Chapter 371 Seeing the sorrow and returning
豱辱辱辘——
At the north gate of Shengjing, a carriage slowly drove into the city and soon stopped in the middle of Yong'an Street.
At this time, the curtain was lifted, and Ji You, Kuang Cheng and Wei Rui got off the carriage one after another.
The entire West City was very empty at that time, and even the Taiping Building here had no guests.
In contrast, in East City and South City, looking along the road, you can see crowds of people, and some people even control spiritual energy on the roofs, looking at the fairy garden in the city.
At the same time, there were noisy sounds coming from that direction, and there was a faint flow of spiritual energy.
Ji You was standing on the street at this time, straightening his robe which was slightly wrinkled due to riding in a car, while looking into the distance at West City.
All the restaurants in the capital belong to him, and even the post stations are under Ji Zhai's name, so they are extremely well-informed.
Even before they entered Shengjing, they received a message and learned that the three southern sects and the Chen family of immortals had joined forces and were discussing the Dao in Shengjing.
It has been a long time since the thousand-year-old families joined forces to commit evil. Except for the closed-off Xuanyuan Immortal Mansion and Danzong, the internal affairs of other immortal sects have gradually stabilized, and they really need to sit down and talk.
For example, how to deal with the two tribes of barbarians and monsters, unite the aristocratic families, and quell the internal conflicts among the tribes.
After all, they are the ones who truly call the shots in this world.
In fact, the frequent disputes among aristocratic families in the past six months and the blockade of information between states are largely due to the fact that the immortal sect has entered a semi-closed state and has temporarily loosened its power in order to rectify its internal affairs and no longer express its views to the outside world.
In this way, the aristocratic families felt as if they had lost their constraints and were less restricted by rules.
The reason why Ji You's land leasing went so smoothly in the early stage was because of this, and the sudden collapse in the later stage was because the Immortal Sect suddenly issued an order.
This does not mean that the Immortal Sect is a kind-hearted character that can prevent the chaos of the world, but rather that no matter whether they will lead Qingyun to heaven or push him into the abyss, at least their powerful authority can prevent people from acting on their own in public.
Therefore, it is really necessary for the Immortal Sect to meet at this time.
Such an action can also give the tribe a reassurance when the two tribes of barbarians and monsters are entrenched in the two states of Youyun.
The logic is that when the immortal sect appears, there will naturally be holy artifacts to protect our clan, so we don't have to panic when encountering problems.
However, the time and place of this discussion meeting are indeed intriguing.
According to the news, this Taoist conference was initiated by the Wendao Sect, but it was not held in Yuzhou but in Shengjing, especially after he had just taken away the beam of fairy spirit.
Ji You thought for a while and turned to look at Kuang Cheng: "Isn't it lively?"
"Brother Ji should be more careful."
"No problem, just adapt to the situation."
This is the disadvantage of not being able to reach the peak of combat power. He cannot sit in Fengzhou and remain unmoved despite sudden changes in the situation. If something happens, he still needs to return to Tianshuyuan to take the initiative to deal with it.
But this is much better than before. Before, he killed Xianzhuang and built Jizhai. After he came back, he could only hide inside Tianshuyuan and dared not go out.
After saying goodbye to Kuang Cheng and Wei Rui, Ji You walked forward.
"The Shanhai Pavilion's finger techniques are swift, but their attack power is a little lacking. Compared to the Wendao Sect, there are still some differences."
"Indeed, the Daowen Sect's finger techniques are purer, and their aura is even more terrifying. However, the intervals between activations are too long, and if it were to happen during actual combat, there might be flaws."
"That's not the case. In actual combat, you can't just use your finger techniques to defeat the enemy. You can still use other means to kill the enemy during intervals, right?"
"That's... quite true."
Amidst the discussions, everyone stared intently at the East Courtyard.
At this moment, on the stage, Huo Zhuoqun, a disciple of Shanhai Pavilion, was fighting with Shang Yu, a disciple of Wendao Sect, with finger techniques.
Huo Zhuoqun once served as a test subject for the Shanhai Pavilion to test his Dao Fruit. After that, his cultivation level improved by leaps and bounds. He shined at last year's Immortal Tour. At the age of nineteen, he had already reached the threshold of the Dao Rong realm.
