Xuanjian Xianzu

Chapter 1359 The Journey
His words were so powerful that the lakeside fell silent immediately.

Emperor Wei's reputation was too great. His domineering nature back then was known throughout the world. He even dared to drag people from the mountains out to express their loyalty and filial piety. Gu You was the kind of person who would never back down, even if he were to offend him in the slightest in front of all the powerful figures. How could Li Zhouwei not kill him?
Even Lü An dared not accept his words and make such a guarantee in front of Long Kangyao—the Lü family was only trying to play both sides in order to avoid disaster, so who could protect Mingyang's temper?
Silence fell for a moment. Long Kangyao gazed at the confluence of waters in the sky, pondering the possibilities in the other person's words, his expression growing increasingly gloomy.

As his emotions shifted, flames flickered between the void and reality, yet he remained stubbornly standing, gazing at the colors in the sky.

Seeing that he was just one push away, Fu He became increasingly anxious and immediately looked at the Pang family father and son on his left and right, secretly exchanging glances.

These two men could have remained aloof, but Pang Yi and Fu He at least maintained a good relationship, so he couldn't remain silent. Seeing his friend's burning gaze, he reluctantly stepped forward and sighed:

"What I'm concerned about is nothing more than your sake, Senior... I've already made one mistake, and you, Great Master, must not make another..."

Gu You is currently the biggest obstacle for this Grand Master. His words were ambiguous, and different people had different interpretations. Long Kangyao's eyelids twitched, his emotional fluctuations were revealed, and he glanced at him darkly, saying:
"It seems that Master Pang has realized his mistake... The loss of the two passes and the capture of Gu You are also matters of responsibility for you. How about this, Fellow Daoist Pang, go out of the city and investigate the situation for me!"

Clearly, Long Kangyao was a true master and could not be swayed by a few words. In his brief moment of astonishment, he had already grasped the crux of the matter.

"Since you say Gu You is dead, why don't I send someone out to inquire? We'll go straight to the Wei King's camp and request an audience with Gu You. If Li Zhouwei intends to harm me, he'll surely make all sorts of excuses. If he doesn't want to fight me to the death, what harm is there in seeing Gu You?"

With the example of border incursions before us, the candidate could not be Lü An, and Fu He could not go to a dangerous place. So the choice naturally fell to Pang Yi, who seemed to have always remained neutral!

Pang Yi was startled, but his face remained calm and fearless. He bowed deeply and said:

"I have long felt guilty and have been thinking the same thing—but the Yu and Pang families are as close as blood relatives, and I should avoid suspicion. Please choose someone else..."

He then continued:
"Of course! Master Xixin's cultivation is extremely high. It's not impossible for him to extract a trace of his aura and use it to fake it. My father and he come from the same palace and are proficient in the Azure Profound Method. Please allow my father and me to go together and assist in distinguishing right from wrong!"

He retreated and advanced repeatedly, giving a brilliant answer. Fu He understood his implication and immediately bowed down, saying:
"My lord! The King of Wei is extremely powerful. If we were to send any supernatural being in to infiltrate the kingdom, and upon witnessing such power, were to be coerced by the Mingyang supernatural being, and if they were to discover the deception, how could they possibly ruin the King of Wei's plans and jeopardize their own future? This person... must be chosen with utmost care!"

Long Kangyao nodded slowly, thinking to himself:
'good. ’

If Li Zhouwei is plotting against him, the person going there must be unafraid of Mingyang's power. With Pang Shi, who is proficient in this, supervising from the side, the matter will surely be safe!

'Unfortunately, it's too late to go back to Buzaotian to fetch my trusted confidant now...'

Fu He immediately said:
“Since Master Lü and Fellow Daoist Pang are avoiding suspicion, I should also avoid suspicion. I have heard that there is a cultivator in the county named Ye Tuji. He is a rogue cultivator who is strong, decisive, sharp and eloquent. When Mingyang invaded the east, most of the rogue cultivators in the county fled, but he remained calm and continued to study scriptures in the county. Why don’t we choose him!”

Long Kangyao, however, remained unhurried and turned to Lü An, smiling as he said:

"Fellow Daoist Lü, have you heard of this person?"

Lu An was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting Fu He not to choose one of his trusted confidants, and this person... Lu An happened to know. He sighed:

“He is a courageous man and a good friend of my adopted son… I came here to cultivate because of his recommendation.”

"it is good!"

Long Kangyao didn't take it to heart, praised him, and immediately invited someone up. Before long, a tall and slender man entered the pavilion. He was indeed a handsome man, which made everyone take a second look. Only Pang Yi looked away and said nothing more.

With Lady Lü as guarantor, Long Kangyao finally had no more doubts and revealed his intentions, saying:
"Go ahead and go see for yourself. Report back on your journey, and I'll take you away from the karmic ties of this mortal world and back to Buzaotian!"

