Two months later.
Han Li walked out of the Artifact Refining Pavilion with a smile on his face.
This time, he had successfully refined an alchemy furnace and an artifact refining furnace, both of Supreme Grade yellow-level spiritual artifacts, which greatly increased the efficiency of his alchemy and artifact refining.
With these two suitable spiritual artifacts, his success rate of producing elixirs would increase by at least thirty percent, and the speed of artifact refining could also improve by roughly thirty percent.
Now, Han Li spent two hours each day on alchemy and artifact refining to earn enough spirit stones for the Han Family. The rest of the time, he would spend with his concubines, discussing which fruit tasted better, whether honey peaches or mandarins, or...
Han Li felt that his current life was quite fulfilling, every day he had to impart teachings and produce elixirs and refine artifacts for his family, as well as prune the vibrant flowers in the garden. If he hadn't broken through to the Gang Yuan Realm, he feared he might not have enough energy for all these tasks.
Han Li's treasury was now empty, so he had to spend more time on alchemy and artifact refining.
Enjoying the attentiveness of the women around him and looking at their lovely, blooming faces, Han Li felt very content. Wasn't such a life better than constant fighting and killing?
"Husband, have you heard that there's unrest within the empire lately?" Li Mingmeng said with a frown, after feeding him a grape.
"Oh? Let's hear it."
Han Li looked thoughtful. He had been busy recently and hadn't kept up with the news from the Daqian Empire.
Usually, he gathered information by having people from the Han Family go to the provincial cities' Tianji Pavilion to buy it, which took ten days to and fro and the news was somewhat outdated.
The Tianji Pavilion was a very mysterious sect with branches in every provincial city of the Daqian Empire, specializing in selling information.
In theory, the Daqian Empire would not allow such a sect to exist, as it posed a certain threat to the Empire's rule, but the Tianji Pavilion had survived to this day, mainly for two reasons.
It was a very ancient and mysterious sect, even more ancient than the Ancient Empire, the oldest empire in the Xuan Domain.
The Ancient Empire was the foremost among the four great empires of the Xuan Domain and the number one force in the entire domain, standing firm for over sixteen thousand years, enduring through the vast changes of time and the vicissitudes of dynasties.
The Daqian Empire was the youngest among the four great empires, having been established for just over three thousand years, and relatively speaking, had the shallowest foundation.
From ancient times, the Tianji Pavilion had remained neutral, only selling information and never interfering in other affairs or the struggles between forces, therefore, the major powers tolerated the presence of the Tianji Pavilion to a great extent.
The other reason was that the foundation of the Tianji Pavilion was unfathomably deep.
This was a power older than the Ancient Empire, always shrouded in mystery, never meddling in power struggles, just earning spiritual stone resources through information, and who knew how many old monsters were hidden within?
The branches of the Tianji Pavilion were not limited to the Daqian Empire; they were spread throughout the Xuan Domain and even throughout the eight domains and two seas of the Qianyuan Divine Province, making it one of the most profoundly established forces in the entire province.
Earning so many spirit stones and having astonishing wealth to stand, at least, for twenty thousand years without falling, the foundation of Tianji Pavilion was truly frightening.
Once, a top-ranked sect set its sights on the wealth of the Tianji Pavilion and attempted to seize it, only to be exterminated overnight. It was rumored that in that top sect, there was a warrior at the True Martial Realm who was an Emperor Wu.
After that battle, no one dared to offend the Tianji Pavilion again, and no one dared to provoke this colossal entity lurking beneath the surface.
Since the Tianji Pavilion remained neutral and only dealt in information without meddling in the struggles between major forces, these powers also tacitly approved the existence of the Tianji Pavilion.
After feeding Han Li two incredibly sweet grapes, Li Mingmeng then continued, "Recently, a White Lotus Cult has emerged within the Daqian Empire, preaching about the 'Mother of Non-Birth, Void Hometown' and has been spreading their teachings vigorously in Huozhou, affecting five or six provinces, expanding very rapidly."
