Chapter 208: Chapter 183: The Foundation of a Master Level Feudal Lord_1
He knew that something must have happened to Li Canglin in Changfeng City.
But what kind of accident could have occurred in Changfeng City?
Two level five Martial Marquis, including Yang Hu, a martial spirit, could not be touched unless a grandmaster stepped in.
Only those few in the top three of the Martial Marquis List who had developed five bone strengths could.
But none of them would be in Changfeng City.
At that moment, a spy came to report that Li Wenxin and others had been seen in Changfeng City.
Li Wenxuan bolted up from his seat.
"Li Wenxin, in Changfeng City? Could it be... that the Master of Archery is also there, and it’s related to Lu Yan?"
Li Wenxuan thought quickly, a possibility surfacing in his mind making many things clearer.
"Right, right. The Master of Archery is connected to Lu Yan. When Liu Zhenshuo was surrounded and killed, I thought that he was invited by Li Xingyuan. It turns out, it was not, it was Lu Yan."
"Lu Yan had the Master of Archery behind him, and I sent Canglin to kill him. It was like sending a sheep into a tiger’s mouth."
"Certainly Canglin had problems in Changfeng City and Lu Yan found out about my plan. That’s why the Master of Archery suddenly appeared in Baicao City to save Li Wenxin."
One clue led to another.
"Lu Yan..."
Li Wenxuan’s eyes were filled with a murderous intent.
At that moment, another man came to report that Lu Yan from Changfeng City had sent a letter to Li Wenxuan.
After Li Wenxuan opened and read the letter, his face grew even gloomier.
The content of the letter was straightforward.
Lu Yan informed him that Li Canglin was with him safe and unharmed and asked Li Wenxuan not to worry. As long as Changfeng City was safe, Li Canglin would be safe.
If something happened to Changfeng City, something would also happen to Li Canglin.
A naked threat.
Li Wenxuan clenched his fists and the letter turned into dust.
"Trying to threaten me?"
Cold light flickered in Li Wenxuan’s eyes.
If he didn’t worry about messing up with Spirit Sect’s plans, he wished he could dispatch troops immediately to flatten Changfeng City.
"Lu Yan, Li Wenxin, wait, when Spirit Sect unifies Lingdong, it will be your death day."
Li Wenxuan muttered to himself.
.....
After they returned to Changfeng City, the first thing Lu Yan did was write a letter to Li Wenxuan.
Since Li Canglin couldn’t return, Li Wenxuan would guess that he had fallen into his hands.
Rather than letting Li Wenxuan assume that Li Canglin was dead, it was better to write a letter himself to clarify that Li Canglin was not dead.
This would at least make Li Wenxuan somewhat hesitant.
Then, he spread the news of Li Wenxuan and Li Xinghen being Martial Spirits in different cities.
It didn’t take long for the news to spread like a hurricane throughout Lingdong.
But Li Wenxuan and Li Xinghen responded by saying it was slander from Li Wenxin.
Li Wenxin conspired against the elder of the Li Family and managed to escape when he was discovered. Harbouring resentment, he slandered Li Wenxuan and Li Xinghen.
Li Wenxuan and Li Xinghen were innocent and welcomed the grandmasters to inspect Baicao City.
Following this, Gao Family from NanYi City and Qiu Family from Da’an County simultaneously stated that they had sent grandmasters to Baicao City for inspection and confirmed that Li Wenxuan and Li Xinghen were regular martial cultivators, not Martial Spirits.
The two master level feudal lords made statements one after another, dispelling many people’s doubts.
At the same time, a series of major events took place in the six counties of Lingdong, leaving the master level feudal lords no time to pay attention to the Li Family’s matter.
Firstly, the demon evils of the Moling Mountain range wreaked havoc again. Led by the king of evil demons, the army of evil demons struck overwhelmingly. The Tu Family was wiped out overnight, and they pressed on towards Lingwang City.
The Zhao Clan in Lingwang City urgently mobilized all their experts to guard Lingwang City.
At the same time, the Qiu Family in Da’an County mobilized all their forces. All four grandmasters led three thousand soldiers and attacked the Wei Family.
Another master level feudal lord in Da’an County, Ouyang Family, also sent out experts to assist the Qiu Family in attacking the Wei Family.
Inside Qingfeng County, the two master level feudal lords, Bai Clan, and Fang Family formed an alliance and attacked the Zheng Family.
