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Chapter 371 Seeing the sorrow and returning

豱辱辱辘——

At the north gate of Shengjing, a carriage slowly drove into the city and soon stopped in the middle of Yong'an Street.

At this moment, the carriage curtain was lifted, and Ji You, Kuang Cheng, and Wei Rui stepped down from the carriage.

At that time, the entire western part of the city was very empty, and even the Taiping Tower located there had no guests.

In contrast, in the east and south of the city, one can see crowds of people along the way, and some even use their spiritual energy to look out over the city's fairy garden.

At the same time, there were also constant noises coming from that direction, and a faint flow of spiritual energy.

Ji You stood on the street, straightening his robe, which was slightly wrinkled from the journey, while gazing into the distance at the western city.

All the restaurants in the capital belonged to him, and even the post stations were under Ji Zhai's name, so their information network was extremely efficient.

Even before they entered Shengjing, they received a message informing them that the three southern sects and the Chen clan were joining forces to discuss Dao in Shengjing.

The incident of the ancient families joining forces to commit calamities has been over for a long time. Apart from the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion and the Dan Sect, which have been sealed off, the internal affairs of other immortal sects have gradually stabilized, and it is indeed necessary to sit down and talk.

For example, how to deal with the barbarian and demon races, and how to unite the aristocratic families to quell internal conflicts.

After all, they are the ones who truly govern this world.

In fact, the frequent disputes among aristocratic families and the closed communication between states in the past six months are largely due to the fact that the Immortal Sect has entered a semi-closed state. In order to reorganize internal affairs, it has temporarily loosened its authority and stopped making statements to the outside world.

This made the aristocratic families feel as if they had lost their constraints and were less bound by rules.

Ji You's land leasing went so smoothly in the early stages because of this, while the sudden collapse in the later stages was due to the Immortal Sect issuing a sudden order.

This does not mean that the Immortal Sect is a benevolent force capable of stopping the chaos of the world, but rather that regardless of whether they lead Qingyun to heaven or push them into the abyss, their powerful authority at least prevents people from openly acting independently.

Therefore, it is indeed necessary for the Immortal Sect to meet at this time.

Such a move could reassure the tribes in the context of the barbarian and demon races occupying the Youyun and Youyun states.

The logic is that if the immortal sect appears, there will naturally be sacred artifacts to protect our clan, so we can remain calm in the face of trouble.

However, the time and place of this discussion are quite intriguing.

According to the rumors, this Daoist conference was initiated by the Daoist Sect, but the outcome was not in Yuzhou but in Shengjing, especially after he had just seized that bundle of immortal spirit.

After pondering for a while, Ji You turned to look at Kuang Cheng: "Isn't it quite lively?"

"Brother Ji, you should still be careful."

"No problem, just adapt to the situation."

This is the downside of not reaching the top in combat power; he cannot remain unmoved by the changing circumstances in Fengzhou and still needs to return to the Heavenly Academy to take the initiative in dealing with any issues.

However, this is much better than before. Before, when he killed the Immortal Manor and built Ji Village, he could only hide inside the Heavenly Academy and dared not go out.

After saying goodbye to Kuang Cheng and Wei Rui, Ji You strode forward.

"The finger techniques of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion are swift, but their attack power is slightly lacking, which is still somewhat different from that of the Dao Seeking Sect."

"Indeed, the finger techniques of the Dao Seeking Sect are purer and their aura is more terrifying. However, the intervals between activations are too long, which may leave flaws in actual combat."

"That's not how it works. In actual combat, you can't just use finger techniques to fight the enemy. There are other ways to kill the enemy even during the intervals between attacks, aren't there?"

"That's... quite true."

Amidst the murmurs, everyone stared intently at the east courtyard.

At this moment, on the arena, Huo Zhuoqun, a disciple of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, was exchanging finger techniques with Shang Yu, a disciple of the Dao Asking Sect.

Huo Zhuoqun had once served as a test subject for the Dao Fruit at the Mountain and Sea Pavilion. After that, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. He shone brightly at last year's Immortal Tour Gathering and, at the age of nineteen, had already touched the threshold of the Fusion Dao Realm.

Outsiders were unaware of his advancement through the Dao Fruit and regarded him as a newly emerging prodigy of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion.

