Xuan Yang, the Northern Lands.
A hundred-ter-tall wall stretched from east to west, separating north from south.
Lookout towers stood at every hundred ters, and countless armored soldiers of the Northern Garrison Army patrolled its top, holding back the thousands of powerful Demon Sect experts.
This incredibly majestic wall was none other than the Great Wall, which Emperor Xuanyang had commanded tens of thousands of laborers to build with their very lives.
Atop the Great Wall, a weather-beaten, elderly military general stood firm. His white eyebrows drooped over his eyelids, obscuring his expression.
"Reporting to the Grand General, the Demon Sect is making a move again."
A soldier in silver and red armor knelt on one knee, speaking respectfully to the old man.
This was the north.
In the north of Xuan Yang, there was only one army: the Northern Garrison Army.
And in the Northern Garrison Army, only one man could be called Grand General: the old man before him, the Grand General of the North, Xu Dingchun.
A Second-Grade Official of the Court, the pillar of the Empire’s Northern Territory.
"Speak."
Grand General of the North Xu Dingchun slowly spoke.
"Scouts have spotted the Vice Sect Leader of the Celestial Heart Sect west of the Great Wall."
Xu Dingchun’s long, snow-white eyebrows twitched slightly upward.
’The Vice Sect Leader of the Celestial Heart Sect... that’s a big shot.’
Even he had to take this seriously.
However, Xu Dingchun made no further movents. After a long mont, he turned to look at a middle-aged man of about forty standing beside him.
Although the man appeared to be in his pri, his every move gave the impression of an old man. His loose-fitting gray robe was particularly conspicuous.
"Dong Wanjun, what do you think?"
That’s right. The middle-aged man standing beside the Grand General of the North was none other than Dong Wanjun, who had broken through to the Perception realm and reversed his aging.
Dong Wanjun said only four words: "I will go see."
Any other general in the Northern Garrison Army might have carefully analyzed the intentions behind the Vice Sect Leader’s actions or sent subordinates to investigate further.
But Dong Wanjun was different.
His answer was simple: if he went, he would naturally find the answer.
The corners of Xu Dingchun’s mouth turned up slightly. This Dong Wanjun was truly to his liking.
"Not afraid?"
The strength of that Vice Sect Leader of the Celestial Heart Sect was terrifying. Moreover, he had already stepped into the Clear Heart realm.
"I am."
Dong Wanjun made no attempt to hide it, nor did he intend to boast or seek credit. He couldn’t defeat that big shot from the Celestial Heart Sect. That was a fact.
"Very good."
Xu Dingchun nodded in satisfaction.
If he knew fear, he wouldn’t die. And since he wouldn’t die, Xu Dingchun was naturally at ease letting Dong Wanjun head west.
Dong Wanjun accepted the order. Without a mont’s delay, he descended the wall and led three hundred elite soldiers north.
Xu Dingchun remained on the wall, lost in thought.
Half a month had passed since the last great battle. The northern blizzards wouldn’t stay away for long; the next one would arrive soon. He wondered how many more would die in the heavy snow.
...
On Wan Jun Peak.
Bai Yuan lay comfortably in the courtyard while Liu Qing and Jiang Fei massaged his shoulders and back.
The two girls’ technique was excellent. It was very comfortable.
In order for Liu Qing and Jiang Fei to better please the True Disciple they would one day serve, their families had specially found the best massage masters to teach them the craft. Naturally, their technique was first-class.
Liu Qing rubbed her sore little hands. ’Our Young Master is a Martial Artist, as expected,’ she thought. ’He can really take the pressure.’
But what made her even more curious was that Bai Yuan hadn’t left the house in half a month.
"Young Master, are you not going out today either?"
Liu Qing asked, blinking her eyes.
"I’m not."
Bai Yuan shifted into a more comfortable position.
Ever since receiving Lu Yu’s letter, he hadn’t left Wan Jun Peak.
He was operating under the principle of ’it’s better to believe it than to dismiss it’.
Although he hadn’t yet deciphered the aning of Lu Yu’s letter, he wasn’t about to test it with his life.
However, even though he spent all day in the courtyard on Wan Jun Peak, he was still very busy.
He had just broken through to Entering the Realm. The grade of his previous Spirit Soups was no longer sufficient to support his cultivation, so he needed to prepare higher-grade ones.
