Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

Chapter 126 Yuan Yao Deployment!

"Once you reach the third level, you can also learn this method of observing qi and fortune!"

"Moreover, the concept of destiny has a long and rich history in our Han lands!"

Li Shouzhou's eyes gleamed as he silently processed his grandfather's words, then asked, "Even so, can't we slowly place our bets through the palace appraisal? Do we have to go all in?"

Li Yunqiong shook his head and sighed, "There's no time left. The Chen family can no longer draw upon the fortunes of the eight prefectures and twelve families of the Immortal Capital!"

"Cannot absorb it!? What does that mean?"

Li Shouzhou frowned and asked, "We can't possibly break the Chen family's methods, can we?"

"Yes, that's why I was so impatient and secretly urging them, afraid that if we were too late there wouldn't be any room left—"

"Even so, what does that prove? What if it was just an unintentional break, or that the Chen family deliberately broke it off—"

Li Yunqiong glanced at his grandson and said leisurely, "This is a risk we share. If we don't share hardship, how can we share wealth?"

Li Shouzhou nodded. Originally, once the agreement was signed, it was impossible to go back on it. Besides, he had led a team to Fengyang Prefecture to participate in the war last year, so his current inquiry was just a matter of doubt.

"Grandfather, let's continue pushing forward and force the Kong family to take action."

Li Yunqiong smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying: "Look at you, so impatient. Just wait for Yu Yin's instructions."

On the other side, the Fujian Songbaige outpost.

Looking at Shi Cuiyue, whose face was deathly pale, Jia Tang couldn't help but sigh, "If you encounter a tough opponent, just retreat first. Why confront them head-on?"

"Jia Kang is only a few thousand miles away, and I'm in Quzhou. I could just send a message and come over to take care of him. Why go through all this trouble?"

A smile appeared on Shi Cuiyue's face, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Running away when you encounter a tough opponent, is that our style?"

"Facing difficulties head-on and overcoming obstacles is our style."

Jia Tang's lips twitched. He had thought of many righteous reasons, but he never expected that he had just lost his temper!

It seems that all these years of living in seclusion have made this old man Shi really bored!

Seeing this, Shi Cuiyue laughed twice and said nonchalantly, "Alright, alright, in the end, it wasn't me who didn't die but the other side who did, so as long as the result is good, that's fine."

"What's next? What should we do?"

Jia Tang shook his head and chuckled, saying, "From now on, you should focus on recovering from your injuries and stay here in this lousy Pine and Cypress Pavilion."

"no problem."

Jia Tang got up and went to the window, gazing into the distance towards Quzhou. He laughed and said, "This place is too close to Nan Kong after all. Compared to Tongzhou and Xianjing, we can only see if we can lure out some cultivators. Otherwise, we can plant some spies here, plunder a wave, and then leave."

"With the deaths of two third-tier cultivators and the split within the Lu Song Martial Arts Association, the border region of the three provinces is in chaos. It will be a difficult task for the Kong family to recover."

Shi Cuiyue nodded in agreement and sighed, "This place is too far from our territory. We can't do without a third-level expert to guard it, but leaving a third-level expert here risks being surrounded and killed by the Kong family. This is the only option."

Upon hearing this, Jia Kang said, "Anyway, we're just collecting some interest first; we can kill the rest later!"

"good!"

In the following days, various forces in the border areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian could see that the cultivators of the Deer Alliance from Jiangxi emerged from Huaiyu Mountain, which is located at the border of Raozhou and Guangxin, and attacked Jinzhuling in the northern part of Kaihua, Quzhou. Meanwhile, the Songbai Pavilion from Fujian emerged from Pucheng and Tongpan Mountain in Jianning Prefecture, passed through Longquan and Suichang in Zhejiang, and entered the territory of Lankeshan and Longqiu Mountain in Quzhou Prefecture, where they frantically slaughtered the cultivators of the Zhejiang Literary and Martial Arts Association.

In the Three Prefectures, it was all about cultivators fighting each other, from inner qi and outer qi to qi without flaw. There were also second-level civil and military masters fighting in mid-air, with powerful and fierce divine abilities tearing through the sky and creating colorful phenomena!

