Shangyuque

Chapter 183 White Fish - White Carp - Red Carp: The Worries and Decisiveness of the Twin Sisters
The master's cake was just a random drawing, but Wang Yulou actually believed it.

The Emperor's New Clothes is a wild elephant version, but the patriarch is far more terrifying than the emperor. His words are not exactly law, but they can often become the law in practice.

Many people share the same thoughts as Wang Yulou.

Even if a lowly scoundrel like Mang Xiang is utterly worthless, surely he can still achieve three or five out of the twenty Purple Mansion titles he promised?
Three or five is too many, two or three is fine too. After all, there aren't many people in the Red Lantern Gang who are qualified to touch the Purple Mansion Pass, only a few dozen. If there are two or three, everyone will have a chance.

Under the ultimate pie of the raging elephant, the Red Lanterns on the two front lines were like clockwork. Those Red Lanterns veteran Foundation Establishment cultivators who used to be half-lying down because they didn't have the opportunity to cultivate their Purple Mansion were now all transformed.

Of course, the one who changed the most was Wang Yulou.

Half a year ago, the central line was destroyed by Gua Zhenren's roar. Five out of ten cultivators in the central line died. Fortunately, Mangxiang Immortal Venerable intervened and prevented a complete collapse.

However, the huge defensive gaps left behind became the focus of the dispute between the two parties.

The prestige of guarding the central line was so great that, under Wang Yulou's command, it even rivaled that of the sect leader—in fact, even Old Huang never dared to give him orders arbitrarily.

"In fact, expanding the scale of foundation building recruitment ahead of schedule is a good thing for everyone."

If we wait until the war becomes urgent before temporarily recruiting people, it will only harm them.

"The sooner they get to the front lines and adapt to the pace of war, the better chance they'll survive."

The man dressed in a golden magical robe sat high in the main hall of the Central Line Garrison. His words traveled through the screen in the hall and reached the ears of the people below.

During the great battle, even Foundation Establishment cultivators became consumables for filling in the gaps; in Wang Yulou's eyes, their lives were nothing more than numbers.

If one is not ruthless, one cannot stand firm. If Wang Yulou, after being appointed by Mang Xiang to guard the central line, still naively fantasizes about some tender solution, then he will be eliminated by Mang Xiang.

Moreover, Wang Yulou wasn't wrong; the Heavenly Serpent Sect was indeed gradually increasing its investment.

If the Red Lights don't follow immediately, and if the Central Line doesn't follow immediately, then once the Heavenly Serpent Sect's reinforcements have adapted to the battlefield, and Wang Yulou hastily pulls in more people, it will only lead to a new round of boundless bloodshed.

The Immortal Alliance has been stable for too many years. As a result, most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators under the Immortal Alliance's rule are not familiar with combat techniques at the Foundation Establishment level due to the restrictions imposed by the Immortal Alliance's laws.

Without prior preparation, rushing into the battlefield could result in a 10-for-3 exchange ratio.

The great increase in the ancestral master's grace has continued for many years. The foundation of the Red Lantern Sect is only slightly better than that of the Heavenly Serpent Sect. As the garrison commander of the central line, Wang Yulou must serve the victory of the war.

Even if victory is hard to achieve, at least we must ensure we don't lose.

“Fellow Daoist Yuque, reinforcements are easy to come by, but we are almost out of funds to pay out the compensation for those who died in battle.”

The letter from the sect leader said that those who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage would be sent first, and those who had reached the Qi Refining stage would be sent later, and the rest would be sent in one go after six months.

But three months ago, the sect leader said the same thing: "If this continues for three months, six months, I really can't stay in this position."

A senior Foundation Establishment cultivator complained with a bitter face.

The Red Lantern Sect has no shortage of resources, but a large portion of those resources are consumed by regular sect expenditures, leaving little that can be flexibly withdrawn.

