Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

The foreign royal court deep in the grasslands hadn't paid much attention to it; it was just some tribes on the outskirts of the territory, and their disappearance was no big deal.

Unexpectedly, tribes deep in the grasslands have recently begun to disappear, prompting the royal court to send a second-tier cultivator with a team of first-tier cultivators to investigate the cause.

Jia Ping kept Jia Tang's instructions on guerrilla tactics firmly in mind, acted decisively and swiftly, and has not yet been exposed, allowing rumors of the life-loving wolf god to gradually spread across the grasslands.

"Are there any Tier 2 members in the slaughtered tribe?"

Jia He shook his head: "No, but there are quite a few at the first rank."

"Then let them find an opportunity to wipe out the alien patrol team, then head to the Northwest Plateau, launch another attack, and then enter the pass through Sanguan Town to return to the capital."

"only!"

Thanks to the accumulation of experience from daily beast hunting, both the visible and invisible cultivators within the manor have made progress.

Currently, the three late-stage first-tier worshippers and Wang Dazhuang, who is in the middle stage, need much less blood and energy to break through to the second tier than they did at the beginning of the year.

Once we have ten Tier 2 characters, we can explore the other world.

The group continued processing secret letters from other places. Jia He held a letter from Baoding Prefecture, looking somewhat shocked.

"My lord, Xu Yuan has died once again."

"?"

Jia Tang's expression didn't change much upon hearing this, though he had some idea of ​​what was going on. Jia Kang, on the other hand, was somewhat incredulous. He couldn't forget how Xu Fanghua, with his full head of white hair and hunched back, had rushed back to Xianjing from the south just a few days ago, and how Xu Fangxing had even vomited blood and fallen ill upon hearing the news in the court.

It turns out that the old man was just putting on an act.

Upon receiving the secret letter, he read: "On October 15th, Xu Yuan, who was hiding in Baoding under the guise of the Su family, was beheaded in front of the Su family ancestral land. This prompted a second-ranking elder of the Su family to search for the murderer, but they returned empty-handed."

On October 16th, the Su family conducted a self-investigation and found that the eldest son of the fourth branch of the family, spanning five generations, had been beheaded, and his wife and eight daughters were buried with him.

Jia Kang raised an eyebrow and asked, "Isn't the Minister of Personnel from the fourth branch of the Su family in Baoding?"

Jia He nodded: "He was the second son of the fourth branch of the family, and the person who was killed was his nephew."

The unspoken rule among all top-tier cultivator families in the Great Zhao Dynasty is that only those who reach the second rank can establish their own lineage and open a new branch.

The fact that the Su family has four branches means that there are at least four second-level master repairmen.

Because the Jia family's lineage of cultivators had ended, they sought another astrologer, and besides, Jia Tang was the only second-tier cultivator.

"I never imagined that the one in Huai'an Prefecture was just a stand-in, and the real one was hiding in the Su family, and was even betrayed."

Jia Kang gloated, "Now Old Dog Xu is going to break ties with the Su family."

Jia He dismissed it, casually saying, "He's on our list, so his death saves us the trouble."

Jia Tang tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his brows furrowed in thought, sensing something strange about the matter.

How could they find out so quickly?

...

For the next month, the entire city of Xianjing, or rather the central and northern region, will be in chaos.

First, the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce and an unknown force started a war in Fengyang Prefecture, which lasted from the end of August to the end of November without a break.

According to rumors circulating in the cultivation world, the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce is said to be backed by the Li family of Hejian, while the unknown force is led by the newly established Huang family of Fengyang. The two sides have started a competition around the Huai River region.

Secondly, the son of Xu Fangxing, the Minister of Rites of the Dynasty, along with his double, were beheaded by secret forces, which drove Xu Fangxing mad. He led another second-tier cultivator from the Xu family, along with a team of late-stage first-tier literary cultivators, from Huai'an in the south to Baoding in the north, investigating various places and destroying many families.

Furthermore, there were military reports from Sanguan Town to the Ministry of War and the military government, stating that several horrific incidents had occurred within the town's jurisdiction, in which sorcerers bewitched the common people and then carried out blood sacrifices.