Furthermore, third-tier True Persons from the Deer Alliance and Pine and Cypress Pavilion took turns to fight against a third-tier Martial Dao True Person who had emerged from the Literary and Martial Arts Association. The two sides fought fiercely, leaving the land scorched and barren.

This area is utterly chaotic!

But for some reason, the Kong family, who were based in Quzhou and were known as the Southern School of Literature and Taoism, did not step in to quell the chaos, allowing the Lusong Alliance and the Wenwu Association to fight each other to the death.

This sent a chill down the spines of the various factions watching the chaos unfold, as they knew that there must be an even more powerful force secretly confronting the Kong family!

Just when the cultivators of the three provinces thought the chaos would not end anytime soon, news came from the northern grasslands beyond the Great Wall!

The Heavenly Fall Mountain Range, which bisects the grassland, further weakens its barrier effect, allowing cultivators at the fifth stage of the Blood Refining Realm to enter.

Many of the various factions who were stationed at the Dazhao Pass sent a group of people from the Fifth Realm to enter. In less than half a day, almost all of them were wiped out, with only a few managing to escape, bringing out a shocking secret.

The mountains are home to thousands of different kinds of primordial beasts. Whether they live in groups or alone, they are all violent and ferocious. There are even beasts in the mountains that can speak human language. When they open their mouths and inhale, a fierce wind howls, sweeping dozens of people into their mouths and devouring them raw!

"Whoosh!"

This news caused a huge uproar within Dazhao, sparking heated discussions from all sides. It was like a bucket of icy water poured down from the sky, suppressing the chaos in Quzhou Prefecture without a trace.

March 24th, Ningguo Mansion, Xianjing, main hall.

The eight prefectures of the Immortal Capital gathered together. Jia Tang sat at the head of the table, flanked by three third-rank immortals: Chen He, Shi Cuiyue, and Li Yunqiong.

Li Yunxing, with the current heads of various families and cultivators listed below him on the left and right.

Jia Tang, who had just returned to the manor today, rubbed his temples and asked, "What's the latest news about the Heavenly Fall Mountains?"

Upon hearing this, Grand Elder Wang Heyuan replied, "Young Master, as of the 21st, of the 24 forces that left Xuanfu Longmen Pass, totaling 264 cultivators of the Fifth Realm, only 21 have returned, belonging to 13 different forces!"

"Among them, the Lü, Sheng, and Lin families of Lianghuai have been surrounded and killed. The cultivators from these three families who went to Longmen, a total of three second-level cultivators and three first-level cultivators, were also wiped out by our forces of Niu, Chen, Jiang, and Xie, without exception!"

Upon hearing this, Niu Jizong, the Minister of War of the Great Zhao Dynasty on the left, chuckled and replied, "These cowards have caused us no end of trouble in the south. Now that they've come to the north, how can we not treat them well?"

"The situation in Xuanfu is quite chaotic right now due to the constant flow of people passing around, so we can take this opportunity to keep them here!"

Hou Xiaokang glanced at him and sneered, "Everyone knows we were the ones who did it. If you ask me, we should have just killed them outright from the start. Why bother with this self-deception? It's really troublesome."

Niu Jizong waved his hand and advised, "The emperor isn't dead yet, so at least give him some face. Although it's easy to expose, as long as we're not the ones who expose it, it's fine."

Liu Fang interrupted the two of them and shouted, "Why are you arguing about such a trivial matter? Listen to the intelligence."

Upon hearing this, Li Jia continued, "Based on the surviving members of various exploration teams and the firsthand observations of cultivators surrounding the barrier, the sky..."

Within the Fallen Mountain Range, there are indeed powerful elemental beasts, which should be the ancient Yuan Demons that encompass thousands of elemental beasts!

"The Yuan Yao are clearly hierarchical, much like the organization of our army, with each race's king ruling the group. Moreover, a superior of the same race can suppress a lower-ranking member of the same race with just their aura, leaving them helpless and limp on the ground, and swallow them whole."

"Currently, there are no fewer than a hundred types of 'Primal Demons' observed. Most of them can be found in their original form within the Great Zhao territory. It seems that they have undergone a long period of tempering by the primordial energy of heaven and earth, stimulating the bloodline deep within their beast bodies, thus resulting in a reversion to their ancestral state. However, their specific strength is unknown."

