Jinling.

Cars and horses are like streams, and people are like weaving.

Although it has been attributed to half of Jiangdong, as a thousand-year-old imperial capital, Jinling City is still prosperous.

The business travelers coming and going on the street are continuous, the shouting of people of all sizes is endless, and the flow of people passing through the street is clustered, and in the panic, the children of the family who are freshly dressed and angry are happily gone.

"The country is dying, but Jinling is still prosperous, even more than in the past, the world is addicted to this moment of peace, but forget the sorrow, it seems that this Ning country, really there is no salvation."

Jufu Building, in the guest room on the third floor, Daning Wuweihou, General Zhenxi, Ning Guoshi, and Xuanyu Zhenren looked at the children of the family who laughed and left outside, and couldn't help but shake their heads.

"The Ning people may not have forgotten the sorrows, but now that the Ning country is in decline, even if they know that the country is ruined and the family is ruined at this moment, what can they do?

The size gap between the two countries is here, and even if Ning Guo tries his best, he can't change the reality.

Anyway, it will inevitably perish in the end, so it is better to enjoy the glory as much as possible while the wealth is still there, and indulge in wantonness.

Otherwise, it will become a slave of the country and a prisoner of the lower ranks, and it will be impossible to think of such a free life. "Purple Cloud Dao Changjiao, Ningguo National Teacher, Xuan Chengzi Xuancheng Dao.

"Yes, it's better to be happier than to die a tragic death on other days and enjoy nothing, so it's better to be happier now."

Xuanyu sighed, then looked at his own Dao Master and asked, "Zhangjiao, the King of Chu asked us to start an incident immediately?" ”

Xuan Chengzi nodded: "These days, the activities of the Liang envoys in Jinling have caused the King of Chu to be uneasy. It's inevitable, so let's get up in advance and make Ning Guo half-crippled first. ”

Xuanyu frowned: "It's no problem to do it now, our senior brothers have successively controlled 400,000 soldiers and horses in Ning Country in the past year." It also controlled the eastern half of Linhai, and even Guangling County and Jingshi also had a lot of soldiers and horses.

As long as you do it, you can take half of Ning Kingdom in an instant. ”

Since Ning Guogui retreated back to Jiangdong, the power of the Linhai family has declined greatly, and under the heavy pressure of the Chu people, it is almost impossible to keep the territory of the remaining two counties.

Fortunately, later, Ziyun Dao swore to the death, and the Taoist master Xuan Chengzi took the entire sect and withdrew to the second county of Jiangdong with Ningguo.

With the assistance of the six innate members of Ziyun Dao, as well as the large amount of money they contributed, they finally helped Ning Guo stabilize the situation.

However, it is precisely because of this that a large number of soldiers and horses who relied on the money of Ziyun Dao eventually became the soldiers of the Ziyun Dao family, and they were firmly controlled by them.

Now Ziyun Dao can control the 400,000 soldiers and horses of Ning State, but it is not only because there is no one in Ning Kingdom, they have spent a lot of money to help Ning Guo recruit troops, which is also a reason that cannot be ignored.

Such a situation will naturally cause the division of power in Ningguo, which will lay hidden dangers for future division and even infighting.

But for today's Ning Guo, the hidden dangers in the future are nothing at all, and it is nothing to give up power to Ziyun Dao now, and it is true to protect his own country and society first.

Being able to use shared power to bind Ziyun Dao and let the other party firmly join his chariot is a good thing that cannot be sought.

Isn't that power?

As long as the wealth of the Linhai family can be maintained, even if the position of the national army is given to Ziyun Dao and Xuan Chengzi is the emperor of the Dao, it will not hurt.

Anyway, in the past two thousand years of their Linhai family, the emperors have sat in turns, and no one thought that one family and one surname could reign for thousands of years.

Within the Linhai family, there are already some people who have tentatively asked Xuan Chengzi and vaguely expressed their meaning in this regard.

And this attitude and sincerity naturally moved Ziyun Dao.

Therefore, for more than a year, Ziyun Dao has done his best, and he has tried his best to help Ning Guo maintain its rule.

Although they did not forget the mission of the Chu State, they dutifully conveyed the information of the Jiangdong Ning State to Lu Yuan, and were ready to do it at any time.

But at the same time, they are also serious and serve Ning Guo.

This posture of riding on the wall on both sides has clearly expressed the attitude of Ziyun Dao.

Swing from side to side, eating both.

He was afraid of the Chu State, but he was a little reluctant to get the benefits in the Ning State.

"Boss, are we really going to have trouble?"