Outsiders were unaware of his advancement in realm through the use of Dao Fruit, and regarded him as the new prodigy of Shanhai Pavilion.
Shang Yu, who is competing against him, has a similar experience. He is also a talented child who suddenly came into the public eye in just one or two years.
As the spiritual energy rushed like a stream, the two of them fought with finger lights, trying their best to suppress each other head-on. Beads of sweat were already hanging down their faces, and their breathing became heavier.
Among the Qingyun secret arts, almost every family has the family finger techniques.
Because finger attacks are fast and powerful.
However, some of these finger techniques are for cultivating the power of light and darkness, some are for practicing the four positions, and some are for weaving force fields, so there has always been a dispute over which one is stronger.
Among them, the Instant Finger of Shanhai Pavilion and the Six-Line Finger Sword of Wendao Sect are recognized as the strongest. However, who is stronger between them has been a dispute for thousands of years, and it has become a very interesting debate in the discussion of Taoism.
In fact, in addition to finger techniques, sword techniques, knife techniques, etc. also have this kind of confrontation between the stronger and the weaker.
Some confrontations are based on the explanation of Taoism and the evolution of magic.
Two people sit opposite each other and need to convince each other that they are the strongest. Most of the time, it is difficult to determine the winner through pure verbal attacks, which is called literary theory.
Some young cultivators who like to watch fierce confrontations are puzzled by this and find it boring. They don't understand why there is always a literary debate every time there is a discussion since it is impossible to determine who is superior.
But what they don’t realize is that winning or losing in literary criticism is actually the least important thing, and it’s not what they want.
The importance of this form of combat lies in the fact that a person's understanding of the Way of Heaven is one-sided and biased, and in the process of continuous debate, both sides of the combat and even the spectators are likely to open up new ideas because of a new perspective, thereby improving their own techniques.
This is also the reason why many old people are attracted to literary criticism even though it is not very exciting.
The fight between Huo Zhuoqun and Shang Yu is different from a literary fight. It is a real showdown of skills, called a martial arts fight.
This is different from the battles of Tiandaohui and Youxianhui. Participants can only fight with the art of Taoism. Even if they lose, they cannot use other techniques. What is being compared is not the individual's combat power, but the superiority and inferiority of the secret techniques.
At this time, the finger-playing battle between the two had reached its most intense stage.
I saw a beam of fairy light burst out from Huo Zhuoqun's fingers, and with the powerful energy, he blasted Shang Yu back fiercely.
However, Shang Yu still withstood the murderous finger. As he turned over and moved, a vast light suddenly pressed down.
“It’s really wonderful!”
"As expected of a son of a genius from the Immortal Sect!"
The children of various aristocratic families and the outer disciples of the immortal sects were cheering, with endless envy in their eyes.
But at this moment, a young man from a noble family who was standing on the tile roof suddenly heard footsteps coming from the long street on the right rear side.
There was such a grand event in Shengjing, and the Immortal Sect was in charge. All those with a little cultivation came to watch the event. However, mortals working in professions such as peddlers and porters were not allowed to enter the city these days. Suddenly, someone was walking through the long street, which naturally made people feel strange.
So the man turned around quietly and saw a figure in white clothes and with a sword coming from a distance.
He didn't see who that person was at first, until he used his divine sense and his eyes gradually began to solidify.
As he turned his head, many people also turned around subconsciously, one passing the ball to two, two passing the ball to three...
Gradually, everyone on the tile roof turned their gaze away, even though there was a fierce finger-fighting battle in front of them, and even though there was only someone walking towards them from a distance on the city street to the right and rear.
"What are they looking at?"
"Someone's back."
In the viewing seats, several princes sat watching the game. When they heard their elders speak, they were slightly stunned.
The ability to let the mind leave the body is a secret technique that can only be performed at the level of Divine Wandering and above. Their level is not high enough, but surprisingly, they seem to be able to guess who it is even without seeing it.
So they got up and went up to the second floor of the observation building and looked at the battle from afar through the wall.
On the west side of the second floor, there was a woman in a fiery red fairy robe. She seemed to have been watching from the second floor for a long time. Her phoenix eyes were as deep as the stars, and her eyelashes trembled slightly.
"boom!!!!"