"After the Daqian Empire reacted, they declared it a heretical cult, convinced that it was deluding and coercing the populace with thoughts of rebellion, and so Emperor Qian decreed an immediate purge in Huozhou."
"The Protector General of Huozhou led four God Refining Realm masters and the Huozhou army to besiege them, but they were defeated, reportedly falling into an ambush. The Protector General of Huozhou was seriously injured, two of the God Refining Realm masters died, and two were injured, with countless casualties in the Huozhou army."
"Now, the whole of Huozhou is in turmoil, with rumors saying that the White Lotus Cult is advancing towards Huozhou City."
Han Li's expression changed sharply upon hearing this, sensing the gravity of the situation. What was this White Lotus Cult that had emerged out of nowhere, capable of contending with the Huozhou army?
In the Daqian Empire, each province has an undetermined number of prefectures, generally ranging between twenty to thirty, like Leizhou with twenty-three prefectures, Huozhou with twenty-five prefectures, and so on.
The fact that the White Lotus Cult could swiftly sweep across five or six prefectures certainly indicated something fishy behind the scenes, possibly the workings of a top-tier power from the Xuan Domain.
The Daqian Empire consists of eighteen provinces such as Leizhou, Huozhou, etc., with the highest authority in each province being the Protector General, who is empowered by the Emperor to govern and maintain peace in the province.
Each Protector General possesses extremely high cultivation, at least at the level of a Guru in the Void Realm. While they may not be able to turn the world upside down, shattering mountains and severing rivers is a trivial task for them.
A Guru in the Void Realm working together with four God Refining Realm masters, plus the Huozhou army, were nevertheless defeated, suffering heavy casualties. Was the White Lotus Cult too fierce?
Although there was an element of surprise attack, it would still require at least two Gurus in the Void Realm working together, as well as many in the God Refining Realm and Gang Yuan Realm, to cause such heavy losses to the imperial army.
A heretical cult emerging so suddenly with such a foundation undoubtedly had the backing of a top-tier power.
It was highly likely they aimed to destabilize the Daqian Empire, distracting the Empire's attention. While Han Li felt that the White Lotus Cult was fierce, he didn't believe that a mere cult could topple the entire Daqian Empire.
Even the White Lotus Cult could hardly capture Huozhou City. The main reason for the imperial army's defeat was being caught off guard. Now that the details of the White Lotus Cult are known, how could they let the cult run rampant?
Many powerful arrays protect Huozhou City, and within the province city, there wasn't just one Guru in the Void Realm who was the Protector General. Additionally, the major sects of Huozhou wouldn't just let the White Lotus Cult wreak havoc, as this would be infringing on their territory and sabotaging the foundation of their sects; they might even join forces with the imperial army to extinguish the White Lotus Cult.
In every major sect, there is at least one Guru in the Void Realm in charge. The White Lotus Cult could only create such a disturbance by catching people off guard.
They likely couldn't keep it up for long.
After understanding the situation, Han Li regained his composure.
"I've heard something about it too," Liu Yuexin said timely, her brows knit with a thread of worry.
"It won't come to us, will it?"
The concubines were somewhat frightened and asked anxiously.
Han Li chuckled, hugged Qiu Yueyao into his arms and kissed her, then shook his head and said, "Huozhou and Leizhou are still separated by Qingzhou, which is quite far away."
"Although the Daqian Empire is showing signs of decline, it's not something a mere White Lotus Cult could shake. This heretical cult will soon be eradicated."
The women all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Han Li was their pillar of strength, and since he said so, they naturally believed him.
That being said, Han Li also felt a sense of urgency, sensing an impending storm in the Daqian Empire, with the White Lotus Cult possibly being just a precursor.
He was only at the Gang Yuan Realm now, and his strength wasn't sufficient to deal with such situations. In the coming days, he needed to focus on quickly improving his cultivation.