Chapter 198: Wind Sweeps the Scattered Clouds, the Great Work is Accomplished

Time passes easily.

In the blink of an eye, half a year has passed.

For the common people, the passing of half a year brought no major changes other than growing half a year older.

But for the entire New Nation, the development and changes of the past half year could be described as changing with each passing day.

With the reparations from the three countries, the New Nation's finances became very affluent; not only could they allocate support to various provinces, but they could also vigorously promote the development of Western science and technology. In particular, the Manufacturing Bureau located in Shangdu, after undergoing research and improvement, finally produced the latest type of Steam Engine that could rival the Shenluo, with no need to purchase from other countries anymore.

The efficiency of this Steam Engine was nearly double that of the previous generation, causing the productivity of major emerging factories to double as well. Not only did the textile and steel industries flourish, but shipyards and even the newly established automobile factories achieved great breakthroughs.

Take the shipyards, for instance; they can now successfully build ten-thousand-ton class Ironclad Warships, and the newly built automobile factory has even produced the New Nation's first completely self-researched and self-produced Steam Automobile.

Although the technology is not as mature as that of Shenluo, leading to inferior performance in terms of speed and mileage, this is undoubtedly an earth-shattering breakthrough for the New Nation, and it also makes the hundreds of millions of citizens feel a sense of pride.

Because all of this proves that, even disregarding the existence of the Immortal, the intelligence and ability of the people of the New Nation are by no means inferior to any ethnic group in the world.

And compared to the prosperity of the New Nation.

The interiors of the three old powers—Shenluo, Sha'e, and Sunlight Country—appear bleak and miserable. Under the shadow of the New Nation, these three countries have long since completely stopped their expansion, their influence has shrunk across the board, and many of their colonies around the world have been forced to be abandoned.

The reason the three countries developed rapidly in the past was by relying on constant aggression and plunder. Now, being forced to stop their expansion, coupled with the huge sums of money they must pay as reparations to the New Nation, has caused various problems to emerge one after another within them, leaving them in turmoil.

Shenluo and Sha'e have vast territories and abundant resources, so they are generally better off, but Sunlight Country has a small territory and barren resources. After stopping expansion and aggression, its interior almost collapsed, and it soon fell into dire straits.

Previously, the lower-class Sunlight People tightened their belts to support the Empire's expansion; although life was not great, they could at least eat half-full. But after stopping expansion and paying reparations, the food supply could not meet the population's needs. Despair and famine gradually spread across most of the country; the lower-class people only ate one meal a day, and most of the time they had to go hungry, which was quite miserable.

In just a few short months, the Sunlight Country was littered with corpses, and tens of thousands died of starvation. After the New Country Parliament learned of this, following intense discussion, they finally decided to provide a symbolic amount of food and seeds to demonstrate the benevolence of the Celestial Empire.

This day.

In Shangjing, the capital of Sunlight Country.

Although Shangjing is the capital and very prosperous, it could not avoid the impact of the famine. Everywhere in the streets and alleys, one could see people with sallow complexions and skin and bones, who did not know how long it had been since they had a full meal.

Of course, the lives of the upper-class figures naturally did not change much; not to mention ordinary food, even delicacies were as usual, and some of the food supported by the New Nation was even used by them directly to brew wine for enjoyment.

Just like at this moment, in the half-rebuilt Heavenly Guardian Pavilion, a reception hall was filled with all kinds of delicacies on the table. As the Prime Minister, Guan Ye Yixin kept taking out his pocket watch, seemingly waiting for someone to arrive.

And beside him, besides the interpreter, there was a young figure waiting, and they asked with full trepidation:

"Prime Minister Guan Ye, do you think His Holiness the Pope will believe and support us?"

It was E'erjia.

Guan Ye Yixin took a deep breath:

"We have conducted sufficient investigation and research; there is a high possibility that a way to save this world exists in the Arctic. Shenluo is also currently shrouded in darkness, so there is no reason for them not to support us."

E'erjia could not help but nod. Not long after, they heard a burst of footsteps coming from outside, and they saw two attendants leading a figure wearing a cloak that covered their head and face completely, along with two followers, walking in.

Guan Ye Yixin and E'erjia stood up at the same time and bowed in salute:

"Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope!"

The cloaked person took off their hood, revealing the aged face of Saint Peter. He first looked around, then locked his gaze on E'erjia immediately:

"Who is he?"

Saint Peter spoke in the Shenluo language. After the interpreter translated, E'erjia immediately said respectfully:

"Your Holiness the Pope, I am E'erjia, formerly the Thirteen Prince, O Prince of the Great Jin."

"A person of the Jin Dynasty?"

Saint Peter was somewhat surprised. He turned his eyes to look at Guan Ye Yixin:

"Prime Minister Guan Ye, you invited me here in the name of the Yushen Emperor to discuss important matters. Where is he now?"

