The road is vague

Chapter 270 Infiltrating the State of Lu
A joint caravan consisting of nine caravans, with nearly a thousand camels, entered the territory of the State of Lu in a grand procession.

The caravan hired six monks as guards.

Compared to Qian Kingdom, Chewu Kingdom is significantly closer to Lu Kingdom. The caravan entered Lu Kingdom smoothly in less than a month on foot. Along the way, apart from being checked twice by Lu Kingdom cultivators and being attacked by a giant fire-breathing eagle monster, resulting in the loss of one camel, nothing else happened.

This allowed Li Mo, who had been on tenterhooks, to quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

Two more days later, when he arrives at Cangmang City at the foot of Ziranmen Mountain, his mission will be considered complete.

"Everyone, stay alert! This is still a border area, so don't let your guard down and don't stray from the group..."

The head of this joint caravan was surnamed Zou, and everyone along the way called him Head Steward Zou. He was a spirited and capable old man who had been doing business on this route for many years and had a very high reputation.

The group, who had been somewhat slack off, perked up again.

After Mr. Zou walked away quickly, a caravan servant curled his lip indifferently.

"We're almost at Cangmang City, and you're still so arrogant. Humph."

Holding the Tiancheng Huajin Sword, Li Mo was already used to everything here. After the group had walked for more than ten miles, as dusk approached, they skillfully arranged the camels in a circle and rested in the alluvial valley at the foot of the green mountains.

"Hahahaha!"

A muscular man, dressed in leather armor, walked over; his laughter preceded his arrival.

"Fellow Daoist Li, I, Wang, have come to practice swordsmanship with you."

Li Mo was resting behind a large, shady rock because of the dusk.

Seeing Wang Shuo approaching, he smiled slightly and immediately took out his own dry rations to share with him. Wang Shuo did not stand on ceremony and chewed with a good appetite, nodding repeatedly.

For the past two weeks, the two have been practicing swordsmanship together during their breaks every day.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, dusk came to an end.

The two got up and went to a secluded spot to practice their swordsmanship. The main characteristic of the martial arts sect's training method lies in the external manifestation of magical power, which can be described as concentrated and undispersed. This is quite similar to some of the internal force moves of innate realm masters in secular martial arts.

Compared to martial artists in the Acquired Realm who can only use simple fist winds, saber energy, and sword energy, martial artists in the Innate Realm can release some special internal energy moves.

For example, the Heavenly Crippled Sword Slash that Wang Shuo practiced was derived from his understanding of martial arts.

"drink!"

With a loud shout from Wang Shuo, the blue sword light, like a thread, silently cleaved the boulder three zhang away in two.

For a Qi Refining stage cultivator to possess such strength is already quite remarkable.

Li Mo then unleashed the long-unused Thunder Step, his figure flashing and appearing three zhang away. He lightly pointed his sword tip at a boulder, seemingly without causing any damage, but the back of the boulder was pierced by the sword energy.

"Good swordsmanship!"

Wang Shuo was overjoyed, and he always gained something from watching Li Mo practice martial arts.

Li Mo was the same. In the past half month, he had also come to understand some of the subtleties of martial arts and had gained a lot by humbly learning from others.

Before we knew it, it was already late at night.

The two agreed to practice again the next day.

This should have been an ordinary day, but on their way back to the caravan, a beam of light suddenly appeared from the distant mountains and shot straight into the sky.

Li Mo and Wang Shuo turned around, staring in astonishment at the soaring light.

"This is?"

Wang Shuo leaped up and quickly climbed onto a high rock. Looking through the gap between the two mountains at the distant beam of light, he gasped in astonishment.

"This place is at least twenty or thirty miles away from that spiritual light, yet we can still feel the spiritual pressure there. Could it be that some powerful figures are fighting here, or that a secret treasure has suddenly appeared?"

Li Mo's eyes were deep, and he finally shook his head gently.

"In any case, this is more of a curse than a blessing for us. This place is a remote border town, and I think we should leave as soon as possible to avoid getting into trouble."

Despite saying that, he vaguely sensed a sense of familiarity from this flash of inspiration.

It was the same powerful fusion of metal and wood elemental forces, with a hint of evil distortion from forced sacrifice. This was clearly the same sacrificial aura he felt when he uncovered the Hidden Dragon Organization's evil plan in Bai'an County, only this time the power was significantly stronger.

Could it be that the Hidden Dragon Organization is holding a sacrificial weapon-forging ceremony here?

If that's the case, given the aura displayed by that spiritual light, the person in charge is likely a Golden Core cultivator, and the golem parts they crafted are probably closer to the core area, rather than the scraps they intercepted.

This clandestine organization's tentacles have even extended into the territory of the State of Lu.

That's fair enough.

While Li Mo was inwardly complaining, Wang Shuo agreed to Li Mo's suggestion and immediately returned to the caravan camp. Many people had already woken up from their sleep and looked at the distant mountains with surprise and uncertainty.

The leaders of the nine caravans began to urgently discuss the matter.

Six Qi Refining stage cultivators have gathered. In addition to four from the Martial Arts Sect, there is one disciple from the Natural Sect of Lu State and one disciple from the Thousand Insects Sect of Wei State.

"Fellow Daoist Sun, this area is already under the jurisdiction of your Natural Sect. What is your opinion on this matter?"

This cultivator surnamed Sun from the Natural Sect was traveling in Chewu Kingdom. His face looked weathered by time, and his skin was extremely rough. After hearing this, he sighed and shook his head.

