"Forget it, this is something my main body should worry about."
Soon, Duan Lang dismissed the concern about the Turkic invasion from his mind. As a shadow clone, he had no need to overthink things. Instead, he turned his attention to studying the Desert Temple, which he had learned about from Bi Xuan's memories.
"It really is quite similar to the God of War Hall in Jingyan Palace. I remember the Ten Absolutes Pass was also quite similar to the God of War Hall. Could all of this be the work of the same person? Using the same pattern, seems like they're being a bit lazy."
Bi Xuan's memories of the Desert Temple were few. His strongest impression of it was its size—massive, towering tens of meters high. When ordinary people entered, they immediately felt small. This feature reminded Duan Lang of the God of War Hall in Jingyan Palace.
Bi Xuan hadn't spent much time in the Desert Temple. He had learned the Yan Yang Extraordinary Skill from a stone inscription on a wall and then left. It wasn't that Bi Xuan didn't want to explore more, but at the time, the Desert Temple seemed to be closing, and not wanting to risk being trapped inside, he left.
At that time, Bi Xuan was still young and hadn't yet developed the kind of awareness needed to close himself off inside the temple, like the blood-stained hand of Liy Gong later in the journey of breaking through the void.
"Breaking through the void requires such awareness. If there's no other option, this is a last-ditch attempt," Duan Lang thought. Throughout history, many Grandmasters, including Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan, Fu Cailin, and even Song Que, had faced the end of their lives and chosen to enter a self-imposed "closed-door cultivation." The method is desperate but necessary.
"Looks like I'll have to wait for the Devil Sect or the Song clan to find information about Jingyan Palace," Duan Lang murmured.
Duan Lang wasn't surprised by the lack of the Desert Temple's discovery. If it were so easy to find, Bi Xuan wouldn't have been the only one to emerge from it. Similarly, the Jingyan Palace had only one person, Chuan Ying, emerge from its depths.
Both the Devil Sect and the Song clan were gathering personnel to search ancient ruins for information related to breaking through the void. For both, this was a crucial task, and the Devil Sect, led by Zhu Yuyan, had mobilized the potential forces of the Yin Kui Sect.
"They've really caused me quite a bit of trouble," Duan Lang muttered as he reviewed the situation.
Back in the main body's location, Daniel Davis had somewhat dismissed the Turkic invasion issue. His original plan had been to deal with the Turks after unifying the Central Plains, but now he was facing them earlier than expected.
"Forget it. If things get too complicated, I'll just take care of Xieli and Tuli. I'll eliminate them all."
For Daniel Davis, Bi Xuan had already been captured, and there was no reason to let him go. If he did, people might think he feared the Turks. Now that the southern forces were pacified, it was time to deal with the northern threat. Bi Xuan would serve as the perfect scapegoat for this task.
Under the leadership of Shen Luoyan and the Double Dragons, Shen Faxing had already surrendered, while Lin Shihong, unwilling to submit, secretly contacted the Li clan and Cihang Jingzhai, hoping to make a last-ditch effort. However, Zhu Yuyan led her forces and wiped them out, killing even the late Master Bi Shou Xuan, who had been an irritant to her for some time.
"Devil King, it seems you've reached Grandmaster level now. Congratulations. But sadly, there is only one Grandmaster left, Fu Cailin."
"It's enough. I never had a chance to settle things with him. Now's the perfect time."
After such a long time, Evil King Shi Zhi Xuan had finally appeared. And with his arrival, he brought good news to Daniel Davis: the Four Great Saints of the Buddhist sect had been wiped out.
Once his spirit had fully recovered, Shi Zhi Xuan became a Grandmaster, and he single-handedly defeated the Four Great Saints of the Buddhist sect, causing them to pass into Nirvana at the cost of his own minor injuries.
Had it been someone else—be it Song Que, Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan, or Fu Cailin—it would have been impossible to defeat the Four Saints so easily. But the Four Saints were Shi Zhi Xuan's masters. Though he struck them down, he spared their bodies out of respect.
"Then leave Fu Cailin to you. I promised Yang Guang I would offer his head as a tribute."
Daniel Davis was well aware of why Shi Zhi Xuan wanted to battle Fu Cailin. During Yang Guang's campaign to Goryeo, the plan was for Shi Zhi Xuan to hold Fu Cailin back. Although Shi Zhi Xuan hadn't been a Grandmaster at the time, his unique martial arts style would've forced Fu Cailin to fight him for a hundred moves, at least.
Moreover, Shi Zhi Xuan was on the battlefield and not fighting alone, so he could have stalled Fu Cailin long enough for the Sui forces to make a move. But after the death of Bi Xiu Xin, Shi Zhi Xuan never made it to the battlefield.
"I had the same intention," Shi Zhi Xuan replied.
"How dare he do this? Doesn't he realize that this will lead to the Turkic forces moving south?"
In Chang'an, at the Yuhe Monastery, Fan Qinghui watched with fury as the newspaper reported that Daniel Davis had started his campaign to unify the Central Plains. Her face twisted in anger, and the idea of offering a Grandmaster of the Turkic people as a flag bearer sent chills down her spine.
In her plan, the possibility of uniting three Grandmasters to assassinate Daniel Davis, the Tang King, had always been an option. With Daniel Davis's policies, once he unified the Central Plains, the surrounding states would be greatly threatened.
Neither Fu Cailin of Goguryeo nor Bi Xuan of the Turks wanted to see a powerful dynasty emerge in the Central Plains. Both were Grandmasters in their own right, but when the situation turned dire, even their pride could be cast aside.
