The Xu Family was heavily guarded.
Outside the door, along the corridor, the front of the house was guarded by fierce and imposing barbarian elite soldiers.
Xu Guangting and Li Ming sat opposite each other. There was also a middle-aged barbarian who bore some resemblance to Li Ming. This man was Li Ming's son, Li Dong.
"Father-in-law, what brings you here so late at night?" Xu Guangting asked respectfully.
"For a joint venture. The Imperial Court is in no position to manage affairs in the southwest anymore. Now is the time for us to mobilize our troops," remarked Li Ming, with a fierce gleam of murderous intent in his eyes.
Li Hu of Chenzhou had suppressed him for decades.
He dared not challenge the authority of the Imperial Court.
But things were different now. The Imperial Court had its own troubles, and there were rebellions happening in the southern regions of Yunnan. Replacing the Pacification Envoy of Chenzhou but maintaining fealty to the Imperial Court should not cause any major issues.
Xu Guangting said excitedly, "Rest assured, father-in-law. I will commit all of my family's wealth to our great cause!"
Xu Feng was just as excited.
With his maternal grandfather becoming the Pacification Envoy of Chenzhou, and his maternal uncle Li Dong poised to be his successor, the Xu Family could at least secure a county magistrate position.
"The Wei Clan has been trading for generations and has been fully Sinicized, possessing only two hundred private soldiers. The Wu Family boasts of three thousand elite troops, but at most only just over one thousand are fit for battle. As for our Mountain Barbarians, we have five thousand robust warriors, and taking Chenzhou would be within our reach."
After all, not everyone aspires to be a king. Two hundred years have passed since Emperor Taizu of Ming promised them hereditary wealth and honor, and most people don't wish to maintain those costly armies any longer.
This was also a strategy of the Imperial Court. In time, they could turn this region into a bureaucratic governance system under the direct jurisdiction of the court.
Li Ming, a native barbarian, hadn't thought of mingling with the Han people because the location by the mountain was occupied. Unexpectedly, instead of a setback, he found himself in command of a sizeable army.
"May I ask, father-in-law, when do we mobilize?" inquired Xu Guangting.
"You don't need to be too clear on the specifics. You will be informed in advance when the time comes!" Li Dong interjected first, obviously not trusting Xu Guangting.
Although they were family by marriage, Li Dong had always looked down on Xu Guangting, considering him a weak Han person.
Xu Guangting, showing great composure, smiled and replied, "Very well!"
Li Ming and his son left.
Xu Guangting said to his son, "When we take action in the future, we must use the full strength of the Xu Family. We'll open the city gates with the help of the spies we've planted inside or disguise ourselves as a merchant convoy for a surprise attack at night."
"Yes!" Xu Feng added, "Father, Li Hu from Pear Manor has been doing well recently. It seems he might pass on his affairs to Xu Xuan..."
"Your elder brother is also a member of the Xu Family. How can family members have private wealth? Find an opportunity to get rid of Li Hu, bring back those assets to the Xu Family, and leave a small courtyard for your brother."
Tigers do not eat their offspring; Xu Guangting had never thought about killing his son.
Li Hu had been smuggling for years, and even if they only got a smaller share, they were still envious.
Xu Feng stepped out the door, and the thought of Xu Xuan's past slaughter flashed through his mind.
He sneered and mused, "He's just a warrior, after all."
...
Pear Manor.
The back mountain.
Though called the back mountain, it was not part of Pear Manor – it was merely close by.
At that moment, Wu Xiong and a man with a hooked nose had climbed the mountain.
They proceeded to the halfway up the mountain where the Heavenly Master practiced his craft.
The two men were conflicted and solemn-faced.
Halfway up the mountain, the jungle was dense and cold fog swirled around.
A thatched hut stood with a wooden pavilion outside it, housing a cauldron within which flames burned brightly.
A wisp of exotic fragrance wafted out.
In front of the cauldron was a young man dressed as a Taoist, his face reflecting the red glow from the fiery furnace.
Wu Xiong felt a mix of respect and fear.
The enigma of power was intoxicating yet frightening.
Realizing they were under his command brought them some peace.
Xu Xuan paid no attention to them and focused on alchemy.
A quarter of an hour later, he pointed a finger at the fire.
Whoosh!
The wind blew, and the flames went out.
Then, gathering True Qi in his palm, he effortlessly grabbed the red-hot lid of the cauldron.
The sight was hair-raising.
Inside the cauldron was some white ash.
That was the Great Green Dragon Powder.
It wasn't an elixir, as he had yet to master that art.
