The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Upon hearing this, all the scouts were taken aback.

Some of the second squadrons of scouts heard this and paused, then dispersed to various parts of the barracks, listening intently while they were busy with their work.

Horse Face raised an eyebrow and swaggered over to Li Yi's side.

Xu Rong's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly denied it and then turned around to look behind him, his face full of murderous intent.

Xu Rong's scouts all lowered their heads to avoid his gaze, which infuriated him, but he couldn't retaliate.

"What brings you to this, sir?"

Li Yi's voice was cold and stern. "I've heard that Xu Xiaoqi is obsessed with celebrating festivals, like the coldest days of winter, the day of victory, and even your birthday. He has to celebrate every happy occasion, using it as a way to indirectly extract cultivation resources from his subordinates?"

Horse Face gave a meaningful "Oh," then frowned and stared at Xu Rong.

Li Erhu laughed loudly in the ranks, "Who knows how many birthdays Xu Xiaoqi might have a year! Haha."

"This is utter slander!" Xu Rong's face turned ashen. "Someone is definitely trying to frame me. My lord, you must not believe those rumors!"

"Is that so..." Li Yi flipped his hand and picked up a booklet. "This is the list of military merits that I obtained from Commander Qianhu. It contains a detailed record of Xu Xiaoqi's merits."

If you are truly innocent, dare you lower the guard at the spirit cave and allow me to investigate?

Xu Rong swallowed hard, forcing himself to remain calm, and said, "The spiritual cave is the foundation of a cultivator. How can it be allowed to be explored by others? If someone does something improper and ruins my spiritual cave, my life will be ruined."

Li Yi smirked as he glanced at the group of sentries in the second squad.

"To kill a colleague in public? Xu Xiaoqi is being overly pessimistic."

He pulled the horse-faced man closer. "If you're really worried, how about we have Liu Xiaoqi investigate?"

Xu Rong's eyes darted around, then he suddenly said sharply, "Is the reason you're targeting me like this because I didn't volunteer? I may not be as brave and fearless as you or He Xiaoqi, but I shouldn't be suffering such persecution!"

"Please, sir, spare my life! I am willing to leave the scout position and join the regular army!"

The scouts in the column all changed color. They all remembered clearly the first task they had undertaken in Fengxia Pass and naturally knew the reason behind it.

Many people suddenly realized what was happening, and when they looked at Xu Rong again, he no longer seemed so repulsive; instead, they felt a sense of shared sorrow.

Xu Rong was secretly pleased to see Li Yi narrow his eyes and look annoyed.

This time they've really messed up, but if they can take the opportunity to break free from Li Yi's control, it might actually be a blessing in disguise.

Even if I join the regular army as a lowly squad leader, with the pills I've accumulated recently, and with a little more effort, I shouldn't have to worry about exchanging them for an acupoint-opening pill, which I can then use to break through my current cultivation level.

Not only will he be promoted to the rank of commander, but he will also have no rivals to hinder him, and from then on, the sky's the limit!

Unexpectedly, a loud shout came from behind, "Wang Dazhuang, the sentry from the fourth and fifth villages, is willing to testify that what Commander Li said is true!"

Wang Dazhuang suddenly caught sight of Xu Rong turning his head, revealing a face that looked like it could devour someone. He couldn't help but shudder, but still stubbornly shouted:

"Since the start of the campaign, Xu Rong has been demanding and accepting bribes under various pretexts. We are suffering terribly and beg the Commander-in-Chief to take action!"

Three other people stepped forward and loudly echoed:

"Please, Commander, do us justice!"

Li Yi finally spoke calmly:

"A person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear. Xu Xiaoqi just spoke evasively, so I will not hold your slander against you."

"Speaking of this matter alone, do you dare to let Liu Xiaoqi explore the spiritual burial site?"

Xu Rong's face was so gloomy it could drip water, and he suddenly sighed dejectedly:

"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext. Your Excellency is determined to frame me, Xu Rong, and I have no way to defend myself. But I am not convinced and request to see Commander Meng."

