Chapter 454

【After you extracted the Yin-cold from Madam Ruan, heat rose from her head; she held the copper mirror and looked left and right, and her pair of originally protruding copper-bell eyes gradually returned to normal size, her eyes filled with joy.】

【She smiled and bowed to you, imitating the way the servants in the mansion did.】

【"Thank you, Master!"】

【Sister Wu Tong called you to dine, and she skipped between the kitchen and the courtyard, carefully carrying the steaming dishes to the stone table in the courtyard. Sister Wu Tong had specially prepared a small stool and bowl and chopsticks for her, but she was still a bit shy and didn't dare to sit opposite you, only sitting beside Sister Wu Tong.】

【She used to eat fish and shrimp from water management to fill her stomach; although she could, the taste was not good, but it could fill her stomach.】

【During these days, Madam Ruan followed Sister Wu Tong and tasted almost all kinds of food on the streets and alleys of Above Bianjing. At first, when she was led by Sister Wu Tong's hand through the market, she was quite uneasy, but later she got used to it.】

【Because of you, Sister Wu Tong has never been favored in the mansion, and for many years only Luya was willing to be close to her. Now that you have offended the two Madams Zhao and Yuan, even fewer servants dare to step into your courtyard.】

【Now that there is Madam Ruan in the courtyard, the one who is actually happiest is Sister Wu Tong.】

【You looked at Sister Wu Tong and Madam Ruan, and a smile appeared on the corner of your mouth.】

【In a flash, another month passed!】

【It was the time of the seventh month's flowing fire, but the Xie Fu was shrouded in an indescribable depression.】

【In the Grand View Garden, after the Old Matriarch Xie learned the bad news about Xie Ling, she had been bedridden for several days, and the several Madams were also prone to flying into a rage over small matters; the maids and servants walked on tiptoe, and spoke as softly as mosquitoes, and the large mansion was so quiet that one could hear the sound of falling leaves.】

【This depression was not just in the Xie Fu!】

【The entire Above Bianjing City seemed to be shrouded in an invisible dark cloud. And the most eye-catching matter was the war report coming from the south—】

【After the Red-Eyed Army occupied the Jiangnan Circuit, they marched north after only three days, heading straight for the Shannan Circuit.】

【Defectors along the way were like a tide, claiming to have an army of 600,000. Even more horrifying was that the government troops collapsed at the mere sight of them; often, before the Red-Eyed Army arrived, the city-defending generals had already abandoned their armor and fled.】

【Such an irresistible force truly exceeded the expectations of the officials in the imperial court.】

【No one felt anymore that this was a simple rebellion.】

【Now, Prime Minister Su has made the final decision in the Cabinet, with the Xue family and the Zhao family leading two elite routes of 300,000, joining forces with the Mobei Army; the large army is like black clouds pressing on the border, with a total of 600,000 troops.】

【There are also 200,000 reinforcements from various circuits marching out one after another, totaling 800,000 heroic troops, with banners blocking the sun and war drums shaking the sky, pointing straight at Shannan.】

【More than half of the masters and students of the Academy have also been dispatched, preparing to fight a decisive battle with the Red-Eyed Army in the Shannan Circuit.】

【The Academy and the Great Qi court, which had always been unrelated, finally united again.】

【The Shannan Circuit has a thousand miles of plains with no dangerous terrain to defend, so it is destined to be a head-on slaughter.】

【Looking at the Red-Eyed Army, most of them are sallow and emaciated starving people, in rags, with simple weapons. As for the imperial court, in addition to the 800,000-strong army, there are also the upper three martial realm powerhouses of the Academy and the Nine Great Surnames sitting in command.】

【With such a disparity in comparison, it looks like a certain victory to anyone.】

【As the news spread, the haze that had shrouded Above Bianjing for many days finally dissipated, laughter was heard in the streets and alleys again, and the business of the West Chamber Building became lively again.】

【Zhuge Jian and Zhang Shizai, on the orders of Prime Minister Su and the Academy, are to set off for the Jiangnan Circuit tomorrow.】

