New and dark light years

Chapter 491 Failure or failure
A true lord cannot kill; this is a hard and fast rule of the contract.

But for a powerful True Lord, this treaty... is merely a constraint, not a rule.

It is possible to break free.

The Tree Fairy Goddess stayed by Li Lin's side without saying a word.

The rain was misty and the silence was extraordinary.

Li Lin held the umbrella over her head and said as they walked, "I have a feeling that we will encounter a very powerful opponent in the future, and your task, Tree Fairy, is to accumulate strength. I might need you to break the deadlock in the future."

"You're overthinking it. There's no such danger."

Li Lin shook his head, his gaze piercing through the white rain curtain, looking into the distance as if looking at the future: "Putting aside everything else, the fact that you three sisters and other strange creatures have lost your memories is very questionable. There must be something very powerful hindering your understanding."

The Tree Fairy Goddess gently lowered her head.

Looking at her like this, Li Lin smiled and said, "I know you don't want me to worry, but I've already stepped into cultivation with one foot in the door, and there are some things I have to face sooner or later."

After a moment of silence, the Tree Fairy looked up at Li Lin, a hint of amusement in her eyes: "Yes, I'll listen to you."

After she finished speaking, her paper figure collapsed to the ground and then turned into a bluish-purple flame and disappeared.

The paper figures that have been possessed by her divine consciousness will all be like this.

When Li Lin returned to his doorstep, he saw Huang Qing and three other women carrying weapons as they went out.

His face was filled with murderous intent.

He was followed by several worshippers and a squad of personal guards.

Huang Qing and Hong Luan, in particular, were both carrying spears that were ten feet long, making them very conspicuous.

"What are you doing!" Li Lin exclaimed in surprise.

Upon seeing Li Lin, the murderous intent on the four women's faces vanished instantly. They trotted forward, happily surrounding him and bombarding him with questions.

"My lord, are you alright?"

"Husband, who dares to lay a hand on you?"

"My lord, where did the enemy escape to? Are there any survivors? I will chase after them and kill them all to avenge you."

…………

After listening for a while, Li Lin understood.

It turned out that some of the guards were blocked by the formation and could not get in. They also could not find Li Lin, so they immediately ran to report to the lady.

When Huang Qing and the others heard that Li Lin was surrounded by a strange fog, they knew something was amiss. They immediately grabbed their weapons, led their men out, and fought their way out to rescue their man.

However, Li Lin resolved the matter rather quickly. By the time they grabbed their weapons and called for reinforcements, Li Lin had already returned.

"fine."

To be honest, Li Lin was actually quite touched.

It's so good that my wife isn't the kind of weak woman who can only wait at home for news when something happens.

If I were to encounter any trouble someday, a woman like this could be my right-hand woman, instead of me standing by trembling in fear, waiting for Li Lin to solve everything.

After the five returned home, Huang Qing checked Li Lin over thoroughly and, after confirming that he was indeed unharmed, she felt relieved and went about her business with the other three women.

Li Lin was reading in his study to pass the time.

He was waiting... waiting for the relics of those masters from the Immortal Execution Society to be delivered.

The yamen runners and guards were very efficient; they packed everything up and delivered it in less than half an hour.

Li Lin first laid a cheap burlap sack over the desk, then took out the 'relics' one by one from the rather large bundle and placed them on it.

Silver notes, weapons, five wine gourds, and some other commonly used small items.

For example, small tinderboxes, sachets for repelling insects, and so on.

These items all had some bloodstains on them, more or less.

Apart from the wine gourd, everything else was worthless.

Finally, one thing caught Li Lin's attention.

It was something somewhat similar to a 'xun', but much smaller than the musical instrument 'xun'.

It's black and has strange patterns on it.

Li Lin picked it up and found it strange; he could clearly hold something, but it didn't feel substantial.

It is so light that it seems to have no weight.

It must be a 'divine' object.

After studying it for a while, he suddenly noticed a new clue in his field of vision.

[Formation +1]

Oh!
Li Lin became interested. The patterns on this thing were actually an array?
He took out a piece of white paper from the side and painstakingly drew the array on the small xun onto the paper.

Moreover, the 'hint' kept appearing throughout his description.

After completing the description of the formation, Li Lin gained a deeper understanding of formations.

He could now vaguely sense that he had gained a deeper understanding of the formation in the immortal cave that trapped 'Liu Chi'.

Of course, it's not quite at the point where it can be solved yet, but it already has a vague sense of getting started.

This is good stuff.

