State capital
The autumn rain continued to fall, as King Lu's soldiers stood at the entrance of the street, occasionally interrogating passersby.
Although there weren't many people on the streets, it wasn't as though they were deserted. They were merely sheltering from the rain. King Lu had set down a policy of not harassing and plundering the people, and thus preserved much of the vitality of the city. Everyone was emboldened as they opened up shops to do business on the streets. Many of the shops were open for business, and many of the shops were open for business. The East Street's Dong Yuan Bun Stall had many people queuing up. The steaming hot buns were extremely appetizing.
After King Lu defeated Count Zhong Qin, the entire world was shaken. At that time, four counties in Jin Prefecture had pledged their allegiance to King Lu. The Marquis of Cloud Sun, Li Duo Ke, had also pledged his allegiance to King Lu. All the officials and generals who had contributed greatly to King Lu's cause started to make contact with him. In the past few days, several more counties have pledged their allegiance to King Lu.
At this point, the sky was low and the clouds were dark. Light drizzled down onto the ground. King Lu had personally escorted the few county magistrates out. He then stood in the courtyard and looked up at the sky. The cool drizzle landed on his face, and he felt extremely relaxed. After some time, he turned around and grabbed Xie Cheng Dong's hands. He then smiled, "Mister Xie, Count Zhong Qin has been defeated. I'm afraid Jing Nan will succeed soon."
"Actually, on the day of Jing Nan, although I was full of confidence, my heart was uneasy. Now I feel much more at ease." As he said this, his face was filled with joy.
Xie Cheng Dong bowed and said, "Your Highness, you are the chosen one, which is why you were able to rise so quickly. However, it is only two prefectures, we cannot relax for the time being. Although the court has suffered heavy losses, its foundations have not been destroyed. If we are careless, I'm afraid we will suffer a great loss."
When King Lu heard these words, he wasn't too happy. He then thought about it and realized that Xie Cheng Dong was right. He then exhaled deeply before he turned around and sat down. He then smiled, "Mister Xie, you're really my advisor. After hearing what you said, I've calmed down quite a bit."
"You're right. Strictly speaking, I've only obtained one and a half provinces. Compared to the imperial court, it's still very weak."
Hearing this, Xie Cheng Dong smiled and was about to speak when a report came from outside, "Senior Brother Xie, there's news from the sect!"
"Your Highness, I'm going out to see what's going on. Please forgive me." Xie Cheng Dong bowed to King Lu. Hearing these words, King Lu waved his hands, "This is a small matter. You can go on your own."
"Thank you, Prince."
Xie Cheng Dong hurried out the door. A Daoist Priest handed him a letter and whispered, "Senior Brother, the sect has summoned you urgently. They want you to return to the sect immediately. They say that something big has happened within the sect. All the Elders and fellow disciples of the other Daoist temples are being summoned back."
"What? What happened? "When Xie Cheng Dong heard this, a sense of uneasiness emerged in his heart.
"I heard that the sect was attacked and a few elders and a dozen core disciples were killed." The Daoist was horrified. "Zhen Leizi, Jing Yuanzi and the rest are all dead."
"Senior Brother, I don't know the specifics, but with such a big thing happening in the sect, it's only natural for them to summon you. You should hurry back, it's related to the newly appointed Elder!"
When Xie Cheng Dong heard this, he paced a few steps and pinched his fingers together to calculate. His face changed several times before he finally said, "Alright, I understand. You may leave."
"Yes, Senior Martial Brother." The Daoist responded and left.
Xie Cheng Dong started pacing back and forth. At this point in time, the autumn rain was cool and refreshing. But now that he was in a different mood, he could feel the cold wind blowing against his face. He looked hesitant as he mumbled to himself, "Although I'm not as good as the Blind Daoist in divination, I can still sense it. These few elders are indeed dead."
'Among them, Zhen Leizi was an Elder who was loyal to us. Now that he's dead, I have to return immediately and become an Elder. Or at least appoint an Elder who is loyal to me. If not, my power within the sect will be greatly reduced.'
