"At that time, my advisor betrayed me, as did the minor officials in the prefect's office. Even many of the advisors I had recruited in Jiangdong betrayed me. Overnight, I found myself deserted by everyone."
"I fought back, but I was no match for them. After all, I was only a fourth-level Confucian scholar at the time. Later, probably because of my identity, they couldn't openly kill me, otherwise, it would be suspicious of exposing me. Therefore, I was banished to this realm."
"After entering this place, I was completely trapped in a desperate situation. Then, in the face of life and death, I had a profound enlightenment and broke through. I directly became a Quasi-Saint. It's just a pity that I broke through too late. At that time, I was already exhausted. Although I had sensed the location of the central point, it was still useless." Xun Chang said with some low spirits.
"Oh, by the way, newcomer, even if you manage to mobilize the dragon energy in Jiangdong, you must be careful, as it may suddenly fail at a crucial moment. That's what happened to me; I couldn't mobilize the dragon energy of Wu County even when I used the seal of the Wu County Prefect. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been unable to send out even a single message."
"Be careful, and if possible, please help me bring my remains back to the Xun family. As for this precious jade, that will be my reward," Xun Chang said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang frowned. The situation in Jiangdong was far more dire than he had imagined. If even a prefect appointed by the imperial court had suffered such a calamity, then it was not difficult to understand why he, the Duke of Wu, destined to expand Jiangdong, would meet the same fate.
Moreover, with so many people, including governors, celebrities, and experts, running into trouble in Jiangdong, the imperial court couldn't possibly be unaware of everything. Yet, they truly didn't tell me anything.
It seems my trip to Jiangdong has been quite arduous. No wonder the imperial court was so kind as to dispatch five hundred Imperial Guards for my personal protection; I thought the court had changed its ways.
Now it seems that I, the Duke of Wu, was nothing more than a pawn. A mere pawn that crossed the river, used specifically to test the waters; success would have been even better.
Only then will I, the Duke of Wu, truly deserve the title. Even if we fail, it doesn't matter; the court hasn't suffered any losses anyway.
"That's because I don't have anyone in power. If I were born into a prestigious family, or even noble, I wouldn't be completely ignorant about this. But trying to use me for no reason, aren't they afraid of losing a tooth? In that case, I'll flip the table!"
"If you want to cover it up, then I'll just tell you everything. I really want to see how desperate you are, or rather, how caught off guard you are," Lin Yang muttered to himself.
With that thought in mind, Lin Yang began his search. Then, on the floor, he found a well-preserved skeleton. The body looked incredibly lifelike, indistinguishable from a living person.
Upon glancing at it, Lin Yang discovered that there was a precious jade on the corpse, constantly emitting a layer of extremely dim light, continuously protecting the body. This was the reason why it was so well preserved.
"Another fifth-tier magic weapon, and its grade seems quite high. In that case, let's return the remains to the Xun family." Lin Yang played with the precious jade in his hand, feeling the warmth emanating from it, and said with a smile.
However, after laughing, he frowned again. Although Xun Chang's body was well preserved, it still lacked destiny and extra fortune.
It seems that once a person has been dead for a long time, their destiny will automatically disappear. One can only say that the path to a fifth-tier destiny is long and arduous!
Then, Lin Yang looked at the last of the three marks, which was also a sword-shaped mark. However, as soon as he saw this mark, the sea of fortune churned violently. Streams of black tribulation energy followed, seemingly indicating that dark clouds were about to descend.
Lin Yang's face turned pale instantly. It seems many people can't even find peace in death. Luckily, he was quick-witted; otherwise, he probably would have been tricked.
Then, I examined all the remaining harmless marks. To be honest, I gathered quite a lot of information.
Among them, the weakest was still a fourth-tier hero. Fourth-tier, that's not like cabbage; besides, it's a fourth-tier hero in peacetime.
It's important to understand that in peacetime, before the Land of Reincarnation was opened, a fifth-tier expert was already at the very top of the pyramid. A fourth-tier expert was considered a pillar of a faction.