"Still trying to back out!" Li Yi roared. "The witnesses are all here, and you dare not cooperate with the physical evidence, so there's no need to investigate further!"

"You want to see Commander Meng? Fine, I'll take you to the government office right now and report all the evidence against you to Commander-in-Chief."

……

The government office was near the barracks. Xu Rong knew he was no match for Li Yi, so even though he was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to obediently follow.

The group arrived at the Thousand-Household Office and learned from the attendant that Thousand-Household Commander Meng was practicing meditation by the waterside pavilion and it was not convenient to disturb him, so they stayed in the office to wait.

"I often come here. As long as Li Yi doesn't beat me to death with a stick in the barracks, there should still be room for maneuver when I see Commander Meng."

He lowered his eyes, concealing his sinister gaze, and looked towards the door. "You four traitors, once I escape this calamity, I'll make you pay dearly!"

Wang Dazhuang and the other three stood outside the hall. When they happened to meet the eyes of the person inside, it was as if they had been doused with cold water, and they shivered.

"That's strange. He's the one exploiting us, so why is he so self-righteous, as if we're the ones who've done something wrong?"

The four were trembling with fear. Fortunately, Meng Yunjie was considerate of his subordinates. After learning the news, he slowly stopped absorbing Qi and did not make them wait any longer.

As soon as he entered the government office, he saw Xu Rongseng stand up abruptly, looking anxious.

"Don't come to me for help." Commander Meng and Li Yi nodded to each other and returned to their seats.

"I have a general understanding of the matter. Exploiting military merits is a serious crime; a first offense results in demotion and reduction of rank, a second offense in execution."

Xu Rong was stunned on the spot, his face turning pale with fright.

He was about to speak when Meng Yunjie impatiently raised his hand to stop him.

"Although Commander Li has no authority to demote or strip someone of their rank, he can make his own decisions on all matters within the commandery without any hesitation."

Now that you have confirmed it, I will report it to the commander-in-chief later when I have time, and then proceed accordingly—please also convey this message to Commander Zhong.

We are all cultivators of the Tao; how can we waste time on such trivial matters?

After Meng Yunjie finished speaking, he got up and ignored Li Yi and the others, returning to the waterside pavilion on his own, presumably to continue his cultivation.

As for Xu Rong, since it was Li Yi's own decision, he should simply be imprisoned. When Commander Liu issues the military order, soldiers will be responsible for collecting his waist token, armor, and horse.

"It's just a matter of turning back, why push it so hard?! Li Yi, with such a narrow mind, you won't go far!"

As Li Yi walked out of the cell, he heard Xu Rong's shrill shouts and shook his head inwardly.

Such a person is easily satisfied and has a petty mind.

Li Yi had often encountered unreasonable people, which often led to him getting angry and hurting himself, with nowhere to vent his anger. Later, after hearing about the Three Seasons Man, he realized he should let go of his anger.

Wang Dazhuang and the others waited outside. When Li Yi came out, they hurriedly followed, sighing repeatedly.

"Before the expedition, Xu Xiaoqi treated us with courtesy, but after being selected as a sentry, his personality changed drastically, leading to this situation."

Li Yi observed the four people behind him. Only two of them were cultivators. Wang Dazhuang and the other person had not opened their acupoints.

Even so, the merits of the scouts were enough to tempt Xu Rong, proving that money truly can move people's hearts.

Even Xu Rong, an earth element cultivator, was trapped by the Wood Mother's greed. We wood element cultivators are probably even more powerful than the Wood Mother, so we must constantly reflect on ourselves.

The book "Hejian Danmu Chaowu" states:

The five internal organs and five spirits are divided into five positions: the heart monkey (metal god), the liver wood mother, the spleen yellow woman, the lungs intention horse, and the kidneys mysterious pearl.

Although these five deities do not hinder foundation building, nor do they seem to impede the formation of the elixir, if they are not subdued, one will constantly experience tribulations and face many obstacles on the path to enlightenment.

Cultivate your nature and destiny, and subdue the five spirits.

From then on, the sky was high and the earth was vast, and the great road led to heaven.