Fortunately, he was now a True Disciple, and on top of that, he had received several rounds of rewards from the Sect Leader, Murong Tian.
He was practically swimming in wealth.
Therefore, for the ingredients needed to make the Spirit Soups, he only needed to go get them from the Herb Hall. If even the Herb Hall didn’t have them, he would just send Liu Qing and Jiang Fei to the city market to buy them.
As for haggling?
The one thing Uncle Bai didn’t lack right now was money.
But just as Bai Yuan was quietly enjoying this royal treatnt, his brows suddenly furrowed.
The Tier Eight Great Demon was active again.
Through his Demon Hunting perception, he discovered that the Tier Eight Great Demon, the one hiding the secret of the Divine Mansion, was slowly moving toward Wan Jun Peak.
Bai Yuan observed the Tier Eight Great Demon’s movent patterns every day.
The conclusion was that there was no pattern; its movents were completely random.
But today’s anomaly still struck Bai Yuan as strange.
’Forget it. I have to go check it out at least once.’
Bai Yuan finally made his decision.
Even now, he still couldn’t defeat a Tier Eight Great Demon, but with his Demon Hunter techniques and master-level Body Technique, observing from a distance wouldn’t be a problem.
Besides, that Tier Eight Great Demon had existed for at least a thousand years, yet there were no stories of any disciples disappearing without reason in Shenfu Mountain.
Bai Yuan stood up.
"I’m going out for a bit."
"..."
Liu Qing and Jiang Fei both blinked in confusion. Their Young Master had just said he wasn’t going down the mountain today.
But the two of them were not pampered ladies from official families who had never served anyone. Naturally, they wouldn’t be so tactless as to ask.
Bai Yuan pushed open the door to his room.
He made his way down Wan Jun Peak.
He followed the direction of the demonic qi, crossing several mountain peaks before finally stopping on one summit.
This was already the border of the Divine Mansion Sect’s territory.
Through his months of observation, he had learned that although the Tier Eight Great Demon’s movents were completely erratic, it had never left the confines of Shenfu Mountain.
Bai Yuan guessed it was likely imprisoned by so kind of power.
It was just that his current strength was insufficient to even begin to comprehend it.
The mountain beneath his feet was much taller than the surrounding peaks, so standing on the summit gave him a clear view of the area.
An ordinary person would only find the scenery pleasant.
But in Bai Yuan’s eyes, it was completely different.
Demonic qi... endless demonic qi.
The demonic qi was so powerful that it had rged with its surroundings. Besides a highly skilled Demon Hunter, no one would be able to notice anything amiss.
As for the Great Demon’s whereabouts... he was still too far away. Bai Yuan couldn’t make out any details.
The number of Demon Hunters in the world was already small, and the vast majority of them lived in the Southern Border.
Demon Hunters like Zhou Siming who ca to the Northern Territory were even rarer, let alone one who would co to Shenfu Mountain.
Only an all-around talent like Bai Yuan could have noticed the clues.
But to Bai Yuan’s surprise, amidst the endless demonic qi, there was a faint, barely perceptible trace of purple qi.
In his previous life, it was often said that purple qi cos from the east.
Legend has it that when the Taoist Ancestor Laozi passed through Han Valley Pass on a green ox, Commander Guan Lingyin Xi saw purple qi floating over the pass and knew a Saint was arriving.
Therefore, a place where purple qi appeared was bound to hold an extraordinary fortune.
Just like that Commander of Han Valley Pass, Guan Lingyin Xi, who obtained the Tao Te Ching, a classic passed down for millennia, and earned a place in history.
Although Bai Yuan didn’t know what was inside that Divine Mansion, it was certainly sothing extraordinary.
Could it really be an Immortal Cave Mansion?
For the first ti, Bai Yuan, a staunch atheist, felt his conviction waver.
He took one last look, then turned and headed down the mountain.
The Tier Eight Great Demon moved extrely slowly. Even if it wanted to walk to Wan Jun Peak, it would take at least half a year. For now, he didn’t need to worry about such things.
"Young Master, you’re back."
Liu Qing watched Bai Yuan, who had just left and returned.
Bai Yuan had been gone for no more than two hours. She guessed he had returned before even leaving Shenfu Mountain.
