The Villain's Counterattack

Shi Feixuan ultimately never got to see the golden-armored and masked general who captured Tongguan. The primary reason for this was her defeat at the hands of Kankan. Just as Kankan said, Zhu Yuyan's breakthrough to the Grandmaster level was not perfect, and her Heavenly Demonic Art would be difficult to break through the eighteenth level before breaking the knot in the heart of the Evil King Shi Zhixuan.

It is also for this reason that she, the Grand Master, has always been inferior to Shi Zhixuan, and is also slightly inferior to the independent player Ning Daoqi. However, this gap is easily made up by the peak Grand Master, Kankan. When the master and disciple join forces, Ning Daoqi has to retreat.

"Feixuan, you need to improve your strength. The changes in the world situation are beyond the control of Master Fanzhai. The Sui Dynasty royal family is in a desperate situation. I'm afraid..." Ning Daoqi is also a smart man. He pushed Buddhism to the forefront, which caused "Mr. Li Fan" to suppress him vigorously. He was very successful in warding off disasters for Taoism, but he still hoped to stand on the side of the winner.

Shi Feixuan shook her head slightly with a hint of annoyance, saying, "Practicing in Jingzhai focuses on cultivating the mind. Since the beginning of my practice, I have been determined to travel the world for the safety of the world. The world has not been at peace for long, and there should not be such wars. Master once said that since ancient times, there has never been a south that ruled the north. Moreover, the Li family has a rich and prestigious foundation and the geographical advantage of Guanzhong, so they should be the masters of the world."

Ning Daoqi looked at her deeply and said, "As a monk, I don't know much about the general situation in the world, but I can see that the strongest faction in the world is not the Li family, but Liaodong. The various northern factions flaunt their power internally and kowtow externally. Only Liaodong has inherited the legacy of the Sui Emperor and is unyielding to foreign powers, always displaying the majesty of a great power and the tough character of the Han people."

Shi Feixuan's eyes were slightly hollow as she sighed softly, "As the saying goes, hardness cannot last long, and softness cannot be defended. The Duke of Liao was incredibly intelligent and capable, overwhelming Goryeo and shocking the Turks. He roamed the grasslands unrivaled. But even the strongest swords are easily broken. The Duke of Liao was even more resolute than the Sui Emperor. He was completely hostile to the aristocratic families, both Buddhist and Taoist, and was an enemy to everyone in the Central Plains. His glory was temporary, but it couldn't last."

After communicating with Yang Xuyan for a few days, Shi Feixuan saw a lot. After that, she carefully studied Liaodong's strategy and the real situation within the Liaodong forces. Deep down, she agreed with it, but her butt determined her head. Although she agreed, she did not waver, and even strengthened her belief in supporting Li Shimin to suppress Liaodong.

If Liaodong were given dozens or hundreds of years to develop, the outcome would be uncertain, but could the Central Plains sustain chaos for dozens or hundreds of years? If so, it would likely be another chaotic era, like the Five Barbarians' invasion of China. This was not what Cihang Jingzhai wanted to see, and she didn't have that much time to waste.

If the disciples of Cihang Jingzhai want to improve their strength, or push their strength to a higher level, they need to push the situation in the direction they want, just like the War God Technique of the Sui Dynasty royal family. In the original work, Li Tang unified the world, and Shi Feixuan finally achieved the Grand Master with strength far exceeding Fan Qinghui, which is the best proof.

However, this time, because of Yang Xuyan, Li Tang did not enjoy his glory for long before he was caught in a dilemma of being surrounded by enemies on all sides. If he could not recapture Tongguan, he would not be able to break the predicament in a short period of time, and if things continued like this, he might even fall from the first echelon and become a second-rate force.

Guanzhong is no longer the Guanzhong of the Qin and Han dynasties. It is no longer as prosperous and wealthy as it could be to support a powerful force that could sweep across the world. Its value lies more in its security and customs.

"The Yingui Sect is determined to protect Tongguan from being touched by Li Tang. What are Feixuan's plans for the next step?" Ning Daoqi asked. Shi Feixuan's heart trembled, knowing that the Master Ning opposite her had also come to say goodbye to her. She couldn't help feeling sad. After all, he was just a Taoist master and not a Buddhist disciple. The favor of lending him the "Cihang Sword Classic" was not endless.

"In the Battle of Luoyang, Li Mi was defeated. Wang Shichong turned against him and expelled Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. The two rushed to Liangdu to seek revenge on Yu Wenhuaji. In Feixuan's opinion, Yu Wenhuaji might not be their opponent. If they succeed, a new force will be born. At that time..." Shi Feixuan had a slightly complicated feeling towards Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling.

Originally, she looked down on the two wild boys who came from small gangs, but at the Luoyang Conference, she failed to defeat Xu Ziling even though she tried her best. This made her start to take seriously these two outstanding young people who had worked their way up from the bottom to become famous all over the world and had repeatedly broken other people's three views.