As Li Jia spoke, he took out stacks of books made of portraits from his spatial ring and distributed them to everyone in the hall.

Jia Tang took the album and scanned it with his divine sense. It contained various beasts, such as a wolf with three tails, four ears, long fangs, and a blood-red body; a gigantic ape with four arms and one eye; and a bird with four eyes, a red beak, a single claw, long feathers, and a cry like that of an infant…

Although their forms differ, each type of demon in the portrait presents a similar aura, with ferocity, brutality, and ruthlessness that sends chills down one's spine.

Jia Tang tapped the picture book lightly with his finger and asked, "Are there any Yuan Demons that have escaped?"

Li Jia shook his head: "No, these Yuan Demons, regardless of their strength, seem to know about the existence of the barrier. Once they get within ten zhang, they suddenly stop."

Upon hearing this, Shi Cuiyue pondered for a moment and suggested, "Yu Yin, why don't I go to Xuanfu to oversee things? Considering that the Heavenly Fall Land has only been around for a little over a month and people can already enter the fifth realm, it seems that entering the next realm is just around the corner."

"At that time, whether it's deep in the northern grasslands or the sea east of Huai'an and Qingzhou, there will likely be quite a bit of chaos."

Jia Tang nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then ordered, "Send word to order Master Shi to go north to oversee Xuanfu, and each of the twelve families should send one second-level cultivator and several first-level and fifth-level cultivators to accompany him."

"The Immortal Li Yunxing is appointed to oversee the Andong Guard at the border of Qing and Huai. The four retainers of the Jia family—Li, Zhao, and Cui—along with Niu, Hou, and..."

Two second-rank officials from each of the four prefectures of Liu and Li, leading a group of first-rank officials from the Mo clan and five other officials from the Five Realms.

"Grand Master Wang Heyuan, along with the second-rank officials of the Chen and Ma prefectures, led the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce, mediating and relaying information!"

"Your focus should be on gathering information and searching for the treasures at the two locations where the sky fell. The methods and approaches are irrelevant; the only goal is the result!"

"only!"

"I will write two letters later. Master Shi and Master Li can contact General Dong of Xuanfu and Commander Zhao of the Jiangnan Camp for assistance if necessary!"

"only!"

"The remaining cultivators from all prefectures and families, prepare for battle! If any region is in trouble, we will respond to your call!"

"only!"

Jia Tang's face was cold and his eyes sharp. After looking around, he said proudly, "The Chen family has been secretly plotting, and Wen Xiu also has..."

Planning is crucial; we cannot lag behind. In this era of great change, every step ahead is a step ahead in the future. Only in this way can we bravely forge ahead!

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up and shouted, "That's how it should be!"

Immediately afterwards, most of them were led by their personal guards to an underground secret chamber, and then returned to their respective residences or strongholds through a secret passage.

Before long, only Jia Tang, Jia Kang, Li Yunqiong, Chen He, and Niu Jizong, Hou Xiaokang, Liu Fang, Li Shouzhong, and others who held official positions in Dazhao remained in the hall.

Jia Kang then pulled out a secret letter from his pocket. It was delivered by Xu Fangxing earlier that day through a servant in the mansion, a secret exchanged in exchange for the previous grudges being wiped clean.

"The old dog Xu replied, saying that Chen and Nan Kong, within the territory of Dazhao, were exploiting the people through the incense-burning cult, burying human flesh and bones in the ground to plant the Thousand Blood Flowers that ripen once a year."

"Each Thousand Blood Flower, when refined using the Chen family's secret method, yields a Blood Pill, which is equivalent to three months of continuous day and night cultivation by a second-tier martial artist."

"Although it's said that one pill can be taken every two months, six pills a year would mean eighteen months of continuous cultivation, which is equivalent to us excluding official duties..."

Aside from battles and daily affairs, the time allotted for cultivation is approximately two to three years!

"Gentlemen, one year for them is equivalent to three years for us. That's why their third tier keeps appearing, as if they can't be killed off."

o

Everyone was shocked to hear this. There was such a heaven-defying secret technique?

