Chapter 461

A corner of the South Sea.

Waves splashed against the reefs on the shore, and in the distance, the flickering lights of a small fishing village could be faintly seen.

At this hour.

Experienced fishermen had already returned home to their wives, children, and warm beds.

The night wind was strong, and the waves were rough.

Although the higher the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish, one still needed to be alive to spend the money, so unless they were people who had lost their money gambling and had no choice but to risk their lives, almost no one chose to go out to sea at night.

Thus, apart from a few fishing boats left on the sand, almost no one could be seen on the beach.

In the dark night.

A Daoist priest stood on the beach.

His robes were whipped by the wind, making a hunting sound.

Xuan Yu stared expressionlessly at the ink-black, surging waves, seemingly lost in thought.

Just then.

A ripple appeared in the void behind him.

Subsequently, a young Daoist walked out of the vortex.

"Fellow Daoist Xuan Yu, the Sect Master has agreed; as long as the great array is completed, you will be among the first batch of people to ascend."

It was Ji Lei of the North Pole Immortal Sect.

Ji Lei said with a smile.

Xuan Yu's expression remained cold.

Indeed.

He had already cooperated with Ji Lei; the recent Master Xuanwei Sect disciples who had been killed were victims of his leaked information.

All for the sake of a chance to ascend.

The so-called ascension.

Of course, it wasn't about becoming an immortal; it was just a way for these people from the Immortal Realm to gild their own reputations—it was simply going to the Immortal Realm.

As for why he didn't go to the Immortal Realm through the Master Xuanwei Sect...

It was because of the Divine Profound Palace.

Ji Lei had once said that the Divine Profound Palace was arrogant, priding itself on being the righteous path of humanity; the cultivators under its banner were all human, practicing the human path and performing the duty of slaying demons and devils.

What is a demon or devil?

He, a half-demon, was one.

Let alone ascending, it was already excellent if he wasn't killed by people from the Divine Profound Palace.

Of course.

He wouldn't listen to Ji Lei's one-sided story.

He had learned this information from his Senior Brother, Xuan Wei.

Indeed.

His master, the True Person Qing Ding, had never told him these things, but he had told his Senior Brother, Xuan Wei.

The attitude was self-evident.

Xuan Yu could be almost certain that his master would not let him go to the Immortal Realm.

And according to his Senior Brother Xuan Wei, even if a half-demon went to the Divine Profound Palace, the corresponding cultivation techniques were extremely rare, and there was almost no future to speak of.

The detestable little Daoist before him was right.

Only the Myriad Wan Fadian was most suitable for him.

If Daoist Xuan Yu wanted to become stronger and go further, he had to make trade-offs.

The kindness of True Person Qing Ding in teaching him was certainly heavy, but compared to the pursuit of the Great Dao, it was not difficult to choose which was lighter and which was heavier.

Daoist Xuan Yu had already made his choice.

He understood.

With his aptitude, it was almost impossible to enter the First Rank in this realm; only by going to the Myriad Wan Fadian in the upper realm could there be a glimmer of possibility.

For this glimmer of possibility, he was willing to bear the infamy of betraying his master and ancestors.

At worst, when he became an Immortal Venerable in the future, he would come back to pay his respects.

History is written by the victors.

From the first day he became an apprentice, his master had told him that the heart of seeking the Dao must be firm and cannot be disturbed by external things.

Apart from oneself, everything else is an external thing and can be discarded.

After a long time.

Daoist Xuan Yu spoke slowly: "Fellow Daoist Ji, do not forget what you promised me."

Ji Lei's smile remained:

"Rest assured, the Sect Master wrote the personal decree himself; how could I lie?"

As he spoke.

Ji Lei took a yellow talisman from his sleeve.

He activated it with his spiritual sense.

A golden light shot into the center of Daoist Xuan Yu's brow.

This was a Soul-Preservation Talisman; as the name suggests, it stores a trace of a cultivator's spiritual sense, and the spiritual sense within this talisman was precisely that left by the Sect Master of the North Pole Immortal Sect.