"Young Master, shall we... continue?"
Liu Qing asked tentatively.
Bai Yuan nodded. "Let the music play on, let the dancing continue."
Liu Qing and Jiang Fei: "???"
...
Huanglong Prefecture, the main peak, Sect Leader Hall.
"Master, the Lingzhou Army has gone to the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office."
Murong Jiujiang stood respectfully beside the Sect Leader, Murong Tian.
"I know."
Murong Tian waved his hand dismissively.
Murong Jiujiang looked with concern at this man who was his elder, his master, and his Sect Leader.
Everyone in Huanglong Prefecture thought that the Shenfu Sect Master, Murong Tian, was in seclusion, but in reality, this Sect Leader had not been having an easy ti.
He had lost count of how many covert sches from the General and the Lord Governor he had thwarted.
It really was just as the saying goes: there is no such thing as a peaceful life, only people carrying the weight for others.
Huanglong Prefecture appeared peaceful and harmonious now, but in reality, Murong Tian had poured an unknown amount of blood and sweat into maintaining it.
A month ago, he had already clashed with that General Zhao Wu outside the city.
The result, of course, was Murong Tian’s victory. Otherwise, the Lingzhou Army would have long since entered Huanglong Prefecture City, not be camped obediently outside its walls.
Only when your fists are hard enough will unwelco guests not dare to bully the host.
In truth, situations like this had occurred many tis in the thousand-year history of the Divine Mansion Sect. Ling Province was constantly trying to devour this juicy piece of at that was the Divine Mansion Sect.
Every so often, they would send people to probe,
and the mont they sensed any weakness, the Divine Mansion Sect would have to face the entire Lingzhou Army.
It was just that the Divine Mansion Sect produced heroes in every generation. No matter how Ling Province sched, they were always repelled in the end.
The current Lingzhou General had been in his post for twenty years, and he had long coveted Huanglong Prefecture.
Although on the surface there was little interaction between the Divine Mansion Sect and the Lingzhou Army, only Murong Tian knew of the bloodshed that lay hidden beneath.
Otherwise, did people really think Qingyang Prefecture could produce an expert capable of killing a Peak Master of the Divine Mansion Sect?
The late husband of Ruan Xiuluan from Qianzhu Peak—the previous Peak Master of Qianzhu Peak—was said to have been killed by an expert from Qingyang Prefecture. But anyone with discerning eyes knew that the one who killed him was an expert from the Lingzhou Army.
Aside from that Peak Master with the surna Li, over the millennia, too many masters of the Divine Mansion Sect have died at the hands of the Lingzhou Army.
Among them were even two Sect Leaders.
In truth, such situations were very common in Xuan Yang. The overt and covert struggles between the Court and the sects never ceased.
After all, not every Emperor of Xuan Yang possessed the breadth of mind and spirit of the founding emperor.
Furthermore, even if His Majesty the Emperor, sitting high in Jinluan Hall, had no intention of dealing with the sects, how could regional Dukes like the Lingzhou General give up the juicy morsel right in front of them?
In the end, ’the world bustles with people, all for the sake of profit’.
It has been so since ti immorial.
Murong Tian suddenly asked, "How is Bai Yuan doing?"
Murong Jiujiang replied, "He has been staying on Wan Jun Peak recently."
Murong Tian nodded.
He was constantly paying attention to this outstanding genius among the True Disciples.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that there were several other geniuses among the True Disciples who had broken through the Entering the Realm gate. Murong Tian knew that for them, reaching Entering the Realm was their limit. It was impossible for them to break through to the Perception realm.
Unless it was an unconventional breakthrough to Entering the Realm like Dong Wanjun’s, their help to the Divine Mansion Sect wasn’t actually that significant.
In Murong Tian’s eyes, the ones in this generation of young disciples most likely to achieve a breakthrough were Murong Jiujiang and Bai Yuan.
He was naturally very concerned with Bai Yuan, this True Disciple.
He and Dong Wanjun would die one day. When that ti ca, the Divine Mansion Sect would inevitably be handed over to the two of them—Bai Yuan and Murong Jiujiang.
If the successors were poorly chosen, the Divine Mansion Sect’s thousand-year struggle would be in vain.
If the master is formidable but the apprentice is useless, it’s all for nothing.
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