From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 540 Digging Deeper: The Cold Sparrow Flies South
The immortal sect has ascended to immortality, and the turmoil is gradually subsiding.

On Lanyue Peak, Li Chengqian devoted himself to refining the Five Prisons King Cauldron and harmonizing the four great supernatural powers, making his aura increasingly profound and unfathomable. He occasionally went to Zidian Peak to discuss and exchange ideas with Fang Qingxue, helping her to solidify her foundation and improve her supernatural powers through his words and guidance.

Under his guidance, Fang Qingxue's talent blossomed more fully, and her Purple Lightning Yin Thunder Blade became increasingly refined and exquisite, even faintly touching upon a deeper level of the mysteries of the Thunder Law. Meanwhile, her trust and reliance on Li Chengqian quietly grew during their daily meditation and exchanges.

Seeing that Fang Qingxue had devoted herself to cultivation and showed no signs of going out for the time being, Li Chengqian felt somewhat relieved. His plan needed to be carried out step by step, and the first priority was to sever any potential deep connections between Fang Han, who had not yet gained power, and Fang Qingxue.

Judging from the plot, Fang Han is only thirteen or fourteen years old now, and probably hasn't even learned any martial arts. But the more that's the case, the more careful we should be. After all, in such a world, the protagonist who carries the fate of the entire world often has incredible luck. So, it's still necessary to test the waters in the early stages.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of miles away in Longyuan Province of the Great Li Dynasty, a subtle change, triggered by Li Chengqian's words, was unfolding silently in the Governor's Mansion.

Inside the Fang family study, the lights were on.

After listening to the detailed report from his brother Fang Zeshan, who had returned from Yuehua Province, Governor Fang Zetao of Longyuan Province tapped his knuckles lightly on the rosewood tabletop, his brows furrowed, and remained silent in deep thought.

“Brother,” Fang Zeshan said, his voice tinged with excitement and uncertainty, “what Li Chengqian said—that if my niece Qingxue can truly advance to the Divine Power Realm soon and become a true disciple of the Feathered Ascension Sect—would be an immense blessing for our Fang family! He spoke highly of Qingxue, even implying that the two families should set aside their past grievances and support each other. His request for our Fang family to select disciples and servants to prepare for the sect's needs seems well-intentioned, but there's more to it than that…”

Fang Zetao raised his hand to interrupt him, his gaze deep: "Of course it's out of good intentions. Li Chengqian is now a true disciple of the Feathered Ascension Sect, with an extremely noble status. In his eyes, our Fang family is nothing. There is only one explanation for why he treats you this way: Qingxue truly has the talent of a prodigy and will soon become a true disciple of the Immortal Sect. As for the discord between our two families, it means nothing within the Immortal Sect. Just do as he says."

He paused, then continued, "You shall personally oversee this matter. You must select disciples with excellent character, temperament, and absolute loyalty and reliability. As for servants and menial laborers, you must also carefully screen them, ensuring they have clean backgrounds and are quick and efficient. Do not send them away and end up disgracing Qingxue."

“Yes, brother, I understand.” Fang Zeshan replied solemnly.

Three days later, a preliminary list was delivered to Fang Zeshan's desk. It listed several talented young men from collateral branches of the Fang family, as well as a group of clever and sensible servants or those who performed their duties well in the household. Fang Zeshan reviewed the list one by one, his expression serious.

Suddenly, his gaze lingered on a name at the very end of the list…

Fang Han.

"Fang Han?" Fang Zeshan murmured the name, his brows furrowing unconsciously. For some reason, the moment he saw the name, a subtle yet incredibly clear sense of rejection and disgust welled up inside him, as if he had seen something unclean that had defiled the list.

The feeling came abruptly and without reason, yet it was unusually strong. He tried hard to recall, only remembering that this seemed to be a stable boy in the Second Miss Fang Qingwei's courtyard, usually taciturn and seemingly unremarkable.

