Chapter One Hundred Twenty: Five Lotus

Half an hour later, in the inn's main hall, Cai Fu and Cai Qing, who had washed away their bloodied hands, submitted the intelligence obtained through severe torture to Su Wen.
"This place is Mengzhou, just like Yunzhou, both of which are part of the ten expanded provinces."
“But unlike Yunzhou, this place is close to the great desert of the Western Regions. Within and around the desert, there are ten different demon kingdoms. Mengzhou is also influenced by this and is filled with various monsters and spirits, so the local customs are quite fierce and chivalrous, making it truly a place where hidden talents abound!”
"This place is within the jurisdiction of Mengzhou in Anyang Prefecture, with the nearest city being Dongping County, just twenty to thirty miles away."
"In the territory of Mengzhou, there is a mix of various factions, with the government divided into civil and military factions. The civil faction is led by the governor of Mengzhou, representing the Great Zhou Dynasty, while the military faction is led by the commander of Mengzhou, which is a border military garrison. Each faction has its own influential families supporting them, unlike the Song family in Yunzhou, which holds a dominant position."
“There are also sects within the borders of Mengzhou, where the situation is even more chaotic compared to Yunzhou. All three teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism have their inheritances; orthodox paths and heterodox paths coexist, alongside various evil practices. There are demonic creatures lurking in hiding, indicative of the signs of a chaotic era.”
“Among them, the most prominent is the Wulian Sect, which has five schools known as the Green Lotus, Yellow Lotus, Red Lotus, White Lotus, and Black Lotus. This stout monk is a branch leader of the White Lotus Sect in Anyang Prefecture, Dongping County, and Qingshan Town.”
“The Five Lotus teachings are known as the left path, but in essence, they are the evil path. Within the teachings, all five sects engage in wicked practices, cultivating demonic and perverse methods, such as the White Lotus Sect, which venerates the Great Ming Wang of the White Lotus, engages in human sacrifices, and enjoys blood feasts, particularly fond of attacking practitioners for sacrifices.”
“However, Wulianism values folk rituals and the beliefs of the common people. It publicly engages in charitable acts, and there are sub-temples in various prefectures, counties, and even townships in Mengzhou, which has resulted in a large number of followers among the populace. As a result, it has become the largest sect of the heterodox, overshadowing both Taoism and Buddhism.”
“Because there are no hidden dragons in Mengzhou, the Great Zhou court is gradually declining, demons are rampant, and the government is powerless, therefore, cultivators have become prevalent. The cultivation world is even more prosperous than in Yunzhou, with a total of two innate peak-level cultivators.”
“这两人分别是五莲教的教主五莲真君，玄天生死宗的宗主枯荣道人，此外还有传闻，那位孟州州牧，乃是儒门大修，那位孟州总兵也是兵家大将，又有朝廷官职，王道龙气在身，不是先天，胜似先天，威慑力还在五莲真君与枯荣道人之上。”
“……”
Su Wen listened to the report from Cai Fu and Cai Qing, slightly furrowing his brow: "Is this place even more chaotic than Yunzhou?"
“Yunzhou is under the control of the Song family. Although they intentionally indulge the aristocratic clans, increasing the burden on the common people and stirring up resentment to erode the imperial aura of the Great Zhou, it is still within the Song family's control. However, this Mengzhou…”
Li Zhu was serving as a military advisor beside Su Wen, analyzing: "There is no kingly way like the Song clan's potential, and even if there were, there is nothing on the scale of the Song clan's climate. The regional governor and the commander-in-chief are divided into two factions, civil and military, each with its own group of gentry attached for support. The conflicts between the two factions are becoming increasingly severe. Additionally, in the borderlands, there are external threats from demons and internal issues with various creatures, which naturally leads to greater chaos than in Yunzhou."
“Mengzhou... Wulian... demons...”
Su Wen murmured to himself, his brows tightly knitted.
Li Zhu, beside him, tentatively said, “The local customs are fierce, and in these chaotic times, it’s likely that...”
```html"Business isn't good, and there are many troubles!"
Soo asked with a smile, "Should we change the location?"
Li Zhu nodded, "Your insight is profound, my lord!"
