Chapter 406: Plotting [Monthly Ticket Bonus, Two-in-One]

Act at your discretion!

Seeing these four characters, Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly.

"Act at your discretion" sounds ordinary.

But in reality, it holds great significance.

The Emperor was clearly promising him the position of an imperial envoy in just a few words.

This meant that Li Rui had absolute authority in the matter of recruiting the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha.

An imperial envoy has no official rank.

Yet every local high official must treat one with caution, precisely because the envoy represents the Emperor.

Therefore, despite having no rank, one can easily mobilize immense power.

The corners of Li Rui's mouth curled up slightly.

With the Emperor's handwritten note, the subsequent matters would be much simpler.

The next morning.

Li Rui took Wei Ming and Tan Hu, galloping out of the city on horseback.

They arrived at Changqing Peak that same day.

The days remained leisurely.

Although Li Rui had obtained the Emperor's note, he was not in a hurry to find the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha, continuing to cultivate as usual.

Day after day passed.

He waited for a full month.

Only then did he slowly descend the mountain, arriving at a corner of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

When he reached an open area, he saw a vermilion-red giant toad as tall as a person appear before his eyes.

Clearly.

This was the appearance of the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha after changing its form.

Otherwise, if it revealed its true form, it could likely be seen from miles away.

Counting it up, this was his first real meeting with the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha.

Li Rui's mouth curled up slightly.

He had already heard that the disciple named Song Ming had died for a reasonable cause, and no one suspected him.

Today, the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha had even specifically shrunk its size to meet him.

It was a demon that understood the ways of the world.

Rare.

Li Rui had dealt with too many demon beasts, all of them unruly and arrogant; ones like this giant toad before him were few and far between.

"Why did you only just arrive?"

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha grumbled.

It had waited anxiously for this day.

It was truly a case of days feeling like years.

Who told it that it couldn't stay in the Purple Chai Jingong for even a single day longer?

A demon can waste away time, and time can pass very quickly, but once hope is seen, one will suffer through the wait, and time will become very slow.

During this period.

Even its favorite purple-eyed dragonflies didn't taste good anymore.

Li Rui smiled slightly: "I said before, this matter is very difficult to handle, and naturally, it cannot be completed in a short time."

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha curled its lip.

But its eyes grew brighter.

Before, when the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu wanted to capture Li Rui, it had already learned that Li Rui was a cautious person; his saying it couldn't be done in a short time meant...

It meant it was already done!

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha hurriedly spoke: "Hehe, Brother Li, give me a straight answer."

Li Rui unhurriedly took a letter from his sleeve.

But he did not let the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha see it.

"This is the handwritten note of our Emperor. His Majesty has agreed: if you sincerely submit, you can be enfeoffed as the River God of the Qinghe."

Hearing "River God of the Qinghe."

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha was immediately unhappy.

Although its request was only to live a leisurely life and not be treated as a mount.

But in its eyes, the Qinghe was just a small insect.

It heard that the current River God of the Qinghe was just a small loach.

Just as the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha was preparing to argue, Li Rui changed the subject: "Brother Frog, I also feel that being the River God of the Qinghe is too much of a grievance, which is why I helped fight for it, but the imperial court has its rules. After all, you are a surrendered general; if your official position is too high, it will certainly make some people unhappy, and it will be difficult for His Majesty."

"Unless..."

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha knew that what Li Rui was about to say next was the focus of this meeting.

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly:

"Unless Brother Frog can offset your past faults with new merits."

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha's mouth split wide open.

It understood; the Yu Kingdom's imperial court wanted it to exert effort against the remnants of the Purple Chai Jingong, to make it a turncoat.

No, it had already defected anyway.

Naturally, it didn't care about that.

"Easy."

"Brother Li, whatever you tell me to do, I will do."

Li Rui was amused.

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha was a Second-Rank Great Demon; in the past, it might have called him an ant with every breath, so how could it be as smooth as calling him "brother" now?

The more he looked at the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha, the more he felt it was not bad.

Such a great demon that can bend and stretch is not easy to find.

It was precisely this temperament that made Li Rui consider acting as a go-between.

Li Rui coughed lightly: "Brother Frog, you also know that the fellow Blood Shadow has a grudge against me over a stolen treasure. I am a small-minded person; this grudge must be avenged, and the item must be taken back."