Amidst a burst of explosions out of nowhere, Huo Zhuoqun, a disciple of Shanhai Pavilion, suddenly waved his hands, and his fingers flashed wildly.
In the end, Shang Yu of the Wending Sect lost out due to the speed of casting spells and was defeated to the audience, with a hint of unwillingness in his eyes.
It is really embarrassing to fight for one's own sect and lose in public.
But the next moment, he found that no one was watching what was happening on the stage.
Huo Zhuoqun's reaction was exactly the same as his. Because he won the game, he straightened his back to the limit, stood at a 45-degree angle, and held his chest proudly.
But what he didn't expect was that the cheers he imagined did not appear. Instead, everyone's attention shifted to the street outside the courtyard.
Even their Holy Son, Deputy Headmaster, Elders and others had surprisingly consistent looks.
When he was confused, Huo Zhuoqun floated up and then saw Ji You on the long street walking outside the yard and heading towards Nishan.
He tore open the Heavenly Dao Sacrifice and killed the previous Xuanyuan Saint Chu Xian, and the Sage Holy Land drew his sword to kill the barbarian general king. At this moment, even if he did nothing and just walked, it was enough to attract everyone's attention.
In particular, many of them had only heard of him before but had never seen him. Only when they saw him in person did they realize how young he was.
"The Sage Holy Land killed the Barbarian King with the help of the two demon and barbarian generals, yet he was not injured?"
"It seems that there is none..."
Not many people knew the details of the incident at the Holy Land of the Sages, especially the fact that Ji You killed the queen and escaped. There was no news about his condition at the time.
It was not until this time that they realized that Ji You was not injured at all when he killed the general king.
On the west side of the pavilion, Fang Jincheng and other disciples of Tianshu Academy also looked up.
Including Princess Changle, Yu Shiliu and others, their expressions were complicated and indescribable.
At this time, Ji You had already stepped onto the Nishan Sacred Road and walked into the interior of Tianshu Academy.
When the Chu family's evildoer came to Tianshuyuan to seize the holy weapon, the courtyard was severely damaged and many buildings collapsed. Until Ji You set out to return to Fengzhou, both the inner and outer courtyards were still under repair.
With his return, the renovation of Tianshu Academy had been completed, and many new buildings had been built in the outer courtyard.
Because a conference on Taoism was being held in the city, there were not many people in the courtyard.
But it just so happened that Ji You met Cao Jinsong by the Bishui Lake.
At that time, Instructor Cao was sitting on a blue stone statue by the lake, muttering to the dozen or so people sitting in front of him, looking mysterious.
"Instructor Cao."
"?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Instructor Cao couldn't help but look up, then gave the student in front of him a few words and walked over: "Why are you back?"
Ji You stood still on the white jade immortal platform: "Palace Master Zuoqiu wrote to invite me back, and I also have something I want to discuss with him."
"What happened to the Holy Land of the Ancients?"
"good."
Cao Jinsong frowned, "I heard that the immortal spirit is extremely strange and far superior to the innate spiritual treasure. Now that all the major immortal sects are in Shengjing, it is not wise for you to show up at this time."
Ji You turned around and glanced at the crowded Xianyuan: "After the disaster, the major immortal sects don't want to start a war, but it's not that they can't do it. I can't wait for them to go to Fengzhou to start a war before showing up."
"That's... true."
"Teacher, why don't you go to the discussion? I remember that when you were promoted to elder, you owed the Heavenly Academy a chapter on the Heavenly Dao Enlightenment."
"The Barbarian and Demonic tribes attacked Jiuzhou, so many people were admitted to the hospital this year for military merit, especially our Fengzhou disciples. Many of them are like Fang Ruoyao back then, and their spirits haven't even been awakened. The gap between them and the disciples of the aristocratic families is too big. I can only do my best to help them catch up."
After Cao Jinsong finished speaking, he loosened his rolled-up sleeves and said, "Let's go to my yard and talk."
He paused after he finished speaking and said, "But I don't have any good tea leaves. Just drink it, don't even think about taking it."
Ji You: “?”
After Cao Jinsong was promoted to elder, he moved to the inner courtyard to live. Now he was walking towards the inner courtyard behind the vast forest with Ji You.