When Emperor Changwu learned of this, he was furious and ordered the commanders of the Sanguan Town in Shanxi and the Guyuan Town in Shaanxi to jointly investigate the Incense-Worshipping Cult. Anyone involved with it was to be executed along with their entire family.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, both towns complied. While defending the border, they mobilized second-tier cultivators from within the towns to conduct a thorough search of the prefecture, county, and township.

Some people discovered that the dynasty had merely issued an imperial edict, and all the cultivators were from the Founding Clan and the Martial Clan.

This made everyone who was paying attention to the matter feel uneasy. Could it be that the hidden power in the Northwest was too strong, forcing the two factions to unite? Or did the two factions have other plans?

In short, the chaos alone cannot fully capture the situation in the central and northern regions during the autumn and winter of the sixth year of Changwu.

At this juncture, Jia Ping and Jia An led the Tiger Guards, who had suffered some losses, back from beyond the pass.

"Glug glug—"

In the East Study of Ruihu Courtyard, Jia Ping and Jia An downed two large bowls of tea and took a breath.

Although they were outside the pass, they were able to communicate through the Tiger Fiend Banner and knew about the recent situation. In their growing anxiety, they frantically slaughtered the alien races outside the pass, which eventually attracted the attention of four alien cultivators at the late second stage. Fortunately, they escaped quickly, otherwise, things might have been different.

No matter how strong their foundation was, they were only at the early stage of the second tier, and they were leading a group of tiger guards at the fifth level.

Back in the mansion, the Tiger Guards went to their rooms to wash and bathe, and after a short rest, they went straight to the study and presented the right half of the Tiger Tally.

"My lord, I have not failed you in your mission."

Jia Tang patted the two men on the shoulders, accepted the tiger tally with a smile, and with a thought, the tiger tally flew into the Yellow Court and merged with the other half.

"Jia He, send a message to the south, ordering the five Grand Masters to secretly return to the capital at full speed. The five first-rank stewards below will take over the affairs of Lianghuai. Instruct them to retreat completely, remain hidden and silent, and wait for the right opportunity."

"only!"

"Jia Kang, go to the manor outside the city and gather reserve soldiers. Secretly bring back four or five villages to the manor, using the secret passages of the eight prefectures of Xianjing. Do not let a sound escape."

"only!"

Both accepted the order and went together to the underground chamber to deliver the message.

Jia Ping let out a long sigh of relief and asked in bewilderment, "Why is this so chaotic?"

Jia An scoffed, "More and more forces are emerging, and the Chen family is only concerned with their own little territory. It's no wonder things are in chaos."

"If you ask me, the more chaotic the better. Change is both a danger and an opportunity."

"We've received a divinely bestowed treasure from the Lord, who knows... hehehehe."

Jia Ping nodded in agreement, then added, "Emperor Changwu was put on a pedestal; things weren't this lively during the Anwu and Chongwu periods."

"To put it bluntly, we still have no one to rely on. Third brother, what do you think Emperor Chongwu is thinking? He's his own son."

Jia An rolled his eyes and said, "Isn't it the same inside the manor? Can Second Master Lian command Master She's men?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Tang shook his head: "There are some differences after all. Uncle She is angry because Jia Lian is useless. He is thinking of cultivating a fifth-generation direct descendant before handing over the manpower."

"If Emperor Chongwu wants to wait for Emperor Changwu to straighten out the court, that's fine, but I'm afraid he has other ideas."

He paused, then continued, "The key point is that, judging from the current situation, Emperor Chongwu does indeed harbor unspeakable motives, and perhaps great chaos is about to erupt..."

Jia Ping and Jia An's eyes narrowed: "The dynasty is about to fall into chaos, and he'll step in again to quell it?"

"A second time ruling as regent?"

Jia Tang sighed, "I'm afraid it's more than that. I hope I'm overthinking it, otherwise, something even more difficult is yet to come."

The room fell silent for a moment, and everyone remained quiet.