Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

“How would you solve this issue?” Yi Zhi asked.

Shen Lian responded, “We have to get rid of her. But she is very good at hiding and it would not be easy to track her down.”

Yi Zhi felt a sense of relief. Shen Lian said ‘it would not be easy’ and not ‘it is impossible’.

He asked, “What should I do?”

Shen Lian said, “Guard the nation and console the people. Continue doing what you have been doing and I will take care of the rest.”

Yi Zhi retreated after receiving the advice. It was a good thing that Shen Lian did not interfere with his administration. In that way, he could show his aspiration and use this opportunity to cultivate. It was killing two birds with one stone and also fulfilling Shen Lian’s promise to him.

Shen Lian let out a sigh after Yi Zhi left. It would not be easy to sort out Hanba. She may not be as powerful as Yinglong but it would be difficult to track her down. This was not the ability of Hanba and obviously, there was someone else who helped her cover her tracks.

Shen Lian was completely clueless about the identity of that someone.

The Netherworld may be big but it was nothing compared to the universe and the milky way. But the person behind Hanba must be a tough character.

Shen Lian was not afraid of getting into trouble. What he did not like the most was that he does not know the source of the trouble, which would put him in a passive situation.

He allowed the drought to develop not because he had no clue how to resolve Hanba. He did not want to chase Hanba away so easily so he could find out more about the mastermind behind her.

Moreover, he still needed to refine the Primeval Demonic Thoughts and it was not advisable for him to move around before succeeding in doing so.

As he was lost in thoughts, his mind twitched.

A girl in red showed up outside of the Biyou Palace in the City of Xiliang and she was stopped by the gatekeepers who were also cultivators. Before the cultivators could report to Shen Lian, Shen Lian’s voice could be heard, “Let her in.”

The girl in red entered the Biyou Palace with a hint of solemn on her cute little face. It was clear that she did not want to be rude. When she arrived at the hall, she finally saw Shen Lian. However, Shen Lian was just sitting on the stone couch in the lotus position with his back facing her and there was a bead curtain that divided them.

The girl bowed down and said, “Fuhao greets the Honored Celestial.”

“Why do you address me as the Honored Celestial?” Shen Lian questioned.

Fuhao responded, “Everyone is calling you that.”

She looked at the surroundings with curiosity but she still failed to get a good look at the person she admired greatly. She did not doubt the authenticity of this Shen Lian and after all, this was the Biyou Palace and no one would have the audacity to impersonate Shen Lian in the Netherworld.

Shen Lian chuckled, “What they call me is their own business but your mother is a deity under me and she addressed me as Celestial Teacher. You should address me as that too.”

Fuhao lets out a “Yes” and continued, “I am here to give you something.”

She took out a manuscript and then a gentle force swept the manuscript to Shen Lian. There were five characters on the cover the manuscript that said ‘The Nailhead Seven Arrows Book’.

These five characters were enough to drive Qi cultivators who were familiar with the Secret Histories of the Gods but despite that, Shen Lian remained calm and unshaken. He said, “That is a precious gift.”

Fuhao responded, “Teacher Luya said that this technique should not be used lightly. With your luck, you could use it at maximum once. If you use it more than once, you would be bestowed with misfortunes. Please use it wisely.”

Shen Lian said, “Duly noted. Do you still want to go back?”

Fuhao answered, “I want to go back and visit my mother.”

After finishing her sentence, Shen Lian appeared in front of her. However, there was also a Shen Lian who was sitting in the lotus position behind the beads curtain. Shen Lian smiled and said, “I need to go to the north to sort something out. Why don’t you follow me? After that, I will bring you to your mother.”

Fuhao hesitated for a moment but agreed eventually. She was actually delighted. No one in the Netherworld could resist the idea of being around Shen Lian.

The common saying, ‘When a man attains the Dao, even his pets ascend to heaven’ was indeed true. One would learn so much by just being around Shen Lian. Furthermore, Fuhao deeply admired Shen Lian and had no reason to turn him down.

But of course, she was fully aware that the Shen Lian in front of her was just an incarnation of her Celestial Teacher.

Shen Lian’s incarnation did not have much mana but it was still in the right state. Many deities could sense his presence as he took Fuhao out for a trip. The deities put their affairs aside and greeted him.

Shen Lian did not respond to them one by one. He took Fuhao and disappeared in the sky.

They headed north and after crossing the borders of Xia Kingdom, (they passed by the tribe is it) it was the tribes of the north. This was the territory of the barbaric tribe and it was filled with endless grasslands and mountain ranges.

The sky was blue, the wilderness was vast. The grassland was not filled with cattles and sheep but instead was brimming with groups of demon beasts. The North was different from other regions. The populations of demon beasts were high and they all had great strength. It was said that they all had mixed-blood. The Barbaric Tribe was indeed powerful to be able to survive for so many generations.

The border guard of the Xia Kingdom could easily block the Barbaric Tribe so that they would not be a threat to the Xia Kingdom. The commander of the border guards was Emperor Xia’s one and only son. He was highly cultivated but was not beyond Shen Lian. He also did not lead the troops to attack the Zhou nation after the fall of Emperor Xia.

Shen Lian did not head north to look for Emperor Xia’s son. Besides, he was not a ruthless man who would spare no one.

The barbaric tribe had never been unified but there were several bigger tribes that formed their own nations. Among them, the biggest country was the Chong nation.

The monarch of the Chong nation was honored as Chong Hou by Emperor Xia. They were one of the very few barbaric nations recognized by Emperor Xia. As ‘Chong Hou’ was a title awarded by Emperor Xia, the monarch decided to use ‘Chonghou’ as his family name.

The Chong nation was thriving but there were still conflicts within the inner circle. The conflict was related to the two very talented young monarchs.

The monarch of the Chong nation had two sons. The first son was taken in as a disciple by a celestial the moment he was born. It was said that he was the reincarnation of a proud tiger demon of the wild. Thus, the monarch named his eldest son as Chonghou Hu with the hopes of making him the monarch of the Chong nation.

Soon, the monarch had a second son that had a divine vision when he was born and a black tiger birthmark on his body. As the eldest was named Chonghou Hu, the monarch could not reuse the same name for his second son. Thus, the monarch had the idea of naming the younger son as Chonghou Heihu. To make it easier for the barbaric tribe, the second son was referred to as Chong Heihu.

Chonghou Hu was indeed the reincarnation of the tiger demon. By the age of ten, he was already the first warrior of the country. On top of that, he was proficient in celestial methods and many powerful beasts were not worthy as his opponent.

However, Chonghou Hu had never liked his brother Chong Heihu. He made several attempts to harm him but Chong Heihu was protected by protective barriers of divine light. Whenever he tried to torment his brother, the divine light would surface and injure Chonghou Hu.

Chong Heihu was able to protect himself against his brother but he was never as skillful as his brother. Thus, his days were not easy. However, Chong Heihu was cheerful and treated people well, and many fellow citizens were more than willing to serve for him. Chonghou Hu was extremely jealous and took revenge on those people.

Chong Heihu was saddened by this and was very helpless as his protective barriers divine light could only protect him.

As the monarch aged, the battle between the two sons became increasingly fierce. All Chong Heihu could do was to defend and his life was becoming increasingly difficult.

One day, he was feeling depressed and decided to go on a hunt with some other men.