If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1439 Yaksha Li Zhong
The next day, Grand Tutor Yu received two vats of immortal wine, two gourds of golden pills (immortal pills) to increase internal strength, and a blue lotus flower the size of a washbasin.

She didn't want the three thousand Heavenly Merits.

Tiangong is the Heavenly Court's Swift system. Yu Taishi, who vowed to defy the heavens, had already severed himself from this "currency clearing system for immortals in the Three Realms".

If the three thousand Heavenly Merits were truly deposited into her "Heavenly Merit Account," and she were to commit another "defying the heavens" act, resulting in the Heavenly Emperor freezing the account balance or directly deducting it, she would be completely unaware and unable to resist.

It would be safer to exchange them for celestial treasures that enhance one's power and lifespan.

Immortal treasures and the merits of heaven and earth are the real hard currency!
Having received his payment, Grand Tutor Yu kept his promise and handed over to Celestial Master Zhang for review the "Proclamation to the People on the Assassination of the King of Bohai," which had been drafted by dozens of scholars from the Xianyang News Office.

After deleting and modifying some sensitive words and phrases, Grand Tutor Yu also personally wrote an "advertisement" at the end, promoting the Heavenly Emperor's efforts to govern diligently, reform the Heavenly Court, and punish the sinful immortal, Water Bucket Taoist.

“Alas, once this proclamation is issued, the entire Central Plains will be in turmoil, and even the Heavenly Realm will be thrown into chaos,” Zhang Tianshi said with a complicated expression.

He was certainly not satisfied with the current outcome. The revisions to the proclamation were merely an attempt to save face for the Heavenly Court and the Jade Emperor.

However, the core content, "the near-great Luo used the hidden dragon as a chess piece, causing chaos in the world, all in order to absorb the luck of humanity, so that he could escape reincarnation, be free from the five elements, and truly become immortal," has not changed.

"This is not something I, someone who has survived countless hardships, should be concerned with."

Grand Tutor Yu grabbed the lotus flower, which was the size of a washbasin, and directly refined and absorbed it into his Purple Mansion.

The "purple light," which had already merged with one-tenth of the soul, now merged with another part—Xiaoyu couldn't tell how much.

But she did feel that her efficiency in comprehending the Dao had noticeably improved.

"Master Zhang, you should hurry back to Heaven to report your duties. The Yan Wushuang case is now completely closed, and I also need to go north to continue clearing the earth's veins."

Hey, back then, in the Battle of Juyong Pass, we almost wiped out the entire 300,000-strong Donghu army. I never imagined that a few years later, the Donghu king would still be alive.

"I'm doing well! The Donghu are weak, the Xiongnu can't get in, and I can control the land beyond the Great Wall!" Grand Tutor Yu laughed heartily.

"Grand Tutor, take care. This humble Taoist is departing."

After Zhang Daoling left, Grand Tutor Yu left half a vat of Heavenly Imperial Wine and twelve golden pills to increase internal strength for Ying Tong, thus dividing the "stolen goods." He then crossed the Great Wall and flew towards the Donghu territory.

Upon arriving in Donghu, she was indeed busy for several days, venturing further north into the land, almost reaching the Donghu royal court. Then, without a sound, she vanished.

The East China Sea Anti-Qin Alliance Conference is about to be held.

The entrance to Qu County.

"Hehe, you think Chen Sheng is the biggest bandit in the world? Wrong, terribly wrong, utterly wrong! Chen Sheng is nothing but a puppet cultivated by a powerful Golden Immortal, a pawn on a chessboard!"

Last year, during the assassination attempt in Xianyang, the capital city, when I was trying to assassinate the Grand Commandant, didn't I recite a long list of the names of the great immortals?

Do you still remember Master Fuqiu and the Four Friends of Qionglin?

A dark-skinned, stout gatekeeper in his forties stood atop a carriage ten feet high, his back against the thick city wall. His upper body was bare, revealing his dark, greasy flesh, and he held a palm-leaf fan in his left hand, constantly fanning himself.

