The Real Situation

Arriving at the Xuanqin military camp, Qin Ran's original plan was to first gather some intelligence, then find an opportunity to take out Zhao Li. This could greatly delay Xuanqin's offensive.

Then he met Zhao Yaqing, and what he was thinking in his heart was, while he was at it, he might as well take out Zhao Yaqing as well. Then he heard about the terribleness of the Xuanqin Emperor, and felt that if there was still a chance, he could run to the Xuanqin Imperial Palace and take out the Xuanqin Emperor as well.

If even the Xuanqin Emperor was gone, then there would be no need to continue his cause of unifying the Land of Immortal Legacy. Thus, the crisis facing North Chu would naturally be resolved.

However, he only accomplished the first goal, and gathered a bit of intelligence.

He did not kill Zhao Li, nor did he kill Zhao Yaqing. Now that he thought about it, he could not go to the Xuanqin Imperial Palace either. Because according to what Zhao Yaqing said, there was a High Priest in the Xuanqin Imperial Palace, a very terrifying High Priest.

At night, in the room, Qin Ran was holding a brush, organizing the intelligence he had obtained during the day.

He thought while he wrote, and so the paper was filled with words, which upon closer inspection, were:

First, Zhao Li is a very capable commander, worth spending effort to take out;

Second, there are diverging opinions within the Xuanqin military camp, those cultivators do not listen to Zhao Li's commands, while Zhao Li is dissatisfied with the cultivators and has found other cultivators himself, attempting to break the situation on his own;

Third, there are at least three Nascent Soul stage cultivators in the Xuanqin military camp, Zi Yi and the Boundless Sword Sect's twin masters, the cloaked man is still undetermined, because the cloaked man could also be an extremely powerful Golden Core cultivator;

Fourth, the Boundless Sword Sect's twin masters came for him, it is still unknown what method they will use to try to kill him;

Fifth, the Xuanqin Emperor intends to unify the Land of Immortal Legacy, for a certain purpose, and for now North Chu is only the beginning;

Sixth, the Xuanqin Emperor's special purpose is related to the cultivation world, he persuaded the Cloud Heaven Sect's higher-ups to help him, and furthermore, he is still trying to unite other major sects;

Seventh, Zi Yi does not know that the Cloud Heaven Sect's higher-ups have struck a deal with the Xuanqin Emperor (or perhaps he knows but does not care, this possibility is small, because a deal that could attract the Cloud Heaven Sect's higher-ups could certainly also attract Zi Yi);

Eighth, Zhao Li and Zhao Yaqing have a close relationship, both of them know the Xuanqin Emperor's plan, Zhao Yaqing is even a key figure in it, this also shows that they have a close relationship with the Xuanqin Emperor (thinking to this point, Qin Ran suddenly realized that he still does not know what the Xuanqin Emperor is called, or what the imperial clan's surname is);

Ninth, there are three or even four factions in the Xuanqin military camp, the Xuanqin military, the Cloud Heaven Sect cultivators, the Boundless Sword Sect cultivators, and the group of black-robed men;

Tenth, a terrifying formation, the Myriad Ghosts Life-Reaping Formation.

Organizing up to this point, Qin Ran's eyebrows were tightly knitted and did not relax, because the enemy's strength was too great, and no matter how he looked at it, it was a losing situation.

In comparison, his own side's strength, cultivators: himself, initial Golden Core stage; Li Shiyin, late Foundation Establishment stage; Chasing the Wind, probably Golden Core stage, and that was it.

The military: according to what Li Zhan said, there were still over 80,000 soldiers and officers who could fight in the city, still less than half of Xuanqin's, so there was no chance.

"Can we escape?" he first asked himself, "we can escape, but there is a high probability I would lose my silly disciple."

There was no way Li Shiyin would watch Li Zhan and Li Shiwen die in battle while escaping alone, so she would probably die in battle at Wuyi City as well.

"Can we fight?" He pressed on his tightly knitted eyebrows, "a head-on confrontation is definitely hopeless, let's not even talk about that bizarre and unpredictable cloaked man, we just need those two from the Boundless Sword Sect to make a move, and we're finished here."

He continued to analyze his train of thought, "However, powerful and invincible forces often collapse from internal dissolution, there are multiple factions in the Xuanqin military camp, we can still try to find a way to give it a try."

"It would be great if we knew what the Xuanqin Emperor's ultimate goal is......involving the entire cultivation world of the whole Land of Immortal Legacy, in the end, pulling all of the sects in the Land of Immortal Legacy down into an unprecedented chaos..."

"As such, I still have to take a trip to the Xuanqin Capital City."

The next day, Qin Ran found Li Shiwen and asked, "Up until now in your fight against Xuanqin, only these troops are left in the city?"

Li Shiwen sighed and nodded, "The entirety of the southwestern troops, are indeed only these left in the city."

"Southwest..." So Qin Ran did not understand, "If we can't win here, North Chu is done for, why don't you pull troops from other places? Don't tell me at this point, your North Chu higher-ups are still playing politics and withholding resources?"

"That's not it at all...actually, troops from Danyang Protection Army have already been dispatched." Li Shiwen shook his head, "It's not that we don't want to reallocate troops, it's that we don't dare. Because in addition to Xuanqin, Great Yan and Yan Han have both built up forces along the borders. As soon as we reallocate our troops, they would be happy to take advantage of the fire and plunder."

"What?" Upon hearing this, Qin Ran was shocked, "Great Yan and Yan Han are not pressuring Xuanqin, but are instead pressuring North Chu?"

"We still do not know what deal Xuanqin made with them." Li Shiwen said.

Making deals with cultivation sects, to get cultivation sects to help him unify; making deals with other countries, to get them to not hinder and even assist his unification process (these countries are the kind that even after being sold out by him would still help him count his money)— through all kinds of transactions and means, in order to achieve his goals, based on Qin Ran's current understanding...this Xuanqin Emperor was too terrifying.

Originally, Qin Ran thought that the toughest battle he would face this time was at most a fight with the Cloud Heaven Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators, but he did not expect that the Xuanqin Emperor was even more terrifying than the Cloud Heaven Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators...he felt like he was provoking a terrifying monster.

"From the intelligence I have obtained now, Xuanqin's ambitions do not lie with North Chu... but the entire Land of Immortal Legacy. I can confirm, after Xuanqin takes North Chu, their next target will be Great Yan, followed by Yan Han."

"Perhaps you should tell Great Yan and Yan Han about the dangers of watching from the sidelines."

"Where did you get this news?" Li Shiwen was shocked and suspicious, "How accurate is it?"

"I went to the Xuanqin military camp myself to investigate." Qin Ran said.

Li Shiwen's expression shook intensely, and he immediately wanted to report this shocking news to Li Zhan.

"Wait, don't rush." Qin Ran stopped him again, and asked, "What is Xuanqin's imperial clan's surname?"

"Zhao." Li Shiwen said.

Qin Ran instantly understood why it was Zhao Li leading the troops, and why Zhao Yaqing held such a high position. Xuanqin's Zhao clan was the imperial clan.

"What is the Xuanqin Emperor called?" He asked again. He was rather curious about this person who shocked him with just bits and pieces that he had heard.

"Zhao Zheng."

"Zhao Zheng?" Qin Ran softly repeated and nodded.

He said to Li Shiwen again, "Remember to give me a detailed map of the Land of Immortal Legacy; also, during this period, pay attention at any time to any strange things happening inside and outside the city. Any objects in particular, especially anything with patterns on them—promptly notify me if discovered."

"Okay!" Li Shiwen nodded in agreement and left.