Chapter 245: Full Moon Wine

The drizzle continued, pattering against the window lattice.

Li Yan sat by the window, holding a teacup, somewhat lost in thought.

Yu Lingzi's words had touched him deeply.

Not to mention the matter of Ascended Gods.

These things were like myths.

No, they *were* myths!

Even though he had already entered the Mystic Sect and learned wonderful spells, it was completely beyond his understanding, and thinking more about it was useless.

The key now was strength.

Human transformation, turmoil in the Divine Land, all kinds of demons and ghosts were reviving one after another; if he didn't have a trump card, he would likely end up miserable in the end.

The Soul-Hooking Chain was indeed powerful.

Because of this supernatural ability, he had been able to slay experts one after another, whether they were martial arts Hua Jin or casters of the Third Floor of cultivation.

But its limitations had also appeared.

If the enemy had a magic artifact for protection, it was difficult to suppress their soul.

It wasn't that the Soul-Hooking Chain wasn't sharp.

It was that the power of the supernatural ability relied on cultivation.

Those Yin Office ghost soldiers also used Soul-Hooking Chains, but whether it was the old beggar in Xiling Gorge or the 'Red Woman,' they had no resistance and had their souls hooked away directly.

His cultivation was average, so naturally, his supernatural ability wasn't strong either.

Summoning Yin Office ghost soldiers with the Hooking Order was indeed a trump card.

At least for now, no one could resist it.

But as Yu Lingzi said, this technique wasn't invincible.

The Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect could summon Heavenly Court Record Soldiers, which were even stronger than Yin Office ghost soldiers, yet they still couldn't do anything about those demons.

Of course, summoning Yin Office ghost soldiers could also be improved, just as Record Soldiers had Guardian Divine Generals, and the Yin Office also had divine generals.

Suppressing the demonic Qi in Shangjin City was done by a divine general personally.

But if he wanted to summon one, the conditions were likely even harsher.

And this thing was ultimately an external force, and there would be ways to break it.

Just like when he encountered the 'Red Woman,' one lured the enemy, and the other attacked with a Divine Fire Gun; before he could even summon the ghost soldiers, his chest had been shattered.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have escaped with his life.

But these people hadn't calculated that he also had the Great Luo Dharma Body.

Also, the demon possessing Liu Danqiu was a disciple of Tongtian Tongtian San Niang.

Zhao Changsheng's true identity shouldn't be Tongtian Tongtian San Niang, but being able to command these people, he was likely at least an expert of the same level.

Yin Office ghost soldiers might also be useless against him.

At critical moments, he had to rely on himself!

He was currently at the Second Floor of cultivation, and what he could learn were the "Northern Emperor Profound Xuan Xuan Shui Dun" and the "Northern Emperor Disaster Removal Technique."

One was a life-saving escape technique, the other was used for unbinding curses, collisions with disasters, and possession by ghosts.

The "Profound Xuan Xuan Shui Dun" was only initially mastered, and the "Disaster Removal Technique" was still being learned; to put it bluntly, they were both auxiliary spells.

Stronger spells required the Third Floor of cultivation to practice.

His current spirit storage didn't meet the requirements for building a floor; otherwise, he would have gone to Wudang Mountain long ago.

He had to find other means.

Thinking of this, Li Yan raised his hand to look at his palm; just by forming a hand seal, electricity crackled and flashed between his fingers.

This was the "Northern Bei Bei Di Yin Lei Hand."

He practiced it frequently on weekdays and was becoming increasingly proficient; he only needed to form the seal to use it directly.

Integrating this method into martial arts was called Martial Magic.

But Yin Thunder was only good at injuring souls; encountering an expert with a strong soul and magic artifact protection, it was as useless as nothing.

The only opportunity was to learn Yang Thunder.

Yu Lingzi had said that the demons at that time were killed by Master Sa using Thunder Magic. Judging from various signs, Master Sa was also an Ascended God and had already succeeded.

Master Sa came from the Shenxiao Sect and later became the ancestor of the Western River Sect, famous for Thunder Magic, authoring "Thunder Sayings," "Inner Tiangang Formula Method," "Continued Sayings on Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning," etc.

Ordinary palm Yang Thunder likely wouldn't work and couldn't compare to the "Northern Bei Bei Di Yin Lei Hand." Practicing both simultaneously would cause an imbalance of Yin and Yang.

If Thunder Magic went wrong, it could directly injure oneself.

But the Thunder Magic of the several lineages of the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect were all unique secret transmissions, the foundation of their sects, and wouldn't be easily passed on.