The group dispersed, and Pang Yi remained silent throughout. He walked out of the lake and went to see his father, Pang Queyun, who was also lost in thought. Pang Yi then suppressed his supernatural powers, his face remaining calm, but inwardly he sneered:

'Fu He was too hasty! He's wasted such a good background and such a good opportunity to curry favor with his superiors. He doesn't know how to deceive others, and he's made such a hasty decision. If it were up to me, with the second round of planning, Gu You would be dead for sure. Li Zhouwei and Long Kangyao would have already started fighting. Why bother with this back-and-forth testing?'

He sighed softly, and finally turned his attention to his own family:

'But ultimately we are alone and helpless, caught in a period of upheaval, and extricating ourselves from this predicament is no easy task!'

Pang Queyun glanced at Ye Tuji, who stood to the side with a composed expression and remained silent, and answered in a low voice:
'Fortunately, your response was clever, but Fu He's heart is as hard as stone. He can easily evade it once, but how many times can he? Let's take it one step at a time... If the situation becomes urgent, we might as well let them offend someone truly ruthless, so we can remain inconspicuous in the middle.'

The son smiled, but inwardly replied:
'Father, just wait and see; we can anticipate it soon!'

……

The main hall was brightly lit.

"Master Yu".

The golden-eyed man swiftly descended from the main hall, hesitated slightly before looking at the purple-robed immortal who had approached, and said:

"May I ask, Master, are there any cultivators in Gu County who practice on the mountains?"

Yu Xixin was taken aback, then shook her head and said:
“Those with legitimate lineages are no longer qualified to go up the mountain to cultivate. We who are in the county have our own grottoes, and most of us are proud and don’t like to get involved.”

Li Zhouwei frowned, and Li Ximing couldn't help but step forward, emphasizing:
Not a single one?

Yu Xixin hesitated for a moment, then said:
"If we count the nominal disciples, there should be one or two more. The most recent one is from the Fu family, named Fu Tanjian. But he's not a particularly powerful figure. Back then, there were nominal disciples all over the world from Tongxuan Palace, none of whom were qualified to inherit the Great Dao."

Upon hearing this, the man in the crimson robe who had been standing to the side, head bowed in silence, raised his head, a thoughtful expression appearing in his golden eyes.

Li Jiangqian had just arrived and had already shared the information with his father. He was drenched in cold sweat after hearing it. He appeared calm at the moment, but in reality, his heart was ice-cold, and he gritted his teeth inwardly.
'The Yang family…what a wonderful surprise! You didn't know that Western Shu had launched an attack!'

At this moment, he only regretted not using Yang Ruiyi more effectively, and secretly hated him. Li Zhouwei, on the other hand, remembered the name and was about to ask more questions when he heard hurried footsteps. Qiao Wenliu bowed and entered, whispering:

"Your Majesty! Long Kangyao has sent someone!"

These words surprised everyone, and there was a lively scene outside. Obviously, no one expected that the arrogant Long Kangyao would send someone to communicate. Qiao Wenliu was full of pride, and Yu Xixin stroked his beard with a smile, looking relaxed.

Qiao Wenliu smiled and said:
"They sent three men, who arrived at the pass. Everyone thought they had sent some incompetent fools to provoke them, but they turned out to be here to ask questions. King Wei had never seen such a man before—the whole group was astonished."

Li Zhouwei's gaze turned gloomy, while Li Jiangqian, who had just arrived, changed his expression slightly and stepped forward, saying:

"Who are they?"

Qiao Wenliu smiled and said:
"Perhaps fearing we might kill him casually, they sent a rogue cultivator named Ye Tuji. Although he has some reputation, he's not a powerful figure. He's just following two scoundrels from the Pang family, father and son, and they're waiting in front of the hall!"

He said:

"The younger one is called Pang Yi. He was the one who guarded the second pass earlier. He must have abandoned Master Gu and offended Long Kangyao, so he took his good-for-nothing father with him and headed west to atone for his sins!"

Li Zhouwei's voice was faint:
What are you here for?

Qiao Wenliu's voice steadied slightly as he said:
"I wish to see Master Gu."

Li Zhouwei immediately understood and said:

"Let them wait in the side hall—tell them that I have received the news of the death and am comforting my ancestors. Wait a moment, and then let Wu Miao come in from the side."

Although Qiao Wenliu was flamboyant, he was not stupid. On the contrary, this greedy man had managed to survive to this day precisely because he had used his wisdom to protect himself several times. He seemed to have gained some insight and hurriedly left.

As soon as the main hall was closed and the formation activated, Li Jiangqian immediately knelt on the ground, his face urgent, and decisively said:

"Father! Long Kangyao has doubts!"

"Yes…"

Li Zhouwei's gaze shifted slightly.

What else could it be for? His thoughts raced, and he looked up, tapping the armrest with a somewhat uneasy expression.

"I'm afraid Long Kangyao saw the celestial phenomena and suspected that something had happened to Gu You. He's already suspicious over such a small phenomenon. He's about to back down. Whether or not to ask someone to intervene is just a matter of a moment's thought!"

