Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

Fairy Suqin and the Demon Lord of the Crested Ibis!
When Lin Fan mentioned these two people, Ling Yu couldn't help but rub her temples.

Lingyu was partly to blame for Fairy Suqin falling into enemy hands. If she hadn't gone to Yaochi in Kunlun Realm to ask for help, Fairy Suqin wouldn't have ended up in the hands of Qiankun Dao Sect.

Although the culprit, Long Yuan, had been killed by the projection of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword given to him by Jiang Sheng, Fairy Suqin was still imprisoned.

"Lingyuan, it seems we still need your help with this matter."

Lingyu looked at Jiang Sheng with a somewhat apologetic expression.

Jiang Sheng shook his head slightly to indicate that he didn't care: "This matter is simple. Either find out where Suqin and Zhuhuan are and I will go alone to rescue them; or we can take the hostages and gamble with them."

"We have an advantage in either case; it just depends on whether the other side is willing to gamble with us."

After Jiang Sheng finished speaking, Lin Fan scratched his head in a bit of a predicament: If Jiang Sheng hadn't come before, those people from the Qiankun Dao Sect would definitely have been willing to gamble with him, since every battle was a process for both sides to understand each other's methods and trump cards.

However, with Jiang Sheng's arrival, it's hard to say whether those people from the Qiankun Dao Sect are still willing or dare to gamble against us.

However, before Lin Fan could speak, Kong Zhen said, "Today, Ling Yuan single-handedly suppressed the morale of those from the Qiankun Dao Sect. Do they really still dare to gamble?"

As Kong Zhen directly stated what Lin Fan wanted to say, Xu Yuanzi followed up with his own opinion: "In my opinion, even if they agree to the bet, they will definitely impose a series of restrictions."

"In that case, why not try to rescue them directly? That way, we'll at least have two more hostages."

Lin Fan nodded thoughtfully, then his eyes lit up suddenly: "Yuan Chen, speaking of which, your two disciples happen to be in Yanzhou. Why don't we have them gather some information?"

"At least the two of them rarely appear in public, and their cultivation level is not high enough to attract too much attention."

Jiang Sheng frowned. He wondered why he hadn't seen Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun when he arrived in Zhuzhou. It turned out that Lin Fan had sent them to Yanzhou. However, given Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun's personalities, settling them in Yanzhou was indeed a good choice. Letting them gain more experience in Yanzhou was not a bad thing.

After Lin Fan had this idea, his thinking became clearer. After all, with Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun's cultivation levels of only Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation, they were indeed insignificant in Yanzhou. The two of them could obtain a lot of information by pretending to be rogue cultivators and looking around. It seemed that this casual move might actually turn into a brilliant move.

The more Lin Fan thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He couldn't help but look at Jiang Sheng: "Yuan Chen, what do you think?"

Jiang Sheng remained calm, his expression revealing neither agreement nor disagreement, but his heart was in turmoil: although disciples should play their part, especially since no one can escape this great calamity, everyone should make their due contribution to the Eastern Heaven Daoist School.
But he was, after all, his own disciple!

Sending two disciples who are barely at the Nascent Soul stage to meddle in the battle between the Cave Profound Dao Fruit and the Refining Void True Monarchs, and even potentially facing the Integration True Monarch and the Mahayana Immortal Monarch of the Qiankun Dao Sect who is stationed in Yanzhou, is putting too much pressure on them. Even if they were to exert their efforts, it wouldn't be in this way.

Seeing that Jiang Sheng remained silent, Ling Yu knew that Jiang Sheng had objections to the idea, so she said to Lin Fan, "Ling Zhao, isn't it too much to ask two juniors who haven't reached the Upper Three Realms to interfere in the battle between us Void Refinement cultivators?"

Lin Fan simply smiled and shook his head, then looked at Jiang Sheng, who finally nodded: "Alright, let the two of them give it a try."

Seeing that Jiang Sheng had spoken, Ling Yu had no choice but to give up, and the group then began to discuss and refine the plan.

Xuan Yi, Kong Zhen, Shao Bai Mingjun, Xu Yuanzi, and others discussed the matter with Lin Fan and finally made a decision.

“These days, we are still following the old rules, with a duel every seven days, taking turns to challenge them, so as not to let them have any wild ideas.”

"Lingyuan will stay at Jiutou Mountain. Everyone else will be sent out to fight, which will distract them."

“Once our battle begins, let Lingyuan’s two disciples search Yanzhou. They don’t need to make a big fuss; gathering information once every seven days will suffice.”

"After scouting around a few more times and pinpointing a general area, we'll fight them on the Zhu Yan Sea to buy time, giving Ling Yuan a chance to rescue them."

