"Damn it!!!"

South Province, Nine Dragon Mountain Range, Xiang Family Secret Realm, inside the main hall.

A gloomy voice echoed from the depths of the silent hall.

Xiang Qianqiu, seated on the throne at the head of the hall, suddenly raised his head, his eyes gleaming with a faint red light, a dense killing intent flowing from the depths of his eyes.

And this killing intent was directed squarely at Chen Yuan.

He didn't really care that Chen Yuan had declared himself king directly in Shu Province, refusing to acknowledge the Xiang family and instead claiming to be a descendant of the Chen family, though he was somewhat displeased.

It didn't matter.

What truly enraged him was that Chen Yuan, by taking the opportunity to declare himself king, had given other forces in the world a chance: to deny the existence of the Xiang clan of Blood Province.

Even though everyone knew the truth, they simply refused to acknowledge it.

They publicly declared that the Xiang clan was destroyed, its descendants extinct, and that they, as the successors of former Chu ministers, were sworn to avenge the former Chu, restore the Great Chu, and destroy the imperial court.

Xiang Qianqiu didn't really care that others weren't heeding his commands. After all, even though he was arrogant, he had never imagined that he could simply raise an arm and have the whole world follow.

Even the Seven Kill Hall and the Heavenly Demon Hall were won over with benefits.

In this fractured world, he was willing to slowly rebuild, to create a clean world. But Chen Yuan's move directly pushed the Xiang family into the line of fire.

If he stayed in Blood Province, other forces might deliberately ignore the Xiang family. But Xiang Qianqiu knew that as soon as he dared to expand his influence to other provinces,

he would be besieged by all sides!

And he currently didn't have the strength to contend with the entire world.

That was why Xiang Qianqiu was so enraged.

Now, in this era of great contention, he had played an important role, plotting step by step, but the result was that he had ultimately tried to steal a chicken only to lose the bait.

Instead, he had been outmaneuvered by Chen Yuan.

Blood Province was a land contested from all sides, with Shu Province to the east, South Province to the south, and the desolate Jiao Province to the west. The southeast was temporarily off-limits. Even if he didn't want to admit it,

he had to recognize that Chen Yuan's visible strength had already surpassed the Xiang family.

Even bringing in the Seven Kill Hall and the Heavenly Demon Hall wouldn't be enough, because they wouldn't truly fight to the death for the Xiang family's cause. They weren't trustworthy.

A war would only benefit other forces.

The situation in the south was the same. Nangong Lie was nothing to him, not even worth his notice. With his strength, he could crush him like an ant, or at least it wouldn't be too difficult.

He could even fight Immortals, so how could he be no match for Nangong Lie?

But...

Nangong Lie had already colluded with the demon clans of the Southern Border, and his strength was unfathomable. With his current power, he couldn't deal with the demons of the Southern Border.

Even if he conquered South Province, the pressure would only increase!

As for Jiao Province, that would be easier. Although there were a few rebel kings, they were just some Gu clan tribes and larger mountain strongholds, nothing to worry about.

He had never paid them any attention.

But once he occupied Jiao Province, he would inevitably clash with the Buddhist sect of Lan Province. Their power, as it currently stood, far surpassed his own.

The Spirit Mountain had played a major role in the destruction of Great Chu. How could they let him, a remnant of the former dynasty, off the hook, waiting for a day to seek revenge?

The southeast, west, and south were all off-limits. The only place he could strike was the northern Qing Province, a fertile land that he could occupy.

But that would lead back to the original problem.

If the Xiang family moved, it was highly likely that all the other forces would join forces against them.

It was an unsolvable situation.

Xiang Qianqiu had fleetingly thought of a solution, but it was just a thought. He hadn't anticipated that the day would come so quickly, so urgently.

Xiang Qianqiu's eyes flickered, deep and abyssal.

Currently, there were three things he needed to do to break the stalemate.

First, let Chen Yuan and Nangong Lie inflict heavy losses on each other, or at least cripple one side and destroy the other. That way, they wouldn't have the strength to target the Xiang family.

In any case, he couldn't move first.

As for whether they would fight, that was beyond doubt.

Nangong Lie had the support of the demon clans and had to move north to contend for the Central Plains, otherwise the demon clans wouldn't continue to support him. And Chen Yuan naturally wanted to move north as well.

But Shu Province was surrounded on three sides, so his first priority was to eliminate Nangong Lie, a threat in his rear.

He was naturally cautious and suspicious and would never leave himself with hidden dangers.

Therefore, a battle between them was inevitable in the near future. And he had to take advantage of this time to break the stalemate directly.

Riding the momentum to overwhelm the Central Plains.

That way, even if other forces joined forces, they couldn't do anything to him.