His Martial Magic was planned to be based on Pigua Hongquan, with Great Cloud Thunder Sound as the practice method, cultivating both Yin and Yang Thunder simultaneously; the power would inevitably be extraordinary.

The only thing missing now was a Yang Thunder method.

Also, he could improve from the perspective of weapons.

By now, he couldn't care about the imperial court's taboos; after being shot once, he knew even more about the power of the Divine Fire Gun.

The Divine Fire Gun Sha Lifei obtained was too large and not suitable for him; it would be best to get a Divine Fire Handgun to exert power in close combat.

Similarly, he had the blueprints and the materials.

The only thing missing was a powerful Mystic Sect craftsman.

Including the Earth Dragon scales and bones he had obtained on Qinglong Mountain in Yunyang City, they were all still stored in the Chenghuangmiao, unable to be utilized.

Yang Thunder Method, powerful Mystic Sect craftsman.

These were their next goals!

……

*Dong dong dong! *

Just as Li Yan was deep in thought, a knocking sound suddenly rang out.

He furrowed his brow and got up to open the door.

They were currently staying at the Changfeng Inn, which was an official inn, mostly housing imperial court officials.

And the scent outside the door was clearly that of a stranger.

Sure enough, after opening the door, a middle-aged man stood outside, dressed as a Confucian scholar, his brows somewhat familiar.

"Is this Little Brother Li?"

The man smiled, cupping his hands respectfully. "I am Yan Wuyue, Jiuling's elder brother, here specifically to invite Little Brother Li to a banquet."

"Oh?"

Li Yan suddenly realized. "So it's Brother Yan."

Yan Jiuling had said he had an elder brother named "Wuyue" and a younger sister named "Liaya."

Jiuling implied longevity and auspiciousness, Wuyue implied moderation and joy, and Liaya implied smoothness and elegance—all were names representing auspiciousness.

Didn't he run to Hankou?

Suddenly coming to invite him to a banquet...

Li Yan suddenly thought of a possibility, his eyes lighting up. "The capital's palace examination is over?"

Yan Wuyue laughed dumbly. "No, Little Brother Li forgot, the palace examination is next year."

"This time, it's my son's full-month celebration. My father and mother heard that Little Brother Li had returned, so they specifically asked me to come and invite you."

Saying this, he bowed deeply and cupped his hands again, performing a grand ceremony, his eyes somewhat red. "I must thank Little Brother Li; if it weren't for your action, my parents might have already met with disaster."

"Brother Yan, no need for such courtesy."

Li Yan hurriedly stopped him, smiling. "Brother Jiuling and I are of the same mind; such a small matter is not worth mentioning."

"Since it's a happy occasion, naturally I must come and have a cup of wine."

After saying this, he called Sha Lifei, Wang Daoxuan, and Lu San, just in time to sponge a banquet before leaving.

On the way, Li Yan couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yan, wasn't your family all in Hankou? Why did you come back?"

Yan Wuyue shook his head and sighed. "I just felt my father was overthinking, but I didn't expect those people to really dare to take action. Hearing the news, we immediately rushed back."

"This time, we aren't leaving no matter what. If there's anything, the whole family must face it together; even if we die, we must die together."

"And Hankou isn't necessarily safe either; this time, the entire Miao Frontier might be in turmoil."

Li Yan furrowed his brow. "Something happened in Hankou too?"

Yan Wuyue nodded. "Zigui County was attacked, and the Ezhou army is mainly guarding the Yunyang Prefecture side. The imperial court's large army hasn't arrived yet, so they can only draw troops from Hankou and Xiangyang."

"To delay the army, some Tusi in the Miao Frontier hired a large number of martial world bandits and evil casters to cause trouble in Hankou and Dongting, and the Ezhou martial world is fighting back."

"Right now, it's peaceful during the day, but once night falls, all kinds of strange things happen, and people are dying everywhere..."

"Not only that, I've also heard some news. Because the imperial court's army is mainly stationed along the Yangtze River, the inland defense is inevitably somewhat empty, and some greenwood bandits are taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble, blocking roads to rob, and harassing nearby villages, intending to disperse the imperial court's military strength."

"Now, all the land mountain roads in Ezhou are not very peaceful..."

"So that's how it is." Li Yan nodded and looked at Sha Lifei.

They were next going to the cave-heaven blessed land in the territory of Dangyang County, the Purple Cover Mountain Cave, to investigate the strange events at the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect's Daoist temple there.