Guan Ye Yixin sighed:

"The Yushen Emperor has been bedridden since he returned and will abdicate soon. He is truly unable to meet you; I can represent him."

"Oh?"

Saint Peter came to the guest of honor seat and sat down, his gaze full of scrutiny as he said:

"You are being mysterious, claiming to have discovered a secret that can change the world's landscape. What exactly is it? You can say it now."

Guan Ye Yixin nodded, pulled down the curtain covering the wall behind him, and revealed a large number of rubbings of murals, texts, patterns, and so on. At a glance, they looked ancient and did not belong to this era.

Saint Peter did not recognize these things, his brows furrowed slightly as he said:

"What is this?"

Guan Ye Yixin said solemnly:

"This is a rubbing of an ancient mural from the Yunluo Kingdom of the Middle Ancient era of Shenzhou that we collected with all our might. It is highly likely to be related to the greatest secret of the ancient era of Shenzhou."

Recalling that Lu Yuan was also very concerned about this point when he was at the Holy See, Saint Peter's gaze moved sharply, and he asked:

"What secret?"

Guan Ye Yixin signaled with his eyes, and E'erjia said in a deep voice:

"Your Holiness the Pope, in the ancient legends dating back ten thousand years, there existed many Qi Refiners on the land of Shenzhou who could fly, burrow, move mountains, and fill seas, possessing abilities even more powerful than that Shenzhou Immortal. But after the ancient era, these existences all disappeared without a trace. The reason is that a peerless king appeared among the ancient tribes, who used mysterious means to expel those Qi Refiners. All of this is recorded in these murals."

Upon hearing this, Saint Peter stood up abruptly, staring tightly at the murals on the wall, his eyes flashing with sharp light:

"There is actually such a thing? How did they do it?"

After being defeated by Lu Yuan, although he had to bow his head and submit, he was also secretly searching for various records and legends about Immortals, seeking to find a turning point.

Although he had not gained much so far, he had learned a lot about the legends of Immortals and had also heard of the existence of Qi Refiners in the ancient era, but he had only heard the legends.

Now that he learned that the ancients from over ten thousand years ago had actually expelled Qi Refiners who were even more powerful than Lu Yuan, how could he not be excited?

Facing Saint Peter's question, E'erjia said quickly:

"According to the records of this mural from the early Middle Ancient era, the ancient ancestors cut off the Ladder to Heaven in the Extreme North. This passage connected to another world where Immortals and Gods lived, and it was the Heaven and Earth Qi flowing out from this world that created the powerful Qi Refiners.

And because the Ladder to Heaven was cut off, the Qi of the Shenzhou land tended to dissipate, and these Qi Refiners were like fish out of water, finding it difficult to survive. They were extremely angry about this, and the two sides fought a great battle in the Extreme North, causing the mountains and rivers to collapse and the sun and moon to lose their light. The final result was that the tribal ancestors suffered countless casualties, while the ancient Qi Refiners also suffered heavy casualties and eventually disappeared completely."

Saint Peter stared at the rubbings on the wall again and again, and then discovered the most critical point:

"The Extreme North... the Arctic Glacier? That place has been inaccessible for countless years. If the content on the murals is based on fact, then there should still be traces left in the Arctic land now."

"Exactly so."

Guan Ye Yixin said with great excitement:

"Your Majesty the Pope, we believe that a huge secret is hidden within the Arctic Glacier. If this secret can be unlocked, the world might be able to cast off those terrifying demonic claws. Therefore, we have decided to dispatch an expedition team to land in the Extreme North to conduct an investigation.

However, the Extreme North is vast and boundless, and our capabilities are limited, making it difficult to complete the exploration alone. Inviting you here is because we hope that our two sides can work together to explore it, so as to uncover the secrets within as soon as possible!"

E'erjia also immediately said:

"Your Majesty the Pope, although the Jin Dynasty has already perished, there is no lack of indomitable warriors among the exiles. I am willing to lead men as the vanguard and explore, braving the front lines!"

Facing the eager gazes of the two, Saint Peter stared at the mural, his eyes flickering, and remained silent.

"Your Majesty the Pope, what are you hesitating about?"

Guan Ye Yixin said urgently:

"According to my understanding, Ancient Qi Practitioners have long lifespans, often counted in the hundreds of years. If nothing goes wrong, that Shenzhou Immortal probably also has a lifespan of several hundred years. A span of several hundred years is comparable to the lifespan of a dynasty. If we do not find a way to stop or even expel him, the shadow and darkness he brings will cause all the descendants of our people to live in fear. Now that there is finally such an opportunity and possibility, we must not miss it!"

