Chapter 208: Southern Wilderness Witch Nation

Li Rui listened quietly beside him, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Open mutual market.

He instantly understood why so many major sects wanted to establish themselves in Qinghe, such a tiny place.

The imperial court had deeper intentions all along.

Suppressing the Ghost Ming Sect was a facade; the real goal was to lay early foundations and establish trade with the Southern Wilderness Witch Nation.

The Southern Wilderness Witch Nation is a land where humans and demons coexist.

This was the assessment given by former smugglers.

"Rumors say demonic beasts are everywhere in the Witch Nation's capital; its people use them as slaves and soldiers—something Yu Nation citizens cannot imagine."

It is the dominant power nestled south of the Yu Nation.

Yunzhou borders the northeastern edge of the Southern Wilderness.

Anning Prefecture is three hundred li from the Southern Wilderness—not close, but not far—and there has long been a tradition of trade.

But it was never officially recognized.

For instance, the tea Li Rui gave to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's Fu Huan was smuggled from the Southern Wilderness.

Even some officials near the Southern Wilderness deliberately collected its treasures as tribute to send to the imperial capital.

The court's senior figures must have long been secretly planning this, using the Ghost Ming Sect's unrest as an excuse to expand a new city in Qinghe, station the Anning Guard to defend it, solidify the foundation, and then position themselves to profit once trade between Yu and the Witch Nation begins.

If you ask why they didn't choose Anning Prefecture or even Yunzhou City directly:

It's because local power there is too entrenched, with powerful patrons already in place.

They've already been fully controlled.

The patrons behind these people are terrifyingly influential—many are high-ranking officials in the court; breaking into their established system is simply too difficult.

Since they couldn't compete, they might as well start a new game.

By choosing Qinghe, a place with no prior ties, everyone can easily place their own agents and gain benefits.

It also gives them a plausible excuse to report to the emperor.

Liu Tong grinned: "I heard the Witch Nation's foundation is shaken; His Majesty ordered General Yuan to send troops to assist. In gratitude, the new Witch King married his princess to our Yu Nation's Sixth Imperial Prince and opened mutual trade, pledging eternal friendship."

Li Rui had also heard whispers of this.

The Witch Nation's founding predates even the Yu Nation's, with deep historical roots.

It's said to stretch back over ten thousand years.

When the Xuan Dynasty fell, the Witch King and the Yu Nation's founding emperor once allied.

Later,

a great disaster struck the Witch Nation, and they declared themselves closed to the outside world.

Though the two nations never fought as brutally as the northern barbarians, their exchanges were extremely rare.

So-called national foundation.

Naturally, this refers to the succession issue; it's said the old Witch King died suddenly without leaving a will, sparking a power struggle among his sons.

As for Yu Nation's assistance—

Just listen and laugh; General Yuan spent months in the Witch Nation and returned nearly a killing god.

Yu helped the new Witch King seize power; naturally, he had to repay them—opening mutual trade was a crucial part of that repayment.

The Witch Nation, a colossal power, cannot be compared to a cult like the Ghost Ming Sect.

Especially in the eyes of those powerful figures.

All their painstaking schemes were ultimately aimed at the trade between the two nations—that's a massive piece of meat.

Therefore,

the court strictly controlled entry of major sects into Qinghe until now, when they finally relented.

It's the result of Duofangboyi.

Liu Tong: "My father-in-law thinks I'm good at business, so he sent me to Qinghe and promised me his daughter's hand if I do well."

"."

Liang He and Zhou Shulin wore strange expressions.

The man hadn't even gotten engaged yet, yet he was already calling his future father-in-law with such ease.

Indeed, shamelessness is the first rule of living off a woman's wealth.

Liu Tong, half-drunk, smiled faintly, already imagining his future bliss.

Living off a woman's wealth—especially the wealth of a sect elder—isn't just about pleasing her.

You must also be capable.

Winning her favor is merely a means; the real goal is to earn the father-in-law's approval and become one of them.

That step requires proving yourself through achievements.

This mutual trade is his golden opportunity to gain merit and demonstrate his abilities.

What's called a chance is, in truth, a test from the Huaqing Sect elder toward Liu Tong.

"Chief, I'll need your continued care in Qinghe from now on."

Liu Tong said solemnly to Li Rui.

Li Rui smiled slightly: "We're family—no need for formalities."

Hearing Li Rui's reply,

Liu Tong sighed inwardly.

He came to Qinghe with a mission.

Though Qinghe was his hometown, he had no local support to rely on—not a single ally.

His brother-in-law Zhang Yang, though a minor leader in the Tian Di Alliance's Qinghe branch,

offered him almost no help now.

Among all the people he knew, only Li Rui might possibly assist him.

But Li Rui's words just now, though seemingly drawing them closer,

gave him no real commitment at all.

"I was too eager."

Liu Tong quickly composed himself, his smile unchanged: "Chief, I toast you—thank you for your care during my time at Tianyi Hall."

After that,

he never mentioned assistance again.

The four of them drank until late into the night.

