"Including the two of them, there are only nine of them. What about the last one?"
Li Yao asked with brutality beaming out of his eyes.
Ling Lanyin blushed. It was obvious that she was not good at flattery. She was already embarrassed before she started. "The Three Saints, the Four Rapscallions, Master Bitter Cicada, and the emperor are the nine most distinguished Yuanying experts in the world today. They are perhaps in the high level or even the peak of the Yuanying Stage. The other Yuanying Cultivators are not as good as them.
"If I have to say, I think that you are on par with the nine of them, senior. You are one of the top ten unparalleled experts in the world!"
"Is that so?"
Li Yao sneered. Then, he suddenly put on a ferocious face and shouted, "You are lying. Are you trying to fool me?"
Li Yao's saliva was spluttering. Ling Lanyin felt that she had been crushed by a tornado. She gritted her teeth so hard that they were almost sore. She gritted her teeth and said, "I dare not. I am not saying that because I want to please you, senior!
"Master Black Moon is the best expert in the Southland of Sorcerers. He is in the beginning level of the Yuanying Stage. Let's not talk about him.
"Han Yuantai, the Lord of Behemoth Eagle, is an expert who has been famous on the Dark Cloud Prairies for a long time. He is in the middle level of the Yuanying Stage. Last year, when the Ghost Qin's wolf cavalry trampled on the central plateaus, he played the role of the vanguard and destroyed the headquarters of quite a few northern sects within a month, killing one Yuanying and nine Jin Dan Cultivators. His brutality is known all over the country!
"Such a ferocious person and Venerable Black Moon together were no match for Senior. In an instant, one was killed and the other was injured. From this, it can be seen that Senior's cultivation has reached the pinnacle!"
"Before I left the mountain, my master told me the general classification of the Cultivators in the world of Cultivators.
"The 'Three Saints and Four Rapscallions' that I mentioned just now, together with the emperor and Master Bitter Cicada, are all 'top-tier experts'. Han Yuantai, on the other hand, is in the middle level of the Nascent Soul Stage. There is a huge gap between the top-tier experts and the top-tier experts. Without the rarely-seen opportunities and fortuitous encounters, it is almost impossible for them to cross the gap if they are not born with extraordinary talents!
"Since you suppressed a 'top-tier expert' so easily, senior, I assume that you must be one of the 'top-tier experts'. You are definitely qualified to compete for the title of the top ten experts in the world!"
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Li Yao burst into the most arrogant laughter. Green fire was beaming out of his black eyes as he stared at Ling Lanyin without blinking for a long time. Then he nodded and said, "Good. Good. Well said!
"By accident, I received the greatest fortune that nobody could have imagined. After decades of training in seclusion, enduring the excruciating pain of being skinned and reborn countless times, and escaping from mental derangement countless times, I finally grasped the techniques that I have today. Naturally, I cannot let them be wasted in the Southland of Sorcerers!"
"Top ten experts in the world?"
"Hehe. Hehehehe. I will be the best in the world if I don't want to.
"Kid, I don't need to hide my ambition from anybody. I'm not interested in the messy trivia of the hundred tribes in the Southland of Sorcerers at all. After all, your father, Huo Wuji, and the chiefs, priests, and sorcerers in the Southland of Sorcerers can do whatever they want!
"I, on the other hand, am going to travel and meet the heroes of the world, including the 'top-tier experts' that you mentioned, the Three Saints and the Four Rapscallions!
"Why don't we start our journey in the Purple Pole Sword Sect? What do you think?"
Ling Lanyin thought quickly. Yuanying, a barbarian in such a desolate area who suddenly grasped unparalleled techniques, was like a bumpkin in a remote village who suddenly became rich overnight. It was only natural that he would want to show off in the colorful world.
After all, the old monster needed the resources and the refining facilities of the Purple Pole Sword Sect right now. There was a lot of room for negotiation between the two parties. She did not think that he would start a fight the moment he arrived at the Purple Pole Sword Sect, would he?
Also, he had tacitly agreed that Huo Wuji would be the new Chieftain of the Southland of Sorcerers and did not interfere with her father's operation in the Southland of Sorcerers. It was obvious that he was more or less on the Great Qian Dynasty's side.
If so, everything would be much easier!
The recent months had been the most perilous moment for the Purple Pole Sword Sect. If such a tough old monster could be in charge of the sect, and other people did not know that he was only there to borrow the place for refining but thought that he was a helper that the Purple Pole Sword Sect had invited, they would have to be more cautious if any conflicts were to arise.
Thinking about that, Ling Lanyin bowed deeply. "It is an honor for us to welcome you, Master Spiritual Vulture. You are most welcome!"
After Li Yao and Ling Lanyin reached an agreement, Ling Lanyin relayed the message to Ling Shoujing.
Although he did not get an army of tens of thousands of barbarian soldiers immediately, persuading such an old monster in the middle level of Yuanying to visit the Purple Pole Sword Sect as a guest was even better than recruiting an army of a hundred thousand. Naturally, Ling Shoujing was not dissatisfied at all.
Huo Wuji, Meng Duo, Gu Siduo, and the other barbarian barbarians did not know whether they should be happy or worried when they heard that Li Yao was going on a 'trip'. On the surface, they all looked as if they were mourning. They were almost clinging to Li Yao's thigh and begging him not to leave.