Saint Peter said slowly:

"I understand everything you say. My hesitation is only out of concern that the news might leak out. Furthermore, exploring the Extreme North is by no means an easy task, and I do not wish to expend huge amounts of energy, manpower, and material resources only to end up with nothing, a wasted joy."

Although he had never revealed it in front of outsiders, only Saint Peter himself knew clearly in his heart that after seeing Lu Yuan's various methods with his own eyes, he had already developed a deep shadow regarding the other party.

He knew very well that if Lu Yuan wanted to kill him, it would be as easy as turning over his hand. The main reason he was able to survive was that he was sensible enough; otherwise, he would probably already have grass growing on his grave by now.

It would be fine if the matter of exploring the Extreme North were kept strictly confidential, but once it leaked out and reached Lu Yuan's ears, the fate of himself and the entire Holy See would be unimaginable.

"Your Majesty the Pope, you can rest assured."

E'erjia guaranteed solemnly:

"Up to now, besides myself and one of my elders, this secret has only been revealed to the two of you. Absolutely no one else in the New Nation knows about it!"

Guan Ye Yixin also said:

"The movement of exploring the Extreme North might not be completely hidden, but using the excuse of exploring unknown lands for humanity as a cover, no one can say anything. We might be doing useless work, but as long as there is a one-percent chance, we must do our utmost to strive for it, to win a bright future for our people and our descendants. What does Your Majesty the Pope think?"

Saint Peter was silent for a moment, and finally nodded slowly:

"Very well."

At the same time.

Outside Tianjing City, at Xiantai Mountain—the burial place of Xici and where the World Martial Arts Tournament was once held—a Dao Palace was situated, surrounded by mountains.

The Dao Palace was named Zhisheng Tianshi Palace. It had been under full-scale construction since the founding of the New Nation, and after more than a year, it was finally completed. Lu Yuan no longer had to make do in Qinian Hall and happily moved into it.

On this day, dark clouds gathered among the mountains, as if a violent storm were about to arrive.

Boom.

The quiet room of the side hall, which had been sealed for nearly half a year, suddenly opened wide, and immediately, Lu Yuan's figure walked out from it slowly.

Compared to half a year ago, his entire temperament had become deep and restrained, while at the same time revealing a sense of detachment from the mortal world, as if he were about to leave this world at any moment.

Without alarming the disciples halfway up the mountain, he looked at the thick dark clouds in the sky and laughed dismissively:

"It's rare for me to come out of seclusion, and Heaven welcomes me like this?"

Having said that, he flicked his sleeve: "Go!"

Following the flick of his sleeve, a gust of light wind instantly swept out, and then the wind force rapidly grew halfway, turning into a fierce gale that roared and swept across the entire world as if it had spirituality.

Woo— woo— woo—.

Within a radius of twenty or thirty miles, the world was instantly filled with a gale. The surrounding verdant mountains roared in response, the trees swayed, and at the same time, the thick dark clouds in the sky were instantly scattered by the gale sweeping the world, revealing the bright sky!

The dark clouds dispersed, the world became bright, and bathing in the radiance shed by the bright sun, a satisfied smile appeared on Lu Yuan's face:

"Not bad, not bad. Cultivation at the perfection level of Refining Essence into Qi, when combined with the use of Earthly Fiend Arts, is indeed extraordinary."

That's right.

After lighting up Nine Breaths Serving Qi and only half a year of quiet cultivation, he had cultivated a full one thousand wisps of Dharma Power with vigorous progress, officially stepping into the perfection realm of Refining Essence into Qi!

Every time this Heavenly Gang Divine Ability, Nine Breaths Serving Qi, was used, the Dharma Power refined by absorbing the Original Qi of Heaven and Earth was comparable to a month of his hard cultivation. Even though he could only use it every few days due to the mental strain, it still made his cultivation improve rapidly.

After reaching this level, the Dharma Power in Lu Yuan's body surged like a river. It was not just an improvement in cultivation and an increase in lifespan; the power of his Earthly Fiend Arts was also incomparable to the past. Just like now, he could use the Wind Riding Technique to disperse dark clouds in a range of twenty or thirty miles at once, which was absolutely impossible for him to do before his seclusion.

"Speaking of which, if one is at the perfection of Refining Essence into Qi, it's roughly equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Late Stage or Foundation Establishment perfection cultivator, right? After all, the Foundation Establishment ancestors in novels have at most this level of performance."

Lu Yuan thought with great interest:

"If I can condense a Pill Embryo and step into Refining Qi into Spirit, then the starting point should be equivalent to a Golden Core stage cultivator. Let alone in a world where the heaven and earth are devoid of spiritual energy, one could walk sideways even in the ordinary cultivation world."

"It's just that this breakthrough from Refining Essence into Qi to Refining Qi into Spirit seems quite difficult, no less difficult than condensing a Golden Core. I wonder when I will be able to take this step..."

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