【Today, Zhuge Jian brought Xie Yuan, and Zhang Shizai brought his beloved daughter Zhang Yunzhi, and the group stepped into this quiet little courtyard.】

【Above Bianjing has had continuous heavy rain and cloudy days these past few days, but today the sun finally came out.】

【Small courtyard, under the paulownia tree!】

【"In just three months, the situation has truly turned out as Young Master Guan expected." Zhang Shizai stroked his beard and sighed, "The Red-Eyed Army has become a prairie fire, and the world is shaken."】

【When he returned from Ze Lake, he had visited the small courtyard; at that time, he was still skeptical when he heard Xie Guan discuss this matter. Now, looking at the paulownia leaves falling on the stone table, he couldn't help but think of what the youth said that day; it has now been verified, and the Red-Eyed Army has become a great disaster.】

【"Ban Sheng is just a small village head...", Zhuge Jian said in a deep voice, "A minor official managing a hundred households, yet he can stir up such monstrous waves."】

【"Times create heroes, and heroes also create the times; heroes emerge in troubled times."】

【"After this Ban Sheng captured Jiangnan, he did not burn, kill, or loot, which shows the prestige in the army and the strictness in governing the army."】

【"Among the methods, many powerful families and clans in the Jiangnan Circuit were liquidated, supporting the weak to take power, and attracting gentry from other places."】

【"Liquidating the powerful, supporting the humble, using foreign clans to check and balance the locals, and then using the old Red-Eyed troops to sit in the center...", Zhuge Jian muttered, "Such methods of both hitting and pulling, it is simple to say, but difficult to do; how can it be done by a mere village head... this is already the method of an emperor."】

【Zhuge Jian is a disciple of the Third Master; although he is upright as an official and a person, he is very familiar with the rules, is flawless as an official, and is well-versed in the way of checks and balances.】

【Zhang Shizai is much more outspoken; otherwise, given his background from the Zhang family, one of the Nine Great Surnames, and his Academy background, coupled with his outstanding ability, how could he have been demoted to Ze Lake.】

【If it were an ordinary day, Xie Yuan would definitely praise that Ban Sheng deserves the name of a grassroots hero, and this "Red-Eyed Heavenly King" is also a supporter of Prince Yan.】

【Xie Yuan had previously joked about wanting to become sworn brothers with this Ban Sheng.】

【Now, his father Xie Ling has suffered a crushing defeat and his whereabouts are unknown, and the Red-Eyed Army has instantly become his father's killer.】

【Xie Yuan has become much more steady and mature in this past month.】

【Zhuge Jian smiled, "This time going to the Shannan Circuit, 800,000 troops will fight a decisive battle against 600,000 Red-Eyed troops. What do you think, Young Master Guan? Among them, the experts dispatched by the Nine Great Surnames and the Academy include many Yang Spirit cultivators and those of the ninth martial realm."】

【"Young Master Guan, do you still believe that the Red-Eyed Army will break through Above Bianjing?"】

【Zhang Shizai also looked over with curiosity; he was interested in understanding your thoughts at this time.】

【You thought for a moment, thinking of what the adopted son of Master Dong said, that Master Dong had already left Above Bianjing and gone to the Red-Eyed Army.】

【Could Prime Minister Su, the Fourth Master in the court, and the Third Master of the Academy not know this news that you are aware of?】

【What exactly is Prime Minister Su plotting?】

【It is as if the Third Master and he have reached some kind of agreement, silently pushing the development of the situation!】

【Only then did you speak, "Many people are destined to die in the Shannan Circuit; the Red-Eyed Army dares to do this, so they should have a countermeasure."】

【Zhuge Jian was silent for a while; that Red-Eyed Heavenly King uses troops like a god and cannot be a reckless person.】

【However, with such a large army pressing on the border, even the Great Sui would fear having to use the strength of the entire country.】

【Where does the Red-Eyed Army get its confidence!】

【After three rounds of tea!】

【Zhang Shizai suddenly turned the topic to the north: "The Great Sui is also filled with the flames of war now. The Holy Emperor of Sui ultimately underestimated the Three Truths Sect—"】

