March 1189.

Uprisings erupted across the provinces of the Great Spirit, with insurgents donning red turbans on their arms, storming cities, burning, killing, looting, and massacring the populace.

Those claiming allegiance to the Thousand Teachings Alliance led red-turbaned insurgents to resist the Spirit Army.

The border regions, only recently conquered a few years ago, also seized the opportunity to revolt once more, leaving the Great Spirit engulfed in conflicts, the imperial throne vacant, and the situation extremely perilous.

Mu Li King’s Mansion.

Units of elite heavy-armored soldiers gathered in formation in the open space in front of the mansion.

"Your Grace, Cosimo." King Mu Li stood at a high vantage point in the mansion, overlooking the scene, and glanced at Cosimo beside him.

Both were clad in golden armor, with black cloaks draped over their shoulders, accompanied by elite guards.

"Is everything ready?" King Mu Li seemed uncertain.

"Almost ready." Cosimo nodded with a smile, "This time, Yue Dewen is likely in chaos, unable to focus elsewhere. Whatever he intends to do, whoever he intends to support, will soon be revealed."

"Now with our homeland ablaze, with misery and suffering everywhere, this is the time for us to ascend the Great Capital and stabilize the empire. So.... everything hinges on this moment!" Cosimo smiled.

"Where is Mr. Tian Gong?" King Mu Li smiled as well.

"I have been waiting for a long time." A strong figure, resembling a wild-maned lion, slowly appeared beside them.

His face was aged, carrying three different weapons on his back, and his build was imposing, exuding a fearsome aura.

It was the Celestial Craft Golden Rainbow who had intervened earlier!

"I have already made contact with General Baiyin Tibu. Within the Weaving Elephant Army, as soon as we enter the Great Capital, they will respond and join us." King Mu Li laughed.

"The others may still believe the one in the Great Capital is truly me, or they may think the timing is not yet right and want to continue lurking. Unfortunately.... they do not understand that now is the most opportune moment...."

"As long as we can sweep through the chaos, suppress the disorder, and stabilize the situation, we can gain the support of generals and various sects. Whatever schemes Yue Dewen concocts, the more chaotic he makes it, the more everyone is deterred by his power, not daring to speak out. Anger is suppressed.

What I need to do is shatter the invincible illusion of the Great Dao Teaching! As long as everyone sees that the Great Dao Teaching is not unbeatable, everything will quickly shift in my favor! This is the trend of the times!"

King Mu Li spoke confidently.

"It seems Your Highness has already made plans." Cosimo raised an eyebrow.

"If I can enter the Great Capital, the situation will surely stabilize!" King Mu Li declared firmly.

No one questioned why he was so confident. There were so many red-turbaned insurgents, so many from the Thousand Teachings Alliance—on what grounds would they all listen to him?

Cosimo and Tian Gong vaguely suspected some inside information.

King Mu Li seemed to have previously had contact with the Thousand Teachings Alliance.

If both sides shared an understanding, then everything made sense....

As they proceeded into the realm of the Sect Leader, heading for the Great Capital, on the surface, it seemed like they had only tens of thousands of troops.

But in reality, it was far more than that....

"By the way, where is Yue Hong Die? Still unwilling to return?" Cosimo asked.

"She’s always been like this; there’s no need to force it." King Mu Li shook his head. "That Zhang Ying is impressive; to escape successfully even under these circumstances. The second envoy team sent by the Snow Rainbow Pavilion also failed to capture him. It’s said Yue Dewen personally intervened to stop them."

"I’ve received news as well. Pavilion Master Xue Hong is very displeased with Yue Dewen. A Grandmaster died inexplicably; any faction would find it unacceptable." Cosimo nodded.

"Brother Zhou Yan has obtained what he sought... Fortunately, part of our goal has been achieved. The Snow Rainbow Pavilion and the Great Dao Teaching were only temporarily aligned, and now with cracks appearing, a wedge has been driven." King Mu Li felt a pang of heartache at the thought of Zhou Yan’s death.

Regrettably, for the larger picture.... aside from treating Zhou Yan’s descendants well, he had no other means.

Although their initial target was not like this, the current outcome could only be considered barely achieving the objective.

As for the core figure Zhang Ying, what became of him now?

No one cared.

No matter how exceptional his talent, at this point, he was just another tiny pawn on the chessboard. If not for his master being Yue Dewen, and if not for being valued by the Reverse Society’s experts, his worth would not have even caught King Mu Li’s attention.

*

*

*

Wushan Prefecture.

In Wish Girl Gorge, a half-constructed stone building gradually took shape as teams worked tirelessly to complete it.

The snow had stopped, leaving remnants of snow scattered throughout the gorge, with melted snow seeping through the rock crevices, trickling into the stream.

Ding Yu, Sun Chaoyue, and Qingsu stood nearby, carefully discussing necessary repairs and additions.

In the distance, Zhang Zhenhai was sparring with Zhang Yunqi, practicing martial arts.

In the middle of the gorge, on one side of a cliff wall, a platform had been carved out.

The platform, meticulously polished, bore an enormous engraved character of peculiar design.

A script that no one else in this world, aside from Zhang Rongfang, could recognize.

Its name was—Immortal!

The Great Spirit also had the character for Immortal, but it was not a combination of the character for ’person’ and ’mountain’, rather another quite complex composition.

This time, Zhang Rongfang intended to use this opportunity to fully disseminate it.

