Primordial Era: I rule the great sect and command all immortals.

Zhu Yuanzhang had already been thinking about reducing the influence of the Jie Sect, so he took the opportunity to grant Liu Bowen permission to retire and return to his hometown.

Zhu Yuanzhang was getting a little anxious.

This incident caused a huge uproar.

It not only involved the imperial court but also affected the realm of immortals.

Liu Bowen was the spokesperson appointed by the Jie Sect.

It was a link with the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang's decision to have Liu Bowen retire to his hometown signified a problem in the relationship with the Jie Sect.

The news quickly spread from the imperial court to the front lines.

When the disciples of the Jie Sect at the front lines heard this news, they were furious.

Lin Lingsu personally led the army and suppressed the discontent of the Jiejiao disciples.

"Alright, everyone, this is a minor matter. Let's withdraw! Let's teach Zhu Yuanzhang a lesson."

After some persuasion, Lin Lingsu said calmly.

"Junior brother, that scoundrel Zhu Yuanzhang really got off easy! No one has ever dared to play such a trick on our sect before; he's courting death!"

Sun Wukong was furious and slammed his fist on the table with a loud "bang".

"Exactly! Junior brother, why don't I take matters into my own hands and use the Profound Yin Netherfire to refine Zhu Yuanzhang to death! Then we can have a more obedient emperor."

Wuzhiqi grinned maliciously. He was a lawless person to begin with. Otherwise, he would not have been able to cause trouble and was eventually suppressed by the human emperor Yu the Great.

At this moment, Wuzhiqi's anger was no less than Sun Wukong's.

Although the other members of the Jie Sect didn't say anything, their expressions were all very unfriendly.

They fought and died for the Zhu family's empire.

As a result, Zhu Yuanzhang, that beast, resorted to underhanded tactics to eliminate the influence of the Jie Sect.

This is simply intolerable.

"Hahaha! Gentlemen, calm down! He's just a mere emperor."

Lin Lingsu chuckled and said, "This person is part of the Great Tribulation. He has a great role to play, but we cannot deal with this rebellious individual. We must think about how to utilize him to strike at our enemies. Once Zhu Yuanzhang is no longer of use, you can do whatever you want with him."

"Alright! That's the only way. Everyone can go back and rest."

Yuan Hong chuckled.

This was the first time in all these years that he had seen something so interesting.

As for anger?

Yuan Hong is no longer the same Yuan Hong he once was; this little thing is not enough to anger him.

Hearing Yuan Hong and Lin Lingsu's words, the others could only suppress their anger for the time being and spare the fickle Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Hahaha! Ziyang, go and tell the commander-in-chief to find a reason for all our Jie Sect forces to withdraw. Don't burn bridges; the cooperation won't end there."

Finally, Lin Lingsu handed over the finishing touches to Master Ziyang.

As for the other immortals, they all rode away on clouds.

"Sigh! This troublesome matter has to be cleaned up by me."

Master Ziyang sighed, found an excuse and gave the marshal of the Ming army an extremely natural and lame reason, and then took his leave.

"Alas! Your Majesty, this is too hasty!"

Marshal Lan Yu was on the verge of tears, as hundreds of immortals and thousands of Qi cultivators had all left.

Now, only a few wandering immortals and Qi cultivators remain in the army.

These people came from all over the country, and some of them were recruited by Zhu Yuanzhang himself.

How could such strength possibly match the strength of the opposing Yuan Dynasty?

This is not the end, it is only the beginning.

Less than three months after Liu Bowen retired to his hometown, there were no more members of the Jie Sect in the entire army of the Ming Empire.

Instead of being limited to the front lines.

Lan Yu sent one distress letter after another back to the capital. The frontline army was unprecedentedly weak, which made Lan Yu somewhat desperate.

……

Three months later, news from Yingtian also spread.

"Hahaha! Now is the perfect opportunity! Grand Preceptor, let's send troops and crush the Ming army in one fell swoop!"

On this day, Wang Baobao, the commander of the Great Yuan Empire, laughed heartily. This news had finally been confirmed by the spies in Yingtian Prefecture, and it was definitely not a conspiracy.

Upon hearing this good news, Wang Baobao immediately approached Phagpa.

Is this accurate?

Phagpa was stunned, somewhat incredulous.

Was Zhu Yuanzhang insane?

Before the country was even settled, they dared to discard the useful tool and drive the Jie Sect out of the Ming Empire.

Does this mean he doesn't want the throne anymore?

Phagpa's first reaction was disbelief; he didn't believe a single word of it!

This must be a conspiracy by the Jie Sect to lure the enemy deep into their territory, hoping to trick them out and then surround and attack them.

Correct!

It must be this plan!

The people of the Jie Sect are indeed vicious!

Phagpa frantically conjured up the "truth" in his mind.

"Absolutely true! Your Excellency, the news came from the highest levels of the Ming Dynasty court. Zhu Yuanzhang has truly gone mad; he's courting his own destruction!"