After hesitating, Xuanyu couldn't help but ask: "Ning Guo now has the help of Liang State, there is no shortage of money and food, and there are reinforcements outside." There are 800,000 soldiers and horses in the country to help us, and it may not be impossible to defend the foundation of Jiangdong. In this way, it only takes a few decades, and there may be a turnaround. ”

Hold on, this is a wide range of arguments in the domestic hustle and bustle since Ningguo returned to Jiangdong.

And this argument, with the arrival of the Liang envoy during this period of time, and Liang Guo's willingness to form an alliance and provide help, even more inspired the hearts of the people of Ningguo.

Now more and more people, even those from the Purple Cloud Dao, such as Xuanyu, are faintly inclined to this national policy.

The religion of a country may even establish an earthly Taoist state.

Ask, who can give up such temptations?

"Xuanyu, you have been exposed to the prosperity of Hongchen too much, and your heart is upset."

When Xuan Chengzi heard Xuanyu's words, his expression was slightly cold, and he reprimanded: "The Chu State has now integrated the southwest, and there are thirty-three innate masters available in the country, and there are as many as two million soldiers and horses that can be mobilized.

And as time passes, the strength of the Chu State will continue to strengthen.

In the end, it is impossible for the number of innate grandmasters to reach forty or fifty, and the number of soldiers and horses to reach three or five million.

This strength, even compared to the Liang State that occupies Qingzhou in the north, does not necessarily fall anywhere.

But the Liang State still has to deal with the strong enemy in Hebei and the northwest, and most of the strength of the country must be placed in the north and west, and the soldiers and horses in the south of the Yangtze River can be used at most.

Relying on the strength of Sancheng, there is also a broken Ning State, how can it resist the army of Chu State?

Right now, the Liang State supports the Ning State, just to let us consume the strength of the Chu State and buy them time through these Linhai families and my Purple Cloud Dao.

With such a trick, how could we fulfill their wish and use the lives of my Purple Cloud Dao disciples to lay the foundation stone for the hegemony of the Liang Kingdom. ”

is different from the door, those who are attracted and confused by the gimmick of the earthly Taoist kingdom.

Xuan Chengzi has a very light view of the situation in Jiangnan and the current situation in Kyushu.

He knew that even with the help of the Liang State, the Ning State would definitely not be the opponent of the Chu State that unified most of Yangzhou.

After all, Liang Guo is in Jiangbei and in Qingzhou. And not in Jiangnan, in Yangzhou.

Just such a now, it is destined that Liang Guo will not be able to put all his strength into the Yangzhou battlefield.

And the Ning State, which could not get the help of the entire Liang State, naturally could not be the opponent of the Chu State that had already integrated more than ninety percent of Yangzhou.

A union of only 30% Qingzhou and 10% Yangzhou, against more than 90% Yangzhou, it doesn't look like it can win.

"The Liang State and the Jianing State cannot win the Chu State. But I don't need to win, I just need to hold on for a few decades, hold on to the four poles, and then the turning point will come. Xuanyu was still a little unwilling.

"Turnaround?"

Xuan Chengzi sneered when he heard this: "What turnaround? You mean that a few decades later, a dilapidated country that was suppressed by the Chu State, there may only be two or three million people, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and I don't know if there are ten innate Ning States.

Do you want to join forces with the extremely powerful Chu State, which has been fighting for decades and has already had a deep blood feud, to go north to Zhongzhou together?

Don't be silly.

It is impossible for the state of Chu to join forces with an enemy who has stood in the way of him for decades.

And Ningguo, which has been besieged by the Chu State for decades, even if it can survive, does not have the strength to go north to Zhongzhou to compete with the world's heroes for territory.

Relying on Ning Guo's family background, if he really hits Zhongzhou, how much territory can he take.

A county?

A house?

There can't be a county, right?

And without a county, how could Ning Guo gain a foothold in Zhongzhou, which was surrounded by wolves?

I'm afraid that it won't be long before it will be annexed by the heroes, and the country will be ruined.

In that case, what's the point of us persisting for decades and shedding the blood of the entire sect?

But it would be different if it helped the state of Chu.

If the state of Chu can integrate Yangzhou, it can sit in the south of the Yangtze River and watch the battles of the northern regions, and watch Liang, Zhao, Xu, Wei, Zhou and other countries fight to the death.

After these people are exhausted, they will go on the Northern Expedition, even if they can't take the entire Qingzhou, they can occupy the territory of five or six counties, and it is also the foundation of the land of Banzhou.

So no matter how bad it is, Chu is a guaranteed overlord of Zhongzhou.

Are you willing to be a country of Taoism, or are you willing to be a state religion of the overlord? ”

Hyun Sung-ja sent out a direct inquiry.

The way of a country, the state religion of half a state.

