If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

While Zhou Ming was far away in the Yuyang County Palace, his cultivation level broke through once again, just as Su Mingyue was engaged in a fierce battle with Zhao Chongyuan and Yuwen Shuo at Qingyun Pass.

Inside the dantian, the purple-gold primordial elixir was originally floating quietly, with Dao patterns flowing on its surface, emitting a warm and deep purple light.

As hundreds of thousands of causal chains on the Qingyun Mountain battlefield broke in large sections, a surging heat flowed into the dantian like a flood bursting its banks.

Under the continuous onslaught of this torrent of magical power, the surface of the Purple Gold Elixir shone ever brighter.

It changed from a warm, pale purple to a dazzling bright purple, and then from bright purple to a piercing, fiery white.

The blurry phantom inside the Yuan Dan began to tremble violently, as if something imprisoned within the Dan wall was desperately trying to break free.

At a certain moment, the light within the Yuan Dan suddenly contracted sharply, and then exploded with a bang.

The purplish-gold cinnabar wall was shattered from the inside, breaking into countless tiny specks of light.

The points of light did not dissipate, but were completely absorbed by the illusory figure in the center, which turned from illusory to real at a speed visible to the naked eye.

First the head, then the torso, and finally the limbs; every detail—facial features, hair strands, and the folds of clothing—is meticulously depicted.

It was a tiny figure that looked exactly like Zhou Ming, with a purple-gold body, sitting cross-legged in the center of his dantian, his eyes slightly closed, and surrounded by a faint halo.

Nascent Soul.

As the nascent soul condensed, an extremely cool sensation suddenly surged into Zhou Ming's sea of ​​consciousness.

It was as if someone had poured the entire mountain's worth of icy spring water into his brain all at once.

The boundaries of his divine sense began to expand rapidly outward, breaking through the original nine thousand meters and effortlessly surpassing the ten thousand meter mark.

Then, driven by the continuous influx of coolness, it continued to spread further afield.

Two days and two nights passed, and as the heat of the Qingyun Mountain battlefield gradually subsided, Zhou Ming's spiritual sense range had steadily stopped within a radius of forty kilometers.

Within a radius of forty kilometers, from the imperial palace to Yuyang County, and from the county to the surrounding towns and farms.

From caravans on the official road to hunters on mountain trails, everything was clearly visible and within his perception.

Zhou Ming spread out his divine sense, intending to routinely scan the defenses, but he discovered a manor on the edge of a town about twenty miles away from the palace.

The manor looked unremarkable from the outside, with gray tiles and white walls, a few jujube trees in the courtyard, and a dilapidated oxcart parked at the gate.

But inside the manor's main hall, a group of people were gathered, all of whom had thick chains of karma hanging above their heads, and their cultivation levels ranged from the Skin Refining Realm to the Tendon Refining Stage.

In Zhou Ming's consciousness, it was like a small candle lit in the darkness.

A figure sat in the main seat in the hall, listening intently to the people below, his brows furrowed.

It turned out to be Fang Yuan.

This kid was the first in the Marquis's mansion to complete the "Scripture of Crossing the World," but after the incident of Zhu Zi killing Steward Zhang came to light, he ran away.

Zhou Ming later learned from the causal chain that he was still alive, but he did not expect that not only was he alive, but he had also gathered such a group of followers with not low cultivation levels, and had obviously become the leader of this group.

Fang Yuan's cultivation level has also changed dramatically, reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining, which is equivalent to a strong person in the Tendon Refining stage.

Among the unaffiliated cultivators who grew up in the wild, he was considered a top-tier expert.

Zhou Ming focused his divine sense and carefully listened to their conversation.

"Holy Son, let's continue north. Once we cross the northern border, we'll reach the Great Yuan territory."

"At that time, the sky will be high enough for birds to fly freely and the sea will be wide enough for fish to leap freely. We will no longer need to hide, and we can continue to carry out the teachings of all beings."

The speaker was a burly man with a thick beard standing to Fang Yuan's right. He was at the Refining Muscle stage of cultivation, and his tone was urgent.

Fang Yuan did not answer immediately.

He sat in the main seat, tapping his fingers absently on the armrest of the chair.

He spoke after a moment, his voice much lower and more composed than when he used to tend horses at the Marquis's residence:

"I don't intend to stay in Yuyang County; I just want to find out the origin of the 'Scripture of Crossing the World'."

