Although it was known that the Buddha Realm in the Upper Realm attached great importance to the Taiyuan Continent, they did not expect it to be so important.
From the information Li Sen knew, Immortals were also divided into levels: Immortal, Earth Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, True Immortal, Profound Immortal, Golden Immortal, Great Luo Profound Immortal, Great Luo Golden Immortal, Immortal Lord, and the rumored Immortal Emperor.
To stand out, Buddhism also had its own set of ranks, namely: Traveler, Venerable, Arhat, Bodhisattva, and Buddha, each divided into nine grades.
An Arhat might be at the Heavenly Immortal realm or have the cultivation of a Profound Immortal, so their cultivation could not be directly determined.
However, it could be confirmed that they were at least at the Heavenly Immortal realm.
After some thought, Yang Hong decided to go and watch the excitement.
"Ye Yudong, when does Buddhism require us to gather, and when will the battle begin?"
"For the gathering, we are required to assemble at the border of Liao Country on the Yurou Plain as soon as the summons are received; the battle will commence after the first snow."
"There isn't much time left."
It was already late autumn, and it could snow at any moment.
Li Sen thought for a moment and then said to Ye Yudong, "Wait here for two days. I need to make some preparations, and we will set off together in three days."
"That's great! Thank you, Sect Master, for your understanding."
Ye Yudong was very surprised to hear that Li Sen agreed to respond to Buddhism's summons. He thought he would return empty-handed.
"Sect Master, if possible, bring more disciples to answer the call."
"Are you teaching me how to do my job?"
"Bang~ I dare not~ I dare not~"
Li Sen gave Ye Yudong, who dared to speak out of turn, a look that made him kneel and admit his mistake.
This time, Li Sen would not bring any disciples.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. When Li Sen reappeared, he was already a burly man standing two meters tall.
He had a robust physique and a fierce appearance, a stark contrast to Yang Hong's original elegant and refined demeanor.
"Sect Master, you are... worried about being recognized?"
"Yes~ I killed too many bald donkeys in my early years, and I'm afraid they'll come after me."
In response to Ye Yudong's cautious inquiry, Yang Hong patted him on the shoulder and revealed the truth with a rough voice and an arrogant attitude.
"Hehe~ Hehe~ Sect Master is joking. How could you have killed so many Buddhist cultivators?"
Ye Yudong bared his teeth, his face looking like he wanted to cry but had to smile. In his heart, he cursed Yang Hong for being too pretentious.
Not only his appearance and personality were fake, but even his way of speaking was so pretentious.
Yang Hong gave him a sideways glance and did not explain.
"Let's go. Judging by the weather, it will probably snow soon."
"Let's go~ Let's go now."
There was no teleportation array in Xixian of the Zikun Mountain Range, so the two had to first fly their swords to the mountaintop and then use the teleportation array to go to the assembly point.
Five Lotus Mountain was Li Sen's destination and the assembly point for a group of affiliated sects led by the ninth-rank sect, the Sunrise Sect.
For the sake of convenient management and unified action, the forces surrounding the Lihuo Feihuang of Liao Country were divided into eight teams, managed by eight ninth-rank sects, and acted under the unified command of Buddhism.
When Li Sen and his companion arrived, Five Lotus Mountain was already occupied by over a million cultivators. Every place with even a little spiritual energy was taken by cultivators.
"A Nascent Soul cultivator dares to establish a sect in Xixian of the Zikun Mountain Range, and it's not even a branch of any ninth-rank sect. Kid, are you not afraid of death?"
When Li Sen was registering, the Nascent Soul cultivator in charge of registration looked at him with disdain.
"Hehe~ I'm not dead yet, and I've occupied a large territory."
Li Sen did not care about the registration cultivator's sarcasm and instead boasted.
"Hmph~ Don't you dare to die."
Li Sen's words made the registration cultivator's face darken. Although he was already a Nascent Soul cultivator, he was only a core disciple in the Sunrise Sect.
After a simple registration and receiving a token, Li Sen was immediately assigned to a patrol team, without any time to rest.