Below him, hundreds of listeners had gathered, including shirtless laborers and peddlers, villagers eating from bowls, and women whose bright, clear eyes remained wide open despite being drenched in sweat.
They listened intently, completely absorbed. The expressions on their faces changed as the gatekeeper told the story.

"The Four Friends of Qionglin, that's such a tongue twister, who can remember it? Li Laosan, stop keeping me in suspense, just tell me directly, how did Chen Sheng become a puppet? He was the King of Chu! Who could make the King of Chu a puppet?" an impatient thug shouted.

The gatekeeper, Li San, laughed and said, "Chen monkey, don't be impatient. If you don't understand the Four Friends of Qionglin, you won't grasp the essence of the story."

They are great immortals who are about to attain the Great Luo realm, capable of splitting a city in two with a single sword strike, drinking a river of water with their mouths, and causing the East Sea to rise with a single urination.”

"Wow, no wonder he's a great immortal!" ordinary people exclaimed.

The gatekeeper continued, "It was this powerful immortal who used the Central Plains of China as a chessboard and treated Chen Sheng as a pawn."

Chen Sheng was a hero, a powerful King of Chu, but he was ultimately just a mortal!
The Four Friends of Qionglin are not just one person; there is a group of great immortals of the same level, and they all made an appearance in last year's "assassination of the Grand Commandant".

All the rebel kings who have risen up or are preparing to rise up in China are controlled by them; they are all pawns in their game.

"Brother Ji, do you think we're just pawns in the hands of some great immortal? Who's manipulating us?" Ten feet away, at a tea stall, Xiahou Ying fanned himself as he asked in a low voice, "You hadn't even rebelled yet when someone reported you, and you ended up escaping to Mangdang Mountain. Could it be that a great immortal is also playing a grand game, using you as a pawn? I think it's very likely!"

Liu Ji stared blankly at the gatekeeper in the distance, seemingly lost in thought, and did not answer Xiahou Ying's question.

Lu Wan sneered, "What 'us'? Only the Hidden Dragon is worthy of being a pawn. We two can forget about it; even the Great Immortal wouldn't give us a second glance. But Brother Ji, he's probably the 'hero' chosen by the Great Immortal."

Otherwise, how would we, this group of "bandits from Mangdang Mountain," have received a "hero's invitation" and had the opportunity to come to the East China Sea to participate in the "anti-king alliance meeting"?

"Don't talk nonsense!" Liu Ji turned around and glared at him. "At most, I only have the destiny of a Tiankui Auxiliary Star. The reason I received the invitation seems to be related to the white snake I killed last year."

Lu Wan pouted and said, "Who are you going to support? I only respect you and will only support you."

“Being an assistant star is good; at least you don’t have to worry about being intercepted and killed.” Peng Yue’s left hand was bandaged and slinged to his chest, while his right hand held a wine jar, gulping down mouthful after mouthful.

Liu Ji sighed, "The reason I wasn't intercepted isn't necessarily because others didn't want to. It's just that we were too fast."

"Look at that horse. It's a small dragon that my brother caught in Weishan Lake using the Demon-Binding Rope."

He gestured toward the carriage beside him, "It looks like a green horse, but it's actually a one-horned green dragon. It can cross mountains and rivers, travel a thousand miles a day, and is difficult to intercept."

Xiahou Ying grabbed a handful of soybeans, held them to the mouth of his green horse, and laughed, "I actually captured a widow. Her son is filial; seeing his mother captured, he volunteered to be my mount, only asking for his mother's freedom."

"Brother Xiahou, you are truly skilled." Peng Yue said with envy, but the regret and indignation in his eyes remained thick and unyielding.

"What skills do I have? It's all thanks to the powerful magic weapon that the old immortal gave me back in the days of Treasure Distribution Cliff."

Seeing Ji Ge's warning look, Xiahou Ying awkwardly shut up.

Lu Wan also deliberately skipped the sensitive topic of "distributing treasure at the Treasure Sharing Cliff" and asked, "How many people did Boss Peng bring on this trip?"

