This peculiar logic fostered the master-disciple relationship between Xin Shisi Niang and Lu Xuan. Aside from that, Lu Xuan couldn't see anything particularly safe about the capital.
However, he still cared deeply for this disciple. It was extremely rare to find a demon who could restrain his desires from harming others and single-mindedly pursue the Dao.
Besides teaching the little fox various practical Taoist techniques, he also left behind methods of communication. Taoism has many similar methods. For example, the concept of a predestined marriage is achieved by tying two red strings around the wrists of a man and a woman, allowing them to sense each other's feelings. Other methods include sending messages via paper cranes or communicating through mirrors.
After Lu Xuan burned the tool ghost in front of the emperor, the capital returned to a brief period of calm. Everyone acted as if nothing had happened, going about their own business. Only the Grand Preceptor sensed a subtle shift in the emperor's attitude towards him.
People who believe in religion ultimately need a sense of security. The Imperial Advisor had provided the Emperor with immense security over the past thirty years. But in just this short month, he was utterly overwhelmed by unparalleled fear.
This made the emperor begin to feel dissatisfied with the existence of the Grand Preceptor. Don't doubt it, this is the emperor. The Grand Preceptor is a demon, though he possesses some human qualities. He was able to unknowingly become the emperor's most trusted confidant, even coming one step closer to taking over the reins of government. However, he didn't understand that the emperor, in essence, is different from a human.
Simply put, you can never be a true friend of the emperor. Look at Li Linfu back then; he almost accomplished what the imperial advisor wanted to do. But in the later years of Li Longji's reign, he easily crushed him (although it did not change the fate of the Tang Dynasty).
The emperor's mind had changed, meaning the Grand Preceptor's previous efforts were essentially wasted. However, this wasn't a major issue, given the Grand Preceptor's long-standing influence and the considerable power he had cultivated within the court. If the emperor's influence was no longer viable, he could still pursue another path: a coup.
Seizing power through a coup is far more difficult than an emperor relinquishing power. Those who usurp the throne are generally despised, especially first-generation usurpers who find it hard to gain popular support. This means that even if they succeed in usurping the throne, they will not be able to fully control the fate of the Jin Dynasty in a short period.
As for Lu Xuan, his view was that the Imperial Preceptor was far too greedy. He painstakingly plotted to seize the entire dynasty's fortune. Little did he know that the path of cultivation is rarely perfect. Or rather, perfection only exists at the end of cultivation. And perfection is clearly a wish that can only be hoped for but never attained.
Its cultivation had actually reached an extremely high level. According to Lu Xuan's estimation, it wouldn't need the entire dynasty's fortune to transform into a dragon. But it wasn't satisfied; it insisted on obtaining everything. Little did it know, the more meticulous the plan, the more prone it is to error.
At this moment, Lu Xuan received a message from the little fox Xin Shisi Niang.
"Master, I've discovered a secret. There are many monsters in the capital!"
"Really? How many monsters have you discovered?"
“There are so many, I can’t even count them all. But that’s not the main point. Master, the key thing is that I discovered that many of those monsters are centipede demons.”
"Centipede demons?" Lu Xuan was slightly puzzled, then suddenly realized. So that's it! The reason this demon network was so perfect was because most of the demons were centipede demons. They might even be descendants of the Imperial Advisor. These insect-like demons were relatively easy to reproduce. However, the fact that hundreds of offspring could be produced at once, all with a certain level of cultivation, still left Lu Xuan utterly astonished.
"Master, are you still there?"
Lu Xuan and Xin Shisi Niang communicate through a special bracelet developed by Lu Xuan. This is also an application of the mother-child rune system. The mother rune is naturally in Lu Xuan's hands, so Xin Shisi Niang cannot sense whether Lu Xuan is online or not.
“I’m still here. But Fourteenth Sister, listen to your master, don’t get involved in this matter anymore. As long as they don’t harm your family, don’t investigate it. Do you understand?”
"Oh, Master, I understand." Although a little unwilling, the little fox respected her master greatly. She would definitely listen to what Lu Xuan said.
After hanging up the call with the little fox, Lu Xuan wore a thoughtful expression and then entered a state of seclusion. This puzzled Zuo Qianhu, Li Donglai, and the others.
"What? He's going into seclusion at this time? Doesn't he know that there's already some undercurrent in the court, and news is circulating in the army that some people are secretly making connections? The enemy is already sharpening their knives, and he's going into seclusion now? Is he waiting for us to collect his corpse when he comes out?"
Faced with the men's fury, Xiahou almost drew his sword and slaughtered all these reckless fools. He was a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person of the martial arts world) with little sense of national duty. After following Lu Xuan, he regarded Lu Xuan as a god and hoped to achieve great things in his cultivation and become like the young master.
He had never had a good impression of these officials.