For a moment, the whole of Lingdong was in chaos, with everyone feeling a sense of crisis.
Who would spare a thought for the issue of Martial Spirits?
Seven days after the Qiu Family and Gao Family made their statements, the Li Family and Gao Family formed an alliance and attacked the Tuoba Clan in Baiyue City.
...
Changfeng City, the City Lord’s Mansion conference hall.
Lu Yan, Li Wenxin, and Li Xingchen were discussing around a table, the atmosphere was heavy.
"The Qiu Family and Gao Family are blatantly lying. This shows their close ties with the Martial Spirits, and their higher ranks might have been infiltrated by Martial Spirits."
Li Wenxin said gloomily, clearly upset.
Originally, they planned to first spread the news that Li Wenxuan and Li Xinghen were Martial Spirits, using the power of the major feudal lords to eliminate them. In the worst-case scenario, they would force the two to go into hiding.
Like Liu Zhenshuo.
But they did not expect the Qiu Family and the Gao Family to be completely on Li Wenxuan’s side.
He did not believe that Li Wenxuan and Li Xinghen had truly managed to deceive the two big feudal lords. They must have colluded.
Now that Lingdong was in chaos, no one had the energy to focus on whether Li Wenxuan and Li Xinghen were Martial Spirits.
It all depended on them now.
"Qiu Family and Gao Family are undoubtedly infiltrated by Martial Spirits. I just don’t know who has been infiltrated, but those making decisions must have a high status. The Grandmasters themselves may have become Martial Spirits."
Li Xingchen said.
"Now with Lingdong in turmoil, the Li Family and Gao Family have joined forces to besiege the Tuoba Clan. The Qiu Family and Ouyang Family have formed an alliance to attack the Wei Family. The Bai Clan and Fang Family have together surrounded the Zheng Family. How many Feudal Lords have been infiltrated by Martial Spirits?"
Li Wenxin expressed doubt.
"Based on the current situation, it’s highly likely that the Li Family and Gao Family have been infiltrated by the Martial Spirits. And their attack on Tuoba Clan indicates that the Tuoba Clan has not been infiltrated. Therefore, the Martial Spirits intend to eliminate them."
"Similarly, if the Qiu Family has been infiltrated by Martial Spirits, the Ouyang Family’s alliance with them arouses great suspicion. And probably, the Wei Family has not been infiltrated."
"Also, the same applies to Qingfeng County. The sudden alliance of the Bai Clan and Fang Family is highly likely to be infiltrated, while the Zheng Family should have escaped infiltration."
Li Xingchen analyzed seriously.
Lu Yan and Li Wenxin both nodded, agreeing with this point.
"The monsters of Moling Mountain are back in action, besieging Lingwang City, with all the major Feudal Lords attacking each other. This is a big move. What are the Martial Spirits trying to do - unite Lingdong?"
Li Wenxin said coldly.
"Since the establishment of the Da Chu Dynasty and the relentless hunting of Martial Spirits, there have been extraordinarily few large-scale appearances of Martial Spirits over the past two thousand years. Recently, with the frequent emergence of Martial Spirits in the six counties of Lingdong, is there an organization behind this?"
Li Xingchen speculated.
"Do you elders know of any power that calls itself the Holy Sect?"
Lu Yan, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up.
"Holy Sect?"
Li Xingchen fell into contemplation. "This naming convention is typically used by members of a certain power to refer to their own sect. Historically, many sects have done so. Wait... if it has anything to do with Martial Spirits, then it can only be the Spirit Sect."
"Spirit Sect?"
Lu Yan was puzzled. This was the first time he had heard this term.
Although he had read many books, he had not seen any records of the Spirit Sect.
The Da Chu Dynasty strictly controlled all matters concerning Martial Spirits. During the prime years of Da Chu, any manuscripts concerning Martial Spirits were forbidden.
Information about Martial Spirits was typically transmitted word of mouth.
While recently the controls had loosened, books about Martial Spirits were still rare to come by.
"Over two thousand years ago, the fall of the Dagu Dynasty was rumored to be related to the Spirit Sect. It was said that at that time, the Spirit Sect expanded massively. The Dagu Dynasty’s failure to curb it led to a dramatic increase in the number of people practicing the path of Martial Spirits. Subsequently, regular calamities, unrestrained Spirit Demons, and worldwide chaos ensued."
