Immortal Road.

Qu Gong and Gong Qu were both shocked when they saw him suddenly stand up with a gloomy look on his face.

"Brother, why are you so startled? Who did you learn this bad habit from?"

"Could it be that you know the Red Lotus Ancestor?"

Lin Shan not only knew about it, he even approached the other party in person and had a long talk with him, because the Red Lotus Ancestor and the Twin Demons were both brothers who were trapped and sealed by the Penglai Saint Lord Zang Yan ten thousand years ago!
I got the news I wanted and solved the doubts that had been bothering me for a long time.

He immediately bowed to thank them both and said he was grateful for their instruction.

"Ahaha, we are just talking casually, you don't have to take it seriously, just brag for fun."

Seeing that he had come to terms with it, the two demons did not ask what happened. They just smiled and accepted it calmly, and continued to eat and drink.

Seeing how heartless they were, Lin Shan couldn't help but sigh that anyone who could be sealed for such a long time without having mental problems must have something unique about them.

If it were someone else, they would have gone crazy from the long period of darkness and loneliness!

But the twin demons have two souls, they chat and joke with each other, find joy in adversity, and provide spiritual companionship, so they can persevere.

After he had almost finished eating, he stood up and said goodbye.

The two demons were reluctant to leave.

"Brother, come often when you have time. Remember to bring us good wine and good meat, especially roosters and hens. We want domestic ones, not pheasants. Pheasant meat is too sticky."

"Bullshit! Domestic chicken is too tough, only pheasant meat is chewy!"

Amid their quarrel, Lin Shan walked out of the well and left Zhabagun.

On the way, I couldn't help but sigh at the impermanence of life.

In this world, the old are replaced by the new. The geniuses of the last era, such as the Penglai Saint Zang Yan, have become legends, or the whereabouts of Yuxing Zhenjun are unknown, or the demon Qu Gong and the Red Lotus Patriarch have been sealed for ten thousand years.
He can only be locked in one place, regardless of the ever-changing outside world and the fighting between various newcomers, but he cannot get involved.

He knew that there were definitely many secrets left in this world, far more than these, and what he had unearthed was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Red Lotus Ancestor is a clue. It seems that he has to go back to the Song Dynasty when he has time.

But the most urgent task is to improve yourself first!
I will wait until I reach the late stage of Nascent Soul before looking for the mystery of the great supernatural power. If I go there too early and fail to achieve my wish, wouldn’t it be a wasted trip?
What's more, the East China Sea of ​​the Song Dynasty is right next to the bed of the Penglai Holy Land. It is better to be careful if you rashly come into contact with the Red Lotus Ancestor who is sealed by them.

Along the way, we descended the Disi Plateau and returned to the State of Lu.

First, we went to northwest Shandong.

Dingshang City has long been built on the site of the original Shangyang Academy, and the Lujiang Academy has also been in operation for decades.

But compared to when the school was first established, it is far less lively now.

Now, after years of settling down, it has gradually become low-key and introverted, becoming a local academy in northwest Shandong, absorbing talented and ambitious young people from this land.

However, he could still vaguely sense that the atmosphere here was somewhat tense, and even the restrictions in many places were always on, with very strict precautions.

He could see every detail clearly and easily located the ancestor Lu Que who was in charge of the place.

Deep inside the academy.

The ancestor Lu Que, and two Nascent Soul cultivators Geng Buzheng and Yu Qinghan, who had sought refuge with Zhong Shenxiu in order to avoid him, were gathered together, telling Lin Shan about what had happened in the past year and a half.

What surprised him was,

The Yuanying stage ancestors of the Lu State went out in a group to investigate the flood in Yulong River, and they have not returned until now!
It only took me half a year to finish my time at the crack in the sky of the Viruo Desert.

If he had not stayed in the Western Regions for an extra year, waiting for the weapon-refining master to upgrade his Star Palace and Spirit Beast Ring, he would have returned long ago.

In the gossip of the domestic cultivation world, there is actually a rumor that all the Nascent Soul ancestors were annihilated, and this happened a long time ago!
Of course, it is just a rumor after all, and it is difficult to tell whether it is true or false.

However, the chaos in Lu State is already obvious, especially among the independent cultivators from the grassroots or the small and medium-sized sects that have emerged in recent days, which have shown signs of emerging as a new force.

They took the opportunity to capture cities and territories, annex territories, and even plunder and raid, secretly stealing homes.

Except for the relatively peaceful Central Region, every other place is in chaos!

This includes western Shandong and northwestern Shandong.

It is said that during the time when Lin Shan was away, the Lujiang Academy was visited by at least three different waves of Nascent Soul cultivators!

Fortunately, there are three Nascent Soul stage masters, Lu Que, Geng Buzheng and Yu Qinghan, guarding the place, otherwise they would have been wiped out.

