Chapter 196: Qi Yuan’s Reckless n


    "Such a prosperous little town, what a pity," Madam Wang remarked, looking out at the vibrant scenery. The fields were lush with greenery, and the crops stood tall, bearing abundant fruit. However, no matter how beautiful the scenery or how promising the future, it would all be destroyed under the advance of the evil gods. The only hope for survivaly in fleeing south, far away from the devastation. "Let’s go," Madam Wang sighed, giving the order to move on.


    The northernnds were almost entirely overrun, and the only hope of survival was to reach the Ancient God Alliance in the south, where most of thends were still under the control of the ancient gods.


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    As the morning light broke, Qi Qi took a deep breath outside the temple. "Godfather, you nearly scared me to death!"


    She looked up at Qi Yuan, who was hanging from a tree with his crimson-robed wife, Xiaojia. The shock had not yet left her eyes. Anyone would be terrified if they saw two people hanging from a tree early in the morning.


    "A goddaughter of the Heavenly Venerable, and you''re scared by something like this?" Qi Yuanughed as he descended from the tree, still holding onto Xiaojia. "This is Xiaojia, my... wife."


    Qi Yuan introduced Xiaojia to Qi Qi, who seemed to understand and let a happy wooden que slip from her sleeve.


    "Ah?" Qi Qi was stunned. She had vaguely seen this red robe when she first arrived in Qing Shui Vige and had always thought it was a treasure. She never expected it to be her godfather''s... wife?


    "Why did youe looking for me?" Qi Yuan asked, sensing that there were others outside the temple. "Did something happen?"


    "Godfather, there''s been a major upheaval in the Lin Kingdom. Thete emperor... has passed away, and the governor of Fei Ling Prefecture has been transferred," Qi Qi reported, summarizing the news she had received the night before. Now that Qing Shui Vige was under her management, she handled most of the logistics and day-to-day affairs, allowing Qi Yuan to focus on ying the game without worrying about running a vige or a city. Qi Yuan was better suited tobat than administration, but fortunately, Qi Qi was apetent "housekeeper," managing everything efficiently.


    "When will the evil gods attack?" Qi Yuan asked.


    Qi Qi frowned and replied, "Of the seven cities in Fei Ling Prefecture, four have already fallen to the evil gods. If a new god descends, I estimate it will take about two years before they march on Fei Huang City."


    She spoke with a worried expression, knowing that Qing Shui Vige didn''t have much time left.


    Qi Yuan''s eyebrows twitched. "Two years? That''s too slow. It looks like I''ll need to make a detailed n."


    His enthusiasm was palpable. While his talent for cultivation might be average, his ability to make ns was exceptional. Every n he meticulously crafted was wless, advancing smoothly and with unstoppable momentum. Any n he devised was bound to seed.


    "What n?" asked Shen Lei, the Grand Venerable, moving closer.


    "Naturally, the n is to unify Fei Ling Prefecture," Qi Yuan said casually.


    Shen Lei frowned. "Fei Ling Prefecture could see the descent of a god at the Second Step of Heaven. Without my intervention, it will be very difficult for you to win with your current strength."


    Shen Lei’s concerns were valid. The Eighteen Arhats and the Four Heavenly Kings were all extremely talented with limitless potential, but they were only at the First Step of Heaven, each having only one divine aperture. They might be able to take on gods with three or four apertures, but defeating a god at the Second Step of Heaven, who had at least twelve apertures, would be nearly impossible. The Dragon Subduer Arhat''s victory over stronger foes was unlikely to be repeated.


    "Second Step gods are indeed strong, but my n is wless," Qi Yuan said, undeterred.


    Shen Leiughed heartily. "Don’te begging me for helpter. If I do step in, we might have to flee the north."


    If Shen Lei were to intervene, it would draw the attention of the powerful evil gods in the north, forcing him to flee for his own survival.


    Qi Yuan nced at Shen Lei. "This n does have some issues. Have you heard of the Ancient n?"


    Qi Yuan recalled what Qionghua Venerable had said—that the Ancient n''s ancestralnd might hold a way to break through to the True God realm.


    Shen Lei understood immediately. "You want to emte the Proud Grand Venerable?"


    He frowned, clearly not supportive of Qi Yuan''s decision.


    "You''re not even a True God yet. Entering the ancestralnd of the Ancient n is a dead end. Thend is filled with the spirits of those who died in the Great Flood Battle and evil gods. Even if you enter, there''s no guarantee you can replicate the Proud Grand Venerable''s path to sess. The ancestralnd is mostly under his control now, and even he couldn''t replicate his own sess."


    "No worries, everything must be tried at least once. All I need is a way to enter the ancestralnd. I believe that with hard work, any task can bepleted!"