The smile on the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha's face grew wider.

It had long guessed that Li Rui would say this.

'They say the officials of the Yu Kingdom are all petty, and it's truly not wrong.'

Thinking this in its heart, it was even more proactive with its words: "Brother Li, rest assured, this matter is left to this frog."

Li Rui nodded with satisfaction.

He had voluntarily discarded the Thousand Soul Banner.

But the grudge of the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu stealing the treasure had always been kept in his mind.

The grudge of the stolen treasure!

He had tampered with the Thousand Soul Banner.

Therefore, he could sense that after so long, the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu still had no sign of refining the Thousand Soul Banner.

But he dared not underestimate this long-famous Second-Rank powerhouse.

If the time dragged on too long, he might really let the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu erase his imprint and refine the Thousand Soul Banner.

By then, if he realized it too late, he might have to face trouble again.

The appearance of the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha had just given him the opportunity.

"Brother Frog, in three days, I will naturally send someone to meet you. How much merit you can earn depends on your sincerity, Brother Frog."

Li Rui said with a smile.

"Understood, understood."

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha nodded repeatedly, then said: "Brother Li, you must at least point me in a direction, so I have something to look forward to."

It understood humans too well.

Li Rui must be holding something back.

Don't let it earn merit only to be rewarded with a position not much better than the River God of the Qinghe; that would be a huge loss.

Some things are better made clear.

The smile on Li Rui's face grew even wider.

The smarter the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha was, the more at ease he was in handling things.

He did not speak directly, only slowly opening the Emperor's handwritten note in his hand, revealing two characters: "Chijiang."

Upon seeing the two characters "Chijiang."

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha immediately became spirited.

The Chijiang was a great river of the Yu Kingdom, and the status of the Chijiang God was even more lofty; if it could sit in the position of the Chijiang God, its prestige would be no less than when it was a pillar of the Purple Chai Jingong.

'Sure enough, I found the right person.'

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha couldn't help but laugh heartily.

It had read human history books and knew too well that in matters of defection, the person acting as the go-between is the most important.

Some generals of a country became idle officials after defecting and died in depression.

Others, however, rose to power and became overwhelmingly influential.

The difference in this has a lot to do with the status of the person speaking.

Li Rui made it very satisfied.

"Rest assured, everything will be as Brother Li says."

Li Rui: "Alright, wait for my news."

After speaking.

He turned and left.

Soon.

Provincial Military Commander Zhou Dinghai would bring elites to the Ten Thousand Mountains, and with the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha acting from within,

The Purple Chai Jingong would certainly suffer heavy losses.

Ten Thousand Mountains.

In a hidden mountain cave.

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu sat cross-legged on a stone platform, his gaze cold and sinister.

"Damn it!"

"Where exactly is the problem?"

His roar echoed within the cave.

Ever since he obtained the Thousand Soul Banner, he had been in seclusion.

Yet several years had already passed.

The refining of the Thousand Soul Banner still hadn't made the slightest progress; every time he reached the point of subduing the vengeful spirits within the banner, his spiritual sense would be repelled.

Those vengeful spirits were determined to die rather than submit.

But if he were to wipe out all the vengeful spirits, this Thousand Soul Banner would be considered ruined.

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu took a deep breath.

"Must not be impatient."

"According to the records in the cultivation method, this step is indeed the most difficult; as long as I can subdue these vengeful spirits, the subsequent matters will be much simpler."

Just as he was preparing to continue refining the Thousand Soul Banner—

The voice of a Purple Chai Jingong disciple came from outside the cave.

"Xueying Laozu, the person you were looking for has arrived."

Hearing this, the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu narrowed his eyes.

He put away the Thousand Soul Banner and then walked out.

He had finally found someone from the Wan Fadian again.

"You are Qi Ying?"

Outside the cave, a young man in white was looking at the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu with a smile.

Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu: "An emissary from the Wan Fadian?"

"I wouldn't dare claim the title of emissary, but I am indeed a person of the Wan Fadian."

A flash of surprise crossed the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu's eyes.

This was the first time he had seen such a humble exiled immortal.

"My name is Ji Lei; I wonder if Senior Si is present?"

The young man named Ji Lei asked.

Hearing "Senior Si," the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu knew that Ji Lei was referring to Si Feng, who had already been captured and taken to the capital.

Originally, he had ordered his subordinates to secretly keep an eye out for exiled immortals from the Wan Fadian.