But now, there are the marks of dozens of fourth-level experts and three fifth-level experts here. It can only be said that this place is really too brutal.
Moreover, from these marks, Lin Yang discovered that they all had one thing in common: they had accidentally discovered something they shouldn't have in Jiangdong.
Some discovered news of the Holy Mountain, while others stumbled upon a hidden paradise. Some discovered something hidden behind the Mao God and the Silver Sacrifice. Others noticed something amiss with the Temple of the War God.
Although each person received only a limited amount of information, the bits and pieces combined had allowed Lin Yang to discover many problems. At least, he now had a general outline in his mind.
The story goes that Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, died unhappy, saying, "I haven't lived enough yet." Therefore, a surviving force has been trying to resurrect him.
And the name of this organization is now the Temple of War. It's just unknown whether the Temple of War in the Land of Reincarnation is actually them. Probably it is, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to produce such a supreme body-refining secret technique as the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.
Moreover, the Temple of War God seems to control the Jiangdong region, and the various gods and spirits, large and small, appear to be collecting incense offerings.
At the same time, this organization also secretly wields considerable control over the entire Jiangdong region. Many people are among their members.
This made Lin Yang feel very uneasy. He had originally planned to establish a base directly in Jiangdong. But then, one day, someone told him that everyone in Jiangdong was actually a secondary account he had created.
This is probably the real reason why all those who have tried to expand into Jiangdong throughout history have failed.
I was too naive. I naively thought that my inability to expand into Jiangdong was simply due to illness. But now it seems, what does a mere illness amount to?
At worst, we can simply have a group of fifth-tier experts, or even a large group of fifth-tier experts, cooperate with a million-strong army to cast a spell. In that case, we can completely change the terrain and climate of this place.
What truly hindered Jiangdong's expansion was this Battle Formation Hall! It simply demonstrates its formidable strength. At the same time, it prevented the imperial court from openly seizing control. But what if it were exposed? Could the court then pretend not to know?
Without hesitation, a communication jade talisman was taken out. Fortunately, it was an item produced in the Land of Reincarnation; otherwise, the message really wouldn't have been able to get out.
"Fengxiao, the situation is like this. The waters of Jiangdong run deep..."
...
At a banquet in Wu County, Jiangdong.
At this very moment, a gathering is taking place here, a gathering of young people. And those participating in the gathering are all outstanding talents from Jiangdong—mostly scions of prominent families.
"Heh heh, this Duke of Wu wanted to get rich quick and seize all the territory outside the six prefectures. Where would you find such a good deal? Look, he's getting his comeuppance. He's fallen right into the gates of hell, and I bet he won't make it out."
The speaker was one of the organizers of today's banquet. He was from the Zhang family and his name was Zhang Ming. At such a young age, he already possessed the strength of the peak of the Innate Realm, which was quite impressive.
The Zhang family, though a prominent family at the prefecture level, would only be considered second-rate in the heart of the Central Plains. However, in a place like Jiangdong, where one can choose the best among the worst, they became a first-rate family.
This person was wearing powder, making their face look pale and sallow. Their lips were painted with bright red paint, making them look extremely ugly.
However, everyone was used to it. The Zhang family made their fortune through rituals and were proficient in various sacrificial arts, so it was normal for them to frequently apply talismans and ointments.
Moreover, before I left today, the elders in my family gave me some advice: observe more and talk less, eat more and do less. Today's banquet is not that simple.
In the past, it was common for governors, skilled warriors, and renowned scholars to die in Jiangdong. However, a duke had never died in such a way!
These local bullies aren't fools. They might not know everything about Xiang Yu, but they generally understood the situation.
There was an organization that secretly wanted to resurrect Xiang Yu. Moreover, it wielded considerable power. Therefore, powerful families used this organization to continuously kill people from the central government.
Sometimes they provided intelligence, sometimes they deliberately misled the court. Sometimes they even took direct action.