Immortal Road.

Chapter 515 (End, to be continued tomorrow) Returning to Lu, enemies causing trouble
half year later.

From south to north, a long journey of millions of miles.

Lin Shan left alone, and came back with a group of people. They did encounter some small enemies along the way, but with the help of him and Brother Ji, they could run away even if they couldn't defeat them.

I saw private schools everywhere below, recitations were everywhere, and everyone was respecting literature.

Then he knew that he had arrived at the State of Lu.

"The territory ahead is the Lujiang League, which is one of the best alliances in western Shandong, second only to the neutral Yunchuan Academy."

While Lin Shan was on his way, he briefly explained the situation in Lu to the people behind him.

It is nothing more than Confucianism being in the ascendancy, with the ten major academies leading the way.

The four top forces are all located in the central region, and the remaining eight are within the influence of the major academies.

"Except for the famous ones I mentioned, don't mess with them. Don't be afraid of the others. Most of them can cover for you!"

Zuo Ning and others were very excited after hearing this.

They were all independent practitioners before, but now they have finally entered the big league. They instantly feel more confident and are eager to give it a try.

Brother Chicken flapped his wings vigorously, wishing he could roar to the sky!

"When will you help me establish a sect? I can't wait!"

"Right away, be patient."

Lin Shan felt that it would be better to let it learn for a while before going out to start its own business.

After all, it had only lived among the demon tribe in the Luosong Mountains before, and didn't really know much about the human cultivation world. It rushed in without thinking, and hoped it didn't get itself broken into pieces.

Relatively speaking, Brother Ji's character is relatively straightforward and naive, and he does not have enough social experience.

Therefore, it is better to stay in Xungujiao to visit and learn about it for a while before going out to start a business.

I had been in the Black Lotus Sect for more than ten years before I had the experience to become the sect leader.

There is a huge difference between having someone to guide you and having no one to guide you.

Not long after, we entered the main channel of the Lujiang River Basin.

Going up the river, passing through the Lunan River Basin, the four Lunan sects here, Lingyun Sect, Xianhe Sect, Zhaoshen Fort, and Liuyang Sect, are all the elders of the Lujiang League.

The four sects sometimes united against external enemies, and sometimes fought among themselves. When the Lujiang League encountered a crisis, some of them even secretly sat on the fence.

However, Lin Shan was magnanimous enough and did not pursue the matter too much. He just warned them a little and then let it go for the time being.

To be honest, he is already kind enough as the leader of the alliance.

If it were someone else, the new official would make the first three moves upon taking office, and he might have to make an example of someone and reshuffle the subordinate structures.

However, he still followed the old system and did not make any major changes to the plan, which was no different from when the ancestor of the Yang family was alive.

The main reason is laziness. Apart from one's own strength, one should do things as easily as possible. Only when one is strong can one be truly strong.

All external objects and forces are nothing more than tools for one's own use.

He did not visit or examine the four sects of Lunan, but flew directly over their heads.

Luzhong County, Xianyin Pool.

It has been more than three years since the Lujiang League Conference was held here, and a huge fairy city on the water has been built!

The fairy city covers an area of ​​hundreds of miles. All the streets, land, facilities, and institutions are well organized, and it seems to be quite popular.

All four city gates have floating bridges leading directly to the outside world, and there is a constant stream of monks coming and going.

There is a plaque hanging on the south gate tower:

"Lujiang City".

This is the regional characteristic, and it is also consistent with the sense of belonging of local forces at the beginning of its establishment.

Looking at the flow of people below, it is several times larger than that of Wangyue City back then. After all, it is the headquarters of the alliance, and the employment and resources in the cultivation world gathered from all aspects must be top-notch in the local area.

Lin Shan flew directly into the city with a group of people and headed straight for the Lujiang League headquarters.

In the center of the city, there is a dangerous building a hundred feet high, shining like jade.

As the landmark building of the fairy city, it is also the decision-making center of the Lujiang League, where elders and guardians from various families reside.

Lin Shan's return also caused quite a stir.

Deputy leader Yang Zhenren came out to greet them personally, and brought with him the other four Jindan Zhenren who were on duty.

Everyone hadn't seen the leader for a long time, so when he suddenly came back, they actually looked a little reserved.

Lin Shan looked around and found that he was not very familiar with the other four people. They were not among the ten elders of the Lujiang League in the city, but the sects of the thirteen guardian seats that joined later.

The strength of these sects varies, but now they are united as one, and they are also an important force in the western part of Lu.

Arrived at the upper level of headquarters.

