Chapter 1 The Coughing

"Cough, cough... cough..."

"Caught a cold?"

"You bet."

"It's getting hot, but it's easy to catch one instead, you have to be careful."

"Heh, now that I think about it, it would have been better to just die in the winter, so I could have left without any worries, and saved myself from being harmed to such a state by a dog like you."

"That's unreasonable, unreasonable. After all these years, this is the first time I've come home to see you, and you say such things. Doesn't that chill the hearts of all the Tianhu Dao disciples in the world?"

Xue Yi placed a chess piece and picked up the teapot beside him, taking a sip.

The tea was from Tianhu Mountain. Tianhu Mountain's biggest businesses were talismans and tea.

Whether the talismans of Tianhu Mountain were useful or not was hard to say, because some people were cured after drinking water soaked in talismans, and were amazed, while others kicked the bucket immediately after drinking it, saying that their hearts were not sincere.

But the tea from Tianhu Mountain, at its peak, was eagerly purchased by the scholars of the Qian Kingdom, and it was truly unanimously praised.

Zhang Wenren took out a handkerchief, covered his mouth, and continued to cough. The elderly man looked very haggard.

In contrast, Xue Yi, sitting opposite him, was about the same age, but Xue Yi still stubbornly retained half of his black hair, and his complexion was much better than Zhang Wenren's.

After a bout of coughing,

Zhang Wenren put away his handkerchief, looked up, and looked at his former junior brother, his eyes naturally revealing a hint of envy.

How could he not be envious?

That Emperor Yan was actually willing to take out the Yan Ding (a kind of cooking vessel used in ancient China, in this case used for gathering Dragon Qi) bestowed by the Great Xia Emperor to let him absorb his own Dragon Qi for cultivation.

This was a great opportunity that many Qi refiners couldn't obtain even in ten lifetimes. To put it bluntly, even a pig that knew how to cultivate could enter the hall with such feeding.

And who would have thought that the junior brother whose talent was not outstanding among the brothers back then would actually reach the point he is today, becoming the Great Yan's national teacher?

And what about him, Zhang Wenren? Wenren, Wenren, also a famous person, only changed his name to Wenren after going up the mountain in his childhood.

Now his "homeland" had been destroyed, and at the same time, the Taoist tradition that had been preserved with difficulty, Tianhu Mountain, was already in a precarious situation.

Zhang Wenren placed another chess piece and said:

"Junior brother, this game of chess won't be finished today."

Xue Yi nodded upon hearing this, and said at the same time:

"Senior brother won't even let junior brother win."

The two "old men" who could be great-grandfathers in the mortal world actually revealed a bit of playful banter between young brothers when they spoke.

Zhang Wenren shook his head firmly and said:

"I can't let you win. I've never let you win since you were a child."

"But when we were young, the other junior brothers looked down on me, this Yan barbarian, only senior brother was willing to lend me a hand."

"That was just the biggest form of looking down on you."

Xue Yi nodded upon hearing this and said with emotion:

"Why does senior brother have to be like this?"

"Put yourself in my shoes, if you were in my position, you wouldn't ask this question again."

"That's true."

"When the Yan army entered Jin, and the Jingnan Marquis entered Litian City, do you know how I compromised to protect this Tianhu Mountain, which is adjacent to Litian City?"

"I know."

"The blood of the Wenren family flows in my veins. If it weren't for protecting the Taoist tradition left by the master, why would I, Wenren Zhang, have to be so humble?

I would have gone down the mountain directly and competed with that Tian Wujing, wouldn't that be more straightforward?"

Xue Yi shook his head and said:

"You can't beat the Jingnan Marquis."

"........." Zhang Wenren.

"People like you and I have two uses: one is to spy on the secrets of heaven, and the other is to determine the layout of feng shui. In the final analysis, we are nothing more than the emperor's lackeys, only our fur looks smoother.

The secret agents spy on the officials and common people for the emperor, and we spy on the secrets of heaven for the emperor. In fact, there is no difference, so in my Yan Kingdom, the Secret Intelligence Division has Qi refiners under its jurisdiction.

To put it bluntly, we are not dogs that specialize in biting people. We practice for a lifetime, thinking about fighting with God, but in the end, because we never see where God is, this fight never happens in our lifetime.

People who have never fought, no matter how high their cultivation is, will never be able to beat those dogs who specialize in biting people. We have different jobs."

"Just because you, Xue Yi, are willing to be a dog, do you think everyone in the world is willing to be a dog of you Yan people?"

"Isn't God treating us like dogs too? We practice for a lifetime and can't see a single person, aren't we being played like dogs?"

"You........."

"Senior brother, it's already this time, can't we say something warmer, do we have to be so tense and hostile?

We're really people with one foot in the grave, it's so undignified to keep arguing.

Even when we get to Master's place, don't we have to pretend to be harmonious brothers and make Master happy?"

"When you first came, I was very warm-hearted, thinking that with your face, I could sleep more peacefully next to this Yan Kingdom Marquis in the future."

"Isn't it more peaceful now? You don't have to worry at all."

Zhang Wenren's eyelids drooped upon hearing this,

"Heh, indeed."

No need to worry anymore, because he's definitely going to die.

"Senior brother, I have to go down the mountain, I have to go down before sunset. Senior brother, you should also lead your disciples to make some preparations as soon as possible."

"Firewood and kerosene have already been prepared, new clothes have also been turned out, and white wax talismans have also been prepared. There is only one thing I want to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"Can the ancestral hall of the successive patriarchs of the Tianhu Mountain Taoist tradition be preserved?"

