Chapter 151: Chu Fan’s Further Plan

Chapter 151: Chapter 151: Chu Fan’s Further Plan

Chu Fan’s method for initiating his disciples was simple. First, he had them sit cross-legged. Then, he used his will to control a very light wisp of True Qi, guiding it into their bodies through their mouths and noses.

He then guided it along the circulation path of their respective Heart Method Mantras, completing one major circulation within their bodies.

At the same time, he had them focus their minds to feel the direction of the True Qi’s flow.

Once they were generally familiar with the path of the True Qi’s flow, he once again sent a wisp of True Qi into their bodies, letting them try to capture it with their minds. After capturing it, they would then guide the True Qi to circulate along the path.

After they became familiar with this step, Chu Fan had them perceive the Spiritual Qi between Heaven and Earth on their own. Then, they were to draw the Spiritual Qi between Heaven and Earth into their bodies through their mouths and noses and perform the circulation.

Step by step, they progressed. By the time they could absorb Spiritual Qi through the pores of their skin, another twenty days had passed.

To achieve initiation in twenty days showed that their talent was quite good. Of course, this was also inseparable from Chu Fan’s tireless, personal guidance, repeated thousands upon thousands of times.

In the forty days since Chu Fan accepted these two disciples, the chaotic situation in the Eastern Domain had intensified.

After the Great Xia Kingdom successfully conquered the Xin Yue Kingdom, it dispatched officials to take control of the counties, but they met with resistance from some of the former Xin Yue Kingdom’s Noble Families.

After killing one group and giving benefits to another, they finally managed to stabilize the situation.

Unexpectedly, Cultivators emerged to assassinate the officials sent by the Great Xia Kingdom.

Even though the Dark Night Envoys avenged those officials, going so far as to annihilate the two Minor Sects involved, the officials of the Great Xia Kingdom were scared out of their wits. No one dared to go and take up a post in the counties of the former Xin Yue Kingdom.

Prospects were important, but life was more so.

Finally, left with no other choice, the Profound Wind Mercenary Corps assigned half of its members to be stationed within the borders of the former Xin Yue Kingdom.

Under a "carrot and stick" approach, Jin Chuhong finally sent some officials over.

However, the pace of the Expeditionary Army did not stop because of this.

After destroying the Xin Yue Kingdom, their next target was the Celestial Qi Kingdom.

Originally, the Celestial Qi Kingdom was under the protection of the Mixed Element Sect. But after the Mixed Element Sect’s Sect Leader was killed by Ying Xiao at the auction, his daughter, Nan Chuting, took over as Sect Leader, and interactions with the Celestial Qi Kingdom dwindled.

However, after the relationship between the Mixed Element Sect and the Celestial Qi Kingdom became strained, the Red Blood Mansion exploited the opportunity.

When the Great Xia Kingdom’s army arrived at the walls of the Celestial Qi Kingdom, sure enough, the people from the Red Blood Mansion made their move.

At first, the Red Blood Mansion only sent out some Heartbeat Realm and Golden Core Realm Cultivators. After they were all killed by the Mercenary Corps, the Red Blood Mansion then dispatched Soul Emergence Realm and Nascent Soul Realm masters to hold the line in the Celestial Qi Kingdom.

A small number of these experts were from the Red Blood Mansion itself; the majority were from the second and Third-class Sects affiliated with it.

With these experts holding the line, the two armies fell into a long stalemate.

While the two armies were in a standoff here, the Great Xia Kingdom began to divide its forces. One part crossed Yunmeng Mountain and struck deep into the heartland of the Da Zhao Kingdom.

This battle caught the Da Zhao Kingdom completely off guard. The Da Zhao Kingdom hastily requested aid from the Red Blood Mansion, which immediately dispatched nearly a hundred experts to the Da Zhao Kingdom.

Subsequently, the battlefield on the Da Zhao Kingdom’s side also fell into a stalemate.

On both fronts, the experts from the Red Blood Mansion didn’t dare to retreat. The moment they did, Great Xia’s army would begin to attack the cities.

But those experts also didn’t dare to launch a sneak attack on the Great Xia Kingdom’s army.

After all, the Expeditionary Army formed by the Mercenary Corps on this side was no pushover.