Wang Baobao said affirmatively.

Then he recounted in detail the findings of the spies' investigation over the past period to Phagpa.

"Could it really be true?"

Phagpa was dumbfounded; he really couldn't believe it!

There are those who discard the donkey after it has served its purpose, and those who cook the hunting dog after the cunning rabbit is dead. You haven't even won yet, and you've already driven away the Jie Sect members like this?

"Alright! You go back first! This humble monk and a few fellow Daoists have discussed it, and once we confirm the news is true, the army will set off immediately!"

After thinking for a moment, Phagpa said.

Even now, Phagpa is still not sure and needs to discuss it with his fellow Daoists. He dares not make this decision!

It was really alright; we won a great victory.

If it's fake, then there's a possibility of total annihilation!

"Yes, sir! I take my leave!"

Wang Baobao dared not force the issue and could only return to await news.

Immediately after Wang Baobao left, Phagpa summoned all the immortals.

Buddhists, dragons, ghosts, demons, and even some wandering immortals gathered together, and everyone was stunned after hearing Phagpa's narration.

Their reactions seemed no different from Phagpa's.

Is this insane?

Are they so crazy that they're courting their own destruction?

"Heh heh heh! Since that's the case, what are we waiting for? Let's send troops immediately to completely crush the Ming army and get out of our current predicament."

A demon king grinned maliciously.

This time, their Ghost Clan tested their mettle and immediately caused the Ming Dynasty to collapse, alienating both immortals and mortals, which made him very proud.

The price paid by the Ghost Clan was negligible, even insignificant.

It's not even a drop in the ocean.

A few vengeful ghosts? We can have as many as we want!

The Nine Netherworlds are never short of ghosts.

"Now that we've confirmed the withdrawal of the Jie Sect, we can make our move."

A powerful dragon also agreed.

They harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Jie Sect, and this was a perfect opportunity to vent their pent-up anger.

"Very well! Since you fellow Daoists have agreed to send troops, then we will take action tomorrow to sweep away all extraordinary forces and clear the way for the main force of the Great Yuan!"

Seeing that everyone agreed to send troops, Phagpa finally made the decision.

Early the next morning, the immortals of the Witch-Buddha-Demon Alliance flew in on auspicious clouds. They scanned the surrounding three thousand miles with their divine senses and confirmed that there was no trace of the Intercepting Sect. There were only some scattered immortals and Qi cultivators serving in the army.

"Hahaha! Just as I thought!"

A demon king laughed loudly, holding a long banner in his hand. With a wave of his hand, he sent out thousands of ghosts flying straight towards the Ming army camp.

"Hehehe..."

In an instant, the sky was filled with ghostly energy, and the howling of fierce ghosts could be heard everywhere. Ferocious ghosts pounced on all living beings, whether they were immortals, cultivators, or mortals, they were all within their attack range.

The Ming army reacted immediately, but how could mortals be a match for ghosts?

The immortals and qi cultivators in the Ming army had just killed a group of ghosts when they were precisely killed by the experts of the Witch-Buddha-Demon Alliance.

"Release the arrows!"

Seeing this, Wang Baobao dared not order the army to charge, and gave a command instead.

Behind them, the archers of the army stepped forward in unison, and thousands of arrows, making a "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound, flew towards the Ming army camp like a dense swarm of locusts.

"what……"

The screams of agony were incessant.

After a great battle, the Ming army lost almost all of its immortal power, while the mortal army suffered a crushing defeat, with losses exceeding the total losses inflicted during the war against the Yuan Dynasty.

They retreated in disarray, unable to stop the downward spiral.

The Yuan cavalry were extremely fierce, relentlessly pursuing their prey all the way from the heart of the Yuan territory to the banks of the Yangtze River.

The Ming Dynasty was left with only tens of thousands of defeated soldiers, who, under the leadership of Lan Yu, withdrew back to Ming territory.

In this battle, the gains of many years were lost in a single day.

All advantages are gone.

Soon after, the frontline battle turned against them, and the situation returned to its pre-war state.

Taking advantage of the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, the Yuan army, which was not skilled in naval warfare and lacked sufficient warships, was unable to cross the Yangtze River and wipe out the Ming Empire in one fell swoop.

That winter, Yingtian was exceptionally cold.

Zhu Yuanzhang was on the verge of tears, and the entire court was deathly silent.

The five million-strong army was wiped out in a single day, and countless descendants of nobles perished.

These descendants of the nobles were originally meant to seize the spoils of victory and were pre-arranged to occupy the occupied territories, where they were given official positions.

Little did they expect that before they could plunder much gold and silver, their own army collapsed. Those left behind behind enemy lines were doomed and were slaughtered one by one by the Yuan army.

The entire dynasty was filled with despair among its officials.

"Your Majesty, we should reinstate the Grand Astrologer Liu Ji! At this point, we cannot abandon the Jie Sect!"