However, Fan Qinghui had not yet made her decision, and now, with only Fu Cailin left, she no longer needed Duan Lang's assistance. Song Que could deal with Fu Cailin himself.
"Everyone, the current situation is clear to you all. We all know what will happen if the enemy unifies the world. I need not elaborate further. The only way forward is for us to cooperate wholeheartedly if we are to overcome this crisis."
In the royal study in Chang'an, Li Yuan looked gravely at the assembled leaders. His forces had just defeated Liu Wuzhou, but before they could eliminate him completely, Daniel Davis had already unified the South and was marching toward Chang'an.
Under normal circumstances, Li Yuan would not have been too concerned. Chang'an had a unique geographic position, surrounded by four strategic passes, making it hard to conquer. When Li Yuan originally took Chang'an, it had been thanks to an insider. Without that, it would have taken years to conquer it.
But now, things had changed. With the variety of mechanical beasts and devices employed by Daniel Davis, Li Yuan could no longer be sure how long Chang'an would hold.
"It seems that Fan Qinghui's idea of offering a Heaven-Chosen Emperor might be the solution to this dilemma. Do you have any methods to resolve the current crisis?" Zhao Deyan, the state priest of the Turks, spoke up.
The room was filled with high-ranking figures, including Fan Qinghui of Cihang Jingzhai, Fu Cailin, Li Yuan, and his three sons, as well as Yun Shuai of the Western Turks. Among them were also Li Yuan's brothers and ministers, such as Yang Xuyan. All the main enemies of Daniel Davis were gathered in one place.
"Zhao Deyan, what do you mean by that?" Fan Qinghui's expression turned dark at Zhao Deyan's words. Being in the same room with members of the Devil Sect was already uncomfortable for her, but now Zhao Deyan was openly provoking her.
"It's nothing. Just speaking the truth. It's been a long time since Cihang Jingzhai was known for feeding magic with the body. As a devil, I wonder if Fan Qinghui will consider offering herself," Zhao Deyan responded casually.
"You—"
"Zhao Deyan, you should be careful with your words. You know what the one who hates you the most would do. If he unifies the Central Plains, what do you think your fate will be?" Li Shimin interjected sharply, causing Zhao Deyan's face to darken immediately.
Zhao Deyan, being the state priest of the DTZ, had been able to sit in the royal study and even mock Fan Qinghui, thanks to his connections with Bi Xuan and Ning Daoqi. If they were still alive, Zhao Deyan wouldn't dare to be so brazen.
"Enough. Everyone, calm down. This is not the time for infighting," Li Yuan quickly intervened, trying to ease the tension. Though he didn't particularly like Zhao Deyan, he had no choice but to rely on him as a representative of Xieli.
"The best course of action for now is for His Majesty to hold on as long as possible to buy time for the Turkic forces to gather," Zhao Deyan suggested.
The Turks were a federation of many tribes, and while Xieli and Tuli had temporarily formed an alliance due to Bi Xuan's death, gathering enough troops would take some time.
"The simplest solution is to kill him directly. Even if the Turkic forces assemble, they may not be a match for those mechanical beasts," suggested Yang Xuyan.
"How easy would it be to kill him?" Yun Shuai said with a relaxed expression. "Don't forget, the Kirin Demon Duan Lang is undoubtedly on his side. Who here can stop him?"
The room fell silent, everyone realizing that no one in the room stood a chance against Duan Lang, the Kirin Demon.
"Can you stop him?" Li Yuanji asked in frustration, glaring at Yun Shuai.
"I think Master Fu has the most experience," Yun Shuai said, completely ignoring Li Yuanji and turning his gaze to Fu Cailin, who had not yet spoken.
"Enough, Yuanji," Li Yuan scolded before he could speak again. He looked at Fu Cailin with a serious expression. The failure of Yang Guang's campaign to Goryeo was something everyone in the room knew well.
"I don't know what stage he's reached, but I think the army will have no way to deal with him, unless we find a way to prevent him from leaving," Fu Cailin said, causing the room to fall into a heavy silence.
"Let's leave it for now. Everyone, go rest. We will discuss further when the time comes."
No one had come up with a clear solution. Duan Lang, the Kirin Demon, stood like an insurmountable obstacle, blocking their every move. Without finding a way to neutralize him, they couldn't take any action against Daniel Davis, even if Fu Cailin himself was willing to act as an assassin.
"I never expected this day to come."
On the tall city walls of Tongguan, to the east of Chang'an, Li Shiji looked out toward the distant army of Daniel Davis, his giant banner with the character "Shen" waving in the wind. He shook his head in disbelief. The "Shen" wasn't for Daniel Davis, but for Shen Luoyan.
After joining the Li clan, Li Shiji had never joined Li Shimin's Tian Ce Mansion and had been intercepted by Li Yuan. Later, during the war with Liu Wuzhou, Li Shiji was granted the Li surname due to his merit.
"To each their own, Brother Li, don't take it too personally. It seems everyone underestimated her," Li Jing said softly, comforting Li Shiji.
In preparation for Daniel Davis's attack, Li Tang had sent its best forces and generals, including Li Shiji and Li Jing as vanguards. Later, Li Shimin would join them. This battle was critical for the survival of Li Tang, and even Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, and others had to force Li Shimin to lead the campaign.
It could be said that Li Jing's luck had been terribly bad. His military talent surpassed Li Shiji's, but he had never had a chance to show it, as Li Yuan had previously feared Li Shimin and would not use Tian Ce Mansion's people.
(End of Chapter)
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