Lv Mudui retrieved several Tianij Pigeons that seemed to have gained spirituality and nestled the Tianji Order snugly against their bodies.
White feathers fluttered down as the Tianji Pigeons beat their wings in the white snow. They burst past the barrier that was the curtain of snow and into the thick fog, leaving behind traces not unlike flowing water.
Lv Dongxuan watched the disappearing pigeons. He gripped his giant gold necklace in hand, his beard quaking as he smiled.
On the other side, Lv Mudui clutched on to his bamboo stick as he leaned against a peach tree, glaring rather bitterly at Lv Dongxuan.
That old thing…why did he use his own blood?
It looked like he would have to speed up the plan by preparing a bucket of pig’s blood.
Ni Yu continued to refine elixirs as she balanced the black pot in her head. She followed the Body Tempering Elixir recipe that Lu Fan had engraved into the stone, thinking very carefully.
She was serious about refining elixirs.
Cultivation was out of the question for her, so she could only practice refining elixirs to convince Young Master that she was not idling.
The Body Tempering Elixir was much more difficult to refine than the Gathering Qi Elixir, and there were strict requirements for many of the required herbs.
Fortunately, Lu Fan did not restrict Ni Yu when it came to money, so Ni Yu dragged Jing Yue off Lake Island with her once she had finished thinking over the recipe.
After some seasickness and vomiting, they reached the inside of Beiluo City. They immediately searched for the herbs needed in her recipe.
On the island, Yi Yue was cultivating as usual. She had heard Lu Fan mention that these three days were still the early stages of this world’s transformation and that now was the time to reap the most benefits.
Because of this, she wanted to seize the opportunity.
Yi Yue was not particularly strong when it came to martial arts, but she was diligent and determined to become stronger.
And it was just like Lu Fan had said—these next few days of cultivation would be the absolute best time to do so. This was especially so because of the abundance of Spirit Qi and because they were on the lake island where the origins were released.
Under such circumstances, Yi Yue’s Qi Core Realm cultivation would very quickly be completed and she would soon be on the verge of breaking through to the Internal Organs Realm.
Because of the emergence of Earth’s Origin, the difficulty of emerging from the Internal Organs Realm was much weaker than it had been before.
The importance of Earth’s Origin spoke for itself—it made cultivating easier for people of this world as long as they had talent.
Besides, it also removed the barrier to cultivation.
This made it easier for people to grasp certain aspects of cultivation.
This was especially so because Lu Fan had merged elements into the Plane’s Origin, so that the Internal Organs Realm could disperse elements in the future to allow for the world of cultivators to be much more vibrant and diverse.
Gongshu Yu was also cultivating. After all, as a philosopher, he did indeed progress rather quickly when he cultivated. One had to be gifted to become a philosopher after all.
But after cultivating for a period of time, Gongshu Yu slipped into the Refining Pavilion within the White Jade City Pavilion. He continued with refining weapons.
What was cultivation, anyway? How was it any more meaningful than refining weapons?
Ning Zhao did not continue cultivating. She stepped into the pavilion and picked up a basket to deposit all the green plums she had washed.
She had collected green plums to make wine for Lu Fan.
While Lu Fan sat in his wheelchair near the railings, letting the mild breeze blow at him, he toyed with a golden Buddhist prayer bead in his hand.
…
Nie Changqing followed the Dragon Gate in Beiluo Lake and stepped out of the one in North County.
He was worried about Nie Shaung’s safety.
The war this time was not simple. It could be said to be one amongst cultivators.
Whether it had been that Buddhist Monk or the blond man, even someone like Nie Changqing had to put in all his energy into dealing with them.
North County would be a force to be reckoned with the moment such people appeared there.
But Nie Changqing guessed that Li Sansi was probably at North County because they were not too swamped for the moment.
Li Sansi probably had powers at the level of the Internal Organs Realm, at the very least.
He passed through the Central Palace and followed the rope.
He stepped into the Dragon Gate of Torch Dragon.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura lingered faintly in the Dragon Gate.
Nie Changqing saw a young lady holding a flute. The young lady’s eyes were closed and her hair was in a mess.
Looking at this young lady, a bout of anxiety surged in Nie Changqing’s chest as if he were facing something terrifying.
This filled Nie Changqing with shock. It was important to note that he was an elite cultivator who had currently refined the five organs and was capable of condensing a Spirit Qi armor.
But in the face of this girl, he was very much like a tiny, lonely boat in the vast ocean.
Nie Changqing gathered his wits, then greeted the young lady with a fist and palm salute.
“I am Nie Changqing, a disciple of White Jade City. I would like to borrow this path to head towards North County and I seek your understanding,” Nie Changqing said.
The flute melody the young lady had been playing stopped in an instant.
She put the flute down, then waved her hands and said, “On behalf of my father, go on.”
Nie Changqing was stunned. Although he did not really understand what was going on, he did not hesitate either. With his butcher’s knife in hand, he speedily ran along the iron chain bridge and passed through to the floating sky island and out of the Dragon Gate.
After he stepped out of the Dragon Gate, he saluted the young lady again.
“Thank you.”