Seeing Li Sen simply take the token and leave, Ye Yudong quickly followed, carefully observing Li Sen's expression.
"Sect Master, should I find you a different job?"
"No need. Patrolling is good. At least it's safe and easy."
"Sect Master, wait a moment."
Saying this, Ye Yudong carefully pulled Li Sen to a secluded corner. After confirming no one was around, he whispered.
"Sect Master, you may not know this, but the patrol team is a decoy team.
That is, there is a peak Nascent Soul stage cultivator leading ten fifth-order Nascent Soul cultivators and a hundred fourth-order Golden Core cultivators, patrolling back and forth on the border of Liao Country.
But their actual purpose is to serve as bait, luring the Lihuo Feihuang within Liao Country out to attack the patrol team.
Then, the high-level cultivators can take the opportunity to eliminate the Lihuo Feihuang that are lured out."
"The casualty rate since the formation of the patrol team has been as high as sixty percent."
As he spoke, Ye Yudong's face turned a little pale.
However, upon hearing the truth about the patrol team, Li Sen smiled.
"Haha~ I understand. If those insects don't trouble me, that's fine. But once they appear, I will turn them into ashes."
"Sigh~ Sigh~ Sect Master, you are..."
"If you trust me, apply to be my captain."
"Uh~ Alright."
Although Ye Yudong was a little reluctant, he still applied to become the peak Nascent Soul captain of Li Sen's team.
Naturally, his request was immediately approved by the high-level cultivators. After all, no one would want to avoid such a suicidal mission. Since someone was willing to take it on, no one would object.
"Sect Master, my life is in your hands."
At the foot of Five Lotus Mountain, looking at their patrol team, Ye Yudong directly called Yang Hong "Sect Master" in front of the 109 people. This was both to establish Yang Hong's authority and to force Yang Hong to make a stand.
"Don't worry, I guarantee you won't die.
If you all listen to me obediently, you won't die either."
Upon hearing Ye Yudong directly call him Sect Master, Yang Hong only raised an eyebrow and did not object.
This guy was still ostensibly a peak Nascent Soul elder of the seventh-rank sect, the Sheng Yu Sect. Now, calling him Sect Master directly meant he had decided to betray the Sheng Yu Sect.
Just then, a thin but imposing middle-aged scholar flew in front of Yang Hong and said condescendingly,
"What kind of brute are you? A Nascent Soul cultivator is the Sect Master of a peak Nascent Soul stage?"
Yang Hong did not look up at him but turned to Ye Yudong beside him and said, "I don't like talking while looking up."
"Sect Master, please wait a moment~ Bang!"
Without Yang Hong needing to explain, Ye Yudong flashed forward and slammed the middle-aged scholar into the ground. His peak Nascent Soul aura emanated, making it impossible for the scholar to even stand, forcing him to lie on the ground.
"Bastard, do you want to die? I am an elite disciple of the Sunrise Sect, and my master is a True Monarch at the Body Integration stage. I~~~"
Hearing the middle-aged scholar's rant, Yang Hong frowned again and was about to slap him.
"If you want to die, keep talking."
Before Yang Hong could make a move, Ye Yudong, who was sweating profusely, grabbed the middle-aged scholar's mouth, preventing him from speaking further.
"Mmm~ Mmm~"
However, the middle-aged scholar clearly did not appreciate it and felt offended. Ye Yudong quickly transmitted his voice mentally.
[This ancestor is a peak Nascent Soul cultivator impersonating a Mahayana stage cultivator.]
At this, the middle-aged scholar went silent as if his throat had been choked.
He looked at Li Sen, who looked impatient, and Ye Yudong, who looked terrified, and instantly believed him.
His body trembled slightly, and he nodded quickly.
The other eight Nascent Soul cultivators who were watching the commotion, although they couldn't hear their conversation, could tell from the middle-aged scholar's expression that Yang Hong was no ordinary person.
"Alas~ What a pity."
Seeing that there was no opportunity to make an example of someone, Li Sen shook his head in disappointment, wondering if he should take care of these people next.