These two roads are clearly and clearly placed in front of Xuanyu.

In the face of this problem, there is no need to think about it at all, and the answer has already come out.

"It's natural...... The country of the overlord has been taught. ”

Faced with the bloody reality, in the face of the fierce eyes of the master, even if Xuanyu was unwilling, he could only suppress his ambition and replied bitterly.

The territory of a prefecture, no matter how rich it is, can feed millions of people at most.

But if it is the overlord of Banzhou, judging from the current situation, there are twenty or thirty million people.

And considering that in the future, the population of Kyushu will be concentrated in Chushu in large numbers, and the richer and more powerful the country, the more population it can control in the end.

Then the state of Chu, which has mastered the entire Yangzhou, if it moves to Zhongzhou, even if it is really only as Xuan Chengzi said, it can only grab five or six counties, and the final population should not be less than forty or fifty million.

In the face of such a huge basic disk, even if it had to be shared with the Flying Frost Dao in the end, the Purple Cloud Dao would always be able to share twenty or thirty million believers.

And in the face of a small and weak country that does not know when it will perish, even if it becomes an earthly Taoist country, what is the point?

How to choose Ziyun Dao is actually very clear.

Xuan Chengzi understood this, so when the hearts of the people in the door were fluctuating, and many people were confused by the Dao Kingdom on the ground, he still chose to stand firmly by the side of the Chu State.

Because that's the future.

"If you can see this, I can rest assured."

Xuan Chengzi looked at the deflated Xuanyu, the expression on his face finally eased a lot, and then continued to be relieved: "Actually, following the Chu State is indeed a good thing for this sect.

If it is really as you said, completely bind Ning Guo, and even turn Ning Country into the Dao Kingdom of my Purple Cloud Dao, and then take this Dao Country to Zhongzhou together.

In the end, I, Ziyun Dao, have also broken away from the status outside the world, and have become an insider from the original outsider.

You don't want to think about it.

With the cruelty of secular hegemony, which of the destroyed countries, the emperors and nobles in the country, can survive?

They were all slaughtered by the victors, leaving no future troubles.

At that time, if my Purple Cloud Dao Dao Kingdom is defeated in the Zhongzhou hegemony.

Not only is the country going to perish, but I, the disciples of the Purple Cloud Dao who hold the power of a country, will not survive one by one.

If we die, can the Purple Cloud Dao, which is the remnant of the sins, still be saved?

I am afraid that when the time comes, the enemies we have offended, such as the Chu State, will follow up and beat the water dogs to avenge our revenge for hindering its reunification in the south of the Yangtze River.

At that time, the Dao system of the Purple Cloud Dao was really going to be severed, and you and I were both sinners in the door.

Opposite.

If Ziyun Dao defects to the State of Chu and takes refuge under the banner of the State of Chu, even if the State of Chu is defeated in the battle for hegemony in Zhongzhou in the future, it will be destroyed by others.

I mean the Purple Dao and the Flying Frost Dao, and you can also stay out of the matter and get out of it in the name of the Daomen.

At most, it is enough to make a cut with those disciples in the sect who came out of the Chu Kingdom, and expel them from the door.

Ziyun Dao can still be picked and preserved.

After all, although the state of Chu was destroyed, our Daomen still had innate grandmasters, and the interests of the Daomen of the world were also in line with each other in this regard.

Those worldly dynasties, if they didn't want to bear the innate anger of a Dao Sect and the hostility of the Dao Sect of the world, they would never dare to do things absolutely. ”

Xuan Chengzi seemed to think of something when he said this, so he looked at Xuanyu again and said meaningfully: "Moreover, you want to carry Ning Guo to death."

But have you ever thought that even if you unite the Liang State, no matter how much you have the help of my Purple Cloud Dao, you still can't be the opponent of the Chu State?

Don't forget.

Since the Chu State has been in the past few years, the six Qinghuang real people have emerged one after another.

At the moment when all the monks in Kyushu have ascended, there can still be six real people, and they have the same name as the previous Qingyunzi and Huang Xuaner real people in the Chu State.

You won't be unclear about what this means, right? ”

Hearing the palm sect mention this, Xuanyu's face turned ugly.

The appearance of the real people of the Qing and Huang families, and the innate grandmasters of the secular mortals, may only have this as if there were six more powerful innate combat forces in the Chu State, and they were also innate combat forces that were deeply related to the King of Chu.

But as disciples of the Immortal Sect, Xuan Chengzi and Xuan Yu were shocked by the importance of this matter.

Because after the appearance of more and more Qinghuang real people, they still don't understand that these so-called real people are simply the doppelgangers of the King of Chu, or some kind of puppet.

