Chapter 197: The Far North, The Severed Heavenly Ladder!

Although there are limitations to using Nine Breaths Serving Qi and it cannot be used at will, Lu Yuan is still extremely satisfied at this moment.

Even though this Supernatural Power consumes a great deal of mental energy, it seems there is no major problem with him casting it once every two or three days for now.

And the effect of casting it once is comparable to nearly a month of bitter cultivation, which is an incomparable boost to his cultivation efficiency.

Most importantly, this world is an Absolute Spirit Land; that he can use Nine Breaths Serving Qi to absorb the origin of Heaven and Earth to cultivate directly is already heaven-defying—what more could he ask for?

According to the feedback from the Heavenly Book.

The seed of Supernatural Power represents that Lu Yuan has initially mastered this Supernatural Power; subsequently, there is no grading of Heaven, Earth, and Man Divine Communication like the Earthly Fiend Arts, he only needs to continuously irrigate it with the power of Qi Luck, and one day he will be able to transform the seed of Supernatural Power into a true Supernatural Power Dao Fruit!

Of course, another prerequisite is that his cultivation level must also keep up.

Refining Grain into Essence, Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit into Void, and Refining Void into Dao.

Refining Void into Dao is the final stage of the Guiding Technique; once cultivated, one can be called an Immortal, and to fully manifest the might of a Heavenly Gang Great Divine Ability, one must at least be at this level.

"With Nine Breaths Serving Qi, even in this Absolute Spirit Land, it is not necessarily impossible to become an Immortal."

Although it is still too far away from this level, Lu Yuan is full of confidence at this moment.

The Guiding Technique is a longevity technique; after Refining Essence into Qi, one can have three hundred to five hundred years of lifespan, Refining Qi into Spirit grants eight hundred to a thousand years, Refining Spirit into Void can reach a thousand autumns and ten thousand years, evergreen for ten thousand years, and as for the highest stage, Refining Void into Dao, it is even more so equal to Heaven in lifespan, immortal and undying.

Lu Yuan is currently in the late stage of Refining Essence into Qi, so he has at least three to four hundred years of lifespan; with such a long lifespan combined with a supreme Supernatural Power like Nine Breaths Serving Qi, I am afraid even a fool could possibly cultivate into an Immortal!

"It is time to begin seclusion."

"Let's see how long it will take me to reach the perfection of Refining Essence into Qi with the assistance of Nine Breaths Serving Qi, and how long it will take to break through to Refining Qi into Spirit?"

Various thoughts flashed by.

Lu Yuan was filled with anticipation, immediately sat cross-legged, and his aura completely subsided.

Time passed rapidly.

Lu Yuan's seclusion did not affect the rapid development of the New Nation; after Saint Peter was defeated and nearly died, the upper and lower echelons of the three countries—Shenluo, Sha'e, and Sunlight—were terrified, shrinking back completely and submitting entirely, never daring to act rashly again.

And as the first batch of gold, silver, and a large amount of resources from the three countries' reparations arrived, the New Country Parliament discussed leaving only a portion to be deposited into the national treasury, while the remaining huge amount of resources were distributed to various provinces, invested in industry, people's livelihood, and other aspects for construction.

Although there is an Immortal suppressing the national fortune, making the New Nation stand at the pinnacle of the world today, Zuo Guanglie and the high-level officials are all very clear that the other three countries still surpass the current New Nation in many aspects; if not for the existence of the Immortal, Shenzhou would have long since fallen apart and become meat on the plates of the great powers.

To forge iron, one must be strong oneself; they not only strongly support the research and development of domestic science and industrial technology, but also reached an agreement with the three countries including Shenluo to send a large number of young students from civil and military academies to study abroad in these three countries every year.

In fact, this plan of sending students abroad to learn from the barbarians' techniques had already been implemented by the Jin Dynasty more than ten years ago, but at that time, the Jin Dynasty had experienced the humiliation of defeat, and its reputation in the world had fallen to the bottom; those students studying abroad were also subjected to discrimination and oppression overseas, living in extreme humiliation.

However, unlike that, the New Nation is now effectively an uncrowned king due to the existence of the nation-protecting Immortal; the three countries dare not offend or provoke it in the slightest, and instead have to do their best to treat the New Nation's young students studying abroad with many favors, easing relations as much as possible.

Including the citizens of the three countries, after various huge changes, they are now both hateful and fearful of the New Nation, especially the people of the Sunlight Country whose backbones have been completely broken; they regard the New Nation as an Immortal country, and whenever they mention the Immortal, they are incomparably humble and respectful, not daring to show the slightest hatred.

This has led to the young students studying abroad not exactly running rampant in various countries, but at least no one dares to provoke them, and they live quite comfortably.

And it was in such a scene of prosperity.

In the foothills of Changbai Mountain on the border of the New Nation.