And what he needed to do was to join forces with the Buddhist sect...

Xiang Qianqiu believed he understood the nature of the Buddhist sect. They talked about equality for all and saving all living beings, but in reality, their rules were stricter than any other force, and they were extremely profit-driven.

Although the Buddhist sect preached in the Central Plains, they couldn't adapt and were targeted by various forces. They also needed a strong ally.

The Xiang family was destroyed by the Buddhist Sima clan and the Immortal Realm. Xiang Qianqiu was full of hatred and unwilling to collude with the Buddhist sect, but in the current situation,

if he didn't join forces, the Xiang family couldn't rise.

Third, get the Seven Kill Hall and the Heavenly Demon Hall to invest more in the Xiang family.

Xiang Qianqiu had lost his past composure and confidence. Now, he was willing to sacrifice everything, just to win!

......

......

Shu Province City, inside the Yan King's mansion.

Although Chen Yuan's declaration of kingship was planned long in advance, he didn't bother with trivial matters like the mansion. The current Yan King's mansion was actually the former residence of an official.

The owner of the house was a retired senior official of the Great Jin Dynasty. Because Chen Yuan rebelled against Jin, his family was naturally confiscated and exterminated, and his mansion was forcibly seized for his own use.

And no one felt that this was wrong.

The tyrannical Jin was so corrupt, so the veteran officials who had worked for it for many years should of course be exterminated. In fact, Chen Yuan had never intended to build a grand palace for himself, and was even praised by the people of Shu Province.

Since Chen Yuan declared himself king, it had caused a great stir in the world, let alone Shu Province. Because this place was already under his substantive control,

he would only be more popular.

The people loved him, and he was strengthening his army. That was the current state of Chen Yuan's forces.

Among the decrees he issued after declaring himself king, one was to reduce the tax burden on the people of Shu Province by half, relieving the pressure on them. This was one of the more important reasons why he was so popular.

For Chen Yuan, the current money and food were already sufficient. He couldn't squeeze much oil from the peasants anyway, because the real cultivation resources weren't in their hands.

Gold, silver, and worldly possessions weren't that important to him.

The noble families and century-old sects of the world were his targets. After more than two hundred years of peace in the world, they had long been fattened up, and it was time to slaughter them.

As for whether it would cause a rebellion...

Absolutely not!

Because Chen Yuan had already completely controlled Shu Province, and no one could disobey him. These forces were also cheap; only by suppressing them harshly could he make them more obedient and docile.

Of course, the premise was that Chen Yuan always maintained a powerful force.

Inside the main hall of the King's mansion.

The Xuyan Monk, dressed in a green monk's robe, sat in the lower seat with his eyes closed and breathing, twirling a string of glittering Buddhist beads, seemingly waiting for something.

Since the Battle of Zijing Mountain, the Xuyan Monk had stayed in Shu Province City, but he wasn't part of Chen Yuan's forces, and he hadn't expressed his willingness to submit to him.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

Because... Mo Luo was here.

This devout believer had boundless respect for Mo Luo. When Mo Luo was taken away by the Buddhist sect's strongmen, he left the Spirit Mountain and began to travel the Central Plains.

Just to follow in Mo Luo's footsteps.

Now, he had finally waited. How could he leave?

"Amitabha..."

A faint Buddhist chant echoed in the hall, ripples appeared in the void, and a young monk in a white monk's robe slowly appeared in the void.

As soon as he appeared, the surrounding world quietly changed.

Although he was standing there, he seemed out of place with this world.

Xuyan excitedly opened his eyes and saw the figure standing in front of him at a glance. He quickly stood up, put his hands together, and said sincerely:

"Disciple greets Bodhisattva Dizang."

Last time on Zijing Mountain, Mo Luo had only glanced at him, without speaking to him, which made Xuyan feel uneasy. Now, after Chen Yuan returned,

he finally had the opportunity to see the Bodhisattva again.

"Dizang is already in the past, now this poor monk's Dharma name is Mo Luo." The white-robed monk looked compassionately at the devout Xuyan.

"In the disciple's heart, Bodhisattva will always be Bodhisattva."

Xuyan said quickly.

When he was at the Spirit Mountain, Mo Luo valued him, guiding him in his cultivation, allowing him to stand out from the eighteen Arhats and become the chief Arhat. He also admired Mo Luo's code of conduct.

He felt that only such a Bodhisattva with great compassion was a true Bodhisattva.

"Jianglong, why must you do this?"

"The disciple has been deeply favored by the Bodhisattva and has long sworn to follow the Bodhisattva, this ambition will never change." The Xuyan Monk looked solemn, as if he was saying something very important.

"This poor monk has left the Spirit Mountain."

