Ten Directions Sword Master

Chapter 111 Does the Imperial City Guard have such a person?

"Of the hundreds of tribes in the desert, most were under the command of that Khan, but there were also semi-independent tribes like the Kree."

"The Khan himself has condensed the Heavenly Wolf Dharma Body, and there are three commanders of ten thousand men in his tent who are half-step Dharma Body. The Great Sun Tribe and the Dahei Tribe also have half-step Dharma Body commanders in charge."

"The Fire God Cult was born in the middle of the Great Xia Dynasty. It can bring warmth with fire in winter and has extremely high prestige among the lower levels of various tribes."

"The shamans of the sect carried the fire, spreading light and cooked food to every inch of the desert land—the current sect leader has condensed the Dharma body of the World-Destroying Flame Emperor, and the four Dharma Kings under his command have strengths ranging from the late stage of the Divine Refinement stage to the half-step Dharma Body stage."

"Ni is a rising star shaman in the Fire God Cult in recent years. He was born amidst a sky full of red light and heavenly fire, and his cultivation of divine arts has progressed by leaps and bounds."

"He advocated bringing the glory of the Fire God to the Central Plains, promoted cooperation with the Khan, and theocracy. He had a large following among the young people of the Fire God Cult and was at the early stage of the Refining Spirit Cultivation Realm."

At Lu Li's command, the Imperial City Guard delivered boxes of intelligence related to the desert and the Fire God Cult into the room.

Make it clear to him what kind of opponent he will face in order to complete this task.

Ni's own strength is one aspect, but the key is that he is inside the Fire God Cult. Even if he achieves the Refinement God realm, it would be difficult for an outsider to infiltrate the cult and escape unscathed after killing someone.

"If only we could have more time, it would be much easier to make a move once the Great Chu Dynasty has swept across the desert and the Fire God Sect has been driven further north and become a pack of dogs."

As Lu Li flipped through the files, he compared them with real-world history, trying to find points that could be exploited.

"No, that won't work. By then, the alliance between the two sides had been in place for many years, and they had occupied several border counties. It's too late to say anything now."

"The only chance is to lure Ni to the vicinity of the border, strike him once, and then retreat before the Vulcan Church can react."

""

The allure of the immortal herb was too great, and Lu Li still couldn't let go of it, devising a feasible plan by all means.

Only by combining a single herb of immortality with dozens of auxiliary ingredients and hundreds of medicinal herbs can one obtain a batch of the Azure Emperor's Immortal Elixir.

Each batch produces six to eight pills.

In the worst-case scenario, it could extend the lives of each of the six Dharmakaya masters by ten years, or extend the lives of three Dharmakaya masters by fifteen years.

For a force with only one Dharma Body in charge, a single Azure Emperor Longevity Pill can change too many things.

With the same formula and the same alchemy method, this elixir could extend lifespan by sixty years during the Great Xia Dynasty, and by three hundred and sixty years during the medieval period.

The difference between these two is a matter of debate, with many different opinions attributing it to variations in medicinal potency or a shift in the natural order.

Even if his current strength doesn't allow him to use the Longevity Grass, he can leave it in the Nebula Palace for the future.

If he misses out on such a spiritual treasure, he will surely regret it when he has enough strength.

"Such an unparalleled opportunity would have prompted the Dharma Body to intervene directly in the real world, but in the Northern Wei world it would have been merely the killing of a shaman in the early stages of Spirit Refinement—thinking about it this way, one can understand the value of this mission."

As Lu Li left the room, he received the latest news that the young chieftain of the Kree tribe had already left the city.

A stack of name cards was piled up at the entrance, all with similar contents. They were all from various powerful forces in the county that had long admired Commander Bai's name and wanted to pay him a visit.

"Worry-Free Pavilion? Interesting. They invite me to the main building for tea, with Ninth Sister playing the zither and Tenth Sister singing—is this to select promising martial artists for the Rakshasa Palace, to seduce them into their harem?"

Lu Li sneered and crumpled the dough into a ball.

The grandson of the Imperial City Commander and one of the world's greatest masters—not to mention the qualifications displayed by the pseudonym Bai Wuming, his very identity alone would be enough to make the Rakshasa Palace Sect Master's heart flutter.

If one can use the Rakshasa Illusionary Dream Sutra to seduce the mind and spirit and make it work for the Rakshasa Palace, it will be much more effective than ordinary spiritual cultivation.

Lu Li thought of the demoness from the Rakshasa Palace he had dealt with in the real world, and how he had even stolen a piece of mica marrow crystal from her.

I wonder if she found out her identity after she went back; I guess she hates her to the core.

Of the other forces, he only met with the Hanyue Sect and the Li family of Xicheng.

The former was to give Tang Lie face, while the latter was because the Li family started out in the business of furs and medicinal herbs and had good relations with many tribes in the desert.

When the young chieftain of the Nakri tribe came to the county town, it was always through his family's caravan.

Lu Li was preoccupied with the herb of immortality and knew he would eventually travel to the desert to have more options in the future.

Two days passed in this way, and before leaving the world of Northern Wei, he went to see Cui Xu again.

"What? Commander Bai is going to leave the city and head towards the border?"

Cui Xu was greatly alarmed. This Inner Surveillance Commissioner really couldn't sit still. He had just resolved the matter in the prefecture city and was now going to a dangerous place.

"That's right. The Six Garrisons are colluding with the Desert. The Khan will make his move sooner or later. I'll go to the border market to see what's going on first. The special envoy from the capital will arrive in the next couple of days. There's no need to worry about the Imperial City Guard losing control."

Lu Li found a reason, although he would probably have to change his identity next time he appeared.

"My ancestor sent a disciple to fetch me. We won't venture too far into the desert, so we won't encounter any danger."