Along the way, many new disciples were staring at the figure. When they heard someone utter a name in confusion, they couldn't help but open their mouths slightly.
In addition, there were a few people who were seeking enlightenment in Zizhu Zen Temple and did not go to watch the discussion. They fell into silence when it passed by.
In the blink of an eye, the house in the inner courtyard of the elder's immortal residence was filled with the fragrance of tea.
Cao Jinsong generously brewed a large pot of tea, but he held the teapot tightly in his hand, so Ji You couldn't see the brand clearly or touch the tea bag.
There is no way. When facing evil disciples, we must at least be cautious.
Ji You came to Tianshuyuan to find Zuo Qiuyang and verify his guess about the bunch of immortal spirits. After sitting down, he naturally asked whether Zuo Qiuyang was in the hall, but the answer he got was negative.
"Palace Master Zuoqiu goes to the Imperial Garden in the capital every day to discuss matters with other high-ranking officials of the immortal sects."
"So many topics to talk about?"
Cao Jinsong poured the tea and said, "This isn't just idle chat. We've actually solved quite a few problems through these discussions over the past few days."
According to Instructor Cao, there were many talks among the immortal sects during the days of the Dao Conference, and what they discussed were indeed not empty and pretentious theories.
Regarding the issue of the two tribes of barbarians and monsters moving into the two states of Youyun, they have already worked out a countermeasure. Each immortal sect will send its children to guard the border to prevent sudden wars.
In addition, they also discussed a mutually agreeable number for expanding the number of disciples to be recruited, relaxed the length of stay in the academy, and increased the number of places in the inner academy to five.
There is another rule. The five major immortal sects have explicitly ordered that the aristocratic families must register and submit reports to the immortal sects. Those who have not registered are not allowed to practice the immortal way.
There are also immortal villas. All immortal villas that are affiliated with aristocratic families will be uniformly managed by people sent by the immortal sect in the future, and the position of resident elder will be appointed.
After hearing this, Ji You understood.
The fact that the Chu family and other noble families joined forces to commit evil probably made all the major immortal sects realize that their control over this world was far less than they thought. This move was also to restrict those noble families and immortal villages.
"There's another thing going on. It's been going on quite a bit these past few days, and it's partly because of you."
"I?"
Cao Jinsong put down his teacup and thought for a moment before speaking, "Many aristocratic families in Qingyun have jointly proposed raising taxes to 80% next year. The mortals of Daxia will receive 30%, and they will receive 50%. Led by the Fang family of Qingzhou and the Zeng family of Lingzhou, they have already obtained the consent of the Shanhai Pavilion and the Wendao Sect."
Ji You narrowed his eyes slightly: "Are they going to store food?"
"Indeed, the food shortages around the New Year probably alerted them to the fact that even the loss of common goods was a serious problem, so many aristocratic families are preparing to stockpile food."
"Even if they can't be used up and rot in the barn?"
"You know, free things like this are never what they value."
"I thought they could really do something for Qingyun, but I didn't expect them to still be like this."
What Cao Jinsong said before, whether it was sending disciples to guard the border or asking the aristocratic families to register and report their disciples, seemed to be to protect Qingyun and avoid harm for the world, but in fact it was to protect himself.
But when it came to the issue of taxation, their true colors were revealed.
These high-ranking immortal cultivators still only have their own detached and desireless hearts in their hearts, so they don't care about the lives of people in the world.
Ji You picked up his teacup and said, "All the farmers in the world have signed my Fengzhou labor contract. Although I cannot completely solve the tax problem, if I want to increase my share, I will not allow anyone to do it."
"But the problem is that immortal. Lingjian Mountain naturally has nothing to say about you. Little Master Jian is eager to give you all his wealth. Since the disaster, the Heavenly Academy has also been very gentle towards you. But the Chen Immortal Clan, the Shanhai Pavilion, and the Daoist Sect will not let this item remain in your hands."
"The Daoist sect is holding a discussion meeting at this time and place. I was confused at first, but when I saw you coming, I realized that they might be waiting for you."
Ji You raised his head. "Teacher, what you're saying is that the Fang and Zeng families chose to bring up the tax increase at this time in order to take advantage of the Immortal Sect's influence?"
Cao Jinsong nodded: "That must be the intention."