Only then did Li Rui, half-drunk, return to Anning Guard with Liang He.

Only then did Liang He speak: "Master, why didn't you agree to help Liu Tong? He could be a useful ally."

He was no longer the naive boy he once was.

Zhou Shulin couldn't see it, but Liang He saw everything clearly.

Liu Tong's banquet had elements of nostalgia, but mostly, it was an attempt to win Li Rui's favor.

Li Rui looked at Liang He with approval:

"Good. Liu Tong is indeed capable, but with the mutual trade, countless powerful figures are watching. We must not rush—otherwise, we'll fall into irrecoverable ruin."

"Liu Tong is clever, but impatient. Partnering with him risks drawing fire onto ourselves."

Liang He thought carefully about Li Rui's words.

"Master, why not warn Liu Tong? After all, he's an acquaintance."

Though he secretly competed with Liu Tong, he didn't wish him harm.

Li Rui's gaze toward Liang He grew even more approving.

He valued Liang He precisely because he was worldly yet not cynical—he had always kept a kind heart.

This mattered greatly.

Especially for a master like him.

No master wants to end up betrayed by his own disciple.

=9+ Shu _ Ba

"When ties are thin, speaking too deeply only makes Liu Tong feel we look down on him. Better to act than to talk."

Li Rui said calmly.

"I understand, Master."

Liang He remained as humble as ever.

Li Rui habitually placed his hands behind his back:

"Let's go home."

As a sect based in Anning Prefecture, Huaqing Sect didn't need any formalities to establish a branch in Qinghe.

Moreover, due to Jiang Lin's influence,

they encountered virtually no resistance.

During this time,

Liu Tong visited Anning Guard several times, but as his duties multiplied, he rarely came again.

Li's residence remained as peaceful as ever,

undisturbed by outside affairs.

Li Rui merely cultivated and flipped through books, nothing more.

"Follow the natural path, and you become human; reverse it, and you become immortal. Cultivation hinges entirely on inversion."

A single green lamp burned; in his hands, he held a faded ancient scroll.

Li Rui's mind was utterly focused.

Previously, Fu Huan of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had promised to send him the handwritten records of the Bureau's elders once they returned to Jingcheng.

This morning.

He had just received these records from a fast horse at the relay station.

"At birth, life and nature are one. After separation from the mother's body, nature and life split apart. As one progresses from youth to strength, strength to age, age to illness, and illness to death, life and nature drift ever farther apart. Thus, one must nourish qi and train the body, reverse yin and yang, and return to the original state."

"This is called the Primordial State."

According to the text, a martial artist must re-cultivate nature and life until they reunite as they were within the mother's womb—that is, reaching the Primordial State.

Li Rui had already been exploring the path of simultaneous cultivation of nature and life.

These records were truly a treasure beyond measure.

Building upon the experience of predecessors was unquestionably far more efficient than stumbling blindly in one's own thoughts.

"Brilliant!"

The more Li Rui read, the more absorbed he became.

At this moment, the advantage of high insight became evident: ordinary martial artists strictly followed the instructions in their cultivation manuals, daring not to deviate an inch.

But Li Rui was different.

He not only integrated and comprehended the views in these records, but even turned some seemingly insane ideas into reality.

In other words,

While other martial artists were merely followers, he stood as a peer to these elders of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

Moreover,

Though labeled as personal records, they casually contained vast amounts of discourse on martial arts.

To others, these were useless, chaotic scribbles; but to Li Rui, they were nearly indistinguishable from cultivation manuals.

He was in the very act of creating a new manual.

The Six Drunken Dragon Cuts consisted of six forms; relying solely on his own imagination would never suffice.

But acquiring other manuals—especially high-grade ones—came at an enormous cost.

For ordinary martial artists, even a single manual could drain their entire fortune.

Not to mention Li Rui's situation, where he needed thousands upon thousands of manuals for comparison in his self-created art.

For masters who had already achieved martial greatness, this might not be an issue; but for Li Rui, it was a massive obstacle.

Thus, so far, he had only created one form.

It would only become harder from here.

Now, with these records, the problem was solved.

Li Rui read until deep into the night.

Then, at Hai Shi, he completed his daily qi circulation, crawled into bed, and fell asleep at once.

When his consciousness returned,

he found himself already atop the Dreaming Cloud Terrace.

With a thought,

the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's records appeared in Li Rui's hands.

"Indeed, anything recorded can be simulated by the Great Dream Immortal Travel."

Li Rui sat atop the cloud mass.

He continued carefully flipping through the records.

In the dream, his mental speed was even faster than in the waking world; ideas for his self-created martial art surged like a fountain.

Li Rui flipped through the records faster and faster.

Only the rustling sound of pages turning could be heard; had any rigid scholar from a academy seen this, he would have been heartbroken.

At such speed, one could not even make out the characters on the pages—flipping faster would be useless.

But Li Rui was no ordinary man.

At this moment, he entered a profoundly mysterious state: each page he turned, its text automatically flowed into his mind, marvelously wondrous.

Sudden enlightenment in the dream!

(End of Chapter)