He hadn't expected Ji Lei to come knocking on his door himself.

But... his strength seemed average.

He was not like Si Feng or the Daoist Sheng, whose spiritual senses were clouded; he only had the strength of a Second-Rank to begin with, which could be seen from the fact that the other party addressed Si Feng as "Senior."

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu narrowed his eyes slightly, but still spoke:

"Palace Master Si was plotted against and is currently imprisoned in the Black Prison of the capital."

Upon hearing this.

Ji Lei's expression changed, and he said in a low voice: "Terrible, this is somewhat troublesome."

Immediately after, he said: "Fellow Daoist Blood Shadow, I will report this matter to the Hall first; there will surely be a way."

A flash of joy crossed the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu's eyes.

If the young man before him could contact the Wan Fadian of the Upper Realm, then the possibility of Si Feng being rescued would be much, much greater.

"I have troubled you, Emissary."

Having said that.

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu personally invited Ji Lei into the cave.

Hidden inside was actually a palace.

Although the Purple Chai Jingong had declined, the hospitality etiquette that should be present was not lacking in the slightest.

Several young girls with graceful figures soon surrounded the young man.

Very quickly.

Seductive music echoed within the palace.

"General Zhou."

Li Rui quickened his pace, greeting the group that had come from Qinghe.

Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong were among them.

And the leader was none other than the Provincial Military Commander, Zhou Dinghai.

Indeed, Li Rui had directly invited this General Fubo over.

This was the power of an imperial envoy.

Zhou Dinghai looked at Li Rui and smiled with satisfaction: "Official Li truly has great ability; I did not misjudge you."

The Yu Kingdom was deeply troubled by the secret attacks of the Purple Chai Jingong remnants.

Li Rui had successfully turned the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha, once one of the three pillars of the Purple Chai Jingong; with coordination from inside and out, they would surely be able to make those Purple Chai Jingong remnants pay a painful price, and also deter the remnants in other places.

This was a great merit.

Li Rui was still his subordinate.

The subordinate's merit was naturally his own merit.

Zhou Dinghai, of course, liked Li Rui more the more he looked at him.

At this moment.

Three figures also walked out.

They were precisely the three disciples of the Great True Person Qing Ding.

Li Rui introduced them: "General Zhou, these three are the disciples of Great True Person Qing Ding: Daoist Xuan Yu, Daoist Chun Xuzi, and Daoist Zi Yang; they are joining forces this time to suppress the Purple Chai Jingong remnants."

Zhou Dinghai cupped his hands: "Daoist Qing Ding is righteous; I will certainly report this to His Majesty."

Daoist Xuan Yu, holding a fishing rod, laughed: "The Purple Chai Jingong disrupts the world; everyone has the right to punish them. Being able to contribute is also the good fortune of our Qingwei Sect."

The Yu Kingdom imperial court had a headache over the Purple Chai Jingong remnants.

How could the Qingwei Sect be any different?

Upon hearing Li Rui say that the Yu Kingdom imperial court was going to take action against the Purple Chai Jingong, Daoist Xuan Yu had personally brought his two junior brothers to assist.

Chun Xuzi had long hated those Purple Chai Jingong remnants to the bone.

He urged: "There is no time to lose; we had better take action quickly."

"Indeed, let's go."

Zhou Dinghai nodded and looked at Li Rui.

Li Rui understood immediately.

He immediately led the group and rushed toward the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

They walked for a full hour.

The group finally arrived at a corner of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

This place was rarely visited by people all year round, with almost no traces of humans.

It looked like nothing more than an ordinary small valley.

Daoist Xuan Yu, however, gave a soft exclamation.

"What a brilliant array."

If Li Rui hadn't pointed it out, even he wouldn't have discovered that a blinding illusion array had been set up here.

"No wonder we couldn't find it."

Chun Xuzi's eyes were full of excitement.

Kill!

Many disciples of the Qingwei Sect had died in attacks by the Purple Chai Jingong; he had long been holding back his anger. Previously, the enemy was in the dark while they were in the light, but now the situation had finally reversed, and he could no longer restrain his desire to start a massacre.

To wash away the past shame.

Li Rui spoke at this time: "The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha is already waiting inside the array. Once I crush this jade talisman, it will sense it and open the array."

Upon hearing this.

Everyone's eyes lit up.