Xue Yi shook his head and said:

"Senior brother means, you want me to beg for mercy?"

"Yes."

"If I don't mention it, it might still be preserved. After all, although my Yan people don't believe in these things, they still have some reverence in their hearts;

If I mention it, then it will definitely not be preserved."

"Then what's the use of you, the national teacher of Yan?"

Xue Yi nodded in disappointment and said:

"Others might give me face, but Tian Wujing, whose face would he give? Even my Emperor owes him, Tian Wujing, too much, and can't pay it back, so how can I expect him to give anyone face?"

"Why are you so bitter, why are you so..."

Xue Yi sighed,

Said:

"Alas, senior brother, after you say that, I'm starting to feel like I killed the Jingnan Marquis's wife."

"You can't escape responsibility."

"Yes, I can't escape responsibility, I shouldn't have come here, coming here is the biggest mistake."

"This is your undeserved disaster, so why involve my Tianhu Mountain?"

"Because the Jingnan Marquis's wife had an accident in Tianhu Mountain, whether I did it or not, whether it has anything to do with me or not, Tianhu Mountain will definitely not be able to escape."

"My Tianhu Mountain, is completely unaware!"

"But the Jingnan Marquis wants to vent his anger."

"He wants to vent his anger, so he has to use my Tianhu Mountain as a sacrifice?"

Xue Yi was stunned for a moment,

Turned his head,

Looked at his senior brother,

Said:

"That's right."

"Why………Why………Why………"

Xue Yi smiled and said:

"What does it have to do with you if the Jingnan Army wants to destroy you?"

"............" Zhang Wenren.

Xue Yi tidied up his Taoist robe, and after confirming that there were no flaws, he said:

"Senior brother, do you still remember when we, the many junior brothers, went down the mountain together to travel the Jin state and seek opportunities?"

"I remember."

"Every time, I was the one who went in to explore first, and then called you in."

"Yes."

"Then junior brother, this time, I will explore this Yellow Springs for senior brother again, when senior brother walks later, he will surely feel a lot more at ease."

After saying that,

Xue Yi laughed loudly,

His whole person fluttered down;

Down the mountain,

The Jingnan Army soldiers had already surrounded this place,

Each soldier had a white cloth tied to his left arm, bows, crossbows, and weapons, standing neatly and solemnly;

Waiting for the order from the city, they would kill up the mountain.

At that time, the century-old Taoist tradition, the ancestral holy land, will all become things of the past.

Xue Yi walked down,

His identity was clear to the Jingnan Army here, but even so, when his figure appeared, none of the Jingnan Army knelt down and saluted him.

The soldiers did not move their spears, and the generals did not dismount;

The title of the dynasty's national teacher seemed to be of no use here.

This existence, who was called Old Ancestor and Grandfather by the palace eunuchs, was now bearing the anger of the Jingnan Army.

This scene was unexpected, but it also made people feel completely reasonable.

Xue Yi looked up at the sky,

Said:

"Please inform the Jingnan Marquis that Xue Yi requests permission to go down the mountain."

No one left, which meant that no one reported, this was a kind of... attitude that did not need to be explained, and it was also the attitude of this Jingnan Army.

Even Xue Yi saw a kind of expectation in the eyes of some generals. They were not only not afraid of his title of national teacher, but also eager to kill him, even though he was also a powerful Qi refiner, even though he had cultivated with the Yan Ding for many years.

But these elites who had fought in the north and south had little fear of the experts in the world, after all, no one knew how many experts had died in a great battle.

Xue Yi sat down cross-legged on the mountain road.

His gaze began to reveal a hint of profundity. He was ordered by the Emperor Yan to come to Litian City to bless the Jingnan Marquis's unborn child, and at the same time "wash the marrow and strengthen the body."

In the entire Great Yan, only three princes had received his "blessing" before.

One was the eldest prince, Ji Wujiang, who was the Emperor Yan's first child.

One was the second prince, who is now the Crown Prince, Ji Chenglang, because he was the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

The third was the sixth prince, Ji Chengjue.

To let himself come all the way, for the first time out of the capital in decades, was to bless the Jingnan Marquis's first child.

In Xue Yi's arms, he also carried a personal letter written by the Emperor Yan, a letter to Tian Wujing, which also contained the name personally chosen by the Emperor Yan for the child.

That man with a mouth full of heavenly constitution, who outlined with his imperial brush, even babbled in the letter, writing what the child could be called if it was a boy, and what it could be called if it was a girl, thinking very carefully and writing very delicately.

But the current situation,

Suddenly became precarious,

Xue Yi was clear,

The reason why Yan was strong was because of one army and one Marquis.

The army was the Zhenbei Army, and the Marquis was the Jingnan Marquis.

If this time, because of this matter, the Jingnan Marquis rebelled, then Great Yan………

Xue Yi closed his eyes helplessly,

Around him, he was surrounded by a group of brave soldiers,

Only the clear breeze in the mountains still caressed him gently.

After a long time,

Xue Yi changed his cross-legged posture,

Into a kneeling position;

He said loudly:

"The Great Yan National Teacher Xue Yi, kneels and requests to see the Jingnan Marquis!"

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Thanks to Wu Zhongge and Powerful Oh for becoming the eighty-fourth and eighty-fifth alliance masters of The Descent of Magic.

This plot is not to whet everyone's appetite, nor is it deliberately to end the chapter, after all, those who have been chasing this book to this point are all loyal readers, we don't need to cut off our own people.

I will try to update more, thank you for your understanding.