Chapter 3: Mortals Seek to Capture an Immortal

Time seemed to have pressed the fast-forward button.

Li Fan methodically and step by step implemented his plan.

With two lifetimes of experience, everything went as smoothly as water flowing into a channel.

He still participated in the imperial examinations.

But this time, with decades of ruling experience, the essays he wrote naturally far surpassed those of his previous life. He ranked first in the provincial, metropolitan, and palace examinations, achieving the "Three Consecutive Firsts" and becoming famous throughout the land!

Subsequently, citing the need to gain experience despite his youth, he requested to be appointed as an official in a remote area. Naturally, his destination was still Wen County.

Although many in the court were puzzled and regretful, they still approved his request.

Thus, in anchor year 3, he arrived in Wen County once again.

This time, things were far better than in his previous life. Due to his great fame and his thorough understanding of the temperaments of all the officials in the county, he managed to bring Wen County under his control with almost no effort.

Then, he began to promote and train his trusted subordinates from his previous life, steadily expanding his power.

At the same time, he drew blueprints for flintlock guns, ordered craftsmen to produce them according to the blueprints, and informed them of all the difficulties in production. Afterwards, he sent people to secretly recruit skilled artisans from various places, striving to develop more advanced firearms.

The mining of minerals in the mountains was also not idle. Li Fan swept through all the bandits in the mountains near Wen County and forced them all to mine ore. Relying on the mining area, he built many workshops deep in the mountains, mass-producing handicrafts and ironware. Meanwhile, he secretly organized merchant caravans to travel and sell goods in various places, accumulating funds.

In anchor year 4, Li Fan secretly searched and finally found Emperor Xuanjing's double. It was precisely the existence of this double that nearly caused his assassination plan in his previous life to fail. Fortunately, he had always been cautious and relied on many contingency plans to avoid failure. Li Fan personally trained the double, and after half a year, there were almost no flaws.

In anchor year 5, a severe drought struck Jiangnan. Li Fan ordered his trusted subordinates to pretend to be refugees and attack the Prince of Langya's mansion. Li Fan led his men to feign rescue, but in reality, they coordinated from within and without to secretly kill the entire Family of the Prince of Langya. At the same time, he had the double appear.

From then on, Li Fan usurped the nest and secretly took control of the Prince of Langya's mansion.

The news that the entire Family of the Prince of Langya had been killed, with only the prince himself surviving, shocked the court and the public. The emperor was furious and sent troops to suppress the refugees. Li Fan, having rendered meritorious service, was promoted to Prefect of Jianghuai Prefecture.

Li Fan's power expanded further. However, after this, he became more cautious. He did not continue to expand outward but instead kept a low profile, advancing technology and developing productive forces.

In anchor year 7, the locust plague arrived as expected. Li Fan had long been prepared, so Jianghuai Prefecture naturally suffered no disaster. He also requested the court to open granaries to provide relief to the victims. The court agreed.

Seizing this opportunity, Li Fan obtained a large population. Subsequently, these refugees settled under Li Fan's governance, and Li Fan's strength grew explosively.

In anchor year 9, the wedding between the Prince of Langya and the granddaughter of the Chief Grand Secretary took place as scheduled. That night, Li Fan broke into the bridal chamber, scaring the Princess of Langya half to death. After learning that Li Fan had killed the Prince of Langya and used a double to usurp the position, she angrily denounced Li Fan as a traitor. Li Fan was unperturbed and instead laughed heartily, asking her to write down this shocking matter exactly as it happened in a letter.

Li Fan took this letter, disguised himself as a messenger from the Prince of Langya, and secretly entered the capital to meet the Chief Grand Secretary.

Li Fan, with a calm expression, revealed everything about his current control over the entire Prince of Langya's mansion and claimed that he had consummated his marriage with the Grand Secretary's granddaughter on the wedding night. Although startled, the Grand Secretary remained composed and asked Li Fan what he intended.

Li Fan bluntly stated that the Grand Secretary had been in power for many years and had made too many enemies. Moreover, his sons were all useless, so after the Grand Secretary's death, it would be difficult to protect the Family. As long as the Grand Secretary lent him a helping hand when necessary, Li Fan would surely ensure the Grand Secretary's Family a hundred years of wealth and honor.