"Oh right, the instructor just said that the immortal spirit is far superior to the innate spiritual treasure. Why is that?"
"You don't know yet?"
"I only knew that it did have a powerful effect on Dao Heart, Divine Mind, and cultivation, but I never imagined it would cause the Immortal Sect to mobilize so many troops."
Ji You spoke frankly and expressed his doubts.
Spiritual treasures are often born in the world of Qingyun, and many of them are beneficial to spiritual practice. The Fang family's heirloom spiritual platform is one of them.
After receiving the message from Hongding Tower, he anticipated that there would be suspicion targeting him at such a special time and place, but he still didn't understand why this thing was so attractive.
Cao Jinsong lowered his voice when he heard this: "I just heard about it yesterday. They said that mastering that immortal spirit can bring the whole family closer to the way of heaven."
"Benefits for the entire clan?"
"You find it incredible too? I've lived to this age and never heard of such a thing."
Ji You gently turned the teacup in his hand, thinking that this confirmed his guess about the fairy.
The discussion in the fairy garden is still going on, with the literary and martial arts battles divided into two sides.
In the huge pavilion on the west side of Xianyuan, the deputy leaders, chief elders and other important figures of the five major immortal sects were also sitting and discussing the affairs of the world.
A strong person at a high level carries endless pressure, so even though this hall is extremely bright, it is still majestic and solemn.
The Chief of the Immortal Supervisory Office and several ministers of the imperial court were also here, reporting on the affairs of the barbarians and proposing to send another delegation to the border to meet with the demon tribe.
Because as far as the current situation is concerned, the alliance of barbarians and monsters is still a big threat to the human race, and finding a way to destroy the mutual trust between the two races is the lowest cost and simplest method.
This is not a sign of weakness, but as long as the barbarians have a grudge against the demons, their goal will be achieved.
After discussion, the idea of the Sixianjian was approved, so the chief supervisor He Jingyuan and the court officials retreated.
At this time, Shang Xingkong, the deputy head of the Wending Sect, reached out and picked up the teacup, taking a sip. This great cultivator who had reached perfection in the upper five realms usually liked to restrain his aura, but today he was particularly extroverted.
"The thing in the Holy Land of the Ancients has a huge impact on the entire human race. It cannot be easily released. After all, neither you nor I know the risks involved. Do you agree with me?"
"Yes, the cracking of the holy land has worried me for several days, and my heart is restless."
Huo Jin, the deputy headmaster of the Shanhai Pavilion, placed the teacup on the table. "In my opinion, this object should be guarded by the five major immortal sects in turn until it returns to its original place. What do you think, Master Zuoqiu?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Xingkong and Chen Longxing, the deputy patriarch of the Chen family, all looked up.
Zuo Qiuyang said expressionlessly after hearing the question: "Qingyun Immortal Rules say that spiritual treasures are born from heaven and earth and have no owner. Anyone can obtain them."
"But Palace Master Zuoqiu knows clearly that it is not a spiritual treasure."
"I know what you are thinking, but this item is not in the Tianshu Academy. Ji You has a perverse personality and has never been under the control of the Tianshu Academy. I don't know if he is willing to give it to me."
Shang Xingkong picked up the teapot. "His combat power is only at the level of the Unlimited Realm. There are some things he can't decide even if he wants to. He did make a contribution to us in the Heavenly Dao Festival, but not everything will be pardoned. We have been lenient enough with the land lease."
Zuo Qiuyang turned around upon hearing the voice and looked towards the empty luxurious chair on the west side.
That was reserved for the young master of Lingjian Mountain, but she claimed to be unwell today and did not come.
When Ji You was seriously injured and unconscious at the Tiandao Altar, she sent a maid to guard and serve him. When Ji You raised the price of selling grain, she arranged for people to go down the mountain to buy grain immediately.
Zuo Qiuyang was aware that there was an affair between the two.
But he never knew the extent of this affair, whether it was love between a man and a woman or mutual exploitation, or whether Ji You was just a lover, and he had no way of confirming it.
She originally wanted to observe and make a decision, but when Ji You returned to Shengjing, she did not attend, which made Zuo Qiuyang have a bad premonition.
However, Tianshuyuan alone could not withstand the pressure from the three parties.
(asking for monthly ticket)
(End of this chapter)
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