Its rival, Shangyou, has a similar history, also being a prodigy who suddenly entered the public eye in just one or two years.

As the spiritual energy surged wildly, the two clashed with their finger beams, trying their best to suppress each other head-on. They were already sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

In the secret arts of Qingyun, almost every family has its own family-inherited finger techniques.

Because finger-based attacks are fast and powerful.

However, some of these finger techniques cultivate the power of light and darkness, some operate according to the four elements, and some are formed by force fields, so there has always been a dispute about which is stronger or weaker.

Among them, the Instant Finger of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion and the Six Elements Finger Sword of the Dao Seeking Sect are recognized as the strongest. However, the question of which one is stronger has been a point of contention for thousands of years, making it a highly interesting debate in the Daoist discussions.

In fact, besides finger techniques, swordsmanship, knife techniques, and so on, all involve this kind of competitive confrontation.

Some confrontations are mainly based on the explanation of Taoist principles and the evolution of magical techniques.

Two people sit facing each other in a contest, and each needs to convince the other that they are the strongest. Pure verbal sparring usually results in a stalemate and is known as literary debate.

Some young cultivators who enjoy watching intense battles find this puzzling and boring, wondering why there are always literary debates during Dao discussions if no one can determine a winner.

What they don't realize is that winning or losing in literary debates is actually the least important thing, and not what they want.

The importance of this form of combat lies in the fact that an individual's understanding of the Dao is one-sided and biased. In the process of continuous debate, both sides of the battle and even the spectators are likely to be opened up with new ideas from a new perspective, thereby improving their own techniques.

This is why, despite its lack of brilliance, many elderly people flock to it.

The conflict between Huo Zhuoqun and Shang Yu is a different kind of contest, distinct from a battle of wits; it's a true contest of tactics, a kind of physical battle.

This is different from the battles of the Heavenly Dao Society and the Immortal Tournament. Participants can only fight with the art of Daoism. Even if they lose, they cannot use other techniques. It is not a contest of individual combat strength, but a contest of the superiority of secret techniques.

At this point, the finger-sparring match between the two had reached its most intense stage.

A beam of divine light suddenly shot out from Huo Zhuoqun's fingertips, forcefully blasting Shang Yu back.

However, Shang Yu withstood the murderous finger strike. As he turned and shifted, a vast light suddenly crashed down.

"Absolutely brilliant!"

"Truly a prodigy who emerged from the Immortal Sect!"

The scions of various noble families and the outer disciples of the immortal sects cheered continuously, their eyes filled with endless envy.

But at that moment, a young man from a prominent family standing on a rooftop suddenly heard footsteps coming from the long street to his right and behind.

Such a grand event was taking place in Shengjing, and it was even hosted by a celestial sect. Everyone with some cultivation came to watch. Meanwhile, ordinary people who were engaged in peddling or manual labor were not allowed to enter the city for the past few days. So it was naturally strange that someone would suddenly walk down the long street.

So the man quietly turned around and saw a figure in white robes and carrying a sword coming from a distance.

He couldn't see who the person was at first, until he used his divine sense, and his eyes gradually began to freeze.

As he turned his head, many people instinctively turned around as well, and the news spread from one to two, from two to three...

Gradually, everyone on the rooftop turned their gaze away, even though there was a fierce battle of finger techniques in front of them, and even though there was only someone walking unremarkably from a distance on the city street to their right and rear.

"What are they looking at?"

"Someone is back."

On the viewing platform, several young masters sat upright watching the battle. Upon hearing their elders speak, their expressions were slightly taken aback.

The ability to separate one's mind from one's body is a secret technique that can only be performed by those at the Divine Travel Realm or above. Their realm is not yet high enough, but unexpectedly, even without seeing it, they seemed to be able to guess who it was.

So they got up and went up to the second floor of the observation tower, looking out over the wall.

On the west side of the second floor, there was a woman dressed in a fiery red fairy robe, who seemed to have been watching from the second floor for a long time. Her phoenix eyes were as deep as the Milky Way, and her eyelashes trembled slightly.

"boom!!!!"

In a sudden explosion, Huo Zhuoqun, a disciple of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, waved his hand, his finger flashing wildly.