The temple of the former Ancestral Land of the Jin Clan had long been bombed into ruins by artillery fire after the establishment of the New Nation, but outside the ruins of the ancestral temple, an emerging town had grown up in the wind, frost, rain, and snow.

It can be seen that this town located in a bitter cold place is mostly composed of rows of earthen houses, looking messy and extremely dilapidated; apart from the officers and soldiers wearing cotton-padded jackets, most of the residents living here have sallow, cyan-purple faces, and some even still keep that ugly money-rat tail braid.

These people are naturally the people of the Jin Clan whose country has already perished.

During that massive purge that swept through the provinces, the people of the Jin Clan suffered heavy casualties; a large number of Banner Persons were either killed, surrendered, or changed their names and completely pretended to be Han people, living a low-key life in the New Nation with their tails tucked between their legs.

At the same time, a small number of die-hard members of the Jin Clan could not bear the fall of the Jin Dynasty and the rule of the Han people, and fled back to the Changbai Mountain area where the Jin people started, as if seeking spiritual solace.

Although the New Nation would not go so far as to exterminate these people, it would not ignore them either, so it simply designated the Ancestral Land of the Jin people as a place of exile for criminals; anyone who committed a serious crime but was not sentenced to death would be escorted here and left to fend for themselves.

Such an arrangement is naturally a great insult to the people of the Jin Clan who are lingering on their last breaths here, but they have long been terrified and broken-hearted by the killings during the purges, and they dare not show any sign of resistance at all.

This day.

Outside Changbai City, more than ten carriages loaded with goods drove in from the rugged road, and were then stopped by the New Nation soldiers stationed in the city for inspection.

Although stationed in this bitter cold place, the treatment of the New Nation soldiers is much better than before; these soldiers are all wearing thick cotton-padded jackets and cowhide boots, and their mental outlook is completely different from the past.

The leader of the caravan, a strong and tall young man, hurriedly stepped forward with a smile:

"Gentlemen, these are fabrics, cotton, and strong liquor from the border town of Liaodong; there is absolutely no problem, these are for you, gentlemen."

As he spoke, he took a handful of Silver Yuan from his sleeve and stuffed them into the hands of the leading Han officer, and also ordered his assistants to move down several jars of strong liquor.

The two sides had been dealing with each other for a long time; the leading officer showed a smile on his face, cautiously scanned the surroundings, then quickly took the Silver Yuan, and waved his hand to signal his men to check quickly:

"E'erjia, you really have a head for business; every time you come and go, there are more than ten carts of goods. I think there is no one in this entire Changbai City who does business better than you!"

The young man called E'erjia showed a humble smile:

"Not at all, not at all, it is all thanks to Commandant Li, and the care of you gentlemen."

It was only after the inspecting soldiers reported that there was no problem that the leading officer waved his hand casually:

"Alright, go ahead."

E'erjia gave a humble bow, then mounted his horse and led the caravan into the city.

Changbai City has a population of only about 200,000, most of whom are people of the Jin Clan who fled from other provinces. In such a bitter cold place with scarce materials, their lives are naturally extremely difficult, and they cannot be compared to when they were throwing their weight around in the past. On the dilapidated streets, many Jin Clan children wearing tattered cotton-padded jackets cheered with joy when they saw the caravan driving down the street, and then one by one excitedly surrounded them.

And E'erjia, who was at the front of the team, smiled and threw handfuls of candies from a bag he had prepared at his waist, which fell into the arms of those children, triggering a scramble.

"Thank you, Brother, thank you, Brother!"

The children couldn't wait to stuff the candies into their mouths, jumping and shouting thanks to E'erjia's caravan. E'erjia did not feel joy, but instead his face turned gloomy.

Behind him, a middle-aged man dressed as a servant also sighed:

"It's hard on these children; they should have been able to wear fine clothes and eat fine food, living in spacious and bright houses enjoying warmth, but now... sigh."

E'erjia's face was blank:

"It is we who lost the country, we have failed our descendants."

As if touched by a painful thought, he said no more, and just pulled the goods all the way to several different shops, watching personally as the different goods were moved into the warehouse.

After finishing this, he took his servant back to a large mansion.

Although it is called a large mansion, it is actually just a two-courtyard house. As soon as he entered, an old maid came out to greet him:

"Young Master, you are back?"

"I'll go heat up some water for you right away!"

E'erjia asked:

"Where is Mafa?"

Mafa meant grandfather, and the old maidservant replied: "He is basking in the sun in the backyard!"

Thus, E'erjia left the servant behind and walked into the backyard alone, where he saw an old man, withered and thin as a stick, lying on a wooden chair, dozing off while facing the sun.

"Mafa!"

E'erjia walked up quickly, squatted down, and asked with concern:

"I'm back, how are you?"

Hearing this familiar voice, the old man slowly opened his eyes, his cloudy eyes turned to look over, and then he revealed a look of anticipation:

"My child, you have returned; what is the result?"