“Although Uncle Yuanyi will not take action, he will not sit idly by and watch them attack Jiutou Mountain. In this way, even if we fail to rescue them, we will not suffer any losses.”

"Do you have any objections?"

Lin Fan looked around and, seeing that everyone nodded in agreement, immediately proceeded with the arrangements.

Immediately, Ling Yu went to the Linhai Dao Palace in Yanzhou to issue a challenge, while the others made their own preparations. For a time, only Jiang Sheng and Lin Fan remained in the hall.

Lin Fan walked over to Jiang Sheng with a grin and sat down cross-legged: "What, are you blaming me for using your precious disciple as a pawn to cross the river?"

Jiang Sheng shook his head: "That's not it, I'm just a little worried about the two of them."

Lin Fan nodded at first, then laughed self-deprecatingly: "After all, he's my disciple, both the successor and a relative. Who can truly trust him?"

"But Yuan Chen, didn't you also know that this great battle was unavoidable for everyone, and that you sent them to this Nine Provinces Realm with the intention of giving them experience?"

"Otherwise, given your standing among the patriarchs, even if you left all your disciples in Little Penglai, who would dare say anything?"

Jiang Sheng smiled wryly and said, "Yunxuan, I understand what you're saying. To be honest, some of these disciples were given to me by others, some I took on on a whim, and some I took on by chance along the way."

"After the old man passed away, I got used to the quiet, but I don't find it annoying when there are more people around me making noise."

“Even though we haven’t spent every day together over the years, they are closer than family to us.”

“When they were training before, I was able to take care of them. Even when I was too busy to look after them, you were there to look after them.”

"But this time, I'm really not at ease."

Lin Fan said quietly, "Yuan Chen, you treat them like your own children, but don't I treat them like my own nephews and grandchildren?"

“If Wensheng and Ye Qian were in the Nine Provinces, I would definitely have asked them to do this. But they haven’t come yet, so I can only let your disciple, my nephew, do it first.”

"The Crested Ibis Demon Lord and Fairy Suqin fell into enemy hands because of us. We cannot let our sect incur this debt of karma. The more we incur now, the more we will have to give back in the future."

Lin Fan's words made Jiang Sheng nod in agreement: Indeed, in this great battle against the Qiankun Dao Sect, not to mention the Shanhe Dao Family, the Yaochi Holy Land of the Kunlun Realm, the Chixiao Dao Sect of the Cangwu Realm, and even other side sects and demon holy lands, all came to help the Dongtian Dao Family.

If they suffer too much loss, the Eastern Heavenly Daoist family will inevitably have to share even more. Moreover, they cannot sit idly by and watch their ally get trapped in enemy territory.

Fairy Suqin and the Crested Ibis Demon Lord must be rescued. If they are not rescued, how can we ask for reinforcements from the Jade Pool Holy Land and the Southern Fire God Palace?

With this thought in mind, Jiang Sheng made up his mind: "Let them go and give it a try. It's a good opportunity for them to have this experience."

Yanzhou, Anyuan Town.

Early in the morning, the mayor of Anyuan Town and the villagers, young and old, surrounded two young Taoist priests as they came out. "We are so grateful to the two Taoist priests; otherwise, we don't know how many more children would have been lost in Anyuan Town."

"Yes, yes, if it weren't for the two Taoist priests' help, my Niu Niu would never have been found."

"And then there's my brat, insisting on going into the river. If something really happens to him, how will I face my old man in the afterlife!"

A chorus of thanks filled the air as men, women, and children alike stuffed all sorts of fruits and vegetables into the arms of the two young Taoist priests, regardless of whether they could carry them all.

The two young Taoist priests were naturally Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun.

After being thrown into Yanzhou by Lin Fan, the two disguised themselves and went into hiding, suppressing their cultivation levels to become rogue cultivators and begin their training on this vast continent.

The Nine Provinces Realm is one of the thirty-six great worlds of the chaotic heavens, and each continent within it is incomparable to ordinary middle-thousand worlds.

Taking Yanzhou as an example, Yanzhou has both boundless forests and vast marshes. Any body of water in Yanzhou is comparable in size to the ocean of the Middle Thousand Worlds.

In such a vast continent, the Qiankun Dao Sect has hundreds of Dao Palaces located in various places. Throughout the entire Yan Continent, the Qiankun Dao Sect has countless True Monarchs of the Upper Three Realms and countless disciples of the Middle and Lower Six Realms.

On this continent belonging to the Qiankun Dao Sect, Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun naturally wouldn't be high-profile during their training. Both of them were well aware that their main purpose this time was to travel and enlighten their minds.

Therefore, the journey mainly involved visiting various scenic spots in Yanzhou and observing famous mountains and rivers. If any injustices were encountered along the way, they would not show their support openly but would take care of things secretly. They did not encounter any entities that they could not afford to offend.