Everyone took their seats one by one. Except for Brother Ji and the Pig-Headed Monster, Zuo Ning and the others were placed in the yard below the tall building, awaiting further arrangements.

Lin Shan also introduced these two new partners to the alliance, but he didn't go into too much detail, saying they were nothing more than his spiritual pets.

All the real people congratulated him with a smile and exchanged pleasantries.

"Master Yang, during the time I was away, how has our alliance been developing? Has anything major happened?"

Lin Shan asked about the latest developments. Even if he was a hands-off manager, he couldn't just ignore it.

Master Yang nodded and told him the general situation.

"First of all, the rules and regulations of the entire league have become a model, and all the reward, punishment and promotion mechanisms are passed down from top to bottom and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people."

"Secondly, all forces have increased their investment in the alliance and integrated various industries. Most of the businesses in the Lujiang River Basin have been localized, and our control over our own territory has been greatly enhanced."

"With the joint management of ten elders, thirteen guardians, and more than three hundred member seats of all sizes, Lujiang City has now become the military, political and economic center of the entire basin."

"Many independent cultivators heard the news and came from thousands of miles away to look for opportunities."

The majority of people in the cultivation world are still low-level independent cultivators.

It is because of the hard work of these people that these powerful forces can exploit the labor force. Anyway, it is impossible for everyone to be rich, and there must always be people who work like slaves.

If we can attract independent practitioners to seek employment and livelihood, that would be a good start.

Master Yang reported on the overall development, which was basically thriving with no major mistakes.

After all, Lujiang League has a large scale now, strong compatibility and high fault tolerance, so overall its development momentum is good.

This is the interior.

When it comes to external matters, Master Yang and the other four masters looked a little strange.

"What's wrong with the outside world? In Luxi, apart from Yunchuan Academy, there shouldn't be anyone who can be our opponent, right?"

"Yunchuan Academy is a neutral camp, and has a good relationship with us, so they shouldn't cause any trouble."

"The forces in the other half of the region are just a pile of loose sand. Can they still pose any threat to us?"

Lin Shan was still somewhat confident in his family, and did not think that there was any force that could shake the status of Lujiang League. According to the current size, he could actually sweep across western Shandong and bring other places under his control.

Even if there are a few giant families like the former Yang family and Dai family, which also have powerful people in the late Jindan period, they are still no match for their own alliance.

But he didn't do that.

Because I know that 'too much is as bad as too little'.

Local regional characteristics are the positioning he gives himself, and it is also a shell to protect himself.

If you are not satisfied with the status quo and want to continue fighting, grabbing territory and resources.

Not to mention that it would cause panic among the people of western Shandong, it would also surely lead to joint intervention from various factions, and even warnings and warnings from top forces.

Half of Luxi has reached the edge of the baseline!

If you want to further expand your territory and unify the entire western Shandong region, that would be a bit too much.

Sometimes, it is important to leave some room for yourself, so that it will be good for you, for me and for everyone.

The forces in the other half of Luxi do not submit to you and are not on good terms with you in their hearts, which is actually a good thing relatively speaking.

Why do the border generals of the mortal dynasties like to "keep the enemy to protect themselves"?
It can be eradicated, but it is not.

This is the principle of balance. Maintain the status quo, secretly recruit troops and increase your own strength, free up time for development, and slowly arm yourself to enhance your voice.

The same is true in the world of cultivation.

So he just let it go and didn't use any force.

However, the overall economic squeeze will not be lenient.

"Most of the market in western Shandong has indeed been seized by members of our Lujiang Alliance, who are involved in all walks of life. The local bosses are complaining privately, but except for a few giant families, most of them dare not speak out."

Master Yang had anticipated this a long time ago, and everything is moving along the established track.

"It's just that in the northwest of Shandong, we have encountered infiltration by external forces. At present, people in various places are unsettled and are watching from a distance."

"Infiltration by external forces? What's going on?"

Lin Shan frowned, wondering which external force dared to interfere with the sphere of influence of his own Lujiang League.

"Speaking of which, it is related to your Xun Gu Sect."

Master Yang gave an awkward smile and told him about the current situation in the north.

"Do you still remember the incident three years ago when the two elders Jingxuan led a team to force the emperor to abdicate at the alliance meeting?"

"Of course, there's nothing I don't remember."

Lin Shan agreed as a matter of course.

The four Jindan Zhenren next to them looked a little unnatural, because the Jindan Zhenren from their same sect were more or less instigated by the two elders Jingxuan to come and instigate.

"Because of that conflict, the Lord of Chixiao City and Shi Ensanren of Happy Forest were killed by Elder Hei Ku and Elder Zhan Kong of your sect."