But the young lady was not paying any attention to him at all.
Nie Changqing was stunned. As expected, there were still many powerful existences he was unaware of.
This made him all the more cautious.
He stepped out of Torch Dragon’s Dragon Gate.
He made his way down Buzhou Mountain, then rushed towards Tianhan Gate.
Soon, he was standing right outside Tianhan Gate.
Tantai Xuan was currently discussing something with Mo Beike and Mo Ju in the house.
Suddenly, a scout brought news that slightly startled Tantai Xuan who had been in discussion.
In robes whiter than snow and a butcher’s knife on his waist, the North County soldiers were unable to stop him. Nie Changqing strode over and hit them with spirit pressure, making it impossible for the crowd around him to stop him.
He stepped right in.
After Tantai Xuan stepped out, he saw Nie Changqing dressed in white from head to toe.
“Dressed in clothes whiter than snow, are you a White Jade City cultivator?” Tantai Xuan asked.
Wrapped in thick blankets, Mo Beike walked out. He spoke slowly, “Nie Changqing of White Jade City, Young Master Lu’s…coachman.”
Confusion flashed across Tantai Xuan’s face. It was shocking that even Young Master Lu’s coachman had this sort of power.
Nie Changqing seemed to finally notice Tantai Xuan. He turned his head and nodded mildly in agreement.
Tantai Xuan ordered people to bring Nie Changqing to where Nie Shuang was being treated.
“Brother Nie,” said Luo Cheng. The moment he saw Nie Changqing, he stood up hurriedly to greet the other with a fist and palm salute.
“Uncle Nie…”
Bai Qingniao seemed to be blaming herself for this. Had it not been for her, Nie Shuang would not have gotten injured.
Lil Phoenix One poked its little head out from the gap in Bai Qingniao’s shirt. Nie Changqing glanced at it, scaring Lil Phoenix One until it quietly retreated.
Nie Changqing had an icy expression on his face. He checked Nie Shuang thoroughly before the stern expression on his face finally relaxed.
After he listened to Bai Qingniao’s account of the war, Nie Qingchang stroked Nie Shuang’s face with a complicated expression on his face.
“Take good care of Shuang’er,” Nie Changqing looked at Bai Qingniao and instructed.
“When I come back, we will return to White Jade City.”
Nie Changqing stood up and left, his butcher’s knife in his grip.
“Where are you going, Uncle Nie?”
Bai Qingniao was shocked.
“To take revenge…for Shuang’er.”
Nie Changqing’s white robes billowed in the wind. He stepped out and floated down the gate tower. Step by step, he walked out into the snow.
Knife spirits surrounded him and they cut the snow and wind into shreds.
As Nie Shuang’s father, how could he stand by and do nothing when his son had been bullied?
It was only natural that he would pay them back for what they did.
“The cultivators of White Jade City… They’re all so heroic.”
Tantai Xuan watched as Nie Changing disappeared into the snow, nothing more than a man and his blade, heading towards the depths of the Xirong army in the distance. He could not help the exclamation.
In robes whiter than snow, they were all quick to repay their debts of gratitude and vengeance.
A mighty cultivator, free as the wind, unshackled by anything…
He was rather envious, really.
…
The Tianji Order from White Jade City had quickly spread.
It reached a teahouse in the capital city.
The beautiful Qianqian read the Tianji Order and her eyes widened in a second.
“Beiluo Lake, the young master will be holding a lecture…”
A simple sentence like this, but she detected something rather unusual from it.
The last time White Jade City had sent out a Tianji Order, all war had ceased for three months.
And now that that order had expired, they were sending a Tianji Order like this one.
Was there some inevitable connection between these two?
The beautiful Qianqian detected Spirit Qi in the cinnabar field, as well as a unique airflow lingering in the air, and her eyes gleamed brilliantly.
The anomaly that had occurred in the world before, was it…what caused Young Master Lu’s to hold a lecture this time? Was he going to be speaking about this anomaly?
In an instant, she found herself anticipating this.
She had never been to Beiluo City, and this time…she wanted to go.
She ordered for people to copy the Tianji Order and circulate it.
When the Tianji Order circulated, the world was shocked yet again.
Beiluo Lake! And the Young Master would be giving a lecture.
The number one cultivator in the world would be giving a lecture was news that agitated all the cultivators in the world.
The road of cultivation was a long and arduous one with no end in sight.
With guidance, it would certainly be a lot shorter, and one might even grasp the true meaning of cultivation.
Because of this, after receiving the news of the Tianji Order, a lot of people moved and hurried towards Beiluo.
In an instant, Beiluo City had become the focus of the world yet again.
The thing was, last time, it had been because four philosophers had challenged Young Master Lu.
And this time…
It was actually because Young Master Lu was going to be holding a lecture.
…
On the road from the capital city to Dongyang County.
The road was bumpy and snow fell heavily.
The coachman had on a bamboo hat and cotton clothes. He huffed out a hot sigh as he shivered.
He rode his horse, moving down the path slowly.
In the carriage, the Master had a bamboo slip in his grip. Under the light that shone in through the window, he was reading the contents of the bamboo slip and was deep in thought.
