Chapter 41

A prophecy fulfilled.

At the end of July, we had barely seen off the family of the King of Chu when, in early August, news exploded of an assassination attempt by the King of Han.

Emperor Yongxing, furious and in a rush, had the forbidden army surround the King of Han’s mansion.

Royalty from the Imperial Clan—a cousin of Emperor Yongxing—couldn’t even see the Emperor’s face, as the Jinyiwei tightly guarded Shangyang Palace.

Had the King of Han surrendered quietly, that would have been the end of it, but instead, he led his followers in resistance, ultimately dying at the hands of the encircling forbidden army.

The officials of the Imperial Court, along with the nobles of noble birth, linked this incident to the case of the King of Chu, finding it hard not to suspect that Emperor Yongxing had orchestrated the whole affair to eradicate the three royal houses.

But such suspicions were quickly dispelled when Emperor Yongxing severed two of his own fingers.

In our National Dynasty, even the selection of officials favored those with good appearances, and any physical defect was unacceptable, let alone for an Emperor!

“The family of the King of Han, put to death!”

The officials remained silent.

…

The heavenly prison.

Cries of injustice, sobs, curses, and wailing were incessant.

The King of Han had led his followers into a fight with the forbidden army, solidifying his guilt of rebellion. Everyone even slightly associated with him had to do a stint in the heavenly prison.

The methods used inside the prison to discipline the inmates compelled confessions of guilt, whether they were innocent or not!

Colonel Lu interrogated people until the late hours of the night, nearly exhausted to the point of collapse, and obtained a large stack of confessions.

“Old Zhou, you and your mouth should speak less in the future!”

“My lord, there must be something fishy about this matter!”

Zhou Yi, who was well-versed in the Cultivation of the Spirit Theory, had become even more sensitive in his spiritual perception. He had just gone to see the Crown Prince of Han, whose grievances did not seem feigned.

At that moment.

A jailer hurried over, reporting in a low voice, “News has just come in that not long after the team escorting the King of Chu left the capital, they were ambushed by bandits on the road, with only a few of the forbidden army’s officers escaping back.”

Colonel Lu asked, “What about the brothers who accompanied them?”

The jailer replied in terror, “All dead.”

Colonel Lu muttered, “Including those who escorted the Duke of the state last time, in just two short months, more than twenty jailers have died. Old Zhou, is this heavenly prison really not safe?”

“I only deliver meals, I don’t go on the escort missions.”

Zhou Yi shook his head slightly. Nowhere in the world was absolutely safe.

Even delivering meals to the heavenly prison had its dangers. In the past, Li Wu used the King of the Azure Heaven as bait to lure and kill expert martial artists; those dead forbidden soldiers and jailers had no prior knowledge of the danger they were in.

The plans of important figures never take into account the lives and deaths of the little soldiers!

Personal interests have to serve the greater good, after all, and you can’t say too much more than that.

…

October.

King Jing rebelled.

An unequivocal rebellion, in broad daylight, he led his followers to attack the Imperial City East Gate.

The forbidden army fired arrows like pouring rain; the rebel forces suffered heavy casualties and deaths.

“I am the son of Zhongzong. I would rather die in battle than sit and wait for slaughter!”

King Jing shouted loudly, still fighting resolutely until he was struck by numerous arrows and died.

The event sent shockwaves throughout the capital!

Privately, officials and nobles all said that the current Emperor was harsh and lacking in generosity, his demeanor far from that of a benevolent ruler!

…

Newcomers were brought to the heavenly prison, including the chief steward of King Jing’s household.

A top-notch expert with two hundred years of Inner Strength, the master of Undefeated Monastery in Jiangnan, known by the Daoist name Xuan Ling.

“Undefeated Monastery, Xuan Ling, how come I’ve never heard this name before?”

After learning of this, Zhou Yi grew quite interested; mastery of the Marrow-Cleansing Realm or two hundred years of Inner Strength—such credentials would be renowned in the Jianghu. Throughout the entire Fengyang Country, no more than a hundred people could claim such distinction.

Zhou Yi, after almost thirty years in the heavenly prison, had interacted with many captured experts from various regions.

Zhou Yi, confined within his cell, thus knew the heroes from all corners of the land!

Cell A2.

Zhou Yi pushed the door open and entered to see an elder in tattered Daoist robes, who appeared to be over sixty years old at first glance.

His hair was white and sparse, his face full of wrinkles.

“Greetings, Senior Xuan Ling.”

Zhou Yi bowed with his hands clasped, “Your fame precedes you, and today I finally have the honor to meet you.”