【"Although the Three Truths do not involve themselves in court politics or cast weapons, the foundation of this thousand-year-old Daoist sect..."】

【"When Mount Zhongnan activated the mountain-protecting formation, the entire mountain range was like being thrown into the vast ocean, disappearing without a trace under the eyes of everyone."】

【He raised his eyes to look at the northern sky, "Now the Three Truths Daoist soldiers and the Sui army are confronting each other in Enye; this battle, regardless of whether the Liu family's ancestral temple collapses or the Three Truths' orthodoxy declines, will be a major event that shakes the world and even future generations."】

【Xie Yuan frowned and asked, "Uncle, isn't the Holy Emperor of Sui destroying his own Great Wall? And the Three Truths Sect doesn't seem to involve itself in the court."】

【Zhuge Jian smiled, "This Great Sui was supported by the Three Truths Sect, but now they want to destroy the Three Truths quickly, which is despised by others, but there are reasons for it!"】

【"However, there is no free Jin Dan in the world, and there is no free throne."】

【"The Three Truths Sect is the orthodoxy left behind by that Prince Yan. Who is that Lu Shen Zhou? He is the person honored as the High Ancestor by later generations of the Yan Kingdom. The 'Essentials of Northern Governance' he left behind is a precious book of the Three Truths, but it has always been regarded as a forbidden book by the Great Qi, the Eternal Sky, and the Buddha Kingdom."】

【"The Three Truths is the state religion of the Great Sui; it is evident that this book is popular in the Great Sui, and it would be difficult for the Holy Emperor of Sui not to adopt the national policies in it."】

【"Of course, it is also because of this that with the national policies of this book, the national strength of the Great Sui has been comparable to the Great Qi, which has been founded for a thousand years, in a hundred years."】

【"However, this book was written by Prince Yan and is a book for the public world, not a work for a family world."】

【Zhuge Jian looked at Xie Yuan and said, "If you were the Holy Emperor of Sui, if all the fields in the world belonged to the public, the imperial examination did not distinguish between families, and even the emperor's expenses had to be discussed by the three departments..."】

【"What kind of emperor is this? Not to mention that Holy Emperor of Sui who is called a man of great talent and strategy, who commands thousands of immortals in the fairyland in his dreams."】

【Hearing this, a slight thought appeared in your eyes.】

【Zhuge Jian also mentioned one thing, "The struggle for the Great Khan of the Eternal Sky in the north has reached its end. That Third Prince secretly supported by the Xu family of the Golden Family... now on the Muran Grassland, the banners of the three royal tents have covered half the sky."】

【Zhang Yunzhi mentioned, "The Eastern Saint Sect of the Southern Buddha Kingdom has also ushered in the hundred-year selection of the Buddha Lord."】

【Zhang Shizai looked solemn and sighed: "The human world is in chaos, and all four major powers are facing the crisis of disintegration."】

【After some idle chat, they each left.】

【When Zhuge Jian was leaving, "Young Master Guan, have you ever deduced where your father, Marquis Dingyuan, is?"】

【You shook your head.】

【Zhuge Jian suddenly reminded, "Be careful of your father!"】

【Your heart tightened, and after pondering for a moment, you also told him, "In the Shannan Circuit, it may be a narrow escape from death; two masters, please be careful and act cautiously."】

【Zhuge Jian nodded, "Master also gave me such instructions today."】

【You watched the backs of the few leaving; the Red-Eyed Army will surely win this battle, and Zhuge Jian and Zhang Shizai may be in great danger in this game.】

【After parting today, the next thing you hear might be bad news!】

【As for Zhuge Jian's reminder, you had already kept it in your heart; your father, Xie Ling, this master of the Xie family courtyard, is absolutely not simple.】

【Just like Xie Hong, he always gives people a feeling of being in the clouds and mist.】

【After the Qunfang Banquet, you already knew that Xie Hong was an existence like the four masters of the Academy, not a chess piece, but one of the chess players in Above Bianjing.】

