Chapter 669: Let Him Handle the Embarrassing Matters?

When he left, it was still midsummer; upon his return, deep winter had arrived.

Goose-feather snow dyed the entire Jianyang Prefecture white, lending the great mansion a touch of desolation.

Since Ye Lan's heart was set on Da Nanzhou, she saved a few days on the return journey compared to her departure; upon arriving, she immediately took Ye Jing to attend to business.

After all, as a titled General of the Zhan Yao Si, in this situation where chaos was just beginning to show, being away for over half a year meant she owed the imperial court an explanation.

Shen Yi walked alone back to the courtyard, pushed open the door to enter the room, and sat on the edge of the bed.

This journey yielded rich rewards; not only did he secure a legitimate foundation in Shenzhou, but he also obtained the Taiyi Zhenxian's Great Void Dao Fruit, a true method of the Three Sects, effectively cementing his footing.

But the cost was not nonexistent.

He turned his gaze toward the heavy snow outside the window, quietly organizing his thoughts.

First was the matter of the heavens: he heard that after Lady Qinghua returned, thanks to the things she obtained from Bai Yu Xian, she rose two ranks in a single leap, becoming a Grade Six Xian General.

To be honest, Shen Yi rarely envied others, except for Lady Qinghua.

Those things that others fought to the death to seize were, for her, as simple as eating and drinking.

The other party's breakthrough to Dao Union relied on Lingyun Shiren feeding her pills, then leveraging merit to become a Grade Seven Xian, directly leaping past Hongze's several Dao Realm experts; in the short time since ascending, she had become an entity comparable to a Taiyi Immortal.

This speed of advancement even made Shen Yi feel a hint of pressure...

But precisely because of this, any normal person could see how outrageous this matter was.

When things happen contrary to reason, there must be a demon behind them.

That General Two Qingluan had likely not yet put aside her suspicions.

For others, a promotion is certainly a good thing, but do not forget, Lady Qinghua is a military general, not a civil official.

With her thin foundation, possessing nothing but the Immortal Seal and no other means, General Two Qingluan need not deliberately target her; simply letting her do her duty normally would be enough to give her a headache.

Moreover, such a speed of promotion would inevitably arouse jealousy and resentment among colleagues.

If it were another Xian General, others might speculate about some relationship between Lady Qinghua and General Two Qingluan and restrain themselves somewhat.

But one is a merit-born Immortal, the other is famously solitary, and the incident with Princess Ziling occurred in between; these things are common knowledge.

"Huff."

Shen Yi had seen all kinds of vicious schemes, but rarely faced such an open strategy.

Broad and open, leaving no room for choice.

If Lady Qinghua encountered trouble, he certainly could not stand by and watch, but the more often he intervened, the more he would gradually expose himself before General Two Qingluan.

By then, how could his Hongze background possibly remain hidden from a Grade Four Xian General who truly wished to investigate?

Between the two, this would be a complete clash.

As his exchanges with Lady Qinghua increased, Shen Yi's understanding of this Xian General deepened.

You must know, even without counting her heavenly status, although both were disciples under the Great Luo Immortal Venerable, she was a legitimate disciple; aside from that Immortal Seal, she herself was a Taiyi Tianxian comparable to a Grade Four expert, and even if he had plucked the Great Void Dao Fruit and ascended to Taiyi Immortal, he still lacked the "Tian" character compared to her.

Besides, that Immortal Seal could not be ignored.

Shen Yi himself possessed the Bai Xi Seal and knew very well how much pressure such an object exerted on ordinary cultivators, even at the same rank.

In terms of strength, he was far inferior; in terms of background... he did not think the Shenxu Mountain would truly treat him as a direct disciple.

Either abandon Lady Qinghua and the Golden Body Dharma Image, turning a blind eye to the Immortal Court from now on, or prepare to fight this Xian General.

Facing such a question, Shen Yi rarely hesitated.

Besides, that day when he asked Ye Lan about the disaster, the look she cast toward Shenxu Mountain also made him vaguely uneasy.

"This is too little."

Shen Yi opened the panel and looked at the numerous notifications.

【Slain Grade Five Bai Yu Golden Crane, total lifespan 57 kalpas, remaining lifespan 32 kalpas, absorption complete】

【Slain Grade Six Silver-Scaled Gray Python, total lifespan 23 kalpas, remaining lifespan 4 kalpas, absorption complete】

【Remaining demon lifespan: 102 kalpas】

The power of the Bai Hong Three Immortals was actually not small; just one of them had a retinue entirely of Grade Six great demons.

Adding more than ten together yielded nearly sixty kalpas; plus the big catch of Bai Yu Xian and what remained from before, the remaining demon lifespan finally returned to three digits.

When Shen Yi initially nearly wiped out Hongze, he brought out only a little over two hundred kalpas upon leaving.

He said it was little mainly in comparison to the number of kalpas required for the Dao Fruit.

