Mysterious mirror hanging high

"In the past, Xiao Tianjun saved the world from collapse, single-handedly eradicating the evil ways of Penglai and establishing the rules of righteousness. This is why Penglai Zhongzhou is peaceful and tranquil today..."

"I never thought that more than 20,000 years later, a demon king like this would appear among his descendants, actually planning to unify Penglai Xianzhou in the name of the devil!"

Yang Dingfeng said sarcastically, "How ironic..."

"Where's Xiao Guanyue? Didn't I ask for her heart blood last time to create a blood curse puppet, and use the curse to cause trouble for [True Lord Suying]? Why is there still no news?"

Xu Baiwei looked hesitant and said slowly, "The Dongyue Peak Master refused... After all, the heart blood is the essence of the physical body. Even if you squeeze out a drop, it will inevitably damage your cultivation. The Dongyue Peak Master is devoted to cultivation, so it is only natural for him to refuse."

"Hey... she's diligent, but what's the point of being diligent?" Yang Dingfeng sighed. "No matter how hard she practices, her talent is there, how can she compare to her brother!"

"Don't look at Xiao Guanyue's current Nascent Soul Stage, which is perfect. It seems that the late Nascent Soul Stage is within reach. But at the same age, [Su Ying] has been in the late Nascent Soul Stage for many years. By the time she is promoted to the Great True Lord, [Su Ying] may have already understood it!"

"Instead of chasing after him blindly, it's better to slow down Su Ying's cultivation and buy time for the geniuses of the entire Penglai righteous path!"

"Xiao Guanyue only cares about the gains and losses of a city or a place, but fails to consider the overall situation. He is truly a lousy chess player..."

"Forget it, I'll go look for this Master Qin myself!"

Then Yang Dingfeng changed the subject: "How many spies are left in the Tiannan Demon Territory?"

Xu Baiwei replied, "Three people have reached the Golden Core stage, eighteen have reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and one hundred and fifty-six have reached the Qi Training stage."

Yang Dingfeng frowned: "Is this all that's left?"

"There's nothing we can do. The Tiannan Demonic Sect's investigation is too strict, and it's hard to interfere." Xu Baiwei looked embarrassed. "Besides... the spiritual resources for hiring dead souls are a bit stretched."

"No money?"

Yang Dingfeng raised his voice, "Go ask for it from Nanyue Peak! Tiannan intelligence is a matter of great importance concerning the struggle between good and evil, and even the ownership of the entire Penglai Immortal Continent. I'm already being very considerate by not taxing every sect individually. How come even my fellow disciple Xiao Beiyue is so ignorant?"

"But my husband, the other four Yues all think that your evil nature is hard to change, so why should we try so hard?" Xu Baiwei said gritting her teeth.

"The old Peak Master was very kind to my husband, and he has also been forgiven by the Supreme Lord... All I have to do is be cautious and abide by my duties!"

Yang Dingfeng's voice gradually lowered: "Your husband only suffers from this background. If I were the descendant of the Heavenly Sovereign, I would teach Xiao Guanying to become a devil cultivator who does whatever he wants..."

"I only regret that I'm not [Xiao Dingfeng], and that Su Ying can't become [Yang Guanying]!"

----

A year passed in a flash. Jing Yu read through the jade slips of the [Xiyue Peak] chess tradition and had an idea for a new invention in his mind:

"After a cultivator builds his immortal foundation, he can generate divine consciousness, but there aren't many advanced techniques for cultivating divine consciousness. Some require harsh training conditions, some carry significant hidden dangers, or some are simply inaccessible to others, like Daoist techniques like [Spirit Condensation Technique]..."

"This [Xiyue Peak]'s chess tradition, supplemented by the art of mechanical puppetry, might allow us to develop one or two automated chess patterns that can train the divine consciousness. This would allow Foundation Establishment cultivators to strengthen their divine consciousness, benefiting all aspects of cultivation and indirectly improving the productivity of Foundation Establishment cultivators' skills..."