Mo Tianyu sat in the horse carriage with him. He seemed somewhat uneasy.
He had done divination for the Master and the Book Pavilion. The hexagram had been great.
Logically speaking, Mo Tianyu should be relieved, and yet…
He was always feeling conflicted and unable to be put at ease, because the more he thought about it, the more panicked he would be. His divination…was it truly reliable?
Ever since the trip to Beiluo City, Mo Tianyu’s divinations had never seemed to hit the mark. Time and time again he had wanted to prove himself, but time and time again he had failed terribly.
“It’s going to go great, it definitely will.”
Mo Tianyu clenched the three copper coins in his fist and took in a deep breath.
The Master glanced over at Mo Tianyu in the carriage. On his wrinkled face bloomed a humorless smile.
“Tianyu,” the Master said, “in this world of infinite things—which is quite interesting in itself—there exists a rather curious rule. The more frightened you are of something, the more likely things will unfurl as you fear.
“So you have to keep a calm mentality. With a good attitude, even bad things will become good.”
The coachman traveled slowly through the wind and snow. The wheels of the carriage carved out two gullies in the snow.
Shakily and slow, it traveled quite a distance in the snow.
When the carriage finally entered the perimeter of Dongyang County, the Master drew the curtains with a rather somber look on his face.
Dongyang County was facing the invasion of the Dongyi people. Master could tell that almost all of the people had been drafted into the army, and a tense atmosphere lingered in the air.
In comparison to the various counties that were brimming with cultivators, there were extremely few—almost no—cultivators in Dongyang County.
Although Dongyang County had their own Dragon Gate, only the gates that could be used were referred to as such. The unusable ones were more dangerous if anything, and they were referred to as Death Gates.
Because they could not use Dragon Gates to train cultivators, Dongyang County could only draw strength from their numbers in their retaliation against the Dongyi people, falling back to the most primitive of battle tactics.
However, the cursed thing about this was that the Dongyi people had cultivators on their side.
Because of this, the battle was all the more tragic.
Dongyang County could not fall. After all, there were too many civilians living there, so the mayor ordered for a full-force resistance against Dongyi’s invasion
At this moment, the sun had just begun to rise.
There was still snow about the size of goose feathers still falling from the clouds.
The Dongyang County Mayor was dressed in top-grade armor. He rushed over quickly from the Dongyang County border.
“Imperial Advisor!”
The Dongyang County Mayor was no hulking beast of a man. On the contrary, he was a rather elegant and refined middle-aged man with a long beard and eyes that slightly tilted up at the ends.
He was visibly overwhelmed as he spotted Kong Xiu sitting in the horse carriage.
The Master ordered the coachman to halt the carriage. With Mo Tianyu’s help, he stepped out of the car in a heavy coat.
Kong Xiu greeted the Dongyang County Mayor with a fist and palm salute.
“Did His Majesty specifically send the Imperial Advisor here to help because he read my letter?” the Dongyang County Mayor asked, somewhat anticipatory.
Kong Xiu was stunned. After a beat, there was a smile on his wrinkled face. “Yes, it was His Majesty who had me sent here to assist Dongyang County.”
Mo Tianyu, who was standing by the side, stared at Master in shock.
The Dongyang County Mayor smiled excitedly when he heard this.
He led the Master towards the frontier city.
On the way there, there were Dongyang County soldiers huddled up under the ice-cold, sturdy city walls. Some of them were still dripping blood, others had lost their arms and were wrapped up in bandages.
“These are all the injured soldiers. Surviving the battle is quite the feat in itself, and a lot of soldiers are dead.
“This battle is simply too arduous. The scum from Dongyi… They’re much stronger than they were in previous years, and they have really strange techniques this time, plus they’re not afraid of death. We can only hold fast, but…I don’t know how much longer we can do this.”
The Dongyang County Mayor was Yang Mu. He was part of the Yang family, the Dongyang aristocracy.
He led the Imperial Advisor up the gate tower.
Snow had fallen all over the gate tower, so some soldiers shoveled it off to the city below.
“These should be the cultivators the other counties speak of. They’re terrifying indeed, and they’re able to actually control a fight.
“If not for my many soldiers and generals who are also not afraid of death and the ones who guard this city with their lives, then perhaps Dongyang County would have already fallen. The Dongyi Army might have invaded Dongyang by now, which would have been a great calamity,” Yang Mu, the Dongyang County Mayor, spoke with great emotion.
The Master’s face was solemn as he nodded.
On his way here, he had seen the many injured soldiers. He had also seen some first and second rate martial artists who had either lost an arm or a leg.
The Master heaved a long and heavy sigh. This was only what he could see. There were also soldiers he did not see, most likely they were already buried beneath the snow.
There were no calm years in life, just people who have to bear the burden in your stead.
Mo Tianyu followed behind the Master, his face growing increasingly somber.
“Master…” Mo Tianyu opened his mouth as he began to say.
However, the Master only waved his hands, stopping Mo Tianyu from speaking.
Mo Tianyu’s heart seized.
Oh no, this was bad!
His divination was about to be proven wrong yet again.