    Games are meant to be yed, and if a task can’t bepleted, it just means you''re not strong enough! With Qi Yuan’s eyes able to see hidden information and his ears able to hear whispers and even people''s thoughts, he was confident he could replicate the Proud Grand Venerable''s breakthrough to the True God realm within the ancestralnd.


    At that moment, the vige chief of Qing Shui Vige, Yu Lei, spoke up loudly, "My lord, our vige has a way to enter the ancestralnd."


    "Oh?" Qi Yuan’s eyes lit up.


    Yu Lei quickly exined, "Our vige is actually a remnant of the Ancient n. We have the right to rmend you, my lord, to enter the ancestralnd!"


    Yu Lei was anxious. He had been preparing to tell Qi Yuan this before he left for the Hundred Flowers Gathering, as a gesture of loyalty.


    Qi Yuan’s smile widened. "There it is, a hint for passing the level. When can I go to the ancestralnd?"


    "It will take about half a month," Yu Lei replied, providing more details about the ancestralnd.


    Qing Shui Vige housed an entrance to the ancestralnd, but without being a god, entering thend would almost certainly lead to death. Opening the entrance would take half a month of preparation.


    "Half a month? That long?" Qi Yuan frowned. "How long did it take the Proud Grand Venerable to break through to the True God realm?"


    "One day, I believe," Shen Lei replied.


    "Got it. I know how to make the n now. For the first three days, I’ll march on Fei Wu City and take it. On the fourth to tenth days, I''ll take two more cities. On the eleventh to seventeenth days, I''ll break through to the True God realm and summon some big shots. On the twentieth to thirtieth days, I''ll take over the entire Fei Ling Prefecture!"


    Qi Yuan was full of energy as he outlined his n. It was a detailed and logical n, one that he was confident would seed if executed. The n was soprehensive that Qi Yuan felt it would proceed smoothly and without resistance.


    Shen Lei was stunned, looking at Qi Yuan with a strange expression. "I won''t be stepping in this time."


    "You just stay here and guard the home front," Qi Yuan said without concern.


    Shen Lei couldn’t believe it. "Are you serious?"


    He had always been considered rash, and his close friends constantly urged him to be more cautious. Butpared to Qi Yuan, he felt like he wasn’t rash at all.


    "Of course I’m serious. In war, speed is crucial. I want to catch them off guard!" Qi Yuan dered.


    He had no intention of waiting for the enemy to slowly approach and then defending the city. He preferred to take the initiative.


    "But if you start a war against those cities, the Second Step god from Fei Ling Prefecture will definitely descend sooner. It might not even take two years—maybe just half a year!" Shen Lei warned, trying to make Qi Yuan understand the gravity of the situation.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Half a year? No wonder they haven’t taken over Fanxin World after all these years—they’re so slow. Alright then, after I return from the ancestralnd, I''ll immediately march on Fei Ling Prefecture to speed up that god’s descent."


    Qi Yuan waved his hand and turned to Qi Qi. "Gather the chefs, the musicians, and the mourners. We’re heading to Fei Wu City!"


    Even Qi Qi was taken aback by this. "Right now?" she asked, bewildered.


    The n seemed like a spur-of-the-moment decision. And why bring chefs, musicians, and mourners?


    "I never repeat myself," Qi Yuan said firmly.


    Qi Qi’s expression became serious. "Understood!"


    She was unconditionally obedient to her godfather.


    Shen Lei watched Qi Yuan with a strange look. "You... remind me of myself when I was young."


    "Don''t tter yourself."


    "This war of yours... seems a bit frivolous," Shen Lei couldn’t help butment.


    "It’s just a game. Isn’t being frivolous part of the fun?" Qi Yuan shrugged.


    Shen Lei seemed to understand something, smiling as he said, "Life as a game, indeed. It’s interesting. I was overthinking it."


    "It’s a game after all. Why make it soplicated?" Qi Yuan said lightheartedly.


    Fifteen minutester, outside Qing Shui Vige''s temple, the mourners, chefs, and musicians were all gathered. Nearly a hundred people were assembled, making quite amotion.


    "Hey, I was just in the middle of washing clothes! I haven’t even hung them out to dry!"


    "What’s going on? Are we mourning someone? Is a feast being prepared?"


    The crowd was in chaos, with no semnce of military order. But as soon as Qi Yuan appeared, the scene instantly quieted down.


    Qi Yuan looked at the three hundred people, along with the Eighteen Arhats, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the three squads. He raised his voice, "Today, we have only one goal: to march on Fei Wu City! We’ll hold a feast in Fei Wu City!"


    The crowd cheered, their voices echoing in excitement.


    Shen Lei watched with a peculiar expression, while the chefs, musicians, and mourners were all thrilled by Qi Yuan’s speech. They trusted himpletely. After all, they wouldn’t be the ones on the front lines.