"Who is so arrogant? He even dares to touch my power!"

Lin Shan couldn't help but be surprised. Where did this person come from?
Patriarch Lu Que gave a bitter smile. According to the information obtained by the Intelligence Hall and their speculation, it should be the independent cultivators from various countries who took advantage of the fact that the Nascent Soul stage ancestor from Lu was away and came here to plunder and raid.

If it were in peacetime, this kind of blatant robbery would be basically rare, and I have never heard of any Nascent Soul cultivator being so shameless as to plunder the resources of other forces.

But in the Wanhui year, opportunities surged and order collapsed, causing a crisis for a righteous country like Lu.

In order to improve their strength as much as possible, the Nascent Soul cultivators began to plunder crazily without caring about their face. All the sects and families fell into their clutches, and the wealth accumulated over a long period of time was taken away by others in one day. This is the original sin of having no strength!
It was even secretly circulated in northwest Shandong that many forces suspected that their homes had been robbed, but the Lujiang Academy did nothing. This meant that Patriarch Lu Que and other Nascent Soul cultivators were the culprits!

This left the three of them speechless.

Because they are busy protecting Ding Mall, how can they help other forces? They can only leave it to fate.

"What about Xun Gu Religion?"

Lin Shan had a bad feeling in his heart.

"It can't be..."

Patriarch Lu Que nodded guiltily and then sighed.

Even if he wanted to manage it, he couldn't. Fortunately, the elites of Xun Gu Sect had taken Lingbao Cave Heaven with them before leaving, so the place was basically an empty shell. It was just a place that was robbed, and there was nothing valuable there.

It's different here at Lujiang Academy. This is a gathering place for cultivating talents. If it is shut down, it will definitely lose most of its new students in the future. It is obvious which is more important.

Lin Shan remained silent after hearing this. He didn't bother to reminisce about the past and immediately got up and returned to western Shandong.

Lujiang River Basin, Tianfu Mountain.

This once sacred mountain is now somewhat dilapidated, with simple and dilapidated temples everywhere.

There were trees and weeds everywhere, and many of the burned ruins were infested with flocks of birds and monkeys. It was just like a desolate mountain and wilderness!
However, there are still deacons and disciples of Xun Gu Sect who occasionally show up on the mountain to maintain simple operations. When Lin Shan returns, Lingbao Cave will be opened!

The elites of the Xun Gu Sect were all let go one by one, but they couldn't believe the scene before them. They had only been gone for a year and a half, how could it be so dilapidated, as if it had been looted?
"Where are the people? Who's in charge here? Come out!"

When Lu Xiuming saw this scene, he became furious and called out to the believers who stayed behind.

Upon hearing the sound, someone flew out from a relatively intact courtyard and landed in front of everyone. Seeing the elite members of the sect returning to the mountain, he immediately knelt down and began to cry:
"Master, Steward Lu, I am incompetent and could not protect my home. The bandits broke in and robbed me. I am guilty. Please convict me, Master!"

Lin Shan looked at the person in front of him indifferently and raised his chin slightly.

"Get up and talk."

The man dared not disobey and quickly stood up.

Lu Xiuming questioned on the spot:
"Gao Zuoda, before he left, he entrusted you with the important task of guarding the family. I thought you were an elder in the sect and could handle it on your own. Why did such a mess happen after only being gone for a year and a half?"

Gao Zuoda looked aggrieved:
"After you left, the cultivation world of Lu State has been in chaos. I don't know where so many nameless people popped up from. The demons are dancing wildly and the atmosphere is chaotic."

"Especially those Nascent Soul cultivators, they came over without even announcing their names and started to rob us. We activated the mountain protection formation, but they attacked us day and night for three days. Finally, our spirit stones were used up and the gate disappeared."

"Fortunately, the enemy was too lazy to kill us. They just took what they had and left. They came and went like the wind. We have already experienced no less than three waves of them."

"After we rebuilt the mountain gate for the first time, it was robbed again, so we simply left it looking like it had been robbed so that those Yuanying stage monks would ignore it."

Everyone was furious after hearing this. What did those people think of us? Why did they keep robbing us?

They had heard that the Wanhui Year was very chaotic, but they didn't expect it to be this chaotic!
Even a Confucian and orthodox country like Lu is in such a mess, what about the evil side? They must be fighting like crazy!

Lin Shan frowned:

"What about the Lujiang League?"

Gao Zuoda answered honestly:
"Lujiang City, the headquarters of the Lujiang League, is fine, because not long after you left, the elder of the Lujiang League, Fan Jingchen, broke through the Nascent Soul stage, and coincided with the invasion of external enemies, which were successfully repelled."

"At the time of crisis, Yang Family Master Yang was already old, and with the support of the ten elders and many guardians, he abdicated and gave way to Fan Jingchen, who is now Deputy Alliance Leader Fan."