'It's understandable that the sect has summoned me. King Lu has won a great victory, and I have time to spare. But I still feel uneasy.'
As he thought of this, Xie Cheng Dong paced several steps. Could it be that the Earth Immortals are jealous of me? Dark Altar Sect once had many outstanding disciples. But in the end, they all disappeared without a trace. It was impossible to say that there wasn't an Earth Immortal behind this.
'No, I can't break away from Dark Altar Sect's support yet. I can't turn against them. The only way is to return.' Xie Cheng Dong thought for some time before sighing. He then cleared his throat, "But I can't let my guard down."
Thinking this way, he turned around and entered the room. King Lu was reading some documents. When he saw Xie Cheng Dong enter, he smiled, "Mister Xie, you're back?"
Xie Cheng Dong had a serious look on his face as he kowtowed. King Lu was shocked and hurriedly helped him up, "What's wrong with you? What's the matter? Speak your mind."
"Your majesty, I've just received news that something big has happened within my sect. Several of my senior uncles have died, and they're summoning me back. I'm a Daoist from Dark Altar Sect, and I have no choice but to return. It's just that I'm feeling uneasy. I hope that your majesty can bestow upon me five hundred armored soldiers, just in case."
King Lu's face was originally filled with joy, but when he heard these words, he fell silent. After all, Xie Cheng Dong was his most important strategist.
"Mister, the war is at its most critical juncture. If you leave now, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up."
King Lu thought for sometime before speaking, "However, since your sect has summoned me, I won't make things difficult for you. Take my token and bring five hundred armored soldiers with you. With these five hundred soldiers, as long as you don't get surrounded by the army, you should be able to escape."
Xie Cheng Dong was overjoyed as he bowed, "Thank you, your majesty."
Just as he was about to leave, King Lu called out to him, "Wait!"
He turned around and saw that King Lu was deep in thought. He then spoke, "Although I'm not the Emperor yet, I'm a Crown Prince, and have two prefectures under my control. I'm sure things will be different from before."
"If you bring five hundred armored soldiers with you, I'm still a little worried. Since that's the case, I shall bestow upon you the title of True Sovereign, and bestow upon you the title of Liang Shan!"
As soon as these words were spoken, he felt a surge of energy envelop his body. Xie Cheng Dong could feel that the nature of this energy was similar to what the Emperor had bestowed upon him. It was just that it was slightly weaker. However, to King Lu, this was already a huge expenditure. Xie Cheng Dong's heart warmed as he turned around and kowtowed, "Your subject thanks you for your kindness!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he walked out of the courtyard. The rain was getting heavier.
Qi Lin Daoist Official
The entire monastery was filled with bright red peaches, and the air was filled with the fragrance of peaches.
The Daoist children were playing around in the monastery, plucking peaches from time to time. They were extremely happy. Whenever a Daoist walked by, he would scold the Daoist children, telling them to be quiet and not to cause a ruckus.
When the Daoist children heard this, they would stick out their tongues and run away, not daring to cause a ruckus.
Pei Zi Yun was reading the latest reports when he heard this, when he heard this, he heard a voice, "True Sovereign, Dark Altar Sect has replied."
Pei Zi Yun was overjoyed as he replied, "Quick, bring the letter over."
He then saw a Daoist from Dark Altar Sect following a Daoist official into the room. Pei Zi Yun received the letter and opened it. He took a look and smiled, "Haha, it's just as I expected."
The Daoist from Dark Altar Sect bowed and replied, "Yes. True Sovereign, please decide on the target of our ambush."
Pei Zi Yun stood up and paced several steps as he looked at the map. He thought for some time and decided on a certain spot. This was the entrance to Dark Altar Sect's mountain range, but it wasn't inside. He then wrote a few words on the letter, "Help me pass this to them. When the time comes, we shall ambush them here."
He then asked, "Does Dark Altar Sect have any treasures that can block the Qi of soldiers? When the time comes, I shall mobilize my troops to prevent Xie Cheng Dong from escaping."
As Pei Zi Yun spoke, his voice was filled with killing intent.