"Thus, when the Da Chu Dynasty was established, they strove to eradicate the Martial Spirits and forbade anyone from practicing the path of the Martial Spirits, on account of the huge disaster they had caused."
Li Wenxin explained.
Lu Yan pondered, and after a while, he said, "When I was in Changfeng City, I encountered a Martial Spirit who tried to capture me for his organization. He called that organization the Holy Sect. Could it be the Spirit Sect?"
The faces of Li Wenxin and Li Xingchen turned serious.
"If the Martial Spirits are identifying themselves as the Holy Sect, it is most likely the Spirit Sect. If a major catastrophe is impending, demon-like activities are bound to occur. It appears, the Spirit Sect has been reborn."
Li Xingchen sighed.
"Assuming it is indeed the resurrection of the Spirit Sect, and it is the Spirit Sect behind Li Wenxuan, we must first figure out why the Spirit Sect has infiltrated numerous Feudal Lords and instigated a war. What is their objective? Only after we understand their objective can we devise countermeasures."
"From the current situation, it’s clear they want to unify Lingdong. But King Ming would never tolerate the existence of Martial Spirits, especially in Xuan Zhou. King Ming’s men rarely enter Lingdong, less entering doesn’t mean never entering. If King Ming finds that Lingdong is occupied by Martial Spirits, he will not allow it. Once King Ming’s army arrives, the Martial Spirits will be completely eradicated."
Li Wenxin analyzed.
"Therefore, they won’t occupy Lingdong as Martial Spirits, but as human Martial Cultivators. That’s why they have infiltrated major Feudal Lords, making these Feudal Lords their pawns."
"Once they have unified Lingdong, the whole of Lingdong will become their breeding ground, continuously hatching more Martial Spirits. Once the number of Martial Spirits accumulates to a certain extent, they will be unstoppable. Even King Ming would find it difficult to eradicate them."
Lu Yan followed with his analysis.
"This is certainly the case."
Li Wenxin and Li Xingchen both nodded in agreement.
Then, they began to examine the current grave situation.
"The Li Family and Gao Family are joining forces to besiege the Tuoba Clan. With the combined quantities of their armies and Grandmasters far exceeding the Tuoba Clan, along with the covert support from Martial Spirits, the Tuoba Clan won’t be able to resist. They’ll fall within a few months."
Li Wenxin said.
"The Tuoba Clan can hold out for a few months?"
Lu Yan was surprised.
The Li Family now has two Grandmasters on the surface, and the Gao Family has four. That makes a total of six, plus there are Martial Spirits assisting them.
On the other hand, the Tuoba Clan has only four Grandmasters.
With such a vast difference in the number of Grandmasters, coupled with a significant disparity in the size of the armies, he thought that the Tuoba Clan wouldn’t be able to hold out for more than a few days.
However, from what Li Wenxin and Li Xingchen were implying, the Tuoba Clan could last for months?
"Lu Yan, don’t underestimate the foundation of a Grandmaster level Feudal Lord. In the six counties of Lingdong, Martial Marquis level Feudal Lords are often wiped out, but the number of Grandmaster-level Feudal Lords remains the same - they are rarely eradicated. Do you know why?"
Li Wenxin said.
"I don’t know yet, I would appreciate your guidance."
Lu Yan shook his head.
"It’s because of the Refined Corpses."
Li Wenxin said.
"Refined Corpses?"
"In every Grandmaster level Feudal Lord family, Grandmasters are born generation after generation. The bodies of the Grandmasters are extraordinarily strong, and even after their death, they still contain great power."
"And every Grandmaster level Feudal Lord secretly builds a Corpse-raising Pit. They throw in a large amount of filthy qi, such as corpse qi, death qi, resentment qi, etc., and they even throw in Demon Bones, the origin of filth."
"When a Grandmaster is on the brink of death from severe injuries, or when their lifespan is nearing its end, they take their final breath. They leave behind a last thread of loyalty to guard their Feudal Lord and walk into the Corpse-raising Pit to become a Refined Corpse, forever guarding their family."
"Once the Feudal Lord is under attack and faces the risk of annihilation, these Refined Corpses are mobilized. However, these Refined Corpses do have shortcomings: they can’t stray too far from the Corpse-raising Pit, and they need direct descendants to awaken them with their fresh blood and control them."
Li Wenxin explained.