Back then, I was ignorant and didn't know how precious the treasures given by the old Taoist Wuyazi were.

Wu Yazi claimed that he had killed a powerful Golden Immortal and that several magical treasures came from that Golden Immortal and were extremely valuable, but they didn't really believe him.

Now that I have some knowledge, I realize how powerful the treasures left behind by the Golden Immortal are.

But the more precious a treasure is, the less it should be exposed.

They've obtained a treasure.

A treasure may not be enough to move people's hearts.

If people knew about Treasure Sharing Cliff, and that each of them possessed a treasure, Peng Yue would have been ambushed and killed, leaving only himself; all his other brothers were dead!

"Thirty brothers, all dead."

Peng Yue's eyes reddened and his eyes were slightly moist. "Damn it, if I had known they would go this far, I would have stayed in the swamp and never come out."

"It shouldn't be the 'Hidden Dragon' who also received the invitation, right?" Liu Ji hesitated and said, "Brother Peng raised the banner of 'Overthrowing the wicked and eliminating the tyrannical Qin,' and made quite a stir in the Juye area, even capturing Chengqiu County. The Qin army must hate you and want to ambush and kill you on your way to the appointment."

Peng Yue ultimately succumbed to the instigation of the two Taoists, Jingjing and Kongkong, and launched the "Juye Marsh Uprising" two months ago.

They conquered cities and seized territories around Juye Marsh with great momentum and achieved great success, attracting the attention of two vassal kings who attacked them from both sides.

Peng Yue shook his head and said, "It's definitely not the Qin army. First of all, there's no need for it. I haven't even taken Juye City yet, so I can't put too much pressure on the Xingyang court."

He only captured villages, towns, and county seats around the Great Swamp. Juye was a formidable city with a large army stationed there. Moreover, Peng Yue's uprising had only lasted two months!
"Furthermore, the proclamation to the people clearly states that Grand Tutor Yu is a man of principle and hates assassination attempts the most. Even if the Qin army were to make an exception, they would not make an exception for me; I am not qualified."

"If it weren't for the Qin army?" Liu Ji frowned. "Brother, do you have any guesses?"

Peng Yue pondered for a moment and said, "Chen Sheng sent someone to find me, but I refused. King Wei Jiu also sent someone to promise me that he would appoint me as a supreme general, but I did not agree."

Qin Jia and I are old acquaintances, and he invited me to form an alliance.

After discovering his close ties with the Jing family, I rejected him.

Liu Ji said, "Brother, you have just started your rebellion and are outnumbered and isolated. Why don't you make more allies? Do you intend to sweep across the world by your own strength?"

Peng Yue waved his hands repeatedly, "My biggest wish right now is just to conquer Juye City and then defend our current foundation."

The reason for refusing Chen Sheng was that Chen Sheng was already showing signs of decline.

At the beginning of the year, he ordered generals such as Zhou Shi, Wu Guang, Zhou Wen, Song Liu, and Wu Chen, who were fighting in the field, to return to Chen County. Only Wu Guang returned, Song Liu sent a special envoy, and the other generals all declined to leave because they were too busy with military affairs.

King Wei Jiu was also in a difficult situation. His capital was surrounded by the Qin army. If I surrendered to him, I would have to lead my troops north.

I need help, not to be someone else's reinforcements.

Qin Jia is my friend. If he hadn't tried to get me to join the Jing family, I would have been happy to ally with him, just as I would have been willing to join forces with you, Brother Ji, to attack dozens of cities on both sides of the He River.

"What kind of pincer attack? I'm still a bandit in name only in Mangdang!" Liu Ji said with a gloomy expression.

"Brother, you really should make a move. There are now more than fifty groups that have started uprisings in the Central Plains. If you don't make a name for yourself soon, you won't even have a seat at the anti-king alliance meeting."

"No great immortal will use you as a pawn to help you succeed," Peng Yue said.

Liu Ji looked disgusted. "Are you willing to be manipulated like a pawn by the Great Immortal, just like Chen Sheng and Yan Wushuang?"