【And as for people like Master, Prime Minister Su, and the Third Master, what they are plotting is nothing more than the word "ascension."】

【You turned and returned to the small courtyard, continuing to devote yourself to cultivation.】

【It is the seventh month, and there is only a little more than a month left until your birthday and coming-of-age ceremony.】

【The Red-Eyed Army will capture Above Bianjing, I'm afraid it won't be long, with only a few months left.】

【A sense of urgency arose in your chest; every inch of time is precious.】

【In the past month, although your Primordial Spirit cultivation has improved day by day, you have never been able to touch the membrane of that Yang Spirit realm—it is as if looking at the moon through gauze, clearly within reach, yet far away.】

【The seventh martial realm "Snow Mountain" has reached its peak, and the true Qi in your body is like an undercurrent of glaciers, just waiting for half a month to try to break through to the "Watching the Sea" realm.】

【But thinking of the long road of the nine turns of the Xuan Dan ahead, even a genius like Lu Hua has been trapped at the threshold of the Yang Spirit for two years... you looked at the sword Qi condensing in your palm and felt for the first time that time is sharper than a blade.】

【Whenever you enter meditation, you can feel a certain mysterious Qi in the world stirring. Not only you, but those reclusive auras in Above Bianjing City have also been frequently observing the stars at night recently.】

【Sitting in meditation at the hour of the Rat last night, you had already noticed that the spiritual energy in the world seemed to be richer than before; although it was imperceptible, it was real.】

【The spiritual energy in the world is rising again, and the opportunity for ascension is imminent.】

【The day the Red-Eyed Army breaks the city is the time of ascension in the First Master's prophecy—this thought is becoming clearer in your heart.】

【The ninth martial realm Xuan Dan and the Yang Spirit must be fused to condense one's own life-bound weapon.】

【If you haven't condensed your own life-bound weapon by then, how can you face the Demon Master, Master Lianchi, Prime Minister Su, and other great grandmasters who roam the world, or even the Master of the human world for a thousand years.】

【You suddenly exhaled a breath of turbid air, suppressing the restlessness surging in your chest.】

【The way of cultivation is like rowing a boat against the current; the more critical the moment, the more you need to be steady and solid.】

【You started to summon the sword-intent figure to practice swordsmanship again, and then practiced the "Yang Talisman Scripture," step by step.】

【Your sword finger lifted slightly, and seven sword-intent figures manifested from the void. Where the cold light rose, the paulownia leaves in the courtyard were cut into more than ten petals before they even hit the ground.】

【Afterward, you practiced the "Yang Talisman Scripture," and the golden seal characters flowed around your body.】

【Madam Ruan buried her head deeply into the water surface, and layers of ripples appeared in the water vat. She had just been intimidated by a wisp of Qi you inadvertently leaked, and at this moment, even the hair on her head was trembling, and all the hair on her body stood on end.】

【"Master, it's too terrifying!"】

【Madam Ruan witnesses your speed of cultivation in the small courtyard every day, which can no longer be described as "a thousand miles a day." In three days, your aura becomes one layer heavier; within five days, there are changes.】

【What makes her even more terrified is the solar molten essence you swallow every day; that scorching aura is like a flame, and just looking at it for one more glance makes her eyes burn with pain.】

【She clearly remembers that your martial arts Snow Mountain realm was perfected less than ten days ago, and now the threshold of the Watching the Sea realm is close at hand. Others need years or even ten years of effort, but you only used one month to perfect it?】

【Also, the aura emitted by the power of the solar molten essence you swallow while facing the morning sun in the courtyard is so terrifying that her eyes would be burned and stung if she looked at it for a while longer.】

【However, you seem to think it's not enough, occasionally sighing: "Cultivation is still too slow."】

【This is still slow—】

【Madam Ruan's heart is filled with mixed feelings; if this is still slow, then all the people in the world who cultivate martial arts and the Primordial Spirit can die of shame!】

【However, she is a bit curious, "Master, how long have you been cultivating until now?"】

(End of chapter)