"Is the compilation of the Human Immortal Scripture almost complete?" Seated cross-legged on the platform, his eyes were half-closed as he meditated and cultivated literary skills.

"Master, it’s basically all set. Just need to extract and assemble some parts here and there, then it’ll be perfect. But... is this really okay?"

Behind Zhang Rongfang stood a woman in white clothes, white pants, and a veiled face.

Her exposed upper face was as smooth as creamy jade, eyes clear like autumn waters, and her black hair shiny and silky like satin.

With such a countenance, even behind a veil, she would definitely be considered a beauty of the highest order.

She was the special gifted woman Zhang Rongfang had found earlier in Qingchuan Prefecture, whose blood fragrance was comparable to Master Uncle Jin Yuyan, with a photographic memory and exceptional comprehension—a hotel owner named Chang Yuqing.

After much contemplation, Chang Yuqing wanted to hold onto her last hope and decisively sought contact, expressing her thoughts.

Consequently, she was brought here by members of the Rebel Sect.

Currently, she was busy helping Zhang Rongfang perfect the newly compiled "Human Immortal Scripture."

This scripture was intended to be the Human Immortal Temple’s core text depicting the path to immortality, born of human capabilities, through difficulties, virtue, cultivating Essence Qi, practicing Cultivation of Literature, promoting kindness, accumulating yin virtue, and eventually achieving enlightenment.

The intent was to plagiarize related elements from other sects, packaging oneself as the most righteous sect, for it to be the core of the teachings.

"Master, lately, I’ve been feeling increasingly exhausted, as if the illness is about to relapse..." Chang Yuqing did not want to bluntly inquire about treatment but due to the worsening condition, she could only imply.

"No rush," Zhang Rongfang said calmly, "how’s your practice of the Void Stabilizing Skill going?"

The Void Observation Skill from the Great Dao Teaching was the root literature training for Foundation Establishment, and Zhang Rongfang swapped some characters, removed all parts related to gods and Buddhas, tested it personally, and ensured it was effective without risks.

Then it was set as the foundational cultivation technique in the Human Immortal Temple.

The Human Immortal Temple intended to recruit only the few individuals with the greatest potential.

To avoid arousing suspicion and extermination by many gods and Buddhas.

Chang Yuqing’s aptitude, talent, and congenital weakness were perfectly suited for his teachings.

Additionally, he planned to visit those who had practiced Cultivation of Literature for many years, the high cultivators.

There were numerous Nascent Soul cultivators in the Great Dao Teaching, not to mention other forces, these people’s life forces were greatly enhanced, with slight adjustment, they would be exceptionally strong pre-members of the Human Immortal Temple.

Zhang Rongfang was looking forward to this.

"I’ve already entered it, but it doesn’t seem very effective," Chang Yuqing replied helplessly, "Each day when I wake up, half of the Essence Qi I gathered inexplicably disappears... I’ve asked others, and I’m the only one with this situation."

"No worries... just continue. When the time is right, I’ll help remove the root of your illness," Zhang Rongfang replied.

The cultivation technique cannot be transmitted lightly, so he needs to diligently test this woman further.

Furthermore, there is a key point.

From the time he arrived escorting the caravan to Wushan until now, over ten days had already passed.

Fifteen attribute points were accumulated.

With Yue Shi’s assistance, after breaking through to Grandmaster, he discovered a key point.

Which is.

The Illusion Talisman Skill now can be enhanced!

The three stages of Grandmaster are Waning Moon, Crescent Moon, and Full Moon. Now it can be directly elevated....

Moreover, importantly, he discovered another point.

That the three stages of Grandmaster only elevate the ultimate state realm, while the initiative in combat and Absolute Defense are separately listed as two skills!

These two skills can similarly be independently enhanced!

’Then...how should I choose...?’

Sitting cross-legged on the platform, Zhang Rongfang fell into contemplation.

As he hesitated, a figure swiftly leapt up from below, using the narrow carved stone steps and landing on the platform with a few strides, then clasped hands in salute.

"Temple Master, urgent report! There’s an uprising in Shishan Town, where we purchase Fasting Pill’s primary herbs, and the previous connections with the pharmaceutical merchants have all been cut off!" The individual was a direct ace from the Rebel Sect.

For these Rebel Sect masters, Zhang Rongfang openly provides supplementary medicines, letting them cultivate Martial Arts wholeheartedly.

Now among the Rebel Sect group, after pouring in vast amounts of money, ninety percent have reached a grade level.

Among them, the high-grade martial artists above the sixth grade have risen to thirty percent.

This is an extremely daunting figure; the Rebel Sect currently still has one hundred sixty people by his side.

Of these one hundred sixty, thirty percent equals forty-eight!

Among these forty-eight, two have already risen to ninth grade! One has stepped into Super Grade.

All this was achieved by pouring money.

The price was, of the massive funds Zhang Rongfang carried, only half remained to date.

This was after Zuo Han left with people, reducing consumption. If the Thousand Stone Sect had still been here... 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Lack of primary herbs is critical, have Ding Yu come see me," Zhang Rongfang instructed.

"Yes."

The person had just departed.

Suddenly, another female figure ascended to the platform.

The members of Rebel Sect here, whether male or female, all wore black tight leather outfits, cloaked with a cape, and masked to prevent identity leakage.

"Temple Master! The migration team from Citong has encountered trouble, blocked by the Red Scarf rebels at a place called Juexi Mountain!" This person’s report also carried bad news.