Feeling the spiritual sense of the North Pole Immortal Sect's Sect Master, Daoist Xuan Yu's expression finally softened.

Although there was no saying that an Immortal Sect Sect Master's word was law.

They were almost all as good as their word.

Otherwise, if they cheated Daoist Xuan Yu this time, who would dare to defect to them in the future?

The possibility of deception was low.

Moreover, Daoist Xuan Yu had already taken that step and had no way back; he could only proceed this way.

Daoist Xuan Yu said: "Fellow Daoist Ji, rest assured, I will cooperate when the time comes."

Hearing Daoist Xuan Yu agree.

Ji Lei's smile grew even wider.

"Fellow Daoist Xuan Yu, rest assured, the Immortal Sect's experts have already headed south and will arrive in a few days."

"The Sect Master is also a half-demon and deeply understands the difficulty of your situation, Fellow Daoist. This time, you won't need to stain your hands with the blood of your fellow disciples; just leave the people to us."

Daoist Xuan Yu took a deep breath.

His eyes gradually turned cold.

"By the way, when the time comes to act, I will take Zhu Gan's life myself."

Upon hearing this.

Ji Lei grinned from ear to ear.

Come to think of it, he had to thank that Fifth Prince of the Yu Kingdom; if it weren't for that Fifth Prince, he wouldn't have had the chance to contact Daoist Xuan Yu.

He had done him a huge favor.

As a reward, when there was an opportunity in the future, he would personally capture Zhu Gan's soul and refine his spirit.

Changqing Peak.

"Brother Li, things haven't been peaceful at the Master Xuanwei Sect lately."

Sang Kong said with a smile.

Li Rui looked at Sang Kong: "Brother Sang, you are just watching a good show without it being any of your business."

Upon hearing this.

Sang Kong burst into laughter.

"Brother Li, we are all family, so I won't hide it from you. That's right, in a few days, the position of garrison commander at the Master Xuanwei Sect will change hands. One should attend to one's own duties while in office; since I'm no longer in this position, I won't waste the mental energy."

Indeed.

Sang Kong was about to return to the Witch Court to take up a post.

Where in the world is there a lifetime garrison duty?

Coming to garrison the Master Xuanwei Sect was meant to be a stepping stone to plot a better official career.

Sang Kong had already stayed at the Master Xuanwei Sect for over ten years.

That was long enough.

If he stayed any longer, he would only turn a good thing into a bad thing.

Away from the imperial court for too long and still want a promotion?

Distance is very important.

Otherwise, why would those officials all rack their brains to get into the Witch Court if not to get promoted faster?

Over these years.

Sang Kong had been pulling strings, fearing that the Sovereign and the Great Witch would forget him.

Now, it had finally paid off.

His official position had already been decided: Third-Rank Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

According to custom, he might even have a chance to become the Minister of War; he was a key target for cultivation.

Truly a high position with great power.

It was not in vain that he had stayed at the Master Xuanwei Sect for so long.

It was precisely because the official succeeding him was already on the way that he was free of worries.

Otherwise, he would definitely be having a headache over the Master Xuanwei Sect matter right now.

After all, quite a few people on the Earth Ranking had graduated from the Witch Kingdom Academy, so he couldn't just wash his hands of it.

But Sang Kong had only just finished speaking.

He looked at Li Rui, blinked, then realized, and laughed and scolded: "Brother Li, so you knew all along."

Li Rui smiled slightly: "Miss Xiaotang wrote to tell me."

Hearing the name Xia Xiaotang.

Sang Kong couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

That was the Great Witch's favorite disciple.

He, a Third-Rank Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, hadn't even spoken much to Xia Xiaotang, while Li Rui, an official of the Yu Kingdom, had a very good friendship with her and even knew the Great Witch.

Who could he reason with about this?

He was also even more glad that his relationship with Li Rui was quite good.

