Free Web NovelChapter 339: Chapter 126: Fourth Realm, Spiral of Flesh and Blood, Essence of Life
As he spoke, he once again pulled out a communication stone from his bosom.
Li Xuan looked at the communication stone and felt a jolt in his heart.
This item was useless for him.
So he said, "Teacher, I’ve been cultivating hard lately. The signal is poor there, the communication stone can’t receive anything."
"Signal?" Jin Tianchan was taken aback, as if pondering its meaning, and soon understood, but still handed it over to him saying, "You hold onto it, when the signal improves, converse with me."
Li Xuan reluctantly took it.
...
...
Since that day, Buddha Li Xuan regularly visited near the Lingyi Sect to meet Jin Tianchan.
...
...
Time passed.
In an instant, autumn arrived.
The incense gradually spread, encompassing most of the Great Yong Kingdom.
During this time, Li Xuan also targeted some demons in the Great Yong Kingdom.
However, he did not rush to make a move but patiently observed and confirmed.
Once certain that they were unrelated to the Bear Demon and wouldn’t alarm them, he would decisively eliminate those demons, absorbing their demon blood to transform into his own Demon Points.
Yet, these demons were mostly ordinary.
Perhaps special ones existed, but they were likely hidden deep in the mountains and forests, hard to locate for now.
With this wave, Li Xuan collected 136 Demon Points.
He swiftly allocated points and broke the limits.
Using 68 points to break limits, he increased strength by 18, physique by 12, agility by 20, and spirit by 18.
His current total attributes were [Strength: 388/388], [Agility: 387/387], [Physique: 385/385], [Spirit: 385/385].
Li Xuan attempted to infuse demon blood but still did not surpass Tier Four.
But, although the Great Yong Kingdom was covered with incense, the mysterious Fire Moon Dynasty remained shrouded in fog.
The Bear Demon did not give Li Xuan much time.
A few days later, the Bear Puppet envoy arrived near the Xinci Temple, and the Arhat greeted him again.
The Bear Puppet said, "The Great Yong now has incense from Xinci Temple spreading throughout, many high monks of Xinci Temple have gone north to settle in that newly built temple. Does Buddha want to verify this in person?"
The Arhat said, "But the Fire Moon Dynasty still lacks incense."
The Bear Puppet replied, "Fire Moon is quite special, we’ll discuss it later. Now that our master has honored his promise, Buddha should open Wutong Pass and allow the Great Yong army to march south."
The Arhat asked, "Why still send the army south? Isn’t it better to control through the sovereign?"
The Bear Puppet said, "The garden has those who cultivate crops and those who raise pigs.
Crops are for farming, mining, gaming and such...
Pigs are directly for eating.
Our master intends to cultivate crops in the Great Yong, and the Great Yin shall be a meat-producing garden.
Our master said, during calamities, the incense flourishes even more.
Then, when the people of Great Yin are desperate, if they possess a token from Xinci Temple, they won’t be eaten temporarily, as a gesture of goodwill to Xinci Temple.
This way, Xinci Temple can verify the utility of the incense money to the people.
The more incense money given, the more vibrant the incense, and the more it can ensure their safety.
In this manner, both our parties benefit."
The Bear Puppet thought for a moment and added, "From now on, it’s like religion and governance are divided. Our master governs, Buddha teaches. Self-evidently, there won’t be any issues. If external enemies appear, we’ll need to unite against them."
The Arhat nodded and said, "Then bring it on."
After a slight pause, he further said, "The corpse of the Divine Martial Monarch Li Xuan is not here; let me consult with Buddha to transfer it here for you."
The Bear Puppet replied, "No need, the monk only needs to tell me where the corpse is, and we’ll retrieve it ourselves."
The Arhat contemplated briefly, then agreed with a nod.
Li Xuan initially planned to buy more time, to continue hunting demons in the Great Yong.
But now, he was curious.
He sent the "Divine Martial Monarch Li Xuan’s coffin" with incense to the southern part of Great Yin, south of Qing River in Bailang Province.
Bailang Province is south of the sea, it’s the southernmost point of Great Yin.
However, he soon noticed a section of "blind terrain" moving towards his specified location.
’The other party has a communication stone.’
’Demons can’t use communication stones.’
’The Bear Demon can use them, but Bear Puppets shouldn’t be able to.
Therefore... there must be cultivators among them who have not turned into Bear Puppets.
Those cultivators are aiding the evil.’
Li Xuan pondered this way.
Soon after, he saw the Great Yong army starting to mobilize.
The incense towards the Fire Moon Dynasty also paused.
Clearly, the Bear Demon harbored intentions and might not truly wish to let incense enter the Fire Moon Dynasty.
But the "map" on the Great Yong side was almost fully opened.
Li Xuan seized the opportunity while the Great Yong army headed towards Wutong Pass, tirelessly searching for demons in the Great Yong.
...
A month later.
The Great Yong army successfully breached Wutong Pass and continued southward.
The royal capital was in complete chaos.
This time, there wasn’t a second Divine Martial Monarch Li Xuan.
Moreover, for some reason, the commander of Wutong Pass was easily defeated this time, without even a symbolic resistance, leading to instant collapse.
...
Several days later.
Hanlin Academy...
A tumult of confusion.
Zhou Jihai quickly gathered the books, cautiously placing those precious volumes into boxes to prevent damage from the war.
In this situation, everyone thought the sovereign surely had to move south.
A resolution should have been reached at the morning court meeting today.
However, before long, the Grand Academic rushed back, looking dejected, and said, "Stop packing!"
The scholars at Hanlin Academy looked at the Grand Academic in surprise, and someone asked, "Grand Academic, why is that?"
The Grand Academic sighed and stamped his foot, saying, "The sovereign said to defend the royal capital to the death!"
Everyone fell silent.
"Defending the royal capital to the death" is indeed a decision only a bold monarch would make, but... Zhao She, who recently ascended the throne, was considered half a heroic lord, yet has been unimpressive for the past two years.
No one believed someone like him would be willing to "defend the royal capital to the death."
Zhou Jihai asked, "And what did the Ministry of War say?"
