Chapter 376
376 The world changes
More than ten years had passed.
In the past ten years, the entire cultivation world seemed to have changed a lot.
Let’s talk about the Lu family first.
The Lu clan had two new golden core cultivators. They were none other than the siblings, Lu Wenen and Lu Weiwen. After the two of them reached the Golden core realm, the number of golden core cultivators in the Lu clan increased to six.
Chaohe had successfully entered the mid-stage of the Golden core realm and became a fourth-level golden core cultivator. As for chaoxi, Yan Ling, and Ming Chao, they had all reached the sixth level of the Golden core stage and were only one step away from the late-stage.
Lu Qing was very satisfied with his descendants.
Now that his family had become a six-star, he was counting on them to quickly produce a nascent soul cultivator. He was only missing this one condition to upgrade his clan’s level.
As for Lu Qing himself, he had already become a sixth-level nascent soul realm cultivator.
However, to him, realm and the like were not worth mentioning. When he had just entered the middle Yuanying stage, he felt that he was already invincible among the Yuanying stage. Right now, he was just taking a step further from the level of invincibility. Even though he was only at nascent Soul Stage level six, anyone who wasn’t at the Dharma stage was trash in front of him.
It was hard to say what the Dharma stage was like. There was a huge difference in power.
However, it was not the first time that Lu Qing had seen experts at the materialization realm display their strength. He could more or less compare and evaluate them in his heart.
He felt that if he were to use all of his skills against an early Dharma adept, he would be able to fight them-provided that the other party did not reveal their true dharma body. Otherwise, the difference in power would be too great, and it would be difficult to fight.
However, under such circumstances, it was not impossible for Lu Qing to think of a way. Since he knew that he couldn’t beat a transcendence realm expert who had revealed his true form, he had to find a way to suppress the other party and not let the other party have the time to reveal his true form.
This was not impossible for early Dharma adepts. There was a clear difference between the early and mid Dharma stage, and that was the time it took to reveal the true body of the Dharma. The latter could produce the Dharma with just a thought, but the former couldn’t and had to go through the process of displaying it.
This was a place where he could make an issue out of.
Moreover, no matter what, when faced with a Dharma stage expert, even if he couldn’t win, he could always escape.
This was the most stable.
According to Lu Qing’s thoughts, he would rather have a slow and stable growth. That was the most comfortable way.
Now, the central court of the Yan Kingdom had a very deep control over Jin Zhou and Ji Zhou after 20 to 30 years of operation. They could control the human and material resources in these two places very well, so there was no need to worry too much. The Imperial Army had also been expanded to 40000 men, and the number of golden core cultivators under the direct command of the Lu clan had reached 14. The Lu clan had six members. In addition to Yun Xuan and hai Sande, the Qingfeng sect also had a person called Fei Ancheng who had recently entered the Golden core stage. Including sun Zhanghai and Gongsun Qian from the Xue state, there were 11 of them.
In the Yan capital, mo ruhai was at the Jindan stage. There were also two other Jindan from the Imperial court. Now, they were basically all in control and could be commanded by the Lu clan.
Furthermore, the Lu clan was stronger than the Li clan in that they had the full support of the Feiyun state and the snow state.
The current Feiyun state was not bad either. With the great development of the divine deer Prefecture, a large number of demon tribes had become citizens of the country of Yan. After the divine deer Prefecture shone, it quickly displayed its advantage of being rich in resources and developed rapidly. It also provided considerable benefits to the Lu clan.
Under the leadership of the Lu family, the central court had recuperated for more than 20 years, cleaned up internal strife, and unified the power within the country. They had managed to make the Imperial court of the Yan Kingdom even stronger than the Li family had been.
No matter how slow the Yunxiao sect was, they naturally discovered this situation.
To be honest, everyone in the Yunxiao sect was rather surprised.
In the beginning, they had of course felt that the Lu clan was weaker than the Li clan and had no foundation in the Imperial court, so they had supported them. They really did not expect the Lu family to be so capable that they could achieve what they had in just over 20 years.
Yunxiao sect was actually not that strong in essence to intentionally suppress the Imperial court. But to be honest, this wasn’t a matter of whether they wanted to or not. Yunxiao sect’s status in the country of Yan meant that they were destined to do things, make decisions, and develop normally, which was a form of suppression to the Imperial court.
The honeymoon period between the two sides had also ended in recent years.
Of course, the end of the honeymoon period did not mean that there would be any conflict between the two sides. Some minor political conflicts were inevitable, but on the whole, there were no major conflicts, and the Imperial court was still obedient.
In fact, to Yunxiao sect, although the Lu dynasty was doing well and seemed to have great potential, they did not really care about it to a certain extent.
