Chapter 47 - 47 Suspicion Abounds 1
Tianxuan Mountain.
Han Li and the others landed halfway up the mountain, while Qiu Shuilin vanished in a flash to head towards the Sect’s grand hall; the remaining disciples also went their separate ways.
Han Li returned to his residence in the inner courtyard for a short rest before heading to the foothill area to check on the progress of his descendants’ cultivation.
He had several children with eighth and seventh-grade talents, and the two who were over eight years of age had both been sent to Tianxuan Mountain. They were now in the Rebirth Realm and had become registered disciples.
After giving guidance on their cultivation and leaving behind some resources, reminding them to cultivate well, Han Li left.
The Sect did not mind Han Li sending members of his family to join, as long as they met the talent requirements and their cultivation improvements were satisfactory. The more the better—they could strengthen the Sect’s foundation and expand its influence, among other benefits.
Han Li felt somewhat constrained when it came to nurturing his descendants; the Han Family’s history of development was not long, and many things were incomplete, lacking a strong foundation for an effective and systematic cultivation training.
Therefore, he sent all descendants with cultivational talents to be nurtured by the Sect, allowing them to learn better cultivation techniques and martial arts and also to increase the influence of the Han Family.
Eventually, when his own power surpasses that of Tianxuan Mountain and other Sects, those descendants who had joined the Sects would naturally prioritize the Han Family and gradually return. It was akin to borrowing eggs to hatch chicks, saving him much worry.
By that time, the reach of the Han Family would naturally expand to most of the Sects in Leizhou, becoming a pivotal ruler in the region.
On the other hand, sending the talented descendants to the Sect for systematic training meant they could cultivate faster and grow more quickly, which was also greatly beneficial to Han Li.
Let’s not forget that Han Li could receive a feedback of cultivation from his descendants, although at the moment he didn’t have many talented descendants, even fewer were on the cultivation path, and none had reached the Pihai Realm, so the feedback on his cultivation was minimal.
But when he has tens of thousands of descendants, each diligently cultivating, even lying down he could gain massive cultivation feedback, much faster than cultivating by himself.
Han Li also knew this was similar to the growth of a family—it required time to accumulate, and the effects would become larger over time, his gains would increase, and his cultivation would improve faster.
After visiting his descendants and utilizing the time before Tianxuan Mountain officially released the news, Han Li went to the inner courtyard to claim the resources he had accumulated over the years before heading to the Sect’s Artifact Refining Pavilion, Pill Refining Pavilion, and Array Pavilion, among other places.
He exchanged some items from the Han Mansion for Sect contribution points, such as the Sea Opening Pill, and then used those contribution points along with Spirit Stones to exchange them for Pill Formulas, Refining Blueprints, Array Diagrams, and so on from the Sect.
Han Li focused on exchanging for Eighth Grade Pill Recipes and blueprints, even obtaining Seventh Grade Pill Formulas, Refining Blueprints, and Array Diagrams of each kind, spending a significant amount of contribution points and Spirit Stones.
Luckily, the Han Mansion had earned a considerable number of Spirit Stones recently, and by slaying the Great Master Cui Pingyu, he had obtained over three hundred thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones, as well as cultivation techniques, martial arts, and some treasures.
Otherwise, Han Li simply could not afford so many items, and even so, he immediately became as poor as could be, with less than a hundred Spirit Stones in his possession.
Han Li believed it was well worth it. With the new Eighth Grade Pill Blueprints, as well as the Seventh Grade ones, the Han Family could continuously earn more cultivation resources.
Although he currently could not refine Seventh Grade pills and weapons, Han Li was not in the least bit anxious—it was only a matter of time.
Among the items in Cui Pingyu’s Space Ring, the most important were the cultivation techniques and martial arts. He had no need for the techniques of the Hehuan Sect, but the “Yin and Yang Palm Seal” made Han Li envious.
The Yin and Yang Palm Seal was one of the Yinyang Sect’s secret skills, with the complete skill being an Earth-Level Extreme Martial Art. Even with only half of it, it was still Earth-Level Lower Rank. Cui Pingyu had spent all his contribution points and was deep in debt to exchange for this half of the skill.
Han Li would practice it in his spare time but wouldn’t devote too much time to it, mainly because it was too difficult to master. Cui Pingyu had only achieved minor success, while Han Li had yet to even begin learning it.