"I discovered this cultivation technique in Yuyang County. I couldn't eat or sleep until I figured out its origin. I felt like I had a fishbone stuck in my throat. I always felt that this cultivation technique was not as simple as it seemed."

"Holy Son, who cares about his background? We can investigate him slowly after we've completed our great undertaking," another tall, thin man said anxiously.

"Holy Son, given the Su family's control over Youzhou, it's too dangerous for us to stay here."

"Although Su Mingyue is currently leading troops outside, the defenses in the county town have not been relaxed at all."

"The new prefect, Zhou Ming, looks all smiles, but he's ruthless than anyone else. You know how those powerful families were wiped out before."

"Please reconsider, Your Majesty. Staying here for even a quarter of an hour increases the danger," the burly man with a thick beard said in a deep voice, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

"Please reconsider, Your Majesty." The others in the hall echoed in unison.

Zhou Ming withdrew his divine sense and leaned back in his chair, pondering to himself.

Wasn't the leader of the Sect of All Beings killed by Yuwen Shuo and Zhao Chongyuan outside Anzhou City? How come a Holy Son has suddenly appeared?

And this holy son is actually Fang Yuan?

Could it be that the person who provided the "Scripture of Salvation" to the Sentient Beings Sect was Fang Yuan?

The book "The Scripture of Crossing the World" that he gave to Fang Yuan was something Fang Yuan learned by practicing. According to the book, "Those who have mastered this divine skill must pass it on to a hundred people."

It spread all the way north and eventually came into the hands of the Zhong Sheng Sect.

If you follow this line of thought, the whole thing becomes connected.

He failed in his attempt to spread the scriptures in the dilapidated temple and was called a sorcerer by beggars, so he had to find another way to distribute the scriptures to noble families and the streets and alleys.

Fang Yuan unintentionally took one of the seeds he had sown out of the Marquis's mansion.

It led to a wider world.

The religious uprising that swept across most of the Great Xia Dynasty resulted in countless Imperial Guards being killed by their followers in front of the city gates of Anzhou.

The loyalist army and the Zhong Sheng Sect fought a bloody battle in Cangzhou and Anzhou, resulting in the death of Emperor Zhengde and the marquis of Yongning.

In the end, it all had an inextricable connection with the copy of "The Book of Crossing the World" that he had scattered on the haystack in the stables of the Marquis's mansion.

Of course, Fang Yuan himself was unaware that the source of all this was Zhou Ming.

But this kid is really talented.

He managed to escape from the Marquis's mansion and then, in such a short time, assemble a force and become a Holy Son.

They've been hiding right under the noses of Yuyang County for so long without being discovered.

If I hadn't just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage today, greatly expanding my spiritual sense range and discovering this remote manor, he might have really continued to hide there.

Sending them north to wreak havoc on the Yuan Dynasty is a good idea.

The cultivation levels of this group were all around the Tendon Refining stage, and their Qi Refining level was four layers high. If they were thrown into the Great Yuan territory, they would cause quite a turbulent current.

The Great Yuan Dynasty has been eyeing our north for so long; it's time to set fire to their backyard as well.

However, this kid is still hesitant, so we need to give him a push.

Zhou Ming raised his hand and summoned the Imperial Guard captain outside the door, instructing him:

"We just received intelligence that the remnants of the Zhong Sheng Sect may be hiding in a manor on the edge of a town twenty miles east of the city."

"Take a group of men and go there to investigate. Make sure you search thoroughly."

The captain clasped his hands in acceptance of the order and departed.

Zhou Ming leaned back in his chair and re-examined the manor with his divine sense.

Before long, the rapid sound of horses' hooves rang out on the outskirts of the town, and the light of torches illuminated the night sky above the town.

The people in the manor hall had obviously heard the commotion as well. Several of them rushed to the windows and looked out, their expressions changing drastically.

"Holy Son! It's the Imperial Guards, and they seem to be coming for us!" the burly man with a thick beard exclaimed urgently.

Fang Yuan suddenly stood up, his face showing no panic, but rather a greater sense of decisiveness.

He glanced out the window for a moment, then turned back, his tone no longer hesitant: "Pass down the order, withdraw tonight. Head north, cross the border."