So what if he had more golden cores than he did in the Li Dynasty? After all, in this world, one’s strength was Supreme. In the past, the Li Dynasty had Emperor li Shiwen and Prime Minister zou ziwu, two nascent soul cultivators. Especially li Shiwen, who was at the peak of the nascent Soul Stage and was just one step away from the Dharma stage.
On the other hand, there was only one Lu Qing in the Lu clan. Furthermore, he was only at the beginning stage of the nascent soul realm. They did not expect that Lu Qing’s cultivation level would increase so quickly.
What was there to worry about?
If he wanted to worry, he would have to wait a few decades or even a hundred years. It would not be too late to worry when Lu Qing reached the peak of the nascent Soul Stage.
Lu Qing was happy to see such a situation.
How good would it be to get rich in silence!
He could not wait for the Yunxiao sect to look down on the Lu family forever so that he could develop crazily in the dark. When the clan had two more nascent soul cultivators and he advanced to the Dharma stage, Yunxiao sect and Grandmaster Weiyun would be useless.
Given Lu Qing’s current situation, he was invincible when he was at the nascent Soul Stage. When he advanced to the Dharma stage, the most conservative way of thinking would be that he would not be able to fight him unless he was at least at the late Dharma stage.
But then again, in the past ten years, the cultivation world had changed a lot, and this was not just a casual remark.
Thirteen years ago, there was news from the West that the strongest of the nine, the great Qin Celestial Empire, finally couldn’t bear to be left out and started to expand outwards. They headed east and had a violent conflict with the country of Liang. In the northeast, they also had conflicts with Dajin. To the South, they also had conflicts with the Shu country.
The distance between them was too far. The information that Lu Qing could obtain was very limited. However, according to the information at hand, there might be a large-scale war in the West of the cultivation world.
And as expected, in the past 13 years, the conflicts between the four countries in the West had become more and more intense. The great Qin Celestial Empire was still able to gain the upper hand despite fighting one against three.
Especially the country of Liang, they were forced to the point where they could not breathe.
Originally, the Liang and Jin families had been enemies for generations. In the past thousands of years, there had been a lot of hatred between them. Furthermore, the destruction of the North barren forest by the Jin country had made the powerful country of Liang very unhappy.
But now, under the pressure of great Qin, the Liang and Jin kingdoms had the intention to let go of their past grudges. Even though it had not officially started, from the information that the embroidered uniform guards had gathered, these two countries seemed to want to negotiate and even form an alliance to resist great Qin’s pressure.
In the West of the world, the Yan Kingdom could still be a bystander in the conflicts between the great Qin, the Liang, Jin, and Shu States. However, they couldn’t stay out of the things that happened in the southeast.
The brocade guard of Great Yan had sent an urgent message-the Wei Kingdom was going to war with the Qi Kingdom.
The embroidered uniform guards of Great Yan had been established for some years. Apart from the intelligence network within the country, the Jinyiwei’s tentacles had also extended to other countries.
However, the time was still short, and the Jinyiwei’s tentacles had only extended to the surrounding areas, and it was also very difficult to grasp particularly confidential and important information.
If the Yan Kingdom’s Jinyi guards had received the news that the Wei Kingdom had launched an Army to invade the Qi Kingdom, then many people would have already known about it. Perhaps, the Wei Kingdom’s Army was already on its way.
This matter was different from the huge watermelon in the West of the world. The war between Qi and Wei was closely related to the Yan Kingdom.
Qi and Wei were both neighboring countries to the South of Yan Kingdom. Wei State didn’t need to be mentioned. Qi state didn’t have any direct territorial contact with Wei State, but they were at an angle in the sea.
In this cultivation world, the ocean was not an obstacle. Some cultivators could even fly over on their own, let alone a large flying boat.
...
The relationship between Yan and Qi was relatively cold. Even though they did not fight like Yan Wei, they were still not on friendly terms.
Of course, if the Qi and Wei were to go to war, the Yan Kingdom would still be more inclined to stand on the Qi Kingdom’s side.
In the recent decades, the Wei Kingdom had been overbearing. Except for their good relationship with the Liang Kingdom in the West and no major conflict with the Chu Kingdom, they were at odds with the Yan Kingdom in the North, the Qi Kingdom in the East and the Wu Kingdom in the southeast.
In other words, the Wei Kingdom was also a country with a strong desire to expand.
The Lu clan reported this matter to Yunxiao sect the moment they received the news that Qi and Wei were at war.
Of course, Yunxiao sect had their own information channels. When the Imperial court’s news was sent over, they were already aware of this matter. Moreover, they had also vaguely revealed that they wanted to interfere.