In the inner palace, Empress Ma offered her advice.

"Sigh! That's all we can do."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, then cursed, "These immortals are shameless! One day, I will extinguish the roots of the immortal path!"

"Your Majesty! Such words must never be spoken outside!"

Empress Ma was shocked; she never imagined that Zhu Yuanzhang would dare to utter such treasonous words.

"Don't worry! I know what I'm doing!"

Zhu Yuanzhang realized he had spoken out of turn and did not discuss the topic further.

The following day, at the morning court session, Zhu Yuanzhang personally issued an edict praising Liu Ji's military achievements and summoning him to the capital for reinstatement.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The courtiers were overjoyed, and everyone agreed with the plan. Even Li Shanchang, who was at odds with Liu Bowen, chose to remain silent.

This time, with the front lines collapsing and the Ming Dynasty on the verge of collapse, they finally realized the power of the Immortal Path and that the existence of the dynasty could not be separated from the protection of the Immortal Path.

To express his apology, Zhu Yuanzhang bestowed generous rewards upon Liu Ji, posthumously granting his grandfather and father the title of Duke of Yongjia, and repeatedly offered to elevate Liu Ji's rank.

However, Liu Bowen firmly declined the offer.

At this point, Liu Bowen had to make his stance clear: Zhu Yuanzhang had gone too far this time.

He needed to restore the reputation of the Jie Sect, so he naturally couldn't just blindly obey Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial edicts and happily accept rewards.

The Jie Sect not only failed to gain face, but also lost face.

We must make Zhu Yuanzhang realize his mistake.

Left with no other option, Zhu Yuanzhang personally left the capital and went to Liu Ji's hometown to beg for Liu Bowen's forgiveness.

"Minister Liu, all that happened before was due to Li Shanchang's instigation and sowing discord, which ruined our relationship as ruler and subject!"

When persuasion failed, Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth and finally said, "I intend to severely punish Prime Minister Li Shanchang and appoint you as the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty. What do you think, my dear minister?"

This is a huge pie; Zhu Yuanzhang really went all out.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bowen was also taken aback, not expecting that Zhu Yuanzhang would appoint him as prime minister.

He was about to agree, but then he remembered Zhu Yuanzhang's fickle nature, so his expression turned cold, and he said indifferently, "Although Li Shanchang has made mistakes, he has made great contributions, has high prestige, and can reconcile the generals."

Zhu Yuanzhang, thick-skinned as ever, pretended not to know and said with a smile, "Li Shanchang has tried to harm you time and time again, and you still put yourself in his shoes and think about things from his perspective?"

"Prime Minister, this is a position of vital importance to the nation; how can it be so easily relinquished?"

Liu Bowen had no choice but to say this, given Zhu Yuanzhang's shameless attitude.

The first attempt to summon Liu Bowen by imperial decree failed.

The second time, Zhu Yuanzhang personally went to the scene, but it failed again.

Upon returning to the capital, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately took action, forcing Li Shanchang to resign and return to his hometown, and appointed Yang Xian as prime minister.

Yang Xian treated Liu Ji very well and was a good friend of Liu Bowen.

The third time, Zhu Yuanzhang personally brought Yang Xian to see Liu Bowen again.

Zhu Yuanzhang's three visits to Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage demonstrated his utmost sincerity.

This saved Liu Bowen's face and also eased the misunderstandings among the Jie Sect members.

This time, Liu Bowen did not refuse Zhu Yuanzhang's request. Zhu Yuanzhang then appointed Liu Ji as a scholar of the Hongwen Pavilion, and also appointed him as a civil official who upholds the dynasty and safeguards the state, a senior official, and a senior military officer. He also granted him the title of Earl of Chengyi and a stipend of 240 shi (a unit of grain).

Overwhelmed with gratitude at such a great favor, Liu Bowen was moved to tears, his gratitude beyond words.

After Liu Bowen re-entered the court, within just six months, the influence of the Jie Sect once again infiltrated all aspects of the Ming Empire.

Having learned from her previous mistakes, Lin Lingsu used two lines of communication, one overt and one covert, to thoroughly infiltrate the court, the royal family, aristocratic families, nobles, merchants, and all other sectors.

If Zhu Yuanzhang were to turn against him again, he would have prepared a way to retaliate.

The Jie Sect absolutely cannot afford to stumble and fall twice.

After Liu Bowen entered the court, he also invited some reclusive masters who were not from the Jie Sect.

Master Zhuchuan, Master Zhaoxuan, and other reclusive scholars all came to seek refuge with them.

The Ming Dynasty's strength is also rapidly recovering, awaiting the arrival of the decisive battle.

Meanwhile, the Yuan Empire was also developing its power, especially its navy.

Warships began to be built in the shipyard, and naval soldiers were training in an orderly manner, waiting for the opportunity to invade the Ming Empire.

Thus, the Yuan and Ming Empires began a brief period of recuperation, awaiting the decisive battle. (End of Chapter)