Chen Hao asked with a dark expression, "No side effects at all?"

Jia Kang sighed: "The more Blood Pills you take, the harder it is to absorb the primordial energy of heaven and earth, but it's not that you can't absorb it at all."

Niu Jizong muttered to himself, "In that case, their one year is equivalent to more than three years for us. That damned Chen family, they don't even think about us when they have such a good thing..."

Jia Tang was speechless upon hearing this. Old Niu just liked to take advantage of others for free, as if giving them this lineage would make them willing to be slaughtered. In that case, the two sides would only fight even more fiercely.

"But it's alright. Perhaps the secret technique is flawed, or perhaps there's something wrong with the world. The fact that no one from the opposing side has reached the fourth level means we still have a chance."

"Once Jia and the others return, and once I've reached the third tier, it's time to settle everything. Otherwise, when the fourth tier appears, things might get complicated."

After careful consideration, Niu Jizong and the others realized that this was indeed the case. If the Chen family and the Southern Kong family had both reached the fourth level, the world would have been at peace long ago, and their eight prefectures would have been wiped out long ago.

Moreover, Yu Yin possesses many secrets, including the ability to transform a secret realm into a second or third tier within a month under his control, the ability to draw out fortune, and the Tiger Token's ability to undo fortune-stealing techniques...

Jia Kang continued, "General, Xu Fangxing has made a request. He says that Xiu Lan, the young master of Nan Kong, has been ordering him to send cultivators from his clan south to the Literary and Martial Arts Assembly to fight against the Lu Song Alliance."

"After he repeatedly refused, the Xu clan's territory in Huai'an was breached by the Wenxiang and Wuwei sects. The surviving clan members fled to a secret place and have now come to seek help. They are offering the secret of the Chen clan's destiny in exchange for a true master's intervention to go to the Wenxiang sect's headquarters and kill its leader!"

"The location of the main altar of Wenxiang has been provided; it is situated in Fanchang County, Taiping Prefecture, Southern Zhili Province!"

Li Yunqiong was taken aback when he heard this, but then he realized what he meant and said disdainfully, "So that's why the Incense Cult is doing so well in the South. They must be the cannon fodder responsible for cultivating the Thousand Blood Flowers."

However, they started laughing as they talked. Xu Fangxing's arrival was unfortunate. Putting aside the fact that the Jia family had the means to break the theft of fortune, the two sides had already exchanged information on the theory of fortune.

If the other party uses the theft as leverage, it's likely a futile effort.

"What is the secret of this destiny? Is there any indication of its trigger?"

"I've already mentioned Chen Long and Jia Hu."

Jia Tang's expression changed slightly. The Dragon List and Tiger Order? If this is the secret, then he'll have to make the trip!

"How many tiers are there in the Fragrance Main Altar?"

"Xu Fangxing said there is only one third-tier player and two late-stage second-tier players."

Niu Jizong thought for a moment and asked, "Is this a setup? He hasn't attended court for almost ten days."

Jia Tang pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "It doesn't seem like it. This matter of the Thousand Blood Flowers is no small matter."

He paused, then continued, "I'm just wondering why the Kong family didn't just kill Xu Fangxing directly, but instead attacked and destroyed Xu's clan territory. Was this all a ruse?"

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this, and nodded thoughtfully. Considering that the old man from Dingxi had his eldest son fake his death time and time again, it was highly likely that he had the intention to take advantage of the discord between Chen and Kong and the chaos in the three regions of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian to make a clean break.

Although the world is unaware of the inside story, he left room for maneuver regardless of whether the Chen family, the Jia family, or other hidden forces win in the future.

Liu Fang laughed, "Then this old geezer must be hiding, wanting to watch us fight Chen Kong!"

"Are we still going?"

"Go, since they belong to Chen Kong's faction. If we can kill them, we can delay their progress in cultivating the Thousand Blood Flower."

Jia Tang narrowed his eyes and sneered, "I'll trouble True Person Chen He to make the trip, with True Person Li Yunqiong secretly overseeing the operation. Slaughter the headquarters of the Fragrance Sect, leaving no one alive, human or animal!"

"only!"