It was obvious that Yunxiao sect still bore a grudge against the Wei Kingdom for supporting li Shiwen’s breakthrough to the Dharma stage and causing chaos in the Yan Kingdom back then, to the extent that general Xia Cang led the Army North to fight with the Yan Kingdom at the frontlines in Pingzhou.
Furthermore, wasn’t this a good opportunity?
When the Qi and Wei were at war, the Yan Kingdom would go south and stab them from the North. That could be considered revenge.
Moreover, this matter had a very great practical significance other than revenge.
Yunxiao sect would love to take control of the northern half of Wei country’s Hezhou. In fact, it was originally Yan country’s land.
...
In the past, hundreds of years ago, the border between Yan and Wei was not the one at the front line of Pingzhou. Instead, it was a large river that stretched thousands of miles South.
This River originated from the impassable mountain in the West, flowing all the way to the East and finally joining the sea. It was one of the largest rivers in the world, on par with the great river in the South.
However, in the war hundreds of years ago when the Yan Kingdom lost, the Wei Kingdom crossed the great river and occupied the land of these three counties North of the great river. That time, it was a big crisis for the Yan Kingdom, but they survived it in the end.
However, from then on, the military situation between Yan and Wei had changed greatly.
The great river was very wide, and it was a huge Water-type spiritual vein. The surrounding products were rich, and the profits of the three counties were not low. More importantly, by following the river and using the spirit Qi of the river, one could set up a very powerful formation. Using the river as a defense, it would definitely be much more comfortable and safe than the current border between Yan and Wei.
The Wei Kingdom had always been stronger than the Yan Kingdom in all aspects. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for them to find an opportunity to take back the half of the state North of the great river under the defense of the Wei Kingdom. On the contrary, the Wei Kingdom used that half of the state as their forward base all year round, which gave the Yan Kingdom a big headache.
But now that Qi and Wei were at war, this was a good opportunity.
Although the Qi state was peaceful in a corner, and its main territory was on the huge Peninsula in the East of the world, that Peninsula was rich in natural resources and had an endless number of high-level cultivators. Even though the Wei State was a bit stronger, they couldn’t underestimate the Qi state, or they would suffer a severe backlash.
If the two countries were to fight each other, it was not impossible for Yan to take the opportunity to move South and take back their homeland that had been lost for hundreds of years.
It was natural for Yunxiao sect to have such thoughts.
In fact, the Imperial court of Great Yan had the same idea.
However, after Lu chaoxi discussed this with his advisor and the core cultivators of the Lu clan, they decided not to act rashly.
The war between Qi and Wei was definitely true. But now, they were only at the beginning of the war, and they didn’t know how the war would develop in the end. If it was just an ordinary border friction, or even a local war, then if the Yan Kingdom rushed South, it might instantly attract the attention of the Wei Kingdom to him.
If they thought that stealing a chicken was like besieging Wei to save Qi, then Qi would be happy and laugh, but they would not be grateful to Yan. At the same time, Great Yan’s Southern expedition Army might even suffer a head-on attack from the enemy.
Lu chaoxi was inclined to not make a move. At the very least, he would not make a move until the war between Qi and Wei had reached a certain level and they had reached a tacit understanding with Qi.
Of course, not taking action for now did not mean that he would give up this opportunity. Lu Wenen had already ordered the embroidered uniform guards in the Wei and Qi States to pay close attention to the war situation between the two states and to report back in time.
......
The follow-up information, in a very short time, came from the hands of the brocade guards hidden in Qi and Wei.
From this information, it could be known that the war between the Qi and Wei countries was progressing at a shocking speed.
It was the Wei Kingdom that initiated the attack. Xia Cang had clearly appeared on the front line of the battlefield. In a month’s time, he had killed two Yuanying stage cultivators of the Qi state.
The Yuanying stage was a rare expert for any celestial nation. Even the Qi Kingdom, which was much more powerful than the Yan Kingdom, would feel a great heartache when two people died in a row.
At the same time, with the death of the two nascent soul cultivators, the great Wei Army advanced rapidly in the East. There were territorial disputes between Qi and Wei in the border areas of Qingzhou and Xu. The Qi state had an absolute advantage in these two states. However, they had fallen into the hands of the Wei State three months after the war.
The Qi state had been at a disadvantage in the beginning of the war, and their reaction seemed to be a little slow.
However, the foundation of the old superpower was still there. The Qi Army quickly gathered from the Qi Kingdom’s hinterlands. Under the leadership of the Qi Kingdom’s Dharma adepts, they launched a counterattack.