E'erjia said with shame:

"I tried to find ways to contact some Shenluo People, but they didn't dare to bypass the New Nation government to sell us ironclad ships at all. No matter how much money I offered, they didn't dare to accept, so I can only think of other ways first."

"Didn't dare to accept?"

The old man muttered to himself:

"Then what if we pay them to have their fleet take people there?"

E'erjia said: "I brought this up too, but the Shenluo People asked me back what my purpose was for going there. I didn't know if this person was reliable or not, so I didn't dare to disclose it yet."

The old man coughed lightly and said:

"The Pope of the Holy See suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of that devil, leading the vast Holy See to have no choice but to bow their heads and submit. They must hate the devil to the extreme from top to bottom. When necessary, you can disclose the situation to them and borrow their power."

E'erjia, however, hesitated and said:

"Mafa, does a method to deal with that devil really exist in the Extreme North? I heard that the Extreme North is frozen for eternity all year round, covered in ice and snow everywhere. Ordinary people cannot withstand the bitter cold if they go there, and even the foreigners who first discovered this place only explored the edge areas and dared not go deep into it."

The old man could not help but cough low:

"Elder Ennahaidu told me before he went to Tianjing that he had once seen with his own eyes the mural ruins of the Yunluo Kingdom royal family from the Middle Ages. It was inscribed with the fact that this world was connected to the Tianjie where Immortals and gods resided. At that time, the world was filled with Spiritual Machine, and Qi Refiners could ascend to the heavens and become Immortals or ancestors once their cultivation reached a certain level.

However, at that time, Qi Refiners not only exploited the world too heavily, but their oppression of the ancestors of the Shenzhou tribes was also harsh. Later, the major tribes elected a powerful Human Emperor. He led his people to fight against the ancient Qi Refiners and cut off the ladder to the heavens and the circulation of the world's Spiritual Machine in the Extreme North, thereby causing those Qi Refiners to perish completely in this realm.

If the content on the murals is true, then the Extreme North must have left behind traces, or even existences that can deal with Immortals. That devil is the culprit who destroyed the Jin Kingdom. If we, the people of a fallen nation, want to take revenge, we must go and investigate no matter what!"

E'erjia hurriedly stepped forward to pat the old man's back gently and said in a low voice:

"I understand, Mafa."

The old man turned his head and sighed softly:

"Of course, this matter has been hard on you. As a Prince, you have spent most of your time cultivating in the temple with Elder Ennahaidu and have hardly lived a good day. It is just a pity that I was besieged by experts of the New Nation while protecting the temple and was injured too severely; I don't have many years left to live. Otherwise, I would go to see it myself no matter what."

E'erjia hurriedly said:

"Mafa, you must not say that. When Grandmother died and Tianjing was in turmoil, the New Nation people slaughtered so many of my relatives. This hatred is irreconcilable. I can ignore everything else, but as long as I can make that devil pay the price, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

"Good."

The old man's eyes were gratified:

"No matter what, living another three or five years is not a problem. You don't need to be anxious about this matter; stability is the most important thing. The most critical point is that the news must not leak out before the deed is done, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable. Do you understand?"

E'erjia nodded slowly: "I understand. Don't worry, I will definitely step onto the ice fields of the Extreme North and investigate it for you!"

His actual identity was the thirteenth younger brother of the Xuantong Emperor, and he had been enfeoffed as O Prince in his early years.

However, he had shown amazing martial arts talent since he was a child and was taken as a personal disciple by Ennahaidu, the Great Elder of Shamanism, often living in the temple to cultivate, so he was not well-known among the common people.

But in reality, E'erjia was only in his early thirties, yet under the personal instruction of Ennahaidu, he had reached the astonishing strength of the Bao Dan Realm. His reputation was extremely loud within the vast Shamanism, and if he were willing to give up his position as Prince, he would definitely be able to succeed as the next Great Elder of Shamanism.

During the World Martial Arts Tournament before the turmoil in Tianjing, he was actually at the scene and witnessed the death of Xici and the terrifying, god-like methods of Lu Yuan with his own eyes. When the subsequent upheaval in Tianjing occurred, although he managed to escape back to the temple in time, his other relatives in Tianjing were mostly purged, and not long after he returned to the temple, New Nation soldiers were sent to demolish the temple.

Facing the siege of the army, the remnants of the Shaman God Sect also tasted the experience of having their mountains broken and temples destroyed. Although they fought to the death with no regard for their lives, it was still of no avail, and they were almost completely wiped out.

And the old man before him was Huitude, a fellow disciple of Ennahaidu. Although he only had the cultivation of the Bao Dan Realm, he still fought to the death to bring E'erjia out, and then hid in this Changbai City under an assumed name, waiting for an opportunity.

Of course, even they themselves did not know if this so-called opportunity actually existed, but under the blood feud of a ruined nation and destroyed home, they had to try even if the chance was slim!