I have Immortality In The Cultivation World Chapter 623

Chapter 623: 461

The one hundred and fifteenth year of the Orthodox Era.

The end of the year.

The night was deep, and all was silent.

In the east of the Divine Capital, at the unknown manor.

A carriage wrapped in black cloth stopped at the back door; after the elder in the purple robe got out, he looked at the bright red lanterns with a grave expression.

“Tonight, who knows how many will perish!”

The elder sighed softly, pushed the door open and, knowing the place well, made his way to the rear hall.

The hall was dark, with people filling the seats to the left and right, each of them wearing a hat and a black robe, their voices muffled and indistinct, their identities hidden.

“What, even now you dare not show your true faces?”

The elder walked straight forward and sat in the middle of the hall, looking towards the fat man in black on the left, “Prince Kang, with your size, it's pointless to deceive others!”

“Uncle Six, please don't blame me, the Great Ancestor is truly formidable; I must be careful.”

Prince Kang lifted his mask, his chubby face squeezed so his eyes were mere slits, and he glanced in the direction of the Imperial Palace with a sense of helplessness, “Were it not for the extreme pressure, I would be loyal, praying day and night for the Old Man's blessings!”

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The others in black chimed in, clearly dissatisfied with the Orthodox Emperor.

Beginning in the hundredth year of the Orthodox era, the Imperial Court started to suppress the noble families drastically, not just sentencing and confiscating their assets but also limiting their privileges through the law.

The nobility backed down five steps the day before yesterday, ten steps yesterday, and now they had no room to retreat.

Half a month ago, news spread that the Orthodox Emperor wanted equal rights for everyone, aiming to eliminate all privileges, including but not limited to officials and scholars.

No emperor in history who dared to enforce such a policy managed to survive without meeting violent death or failing to implement his decrees.

Yet the Orthodox Emperor was deeply loved by the people, seen as a deity incarnate, not only possessing unbeatable personal strength but also clutching the reins of imperial power, with loyal followers and spies scattered throughout temples and the martial world.

If they did not join forces against him, it would not be long before those present, be they princes or high officials, would become common peasants.

Uncle Six said without a change of expression, “The Great Ancestor always talks about equality for all, yet his very existence is the greatest inequality to the common folk.”

“Uncle Six is right!”

“We do this for the people of the world!”

“Today's action is for the public good of the world!”

Everyone added their thoughts one after another, turning a secret plot to rebel into a seemingly righteous cause.

Whether or not the citizens of Great Zhou wished it, they had to overthrow the “tyrannical Orthodox rule,” for this was about fairness for all people!

If anyone asked what they would do if life under a new emperor proved difficult?

Not to worry!

Even in dire poverty, even in cold and hunger, even selling sons and daughters, none of that mattered, as the common people would have won the ultimate fairness in life.

“We must unite and strive for justice for the masses!”

Prince Kang spoke with fervor, but then abruptly changed his tone, “Uncle Six, have you summoned us here because you have a way to deal with the Great Ancestor?”

Suddenly, everyone went quiet, all eyes turning to Uncle Six.

The Orthodox Emperor had been invincible for one hundred and fifty years, and his might was now unfathomable. Without equal power, they might as well each go home and sleep instead.

“Of course.”

Uncle Six turned to the man in black to his right, saying, “When scouring the secret history of the previous dynasty, I learned that once, nine Great Grandmasters combined forces to attack the Great Ancestor, and they nearly succeeded.”

“Of these eight houses, all have lost their lineages, only Vajra Temple has continued to this day, and its secret scriptures record that there is someone in the world whose power rivals that of the Great Ancestor.”

“Namo Buddha!”

The man in black lifted his hood to reveal a bald monk, his features gaunt and skin a golden hue, hands clasped in a prayer gesture as he announced his religious chant: “The monk swears by the Buddha, it is true.”

Uncle Six continued, “After finding the secret, claiming to be traveling, I searched through mountains and rivers, until at last, in a frigid pool to the far north, I found that divine being…”

Jiejie jie!

A series of eerie laughter sounded.

“I am neither a divine being nor a demon, but a ghost and a specter, an evil spirit and an apparition.”

Before the voice fell, surging black fog poured into the hall, with countless ghostly heads weaving and dancing in the mist, emitting terrifying and piercing shrieks.

“Ah! A ghost, a ghost…”

One person in a black robe screamed in terror, falling off his chair to the ground and scrambling towards the outside.

“Hmph!”

An ancient voice came from within the ghost fog, contemptuously saying, “Such a petty courage, and yet you dare to stand against the supervisor?”

The ghost fog churned, enveloping and swallowing the man in the black robe. In the blink of an eye, only pallid and withered bones remained. Before anyone could cry out in fear, phantom shadows drilled into their bodies.

The ancient voice continued, “Two hours later, at dawn, you all shall start a rebellion in the Divine Capital and lure the imperial guards out of the palace.”