The reputation of the Dao Asking Sect ultimately lost out due to the speed of casting spells, and was utterly defeated and knocked off the stage, a hint of unwillingness showing in his eyes.

To fight for one's own immortal sect in full view of everyone and still lose is truly shameful.

However, the next moment, he discovered that no one was watching the scene on stage.

Huo Zhuoqun's reaction was exactly the same as his. Because he won the game, he deliberately straightened his back to the limit, stood at a 45-degree angle, and stood proudly with his chest out.

To his surprise, the cheers he had imagined did not appear. Instead, everyone's attention was drawn to the street outside the courtyard.

Even their holy son, deputy sect leader, elders, and others had remarkably similar gazes.

Just as he was wondering what was going on, Huo Zhuoqun floated up and then saw Ji You walking past the courtyard on the long street, heading towards Mount Ni.

He tore open the Heavenly Dao Sacrifice to kill the previous Xuan Yuan Saint Son Chu Xian, and the Sage Holy Land drew its sword to suppress the barbarian general king. At this moment, even if he did nothing but walk, he would be enough to attract everyone's attention.

Many of these people had only heard of him before but had never seen him, and were surprised to find out how young he was when they actually met him in person.

"The sage from the sacred land killed the barbarian king despite the combined efforts of the demon and barbarian generals, and he wasn't even injured?"

"It seems there isn't one..."

Few people know the details of the Holy Land of the Sages, especially the story of Ji You killing the Queen and fleeing; there is no information about his condition at the time.

Only then did they realize that Ji You had killed the general without sustaining any injuries.

On the west side of the pavilion, Fang Jincheng and other disciples of the Heavenly Academy also looked up.

Along with Princess Chang Le and Yu Shi Liu, their expressions were all complex and indescribable.

At this moment, Ji You had already stepped onto the Nishan Sacred Path and entered the interior of the Heavenly Academy.

When the Chu family's wicked disciples came to the Heavenly Academy to seize the sacred artifact, the academy was severely damaged, with many buildings collapsing. Even when Ji You set off to return to Fengzhou, both the inner and outer courtyards were still under repair. Now, with his return, the repairs to the Heavenly Academy are complete, and the outer courtyard has seen the addition of many newly built buildings.

Because a conference on philosophy was being held in the city, there weren't many people in the courtyard.

However, coincidentally, Ji You met Cao Jingsong by the Biyue Lake.

At that time, Instructor Cao was sitting on a blue stone by the lake, muttering incantations to the dozen or so people sitting in front of him, looking unfathomable.

"Instructor Cao."

"?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Instructor Cao looked up, then instructed the student in front of him before stepping forward: "Why are you back?"

Ji You stood on the white jade ascension platform: "Palace Master Zuoqiu wrote a letter inviting me back, and I also have something I want to discuss with him."

"The matter of the sacred sites of the ancient sages?"

"good."

Cao Jingsong frowned: "I've heard that the immortal spirit is incredibly strange, far surpassing innate spiritual treasures. Now that all the major immortal sects are in Shengjing, it's unwise for you to show yourself now."

Ji You turned his head and glanced at the crowded Immortal Alliance: "After the disaster, the major immortal sects do not want to start a big war, but that does not mean they cannot start a war. I can't wait until they go to Fengzhou to make their move before I show myself."

"This...is true."

"Why don't you go and read the discourse? I remember you owed the Heavenly Academy a piece of your insights on the Heavenly Dao when you were promoted to elder."

"The barbarian and demon clans have attacked the Nine Provinces, resulting in many people being hospitalized this year due to their military achievements. In particular, many of our Fengzhou youths are like Fang Ruoyao back then, who have not even awakened their spiritual powers. The gap between them and the youths of aristocratic families is too great. I can only do my best to help them catch up."

After Cao Jingsong finished speaking, he loosened his rolled-up sleeves: "Let's go, let's talk in my yard."

He paused after saying that, then added, "But I don't have any good tea. You can just drink it; don't even think about taking any."

Ji You: "?"

After Cao Jingsong was promoted to elder, he moved to the inner courtyard. Now he is leading Ji You toward the inner courtyard behind the vast forest.

Along the way, many newly admitted disciples stared at that figure, and when they heard someone utter a name, they couldn't help but open their mouths slightly.