"But Elder Qin of the Hanyue Sect needs the prefect's help. His grandson has reached the age to become an apprentice, and he would like you to help him find a sect."

Uncle Qin was lucky and pulled through, but his silver meridian was destroyed, and he will truly become an ordinary old man from now on.

"How about I personally write a letter of recommendation and send him to the Palace of Rites and Music in Boling County to study the Six Arts?"

After a moment's thought, Cui Xu made a suggestion.

"good."

The Palace of Rites and Music is where the offspring of the Cui family's collateral branches and guest ministers practice martial arts. It is not well-known in martial arts, but it has produced several great masters of music. One's personal safety is absolutely guaranteed there, so why would Lu Li not agree?

"Prefect Cui, I hope we'll have the chance to meet again in the future—"

After taking two steps, Lu Li looked back again.

Cui Xu was a man of great responsibility, benevolent yet not pedantic. Had he not been born at the end of the dynasty, he would likely have been a renowned minister.

Without my help, Cui Xu would not have survived this calamity, and many people in the city would have died, thus unknowingly altering the fate of these people.

"But will this compass world truly transport me to the late Northern Wei Dynasty, which actually existed in history, or will it be a fragment extracted from the river of time by the supreme being who created the Nebula Compass? Cui Xu's life and death are just minor disturbances, but will my future changes to the desert situation and even my intervention in the upheaval in the capital completely alter this course of history?"

What makes the world of Northern Wei so special is that as his strength increases, he comes into contact with people of increasingly higher levels, giving Lu Li the illusion of strolling through the river of time.

Especially when those names that have left their mark in history appear, and you may even come into contact with them in later missions, it's hard not to have similar thoughts.

"According to another memory, the moment I altered history, another branch of time appeared, and countless parallel worlds actually exist in the universe—or perhaps I am actually in the late Northern Wei Dynasty, but this change is not enough to reverse the inertia of the river of time. If a sufficiently large event were to occur, the great power of heaven and earth would directly correct and erase those changes."

Lu Li had deliberately left marks on some ancient sites or books that were not easily destroyed, in an attempt to see if he could see them after returning to the real world.

However, after he was teleported into the Northern Wei world, he kept circling around Heyin County. In later generations, this area was the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, which has not been confirmed to this day.

"Perhaps we can glean the truth from the Cui family genealogy. Cui Xu is a martial artist who has mastered the Divine Refinement and also serves as the prefect of a region. He will definitely have his name recorded in the genealogy. We can use his life story to prove whether or not I have changed the real world."

Even though the Nebula Compass is more harmful than useful, Lu Li still wants to understand the principles behind it.

The following day, news spread that Bai Wuming, the Imperial Carriage Commandant, had left the city.

Not long after, Cui Taishuo, an elder of the Cui family of Boling, arrived, and prominent families in the county flocked to visit him.

At sunset, a carriage drove unnoticed into the Heyin branch of the Imperial City Guard, summoning all the Imperial Guard captains.

"Are you saying that Wei Bin has been executed for treason, and Helian Zhuo, the adopted son of Tian Wensi, the military governor of the Six Garrisons, has also been killed, and the turmoil in the city has subsided?"

Standing at the head of the table were two men and one woman. The one asking the question was older, while the other two were very young.

"Yes, Lord Xue, that is exactly right—under the leadership of Commandant Bai, we cooperated with the Prefect's Office to nip the crisis in the bud."

Captain Jia loudly reported his masterpiece.

"Captain Bai? Where did this Captain Bai come from?"

The young man was dressed in brocade robes and a tall hat, adorned with exquisite jade ornaments, clearly the dignified appearance of a member of a prominent family.

"Bai Wuming, the Imperial Chariot Commandant of the Inner Surveillance Division, is he unaware, sir? Commandant Bai, entrusted by Assistant Prefect Bai, rushed to Heyin overnight to handle this matter."

Lieutenant Jia inwardly scorned the special envoy from the capital; he didn't even recognize Young Master Bai, so his position at headquarters must be quite low.

"You will explain the whole process to me in detail, and then hand over the closed case file."

The middle-aged man raised his hand to stop the younger man from asking questions, while listening attentively and carefully flipping through the files, examining the seals closely.

"You all did a good job. When I return to Shendu, I will recommend you for commendation. — Captain Jia, send my name card to the Prefect's office and ask Lord Tai Shuo and Prefect Cui when they will be available to see me."

"Uncle, why won't you let me press the matter? Where else in headquarters besides you have someone else been sent? Impersonating a Commandant of the Imperial City Guard is a crime worthy of confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan; he cannot be let off the hook!"

When only three people remained, the young man in brocade robes shouted, his eyes full of confusion.

"Yes, headquarters didn't send anyone else, but I checked every seal on the file, and it's definitely a captain's badge—"

Judging from the degree of wear on the edges, it was made at least several hundred years ago.

The middle-aged man had a refined appearance and a scholarly air about him.

"These old waist badges are all stored in the headquarters' main warehouse—what are the chances that someone would sneak in and steal a captain's waist badge, then travel all the way to Heyin County to do everything before us, just to impersonate a captain of the Imperial City Guard for a bit of fun?"

"Uncle Xue, do you mean that the young man who calls himself Bai Wuming is really an Inner Surveillance Commandant we don't know?"

The silent young woman exuded a heroic spirit and was decisive and capable.

"I was originally the Xuanwu Commandant, but I was promoted to the rank of Wuyi Commandant on this mission to the local area—have you ever heard of anyone in the Imperial City Guard being granted the title of Fengche Commandant?"

One was a relative's nephew, and the other was a friend's daughter. The middle-aged man patiently gave them guidance to prevent the young people from suffering great losses in the future.