Huang Qiusheng squeezed and pushed, and finally could only squeeze onto the front-line Qi-training oxen and horses.

Can you say Anthony Wong is bad?

No, even if someone else were in charge, they would only be able to do it this way.

Without strength, one has no voice in the cultivation world.

"This is a problem, this is a problem."

Wang Yulou pondered for a moment, then fell silent. The cultivators in the hall exchanged bewildered glances, and could only wait.

"The great battle has been going on for almost a year, during which time the Purple Mansion of the Heavenly Serpent Sect has also intervened."

The trend of war becoming protracted and normalized is already evident.

The Immortal Lord Mangxiang entrusted me with the responsibility of guarding the central line, and I must not fail to live up to his trust.

How to gain the upper hand in a prolonged standoff is a big question, and I've been thinking about it for a long time recently, and I think I've finally gotten some ideas.

"I'm not going to say anything more," Wang Yulou, that little bastard, suddenly stopped talking halfway through the conversation.

"Please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist Yuque."

"No, I wouldn't call it giving guidance. I was just thinking that we should strengthen our connections with the various forces, large and small, within a few hundred miles of the front line."

In this way, if an emergency arises on the front lines, reinforcements can be called in promptly.

This is just a starting point; since all of you fellow cultivators are more accomplished than Yu Lou, ultimately it will be up to you to handle this matter.

The benefits of the patriarch's crazy promises are now clearly evident: there are people guarding the central line and a large number of people from other factions.

But Wang Yulou always treated them as his own people.

The Purple Mansion opportunity that Mang Xiang brought out was like a beautiful woman's shadow reflected on a gauze window. Although it was hazy, it was still very attractive, making those cultivators who still wanted to become Purple Mansion cultivators dizzy.

Qing Xirui of the Floating Smoke Sect quickly spoke up.

"Fellow Daoist Yuque's idea is excellent. The Heavenly Serpent Sect has gradually figured out the previous node defense and support patterns."

It's unclear whether this experienced Foundation Establishment cultivator truly didn't understand Wang Yulou's words, but in any case, she sincerely and enthusiastically expressed her support for him.

The future of dual rule has not yet been realized, but the disciples of the Purple Mansion Sect of the Floating Smoke School have already begun to regroup.

The patriarch perfectly embodied the saying, "As long as you persevere, everything will be alright."

Before the war, there were still doubts about his path to the Golden Core stage. After the war started, neither the Red Lantern Sect nor the Heavenly Serpent Sect could back down, and the patriarch's path to the Golden Core stage gradually became clear.

Aside from not knowing when the Patriarch plans to attain enlightenment, those who have witnessed the two Immortal Venerables' apprehension towards the Mangxiang know that the Patriarch's Golden Core is inevitable.

"What do you know? You all take that guy's fart seriously? The Red Lanterns only have so many Purple Mansions, yet he dares to promise twenty more."

Wang Yulou, your Mangxiang faction is using the war to seize power again, and you even want to expand hundreds of miles further back along the central line.

"How many miles is 'hundreds of miles'?"

It was Zou Tianxing's younger brother, Zou Dide, who spoke up; he simply couldn't hold back any longer.

The overall situation of the two major battles is the overall situation, and the overall situation of the Zhuzhao Sect is also the overall situation. He must uphold both. If it is difficult to achieve both, then of course the overall situation of the Zhuzhao Sect is greater.

A specific example of dual governance can be found in Drip Cave. As a young general personally acknowledged by Mang Xiang, Wang Yulou's future was destined to be full of hardships.

"What do you mean by that? I just said to strengthen our connections. How did you bring up the topic of seizing power, Senior Brother Di De?"

As Immortal Venerable Mangxiang once said, "The sect should be united, the disciples should be friendly, and no one should be allowed to hold each other back."

These words will never be forgotten in Yulou's heart. "Brother Dide, please don't slander me."

Zou Dide and Wang Yulou started arguing, and no one else dared to say anything.