This is the method of the immortal gate, which comes from some kind of magical power.

And in the current world of absolute spirits, you can make eight doppelgangers or puppets at once and manipulate them freely, and the hidden benefits are too great.

This means that in this peerless world, even if he does not have aura, he can still cultivate and constantly improve his cultivation.

This can be seen from the fact that the king of Chu only had two clones before, but after occupying Tianluo Mountain, four clones appeared at once.

After this one after another, King Chu's cultivation has definitely skyrocketed.

That's where the problem comes in.

Before the King of Chu won the battle against Ningguo, among the major immortal sects and the world, his strength was recognized as the level of the Taoist masters of each immortal sect, that is, the cultivation of condensing one qi.

Then how far has he cultivated to make a breakthrough again?

"The King of Chu has already condensed two qi......"

Although he knew that this was ridiculous, the facts were in front of him, and Xuanyu spat and had to admit this fact that he didn't want to believe.

"Yes, condense two qi."

Xuan Chengzi's expression was also very complicated, and the interests of the great sect were placed in front of him, which made him have to think seriously: "A monk who condenses two qi, how powerful and terrifying it is, you and I should both know it, right?"

If everything is as recorded in the classics, then the innate monks like you and me are as vulnerable in front of the King of Chu as those innate warriors in front of you and me.

Even if we can gather thirteen or even more innate people, as long as the King of Chu personally makes a move, it will just be a death in vain.

He didn't even need the King of Chu to do anything, just relied on his doppelganger puppets whose cultivation was comparable to the innate second realm, and the eight clones shot together, and the eight innate second realms were enough to sweep Jiangdong.

The difference above the innate is too big.

If you continue to resist, you are just giving your life in vain, dragging the sect and those Linhai families to die together.

You and I have a heavy responsibility and the expectations of our former masters, and we must not do such stupid things. ”

At the mention of the former Dao Master, Xuanyu's face shook, but he remembered the majestic and elegant figure, and the last trace of resistance in his heart dissipated, and he sighed helplessly: "I know." For the rest of the fellow doors, I will personally go to persuade them, and I will never delay the incident anyway and miss the appointment with Chu State. ”

"If the junior brother can think like this, the senior brother will be relieved." Xuan Chengzi nodded in satisfaction.

Nowadays, the people in the Purple Cloud Dao who advocate controlling the Ning Kingdom and establishing an earthly Dao country are basically led by the Xuanyu in front of them.

And if Xuanyu changed his mind, under the role of him as a leader, he would undoubtedly be able to influence a large part, or even all of the disciples of the Dao Sect.

This is also the reason why Xuan Chengzi wants to talk to Xuanyu.

As long as he is convinced, he will be able to convince the entire Dao Sect to be able to break the Purple Cloud Dao back from the wrong path.

"It's all for the sake of the sect."

Xuanyu got up, waved his hand, and said abruptly: "King Chu can still cultivate in this peerless world, I really don't know what method he uses." If the former Dao Masters were still there, they would know this method, and they wouldn't have to be forced to leave.

Now that he has ascended to the immortal realm, the road ahead is bleak, and I don't know if I can really find the avenue. ”

Xuan Chengzi also got up, and said indifferently when he heard the words: "Who knows." However, even if the King of Chu can cultivate, this method is extremely harsh, and even others can't use it at all.

Otherwise, why didn't anyone in the Chu Kingdom, except for him, have cultivated the immortal law?

Moreover, in this world of absolute spirits, even if you can cultivate, it must be extremely bumpy, and the immortal road is difficult to find.

At most, I can catch some more time.

The former Dao Master can fight for a chance to ascend, and at least there is a trace of the possibility of becoming an immortal, which may not be worse than the King of Chu hiding in this Kyushu mortal realm.

However, with the cultivation of King Chu's condensation of two qi, Shouyuan has three hundred years, twice as many as our congenital, and there is still a throne to do, but it is enough to be called free.

There is this male lord in the Chu State, not to mention anything else, at least a foundation that can be guaranteed for 300 years.

Compared with the other immortal sects in Kyushu, the mundane dynasty that they have taken refuge in is already much stronger. ”

"Yes, I'll take refuge in him, at least we have one more condensed monk on our side, which is already stronger than many people." Xuanyu sighed.

"That's it, let's not talk about it."

Xuan Chengzi shook his head, looked at his junior brother and said, "The King of Chu not only wants us to cause trouble this time, but also gives the Linhai family a reward for sealing the country to win them over.

I have already made an appointment with Wu Minghou, and I am ready to probe his tone, and my junior brother should hurry up and persuade his fellow disciples, time is urgent, and I can't delay. ”

"Yes."

Xuanyu bowed down to receive the order.