Chapter 3: Mortal Desires to Capture Immortals

Time seemed to accelerate.

Li Fan systematically and orderly implemented his plan. With two lifetimes of experience, everything proceeded smoothly and naturally.

He still participated in the imperial examinations. This time, however, with decades more experience in governance, the essays he wrote naturally far surpassed those of his previous life. He ranked first in the provincial, metropolitan, and palace examinations, achieving the Triple Crown and becoming renowned throughout the land!

Subsequently, citing his youth and the need to gain experience, he volunteered to serve as an official in another region. His destination, of course, was still Wen County. Although there was much confusion and regret in the imperial court, his request was still approved.

So, in Anchoring Year 3, he arrived in Wen County once again. This time, things were much better than in his previous life. Due to his immense reputation and his thorough understanding of the temperaments of all officials, great and small, within the county, he brought the entire Wen County into submission with almost no effort.

Then, he began promoting and cultivating his trusted confidantes from his previous life, constantly expanding his influence. At the same time, he drew schematics for flintlock guns, ordering artisans to produce them according to the drawings and fully informing them of the difficulties in production. Afterward, he secretly recruited skilled artisans from various regions to strive for the development of more advanced firearms.

The mining of mountain resources was also underway. Li Fan swept away all bandits in the mountains near Wen County and put them all to work mining. Using the mining areas, he established many workshops deep in the mountains, mass-producing handicrafts and ironware. Concurrently, he secretly organized merchant caravans to travel to various regions for trade, accumulating funds.

In Anchoring Year 4, Li Fan secretly sought out and finally found Emperor Xuanjing's body double. It was the existence of this body double that had almost caused his assassination plan in the previous life to fail. Fortunately, he had always been cautious and had many backup plans, which prevented his failure. Li Fan personally trained the body double, and after half a year, there were almost no flaws.

In Anchoring Year 5, a great drought hit Jiangnan. Li Fan ordered his confidantes to impersonate displaced people and assault the Langya King's residence. Li Fan then led his followers, pretending to come to their rescue, but in reality, they worked from both inside and out to secretly kill the entire Langya royal family. At the same time, he had the body double appear. From then on, Li Fan usurped the Langya King's position, secretly taking control of the Langya King's residence.

The news that the Langya royal family had been killed, with only the Langya King himself surviving, shocked the court and the public. The Emperor was furious and dispatched troops to suppress the displaced people. Li Fan, having rendered meritorious service, was promoted to the Prefect of Jianghuai Prefecture.

Li Fan's influence expanded further. However, after this, he became more cautious. Instead of continuing outward expansion, he discreetly focused on technological advancement and developing productivity.

In Anchoring Year 7, the locust plague arrived as expected. Li Fan had prepared in advance, so Jianghuai Prefecture naturally suffered no disaster. He also applied to the imperial court to open granaries and provide relief to the disaster victims. The court approved. Seizing this opportunity, Li Fan gained a large population. These disaster victims then settled down under Li Fan's governance, and Li Fan's power grew explosively as a result.

In Anchoring Year 9, the wedding between the Langya King and the Grand Academician's granddaughter proceeded as scheduled. That night, Li Fan secretly entered the bridal chamber, scaring the Langya Princess half to death. After learning that Li Fan had killed the Langya King and used a body double to usurp his position, she furiously denounced Li Fan as a rebel. Li Fan, unconcerned, burst into laughter and instructed her to write down the entire shocking affair in a letter.

Li Fan took this letter, impersonated the Langya King's messenger, and secretly entered the capital to meet the Grand Academician. Li Fan's expression remained calm as he fully disclosed how he now controlled the entire Langya King's residence, and claimed that he and the Grand Academician's granddaughter had consummated their marriage on the wedding night. Though surprised, the Grand Academician remained composed and asked Li Fan what his intentions were.

Li Fan stated frankly that the Grand Academician had been in power for many years and had made too many enemies. Furthermore, his sons were all useless, so after the Grand Academician's death, it would likely be difficult to protect his family's safety. He promised that as long as the Grand Academician lent him a hand when necessary, Li Fan would ensure the Grand Academician's family would enjoy a century of prosperity.

The Grand Academician pondered for a long time before slowly asking what he meant. Li Fan smiled, merely saying that all would become clear in due time, then gracefully departed.