Of course, things were ultimately done as Wang Yulou had planned—for the sake of victory.

After a day of daily infighting, Wang Yulou invited Qing Xirui to a small gathering at his residence.

Qing Xirui has nearly a hundred descendants, so Wang Yulou and she naturally wouldn't have any romantic entanglements.

"Senior Sister Xirui, that's the situation. We naturally pay more attention to whoever brings in more forces and Foundation Establishment cultivators."

The Immortal Alliance has existed stably for so many years, and the Ancestor needs so many Purple Mansions, perhaps because he wants to start an internal war within the Immortal Alliance someday in the future.

In war, everyone faces danger, but opportunities that are not usually apparent also arise.

I hope Senior Sister can help Yu Lou convey this message. As for you... you're already one of us."

After seeing Qing Xirui off, Wang Yulou fell into deep thought.

In theory, strengthening connections is intended to establish a more solid defensive structure. Objectively, this process also serves to expand the Mangxiang lineage.

Expanding one's base of influence isn't about mindlessly recruiting people. If everyone could simply kowtow to Xuan Zhuan and Dan Ri and be labeled as belonging to the Mangxiang lineage, then that label would be utterly worthless.

The core, inner layer, outer layer, and periphery of a power require a corresponding system to be built. Equality for all is a lie. There are only so many opportunities, and those who get the opportunities are unequal compared to those who remain unknown.

Moreover, Wang Yulou had another consideration in promoting this matter.

It was still the same bottom-up logic: he recruited three thousand Qi cultivators from the West Sea, but only two thousand were killed by Yi Zou Ri, and only one thousand were killed by Gua Zhenren.

Of a thousand Qi Refining cultivators, it's questionable whether even fifty will reach Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, Wang Yulou had to consider the issue of his future base within the Mangxiang lineage.

Wang Shi was certainly Wang Yulou's right-hand man, but Wang Shi only numbered a little over two hundred. Could he support the two disciples of the Mangxiang Sect?

The package can't.

Opening the Purple Mansion is easy; what happens after opening it is difficult.

Fighting alone will surely lead to certain death; jumping around and losing the trust of everyone, Zi Fu, without the backing of a Golden Core Immortal Venerable, will be no better than Zhou Fujiao.

Thinking of this, Yulou looked towards the West Sea.

My dear father-in-law, how are you?

Although Shenguang is a Golden Core cultivator, his foundation is too unique.

Although Mu Chunze was a Purple Mansion, he opened the Purple Mansion in a very clever way.

Wang Yulou guessed that Lao Mu's situation was probably not too carefree.
-
Mu Chunze's situation was far more than just not carefree.

The Immortal Kingdom, the Immortal King's Palace.

Shunmu Zhenren, who had just finished drinking a large mouthful of blood from Ruilu's heart, looked up, wiped his catfish mouth in dissatisfaction, and muttered.

"Come, eat these blood-regenerating pills. My heart blood is too little; I'm not satisfied with this."

It turns out that Old Mu was not directly tortured to death by a thousand cuts, but was instead slowly and deliberately tortured.

While being eaten, it was also being treated. Fortunately, the Deer, a wood-type demon king, had extremely strong vitality, which allowed it to withstand such blood-sucking and marrow-devouring.

Having his lifeblood drained, Mu Chunze's soul became numb. He could control his sense of pain, so he did not feel any pain.

Numbness stems from the inability to see the end of these days.

Numbly swallowing the elixir, before the medicinal power could be fully processed, a large chunk of flesh was instantly cut from the inside of Mu Chunze's back.

"Take good care of yourself for half a month, and then cut the flesh. Chunze, you need to look to the future."

The current predicament is significant, but you can't achieve the Purple Mansion realm without paying any price, can you?
"Recover well, and don't despair. We'll release you in a hundred years."

The giant-like Shunmu Jinren stood up and gently patted Mu Chunze's deer head with two fingers.