"Then you sent people to take over and support the heirs of the two families to succeed to the throne, but they were obstructed by the dark forces, resulting in the fact that the master has not yet been chosen."

"Although these two are also located in the northern end of our Lujiang River Basin, they have not joined the Lujiang Alliance, which makes it inconvenient for us to intervene now. After all, we have no legitimate reason to do so."

“Therefore.”

When Master Yang said this, Lin Shan also understood what was going on.

At first, I killed the two who jumped the most cheerfully just to establish my authority, but later I thought of taking over the territory over there as well.

However, given the special national conditions of Lu's cultivation world, if one directly kills someone and then tries to seize their inheritance, it would not be easy to justify it morally unless there is a deep hatred.

So they sent the Xun Gu Sect's men out to support a puppet or agent.

He remembered that at that time, the Black Skull Demon Lord and Master Zhan Kong had ordered Mu Yan to lead the team to Chixiao City and Gao Zuoda to lead the team to Happy Forest. They each carried out their own secret attacks without asking too many questions.

Now, it’s been more than a year since I came back, and I still haven’t figured it out!

If it was due to obstruction by external forces, then that would make sense.

"Have you found out who is so reckless and dares to interfere with the work of Xun Gu Sect?"

"After investigating the alliance's intelligence, it should be a family of cultivators from the northwest of Shandong - Shangjia."

Master Yang looked solemn and felt the situation was quite difficult.

"Merchant."

Lin Shan stroked his chin in thought, and suddenly he realized something.

If it is a merchant, then it is possible.

When I went to Yunchuan Academy to study a few years ago, I met Shang Geng and Shang Ding, two people from the Shang family of cultivation. They had a grudge against me over the affairs of the two elders Jingxuan.

The strength of the Shang family is extraordinary. There is more than one late Jindan master in each generation. There are always clansmen who stay in Shangyang Academy as professors and serve as external aid.

In an academy, a professor is equivalent to forming his own faction and leading a school of thought!
The merchants have been able to pass down the teachings of the Shang family for so many years. I am afraid that not only are there many students in Shangyang Academy, but there may even be a lineage with the surname Shang!
Compared with this kind of aristocratic family, the Yang family and the Dai family are far inferior.

No wonder they dared to challenge their own Lujiang League!
The hatred between the two parties was very simple. The first was that they stole the reed jade stalactite from the forbidden area on the cliff and drove away Master Shang Ding. The second was that they killed the two elders Jingxuan.

The two elders Jingxuan have many connections in Shangyang Academy, and killing them will inevitably cause a lot of hostility, and he has been mentally prepared for this.

Back then in Yunchuan Academy, in order to give face to the three professors, he and the people from Shangyang Academy each took a step back and no conflict occurred.

But who would have thought that as soon as he left Lu, the merchants would send people to cause trouble for him!

"Chixiao City and Happy Forest both belong to the western part of Shandong. Their business is in the northwest of Shandong, which should be considered as crossing the border. Don't you care about this?"

Lin Shan felt that there was nothing to be entangled about. From the perspective of justice and status, his side was in the right, so he could just send people to expel them. What could outsiders say?

Master Yang gave a bitter smile and told him that they were also well prepared.

"The daughter of a merchant married the third son of the late Lord of Chixiao City, so they are related by marriage. It is reasonable to ask her family to help her seize the throne."

"When Shi Ensanren first built Happy Forest, he lacked the funds to start a new sect, so he even invited merchants to invest in it. Therefore, there are also merchants involved in Happy Forest."

These two places originally had their own Jindan Zhenren in charge, and the merchants had no reason to intervene forcibly. Later, the Lord of Chixiao City and Shi Ensan died, so the merchants took advantage of the situation and entered under false names.

No one can find fault with this.

After hearing this, Lin Shan fell silent.

"From the looks of it, the merchant only sent Foundation Establishment Stage juniors to stir up trouble, and did not escalate the situation, so I would not involve the Lujiang League."

From the perspective of the alliance, Master Yang did not take any extreme actions.

This was because he knew that not only were other forces in Luxi happy to see him make a fool of himself, but even the merchants might be waiting for him to reveal a flaw so that they could launch a full-scale counterattack.

"You did the right thing. Let the stalemate over there go. There's no rush."

Lin Shan has many more important things to do when he comes back this time.

The first thing is to improve our own strength. Those small matters in the north can be put aside for later. Things must always be prioritized.

------------

(The sixth volume "Revisiting the Old Place" has ended, there is nothing more to say, tomorrow I will directly open the seventh volume: "The Shattered Star Palace")
(End of this chapter)