If someone had told her before that two small-time thugs from the bottom of Yangzhou could overthrow the Yuwen clan, one of the four major clans, she would never have believed it. But now it is different. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling defended Jingling for ten days, causing heavy losses to Du Fuwei, the chief steward of Jianghuai. They also helped Wang Shichong in Luoyang to defeat Li Mi, one of the few rebels in the world, and successfully escaped from Wang Shichong's siege. This is enough to make everyone pay attention.

The real reason why Shi Feixuan paid attention to the two of them was not anything else, but the fact that the Yingui Sect seemed to have started contact with them a long time ago. Although they had always been hostile, they were able to survive the pursuit of the Yingui Sect until now, and were still full of energy and even getting better and better. This naturally showed that the two of them were extraordinary.

Could it be that the "Secret of Immortality" is really so mysterious and much stronger than the "Cihang Sword Canon"?

Moreover, from the moment she saw Zhu Yuyan just now, she had a mysterious feeling that Zhu Yuyan was very likely to have used the immortal qi of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to break through to the Grandmaster realm.

This feeling came inexplicably, but made Shi Feixuan extremely firm in believing this, and this was exactly the truth. Under the guidance of Xiaoyaozi (Yang Xuyan), Zhu Yuyan rescued Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling from Wang Shichong, and pretended to capture them alive, forcing the two to fight a battle with her with all their strength. She used the Heavenly Demon Great Method to absorb a lot of the immortality true energy belonging to the two, and used this as a breakthrough to be promoted to Grandmaster.

Although the Heavenly Demon Art failed to break through the eighteenth level, it still successfully broke through to the Grandmaster level. The incomplete "Dao Heart Demon Art" was largely due to the immortal Qi of Kou and Xu.

Ning Daoqi couldn't help but shake his head slightly when he heard this, thinking to himself why do you, Cihang Jingzhai, keep targeting our Taoist experts? Why can't you switch to another faction to target them?

But if you think about it carefully, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are the registered disciples of Taoist Xiaoyaozi. Taoist Xiaoyaozi has put a lot of effort and hard work into them, so he will not let Cihang Jingzhai succeed easily.

Others may not know this, but Ning Daoqi knows it well. The magical skill of "The Secret of Immortality" is not a secret in the Xiaoyao Sect. In fact, the reason why Xu Ziling was able to fight Shi Feixuan to a draw in the Luoyang battle was because they had received the true teachings from Taoist Xiaoyaozi. Ning Daoqi also coveted those martial arts.

Let’s not talk about the battle between Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and the Yuwen clan, let’s just say that Yang Xuyan and Martial Master Bi Xuan stood opposite each other on the grassland, “You lost!” Yang Xuyan stared at the Turkic Martial Saint with a faint curve at the corner of his mouth.

Bi Xuan's expression remained calm. "Are you really sure you won?"

"What? Can't afford to lose? We've been waiting for this news for three days. Do you still want me to keep waiting?" Yang Xuyan pointed the spear forward, and his already unstoppable momentum became even stronger.

Bi Xuan said coldly, "I'm not waiting for news from the Khan. From the moment the Battle of Luoyang ended and Li Mi was defeated, I knew the Khan couldn't win. I'm waiting for news that Liaodong has been conquered by Goguryeo. Liaodong has risen too quickly, and with insufficient resources, they have to fight on three fronts. If you don't lose, who will?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xuyan couldn't help but burst into laughter and said, "Bi Xuan, Bi Xuan, I'm sure the Goguryeo man you contacted is definitely not related to Master Yijian! Because he doesn't dare to be an enemy of Liaodong. Unless he wants to destroy Goguryeo, he will definitely not take the initiative to attack while I am still alive."

"Goguryeo cannot cross the Yalu River. This is my own statement, and no one can stop me!" Yang Xuyan looked at Bi Xuan coldly and said, "How can you barbarians imagine my plans? Before I took Liaodong, my influence spread all over the world, from Linyi in the south to Ryukyu in the east and the Western Regions in the west. Even 30% of Goguryeo's commerce was under my control. Do you think I don't have enough resources?"

"If I'm willing, I can unify the Sui Dynasty within a year. But if I do that, what's the difference between me and the previous Sui Emperor? I'd rather spend five or even ten times as long to slowly conquer the world than have to deal with all those jackals after unification and slowly govern them. But..."

"This Central Plains world must belong to me. I can allow the Central Plains' clowns to help me eliminate parasites, but I will not allow foreign wolves and tigers to rob and devour my wealth. Do you understand?"

"Whoever offends China will be punished, no matter how far away they are. Shibi Khan is only the beginning, not the end. The Turks must pay the price for their actions!"

"Isn't the life of my Turkic Khan enough?" Bi Xuan was furious.

"The Liaodong army is marching out. How can we stop without making a tenfold profit? I hope you, Martial Master, will not be ungrateful. Otherwise, I will not mind replacing the overlord of the grassland!"

"you..."