In addition, a few scattered individuals who were in the Zizhu Zen Forest seeking enlightenment and had not gone to watch the discussion fell silent as he passed by.

In the blink of an eye, the aroma of tea filled the air in the inner courtyard of Elder Xianju.

Cao Jingsong generously brewed a large pot of tea, but he held it tightly in his hand, never letting Ji You see the brand or touch the tea bag.

There's no other way; when dealing with a wicked disciple, one must at least be cautious.

Ji You came to the Heavenly Academy to find Zuo Qiuyang and verify his guess about the celestial spirit. After taking his seat, he naturally asked whether Zuo Qiuyang was in the hall, but he received a negative answer.

“The Palace Master Zuoqiu goes to the Immortal Garden in the capital every day to sit and discuss with other high-ranking members of the Immortal Sects.”

"So many topics to talk about?"

Cao Jingsong poured tea: "This is not just idle chatter. We have resolved quite a few issues through discussions these past few days."

According to Instructor Cao, during the few days of the Daoist Conference, there were many discussions among the immortal sects, and the discussions were indeed not some empty or pretentious theories.

In response to the inhabitation of the Barbarian and Demon races in the Youyun and Youyun states, they have devised a countermeasure: each immortal sect must send its disciples to garrison the borders to guard against any sudden outbreak of war.

In addition, they also reached a mutually agreed-upon number for expanding the number of disciples recruited, and relaxed the length of stay in the academy, while increasing the number of students admitted to the inner academy to five.

Another rule is that the five major immortal sects explicitly require aristocratic families to register their families and report to the sects. Those who fail to register are not allowed to cultivate immortality.

There are also Immortal Manors. All Immortal Manors that are affiliated with aristocratic families will be uniformly managed by the Immortal Sect, and a resident elder will be appointed.

Upon hearing this, Ji You understood.

The fact that the Chu family and other powerful families joined forces to commit evil probably made all the major immortal sects realize that their control over this world was far less than they thought. This move was also intended to limit those powerful families and immortal estates.

"There's another matter that's been making quite a fuss these past few days, and part of the reason for that is because of you."

"I?"

Cao Jingsong put down his teacup, pondered for a while, and then said, "There are many aristocratic families in Qingyun who have jointly proposed to raise taxes to 80% next year, with ordinary people in Daxia taking 30% and them taking 50%. The Fang family of Qingzhou and the Zeng family of Lingzhou are the leaders, and they have already obtained the consent of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion and the Dao Asking Sect."

Ji You narrowed his eyes slightly: "They want to hoard grain?"

"That's right. It was probably the food shortages around the time of the new Yuan Dynasty that made them suddenly realize that even the loss of these mundane things was a big problem, so many aristocratic families were preparing to stockpile grain."

"Even if they can't use it all, and it rots in the barn?"

"You know, they've never valued things that are given away for free."

"I thought they could actually do something for Qingyun, but I didn't expect them to still be like this."

What Cao Jingsong said earlier, whether it was sending disciples to guard the border or requiring aristocratic families to register and report their disciples, seemed to be for the sake of protecting Qingyun and avoiding harm to the world, but in reality it was for the sake of protecting himself.

But when it came to the matter of taxes, their true colors were revealed.

These aloof cultivators, with their hearts still filled with their own detached and desireless Daoist hearts, would not care about the lives of the people in the world.

Ji You picked up his teacup: "All the farmers in the world have signed my Fengzhou labor contract. Although I cannot completely solve the tax problem, I will not allow anyone to increase their share."

"But the problem is that immortal spirit. Spirit Sword Mountain naturally has nothing to say to you. The young appraiser would give you his entire fortune. And since the disaster, Heavenly Book Academy has been very mild towards you. But the Chen Clan, Mountain and Sea Pavilion, and Dao Seeking Sect will not let this thing remain in your hands."

"I was initially puzzled that the Dao Discussion Group would hold a meeting at this time and place, but seeing you arrive, I realized that they were probably waiting for you."

Ji You raised his head: "Does the instructor mean that the Fang and Zeng families chose this time to bring up the issue of tax increases in order to ride the coattails of the Immortal Sect?"

Cao Jingsong nodded: "That must be the intention."

"By the way, the instructor just said that the immortal spirit far surpasses the innate spiritual treasure, why is that?"

"You don't know yet?"