This was a case for Gu Hanzi of the Yunyang Chenghuangmiao that he had promised to handle, and because of the Zigui County incident, it had already been delayed for several days and could no longer be dragged out.

On this trip, they would have to pass through many mountain roads.

It seemed they would have to be careful on the road...

…………

Arriving at the Yan Mansion, it was already bustling with noise.

Because the "Ten Strategies for Stabilizing the Country" was recognized by the Emperor, the Yan Mansion had become the banner of the Ezhou Confucian school.

There was even news that the imperial court was going to posthumously confer the title of Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy on Yan Jiuling's late grandfather.

Originally, the Hanlin Academician only helped the Emperor draft edicts, but since the position of Prime Minister was abolished in the Great Xuan Dynasty, the Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy gradually participated in political decision-making.

!.

By now, many cabinet ministers came from the Hanlin Academy.

The Emperor's move was clearly to establish 'Opening the Seas' and 'Changing Native Rule for Official Rule' as the national policy, blocking the mouths of the opposition.

Regardless of whether the Yan family wanted to or not, they had already been pushed into this position, and more and more Confucian scholars and officials were coming to visit.

Besides this, the Ezhou martial world tycoon Lei Zhen also resided in the Yan Mansion.

He had already forcefully controlled the Unlike Yichang Shenquan Society, and almost all nearby martial world sects listened to his orders, cooperating with the imperial court's offensive.

Therefore, the Yan Mansion no longer had its past tranquility.

When Li Yan and the others arrived, it was already full of guests.

As soon as they arrived, they attracted the attention of many, and some scholars furrowed their brows, unable to hide the surprise in their eyes.

Yan Wuyue had left suddenly, and they thought he was going to invite some important figure, but they didn't expect him to invite a few martial world people.

With the Yan Mansion's current status, this matter was likely inappropriate.

However, an even more surprising thing happened.

The head of the Yan family, Yan Bonian, and his eldest wife actually came out to greet them personally, their words full of closeness.

"Seen Uncle Yan, Aunt."

"No need for such courtesy. We heard about Zigui County, and you child, why didn't you come to the house for a meal when you came?"

"Just arrived yesterday."

Before the words were finished, two more people came out to greet them one after another.

One was the Chenghuangmiao Attendant Yu Lingzi.

Everyone knew that although the Unlike Yichang Chenghuangmiao had somewhat declined and its courtyard wall had been smashed by rioters last time, with the imperial court's army stationed there, its importance would increase day by day.

Another was the former Thousand-Household of the Commandant's Office, Yuan.

This Thousand-Household Yuan was a man of the hour in Unlike Yichang recently, suddenly taking action to lay out a plan, ferreting out several traitors in the Thousand-Household Office, finding many important intelligence reports, and even destroying the secret hall of the Longxiang Army located in Unlike Yichang.

The Yunyang Prefecture side was furious, directly removing the official position of the Unlike Yichang Seal-Holding Thousand-Household, and sending him along with a group of traitors to Yunyang for trial.

And Thousand-Household Yuan took control of the power of the Unlike Yichang Commandant's Office.

Upon taking office, he carried out drastic reforms, removing all those who were just eating and waiting to die, and promoting the elite soldiers and strong generals at the bottom.

The atmosphere in Unlike Yichang changed, and efficiency also improved, and with Lei Zhen's cooperation, almost all the rebel strongholds nearby were cleared.

Everyone knew that this Thousand-Household Yuan had an unlimited future, and after making a great contribution in the Southwest War, he would definitely be transferred to the capital for an official position.

So many people came to greet them.

They were definitely not ordinary martial world people!

Under the gaze of everyone, Li Yan and the others felt somewhat uncomfortable; they all disliked this feeling of attracting attention.

Fortunately, whether it was Yan Bonian, Yu Lingzi, or Thousand-Household Yuan, they were all shrewd, chatting casually for a few sentences before leading the few to the back courtyard to be seated separately.

As soon as they left, many people began whispering to each other.

Those seated were all leading figures of Unlike Yichang Prefecture, and many were well-informed, so many pieces of news were gradually pieced together.

Knights from Guanzhong, keeping a promise of a thousand gold to deliver medicine, slaughtering the elite of the Longxiang Army, intelligently breaking the Ghost Sect in Zigui...

All kinds of deeds made many people dumbfounded.

After all, they lived in stability, and even with the Southwest war, they stayed safely in the city, at most with their family businesses suffering losses.

Hearing these things, it was simply like a story of a Tang Dynasty knight-errant.

