivators who suffered greatly from the Enlisted Army Talisman gradually passed away, this prohibition had already been relaxed to varying degrees in different sects of the Immortal Dynasty a hundred years ago.

Now, the Immortal Dynasty can openly use Enlisted Army Talisman on a small scale in any region to detain some heinous low-level cultivators as spirit slaves.

However, in the cultivation world, there are countless methods for controlling lower-level cultivators. Compared to these, the Enlisted Army Talisman is merely convenient, which is why the higher-level cultivators don't care much about it.

They would only care if another Second Tier or higher Enlisted Army Talisman appeared in the world, and it truly concerned their own lives.

The saying "Those who eat meat are despicable" is fitting no matter where you look at it.

However, Sect Leader Kang Da didn't think that these high-level cultivators truly didn't understand what the resurgence of Enlisted Army Talisman would mean for the entire Great Wei Immortal Dynasty.

Having been in the game for a while, Kang Dabao also felt that the relationship between the Great Wei clan and the thirty-three Nascent Soul forces of the Immortal Dynasty was subtle and could not be simply described as "hostile".

According to Lord Shan, in recent decades, not only the Enlisted Army Talisman, but also many other rules and regulations previously established for the Great Wei family have shown signs of loosening.

There must be some kind of exchange of benefits involved that even low-level repairmen couldn't possibly come up with, no matter how hard they racked their brains.

"This was brought back to me by my father from when he was in the army," Fei Shuhe said softly, taking the Enlisted Army Talisman from Nanny Sun and handing it to Kang Dabao. "Take it and use it."

"Well."

----The following morning, at the Pingrong County seat in Ingenious Craftsman Fort.

Mo Wen, the magistrate of Pingrong County in Ingenious Craftsman Fort, sighed as he looked at the message that had been sent from the Chongming Sect last night.

It's truly a case of a tiger falling into the plains. To think that Ingenious Craftsman Fort, a renowned Foundation Establishment sect in several surrounding states, could be Chongming Sect by that opportunistic Chongming Sect.

It should be noted that even when Zhang Yuandao, the founder of their school, was alive, he would not have dared to be so disrespectful to Ingenious Craftsman Fort. It is truly lamentable!

"If only we had killed that peddler back then!" said an old man with a long beard beside Mo Wen angrily.

"There's no such thing as knowing beforehand." Mo Wen shook his head and sighed. They had chosen the Ingenious Craftsman Fort side before, and it was already a miracle that they survived.

At least because Ingenious Craftsman Fort surrendered quickly, it managed to save most of its members. This outcome was much better than that of its former allies, such as the Lin Household and the True Spirit Gate.

The latter two families, despite their unwavering loyalty to the Two Instruments Sect, did not necessarily gain any advantage. They were still forced to entangle themselves with the defeated Ge Feng Prefecture Ge Household, continuing to feed the Two Instruments Sect's blade with the blood and flesh of their disciples and followers.

Moreover, back then, on the summit of Little Wu Mountain, the Chongming Sect and the Ingenious Craftsman Fort fought several battles against each other, each serving their own master.

Mo Wen didn't think Kang Dabao was a magnanimous gentleman who would forgive past transgressions. The latter had a well-known reputation for being "vengeful and fond of bullying women." It was perfectly normal for him to seize any opportunity to blackmail and retaliate.

Mo Wen carefully put away the talisman and turned to the long-bearded elder at the Peak Qi Refinement, instructing him, "Junior brother, you need to organize your disciples. That fellow surnamed Kang will most likely use the same old tricks again, trying to force us to set up camp."

"Damn it!" The long-bearded old man's face flushed red, clearly filled with resentment that he couldn't vent.

"Junior brother, do not act rashly. When our sect leader asked us to bring the disciples to Pingrong beforehand, he said that in order for the continuation of the sect, we must bide our time and wait for the right opportunity."

To put it bluntly, our branch was sent out to take the fall. The sect is in such a predicament, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We'll just hold on for as long as we can!

These words were spoken with icy coldness, and Mo Wen's expression remained indifferent as he spoke, "Alright, regarding the matter of connecting to the Second Tier Spirit Vein, Junior Brother, you'll need to keep a close eye on it at home. I'm going now; I want to see what kind of show that Kang Dabao is putting on for me!"

