Chapter 123:

Upon hearing the disheartening news of his impending execution, Qiao Mu remained calm.

Qiao Mu pulled the cat clinging to his pant leg off his body, gripping the back of its neck with one hand, and turned to face Hai Wuya in the neighboring cell from all sides.

This heavenly prison was not a place that could provide peace for a prisoner like him to practice martial arts.

Qiao Mu knew he wouldn’t be able to stay in the heavenly prison for long, but he didn’t expect things to escalate right after he and Hai Wuya started their martial arts training.

Did someone not want the death row prisoner to practice martial arts in the heavenly prison?

After thinking for a moment, Qiao Mu handed the cat he had in his hand through the prison bars.

As soon as the cat touched the ground and left Qiao Mu’s palm, it quickly regained its ability to move. It twisted its body and was about to dive back into Qiao Mu’s shadow, just like before.

But this time it didn’t dive in.

The heavenly prison was dark and damp, with only a small window through which a beam of light from the outside world entered.

At this moment, Qiao Mu was not standing under that window, and there was no obvious shadow behind him.

"Go away, you stupid cat, don’t bother me." Qiao Mu grumpily passed the chubby cat to Hai Wuya through the bars.

This Impermanent Demon Cat, as long as it didn’t get too close to him and consume excessive death energy, could freely use its supernatural abilities. For example, it could easily hide in the shadows and deceive the perception of many powerful beings.

When they stayed together, they turned into a lazy cat that ate and slept all day long.

"Let’s go." He turned around and looked at Gaoler Fang Yuan and the others.

"No, Qiao Zhong. A person like you can’t just die in the heavenly prison. You need to go to the execution ground," Fang Yuan said.

The latter then put special steel handcuffs on Qiao Mu to prevent him from escaping.

"Qiao Zhong, we didn’t punish you much in the heavenly prison, and you behaved yourself… But when you get to the execution ground, don’t play tricks. Don’t disgrace yourself in the end," young Gaoler Fang Yuan said.

Qiao Mu had several layers of shackles on his body, making his steps heavy, and his whole body clangs as he gradually moved away under the escort of the prison guards.

Hai Wuya, slightly lost in thought, watched Qiao Mu’s figure. He had just taught him martial arts and thought Qiao Zhong was someone in a similar situation, who would spend some time in the heavenly prison. But he didn’t expect the death sentence to come so suddenly.

At this moment, a head officer of the heavenly prison rushed over and opened the cell door for Hai Wuya.

"Should I also leave?" Hai Wuya stood up, preparing to follow Qiao Mu.

"Sir, you’re joking." The prison head said with a friendly smile.

"The emperor’s kind heartedness led to an official decree that reinstated Lord Hai to his original position."

…

Inside the Great Dao Sect’s temple, located in the northern part of the Imperial Capital.

As the largest temple in the Imperial Capital, the incense here was far more abundant compared to other temples. Pilgrims flocked in and out, and the incense burned day and night.

Inside a side hall solely dedicated to the "Immortal Qingyi," it was rarely visited. In this spacious hall, there was only one middle-aged man standing there, holding a long incense stick as he paid respects to the immortal statue.

This middle-aged man appeared to be in his fifties, with thin lips and a balanced, vigorous physique. Only his eyes had a calm and distant look.

Only when he looked at the immortal statue on the altar did the distant look in his eyes slightly dissipate, revealing an undeniable longing.

Suddenly.



"Qin Shiqing." A voice resounded in the mind of the middle-aged man.

He looked around, but found that there was still no one around except for the Immortal Statue on the altar, looking down at him just like before.

"Greetings, Immortal Qingyi," said the middle-aged man named Qin Shiqing as he respectfully knelt to the ground.

"You have done well, your determination to pursue the Path is unwavering, and you have passed the test…" echoed the ethereal voice in the side hall, as the door slammed shut.

"However, you don’t possess spiritual roots, you lack the qualification for cultivation…"

A momentary look of joy appeared on Qin Shiqing’s face, but quickly froze.

He was a fairly well-known martial artist in the world of Spirit Refining, but spiritual refining was not his desired path; he longed for the path of immortality.

After sacrificing much over the years, he finally managed to join the prestigious Great Dao Sect, and after going through the test of the immortals, he realized that he could not cultivate due to lacking spiritual roots?

"Although you cannot cultivate, have you ever heard of the rumors of entering the Dao through martial arts?" the ethereal voice seemed to have guessed his thoughts, and continued. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Entering the Dao through martial arts?"

"Not bad. If you can achieve this, your achievement will surpass becoming a disciple of my Great Dao Sect." Immortal Qingyi said.

"With Martial Saint’s tragic death, the world of martial artists lacks a leader. But if you can achieve this, naturally it will be an extraordinary feat. You can become the one who carries the weight of the martial world, with the possibility of becoming a king and representing my Immortal Gate and Great Dao Sect, aiming for a position as a king."

After deliberation, the Great Dao Sect has made a decision.

Temporarily stepping into the background, Immortal Gate focuses on gathering followers instead of attracting attention.

Mundane matters are mundane. Since Emperor Yonghe has drawn the Human Emperor Sword, naturally, Immortal Gate also has a way to deal with it.

By creating a so-called invincible martial artist, naturally, they can become the leading figure in this era where Martial Saints have already died, becoming the pioneers of a new era.

With the Human Emperor Sword in hand, the cultivators who long for immortality don’t want to directly suppress Emperor Yonghe, so they can only take a more indirect approach.

Creating an invincible martial artist to become a king is false.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to disintegrate the Great Yan Imperial Court and gradually establish the Earthly Immortal Kingdom belonging to the Great Dao Sect is true.

As the Great Yan Imperial Court was gradually destroyed, the fate of the country was lost, and the Human Emperor Sword would also lose its radiance.

As for this person Qin Shiqing, whether he is courageous or qualified to be the representative of the Great Dao Sect, depends on whether he can survive…

In a small room in the dark.

Dao Zhen, a disciple of Elder Qingyi, was boredly flipping through a book in his hands.

"Qin Shiqing, who killed his wife and sought the path, is also a determined ordinary person." Dao Zhen looked at the records of Qin Shiqing’s life in the book and smirked.

Twenty years ago, this Qin Shiqing used to be the lord of a city in Zhong Province. Later, he encountered a cultivator from the Xuantian Sect. In order to prove his unwavering devotion to the path to the immortal elders of the Xuantian Sect, he resolutely killed his wife as proof.

The cultivator from the Xuantian Sect, of course, didn’t accept him.



However, he was not discouraged, and during these twenty years, he made great progress. Eventually, he successfully entered the Spiritual Refining Method, with a strong mind and willpower. He held the position of the chief jailer in the heavenly prison of the Imperial Capital, and was one of the top spiritual refining experts in the Great Yan Imperial Court.

"Speaking of the heavenly prison, it’s almost time for Qiao Zhong’s execution." Dao Zhen thought of this and felt a little excited.

"Ordinary people are like the mayfly of the sky and earth, fragile and short-lived."

"Even if as small as a mayfly, as dim as a grain of rice, in the face of life and death, ordinary people can still have a moment of fleeting brilliance."

Whether out of personal interest or as a disciple of Elder Qingyi, he had to go to the execution ground.