Keeping this idea in mind, Jing Yu thought again:

"[Xiyue Peak]'s Peak Master, Yang Dingfeng, was born into the demonic sect, and his disciples have been implicated. The other four peaks are discriminating against him, and there's already been widespread resentment... It might not be obvious on a normal day, but if a major change were to happen within the pavilion, Xiyue Peak would definitely be the first to cause trouble!"

"This is very different from the issue of neglected government affairs in [Dongyue]. Every family has its own problems..."

He got up and went to the cave of the peak master. After saying goodbye to Yang Dingfeng, he went directly to [Nanyue Peak].

When they arrived at Nanyue Peak, there was a Jindan cultivator waiting there early. Jing Yu looked closely and found that it was Xiao Yuan, the direct disciple of Xiao Beiyue.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, thank you for waiting here!" Jing Yu bowed.

"After so much anticipation, the Mysterious Mirror is finally here!"

Xiao Yuan seemed extremely enthusiastic towards Jing Yu. He stepped forward, grabbed Jing Yu's sleeve, and led him up the mountain, saying with a mixture of anger and resentment, "Speaking of which, it was Master who arranged for you to go on this study trip, so you should have come to Nanyue Peak first..."

"After meeting Master, Xuan Jing, don't forget to come to the General Affairs Hall of Nanyue Peak to receive spiritual funds. Your treatment will be the same as that of a Jindan elder on the peak!"

"Our Nanyue Peak's annual spiritual funds are distributed at the beginning of each year. When your one-year Xuanjing study period is over, don't forget to go to the General Affairs Hall to collect it again..."

Jing Yu was stunned and said, "I'm just here to study. Isn't it against the rules to receive an annual salary?"

Xiao Yuan smiled and said, "Nanyue Peak isn't short of these little things. Xuan Jing may have come here to study, but you can treat Nanyue as your own Taoist lineage. You and my master are well-known friends regardless of age difference, so how can you treat him as an outsider?"

It was not difficult to guess what Xiao Yuan was thinking. Jing Yu just smiled and did not express his opinion. He followed him to the Document Hall on Nanyue Peak.

"This is where Master handles government affairs and reviews official documents..."

Xiao Yuan said respectfully, "Master, Fellow Daoist Xuan Jing has been brought here."

"Come in."

When the two entered the Document Hall, they first saw Xiao Beiyue sitting in front of the long desk in the center of the hall. The desk was piled with jade slips and documents like a small mountain. At this time, this Book Master was reviewing them one by one with a red pen in his hand.

"Xuan Jing is here. Please wait a moment until I finish processing this batch of paperwork."

Without even looking up, Xiao Beiyue continued to stare at the document in his hand, and asked Xiao Yuan, "Yuan'er, what are your plans for the future?"

Xiao Yuan had already prepared a speech in his mind, and said:

"Master, we will be going to the Underworld Dao to deliver the share of golden elixir spirit plants we agreed upon this year. I need you to be there in person to discuss this with the Underworld Dao Master."

"Afterwards, the [Blood Talisman Sect] sent another batch of talismans to the Yunchuan Region..."

"...After finishing the affairs of Zhongzhou, Master must travel through Taixu to the North Sea. There will be a discussion meeting of the True Lords there in three days that he needs to attend."

"Afterwards, I'll have to stop by the Falling Star Inner Sea to discuss with several Dragon Lords the allocation of cultivators for the Falling Star Palace Secret Realm... After all, this secret realm only opens once every century, and the direct descendants of the various sects in Zhongzhou are making a big fuss. How to allocate the quotas needs to be carefully worked out."

Xiao Beiyue paused in his crimson writing, then resumed his smooth, flowing strokes. He said calmly, "Taking into account the time Taixu takes to travel, we still have half an hour to set off. There's still plenty of time..."

"That's enough for me to explain some things to Xuan Jing!"