With these two stalemates, the other kingdoms were scared into silence. One by one, they began to expand their armies, moving troops to their border towns to guard against a surprise attack from the Great Xia Kingdom.

At the same time, they also went to the various Sects to invite experts to come and guard their lands.

But war wasn’t just fought with open conflicts and secret struggles of blades and guns; it was also waged on other fronts.

The commercial front, for example.

The Bu Huang Grain Store and Da Yu Department Store, targeting those kingdoms that had not submitted to Great Xia, played an advanced version of a "scorched-earth policy."

The common people had no food, which led them to form rebel armies. Internal strife began to erupt in those kingdoms.

Although Chu Fan had considered these possibilities from the beginning, hearing Ji Bufan’s report still felt somewhat shocking.

’I was a bit too hasty.’

Today was New Year’s Eve, yet the Eastern Domain was filled with the smoke of war, and countless common people were living in hunger and cold.

For a moment, Chu Fan felt a pang of self-reproach.

"My lord, there is no need for you to blame yourself. Ever since the Spiritual Qi Revival began, the common people have already been living in dire straits because those Sects preached in the mortal world and deluded the people into pursuing Cultivation. Many abandoned farming out of greed; otherwise, things would not have come to this. Although our actions have accelerated the process, even without your decision, my lord, it wouldn’t have been long before the people had no way to survive amidst the struggles of the Cultivation Sects in the Eastern Domain."

"Great order is always preceded by great chaos. The pain is only temporary. Once the eighth day of the first lunar month passes, and you, my lord, have secured enough say among the Six Sects and Eight Gates of the Eastern Domain, this crisis will surely be resolved. Moreover, I have already stockpiled grain. As long as those Sovereigns pledge their allegiance and submit to the Great Xia Kingdom, I guarantee that the grain can be distributed at the earliest possible moment."

Ji Bufan offered some words of comfort.

"Send someone to deliver these three letters to the desks of the Sect Leaders of the Dark Moon Sect, the Profound Celestial Sect, and the Xuandao Sect."

Chu Fan took three kraft paper envelopes from his clothes and handed them to Ji Bufan.

Ji Bufan took the envelopes and immediately went to make the arrangements.

After Ji Bufan returned, Chu Fan tapped his fingers lightly on the table beside him. "As for the Cyan Cloud Sect, have Liu Yicai take a message to their Sect Leader. Tell him that in three days, the great patron behind Mr. Hong’s Auction House wants to meet him at the Thirty Mile Crossing of the Qi River to discuss a big business deal."

"My lord, you...?"

"It’s fine. I can change my appearance and go. Have Ying Xiao provide support from the shadows. Knowing that I am the great patron behind Mr. Hong’s Auction House, Wang Zhiheng won’t be bold enough to move against me," Chu Fan said.

Ji Bufan immediately relayed Chu Fan’s words to Liu Yicai.

That night, Cheng Shimo, the Sect Leader of the Profound Celestial Sect, discovered the letter on his desk.

He opened the letter in surprise. After reading it, his hands couldn’t help but tremble, because beneath the letter was the next stance of the saber technique from the half of the Sword Manual that the Profound Celestial Sect had won at the auction.

He was shocked that someone could place this letter on his desk so silently. He was even more shocked that this person actually had the second half of the Sword Manual.

Ever since the Profound Celestial Sect obtained this Sword Manual from the auction, Cheng Shimo, who was already obsessed with sabers, had been practicing the saber techniques from the manual, forgetting to eat or sleep.

The half-manual contained a total of six saber technique stances. The more he practiced, the more astounded he became. It was hard to imagine that someone could create such a powerful saber technique.

It was just a pity that this saber technique was only half complete.

If he could learn the complete saber technique, he dared to say with arrogance that none of the other Sect Leaders among the Six Sects and Eight Gates would be his match.

But unfortunately, where could he find the second half of this saber technique?

As a result, for the next few days, Cheng Shimo couldn’t sleep at night.

This letter, this seventh stance of the saber technique... Cheng Shimo didn’t even need to practice it to know that it was absolutely authentic.

The letter invited him to a meeting on the fourth day of the first lunar month at Zao Ying Mountain.

Therefore, regardless of this person’s motive, for the sake of the second half of the Sword Manual, he had to make the trip.

Of course, after reading the letter, his mind quickly began to speculate about this person’s identity and their purpose...