Xuan Ling looked up at the visitor, “Who are you?”

Zhou Yi replied, “The Blood Prison Old Demon, Zhou Yi.”

Xuan Ling said coldly, “A nobody, never heard of you!”

A glint flashed in Zhou Yi’s eyes, his interest in Xuan Ling grew; the other did not seem like a Jianghu expert.

The name of the Blood Prison Old Demon was even more prominent than that of ordinary top experts.

After all, more Jianghu experts had died at the hands of Zhou Yi than had been killed by the leader of the demonic sect.

Even if Xuan Ling cultivated in seclusion and did not engage in combat, thus not being famous, how could one involved in the Jianghu not know of the Old Demon’s name?

“You are not a person of the Jianghu!”

As Zhou Yi spoke, he carefully observed Xuan Ling’s reaction, which indeed revealed a flash of astonishment.

“So, you have intentionally infiltrated King Jing’s residence…”

A sudden insight struck Zhou Yi’s mind, and he continued, “Not only did you instigate King Jing to rebel, but the deaths of the King of Han and the King of Chu are also related to you or the people behind you?”

“Nonsense!”

Xuan Ling flatly denied it and closed his eyes, no longer paying attention.

“I have been wondering recently, neither the King of Chu nor the King of Han are fools. Throughout history, how many emperors ascended the throne through assassination? Yet they tried again and again to do just that.”

“Thus the assassinations were not really their intention; it was your plan to use the failed assassination to killing someone with a borrowed knife!”

“As for King Jing, he was incited by the annihilation of the two kings, thinking there was no way out, so he directly plotted rebellion!”

“All three royal houses became pawns, and your only target could only be that position!”

“Emperor Hongchang had six sons, and now four are dead, leaving only… that deposed Crown Prince!”

Zhou Yi’s thoughts raced, and many doubts became clear. He looked up in the direction of the palace, “Previously, the deposed Crown Prince did not understand the situation and conspired with the Li family in secret. Such a character definitely lacks the capability to devise such a scheme!”

“The only one who could control the entire situation is… Chancellor Zhang!”

“Who exactly are you?”

Xuan Ling suddenly opened his eyes, a look of shock on his face as he stared at Zhou Yi.

“There is one more problem, where did Zhang get so many loyal deadly experts? Surely the Jianghu’s riffraff would not be easily commanded.”

Zhou Yi frowned slightly, flicked his finger, and mana entered Xuan Ling’s body.

The mana followed the meridian pathways and it became clear that Xuan Ling’s organs were aged, and without the need for execution, his life was already near its end.

“I have also practiced Daoist cultivation techniques, my inner Qi is moderate and balanced, best at nurturing the meridians and organs, aging yet becoming stronger. At very high levels, it can slow down aging, maintaining a youthful appearance despite old age.”

“Your organ decay is severe, it’s more like…”

Zhou Yi pried open Xuan Ling’s mouth and checked his teeth, which were white as a young man’s.

“The Devouring Heaven Demonic Technique!”

Indeed, as Zhou Yi had suspected, Zhang was creating experts through the Devouring Heaven Demonic Technique.

“The experts recruited by the three kings, most are Zhang’s men, which is why they desperately tried to assassinate the emperor… no, not right, the palace also recruited many Jianghu experts, could they also be Zhang’s men?”

“A few months ago, the value of martial experts in the capital suddenly surged; could that too be manipulated by Zhang?”

Zhou Yi wouldn’t consider himself smarter than people from the ancient times just because he traveled through time; when it came to schemes and plots, not even corrupt officials in prison could compare.

The only thing he was confident in surpassing was having a more scientific approach to logical thinking.

Now that he had witnessed Zhang’s tactics, starting with the most unnoticeable details to stir up commotions that shook the foundation of the nation, he slightly downgraded his pride in his logical thinking.

Had it not been for the Longevity Dao Fruit, had Zhou Yi not steadfastly refused to take action, he would have unwittingly fallen into Zhang’s trap!

“Such a character, if it were in the past, I would probably only be able to comment on it in the trending searches.”

Zhou Yi had no evidence to point that all the conspiracies came from Zhang’s hand, but he had a conviction that whoever benefited the most from the outcome was the perpetrator.

“This is just the situation in the capital; Zhang’s plans will not stop there…”

“It’s been two months since Fengyang Country and Great Yong started peace negotiations, with no progress made at all. The armies stationed at the Northern Border from various provinces are not allowed to return to the capital, depriving Emperor Yongxing of his last lifeline!”

“The so-called expert in warfare has no great achievements; it must be this kind of person!”

“Looks like I have to ask for leave to head out again…”