Chapter 84

Lin Fan took leave and went to the capital of Qingzhou to buy various foods, pastries, and fine wines, storing them in the Qiankun Ring.

Then, without further delay, he headed straight into Beizhou. The first major gateway to Beizhou was the Wu Emperor Pass, built between two peaks. From above, one could see the pass lined with elite soldiers. The lives of the people, however, were extremely difficult. A talented man from Qingzhou jokingly referred to the Beizhou emperor as "Wanshui" (ten thousand taxes), as taxes were levied on everything: travel, bridge crossings, the birth of a child, and even the birth of a foal. Even in death, a burial tax was required, and those who could not afford it had to opt for cremation, which also required a cremation tax. The people of Beizhou often said they could neither afford to live nor to die. The Beizhou court believed that all under heaven belonged to the emperor, and since everything was the emperor's, using it naturally required paying taxes.

Because Buddhists and Taoists did not pay taxes, many poor people, out of desperation, either castrated themselves to become eunuchs or became monks. As a result, the Beizhou court was quite dissatisfied with Buddhism and Taoism and even considered levying a tax on those who became monks. However, the Hanlin Academy believed this would push the people to rebellion, so they continued to tolerate it.

The major cultivation sects in Beizhou were the Qingping Sect, located on Huoyue Mountain, which was later renamed Qingping Mountain, though it was just a single peak, not a mountain range. The other was the Shengyin Temple, where Juesai resided, located at the top of the Tian Mountains in Beizhou.

The Qingping Sect was in the heart of Beizhou. As the four of them approached Qingping Mountain, they saw a sky filled with flames and black smoke. Flying closer, they saw countless troops arrayed in nine formations completely surrounding Qingping Mountain. Archers were firing flaming arrows to burn the mountain.

"Let's go down and take a look," Zhang Chenglong said. The five of them used invisibility spells to descend from the clouds into the sea of fire, casting fire-avoidance spells to protect themselves from the flames. The fire-avoidance spell could protect them from ordinary fire and was a basic Taoist technique.

Qingping Mountain had hundreds of rooms, a main hall, a library, a sword pavilion, a pill-refining tower, and more. These buildings were now engulfed in flames. There was no sign of any cultivators on Qingping Mountain, and the fire raged unchecked.

Xiefengzi snorted coldly, "Hypocrites, what good are these hundred thousand troops? I could crush them with a single hand." This was no exaggeration; if Xiefengzi alone used a technique like "Blazing Fire Plains," he could easily defeat the troops surrounding Qingping Mountain. Ordinary people could not stand against cultivators.

Leizhenzi said, "Attacking civilians, slaughtering the people, and attacking the army—this is the mark of an evil sect, and all under heaven should rise to oppose it." He reminded Xiefengzi that the Li Huo Sect was labeled as an evil sect because cultivators had participated in the struggle for power, using Daoist techniques to kill countless soldiers.

Zhang Chenglong said, "According to the alliance agreement between the righteous and the demonic sects, we can retaliate. If any army dares to surround and burn our demonic mountain, I will definitely act to protect our sect."

Xiefengzi said, "That's the point. Look at how the Qingping Sect fled without a fight. Moreover, there are rumors that Qingping Mountain harbored two women, which angered the emperor. The Qingping Sect is stirring up trouble for no reason, but why are they so cowardly?"

There were precedents for cultivation sects being attacked by armies. The Leishan Sect was one of them. They did not retreat; instead, five of their experts kidnapped the emperor and leveled a mountain in front of him as a warning. After the emperor was returned, the army surrounding the mountain was immediately withdrawn.

Lin Fan said, "The Qingping Sect's retreat actually shows that they are clean and do not bully others with their strength. What White Robe said is probably not true."

Xiefengzi said, "White Robe spoke convincingly and could even describe every detail of Qingping Mountain."

Lin Fan said, "You've lived on Flame Mountain for so long. Can you describe every detail of Flame Mountain?"

"..." Xiefengzi was angry. Did he not know that there were no trees on Flame Mountain?

Zhang Chenglong stopped their argument: "Let's first find the people of the Qingping Sect and ask them."

Lin Fan said, "With the army surrounding the mountain, there must be children and low-level cultivators in the Qingping Sect, as well as two ordinary women. It would be difficult for them to fly into the clouds without being detected by the army's scouts..."

Xiefengzi sneered, "How do you know the scouts didn't detect them?"

Lin Fan looked down on him, "If a group of people were detected flying into the sky, would they still be burning so vigorously?"

Xiefengzi thought about it and realized it made sense... He grunted and said nothing.

Lin Fan said, "I think that with so many people, they must have a secret passage to evacuate without being noticed. Qingping Mountain is only fifty zhang high, and there is a pine forest halfway up that has not been burned yet. I think there are probably restrictions set up there, and the entrance to the secret passage is likely in that pine forest."

"Let's go check it out!"

Zhang Chenglong led the way to the pine forest halfway up the mountain. The outer part of the pine forest was already burning, indicating that the restrictions had lost their effectiveness. In the center of the pine forest, there was a small stream, a side room, and a small hall. After a thorough search, they indeed found a secret passage in the small hall.

Zhang Chenglong said, "It's said that Huoyue Mountain was occupied by rebels for ten years. This secret passage was probably built by them."

Xiefengzi said coldly, "It's so narrow, it's only for the wives and children of the rebel leaders, not for the other rebels."

No one denied that Xiefengzi was right. After a peasant uprising, the goal was always to become emperor, and it had little to do with the peasants. It was just a change in rulers, and taxes would still be the same. Xiefengzi said, "I'll go check it out." With that, he entered the passage.

So eager? Lin Fan thought for a moment, and Leizhenzi said, "Let's follow him."

Lin Fan stopped him, "The passage is definitely not long. The people of the Qingping Sect have already left Qingping Mountain, so there's no need to go in."

Leizhenzi nodded, "That makes sense, but why didn't you stop Xiefengzi?"

Lin Fan chuckled without answering, "The Qingping Sect is bordered by a river to the east and a major road to the west, which is conducive to the assembly of an army. To the south is behind the mountain, and digging a passage to the south would require tunneling through the mountain. The passage is only about ten zhang deep, so I think the exit is likely to the north."

Leizhenzi admired him, "Brother Lin Fan, your insight is truly remarkable."

The four of them headed north, but they found nothing but grassland, not even a sign of the passage or any people. After searching for an hour, they found nothing. At this moment, Xiefengzi arrived, stepping on a flame, "What are you doing here?"

"Playing!" Lin Fan felt embarrassed.

"The people of the Qingping Sect are to the east, leaving a few disciples to report." Xiefengzi looked at Lin Fan, his lips curling in a sneer, "Playing?"

That's not right. Lin Fan thought about it and realized that the rebels were not trying to escape but to create chaos after the imperial army surrounded the mountain. The elite troops would use the passage to move to the east, causing disturbances and attacking from both sides. That made sense. If the rebels were digging a passage to escape, they would have no morale. If the leaders were planning to flee, the followers should have fled earlier.

Lin Fan felt embarrassed, but Leizhenzi comforted him, "It's rare to be confused for a moment."

Zhang Chenglong laughed, "Lin Fan, your analysis is very reasonable. If I were a rebel, I would definitely dig the passage to the north."

"Don't make fun of me," Lin Fan felt ashamed, having overestimated himself and ended up making a mistake.

Meng Wan didn't care; she had no interest in whether the Qingping Sect lived or died or who killed Liuli Zhenren. She had no choice but to come on this trip.