Li Lin picked up the small xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument), looked at the patterns on it, and nodded repeatedly.

"Collect the sound and then transmit it to a distant place?"

Li Lin clicked his tongue subconsciously, as if he had thought of something.

Then he found several tiny protrusions on the xun.

Through his research, he discovered that this thing actually has a 'self-destruct' function.

If it is used incorrectly while in operation, it will self-destruct.

However, this did not stump Li Lin. After looking at the array on the white paper several more times, he condensed a bright cloud of stardust in his right hand.

Next, press the stardust into the small xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument).

Before long, the small xun emitted a pale green light, and its entire surface changed from black to transparent green, floating in mid-air.

Li Lin squinted and gently touched the three different protrusions in the order he had untied them.

Before long, the small xun began to tremble slightly.

Then a distorted voice came through: "Elder Fang, why did you suddenly contact me using your super hearing?"

The voice was very shrill, making it almost impossible to tell if it was male or female.

Li Lin thought for a moment, recalling Fang Zhan's voice, and said in a hoarse voice, "I have seriously injured Li Lin. Please send some people to assist me."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a sharp voice demanded, "You're not Fang Zhan, who are you?"

Li Lin frowned. Even with such a distorted voice, the other party could tell that he wasn't Fang Zhan?
Wait a minute... Maybe the other person's voice sounds distorted to me, but not to them!
Then there is no other way.

"Li Lin".

The other party did not speak, and the small xun quickly lost its green luster and fell onto the table, then turned into a ball of white ash at an extremely fast speed.

It self-destructed.

I don't know if it's controlled by the other side, or if this is just the mechanism of the little ocarina—it self-destructs as soon as communication is established. But the Jade Dynasty Society is something else; they actually managed to create this radio-like contraption.

Although it was a pity that the small xun was destroyed, Li Lin was not upset about it.

He had already recorded the magic array on the small xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument) and had vaguely understood its principles.

If he can get his hands on materials for the small xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument), he should be able to make a few copies.

Li Lin glanced at the table again. He wasn't very interested in the things on it, so he put away the silver notes and packed up the other items, preparing to throw them away.

I have to say, the Zhuxian Guild has a lot of good stuff.

Although Li Lin could not use most of the immortal swords, artifacts, and other items they "sent," they were slowly "enriching" Li Lin's knowledge base.

They deserve immense credit for Li Lin's success.

Time passes day by day.

Li Lin devoted more of his time to cultivation.

The most important thing is dual cultivation.

This is the fastest way for Li Lin to increase his spiritual energy, bar none.

He entrusted most of the mundane affairs to Jiang Jili.

It wasn't until two months later, when the government troops who had gone to Xiangjun returned in triumph, that Li Lin emerged from this state of cultivation where he was oblivious to day and night and the passage of time.

Xiao Chunzhu and other military commanders captured six county towns in Xiangjun and brought them firmly under their control.

While these six county towns may not be considered strategically vital locations, they are still quite important, at least increasing the strategic space of Jin County.

In the White Tiger Hall of the administrative office, Li Lin sat in the main seat, while Xiao Chunzhu bowed respectfully: "My lord, we have already investigated and found that Xiang County has indeed been corrupted after Zhang's bandits ran rampant. Officials in various counties are either dead or have fled, and the young and strong have been taken away by Zhang's bandits. This is a great opportunity for us to enter."

Li Lin nodded: "So, in most of the county towns of Xiangjun, only the elderly and women and children are left?"

"Yes."

Li Lin looked at Jiang Jili beside him and said, "Then please ask Secretary Zhang to issue a notice to relocate the people there and help us occupy those county towns."

"They might not be willing?"

“Give land to the people who are willing to move,” Li Lin said with a smile. “The people of our Great Qi value land the most. If they have land to give them, they will be willing.”

"In that case, sir, your gains..."

Li Lin waved his hand: "As for money, enough is enough. Give the rest to the people below."

Jiang Jili nodded: "Yes, I understand."

Li Lin pondered for a moment and said, "We can't openly say that we want to occupy Xiang County right now. Let's send a letter to the Secretariat and say that we helped the court take back Xiang County and ask them to give us some silver and grain as military expenses."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the White Tiger Hall burst into laughter.

Jiang Jili also said with a smile, "The imperial court is not stupid; they should not agree."

"Whether they are willing or not is not important. What is important is that I have told the world about this, and we'll see how they respond."

The others didn't quite understand what Li Lin meant.