By comparison, he preferred the martial arts rewarded by the System: they were at the complete level and came with various cultivation experiences—truly delightful.
Even if he truly mastered the Yin and Yang Palm Seal, Han Li dared not use it recklessly. If exposed, he would be hunted by the Hehuan Sect, and even the Yinyang Sect would pursue him to the death.
This ultimate technique of the Yinyang Sect was not meant to be revealed to outsiders. If the Yinyang Sect really went after him, not even the Daqian Empire would protect him, nor could they.
Xuantian Hall.
The Sect Leader of Tianxuan Mountain, the Elders, and six other high-ranking officials gathered here. Qiu Shuilin, who had previously brought Han Li back to the Sect, was also present, and his position was quite prominent.
At the deepest end of the grand hall, the Sect Leader sat in the seat of honor, a middle-aged man dressed in a purple jade robe. His stature was upright, his face gentle as jade, his eyes profound, exuding a mature, stable demeanor with an elegant grace.
He was none other than Gongsun Yun, the Sect Leader of Tianxuan Mountain.
A Guru in the Hollow Void Stage, he was known in the Cultivation Realm as the “Jade-Faced Gentleman,” possessing formidable strength and holding a pivotal status in Leizhou.
“Everyone is aware of the news. Let’s share our opinions,” Gongsun Yun said as he looked around, voicing his thoughts.
The five Elders in the hall exchanged glances, and Qiu Shuilin was the first to speak: “Brother, Prince Wu’an has come with ill intentions.”
The other Elders nodded in agreement; they were somewhat aware of the situation with the Daqian Empire and Prince Wu’an.
“I know, but do we have any other options?” Gongsun Yun sighed, his expression worried.
The Elders fell silent.
The balance maintained in the Xuan Domain for a thousand years was showing signs of being disrupted, with a very likely breaking point being the Daqian
Empire.
Of the eight great forces in the Xuan Domain, the Daqian Empire had the weakest foundation. Top forces from the Xuan Domain and the other seven domains were eager to place their pieces, plotting openly and in secret, hoping to break the stalemate here.
The Ancient Empire sought to unify the Xuan Domain—or at the very least dominate half of it; the Kurong Sect representing the Buddha Domain wished for Buddhism to spread east, gradually encroaching upon the Xuan Domain; the Yinyang Sect representing the Devil Region and the Qitian Teaching representing the Dao Domain both harbored these ambitions; the Da Jing Empire wanted to seize the opportunity to annex the Daqian Empire to become one of the top three in the Xuan Domain…
The Da Liang Empire was isolated in a corner, Emperor Wu’s City remained neutral, the Chaotic Domain also made its move, the Sword Domain had long placed its pieces, while the Barbarian Region and the Demon Domain watched with predatory eyes. Once a monumental war broke out in the Xuan Domain and drew the attention of the other domains, the Demon Barbarian Regions were very likely to invade, seizing the territories of the Human Clan.
Even the Daqian Empire itself was plotting; they could not hide the movements of other top forces from their eyes.
But Daqian was incapable of standing against so many forces, and therefore could only opt to counter scheme, hoping to leverage one power against another, trigger a battle among those forces, and ideally, preserve Daqian’s foundation before planning for the future.
Why did the previous Emperor Qian suddenly abdicate? Why was the Crown Prince the successor and not Prince Wu’an? Why did the Daqian Empire choose to eradicate only Buddhism and not defend against the devils and uphold the Dao…
These questions were riddled with doubts.
The White Lotus Cult’s chaos was a move by mysterious forces to test the foundation of the Daqian Empire. Other forces chose to watch, but there were also suspicions that the Daqian Empire was going with the flow, seemingly plotting something.
Prince Wu’an of Daqian, with his formidable reputation, had repelled the Da Jing Empire at the northern border for two hundred years. Was such an important figure truly just coming to deal with the remnants of the White Lotus Cult?
A while back, Prince Wu’an had convened the leaders of the various factions in Sanzhou and announced some news, urging them to cooperate as much as possible—even deliberately leaking certain information for the leaders of the Sanzhou factions to know.
After Gongsun Yun returned to Tianxuan Mountain, he issued a summoning order, calling back all disciples of Tianxuan Mountain who were of the Pihai Realm or higher to return to the mountain..