Mo Wen stopped talking to the long-bearded old man, left the main hall, and passed through the brand-new Ingenious Craftsman Fort. Two boys had already arrived and were waiting there with a heavily armored mechanical puppet shaped like an ox.

Mo Wen mounted the mechanical puppet, and the two children followed closely behind, each riding a wolf-shaped mechanical puppet.

Without stopping, they traveled all the way to the foot of Little Ring Mountain. Kang Rongquan, who was guarding the mountain gate, saw that the puppets under the three men were extraordinary, and he could easily guess which sect or school the people in front of him belonged to.

Kang Rongquan barely managed to lash out on the spot. He only exchanged a few harsh words with Mo Wen, his tone full of sarcasm and ridicule. Mo Wen, however, remained Light Cloud, showing no sign of anger.

Mo Wen's dismissive attitude made Kang Rongquan feel bored. After all, the former was a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, and Kang Rongquan, as the disciple on duty, couldn't be neglected for too long.

He then used a token to communicate, and after obtaining permission from the sect leader, Kang Rongquan activated the grand formation, bringing Mo Wen and his two disciples before the Sect Leader Kang Da.

"Fellow Daoist Mo, you've arrived so quickly. Your presence today truly brings honor to our sect."

To Mo Wen's surprise, Kang Dabao did not start with threatening words as he had said beforehand. Instead, he greeted him with a warm smile and showed no sign of holding him accountable.

"Having received the county magistrate's letter, I dare not delay." Despite his surprise, Mo Wen's tone remained respectful, and he tried his best not to give Kang Dabao any fault to find.

"Fellow Daoist Mo's fervent patriotism is truly admirable."

Kang Dabao, like Kang Rongquan, harbored no goodwill towards Ingenious Craftsman Fort. Even though they served different masters back then, it was an undeniable fact that both sides had the blood of the other on their hands.

However, Sect Leader Kang Da did not want to express his thoughts as directly as Kang Rongquan.

Kang Dabao still wanted to trick Ingenious Craftsman Fort hard. Back then, the artillery-machine puppets composed of those few Qi Refinement cultivators from Ingenious Craftsman Fort were able to cause considerable damage to Second Tier grand formation.

Now that Kang Dabao has Mo Wen, a Foundation Establishment who has fully mastered the True Disciple True Cultivator of Ingenious Craftsman Fort, he will not let personal likes or dislikes affect his important business.

For the Chongming Sect, nothing is more important than overthrowing the Changning Sect right now. Being targeted by a powerful sect with double-digit Foundation Establishment and nearly a thousand disciples is not a good experience.

The praise from Sect Leader Kang Da did not make Mo Wen lower his guard. The latter did not respond, but simply bowed his head in return, repeatedly saying that he dared not accept it.

Seeing that Mo Wen didn't respond, Kang Dabao remained calm, putting the pleasantries to an end, and said directly, "The area bordering White Sand County and this county has recently been plagued by bandits. We need Fellow Daoist Mo to dispatch his disciples to pacify the area for this county."

Mo Wen frowned. Although he had thought of this before coming, it didn't mean he would just accept the knife without even struggling.

"Your Excellency, Ingenious Craftsman Fort has already stationed 51% of Pingrong County's disciples in the five military camps at the border of the two counties. If you wish to transfer more, that is certainly possible, but our sect is not capable enough to do so in the short term. We hope Your Excellency will grant us some more time."

"Yes, Fellow Daoist Mo is right." Kang Dabao nodded in agreement, then said:

"Your family's loyalty to the emperor and their patriotism are not only clearly seen by me, but I believe even Your Excellency would have your own judgment and keep them in mind. To be honest, before you arrived, I had already considered your difficulties and had also thought of a solution."

As soon as Sect Leader Kang Da finished speaking, a stack of silvery-white talismans appeared in his hand. Mo Wen changed upon seeing them, his eyes filled with astonishment and doubt. "Enlisted Army Talisman?!"

"Damn it, this guy seems to have become worth a lot more back in the state government?!"

(It will probably be around this time tomorrow or the day after, please forgive me.)

Thanks to the confused little black guy for the 600 points.

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