When the Daoist heard this, he hesitated before replying, "We do have treasures. But True Sovereign should know that treasures can only block the Qi of soldiers. There's a limit."
After thinking for some time, he said, "The Patriarch had instructed me before I came here that the maximum number of soldiers I can shield is five hundred. Hence, I can only shield five hundred soldiers without being discovered by Xie Cheng Dong. Any more than that would be impossible."
Pei Zi Yun nodded his head and took several steps forward, "Five hundred is enough. I shall wait for your news."
The Daoist received the letter and bowed. "Once there is news, we will reply immediately!"
Seeing that the Daoist had left, Pei Zi Yun's face fell as he waved his hands to dismiss the Daoist official. His heart skipped a beat as he looked at the Daoist official, 'I feel uneasy. This Earth Immortal from Dark Altar Sect is extremely crafty and cunning. Everything he does is for his own benefit and the benefit of Dark Altar Sect. It's not a bad idea to deal with Xie Cheng Dong, but if he succeeds, he will deal with me as well.'
"Even if I don't enter Dark Altar Sect's mountain range, I'm afraid I'll still be in danger. Let me tell my fortune." Thinking up to this point, Pei Zi Yun pointed out with his finger, causing a Plum Blossom to appear in the air. The petals of the Plum Blossom were all present, except that the purple petals were a little lighter. The Plum Blossom twirled in the air, carrying with it an ancient charm.
The Plum Blossom spun and seemed to illuminate the entire world. After a while, the Plum Blossom stopped.
"This is a bad omen." As soon as Pei Zi Yun touched it, the divination image turned into a ray of light and returned to his body. Several messages were transmitted to him, causing him to laugh coldly.
"Looks like I was right. Not only does the Earth Immortal have killing intent towards Xie Cheng Dong, he probably has the same intention towards me." Pei Zi Yun then shook his head, "After all, I've lived for two hundred years. I've seen the world clearly, and will not be fooled by worldly matters."
"Trying to catch us all in one fell swoop? How resolute and decisive. "
"But how could I be careless? Actually, when I think about it, it's just these few tricks! " Pei Zi Yun walked around the room several times before recalling the information he had received from the Dao Records Department. He then walked outside and asked, "Are the Daoist officials from the Dao Records Department here yet?"
When the Daoist official heard this, he replied, "True Sovereign, I've already contacted them. They'll be here in the afternoon."
"Good. Go and prepare the men now. When the time comes, I'll need to use all the items that are being delivered." Pei Zi Yun said.
"Yes, True Sovereign."
In the afternoon, more than ten Daoists arrived, carrying many items. There was a whole cart of them. The Daoist leading them was Zhang Ling. Zhang Ling's face was tanned by the sun, and behind her were several other Daoists.
Seeing that Pei Zi Yun was welcoming them, she hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, "Greetings True Sovereign."
"Dispense with the formalities. Have all the items that were seized by the Dao Records Department been delivered here?" Pei Zi Yun glanced at the items and asked Zhang Ling. Hearing this, Zhang Ling hurriedly explained, "True Sovereign, not all of them have been delivered. Only a portion of them have been delivered. The rest will be delivered in batches to prevent any problems."
Pei Zi Yun knew that it was impossible to obtain everything in one go, and thus nodded his head.
"True Sovereign, this is the list of names." Zhang Ling handed over a list of names. Pei Zi Yun took a look and had a rough idea of what was going on. He then nodded his head, "Alright, I understand."
"I will not damage these items. Men, bring all these items into my room." Pei Zi Yun instructed.
Immediately, men started moving the items from the cart into his room.
The Daoist official from the Dao Records Department looked at Pei Zi Yun anxiously. Pei Zi Yun then waved his hands, "You've all worked hard. Go and rest. I've already ordered my men to prepare a welcoming banquet."
"If there's nothing important, do not disturb me!"
As he said this, he turned around and entered his room. Although Pei Zi Yun knew that his actions would raise suspicions, this was a different situation. He was on the verge of breaking through, and did not need the Imperial Court's help. Even if there were suspicions, so what?
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