In Anchoring Year 10, the Langya Princess gave birth to a son. It was clearly Li Fan's child. Li Fan sent a letter to the Grand Academician's residence to deliver the good news.

In Anchoring Year 15, the Emperor finally fell gravely ill. After receiving the imperial edict of succession, Li Fan, along with his confidantes, traveled day and night, rushing into the capital.

After the Langya King's body double ascended the throne, Li Fan used the Emperor's edict to extensively place his confidantes in the imperial court. With the Grand Academician's secret cooperation, he gained control of the situation with little disruption.

In Anchoring Year 16, rebellions broke out in various regions. Li Fan seized the opportunity to infiltrate his confidantes into the army, then used their meritorious service in suppressing the rebellions to promote them extensively. In just three or four years, the army was also firmly under Li Fan's control.

In Anchoring Year 20, the empire gradually recovered from the turmoil of imperial succession. At this point, Li Fan decisively poisoned the fake Kangning Emperor, strangling the last potential threat in its cradle. After establishing his own son as Emperor, Li Fan appointed himself Grand Tutor, moving from behind the scenes to the forefront, once again wielding supreme power throughout the land. After this, the gears of the Great Xuan Empire's development not only did not halt but instead spun even faster due to Li Fan's will!

Anchoring Year 35, Grand Tutor's Residence.

Li Fan looked at the confidential letter handed to him by his subordinate. He read it carefully for a moment, and his brows furrowed.

"So, the mist over the Xuyuan Abyss disperses for half a day every fifteen years?"

"Reporting to the Grand Tutor, that is correct. Our Immortal Visitation Camp was ordered to station beside the Xuyuan Abyss and observe day and night. We finally made a discovery a few days ago." The Immortal Visitation Official, kneeling on the ground, recalled the scene, a look of shock still lingering on his face. "After the thick mist dispersed, a faint light emerged from the bottom of the abyss. We observed with telescopes and surprisingly discovered various inverted scenes."

"Although each person saw something different, there were a hundred thousand mountains, continuous and undulating, with magnificent buildings faintly visible hidden within; there were towering cities standing on plains, bustling with activity, with no less than a million inhabitants; and even cities in the sky surrounded by rays of light, with various rare birds and exotic beasts flying amidst them. It truly was..." The Immortal Visitation Official paused before articulating his heartfelt sentiment. "It truly was incredible."

"As expected, it came from Xuyuan." Although he had known this news for a long time, receiving personal confirmation from his subordinate still stirred a little excitement in Li Fan. However, years of experience had long taught him to conceal his emotions.

He asked calmly, "Have you found a way to descend to the bottom of the abyss?"

The Immortal Visitation Official's breath hitched, and his face turned pale. He quickly kowtowed and apologized: "This subordinate is incompetent. We have tried various methods, but as soon as we descend to a certain depth, we are shredded by sudden, fierce gales. The gales are so powerful that even our sturdiest armor cannot withstand them for a moment."

Upon hearing this, Li Fan showed little disappointment. Waving his hand, he dismissed the Immortal Visitation Official. Li Fan then muttered to himself, "It seems I'll still have to wait for you."

Anchoring Year 50, Great Xuan Empire, Xuanjing.

Xuanjing City, once exceptionally bustling, was now eerily quiet. Most Xuanjing residents had been forcibly relocated to surrounding cities a month ago, under the Grand Tutor's order, supposedly to avoid disaster. Some naturally did not believe such a ridiculous excuse. However, the Grand Tutor had not been entirely ruthless; he did not force those unwilling to leave, merely suggesting they dig basements at home for shelter. These people dismissed it as a joke.

Li Fan did not concern himself with it after receiving the report. He had already done his utmost.

Now, in the streets and alleys of Xuanjing City, lay in ambush his special forces, meticulously prepared over the years to confront the two immortals. All was ready, only the crucial last element was missing!

That night, the bright moon hung high, and the two cultivators arrived as scheduled!

"Daoxuanzi! You are going too far!" Kou Hong's angry roar echoed throughout Xuanjing City.

"Dada dada dada..." Innumerable flashes of muzzle fire suddenly lit up, and tens of thousands of bullets, like a waterfall, simultaneously slammed into the two immortals!