"Why do I feel such disgust for this person?" Fang Zeshan wondered to himself, but the deep-seated aversion lingered, even affecting his judgment. He was unaware that this was a seed of hatred for the name "Fang Han" planted subtly in his heart by Li Chengqian during their seemingly casual conversation at the Yuehua Li family, through an invisible and intangible spiritual force. Now, sensing the corresponding aura, the seed quietly sprouted.

Fang Zeshan carefully examined the brief record of Fang Han attached to the side: of lowly status, son of a stable boy, who had been a slave in the Fang family for many years, with no special skills or outstanding achievements. "How could such a mediocre person be qualified to accompany my niece Qingxue to the Immortal Sect? He's a disgrace to our family!" Fang Zeshan sneered, a sudden, inexplicable disgust completely extinguishing his interest in rational judgment. He even felt that keeping that name in the manor was somewhat of an eyesore.

He picked up the vermilion brush and, without hesitation, drew a big cross over the name "Fang Han".

"Remove this person from the list," he coldly ordered the steward beside him. Then, as if he had thought of something, he added, "Since he is a useless slave, keeping him in the manor is a waste of rice and grain. Find a pretext to sell him, along with his indenture, to a slave caravan coming from the south. Remember, sell him far away."

Although the steward was surprised, why would a mere stable boy anger the Second Master so much that he would even want to sell him off? But knowing Fang Zeshan's temper, he dared not ask any further questions and immediately bowed and replied, "Yes, Second Master, this servant will take care of it right away."

In such a prestigious and wealthy family, buying and selling servants was as commonplace as dealing with goods. Fang Zeshan's single sentence easily determined Fang Han's fate.

In just two days, all the formalities were completed. Fang Han, who was still working hard in the stable and knew nothing about his future fate, was roughly dragged out by several ruthless servants, shackled, and shoved into a stuffy prison cart before he could even say goodbye to anyone he knew. He then embarked on an unknown journey far away from Longyuan Province with a slave caravan heading to the southern coastal provinces for trade.

The wheels rolled and the dust flew.

Fang Han huddled in the dark, crowded carriage, the numb breathing and sobbing of the other slaves around him. His fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, his eyes filled with bewilderment, humiliation, and a flicker of resentment. He couldn't understand why, suddenly, he had been so easily abandoned and sold by his master.

Unbeknownst to him, the trajectory of his fate had been dramatically altered by a visitor from a distant realm, someone he had never met before, who was residing far away in the immortal sect.

Meanwhile, in the distant Star Gate, a middle-aged man frowned slightly, gazing towards the direction of Longyuan Province. His expression became somewhat blank. After a while, he returned to normal and lowered his head again to examine the information about the Yellow Springs Gate within the sect.

The Fang family in Longyuan Province remained a bustling and prosperous place, with no one noticing the disappearance of a lowly stable boy. After dealing with this minor matter, Fang Zeshan put it out of his mind and continued to busy himself with selecting high-quality candidates to send to the Immortal Sect.

Only Li Chengqian, who was far away at the Moon-Gazing Peak of the Feathered Immortal Sect, felt something during a meditation retreat. He looked up at the southern horizon and smiled slightly.

"No matter what kind of opportunities or fortune you have, this is the first step that has severed ties with the Fang family. Let's see how you will enter the Immortal Ascension Sect without the Fang family's support!"

He never believed that Fang Han would not enter the Immortal Sect after leaving the Fang family. After all, besides Fang Qingxue, there was also Hua Tiandu in the Feathered Immortal Sect. These were people with whom he had a great karmic connection. Under such karmic entanglements, the scheming of the mortal world was even insignificant.

Putting aside other things, take Bai Haichan for example. The reason he appeared in Longyuan Province was because Fang Han was there. Now that Fang Han has left Longyuan Province, Bai Haichan will not choose Longyuan Province as his final destination in the future. He is very clear about this.

However, when you're trying to poach someone, you can't make a big fuss. You have to dig gently and thoroughly, and be patient!

(End of this chapter)