Arriving at the back courtyard, Yan Bonian and his wife settled them down before going to the front courtyard to greet guests.

As soon as they left, Yu Lingzi stroked his beard and smiled. "Little Brother Li, the matter you asked about, the Daoist already has a clue."

"Oh?"

Li Yan's eyes lit up. "Daoist, please speak."

Yu Lingzi laughed. "Just a few days ago, on the Wuchang Prefecture side, the 'Mountain-Driving People' of the treasure-hunting lineage discovered an ancient Western Zhou mine pit."

"The mine tunnel is unfathomable, strange events occur one after another, and heavenly treasures appear in succession, along with many smelting secret techniques from the Ancient Zhou period, which have been carved into the mine tunnel."

"This matter has already caused a sensation within the Mystic Sect; many Mystic Sect craftsmen have rushed over overnight and set up camp outside the mine tunnel, among whom are many experts."

"In ordinary times, these great Mystic Sect craftsmen are hidden in various places, but it is a rare gathering; if you all go, you might be able to find suitable craftsmen."

"Really!"

Sha Lifei was the most excited upon hearing this.

Yu Lingzi laughed in spite of himself: "Why would this Daoist lie to you? Right now, many people in the Mystic Sect have heard the news and have already headed there. If it weren't for the current situation, I fear many disciples of my True Martial Palace would have gone to join the fun."

A smile also appeared on Li Yan's face: "Good, after we finish with the Purple Cover Mountain Cave, we shall set off immediately!"

And beside them, the former Battalion Commander also raised his wine cup: "Li Li Shaoxia, I won't say much; I toast you."

Li Yan raised his cup in response, the sentiments of both parties unspoken.

After draining the wine in his cup, the Battalion Commander said in a deep voice: "Regarding that matter, I have vaguely heard some rumors, but I fear it will still take some time."

"The war in the Southwest is approaching; tomorrow I will set off to personally lead men into the Miao Border to clear the way for the main army."

"If I am still alive afterward, I will help Li Li Shaoxia handle this matter."

"No rush."

Li Yan toasted another cup and said solemnly: "Take care, my lord."

"Hahaha..."

The Battalion Commander laughed freely: "A real man should build merit and establish a career, even if it means dying on the battlefield; this official has wasted many years, and it wasn't just to catch a few petty thieves."

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The group stopped talking nonsense and drank deeply.

"My lords."

Just then, a servant ran over with a joyful face to inform them: "The young master is about to have his full-month head shaved; the master invites you all to observe the ceremony."

"Good, good, good, let's go together!"

The group walked toward the front courtyard with smiles on their faces.

According to Ezhou custom, when a child reaches a full month, they must have their full-month head shaved. On this day, a barber must be invited, and guests must be feasted.

There are also rules for shaving the full-month head.

The first rule is that it must be shaved completely clean, not even leaving the eyebrows, because a child whose eyebrows are not shaved will grow up to be light-fingered and steal things.

The second rule is based on birth taboos; if the child's birth date is weak and they are easily frightened, a tuft of "roof-tile hair" must be left on the forehead, signifying a humble life that is easy to raise.

Of course, the Yan family's grandson had a strong birth date, so very quickly, amidst the laughter of the crowd, his eyebrows and hair were shaved clean.

"Wah! Wah!"

Amidst the child's crying, the barber smiled broadly, holding a boiled, peeled egg, rolling it back and forth on the child's head while chanting:

"The first roll for longevity, the second roll for eternal peace, the third roll for brotherhood, the fourth roll for prosperity in all seasons, the fifth roll for success in the imperial examinations..."

"Everyone, everyone!"

Yan Bonian signaled for the crowd to be quiet, then sighed: "A few days ago, the Yan Mansion suffered a great disaster, and Wuyue and the others were driven by this old man to Hankou."

"When the child was born, this old man was not by their side, and even a name had not yet been chosen; today, at the full month, he must be sent to the Chenghuangmiao to 'register his name,' and it cannot be delayed any longer."

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Li Yan, smiling: "Li Li Shaoxia arrived, saved my wife, and resolved the disaster of my Yan Mansion; you can be called the benefactor of my Yan family, so let this name be chosen by you."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone placed the child into Li Yan's arms.

Holding this newborn little life, Li Yan was first somewhat startled, then his expression grew solemn, and thinking of the current chaos in the Southwest, he couldn't help but blurt out:

"This child... let's call him 'Dingguo' (Stabilize the Nation)!"

Two chapters today.

(End of chapter)