If they could break the array silently, they would surely catch the Purple Chai Jingong off guard.

They saw Li Rui take out a jade talisman from his sleeve.

He applied a little force with his hand.

With a crisp cracking sound, the jade talisman shattered into powder in Li Rui's hand.

After just a moment.

Sure enough, they saw a corner of the array being lifted.

Seeing this, everyone became even more excited.

Zhou Dinghai didn't rush in; his eyes glowed with a cyan light. After a full quarter of an hour, he finally spoke: "No ambush, prepare to move."

A miscellaneous general from Annan Town flattered him at the right moment:

"General Zhou is indeed thoughtful."

Apparently.

Zhou Dinghai didn't completely trust the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha.

If the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha had betrayed them and there were people lying in ambush inside the array, they would surely have suffered heavy casualties tonight.

Zhou Dinghai had just used a special eye technique.

It could briefly see the scene inside the array.

The group immediately began to act.

They were all the elite of the elite, the weakest being Primordial martial artists; one by one, they turned into phantom shadows and, in the blink of an eye, swept into the corner of the array that had been lifted.

Just after entering.

They saw a vermilion toad the height of a man grinning at the crowd.

Zhou Dinghai nodded at the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha with satisfaction: "Brother Zhu Ha is righteous; His Majesty will certainly not mistreat a hero."

The corners of the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha's mouth were almost reaching its ears:

"Actually, I have been in the Yu Kingdom for many years, and I have blocked several river breaches."

Hearing this.

Zhou Dinghai asked in surprise: "Thirty-one years ago, was it Brother Zhu Ha who took action when the Jiangzhou levee breached?"

Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha: "It was indeed this frog."

Zhou Dinghai clapped his hands and laughed: "It really was Brother Zhu Ha; being able to have such a kind River God is the good fortune of our Great Yu."

The man and the demon flattered each other for quite a while.

Chun Xuzi couldn't bear it anymore and couldn't help but urge: "Time is pressing; let's take action quickly."

"Reasonable."

"That scoundrel Blood Shadow is right there; this frog will capture him now to dance a tune for the Holy Emperor!"

The previously calm mountain hollow suddenly became chaotic.

The experts of the Yu Kingdom and the Qingwei Sect had already taken action.

They saw Daoist Xuan Yu sweep with a fishing rod long enough to be a hundred zhang; large swaths of buildings turned to ashes, and who knows how many Purple Chai Jingong elders and disciples died miserably in an instant.

"Zhou Dinghai!"

"Xuan Yu!"

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu, who was refining the Thousand Soul Banner, heard the commotion.

Just as he walked out.

He saw Zhou Dinghai and Daoist Xuan Yu starting a massacre.

In just an instant.

Half of the Purple Chai Jingong's palaces collapsed simultaneously.

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu let out a long howl.

His whole body turned into a cloud of blood mist and rushed toward Zhou Dinghai.

The two great Heavenly Phenomenon Realm experts immediately fought into a ball.

Fighting until the sky turned dark and the earth turned dim.

On the other side.

Two phantom shadows flashed and swept into the cave where the Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu was located.

In the blink of an eye.

Li Rui and the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha appeared in the cave.

The Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha gave a laugh:

"Brother Li, take whatever you want, don't be polite; this frog will guard this place, even Blood Shadow won't be able to get in."

"Rest assured, I'll pretend I didn't see anything that happens in this cave."

Seeing the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha so understanding

A satisfied smile curled the corners of Li Rui's mouth.

"Then I will trouble you, Brother Frog."

They saw the Heavenly Ox Zhu Ha really raise a barrier, isolating the spiritual sense from the cave.

Li Rui conveniently took out a Sixth-Rank Spirit-Closing Talisman he had bought from the Qingwei Sect at a high price from his sleeve, and only then did he feel completely at ease.

He closed his eyes and sensed slightly.

His right hand lifted abruptly and tore at the void in front of him.

He saw a white banner appear before his eyes.

The smile on Li Rui's mouth grew wider.

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu had hidden it very well, but it was a pity that he had a spiritual link with the Thousand Soul Banner, so it couldn't be hidden at all.

In just a fleeting moment.

The Thousand Soul Banner was re-refined by him.

It turned into a small flag and flew into his sleeve.

The Blood Shadow Xueying Laozu couldn't refine it even after several years, but he only used one breath!

(End of chapter)