The effects of the Great Green Dragon Powder differed from those in another world. Here, it mainly served to widen the meridians and enhance the efficiency of generating True Qi, in addition to replenishing vital energy and blood.
Indeed, Xu Xuan no longer needed martial training.
The martial arts practice that improved his vigor and blood was merely a byproduct of cultivation, not requiring special cultivation, which is why everyone wanted to practice it.
True Qi infused into his feet.
Whoosh!
A shadowy figure leaped over a distance of several tens of feet and landed in front of the two men.
"Greetings, Heavenly Master!"
The two men knelt down and kowtowed, their shock deepening further.
Do ordinary martial artists possess such speed?
As expected of the Heavenly Master, becoming less and less like a mortal.
"Stand up," Xu Xuan said indifferently.
In this world where I alone am revered as immortal, there is no need to be pleasant towards them, one must have the demeanor of a god.
Wu Xiong stood up to report.
"Reporting to the Heavenly Master, I have finished integrating our forces. Our territory now includes Chenxi County and Wupo Stockade. Chenxi County has a total of twelve thousand people, and the surplus from taxes each year can support an army of five hundred men. If we were to draft able-bodied men temporarily, we could have two thousand."
"Within the city, there are fifteen stores, and underground forces amount to two hundred and fifteen minions."
"In short, our combat-ready troops number around eight hundred men, and the warehouse holds a total of three thousand five hundred taels......."
Xu Xuan, growing impatient, waved his hands dismissively, "Never mind that, have you brought the materials, what about the secret techniques?"
"Your subordinate is still inquiring. However, I have heard that there is a martial arts school in Mei Shan City that was originally a Daoist Temple and was later converted to teach people martial arts. There might be some inheritance there."
"Investigate further," Xu Xuan pondered, "A Daoist Temple... one of these days, you guys should also build a Daoist Temple up in the mountains."
Staying at Pear Manor isn't workable, it's not hidden enough.
"Yes!"
The two men descended the mountain to handle affairs.
Xu Xuan returned to his thatched hut and glanced at the Spirit Stones inside the case.
Two Spirit Stones the size of thumbs lay quietly inside, the adjacent Spirit Crystals nowhere to be seen.
Next, he would begin absorbing the Spirit Stones.
"Two lower-grade Spirit Stones for daily cultivation should last me over a year."
Xu Xuan estimated based on the consumption rate of the Spirit Crystals.
But it still wasn't enough.
Now that he had entered the threshold of the Six Doors Talisman Technique, the most important Corpse Driving Technique had yet to be practiced, which he estimated would consume a considerable amount of the Spirit Stones' energy.
"I'll take it one step at a time," Xu Xuan glanced at the bell hanging on the wall.
Right now, he only hoped that the Li Family would be able to take down the Black River Gang.
That way, he should be able to get quite a few more Spirit Stones.
Xu Xuan locked the door to the room.
He pulled a meditation cushion out from under the bed, sat cross-legged, and held a Spirit Stone in his hand.
A piece of calligraphy hung on the wall.
"The noble man is clear and calm all day long, and if he is cautious in the evening as if facing danger, there will be no fault."
This served as a constant reminder to himself, to be cautious and not to act recklessly, as his own strength was far from invincible.
The attitude he showed Wu Xiong and the other person was merely a technique for managing subordinates. In front of others, he naturally would not act this way.
Although he possessed True Qi and his physical capabilities had greatly improved, he was still vulnerable to crossbows and only had some rudimentary premonitions.
If his cultivation were more refined and his inner True Qi more abundant, or if he found a relevant secret technique that could render crossbows ineffective, he could then rest easy.
After a moment of regulated breathing, Xu Xuan took the Great Green Dragon Powder wrapped in paper.
As soon as he ingested it, a wave of heat exploded within his body.
To avoid heavy metal poisoning, he used his inner True Qi to assimilate this heat wave.
The heat gathered at the Dantian and spread to the surroundings.
His meridians expanded, and the amount of True Qi increased.
If previously consuming a strand of Spiritual Energy could transform it into half a strand of True Qi, now with the aid of the elixir, it was approaching a one-to-one ratio.
This significantly reduced the consumption of Spirit Stones.
The difference between Qi Nourishing and Qi Cultivation is that Qi Cultivation can perform the microcosmic orbit, while at the Qi Nourishing stage, True Qi can only be artificially bolstered within the Dantian.
As Xu Xuan cultivated,
at the Pear Manor's council hall,
an emissary sent by the Xu Family found Li Hu.
"Master Li, there are orders from above!"
(There will be another chapter this afternoon)