The Great Void Dao Fruit ranks tenth among the seventy-two Taiyi Dao Fruits; to pluck it, one must expend 193 kalpas.

"Never mind, take it slowly."

Shen Yi closed his eyes and first poured the demon lifespan into the Tianxian cultivation method.

【Grade Six: Carefree Transformation Life Art: Not yet entered】

He had already deduced this method once; with Ye Lan's help, he had thoroughly digested it, and now only needed to consume the normal number of kalpas to truly walk the path.

Compared to the arduous cultivation of the Puti Sect, the methods of the Sanxian Sect were clearly more complex.

Shen Yi's face turned slightly pale.

Fortunately, after undergoing arduous cultivation, his willpower had improved greatly.

Even with his soul and spirit in constant turmoil, his mind remained as steady as a rock, untroubled by external things.

The power of the Three Sects' true methods manifested fully at this moment.

The heterodox techniques of the Jade Dragon Sect were assimilated in an instant.

The green wood within his body transformed from tangible to intangible, aligning with the Carefree Great Dao; when it settled again, though it was still that green wood, it seemed ready to withdraw at any moment rather than being confined to one place.

After six more transformations, dense branches and leaves were hung with silver light, like the full moon, complementing the golden lotus and the dragon-tiger fruit positions below, as if sun and moon rose together.

Thus, the six kalpas of the True Immortal and the six kalpas of the Tianxian were all complete, totaling twelve kalpas.

This cold silver radiance was extremely dense, forming a sharp contrast with the faint golden light on the lotus throne when he was forced to pluck the fruit position at nine kalpas back then.

【Sixth Rank: Carefree Transformation Art: Perfection】

【Remaining Demon Lifespan: Ninety-Eight Kalpas】

Shen Yi closed his eyes and gazed inward.

Amidst the rippling silver light, the high-hanging branch looked somewhat empty, clearly missing something.

After experiencing power that could easily span over a hundred kalpas, an increase of merely six kalpas was not significant, but what mattered was that through this Carefree Transformation Art, Shen Yi was gradually beginning to understand the meaning of the Grand Void.

He did not rise, but instead drew upon his demon lifespan again, beginning to attempt plucking this Grand Void Dao Fruit.

……

Inside a quiet hall within the Jianyang Prefecture government office.

At the upper position, a middle-aged man leaned back; the figure beneath his dark red cloak appeared somewhat thin. He propped his cheek with one hand, seemingly with eyes closed in feigned sleep.

Below, several people stood scattered about. Though inside the prefecture government office, their attire and appearance varied greatly, clearly indicating they were not ordinary officials.

When Ye Lan stepped into the hall, everyone turned to look at her. One person whispered a warning: "Something has happened."

"……"

Ye Lan's expression changed slightly. The reason she had rushed back with such urgency was that she felt the matter of the Master Master Qibao Bodhisattva expounding the Dharma was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

If it were due to hitting a bottleneck and urgently needing human imperial qi to breakthrough, then the gains from this exposition, let alone a breakthrough, might not even equal the four wheels of treasure light the opponent had had severed by the imperial court.

A loss outweighing the gain.

Indeed, those people had further moves.

"You are mistaken; it is not the Puti Sect." The person who spoke up shook his head and sighed helplessly.

Hearing this, confusion welled up in Ye Lan's eyes, but she first looked toward the main seat in the hall and bowed with clasped hands to the middle-aged man draped in the dark red cloak.

The Zhan Yao Si had a strict hierarchy of ranks.

From the lowest Demon Slayers, to the Demon Slayers Officials guarding a prefecture, up to the Title-Granted Generals like Ye Lan and her peers, all belonged to Da Nanzhou.

Above that were the three Southern Suppressing Generals who commanded the entire Zhan Yao Si of Da Nanzhou.

The person before them was one of them, named Yang Mingli.

During the last time the Master Master Qibao Bodhisattva expounded the Dharma at Heshan, he had been among the several figures who had hidden in the clouds of the sky and then pursued.

"This time, it is the Sanxian Sect."

Yang Mingli opened his eyes; his expression revealed neither joy nor anger: "A demon entered Da Nanzhou and unleashed a massacre. Three prefecture yamens alone were destroyed, over half of seven Demon Slayers were killed or injured, and three Demon Slayers Officials sacrificed their lives to block it, all perishing."

"Jianyang Prefecture was the fourth place it visited."

His calm words caused everyone present to look ashamed.

Allowing a demon to rampage so wildly was surely the responsibility of us Title-Granted Generals.

"Where is the Earth God?"

Ye Lan did not rush to blame herself but instead furrowed her brows.

Since many colleagues were standing here idly, it meant the demon had already been subdued, so the cause must be asked first.

As the lowest-ranked celestial official of the Immortal Court, the Earth God's strength was not high, yet he could remain fully aware of changes in his area and notify the imperial court in time.

This was also a manifestation of the Immortal Court and the Human Emperor jointly governing Shenzhou.