Xiaoqian and Xiaolan stopped Xiahou and said to the others.
"The young master said that you all just need to act according to your own plans. His seclusion is only to improve his cultivation and deal with the Grand Preceptor. You don't need to worry."
Lu Xuan's seclusion was indeed to deal with the centipede demon. He had previously considered several strategies to counter it, but he ultimately rejected them all. After their meeting at the palace, Lu Xuan essentially determined the difference in their abilities. To put it simply, the centipede demon was a powerful demon at the Core Formation stage, while Lu Xuan was stuck before reaching that stage.
This seemingly small difference is worlds apart in the cultivation world. Even if Lu Xuan has many methods to shorten this gap, the barrier of cultivation level is insurmountable. Therefore, when it comes to the final showdown, unless he can strike the core of the Chinese Master's body with the True Fire of the Sun, his chances of victory are slim.
Considering the various methods the Imperial Advisor's subordinates employed to deal with the True Fire of the Sun, Lu Xuan sensed that the centipede demon was certainly on guard. Therefore, he couldn't place his hopes on the immature True Fire of the Sun. Thus, Lu Xuan decided to seek another method.
In a sense, the art of magic is endless. Countless unique spells, both righteous and evil, are recorded in various Taoist classics.
In fact, in the cultivation world, spreading one's bloodline and descendants on such a large scale is not a very wise behavior.
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Chapter 379 Sword Cultivator Hongyu
Lu Xuan wasn't particularly skilled at curses, but that didn't stop him from accumulating a vast amount of theoretical knowledge. There was no way around it; before he could even get started, he spent over a hundred years studying theory.
Now that he's hit a bottleneck, Lu Xuan has no choice but to expand horizontally, giving himself more options and tactics.
Meanwhile, the Grand Preceptor's actions accelerated. He seemed to have abandoned any legitimate claim to the throne and was preparing to seize power directly. For thirty years, everyone in the court, except the emperor, knew that the Grand Preceptor was secretly plotting something unspeakable.
Many have already begun choosing sides. After all, the emperor has been confined to the palace for thirty years, and many ministers have little faith in him. However, at this time, a different voice is emerging in the army. Several powerful figures in the army are hinting that they will side with the Ninth Prince.
Meanwhile, the ministers who hadn't been replaced formed an alliance to support the Ninth Prince. Unbeknownst to many, the struggle for the throne had already excluded the Emperor from the race.
"The more meticulous the plan, the more prone it is to problems. This saying should also apply to myself," Lu Xuan said with a somewhat helpless smile. The current situation was already beyond his control. This was a backup plan, essentially an open attempt to stop the Grand Preceptor from seizing the nation's fortune. But once the Grand Preceptor saw no hope, he would inevitably turn against them. Thus, they had ultimately returned to the head-on confrontation that Lu Xuan had so desperately wanted to avoid.
At this moment, Lu Xuan's home welcomed an unexpected guest: Ning Caichen. He wondered what had happened in that brief moment of separation. Ning Caichen was now completely different from his previous timid demeanor. Instead, he exuded confidence, radiating a completely different aura in his every movement.
"Brother Ning looks... different!"
"That's right. I had a lot of luck this past year. In a prison in Jinhua, I met a remarkable man named Zhuge Wolong. He took me as his disciple and taught me everything he had learned. Although I only learned a tenth or a twelfth of it, my master said that the rest I would have to hone my skills in the civil service."
“Strategies and tactics are secondary. Brother Ning, your biggest change is in your spirit and energy. You now have a presence you never had before. You are a scholar, originally a humble gentleman. But now... you have a strong and assertive demeanor.”
"It's not about temperament, but about awakening. My teacher has already told me everything that's happened in the capital. Since the capital has been infiltrated by demons, and the nation's vital assets are in imminent danger, what scholars need to do is not to be modest gentlemen, but to go all out. On my way here, I also met an old friend we both know."
"Old friend, Yan Chixia? He's come out of seclusion?"
“That’s right, but it will take him two more days to arrive. He should be detouring to Hebei now to invite a fellow Daoist to come out of seclusion and help us. Brother Lu, you are a highly skilled cultivator. We still need your strength for this battle.”
"A do-or-die situation..." Lu Xuan muttered to himself. He realized something; he didn't know when it had started, but he had begun to fear direct confrontation. You see, when Lu Xuan first started out, he did nothing but armed brawls and solo charges. Back then, he had no superpowers; he relied solely on his physical strength to recklessly charge through armies.
However, after achieving a certain level of cultivation, he began to feel anxious and insecure. Perhaps it was because his cultivation had been so hard-won. This made Lu Xuan cherish it all the more. He had spent hundreds of years finally embarking on the righteous path. Lu Xuan valued this hard-won cultivation so much that he carefully protected it, and over time, his temperament underwent some changes.