CHAPTER 1456: CHAPTER 1456: SOWING DISCORD IN XIANGYANG

Long Fei jumped up, waving his hands frantically, begging for mercy.

This time he didn’t keep them in suspense, and quickly said, "Don’t make a move, listen to me carefully. The plan for the Land of Rebirth requires giving up many things. Anyone with a sense of responsibility will not take this step unless absolutely necessary. Now that the Demon Race hasn’t emerged, trying to use this to make Ji Ruohuo give up his power, I doubt he would accept it."

Chu Feng laughed, "Get to the point."

Long Fei said, "We’ll do it in two steps. First, have the Commandery Princess openly send people to negotiate with Ji Ruohuo, deliberately letting the Imperial Court know. Second, a few of us head to Xiangyang. The Imperial Army is besieging the city, and we can try to ignite conflicts on both sides. Once Ji Ruohuo’s forces in Jingzhou take a hit, he’ll stand with us immediately."

Ji Wanrong said, "That’s simple. General Lei Shicheng is an old acquaintance of Ji Ruohuo. If we send General Lei, Ji Ruohuo will definitely receive him seriously."

Long Fei nodded, "Even so, we need to be prepared on both fronts. Once the Imperial Court decides to sweep the local lords, the pressure on us will be substantial. Tomorrow, gather the military leaders for a meeting. Discuss dealing with enemies on two fronts, and consider threats from Southern Ridge as well. Have everyone come up with a plan to avoid chaos when the time comes."

"Understood!"

Ji Wanrong nodded and asked, "Should I send more people with you?"

Long Fei shook his head with a smile, "We’re going as spies, too many people would be a problem. You still have to handle the Wang Family’s commercial battles, you’ll be busy once daylight comes."

Ji Wanrong smiled gently, feeling warmth in her heart each time Long Fei expressed this subtle care.

She and Long Fei didn’t fall in love at first sight; they even fought the first time they met.

But over time, she developed a vague feeling for him.

She knew Long Fei’s feelings and didn’t force the matter, just letting things progress naturally.

Lin Shanshan shouted from the side, "Brother-in-law, take me to Xiangyang to have a look! This time you can’t leave me behind!"

Ji Wanyu also wanted to go out, but she had to stay and help her sister, so she held back and didn’t speak.

Long Fei gave Lin Shanshan a look and instructed, "Help the Commandery Princess here, we’re going to Xiangyang on official business, not for sightseeing!"

"Boring, my sister’s not here, so you just bully me!"

Lin Shanshan pouted, grumbling in her heart.

She’d been messing around here for so long, not accomplishing anything, feeling a bit disheartened and wanting to go find her sister.

With Lin Yingying backing her up, she felt confident in whatever she did.

After dawn, Long Fei set out with Chu Feng, Murong Chong, Wang Jie, Bald Dog, Ground Rat Demon King, and Da Heiniu.

Liuu Jiangnan stayed behind to help Ji Wanrong with the commercial battle.

The spring river water warmed, and a warm breeze swept over Xiren.

The cold winter in this world had passed, with the banks of the Great River lush with greenery.

With abundant Spiritual Energy, the temperature here was higher than outside, and greenery was never lacking.

If ordinary people from outside came in, they wouldn’t be able to adapt to the atmospheric pressure here.

Long Fei and the others rode on giant eagles, observing the movements of the Imperial Army.

What they saw made Long Fei raise his eyebrows.

Compared to the previously slack Imperial Army, this time their camps and movements were much more organized.

Long Fei pondered that the Imperial Court must have reached a consensus, seriously preparing for a battle.

If they didn’t fight, the Imperial Court could only plunder resources from North Yangtze to supply the Land of Rebirth.

Clearly, North Yangtze’s resources were not as rich as South Yangtze’s.

No one would willingly give up such a big prize without trying a battle.

South Yangtze was full of mountains and dense forests, the terrain was all hills and mountains.

In the outside world, mountains were at most a thousand meters high, but here they were over ten thousand meters.

Even a random hill was a thousand meters high.

The mountains surrounded them, with tall trees and high forests.

Between the mountains, it was hard to see any human activity.

Only on plains scoured by rivers, could cities and villages of the Human Race be seen.

While flying over the hills, they encountered a dozen or so mountain strongholds established by the Demon Clan.

The demons noticed Long Fei and his group, but none came out to interfere.

Anyone who could control giant eagles was not to be trifled with, and the demons naturally didn’t want to stir up trouble.

Seeing them made Long Fei feel like he was in another world.

This world was not only inhabited by humans but also by demons.

Though Humans and Demons didn’t interact, the Demon Clan was a vast power, just too scattered without a unified Demon King to lead them, so their strength hadn’t been revealed yet.

Long Fei’s western journey gave him a clear understanding of the forces in South Yangtze.

Despite the speed of the giant eagles, it took them a day and a night to reach Xiangyang City the next day.

The city resembled those in the outside world, located on a bend of the Han River, nestled among hills and mountains, and surrounded by water to the north and east, making it a naturally defensible military stronghold.

This city was right at the crossroads of the basin.

Going in any direction, one couldn’t avoid Xiangyang.

Long Fei and his companions split into two groups, with Murong Chong and Wang Jie scouting out information on the Imperial Army.

Long Fei and Chu Feng entered the city to scout its defenses.

Compared to the Southern Capital City, this place resembled what a city in this world should look like.

Traditional city walls and pavilions, towering a hundred meters high, giant structures in the outside world, but common here.

Here, even an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator could lift something weighing 350 kilograms, far surpassing any cranes.

The ground was paved with bluestone tiles.

Main roads were thirty to fifty zhang wide, while alleys were about three to five zhang.

The city’s roads crisscrossed, organized in orderly fashion.

At the riverbank ports, large and small wooden cargo ships were docked, a bustling scene with porters and merchants transporting goods to and fro.

Long Fei observed that most of the goods entering the city were grain, likely stored as military supplies for the war, with special markings on the burlap sacks.

As the Imperial Army approached, security checks were strict, requiring a pass to enter the city gates.

At the city gate, there was a Divine Level treasure mirror.

Those using spells to enter would be revealed upon reflection in the mirror.

However, this was useless against experts.

Long Fei and Chu Feng hid their forms and entered, inspecting the mirror up close.

Long Fei’s mastery of Spatial Law had reached such a level that only a Human Immortal-level magical treasure might reveal him.

Inside the city, there was no atmosphere of impending war; people ate, drank, and strolled as usual.

The streets bustled with people, and cultivators occasionally gathered and headed eastward in groups.

Long Fei stopped one to ask, learning that there was a Daoist fighting an Evil Dragon in the river to the east of the city.

This Azure Dragon had three heads, covered in green scales, and had been wreaking havoc in East City’s river, eating over a thousand people and destroying over a hundred cargo ships.

The City Lord had specifically invited a Daoist from Mount Heng to capture the Evil Dragon there.

Long Fei and Chu Feng found it intriguing and followed the crowd to go watch.