"Whether the business is good or not depends on how you manage it; how many troubles there are depends on how you deal with them."```
Su Wen smiled and said, "There's a way to deal with chaos; muddy waters are good for fishing. Let's try this first, and if it doesn't work, we can change places later."
Li Zhu naturally would not argue: "What the lord said is indeed true."
"Let's go then."
Suwen stood up and walked out of the inn: "Let's first go to Dongping County."
Outside the inn, everyone had already packed up and prepared a horse-drawn carriage for Suwen.
Where did the carriage come from?
Of course, it’s this black market shop, the branch of the White Lotus Sect. Even a small town branch has considerable wealth. There are three horse-drawn carriages outside the inn, over ten packhorses, and two or three fine steeds—all plundered by Su Wen.
Not only the horse carriage and horses, but also all the usable items in the inn were packed up by Su Wen, who directly looted this black shop to a large extent.
Su Wen's ruthless actions were not without reason. Although he currently lacked for gold and silver, he was in desperate need of various supplies. Since the Book Mountain couldn't store items, he could only pack up Book Spirits. Apart from the clothes they wore at the beginning of their summoning and the subsequent Book Treasures that Su Wen allocated, nothing else could be brought into the Book Mountain and Academic Sea.
However, Su Wen cannot keep the book spirit in the sea of books all the time, because after summoning the physical book spirit, apart from the various effects of the spiritual resonance, it is no different from a real person, or rather, it is a real person.
They are just like us, with blood and flesh, soul and spirit, and they all need to eat, drink, relieve themselves, rest, and move around. If they are kept buried in books and studies all the time, problems are sure to arise—unless... Su Wen opens up a large-scale book realm.
The large book realm is equivalent to the world within a book; as long as a large book realm is established, the book spirit can live for extended periods in the sea of books and even engage in cultivation to enhance its cultivation level.
But Su Wen obviously doesn't have the capital to open up a book realm right now; let alone a large one, he doesn't even have a small one.
So, he can only release the book spirits.
Currently, Su Wen has more than twenty named book spirits under his command, plus about three hundred Liangshan outlaws, forming a mighty crowd.
Su Wen plans to divide the book spirits into three teams. One team will be led by Lu Junyi, with subordinates including Yang Zhi, Shi Qian, Cai Fu, Cai Qing, the Five Guard of Kaifeng Mansion, and the Five Rats of the Hollow Island, among other "warrior" type book spirits. They will infiltrate Dongping County under the guise of a gang such as the Qilin Gang to establish their own foundation.
The other team is led by the Illusion Demon Lord Qiao Daoqing, comprising "mage" type book spirits like Fan Rui, Dai Zong, and other special talents such as the explosive Tian Lei Ling Zhen. They are also making their way into Dongping County under the banner of establishing their own sect, alongside the Qilin Gang, to eliminate various factions within the county and create a safe and comfortable environment for storytelling.
The last team is led by Su Wen himself, which includes Li Zhu, Bao Zheng, Gongsun Ce, and a group of Liangshan heroes who have undergone quyi training, along with the supplies and horses collected from the black market, forming a troupe's convoy.
The three teams will enter the city one after another, each handling their own matters, making progress from three sides. They must work to create a safe and comfortable environment in the shortest possible time, allowing Su Wen to set up a stage again to perform and earn some spirit essence.
This is the most important thing at the moment.
After a lot of effort, Su Wen's spiritual essence is almost depleted. If he doesn't make money soon and can't pay the "salary" of the summoned book spirit, the book spirit he worked so hard to summon will be wasted.
Therefore, it is necessary to enter the city as soon as possible and reopen the theater troupe.
……
A squad was divided into three teams, with Lu Junyi leading the charge on horseback. Qiao Daoqing had Dai Zong use his divine speed technique to scout ahead to Dongping City for information, while he himself stayed close to Su Wen for protection, planning to split up once they reached Dongping County.
A group of people left in a grand manner.
Inside the dilapidated and wrecked inn, the fortunate white-faced scholar woke up and looked at the guesthouse that looked as if it had been ravaged by a storm, immediately letting out a scream and hurriedly fleeing.
A new strange tale emerged in the folklore.