Chapter 5: Stirring Up Waves on Calm Ground
[Simulation ends]
...
Li Fan, regaining his consciousness, was still engrossed in the power of Dao Xuanzi's sword.
"So, this is what a Foundation Establishment Grand Completion cultivator looks like..." Li Fan was filled with awe.
Kou Hong's power, which could obliterate Xuanjing City with a simple gesture, had already astounded Li Fan. But Dao Xuanzi's final sword stroke made Li Fan fully aware of his own insignificance.
Like an ant facing a tidal wave, from Li Fan's perspective, he simply couldn't fathom that sword stroke, let alone see its full form.
Even a fleeting glimpse of this power revealed to Li Fan the chasm existing between mortals and Foundation Establishment Grand Completion cultivators.
"Without the Immortal-Ordinary Miasma, I fear that even reincarnating endlessly, outwitting them at every turn, wouldn't be enough to threaten them," Li Fan thought to himself, feeling both relieved and deeply unsettled.
"What's the deal with this Immortal-Ordinary Miasma? Aren't cultivators grown step by step from mere mortals? Why does mortal blood have such an incredible inhibiting effect on them?" The hidden implications behind these notions spurred his curiosity.
However, Li Fan quickly suppressed those thoughts.
"First, let's take stock of the gains and losses in this life," he decided.
As he watched scenes flickering across the screen, Li Fan was deep in thought.
"The ambush on Dao Xuanzi and Kou Hong went more or less as expected. I used bullets soaked in the blood of doomed prisoners to whittle down their power. Then the Golden Core Technique was used to distract them. After using the blood rain as a finishing move to weaken them to their limit, I was able to capture them alive..."
"What surprised me was the severity of the Immortal-Ordinary Miasma's inhibitory effect on cultivators. It directly led to Kou Hong's death."
"What surprised me even more, I originally thought the 'brothers for a century' comment was made casually by them. Yet, the bond between the two was actually quite deep. When attacked, Dao Xuanzi warned Kou Hong, who understood he was going to die and handed the Golden Core Technique to Dao Xuanzi."
"Seeing Kou Hong killed by a sneak attack, Dao Xuanzi chose to give up on his own life and used a destructive final attack, to avenge Kou Hong ... All these actions prove that there was truly an extraordinarily deep friendship between them..."
"In that case, why would they fight each other to the death over the Golden Core Technique?" Li Fan became more puzzled.
Suddenly, he recalled the scenes when he first saw the two.
"Golden Core Path: If I exist, he cannot..." Li Fan mused thoughtfully, "Can't the Immortal Law be practiced jointly...?"
"If close brothers can end up like this, what can the Immortal Cultivation World out there be like?"
Li Fan got the feeling that the Immortal Cultivation World in this world might be completely different from what he imagined.
"No matter how challenging it may be, I will not falter. Much less when I have the help of the [Real]. As long as I'm cautious, I believe no odds can stand in my way."
Although Li Fan wavered momentarily, his determination quickly solidified.
"In this so-called Immortal Realm, seeking the Immortal Way still requires using Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi. Last time I chose to ambush both of them at once, perhaps this time, I can choose to ally with one of them." Li Fan's train of thought quickly shifted, and he came up with several new strategies on how to deal with them.
Even though his opponents were lofty Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Li Fan didn't feel especially intimidated. He didn't even really consider them as formal "opponents".
It wasn't that Li Fan was arrogant, but the ability of [Real] to start again endlessly was simply too powerful!
What is a Foundation Establishment phase cultivator's power compared to fifty years of foresight and countless chances to learn from trial and error?
After the simulation ended, Li Fan chose to speed up the progress of the Void Transformation energy filling process.
Name: Li Fan
Realm: Mortal
Biological Age: 20/86
Mental Age: 216/1080↑
Void Transformation Charge: 30%
"The mental age limit only increased by a few decades this time, it seems like it's reaching its peak." Li Fan was mentally prepared for this, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
"Include my past life before the time travel, this would be my fifth life already. The path to immortality, how challenging it is." Li Fan sighed. "I hope these fifty years won't be wasted."
Li Fan started his fifty years of waiting once again.
Just like a set program, everything unfolded as planned.
Passing the civil service examination, being chosen, and becoming the top scholar.
Becoming a county magistrate, mining minerals, and manufacturing guns.
After taking advantage of the death of King Langya to ascend to power, Li Fan became impatient.
Ten years was too long. If the underworld wasn't in control every day, it was always a setback in Jiangnan. If he had an extra ten years to deploy the power of the entire world, the plan to capture the two cultivators alive would have a greater chance of success.
Subsequently, Li Fan decided to send his confidant to sneak into the palace and secretly poison the emperor with a slow-acting poison.
Who would have thought that this very decision would unexpectedly stir up waves.
Originally, Li Fan's act of poisoning was not discovered. However, the emperor, still in the prime of his youth, began to decline rapidly and became suspicious.
He suspected someone was harming him covertly. And the primary suspect was his once closest brother, King Langya.
As a result, when the anchor was set at 7 years and the emperor was critically ill, he did not pass on the throne to King Langya. Instead, he passed it on to the ever-playful Nan Wang.
Fortunately, Li Fan's insiders in the palace promptly delivered the news. Upon hearing this, Li Fan immediately took action.
On one hand, he dispatched assassins to murder Nan Wang on his way to the capital; on the other hand, in King Langya's name, he announced that the emperor was killed by traitors close to him. With the banner "pacifying national unrest", he led the army he had amassed over the years and hurriedly marched into the capital, seizing the imperial court with military power.
Such aggressive tactics naturally left many aftereffects.
The first was the resistance of the court officials. According to the emperor's testamentary edict, the throne was supposed to be handed down to Nan Wang. King Langya's actions were considered rebellion, wasn't it? While the court officials didn't openly oppose due to Li Fan's military pressure, they managed to sabotage openly, and managed to go on strike. Some even secretly contacted regional princes, attempting to lead troops into the capital for "rectification of chaos". Li Fan, having no mercy, ruthily killed a batch of them to barely keep them in check. Afterwards, with the secret assistance of his father-in-law, the head scholar, it took a few months to barely stabilize the situation.
During these months, turbulence had already flared up across the Da Xuan Kingdom. Various regional princes declared themselves as kings, ignoring the orders from the court.
Therefore, Li Fan had no choice but to dispatch troops to exterminate them one by one.
Although firearms were advantageous, their numbers were limited. Given the vast territories of Da Xuan Kingdom, a lot of effort was required.
War affairs, political affairs, Li Fan was exhausted and withered.
After being kept busy for such a long time, it was not until the 22nd year of anchoring stuff that all internal and external troubles were completely resolved.
Upon calculation, compared with if he had patiently followed the plan, it actually took a few more years to fully control the world.
"I still need to be more cautious, need to stay patient." After everything settled down, Li Fan had no choice but to learn his lesson, "A miss is as good as a mile. If there are too many changes, my ability to foresee will be greatly reduced."
Fortunately, everything was only a slight bump and didn't affect the general situation.
Once things were back on track, the wheels of time sped forward rapidly. In a flutter, the anchoring year of 35 arrived.
In this year, Li Fan left Xuanjing City, traveled thousands of miles, and personally visited the Eastern Ruin Abyss.