After returning to the Witch Court in the future, he might even be able to use this to climb up and establish a relationship with the Great Witch.

Sang Kong couldn't help but be curious: "Brother Li, you don't intend to go back yet?"

He had long heard that Li Rui had quite strong connections in the capital of the Yu Kingdom.

He shouldn't be wasting his time at the Master Xuanwei Sect forever.

Li Rui: "Everything follows fate; you also know that I actually don't like being an official."

Upon hearing this.

Sang Kong couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Doesn't like being an official?

Who doesn't like being an official, yet went from an ordinary low-level military officer to a Third-Rank Right Vice Censor-in-Chief in just over twenty years?

Is that even human?!

Sang Kong curled his lips: "Brother Li, don't tell me you're planning to be promoted directly to the Second Rank?"

In his view.

If Li Rui wasn't leaving, it couldn't be because he was attached to the Master Xuanwei Sect; there could only be one result.

He was brewing something big.

Thinking of this, he became even more certain.

Li Rui was speechless: "Brother Sang really thinks highly of me."

Sang Kong talked to him about many more things.

He had originally thought about spending the night at Changqing Peak, but was sternly refused by Li Rui.

In the end, he left looking reluctant.

Three days later.

The official garrisoned at the Master Xuanwei Sect by the Witch Kingdom changed.

It was a young military officer who had achieved Primordial completion.

On the first day he arrived, he didn't even go to see the people of the Master Xuanwei Sect, but went straight to Changqing Peak to pay a visit and ask for advice on how to handle the recent assassinations of Master Xuanwei Sect disciples.

Regarding this.

Li Rui's answer was to let this young military officer practice until he reached Profound Understanding before worrying about it.

After hearing this, the anxiety on the young military officer's face vanished by more than half.

Just as Li Rui had said.

He wasn't qualified to handle it at all right now.

No need to think; there must be the shadows of major immortal sects behind this matter. He was just a Primordial expert; how could he handle it?

The Witch Kingdom imperial court sent him here.

The most important thing was to break through as soon as possible; only by becoming an Upper Three Rank expert would he have the qualifications to participate in this struggle.

And look at Li Rui.

Li Rui wasn't in a hurry, so why should he be?

"Truly steady and prudent."

The young Witch Kingdom military officer praised him secretly in his heart.

Back when he arrived, he had specifically gone to find Lord Sang Kong for advice, and regarding this, Sang Kong had said one thing: go find Li Rui for advice often, and remember to have a good attitude.

At first.

This young military officer didn't know what it meant.

Now he finally understood.

Li Rui's heart was firm, unaffected by all things, and he could often see through the essence of things.

'Truly a good teacher.'

Thinking this.

The young Witch Kingdom military officer glanced at Yuan An, who was walking into the courtyard.

'No wonder even a figure like Yuan Dingting was willing to let his son apprentice under Li Rui.'

The fact that Li Rui became the teacher of the young marquis was known not only in the Yu Kingdom but also heard by many in the Witch Kingdom.

The young military officer admired Li Rui even more.

Seeing Yuan An arrive.

The young military officer stood up: "Lord Li, then I won't disturb you further."

Li Rui also stood up, laughing: "General Wang, then I won't see you off."

"Lord Li is too polite."

After speaking.

The young military officer went down the mountain.

He hadn't brought a single attendant when going up the mountain, just to show his sincerity.

Yuan An looked at the figure of the young Witch Kingdom military officer: "Master, that guy came to the Master Xuanwei Sect, it won't be easy to work now."

Li Rui narrowed his eyes.

"Human effort can achieve anything; don't underestimate the heroes of the world."

Yuan An said with a grin: "Master is right."

His master before him was exactly that; who could tell that a thin, small old man contained such terrifying energy?

He couldn't help but sigh that his father was not only good at fighting but also very accurate in judging people.

Li Rui seemed to have some kind of magic that always made people feel at ease.

(End of chapter)