I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Chapter 615: Chapter 453 Time to Celebrate
 

Heavenly Prison.

Dingy and damp, sinister and rancid.

From time to time, the screams of the prisoners could be heard, mixed with the wild and unrestrained laughter of the jailers.

Zhou Yi with hands clasped behind his back, strolled around the cells, watching the colonel interrogate the prisoners, and observing the clerks compiling their charges, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

“I had this feeling before, and now it’s even stronger. What’s going on?”

As a Martial Arts Grandmaster with Innate True Qi and profound martial arts cultivation, Zhou Yi was highly sensitive to danger. A sudden impulse or sudden alertness must be out of the ordinary.

Zhou Yi stood outside the cell and pondered, glancing at a prisoner covered in wounds.

The man looked vaguely familiar as if he was a graduate of the imperial examinations from the fourth year of the Tian Shun era, highly regarded by Tang Mingyuan.

Now, with Chancellor Tang’s downfall, he too was implicated and imprisoned, his entire family exiled.

Emperor Taichang, having been controlled by his mother and teacher since childhood, cherished his hard-won power and was determined to rid the court of all his allies’ officials, regardless of right or wrong, loyalty, or treachery.

“Tang Mingyuan, acting as the leader of the faction, really died a wrongful death, far inferior to our house…”

Zhou Yi thought again and realized he indeed would not show mercy, but indiscriminately betraying his foster sons didn’t seem much different from Tang Mingyuan’s end with his compatriots.

“So one must never mix with others; one must be the boss oneself!”

He left the Heavenly Prison.

It was already past midnight, and the streets of the capital were silent, with only the occasional dog bark or the night watchman striking the Bronze Gong and shouting.

“Dry weather brings fire risk, take care of your candles!”

Zhou Yi walked through the streets and alleys to a brightly lit attic.

His True Qi congealed in his throat, making his voice deep and magnetic; he stroked his fake beard and stepped into Xiao Xiang Pavilion.

He tossed out pieces of Silver, and the madam’s face beamed with a smile.

“My lord, please come this way!”

Zhou Yi confidently ascended to the second floor, called over a few courtesans, and embraced them left and right as he drank wine and listened to music.

“No one would expect me to be frequenting a brothel!”

The brothel was a mix of dragons and snakes, full of people from all walks of life, and indeed, the best place to gather intelligence.

Zhou Yi utilized the Breath Listening Technique, encompassing the whole Xiao Xiang Pavilion within his surveillance range; in a moment, he knew the whereabouts of his eldest disciple, at Yongxing Square, Taiping Street, number twelve.

Adjacent to the Town Martial Governor’s Office, just an arrow’s shot from the Imperial Palace.

“In just over a decade, from a country boy to a commander of the Town Martial Governor’s Office, he’s not doing much worse than myself!”

Zhou Yi’s eyes flickered as he planned to investigate for a few days and then pay a visit to this nominal disciple.

…

That day.

Court was adjourned.

Gu Xiao reported to Emperor Taichang that in recent days, several more remnants of Tang’s faction had been captured.

Whether true or false, that was not important. These old fellows, relying on their seniority, questioned His Majesty’s governance. Labeling them as remnants of Tang’s faction made it easy to imprison and interrogate them in the Heavenly Prison.

The specifics of their crimes would emerge in the interrogation process!

Emperor Taichang listened with satisfaction; with Tang Mingyuan’s imprisonment, he had already taken control of the six ministries and the Eastern and Western Depots.

“You have worked hard, my faithful minister. Join me for dinner.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Gu Xiao had long known Emperor Taichang’s preferences; he enjoyed dining with his close ministers, discussing court affairs, or speaking of history and current events during meals.

This practice of honoring and respecting his ministers won their gratitude.

In the evening.

Gu Xiao returned home by sedan chair, exchanged a few words with his wife and children, and then went to the study to handle official business.

Just as he took his seat, an old voice sounded.

“Xiao’er’s martial arts have declined!”

Gu Xiao abruptly felt his hair stand on end; he had carefully checked the room when entering but hadn’t noticed anyone in the study. Following the sound, he saw an old man with white beard and hair, leisurely sipping tea while sitting in a Taishi Chair.

“I pay my respects to Master!”

Recognizing the identity of the visitor, Gu Xiao quickly stood up, ready to bow.

“No need to bother.”

Zhou Yi waved his hand and asked, “After your master left seclusion, I heard that you were appointed a high official. I came to the capital to see for myself; this purple robe has not let your master down!”

Gu Xiao bowed and said, “I’m grateful for Master’s teachings for all my achievements today.”

Zhou Yi slightly nodded and said, “Any martial artist in the Jianghu wishes to become an official; it’s just that there are fewer posts than aspirants. Those who lack ability are simply jealous and thus curse others as hawks, dogs, or lackeys.”

When Zhou Yi established the Eastern Depot, he widely distributed circulars to recruit colonels and inspectors. Countless skilled individuals sought connections and offered Silver, just to shed their commoner status and obtain official robes.

Even Buddhist monks who adhered to their vegetarian vows and high Taoists devoted to tranquility and inaction desired to join the Eastern Depot as local inspectors.

Official status brought only benefits, whether carrying out duties or competing with other sects.

Gu Xiao let out a slight sigh of relief and flattered, “All my achievements today are thanks to Master’s guidance.”

Zhou Yi seemed pleased with his disciple’s respect and chuckled, “Why don’t I see Yun’er?”

Thud!

Gu Xiao’s face showed sorrow as he suddenly knelt on the floor, saying, “Master, please punish your disciple for failing to take care of my younger brother, who was harmed by a traitor.”

Zhou Yi’s brows furrowed as he asked in anger, “Who harmed Yun’er?”