This is the true status of the worthless Purple Mansion.

At the lower levels of the Purple Mansion realm, combat abilities are practically nonexistent among cultivators of the same level, and their other abilities are also no match for those of the established Purple Mansion cultivators. Furthermore, Mu Chunze lacks his own disciples, followers, and a pool of potential followers.

Mu Chunze, in this state, was naturally powerless to resist—even if he wanted to risk his life, there might not be anyone willing to take him.

Ultimately, the divine light was too weak.

Thinking of the divine light, Mu Chunze closed his eyes. The medicinal power repaired his body, which was missing pieces here and there, but it could not heal the pain in his heart.

Do you regret it?

Somewhat, if all that is gained through sacrificing everything along the way is simply to become the meal of the truly powerful, then the process of cultivating immortality seems far too cruel.
-
Mu Chunze was preoccupied with Shen Guang, even harboring some hatred towards him; however, Shen Guang never considered his affairs.

In Shenguang's view, if I give you the opportunity to enter the Purple Mansion and you become an ingredient producer for a hundred years, Mu Chunze will not lose out in this kind of deal.

After all, it would be extremely difficult to find another great cultivator in the Immortal Alliance who is as unruly as Shen Guang.

Shenguang has been in a good mood lately, and Wang Yulou, whom he had his eye on, actually managed to get a position guarding the central line of the Red Lantern.

Even if Wang Yulou doesn't become his disciple, Shenguang is naturally pleased that Wang Yulou, as a promising talent discovered by him, has shown extraordinary abilities—which proves that his judgment is not flawed.

But what pleased Shenguang the most was that, as he gradually became more proficient, the speed of the transformation of the cave suddenly increased.

Within the Divine Light Cave, the large sphere continued to spin day and night, but unlike before, for the first time within the Divine Light Cave, the concepts of east, west, south, and north emerged.

This is the first stage of cultivation in the grotto-heaven, which involves stabilizing the four directions.

After completing this step, the next step is to restore the Five Elements.

But Shenguang was surprised to find that the return of the Five Elements was much faster than expected.

This means that the speed of fixing the four directions was faster not because of his increased proficiency in it, but for other reasons; otherwise, the Five Elements Return would not have been so fast.

"Those damned old bastards, old but not dead, stealing the opportunity for all spirits to attain enlightenment, and stealing the resources of the great world."

Stealing is bad enough, but not saying a word is even worse! He deserves to die, he really deserves to die!

Wang Yulou probably couldn't have imagined that in this world of cultivation, even immortals would face the predicament of being exploited by information asymmetry.

The Golden Core method of Divine Light was given to him by the Demon King of the Demon Kingdom, but the Demon King did not give him the method after the Golden Core was formed.

The term "Dongtianfa" (洞天法) may seem to consist of only three characters, but the Dongtianfa of different people is completely different.

The Divine Light Cave Heaven Technique was a modified version of the one he bought from Qingrui, a technique unique to him.

This was also one of the important reasons why Shenguang immediately backed down when Qingrui sent people to the West Sea.

I'm really scared.
-
Red lanterns illuminate Mangxiang Mountain, the Yan family's villa.

Similar to Shenguang's bewilderment at the sudden acceleration of the transformation of the cave heaven, Yan Keli was also puzzled by the increasingly loosened Purple Mansion Pass.

Why does it suddenly feel like opening the Purple Mansion has become easier lately?
He carefully observed for half a month and tried it several times, becoming increasingly certain that his feeling was correct.

The sense of obstruction that the Great Heaven and Earth felt towards his opening of the Purple Mansion seemed to have lessened somewhat, but it wasn't entirely lessened; one day it suddenly became much larger again.

However, after the feeling of blockage increased, it did not continue but instead maintained a decreasing trend.

Yan Keli waited for many days until the obstruction he felt from the vast天地 (heaven and earth) finally shrank to its previous limit.