The Grand Secretary pondered for a long time before slowly asking what the matter was. Li Fan just smiled and said that the answer would be revealed in due time, then left gracefully.

In anchor year 10, the Princess of Langya gave birth to a son. Clearly, this was Li Fan's child. Li Fan sent a letter to the Grand Secretary's mansion to announce the good news.

In anchor year 15, the emperor finally fell gravely ill. After receiving the edict of succession, Li Fan, accompanied by his trusted subordinates, traveled day and night and rushed to the capital.

After the Prince of Langya's double ascended the throne, Li Fan used the emperor's decrees to extensively appoint his trusted subordinates in the court. With the secret cooperation of the Grand Secretary, he managed to control the situation without much trouble.

In anchor year 16, rebellions broke out in various places. Li Fan took the opportunity to place his trusted subordinates in the military, and then, using their merits in suppressing the rebellions, he promoted them extensively. In just three or four years, the military was also firmly under Li Fan's control.

In anchor year 20, the realm gradually recovered from the turmoil of the imperial succession. At this time, Li Fan decisively poisoned the fake Emperor Kangning, nipping the last possible threat in the bud.

After supporting his son to ascend the throne, Li Fan appointed himself Grand Preceptor, moving from behind the scenes to the forefront, once again wielding power over the realm.

After this, the gears of Great Xuan's development not only did not stagnate but, because of Li Fan's will, turned even faster!

In anchor year 35, at the Grand Preceptor's Mansion.

Li Fan looked at the secret letter handed over by his subordinate, read it carefully for a moment, and couldn't help but furrow his brows.

"So, the mist over the Void Abyss clears for half a day every fifteen years?"

"Reporting to the Grand Preceptor, that is correct. Our Immortal-Searching Camp was ordered to station beside the Void Abyss and observe day and night. Finally, a few days ago, we obtained results." The Immortal-Searching Officer kneeling on the ground recalled the scene at that time, his face still showing a trace of shock. "After the thick fog dispersed, a faint light shone from the bottom of the abyss. We used telescopes to observe and actually discovered various inverted scenes."

"Although what each person saw was different, there were endless rolling mountains with magnificent buildings hidden among them, faintly visible; there was a majestic city standing on the plain, bustling with smoke and fire, with a population of no less than a million; and there was a sky city surrounded by colorful clouds, with various rare birds and strange beasts flying among them. It was truly…" The Immortal-Searching Officer paused before uttering his heartfelt exclamation. "It was truly incredible."

"So it indeed comes from the Void Abyss." Although he had already known this news, now that his subordinate had personally confirmed it, Li Fan still felt a bit excited. 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-Searching Officer's breath caught, and his face turned pale. He quickly kowtowed and apologized, "This subordinate is incompetent. We tried various methods, but as soon as we descended to a certain depth, we were torn to pieces by sudden blasts of fierce wind. The wind was so powerful that even our hardest armor could not resist for a moment."

Upon hearing this, Li Fan showed no sign of disappointment.

He waved his hand, dismissing the Immortal-Searching Officer, and muttered to himself, "It seems I still have to wait for you."

…

In anchor year 50, Great Xuan, Mystic Capital City.

The once bustling Mystic Capital City was now eerily silent.

Under the decree of the current Grand Preceptor, the vast majority of Mystic Capital's residents had been forcibly relocated to surrounding cities a month ago, ostensibly to avoid disaster. Some naturally did not believe such a ridiculous excuse. However, the Grand Preceptor did not go to extremes; those who were unwilling to leave were not forced, but were advised to dig basements at home for shelter. These people merely took it as a joke.

After receiving the report, Li Fan did not intervene. He had done his utmost.

In the streets and alleys of Mystic Capital City now lay in ambush the special forces he had meticulously prepared over the years to deal with the two Immortals.

Now everything was ready, only the east wind was needed!

At night, the bright moon hung high, and the two Immortal Cultivators arrived as scheduled!

"Dao Xuanzi! Don't go too far!"

Kou Hong's angry roar echoed throughout Mystic Capital City.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat…"

Countless tongues of flame suddenly lit up, and tens of thousands of bullets, like a waterfall, simultaneously blasted onto the two Immortals!