One prefecture might be excusable, but with three prefectures in trouble, the Zhan Yao Si only realized it belatedly, which was clearly not right.

"This is the problem."

Yang Mingli straightened his body slightly. Though he appeared middle-aged, his movements were full of old age, with a pervasive aura of twilight.

His cloudy eyes slowly swept over the crowd below: "Our Earth Gods seem to have all taken a nap, yet within less than half a day after the Zhan Yao Si captured this evil beast, they delivered its origins to us."

"It has a master?" Ye Lan reacted instantly.

With imperial qi suppressing them, demons without celestial guides rarely cultivated to a level that could bring disaster to the world, but those who caused trouble and still dared to show their heads were few.

"The mount of Master Qingmei of the Sanxian Sect." A colleague clenched his fist, his expression sinister.

This statement did not dispel the doubt in Ye Lan's eyes. She knew of Qingmei the Daoist, and not long ago, due to the matter of the Jade Dragon Sect, she had dealt with the other party.

But merely being a loose Great Taiyi Immortal, her face was not yet big enough to warrant General Yang bringing a group of Title-Granted Generals to discuss this here.

Among the eight present, at least six could easily capture her, let alone a mount.

"Three suspicious points."

Yang Mingli raised a finger: "Why did the Earth God turn a blind eye? Why does the mount of a Great Taiyi Immortal possess strength not inferior to her own? And also... why, when Qingmei's mount caused chaos, was it her master who finally appeared?"

Each of his questions made the faces of these people look worse.

Qingmei the Daoist's master is named Yu Chi Laozu, whose cultivation has reached the Great Luo Immortal Venerable. He has many disciples, among whom famous ones include those holding office in the Immortal Court, such as Hong Jing and the like.

Such a figure personally sent a letter to spare the life of that evil beast and bring it back to the sect for punishment, for which Qingmei made numerous apologies, sending them to the imperial court immediately.

"I cannot make sense of these three questions, so my heart is somewhat unsettled."

Yang Mingli withdrew his hand: "Of course, the imperial court will ponder these matters; we need only handle the task at hand. Since the imperial court has no intention of returning those apologies for now, after discussion among the three of us, we plan... to send this evil beast back."

"However, we cannot send it in the name of the Divine Dynasty. Matters of face must be considered. You are the Peak Master of Shenxu Mountain, a disciple of the Sanxian Sect, and barely count as a peer. Clean yourself up and set off."

"……"

Ye Lan finally understood why so many colleagues had waited here specifically for her.

Her former reputation was indeed constantly being used to do business for the Zhan Yao Si.

For instance, this time, if the imperial court sent someone to escort it, it would be called voluntarily returning it, but since she, as an open disciple of the Sanxian Sect, would appear, it would count as the Sanxian Sect taking it back.

She lowered her gaze, staring at the ground, feeling an inexplicable discomfort in her heart.

It was not because she could not let go of this face, but because of something else.

"Does General Yan agree?" Ye Lan took a deep breath and looked back up.

"I knew you would mention him. He indeed disagrees, but the minority must submit to the majority." Yang Mingli stood up, walked to Ye Lan's side, and whispered: "From the day you joined the Zhan Yao Si, you should have understood that in our line of work, the big picture takes precedence."

"No one feels comfortable... but I have already smelled something. If something goes wrong, Shenzhou will explode, and at least it cannot start exploding from Da Nanzhou."

The matter of the Master Master Qibao Bodhisattva expounding the Dharma has yet to receive a response from the Immortal Court.

This time, the Earth God has made such a move again.

This is not the kind of action an Immortal Court that wishes to co-rule Shenzhou with the Human Emperor should take.

"But I am no longer the Peak Lord of Divine Void Mountain."

Ye Lan fell silent for a moment, and her words caused everyone to turn and look.

"What happened?" Yang Mingli frowned and looked over as well; he had always proposed that Zhan Yao Si should lend its strength to help Ye Lan secure her position within the Sanxian Sect, and even advance further, but had been rejected by her many times.

"The current Peak Lord of the Pill Peak is Shen Yi, the Demon-Slaying Official of Jianyang Prefecture." Ye Lan did not intend to explain further, passing over the matter in a single sentence.

"..."

Yang Mingli and the assembled titled generals were clearly hearing this unfamiliar name for the first time.

Seeing that Ye Lan had stopped there and was unwilling to elaborate, he fell silent for a moment and did not press further; at least, this identity still remained within Zhan Yao Si.

"Then you go and make it clear to him. Remember, return as soon as possible."

"Understood."

Ye Lan nodded, yet felt her mouth and throat dry.

Master Qingmei is a figure of the Patriarch generation; to interface with her requires an equivalent status. This journey to Divine Void Mountain was originally meant to help Shen Yi, but who would have thought that upon returning, such a situation would be encountered.

Recalling that young man's character, she truly did not know how to begin speaking now.

(End of this chapter)