"I only knew that it had a powerful effect on the Dao heart, divine thought and cultivation, but I never thought it would cause the Immortal Sect to go to such lengths."

Ji You spoke frankly, revealing his doubts.

Spiritual treasures are often born in the Azure Cloud Realm, and many of them can enhance cultivation. The Fang family's heirloom spiritual platform is one such example.

After receiving the message from Hongdinglou, he anticipated that such a special time and place might be targeted at him, but he still didn't understand why this thing was so attractive.

Cao Jingsong lowered his voice upon hearing this: "I only heard about it yesterday from outsiders. They say that mastering that immortal spirit can bring the entire family closer to the Dao of Heaven."

"A buff to the entire race?"

"You find it unbelievable too? I've lived this long and never heard of such a thing."

Ji You gently turned the teacup in her hand, thinking to herself that this confirmed her guess about the fairy spirit.

The debates within the Immortal Garden continued, with literary and martial arts contests taking place on opposite sides.

Meanwhile, in the enormous pavilion on the west side of the Immortal Realm, the vice sect leaders, chief elders, and other important figures from the five major immortal sects were discussing matters of the world.

High-level experts naturally possess boundless pressure, so even though the hall was brightly lit, it remained solemn and dignified.

The Director of the Imperial Observatory and several ministers from the court were also present, reporting on the barbarian tribes and proposing to send another delegation to the border to meet with the demon tribes.

Given the current situation, the alliance between the barbarians and demons still poses a significant threat to the human race, and finding a way to dismantle the mutual trust between the two races is the lowest-cost and simplest method.

This is not a sign of weakness, but rather a means that as long as the barbarians harbor resentment towards the demon race, their goal will be achieved.

After discussion, the idea of ​​the Directorate of Immortals was approved, and the Director, He Jingyuan, led the court officials away.

At this moment, Shang Xingkong, the vice sect leader of the Dao Asking Sect, reached out and picked up a teacup, taking a sip. This great cultivator at the peak of the Upper Fifth Realm usually liked to conceal his aura, but today he was unusually extroverted.

"That thing from the Holy Land of the Sages has a huge impact, concerning the entire human race. It cannot be easily lost to the outside world. After all, neither you nor I can know the risks involved. I wonder if you all agree with what I say?"

"Indeed, the matter of the Holy Land cracking has been causing me great concern for several days, and my Dao heart cannot be calmed."

Huo Jin, the deputy head of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, placed his teacup on the table: "In my opinion, this item should be guarded by the five major immortal sects in turns until it is returned to its original position. I wonder what Lord Zuoqiu thinks?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Xingkong and Chen Longxing, the deputy patriarch of the Chen Clan, both looked up.

Upon hearing the question, Zuo Qiuyang replied expressionlessly, "The Qingyun Immortal Rules state that spiritual treasures are born from heaven and earth, and are inherently without owners; all may obtain them."

"But Palace Master Zuoqiu knows that it is not a spiritual treasure."

“I know what you all think, but this item is not in the Heavenly Academy, and Ji You is eccentric and has never been under the control of the Heavenly Academy. I don’t know whether he is willing to hand it over.”

Shang Xingkong picked up the teapot: "His combat strength is only at the Boundless Realm. There are some things he can't decide even if he wants to. He did make a contribution to us in the Heavenly Dao Sacrifice, but not everything can be pardoned. We have been lenient enough in the matter of land leasing."

Zuo Qiuyang turned his head upon hearing the sound and looked at the empty, ornate chair on the west side.

That was meant for the young appraiser of Lingjian Mountain, but she claimed to be unwell today and did not come.

When Ji You was seriously injured and fell into a coma at the Heavenly Dao Altar, she sent a maid to guard and serve him. When Ji You raised the price of grain, she arranged for people to immediately go down the mountain to buy grain.

Zuo Qiuyang was aware of the affair between the two.

But he never knew the extent of this affair, whether it was genuine affection between a man and a woman or mutual exploitation, or whether Ji You was merely a gigolo.

Originally, Zuo Qiuyang thought he would observe the situation before making a decision, but Ji You returned to Shengjing and Zuo Qiuyang did not attend, which gave him a bad feeling.

It's clear that Tian Shu Yuan alone cannot withstand the pressure from the three.

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)