“The treacherous Chancellor, Tang Mingyuan!”

Gu Xiao said hatefully, “The treacherous Chancellor has dominated the Imperial Court, deceiving the sovereign and bullying his superiors. My fellow disciple and I were assisting His Majesty in punishing the treacherous and eradicating evil, but we were ambushed by carelessness. My fellow disciple died from a storm of arrows.”

“…”

Zhou Yi secretly praised his own insight, this fellow truly fit to serve in the Eastern Depot, possessing the ability to tell outrageous lies with a straight face like a palace eunuch, with some thirty percent of their skill.

“As your master, I will immediately go to the Tang residence, kill his entire family, then proceed to the Heavenly Prison to decapitate the treacherous Chancellor and avenge Yun’er!”

“Master, please wait a moment.”

Gu Xiao’s eyes darted around as he said, “The treacherous Chancellor has controlled the Imperial Court for many years and has a lot of experts in his mansion. Let me gather my subordinates so we can avenge my fellow disciple together!”

Zhou Yi almost couldn’t help laughing, wanting to see what this fellow would do.

“Make it quick.”

“As you command.”

Gu Xiao bowed and exited swiftly, calling his trusted aides to gather the elite troops of the Town-fu Division.

Inside the study.

Zhou Yi was pretending to rest with his eyes closed when he suddenly felt danger and let out a cold laugh as his figure flickered and disappeared without a trace.

Boom, boom, boom…

The continuous booming noise started, only to see the troops Gu Xiao had gathered each carrying a fire cannon thick enough to embrace, with others filling in the munitions from behind.

Over a hundred gunners stood in two rows, bombarding the location of the study in turns.

Gu Xiao was surrounded by hundreds of elite troops from the Town-fu Division, dissimilar to the gunners; they held fire guns as thick as their arms and about a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) long, aiming at the place shrouded in smoke and dust.

After several rounds of bombardment, the gunpowder smoke slowly dispersed.

The study, along with the adjacent courtyard, had all been turned into ruins, with huge craters left on the ground.

A withered figure stood amidst it all, clothes torn and ragged, exposing charred black skin, continuously oozing fresh blood, evidently having suffered severe injuries.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Zhou Yi took a few severe breaths and asked incredulously, “Xiao’er, why?”

“There can only be one Commander…”

Gu Xiao offered no further explanation, nor did he need to explain to a dying man, saying coldly, “Many people are aware of this matter, and I could not hide it, so I could only send Master on his way.”

Zhou Yi circulated his Innate True Qi, employing the Undying Golden Body, his skin shining with a golden radiance.

“Just you?”

“Master has not emerged from seclusion for more than a decade, not knowing that the world has changed!”

Gu Xiao pointed to the cannon and fire gun, saying, “These are special firearms forged by Chancellor Tang, their power comparable to Heavenly Thunder. Today, Master, you will be the first Grandmaster to die by firearms!”

As he spoke, he gave a wave of his hand, and the gunners opened fire in an orderly manner, three rows alternating, bullets pouring down like dense rain.

Each bullet was the size of a palm, with the color of the bullet heads resembling Mystic Iron, designed to break through Martial Artists’ True Qi and physical body.

“Fiendish disciple!”

Zhou Yi bellowed fiercely, “Today, your master will show you what a real Martial Arts Grandmaster is!”

Having said that, he leaped into the air, the acupoints all over his body bursting with infinite Sword Qi, surging violently in all directions, his entire being enshrouded in a storm of sword lights.

The Sword Qi collided with the bullets, emitting a jarring booming noise.

“This…”

Gu Xiao’s face changed dramatically. After Chancellor Tang had developed the anti-Grandmaster fire gun, he tested its power against the famously powerful eunuchs of the court, none of whom could fight back.

He had initially planned to seriously injure with the cannon and then kill with the fire gun; even if Master had any tricks up his sleeve, he would have to run for his life.

How could he have anticipated that his master, who had just broken through to Innate recently, would be able to rise against the storm of bullets and advance in the opposite direction!

“The treacherous Chancellor has misled me!”

Gu Xiao commanded his subordinates to block Zhou Yi and used his Qinggong to leap towards the imperial palace, but after only escaping a distance of a dozen zhang, an aged voice echoed in his ears.

“Rebellious disciple, do you still remember what your master once told you?”

Zhou Yi didn’t wait for Gu Xiao to beg for mercy, his fingertip emitting Sword Qi that pierced from the back through to the chest.

Gu Xiao felt a sharp pain in his chest, looked down to see a large hole in his torso, and blood gushed uncontrollably from his throat, making hoarse sounds, and he collapsed to the ground, breathless.

Zhou Yi’s figure wavered as if unstable, glancing at the elite troops of the Town-fu Division who were shivering and didn’t dare to approach.

“No better than the trash of yesteryear!”

Using his Qinggong, he vanished into the chaotic streets.

A moment later.

Xiao Xiang Pavilion.

Zhou Yi had changed into clean clothes, but he could not hide the pallid look on his face, leaning against red and green pillows in high spirits.

After killing Gu Xiao, his Heartless Sword Art advanced a level higher, making his sense of the energy of heaven and earth much more sensitive, thus hastening his cultivation progress.

“The Sword technique has reached the second level; it should be celebrated…”

Zhou Yi blurted out involuntarily and immediately felt puzzled, as if he had said many similar things before, yet he couldn’t recall them no matter what.

He circulated his Innate True Qi, probing every corner of his body, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

“Perhaps I’m overthinking it…”

Zhou Yi suppressed his doubts, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

“The bait has been laid; I’ll just wait for the big fish to bite, to eradicate the trouble in one fell swoop!”