Cui Qing, the Grand Elder of the cui clan of the East continent, was also a well-known Dharma adept. He had become famous even earlier than Xia Cang. It was said that he was a master at the late Dharma stage.
The armies of the two countries used Xu Prefecture and Qing Prefecture as battlefields, and they began to fight fiercely.
Half a year after the war, the losses on both sides had already reached a shocking level. There was no need to mention the deaths of ordinary cultivators for the time being. Just the Yuanying stage cultivators alone, both sides had already lost a total of six. Qi state’s losses were greater. Four of the Yuanying realm cultivators who died were from Qi state.
After these pieces of information were gathered, the Yan Kingdom’s strategy naturally changed.
Xia Cang obviously couldn’t spare any time. He was fighting with cui Qing in the East. If the two sides were really in a fight, Xia Cang would never leave the battlefield of Qi and Wei. Otherwise, once cui Qing knew this, he would be unscrupulous and cause a destructive blow to the Wei Army.
Under this premise, the Yan Kingdom moving south seemed to be an optional strategy?
A few months ago, when they first learned that the two countries were at war, the Yan Kingdom had not decided whether to intervene or not. However, it was necessary to make corresponding war preparations. The 40,000 soldiers of the Imperial Army of the capital of Yan had been gathered for a long time, while 20000 cultivators had been gathered in the ping and Ji provinces. The Feiyun state and the Xue state could provide another 30000. That was 80000 cultivators in total. It would not be a problem for the Yunxiao sect to activate the same number.
The Lu imperial court and Yunxiao sect had frequent correspondence. Lu chaoxi used mirror sorcery to meet Yunxiao sect master han xuzi again and again to discuss these matters and Exchange opinions from both sides.
The final decision-making power for this matter was naturally with Yunxiao sect. Since the other party wanted to fight, the Lu imperial court could not say anything and could only follow them.
However, no matter what, the title of the Emperor, as well as the strength of the Lu family in the country of Yan, had to be respected. Furthermore, if war were to break out, whether it was logistics or support, the Imperial court would have to put in the effort. Furthermore, Yunxiao sect was not that sure about this matter. Therefore, it was natural to discuss more when making decisions.
However, before the two giants of the Yan Kingdom could reach an agreement with each other, a matter directly interrupted their discussion.
The Wei Kingdom sent a Messenger to the Yan capital.
This wasn’t the first time that the Wei State had sent an envoy.
Earlier, after the war between Qi and Wei, the emissaries from these two countries, including Chu and Wu in the South, all went north to Yan.
Wu and Chu were more inclined to be bystanders. The main purpose of their envoys coming to Yan was to find out Yan’s attitude.
This was normal, and the Yan Kingdom would do the same. Even in the past, in the West of the cultivation world, when the great Qin celestial kingdom began to stir up trouble everywhere, the Yan Kingdom had also sent out their own envoys to other countries. They didn’t need to send too important people, just a Foundation establishment cultivator to take a look at the situation. There shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The emissaries didn’t even need to travel by themselves. There were more or less commercial exchanges between the various celestial kingdoms, so the emissaries could just board the merchant group’s airboat and go there.
The truly important ones were the envoys from Qi and Wei.
The Qi Kingdom’s envoys had come in waves since a few months ago. Their request was very simple. They hoped that the Yan Kingdom would send troops and put pressure on the Wei Kingdom from the North. They were even willing to pay a lot for this, from resources to the training of personnel, and even things like the quota for the Penglai immortal Palace. Everything was negotiable.
The Wei Kingdom had always offered a concession. The resources they promised were no less than that of the Qi Kingdom. In fact, they were even more willing to give up a County North of the great river to the Yan Kingdom.
Looking at the conditions, the Wei country must be more generous. But things couldn’t be calculated this way. What was the use of ceding one Prefecture to the North of the great river? The Yan Kingdom wanted the great river as its border, so it would be much more comfortable whether it was for defense or attack. If they only took a County North of the great river, the Wei Kingdom would still have two counties in the North. This was a nail in the eyes of the Yan Kingdom. As long as they wanted to, they could still launch an attack at any time. The strategic stance between the two sides would still not change.
He had originally thought that the purpose of the envoys from the two countries was the same as before, which was to see how much each party would give up. On this matter, the Yan imperial court’s intention was quite obvious: If they decided to participate in the war, they would definitely stand on Qi’s side unless Wei agreed to cede half of the state North of the great river to Yan.
However, when Lu chaoxi received the Wei Kingdom’s envoy as usual this time, he heard something that they had never heard of before:
‘ghost-faced God’ Chen Man has advanced to the materialization realm??? ”
—-
6k chapter
Still owe 3k
It would take three days in June, and the debt would be paid off within the month.