Fearing that this was the limit and that the pressure would suddenly rise again, Yan Keli dared not delay and immediately began his breakthrough to the Purple Mansion.

Different cultivators in the Purple Mansion have different processes for breaking through the barrier. Wang Yulou knew this, but most people in the Red Lantern Sect did not.

Yan Keli opened his Purple Palace using an ancient and mediocre method of connecting the Purple Palace with acupoints. It offered no extra longevity or special assistance; its only advantage was that it allowed him to cultivate supernatural powers more quickly.

With more acupoints, supernatural powers become easier to cultivate. Supernatural powers in the Purple Mansion are far more complex than those in the Foundation Establishment stage, requiring hundreds of acupoints, while even the peak Foundation Establishment stage only requires thirty-six.

By using the method of connecting acupoints to open the Zifu point, the work of polishing the acupoints after the Zifu point can be brought forward to the foundation building stage, thus saving some of the trouble of opening acupoints after the Zifu point.

Therefore, the method of connecting acupoints to the Purple Mansion is not actually that bad. The real reason it was eliminated is that the method of the Cave Heaven Purple Mansion completely abandoned the ancient path of acupoints carrying supernatural powers.

Great cultivators who practice the Cave Heaven Purple Mansion Method can use their own Cave Heaven to contain their supernatural powers. Compared to small acupoints, Cave Heavens, which often span hundreds of miles, are naturally much more powerful.

As an ancient method, the method of opening the Zifu (a point on the lower abdomen) using the acupoint connection technique is very crude, and it is no exaggeration to describe it as having the force of a flying brick.

Different cultivators connect to different acupoints. For example, those who cultivate wood magic often need to connect to the liver acupoint among the five internal organs, while those who cultivate fire magic often connect to the heart acupoint.

Yan Keli practiced the earth method, connecting acupoints with the spleen as the core. Over the past few decades, he practiced without regard to cost, opening a total of fifty-three acupoints on top of the original thirty-six.

Thus, there are eighty-nine.

The immense magical power gathered from the eighty-nine acupoints, like eighty-nine suns radiating intense light, scorching away the shackles that blocked the Purple Mansion in the brain.

Legend has it that the Purple Palace was the abode of immortals. Later, in ancient times, cultivators who entered the Purple Palace actually gained immortality and power, and became 'immortals'.

Thus, the Purple Mansion Realm came into being.

The obstruction from heaven and earth on Yan Keyi was indeed much less. In just half a day, the shackles that had been blocking his path in front of the Purple Mansion Pass had been almost worn away by the continuous stream of magical power from the small suns in his acupoints.

Even Yan Keli himself hadn't expected that opening the Purple Mansion would be so simple.

It even seems simpler than the initial Foundation Establishment stage...

This is not surprising. When Yan Keli was building his foundation, he felt it was difficult because he had only just embarked on the path of cultivation, did not understand its mysteries, and lacked the composure that comes with long-term training.

The reason he is able to open his Purple Mansion now is because he is one of the most extraordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators under the Mangxiang Sect.

For a seasoned Foundation Establishment cultivator like Yan Keli, if the Purple Mansion Dharma Gate wasn't restricted and the interests involved in opening the Purple Mansion weren't so complicated, it would be normal for him to open the Purple Mansion more easily.

It took Yan Keli a day and a half to carefully break through the Purple Mansion Pass.

Once the Purple Mansion Gate is broken, the next step is for the divine consciousness to enter the Purple Mansion and attain immortality.

However.
Suddenly, Yan Keli felt that the sense of obstruction between heaven and earth had become several times stronger.

He watched helplessly as the Purple Mansion Pass, which he had just broken through, was closed up again.
-
The idea that "when the time is right, heaven and earth lend their strength" is utter nonsense, and Bai Li never believed it.

If a cultivator entrusts their fate to the ephemeral concept of luck, they will surely suffer extreme misfortune.