“I haven’t heard of such an incident in the sect. It’s probably just a coincidence. But since we’re so close to Cangmang City, there shouldn’t be any major problems. I’m sure someone from the sect will come to investigate soon.” As the six of them discussed among themselves, the caravan leaders had already reached a conclusion.

It wasn't that the group didn't want to leave, but the valley roads were rugged and unsuitable for caravans to travel. They could only wait until dawn the next day to leave as soon as possible.

Fortunately, the light did not last long and gradually disappeared, which relieved the anxious crowd. The journey of twenty or thirty miles might take a long time for most people, but for some high-level cultivators, it would only take a short while.

the next day.

The caravan set off again early in the morning, heading towards Cangmang City.

Around noon, the group arrived near a small town.

The group had not originally planned to stay here and were preparing to continue their journey, but they found that the road was blocked by a group of soldiers from the State of Lu.

"Please calm down, everyone. Last night, the cultivators of this city discovered signs of evil cultivators in the nearby mountains, turning the once vibrant Narcissus Mountain into a barren hill overnight. Several sages in the city are furious about this and have decided to impose a complete lockdown on the area. They have reported this matter to the Natural Sect to capture the evil cultivators. We ask for your cooperation..."

Those who were stopped couldn't help but sigh.

What is a sage?

Although Li Mo already knew that the political system of Lu was completely different from that of Qian, with no so-called imperial court and all affairs decided by the Changsheng Temple, with various sects cooperating, he did not have a deep understanding of it.

Upon hearing this, Sun Zhaoan smiled slightly.

“The sages are ordinary elders chosen by the people of various places. They are all poets. Poetry has six categories: Feng, Fu, Bi, Xing, Ya, and Song. Each category of poetry is different, with Feng, Ya, and Song being the most important. Poets use these to correct their gains and losses, move heaven and earth, and touch the spirits. Nothing is closer to poetry. It can guide couples, establish filial piety, enrich human relations, beautify education, and change customs. After achieving success and fame, they can be recommended as sages. Some people also call them elders. They manage important secular affairs in various places and negotiate with major sacred mountains and holy sites.”

From Sun Zhaoan's words, Li Mo gradually understood the political system of the State of Lu.

it's here.

The State of Lu governed its people through self-governance and moral education.

Cultivators focus more on their own spiritual practice and rarely directly manage the mortal world, even regarding it as something to be avoided at all costs, desiring only to cultivate themselves in seclusion and attain enlightenment.

Mortals regard cultivators as immortals and hold them in great awe.

The various immortality techniques practiced by the common people of Lu in modern times were taught by these immortals. These techniques included internal elixir ingestion, meditation for health preservation, surgery, and the art of communicating with the gods for wealth. Daohua Trading Company was likely transformed from this so-called art of communicating with the gods for wealth.

Between mortals and monks lie these so-called sages.

These people can be considered moral exemplars of the State of Lu, and their actions are reminiscent of the ancient sages' Fengshan ceremony.

Having the identity of a sage, one can travel to various immortal mountains in the guise of a mortal to spread moral teachings.

The Book of Wind represents the ideal of a utopian world envisioned by sages. Ordinary people use the Book of Wind to advise monks, and monks use the Book of Wind to educate ordinary people. The State of Lu can be said to be weaving its future in this ideal.

“If the water is clear, there will be no fish.”

Li Mo suddenly thought of this sentence.

The cultivators of Lu State avoided the mortal world to maintain a pure state of mind, which is probably why the Longevity Temple did not choose to unify the world.

From the perspective of the cultivators in the Qian Kingdom, this is merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.

Although there is no absolute right or wrong in the world, the two sides have different ideologies and different concepts of tradition, so it is naturally difficult for them to understand and integrate. Only one side can defeat the other.

Five days later.

The crowd was getting impatient.

Li Mo, in particular, was getting a little nervous as he estimated when the conference would start.

The only good news is that he has finally gathered some intelligence about the people of Zhao in the past few days.

at this time.

Nine black-clad cultivators flying together were stopped by cultivators from the Natural Sect. Li Mo and the others looked up in curiosity.

Upon seeing this, the leading black-clad cultivator let out a cold snort and took out a token.

"I am the Second Yong, a true disciple of the Rebirth Sect. I have been ordered to lead my junior brothers and sisters to the Heavenly Realm to participate in this Longevity Enlightenment Conference. What do you Natural Sect disciples mean by this? If this delays our journey, we will definitely hold you accountable. Or is your Longevity Sect planning to start a new civil war?"

Faced with the questioning from this true disciple of the Rebirth Sect, the Natural Sect disciple in charge of the blockade had a slight change in expression.

Li Mo gleaned two useful pieces of information from this.

The contradiction between the longevity and immortality traditions in the State of Lu was greater than he had imagined.

The true disciple of the Rebirth Sect is named Second Yong. Second Ruoyu, who was almost killed by him in the secret realm of Zhongshan Kingdom, is most likely his relative, or even one of the nine black-clad cultivators.

Think of this.

Li Mo quickly lowered his head to avoid being recognized and returned to the tent.

Two more days passed.

Li Mo and the others were finally allowed to pass.

It wasn't that the Natural Sect had caught the evil cultivator, but rather that the Natural Sect simply couldn't withstand the pressure from all sides brought about by the complete regional lockdown.

After the caravan arrived safely in Cangmang City, Li Mo left the caravan, immediately took off on his sword, changed his clothes, and, posing as a disciple of the Zhao Kingdom's Sword Heart Sect, sped towards the Duotian Sect.

(End of this chapter)