"Disciple has also left the Spirit Mountain."

"This poor monk only wishes to overthrow the Spirit Mountain and recreate Buddhism."

"Disciple is willing to follow the Bodhisattva and help the Bodhisattva recreate Buddhism."

The two asked and answered quickly and concisely.

Mo Luo looked deeply at the Xuyan Monk and nodded:

"Good."

"Thank you, Bodhisattva."

Mo Luo slowly sat next to him and said:

"Why don't you ask this poor monk why he wants to overthrow the Spirit Mountain? And recreate a Buddhism?"

"If the Bodhisattva is willing to say, the disciple will listen. If the Bodhisattva is unwilling to say, the disciple also believes that the Bodhisattva must have a reason for doing things." Xuyan was like a simp, willing to fulfill all the requests of his goddess and willing to be an honest man.

Mo Luo took a deep breath and said:

"Since the Ancestor of All Buddhas created Buddhism, the Spirit Mountain was built by gathering the power of Buddhism, becoming a Buddhist holy land, dedicated to saving all living beings. But this poor monk has discovered that the Spirit Mountain has long..."

......

......

Yan King's mansion, back yard.

Chen Yuan listened to the reports from his subordinates, his face slightly changing.

Since he first discovered that the Zhennan King Nangong Lie was colluding with the demon clans, he had been paying close attention to this hidden danger. He didn't take action before because his strength was insufficient, and he was wary of the demon clans behind Nangong Lie.

He didn't want to expand the situation and cause unnecessary trouble.

He didn't have the strength to bear the cost.

But now it was different. His strength had reached, and his power had surpassed that of the former Great Jin Dynasty. It was time to take action.

Just as Xiang Qianqiu had thought, Chen Yuan was currently surrounded by enemies on all sides.

The most powerful were the Xiang family of Blood Province and Nangong Lie of South Province. The Xiang family was powerful and couldn't be touched for the time being. But Nangong Lie was someone he had to kill.

Not only because Nangong Lie was a hidden danger, preparing to attack him, but also because Nangong Lie had the Destiny he urgently needed to increase his strength.

And according to what he knew, while he was preparing to attack Nangong Lie, Nangong Lie was also plotting deeply against him, treating him as the biggest obstacle to moving north.

After establishing his kingdom, he had already begun to prepare.

Most importantly, the power that Nangong Lie had gathered!

With that little strength of his, to put it disrespectfully, he was no match for Chen Yuan. He had more than a palmful of True Monarchs under his command.

In terms of strength, he far surpassed his opponent.

But he still dared to attack him, which proved one thing: the demon clans had completely intervened in Nangong Lie's forces, preparing to swallow the Central Plains!

Chen Yuan sipped his tea, looked in the direction of South Province, and said to Chu Changfeng and Jiang He beside him:

"Since Nangong Lie dares to attack, then... fight!"

"Should we make public the matter of his collusion with the demon clans?"

Chu Changfeng asked in a low voice.

He had already learned the details of Nangong Lie.

Chen Yuan nodded slightly:

"That's natural. But we must prevent Nangong Lie from blocking the news. Before we take action, activate all the hidden agents in the Zhennan Army, to throw the Zhennan Army into chaos!

As for me, I'll make a trip to the Biyou Palace now."

"Okay."

"By annexing the two provinces of South and Blood, the south will be entirely in our hands. Then, we can truly dominate the south and threaten the Central Plains..." Chu Changfeng's eyes were quite solemn, but there was also a hint of excitement.

To contend for the Central Plains!

"You two, go and prepare quickly. Everything, proceed according to the previous plan!"

"Your subordinates obey!"

Chu Changfeng clasped his hands in a salute.

......

Inside the main hall.

After listening to Mo Luo's story, the Xuyan Monk took a deep breath and nodded:

"I see, it seems that the Spirit Mountain is no longer the Spirit Mountain it once was. Disciple is willing to help the Bodhisattva purify Buddhism!"

"To accomplish this, one must first help Benefactor Chen to seize the world."

"Disciple is willing to help."

Xuyan nodded.

"Sha sha..."

Chen Yuan's footsteps came closer and closer, quickly arriving in front of the two, just in time to hear Xuyan's words, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"With the help of the Grandmaster, this king's great cause can be accomplished!"

The Xuyan Monk immediately stood up, put his hands together:

"This poor monk greets Your Highness the Yan King."

"Grandmaster Xuyan, you and I are old acquaintances, why be so polite."

"Hehe, does Your Highness the Yan King have something to ask of this poor monk?"

"The Grandmaster is indeed as wise as a god. This king came here to ask about the Grandmaster's past in the Ci'en Temple. I wonder if the Grandmaster can tell me about it?"

"That's natural..."

......

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