170: Chapter 170 Fang Beile's Decision

Li Yuan, this top-tier Supreme, has emerged out of nowhere, and even Wen Jingci of the Jin Kingdom is dead.

Prince Fang, who had followed along, happened to be perfectly fine.

When others predicted danger, he fled in advance.

This situation had occurred several times, leading those around him to trust him more.

Prince Fang was originally a member of the Jin Kingdom's imperial family.

In the current complex situation, the core of the imperial family had even handed over decision-making power to him.

Unexpectedly, Prince Fang led the imperial family into seclusion.

He would rather give up that immense power than join the Lanyuan Sect.

Regarding the Lanyuan Sect that had suddenly descended, Prince Fang had long since witnessed their strength.

He also knew they came from "above," from a blessed land of cultivation.

The Sect's ordinary guards possessed the formidable strength to suppress all ninth-rank experts in the Jin Kingdom.

But in Prince Fang's heart, he still had no confidence in them.

Currently, in the southern part of the Jin Kingdom, deep within the Cengyang Mountains.

This was the secret residence of the Jin Kingdom's imperial family, a place where the core members hid when facing a national crisis.

"Chafang, tell the truth, what exactly do you know?

The strength of this Lanyuan Sect is as powerful as gods descending to the world.

Furthermore, they don't have much interest in ruling the Jin Kingdom.

Joining the Lanyuan Sect would just be helping them find that Li Yuan..."

The one asking the question was an old official of the Jin Kingdom, a core member who had served two generations of emperors.

He had analyzed and argued much, but he truly couldn't understand.

Inside the pavilion, there were other members of the imperial family.

Trapped here, they no longer had their former lives of luxury and nightly revelry.

They wanted to return to their old lives, or at the very least, they needed Prince Fang to provide a proper answer.

When asked, Prince Fang's brows furrowed, and he fell into silence.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"I don't know if my judgment is correct, but having seen Li Yuan fight a few times, I feel that his future might not be something the Lanyuan Sect can stop..."

Prince Fang spoke without conviction; he himself wasn't very confident.

In a sense, Li Yuan could be considered an enemy of the Jin Kingdom.

By helping the Lanyuan Sect deal with Li Yuan, the Jin Kingdom wouldn't ostensibly suffer any losses.

But his subconscious told him that provoking this Li Yuan would cost him his life.

This wasn't the first time Prince Fang had experienced such a sense of crisis.

One could even say that every time he saw Li Yuan take action, he felt this terrifying danger.

Even now, with the arrival of the Lanyuan Sect, the sense of crisis remained.

Seeing Prince Fang like this, someone couldn't help but sigh.

It seemed they were full of disapproval regarding this decision.

Amidst the hesitation, the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom stepped forward.

"Since the decision has been made, do not regret it here.

Chafang is extremely sensitive to danger. If we currently feel this decision is wrong, perhaps it is just because our vision is too narrow to see far enough."

This Emperor of the Jin Kingdom still held some prestige.

Even in the current environment, when he spoke, the people around him still deferred to him.

In the present Jin Kingdom, the Lanyuan Sect had begun to support a new Puppet regime.

Even if these imperial family members wanted to go back and join them now, they might not have the chance.

The choice had been made; they had to be firm and see it through completely.

In the Jin Kingdom and the Shun Kingdom, various operations to find Li Yuan's whereabouts were in full swing.

But Li Yuan, the man being sought, was currently carrying out missions in the Lingfeng Alliance, earning merit and contributions.

After joining the Lingfeng Alliance, Li Yuan gained a deeper understanding of the entire cultivation system.

He could see the various underlying logics of how this world operated.

The Lingfeng Alliance sometimes acted like a security agency, with many escort and message delivery missions.

Li Yuan used these opportunities to familiarize himself with the environment and local customs of the entire Tianqiong Continent.

During this time, Li Yuan also heard many reports regarding the Lanyuan Sect.

The news of the death of the Lanyuan Sect Master's son had spread widely across the Tianqiong Continent.

Li Yuan also saw their determination.

The Lanyuan Sect's resolve to capture him was very firm.

They had dispatched many people to the Shun Kingdom, vowing to seize him.

Li Yuan's mind was as clear as a mirror; he understood their purpose.

Revenge was now merely an excuse for them.

The guards who followed Fu Jiuya at the time were dead, and that old housekeeper Mu Gui was no match for him either.

His performance had truly demonstrated some value.

In a world without essence qi, how could the Lanyuan Sect not be envious of someone under thirty possessing such martial arts strength?

If they were truly after revenge, they shouldn't have been so secretive in the news they released.

Currently, the outside world only knew that Fu Jiuya was dead.

The Lanyuan Sect sent so many people to that remote region ostensibly for revenge—to avenge their Young Lord.

If they were solely focused on revenge, the Lanyuan Sect could have easily spread word of Li Yuan's uniqueness.

Once spread, many Sects would become interested.

A method for rapid improvement—what if it benefited their own Sects?

To be able to improve rapidly even without the aid of essence qi.

If they obtained its core essence, it was possible for a Sect to undergo earth-shattering changes.

If this news were known, countless Sects would invest manpower to help the Lanyuan Sect find Li Yuan's tracks.

The reason the Zhenhua Sect could hold its high position today was because of a remnant page of the Kunlun Endless Canon.

Relying on this remnant page, the Zhenhua Sect surpassed other Sects by a significant margin in many aspects.

The Lanyuan Sect, perhaps, also harbored this extravagant hope.

They believed they could find a world-changing Opportunity from Li Yuan!

During his first month in the Lingfeng Alliance, Li Yuan went all out to earn merit and contributions.

He didn't use these merits to exchange for any Cultivation Techniques, Medicinal Pills, or Magical Artifacts.

Li Yuan saved these contributions for only one purpose: to exchange them for a chance to participate in a Trial.

Currently, Li Yuan had selected a Trial Opportunity.

It was a treasure-hunting Trial at Taiping Pond.

Taiping Pond, like Red Moon Mountain, was a treasure trove filled with danger.

However, Taiping Pond was a treasure land with owners, jointly managed by four Sects.

Furthermore, Taiping Pond did not have the strange suppression found at Red Moon Mountain.

The joint management by four Sects led to frequent disputes, as each felt their interests were not being protected.

Additionally, people often snuck into Taiping Pond to hunt for treasure.

The Sects had to expend considerable energy to guard against these people, which was another drain on resources.

Taiping Pond was not a peaceful place; it had its own inherent threats.

All in all, this resulted in the four Sects not gaining much benefit from Taiping Pond.

Fourteen years ago, these Sects reached an agreement.

From then on, Taiping Pond would be open to the outside world once a year.

External Sects only needed to pay cultivation resources to obtain a Trial Opportunity.

Martial Artists participating in the Trial could not be over forty years old.

This essentially stated explicitly that only youths were allowed to participate.

The four Sects were very shrewd; young people weren't as calculating and lacked experience.

Even if they found some benefits in Taiping Pond, it wouldn't be anything excessive.