But Jiang Jili understood. He pondered for a moment and said solemnly, "Your Excellency's insight is brilliant. I will take care of it immediately."

After Jiang Jili left, Li Lin said, "Xiao Chunzhu, Guo Yuan, Ji Bo, listen to my command."

The three men stepped forward and knelt on one knee in front of Li Lin.

Li Lin's expression was solemn as he said, "Each of you will lead five thousand elite troops and enter Xiang County from the east, central, and west routes. At the same time, bring more than three times the amount of grain. The first thing you should do after you occupy the county is to distribute porridge to win the hearts of the people. Do you understand?"

The eyes of the White Tiger Hall members lit up even more.

Under what circumstances does an army need to win the hearts and minds of the people?
That was naturally the time to prepare for the struggle for supremacy in the Central Plains.

"As ordered."

The three men clasped their hands in greeting.

Li Lin continued, "As for the others, each should keep to their duties and pay attention to the movements of the Qin and Tang armies. However, we must not allow them to be ambushed by the government troops while they are attacking Xiang County. Do you understand?"

"I understand!"

The generals roared.

Li Lin returned home from the White Tiger Hall to continue his cultivation.

Worldly matters are important, but spiritual practice is even more important.

……

Qidong County.

At this time, the Zhuxian Society was holding its main headquarters meeting.

The branch leaders from various places all rushed over.

Fifty-six people gathered together.

Zeng Hongluo, as a former branch leader, was also able to attend this meeting.

She was sitting in the back at the moment, with several other women beside her.

However, they were all older women and not particularly pretty, so the way these older women looked at her seemed to carry a hint of jealousy.

The one sitting in the main seat is naturally the Grand Master.

The Grand Master looked relaxed and said, "I am very pleased that you all could come despite your busy schedules."

As soon as the leader spoke, the room, which had been somewhat noisy, immediately fell silent.

"I've been recuperating from my injuries recently, and I'm almost fully recovered. Two years ago, I fought the Golden Armored Divine Man in the capital. Although I was defeated, the Golden Armored Divine Man didn't gain anything either, otherwise he wouldn't have released the Evil Phoenix." The Grand Master's expression was inscrutable. "Our failure to assassinate the Emperor was also related to my injuries. Who would have thought that the Emperor had actually cultivated something?"

Everyone looked dazed.

Zeng Hongluo looked envious upon hearing this.

The Grand Master continued, "Now that the Evil Phoenix has emerged, it's impossible for us to deal with both the Golden Armored God and the Evil Phoenix at the same time. Therefore, I intend to kill Qin Tuo first, and I ask for your assistance."

None of the branch leaders spoke.

An elderly man sitting at the front bowed and said, “Chief, in my opinion, Qin Tuo is not worth dealing with now. Li Lin of Jin County is our real threat. He is getting stronger too fast. Three months ago, five of our elders went to besiege him, but we failed. He even took Shunfeng'er from us and had a conversation with me.”

The Grand Master's face, smooth as a baby's, showed a hint of helplessness: "Didn't I say that Qin Tuo is the reincarnation of a demon from beyond the realm? He is our greatest enemy, the enemy of the entire Great Qi. No matter how powerful Li Lin is, he is still a member of our Great Qi. There is a difference between insiders and outsiders, and naturally, there must be a difference between those who come first and those who go last."

The elderly man who had spoken earlier thought for a moment, then clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and fell silent.

But at this moment, another person stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Chief, I cannot agree with what you say."

The speaker was a young man who was sitting at the very back.

Generally speaking, the further back you sit, the less senior the other person is.

The Grand Master smiled and said, "What are your thoughts?"

The young man was quite dashing, and he said with great spirit, "Qin Tuo is ultimately an outsider. If he becomes powerful, he will be attacked by the whole world. Barbarians cannot be rulers. But Li Lin is different. He is one of our Great Qi people. If he gains power, other forces in this world may not be willing to deal with him, and may even sit and watch him succeed. Once that happens, Li Lin will become a major threat, even more so than Qin Tuo."

The Grand Master narrowed his eyes slightly: "That makes sense. So, what do you think should be done?"

“Li Lin is not strong at the moment and is not a threat, but we cannot let him grow stronger.” The young man’s voice was loud: “I am willing to lead all the righteous men of the ship to Tianjin to ambush and kill Li Lin. We will die for him if we fail.”

The Grand Master thought for a moment and said, "One branch has too few people. Add three more branch branches and ten elders, and we will surely succeed."

(End of this chapter)