Peng Yue sighed, "Being manipulated like a pawn is unpleasant, but with the help of the immortal, it's really great."

I'm now hoping that when I get to the Dragon Palace, I can gain the favor of a quasi-Great Luo Immortal, who will bestow upon me a magic pill to help me achieve great success in my divine skills, and also introduce me to a few reliable immortal masters.

With that confidence, I took Juye in one fell swoop.

He dares not call himself king, but he is more than qualified to be a 'Grand Marshal'.

With a near-great leader protecting them, they can safeguard their foundation.

But without the support of the pro-Luo Dalu, you can't just listen to the news in the proclamation as a casual story, like the common people do.

You need to analyze the unfinished business hidden within it.

Why did the Great Immortal of the Deer Cauldron die a tragic death at the hands of Grand Tutor Yu? His scheme against the King of Bohai was discovered by Grand Tutor Yu, who then decided to summon ten thousand immortals to directly blast Wuzhong County apart with divine magic.

Fear flashed in Peng Yue's eyes. "Brother Ji, aren't you scared when you hear this?"
Without the support of the quasi-Da Luo, we would still be outmaneuvered by them.

The King of Bohai is more powerful and influential than us, and he also has Grand Tutor Yu as a powerful backer.

What would happen if we inadvertently hindered the game of the near-great Luo?

Being a chess piece is better than not even being good enough to be a chess piece.

Lu Wan sighed, "Suddenly I feel that vying for supremacy in the Central Plains is so meaningless. Putting your life on the line in business, whether you succeed or fail, you're still just a plaything in the palm of the immortal. What's the point?"

“It’s really boring.” Xiahou Ying nodded in agreement. “Rather than being manipulated by the Great Immortal, it’s better to continue working in the government office.”

Although Pei Ling is a scoundrel, he doesn't bother us.

"How happy we were when Brother Ji was still around!"

Hearing what they said, Liu Jizhen felt a little dejected.

"Heroes, don't be fooled by Yu Fengxian!" Just then, a clear voice came from the other side.

They shuddered, quietly gripping the short swords hidden beneath their clothes, and warily eyeing the man in blue who had spoken.

The man was in his early thirties, lean and tall, dressed in short clothes, his appearance and demeanor resembling that of a county constable.

None of them noticed when he arrived.

—This is a master!

"Hehe, don't misunderstand, I am Li Zhong, the sea patrol yaksha, serving as the guide during this alliance meeting."

"All the heroes from the Central Plains who enter the East Sea from Qu County will be entertained by me." The man in blue smiled.

Upon hearing this, Lu Wan, Peng Yue, and Xiahou Ying all breathed a sigh of relief.

Only Liu Ji felt that this person was a bit strange, and his smile was also a little eerie.

"Please follow me, everyone. I have already entertained forty or fifty distinguished guests. Now, with you all, we will have a full boat. I will take you all to the Dragon Palace," Li Zhong said, extending his hand in invitation.

"So soon? We haven't even finished hearing the proclamation to the people yet!" Lu Wan looked at the gatekeeper with a reluctant expression.

Listening to the gatekeeper tell stories while drinking wine and eating meat—how pleasant!

He liked to do this when he was in Pei County.

He hadn't enjoyed himself like this since he followed Brother Ji into Mangdang Mountain to become a "wild bandit".

Li Zhong led them across the county town and straight toward the sea, saying as they walked, "What's the point of a proclamation to the people?"
Once you arrive at the Dragon Palace, you will be able to meet the great immortals such as Fuqiu Gong directly, and ask them any questions you may have.

Who knows, you might even be chosen by them and become their pawns... cough cough, what I mean is, with the help of the immortal, you will immediately rise to prominence and become kings and overlords.

As long as destiny continues, the Great Immortal will always support you and never abandon you.

Even if destiny ends, it doesn't matter. After the Great Immortal leaves, you will be completely free. You will no longer have to worry about becoming pawns and having your fate manipulated at will.

Even Peng Yue looked disgusted.

(End of this chapter)