"With Vice Alliance Leader Fan here, most of the territory in Luzhong was protected, but our Lubei and Lunan clans were not spared."

"The outside world is in chaos right now. It is said that even Yunchuan Academy was robbed, and the chief professor was beaten to death by an unknown Yuanying Zhenjun."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

Everyone gasped and looked at each other.

Nearly two-thirds of Xun Gu Sect's elite disciples came from Yunchuan Academy and Lujiang Academy. When they heard that their alma mater was being bullied, they all felt sad and grief-stricken.

The ten major academies have always been the signboard and facade of the State of Lu and the benchmark of Confucianism. However, they were wantonly ravaged, which was simply a trampling of their dignity!

Lu Xiuming stepped forward and whispered:
"Master, it seems that things are not peaceful in Lu. Should we contact the Central Region, especially the Jingyang Academy?"

Xun Gu Sect and Jingyang Academy are staunch allies. Logically speaking, if something happens here, they should not remain indifferent.

"Okay, we'll send an envoy to the Central Region later to ask what the situation is there."

Lin Shan was not moved, but he felt a little sad in his heart.

The old professor of Yunchuan Academy once strongly supported Xun Gu Sect and confronted Shangyang Academy. He provided help when Xun Gu Sect was in decline. However, before he died, he was killed by a Nascent Soul cultivator who came from nowhere.

During the Wanhui Years of Great Contention, many geniuses emerged, and more and more independent cultivators broke through to the Nascent Soul stage. This was a shock to the original power structure, which was also expected.

However, his Xun Gu Sect's stronghold was overthrown and his allies were killed, so he certainly couldn't just let this matter go!

"Investigate! Use all your strength to find out who dares to cause trouble in Luxi!"

A fierce look flashed across Lin Shan's eyes.

Everyone was also very angry, but some people still noticed something was wrong and came forward to whisper.

"Master, this new deputy leader of the Lujiang League seemed to appear at the perfect time. He stepped forward at a critical moment and took the opportunity to seize power. After taking over, he did not drive out the foreign enemies and watched our Xungu Sect being plowed three times. Is there any problem?"

"Yes, Xun Gu Sect is the leader's faction. How could the deputy leader not help rebuild it, but let Tianfu Mountain be abandoned until now, with no one paying attention to it?"

"Something is wrong. Logically, we should at least offer our condolences and even lend a helping hand."

"Is it possible that the other party has just broken through the Nascent Soul stage and needs time to consolidate his cultivation, so he can only protect himself?"

"Consolidating your cultivation? From what I see, it's not about fostering your confidants and cultivating power within the alliance, right?"

Lin Shan listened to their analysis with an expressionless face and just gave orders casually.

"Immediately send someone to the Lujiang League to ask the new deputy leader who is the Nascent Soul cultivator who came to Luxi to cause trouble. Just ask him to come to Tianfu Mountain to see me!"

Then he stood up and took everyone up the mountain to inspect the situation.

It was discovered that the entire assets of the Xun Gu Sect had been turned upside down!
My goodness, the proceeds from this robbery were even more lavish than what they had looted from the Joy Sect. They even dug up a layer of the ground.

"Gao Zuoda, have you always been alone here? Where are Mu Yan and Master Zhan Kong?"

Gao Zuoda gritted his teeth and ran to the side to report:
"Master Zhankong and Hall Master Mu are in the north, and have been stationed in Chixiao City, an important hub at the junction of western Shandong and northwestern Shandong. It is now a node for trade between the two regions' cultivation worlds. There are tens of thousands of independent cultivators stationed there. It is the largest immortal city under the command of our Xun Gu Sect. With the protection of many large formations, it has repelled several sieges from the outside world and is currently safe and sound."

Lin Shan nodded. Chixiao City was under the jurisdiction of Xun Gu Sect. The land rent and taxes there were important cash cows for the sect every year. It was also the current headquarters of the Lin’s Chamber of Commerce and could not afford to lose anything.

Moreover, in troubled times, human life is worthless, and many independent cultivators also want to have a stable livelihood in the city. This city is a safe haven provided by the Xun Gu Sect to the cultivation world for the sake of prestige.

After careful consideration, Master Zhankong and Mu Yan decided to preserve the place. They obviously knew that Tianfu Mountain was an empty shell and they would choose the lesser of two evils.

There is nothing wrong with this choice.

However, he was somewhat surprised that the old and young combination could actually withstand the multiple attacks from the Nascent Soul cultivator.

But these are not important for now.

He ordered Lu Xiuming and others to rebuild Tianfu Mountain immediately. As for the resources needed, he would pay for them out of his own pocket to solve the urgent problem. It was nothing to him anyway.

At the moment, he did not have the time to care about other things. The important thing was to deal with these trivial matters quickly and then practice in seclusion to reach the late Nascent Soul stage as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)