Even so, Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun have managed to build up some reputation in Yanzhou over this period of time.

Taking Anyuan Town as an example, everyone within a radius of nearly ten thousand miles knows that two Taoist priests with chivalrous hearts have come. Wherever they encounter demons, monsters, or disasters, the two Taoist priests will do their best to save them without delay.

Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun came to Anyuan Town because they heard that evil spirits were causing trouble in the town, bewitching children to drown in the river. That's why they came to investigate.

Finally, the two discovered that the demon was actually a fish demon in the Foundation Establishment stage. It dared to devour children because there were few cultivators in the entire Anyuan Town. Moreover, this fish demon was not even a local monster of Anyuan Town, but had wandered over from other places.

Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun easily subdued a mere Foundation Establishment stage demon. Not only that, the two even went upstream to clean up all the places related to the fish demon.

Seeing the townspeople's love and support for them, Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun felt extremely happy. Their journey of punishing evil and promoting good, and upholding justice, gave them a sense of exhilaration they had never experienced in the Three Realms.

This feeling of traveling freely and unrestrained seemed to have liberated the two of them. During this time, their mental state has been growing steadily, and their spiritual progress has been rapid. They have also gained a thorough understanding of what Jiang Sheng meant by "enlightening the mind and seeing one's true nature".

This kind of insight cannot be gained through simple seclusion and cultivation; otherwise, Jiang Sheng would not have encouraged them to go out more.

After bidding farewell to the reluctant people of Anyuan Town, Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun exchanged a glance, smiled, and walked away.

Looking at the fruits in his arms, Li Jianchun said, "Brother Huang, where do you think we should go next?"

Without hesitation, Huang Ping'an pointed ahead: "I've heard that there's a Daoping Mountain five thousand miles ahead on this road. There are many evil spirits causing trouble there, and it's suspected that a vicious tiger is also causing havoc. Brother Li, why don't we get rid of this scourge?"

Li Jianchun immediately nodded: "Excellent, it is time to get rid of this scourge."

However, just as Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun were discussing who should make the move, the communication jade pendant went off.

Huang Pingsheng's expression changed, and he became serious: "It's a message from Master!"

As he spoke, Huang Ping'an took out a communication jade pendant, and a projection appeared, which was none other than Jiang Sheng.

"Master."

Huang Pingan and Li Jianchun bowed together.

Jiang Sheng looked at the two disciples he had taken in halfway through his life, sighed silently, and then said, "Have you two been living a carefree life in Yanzhou these past few days? Are you enjoying yourselves?"

Li Jianchun chuckled: "Master, what are you saying? Our two disciples are only traveling through Yanzhou to understand our true nature and to punish evil and promote good."

Jiang Sheng chuckled lightly but didn't expose them. He simply said, "We've had our fun and looked around. Now, I have something for you two to do."

Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun immediately stood at attention: "Master, please give your instructions."

Jiang Sheng pointed his finger and sent the message directly into the communication jade pendant: "Although the calamity is overwhelming and the stars are not visible, there are still some things that cannot be said directly."

"I am projecting this message to you to be careful in everything you do and to prioritize your own safety. If you encounter someone you cannot defeat, you should leave if you can. If you cannot leave, it is alright to surrender. As long as you survive, I will always find a way to bring you back."

Upon hearing Jiang Sheng's words, Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun immediately understood the seriousness of the matter and nodded in agreement.

After Jiang Sheng's projection faded, Huang Ping'an and Li Jianchun couldn't help but frown after receiving the message from the jade pendant.

After a long silence, Huang Ping'an looked at Li Jianchun and said, "This matter is not easy to handle."

Li Jianchun replied, "If things were easy to handle, would we need to take action?"

Huang Ping'an was taken aback for a moment, then grinned and said, "Brother Li, that's quite right!"

"As the saying goes, extraordinary people are bound to achieve extraordinary feats. It seems that you and I, brothers, are those extraordinary people. This great mission bestowed upon us by heaven is to make us stand out from the crowd and become famous throughout the land!"

Li Jianchun laughed heartily and said, "Not bad, not bad!"

"So what if it's Yanzhou? So what if it's the territory of the Qiankun Dao Sect?"

"Although our skills are insignificant, precisely because of this, if we were to achieve a great feat in this enemy camp, the whole world would be astonished!"

"Brother Huang, are you afraid?"

Huang Ping'an immediately said arrogantly, "What's the difference between you and me and those cultivators from the Qiankun Dao Sect? Why don't you ask them if they fear me?"

Li Jianchun laughed even more heartily: "Then what are we waiting for?"

"Brother Huang, it's time for us to become famous throughout the land." (End of Chapter)