Li Yao, fearing that some of the barbarian Cultivators used to be friends with Master Spiritual Vulture and noticed something wrong, simply kicked them out after a few words.
Ling Shoujing, Huo Wuji, Meng Duo, Gu Siduo, and many other barbarians in the Southland of Sorcerers also delivered tremendous local resources in the Southland of Sorcerers, such as snakes, bugs, rats, ants, venomous gas, and bugs as thick as an arm. Li Yao frowned hard when he saw their kindness.
That night, Li Yao released Han Yuantai and the hundreds of knights from Ghost Qin.
A lot of barbarian Cultivators on Huo Wujiu's side, too, might have conflicts with Huo Wuji's men if they stayed. Therefore, he simply asked them to take them away, too.
Although he had released them, he still had to keep some souvenirs.
Li Yao was new to the place, and it was impossible for him to use the currency of the Federation. He was in dire need of the help of a magnate such as Han Yuantai.
After all, Han Yuantai had brought a lot of treasures and crystals to the south in the first place. Those things were supposed to belong to Master Black Moon, the leaders of the villages, and the sorcerers. Naturally, they had to be changed to "Li".
After the soldiers on Ghost Qin's side were dealt with, Huo Wuji was officially appointed as the new chieftain of the Southland of Sorcerers by Ling Shoujing's army.
After all, Li Yao had declared that he would not interfere with the affairs of the mortal world. He did not think that Huo Wuji was a man of foolish loyalty. Instead, he was pretending to be a fool and hiding a needle in a velvet glove. If you want to mobilize his soldiers to fight, you can argue all you want!
Ling Shoujing's army had to be stationed in the Southland of Sorcerers to promote the authority of the court and maintain the peace of the land.
Ling Lanyin had been sent by the Purple Pole Sword Sect to reinforce Ling Shoujing. She was not restricted by the emperor's order. Naturally, she was free to come and go.
Li Yao asked Ling Lanyin to lead the way. The two of them flew to the central plateaus on their flying swords without being disturbed by the terrain.
With Li Yao and Ling Lanyin's Cultivation right now, and with the intense spiritual energy of the Ancient Sages Sector, it was not impossible for them to fly thousands of kilometers back to the headquarters of the Purple Pole Sword Sect in ten days with the auras of their swords.
However, Li Yao was interested in observing the customs of the Ancient Sages Sector. When they reached the upper reaches of the Sorcerers' River at the border of the Southland of Sorcerers and the central plateaus, he retreated his sword auras and disguised himself as a low-level unaffiliated Cultivator. Then, he bought a 'surging boat' powered by spiritual energy and asked Ling Lanyin to be his maid. They went straight down the river.
Ling Lanyin couldn't have been more anxious, fearing that her sect might have had conflicts with other Cultivation sects while she was away. She almost wished that she could fly back to the Purple Pole Sword Sect immediately with flying swords sticking out of her ribs.
However, she knew that the old monster before her was temperamental. Although he was showing the intention of cooperating with the Purple Pole Sword Sect, he might turn hostile at any moment if he was displeased.
Ling Lanyin, as one of the youngest female Cultivators named Jin Dan, was praised by countless people as the most brilliant person in the new generation of the Purple Pole Sword Sect. When Wang Xi was in power, Ling Lanyin, one of the 'four fairies', was even mocked by other Cultivators as Fairy Youlan. But right now, she could only cover her face and serve Li Yao wholeheartedly until he was no longer in the mood for sightseeing.
Although the Sorcerers' River was not the longest of the few great rivers that crossed the Great Qian Dynasty, it was definitely the most zigzagging, dangerous, and turbulent one.
It was especially so in the upper reaches of the Sorcerers' River, where the rivers were surging and the cliffs on both sides were high. Dragons, snakes, tigers, and leopards could be seen everywhere. A boat was floating in the middle of the surging tides. Listening to the roars and swallowing sounds of all kinds of demon beasts from the depths of the cliffs that were enshrouded in clouds and mist, Li Yao felt that he was truly traveling between the deepest level of hell and the mortal world.
Li Yao appreciated the splendid rivers and mountains of the Ancient Sages Sector that had not been fully developed yet with great interest. Every time he reached a dock, he would stop and observe the villages and towns along the river.
He discovered that Han Yuantai was not wrong about one thing. The territory of the Great Qian Dynasty was indeed deeply controlled by the Cultivation sects and turned into a feudal, independent kingdom.
Wherever he went, almost every town of a relatively large scale was garrisoned by a Cultivation sect. Also, the Cultivation sects often monopolized the 'inner city' with the best locations and established splendid, orderly buildings and even fortresses. All kinds of colorful defense arrays were activated all day long. When the sunlight was refracted by the defense arrays, the splendor of the Cultivation sects was further accentuated.
Such a view was a stark contrast to the ragged 'outer city' where the ordinary people lived. They were almost two different worlds.
Li Yao even saw that, in some places, there were thriving floating mountains two to three hundred meters in the sky, surrounded by pavilions, waterfalls, rainbows, and birds. What a natural paradise that was enshrouded in the air.
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