Someone worriedly said, “Isn't this too hasty?”

Swish!

The mist swept over, and that person was dead on the spot.

“What I say, you only have to obediently obey, and you are not permitted to have any doubts. Besides, your Nine Clans are all cursed with my Soul Devouring Curse; if you disobey, your entire clans will die out!”

The crowd, having no choice, respectfully said, “As you command.”

Prince Six's expression did not change; he seemed to have expected this and said gravely, “Gentlemen, there is no need to worry. With such a divine being assisting us, we are certain to succeed immediately.”

Since the Orthodox Emperor ascended to the throne, he had never displayed his invincible martial arts, and over a hundred years, it had become akin to a myth, difficult to convince people.

Many educated and intelligent people believed that the Orthodox Emperor declaring himself the Martial God was only a way to stabilize his rule.

Its weirdness and mystery were nowhere near the ghastly creature in front of them that devoured human flesh and souls!

Prince Kang's eyes narrowed slightly. As a descendant of the Zhou family, he of course knew how terrifying the ancestor was. However, at a life-and-death moment, it was necessary to unite. He said with a smile,

“We shall unite to overthrow the tyrant, but under what name shall we establish the new sovereign? This matter needs to be decided as soon as possible, to give the people a justification.”

With their minds unsettled by fear, the crowd in the hall were naturally led by the words of these two, the uncle and his nephew, and began to imagine the blissful life after “restoring the ancient rites.”

The books recorded that a century ago, nobles and honorables only needed to compensate with a few pieces of silver for killing a peasant–unlike now where sentences are life imprisonment or the death penalty at every turn.

The hall fell silent for a long while before a man in a black robe said,

“I once consulted the archives from the previous Orthodox era. They record the lineage of the former sovereign, who was a descendant of the ancient Tang clan, displaced among the common folk after being annihilated by foreign clans, and later adopted by the supervisor of the Eastern Depot.”

“Thus, by the bloodline of the former sovereign, the current one is a usurper, his position illegitimate!”

Prince Kang was slightly taken aback, never expecting that anyone would dare to doubt the legitimacy of the ancestor, and yet, it sounded somewhat reasonable, enough to mollify the populace.

“Minister Cui speaks wisely!”

Clearly recognizing the identity of the speaker, he lavished praise with his words, yet his heart filled with increasing disdain.

No wonder the ancestor despised great scholars!

The hour of the Tiger.

Diligent Administration Hall.

On the imperial desk was a thick stack of memorials, amounting to over a hundred. After reviewing those, there were still several stacks left.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had experienced a century of great governance, its prosperity surpassing that of any other nation in history, encompassing beyond the North and Southern Borders to the Western Regions.

With seventy-two provinces under its rule, the emperor had too many affairs to handle each day.

Another emperor might delegate minor issues to the cabinet or the six ministries, focusing only on major concerns themselves, but Zhou Yi insisted on personal involvement.

From major natural and man-made disasters to corruption and minor, tedious civil disputes, he would personally adjudicate and review them all.

Despite repeatedly issuing decrees for officials to simplify their language and omit servile greetings, there were still up to a thousand memorials to deal with daily.

Zhou Yi spent over ten hours daily in audience and reviewing memorials, nearly every moment seated at the imperial desk, busily engaged.

As his martial arts cultivation deepened day by day, bringing mystical changes to his soul, a glance at the memorials allowed him instantly to analyze their cause and effect and determine the correct response.

In a moment, he processed over a dozen memorials.

“This memorial is interesting, Hengchang Company has obtained the railroad construction rights for Suzhou. I remember this is the Lu family's business. With Ying and Suzhou provinces three thousand miles apart, bring the memorials related to these two provinces.”

Zhou Yi instructed, and an attendant bustled about. Soon, all relevant memorials from both provinces were presented, including secret reports from the Eastern Depot.

Flipping through them, he indeed found the reason.

“The chief daughter of the Lu family has married the Governor of Suzhou as a concubine…”

Zhou Yi's gaze deepened as he annotated “Permit construction, expedite progress” on the Governor of Suzhou's memorial and “Investigate any evidence of crimes” on the Eastern Depot's secret report.

No person is without flaws, let alone one who governs a province.

The evidence of other crimes uncovered by the Eastern Depot, big or small, would make the culprits confess their wrongdoing as a way to seek redemption, whether there were dealings with the Lu family or not.

“Send it to the Eastern Depot.”

“As you command.”

The attending eunuch bowed to take the secret report and immediately left the Diligent Administration Hall heading for the Eastern Depot. The secret investigation would begin before dawn, and within at most three days, they could reach Suzhou to investigate the case.

Over a hundred years had passed, and the Great Zhou Imperial Court had long operated like a precise machine, with Zhou Yi at the core, monitoring and managing the vast territory.

Chapter end

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