Li Jiangqian gritted his teeth:
"My thoughts are entirely focused on Gu You!"

Li Ximing understood as well, and he said urgently:

"Letting him go...that's the quickest thing to do, but I'm afraid that's not the right thing to do..."

Li Zhouwei nodded solemnly.

Releasing Gu You back immediately would certainly dispel all doubts between the two sides, but it would also change the current situation, and the future changes would be unimaginable!

"This person possesses extraordinary abilities, and with the 'Returning Point' at He Shui, his recovery speed is extremely fast. Once he joins forces with Long Kangyao, the two of them together will make it difficult for me to escape!"

Although Li Zhouwei captured Gu You very quickly, this was based on the premise that neither side knew the other's strengths and weaknesses and that [Nan Di Xuan] had the advantage. Gu You had learned his lesson and would not be careless again. In addition, Long Kangyao was also prepared... and Yu Xixin was not good at fighting. Once a fight broke out, things would definitely turn around rapidly!

This means the end of the entire situation in the East, and the excellent situation has been handed over. He will not be able to enter Chuncheng again in the short term... He may even be counterattacked when he retreats!
While retreating would be the best course of action given the current situation, asking Li Zhouwei to hand over everything without taking a single thing would not only be unacceptable to him, but would also likely raise serious doubts about his supernatural abilities.

"Could we... make an exception and let them see the Tianyang urn to calm their minds?"

"It's not difficult."

Li Zhouwei's voice was icy as he stared at the side door of the main hall:
"If it were really that simple, there would be no need for the south to come and remind us!"

Even without Li Suining's reminder, Li Zhouwei would have known the reason for using Gu You's life to appease Long Kangyao—since news from the south had arrived, it meant there must be something fishy about this matter!

Soon there was a knock at the door, and Wu Miao entered with a beaming smile. Suddenly sensing the tense atmosphere in the main hall, and seeing the three Li family masters standing on higher ground with varying expressions, he quickly stepped forward, knelt down with a thud, and said:
"Greetings, Your Excellencies!"

Li Zhouwei said softly:

"Wu Temple, in the past you traveled among various families, did you know... who this Ye Tuji is?"

Wu Miao paused for a moment, then looked troubled and said:
“Your Majesty, over the years I have flattered and fawned upon you, never straying an inch from the gates of ceremonial robes or the ways of the Three Mysteries. I have heard of this name... I only know him as decisive and capable... but I am not familiar with him…”

Li Zhouwei had no choice but to say:

"Which family is the Pang family? And who are those father and son?"

Wu Miao immediately perked up, recounting the details as if they were his own treasures, and said:
"This Pang family is a descendant of Qingxuan. Their ancestor was close to the Yu family and cultivated in Changtang. Later, he went away and hasn't been very famous in recent years. This father and son, however, are quite capable and have extensive connections in the county. They are quite resourceful..."

Li Jiangqian took a step forward, not looking directly at the man, and said calmly:
“If Master Wu dares not speak, I will speak for you: Pang Yi, taking advantage of the situation to avoid harm, did not hesitate to kill living beings, pursued the near but lost the far, and dared to abandon the weighty task of establishing the dynasty—he is nothing but a petty man.”

Li Jiangqian had personally confronted Pang Yi at the Second Pass. Although they had never met or fought each other, Li Jiangqian had already drawn a conclusion from the overall situation changes, troop deployments, and even the final abandonment of the city and escape!

After saying this, he turned his head and stared intently at Wu Temple:

"Yes and no?"

Wu Miao remained silent, his lips moving several times, but he dared not speak, fearing the pressure from these important figures. However, no one in the hall was willing to wait for him. Li Jiangqian shook his head and said:
"You don't want to offend them, and I don't need your judgment—I only ask you, how does Pang Queyun compare to his son?"

Wu Miao sighed:

"Father and son look alike!"

The Pang family father and son were doing very well, but since they were all from the Purple Mansion, how could Wu Temple's judgment be so poor? This one sentence, impartial and unbiased, sums up everything.

"it is good!"

Li Zhouwei nodded slightly, having already made up his mind, and said:

"You only need to invite Ye Tuji up here, the rest of you wait a moment."

"Yes!"

Wu Miao appeared slightly flustered and hesitated before descending the steps. The King of Wei turned to the side, his gaze falling on his second son with a meaningful look in his eyes, and said only:
"Don't be stingy."

Li Jiangqian exchanged a glance with his father, immediately understanding his intention. He also had a plan in mind, and while trying to decipher his father's thoughts, he pondered silently, saying:

"Please grant me an audience with Master Yu."

"You can go see him yourself, but hurry up."

A cold smile flashed in Li Jiangqian's slightly narrowed eyes, making his already handsome face even more striking. He bowed and turned to leave, feeling relieved.

These two men are essential for important matters!