Bai Li believes that as long as you do it and try, there will be opportunities and changes.

The ups and downs of fate are commonplace; what is extraordinary is the individual who goes against the tide in a turbulent era.

There is nothing special about any era; only those who dare to act can reach the top.

He casually crushed the letter Wang Yulou had written to him, and the letter turned into a mist that dissipated into the world of Dripping Water Cave with a gust of wind.

As the master of this grotto, Bai Li can do almost anything he wants.

She created this entire world, so naturally, she gets to decide what she wants to do.

Since the appearance of the Stone Ancestor six months ago, Wang Yulou has been sending a letter into the Dripping Water Cave every month.

To conceal the fact that the letter was specifically sent to Bai Xiaoyu, Wang Yulou went to great lengths to establish a 'Jade Palace Fellow Daoist Communication Mechanism'.

He had a Foundation Establishment cultivator by his side who was responsible for delivering the message to fellow Daoist Wang Yulou.

For casual acquaintances, such as Zheng Yan from the West Sea, a letter would be sent every three months to say hello.

For close friends, such as Mo Yunshu from the Western Sea, a letter is exchanged every month and a half to strengthen the bond.

For close relatives and friends, such as Bai Xiaoyu, they exchange letters once a month to keep in touch.

The key, of course, is the letter that was sent into the Dripping Water Cave and into Bai Xiaoyu's hands.

However, the Immortal Venerable prefers to read messages but not reply.

Although Wang Yulou doted on Xiaoyu in the past, they had been separated for many years.

Now, Xiaoyu and Wang Yulou keep climbing, but they can't even get a reply.

Of course, Wang Yulou guessed that Xiaoyu might be wary of Mangxiang.

Actually, his guess wasn't entirely correct.

Inside the Dripping Water Cave, the white carp raised its hand and made a finger gesture.

Their slender, white fingers, like tiny white radishes, were intertwined, a beautiful sight, but unfortunately, Xiao Wang couldn't see it.

The red carp seemed to sense something and suddenly appeared in the riverside villa, standing beside the white carp.

"Sister, isn't this too hasty?" Red Carp Immortal asked worriedly.

Bai Li shook her head, and the natal magic weapon that had accompanied her through ten thousand years of cultivation appeared in her hand.

It was a tiny seashell, only the size of a finger joint, but its shape was almost identical to the seashell held by the immortal in the Drip Heaven Palace.

"While waiting, you will always hope for a better opportunity, but that is just an illusion."

No one can predict the future, so let's just go with the flow!

As the white carp spoke, it flew up from the riverside villa.

As she ascended, the robes she wore transformed into real magical artifacts.

Top-grade Lingbao Dharma Clothes - Liuqiong Washing Day.

Lingbao anklet - through the air.

A superior Lingbao hairpin – a red gold flower hairpin.

Low-grade Immortal Artifact Arm Armor - True Dragon's Fear.

My natal magic weapon, a mid-grade immortal artifact—the Water Drop Immortal Shell.

The cave of the Water Immortal is two thousand miles in circumference, much larger than that of the Wild Elephant.

As a Celestial Venerable who attained Dao earlier than Mangxiang, Bai Li's strength and accumulated experience are naturally beyond question.

Therefore, it's not surprising that someone might possess a bunch of powerful magical treasures or even immortal artifacts.

Mang Xiang is very powerful, but his strength lies in the fact that he can roam the world freely without ever absorbing the Golden Core.

However, compared to a true Golden Elixir, one can only say that Mang Xiang still has a long way to go in terms of cultivation.

Even if Mangxiang succeeds in obtaining the Golden Core, he will still compete with Shenguang for the Golden Core floor tile.

Inside the Dripping Water Cave, Zhang Xuewu keenly sensed the changes. Of course, he couldn't see the white carp that had revealed its form, but he could feel that everything inside the cave was changing.

(End of this chapter)