Chapter 120: Preparation

"Inspector, I have an urgent report!"

Suddenly, a person walked in quickly from the outside.

"Speak."

"Our scouts have discovered that Luo Hao has changed his course; he is now heading toward Shimen County City."

"Shimen County City..."

The woman remained silent for a moment before continuing.

"You must capture him before he reaches Shimen County City and retrieve the inherited relic of the Leopard Tribe. I will handle this personally this time."

"And what about the Sanyuan Sect..."

"The Sect's mission is paramount. Let the Sanyuan Sect live a little longer."

A cold glint flashed in the woman's eyes.

...

"So this is a Qi Demon?"

Li Ju looked at the pile of rotting flesh before him and remarked.

Even amidst the slime and the pungent, bloody stench, he could vaguely discern the outline of a toad.

"Qi Demons are artificial creatures that defy the natural order. Once they die, their bodies begin to dissolve within a day, and they are completely liquidated within three," said Yang Ming, the Sect Leader of the Sanfeng Sect, standing behind Li Ju.

Since Shimen County City was entirely controlled by the Black Armored Army and housed formidable experts like Yuan Wuer, it was not suitable as a headquarters for the Sanyuan Sect. Therefore, Li Ju had decided to temporarily station the Sanyuan Sect's base at Niudao Mountain, where the Sanfeng Sect was located.

However, thanks to Sect Leader Yang Ming's cover, the disciples of the Sanfeng Sect, who also lived on Niudao Mountain, were unaware that they had gained a neighbor, save for those who had already been secretly recruited into the Sanyuan Sect.

"As a True Qi realm expert in Shimen County, did you previously know that the Black Lotus Sect was hiding Qi Demons?"

Li Ju casually drew a long blade from a guard nearby and poked the rotting corpse of the Qi Demon.

*Hiss...*

A wisp of white smoke rose where the blade touched the rotting flesh.

"I did not know, my lord," Yang Ming shook his head.

"How many True Qi realm experts would you say are in Caizhou?"

Li Ju pulled the blade back and examined it. He noticed that the part of the blade that had touched the rotting flesh had already been corroded away.

"According to the information I have gathered, there are approximately four dozen True Qi realm experts within Caizhou. This includes the various county inspectors of the Black Lotus Sect and the commanders of the Black Armored Army," Yang Ming said after a moment of contemplation.

"And broken down by faction?" Li Ju asked.

"The Black Lotus Sect has six inspectors in Caizhou. The Hui Ren Alley has six True Qi realm experts, the Red Stone Palace has six, and the various noble clans hiding in Shimen County City collectively account for three. The Caizhou government office also has three."

"Of course, the faction with the most True Qi realm experts is the Black Armored Army. In Caizhou alone, they have deployed twelve commanders who have reached the True Qi realm."

"As for the rest, they are leaders of small to medium-sized factions and a few wandering martial artists," Yang Ming replied.

"A state government with only three True Qi realm experts? No wonder the Caizhou government is so weak in handling affairs of any significance..." Li Ju shook his head.

Not to mention comparing it to other major factions in Caizhou, even the Sanyuan Sect, which had been established only a few months ago, already possessed four True Qi realm experts. Although these four were under Li Ju's control and their loyalty was uncertain, they still outnumbered the experts of the Caizhou government.

When Li Ju worked in the Shimen County government office, he noticed that while it appeared imposing, it had to obey every order from the Black Armored Army, lacking any autonomy. He had been puzzled as to why, but now he understood the reason.

"In fact, the reason Caizhou has maintained stability for so long is precisely due to the suppression by the Black Armored Army. Especially after King Qing rebelled in the North, the Black Armored Army took direct control of all affairs in Caizhou. The officials of each county are merely hollowed-out puppets."

Yang Ming's tone was filled with disdain for the Caizhou government. As a martial artist, he believed only in the power of his fists, and the weak Caizhou government was clearly not worthy of his respect.

"Then, how many experts above the True Qi realm are there in Caizhou?"

Li Ju plunged his long blade directly into the pile of rotting flesh. Soon, a cloud of white smoke erupted, completely corroding the entire blade.

"That is hard to say. Experts above the True Qi realm are the foundation of their respective factions and never appear easily, so as to avoid revealing their true strength to other factions."

"However, four experts of the Consciousness Realm have appeared in Caizhou so far."

The Consciousness Realm was the stage following the True Qi realm in martial cultivation.

"One is the Elder of the Black Lotus Sect who oversees the inspectors, one is the Chief of Hui Ren Alley, one is the Master of the Red Stone Palace, and the last is the Commander of the Black Armored Army responsible for affairs in the Caizhou region."

"What realm is the 'Northern Spear King' Yuan Wuer in?"

"I am not certain, but he is definitely above the Consciousness Realm."

After hearing Yang Ming's words, Li Ju stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the Qi Demon's corpse as it continued to dissolve.

"Why do you think the Black Lotus Sect so brazenly uses human lives to cultivate Qi Demons, yet the Black Armored Army, which always promotes itself as loving its people like its own children, has not sent anyone to deal with them?"

A thoughtful look flashed in Li Ju's eyes.

"I do not know, my lord," Yang Ming shook his head.

"You don't know?"

"I don't know either," Li Ju sighed.

Only after truly becoming involved in the jianghu of this world did he realize that the situation was far more complex than he had imagined.

In the *Majesty of Demons* instance, the theme of the jianghu was a clear confrontation between righteousness and evil; it was easy to distinguish friends from enemies, and the righteous sects had little to do with the Demonic Sect.

But in this world, there was no such thing as righteousness or evil. The Black Lotus Sect was branded a cult and despised, but that was only because they constantly rebelled and violated the interests of various parties.

If one were to speak truthfully, the two major martial factions in Caizhou, Hui Ren Alley and the Red Stone Palace, were not exactly righteous entities either, yet they lived perfectly well in the open.

"It is all about interests..."

Li Ju turned and left, leaving only these words behind.

Night.

Li Ju sat in his study.

No matter how complex the situation in Caizhou was, Li Ju understood one thing: as long as his strength was sufficient, he could handle any change with constancy.

Therefore, after resting for a while, he decided to open another instance!

"Although the Lesser Sanyuan Realm has already opened the Sea of Consciousness, it has not been fully cleared. Therefore, cultivation in the Lesser Sanyuan Realm mainly involves strengthening one's Nian Yuan and further expanding the already opened Sea of Consciousness."

"Only by completely clearing the Sea of Consciousness can one break through to the Greater Sanyuan Realm. An ordinary Lesser Sanyuan martial artist needs at least a hundred years to fully clear the Sea of Consciousness, and they are also hindered by cultivation bottlenecks."

"With my Po Suo Ancient Sacred Body, I only need a few years to fully clear the Sea of Consciousness without any bottlenecks. But a few years is still too long..."

"Panel, search for instances that help strengthen the human Nian Yuan!"