Chapter 123: Becoming an Immortal on the Spot |
Chu Xun said nothing, so Wei Youyou ran over to Zhang Jingheng and looked up at him.
Although Zhang Jingheng’s eyesight was no longer very good, he could still vaguely see the little girl standing before him, and could sense her studying him even more clearly.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Zhang Jingheng asked.
Wei Youyou raised her head and said, “Do you want to go to our home? Master keeps lots of birds and animals at home. There’s Big Brother Crow, Big Brother Weasel, Big Brother Rabbit, Little Brother Field Mouse…”
She counted on her fingers as she spoke, and Zhang Jingheng laughed as he listened.
“I know. I’ve been there before.”
Chu Xun called Wei Youyou back so she would not speak carelessly.
Zhang Jingheng smiled and said, “This girl is interesting.”
Afterward, Chu Xun went to pay respects to Liu Yuqing.
The simpler the funeral, the better. There was no need to make it too grand.
Chu Xun’s impression of Liu Yuqing was not especially deep. He only remembered that she had the bearing of a wealthy family’s young lady.
Her words and actions, including how she ate and drank tea, had all been dignified.
Zhang Jingheng stepped forward and felt around for the memorial tablet, especially the place where Liu Yuqing’s name was carved. It had already been rubbed somewhat pale.
Clearly, he often did this.
“She passed peacefully enough. She didn’t suffer much,” Zhang Jingheng said. “I hope when I go, it can also be like that.”
As he spoke, he turned toward Chu Xun and asked, “When Duke Wei passed, you were by his side, weren’t you?”
Chu Xun gave a sound of acknowledgment.
“I was.”
“Did he ask you anything?”
Chu Xun looked at Zhang Jingheng and more or less understood what he wanted to ask.
“He did.”
“Did you tell him?”
“I did.”
“Was he happy?”
“He was.”
Zhang Jingheng laughed.
“That’s good. I imagine that in this lifetime, nothing could have made him happier than that.”
They ate at the Chancellor’s residence. Zhang Jingheng paid out of his own pocket and had the cook buy many fine ingredients to prepare an extremely sumptuous feast.
The entire Chancellor’s residence had never seen so many dishes before.
In the past, the old Chancellor usually had at most two dishes and one bowl of rice for a meal. Occasionally, he would ask the cook to make a bowl of seaweed egg drop soup, and that was already considered rather extravagant.
Wei Youyou circled the table three times and still could not find anything she liked.
Most of it was meat. There were also some special ingredients. There were vegetarian dishes, but they were all cooked.
After learning that she liked eating raw vegetables, Zhang Jingheng was slightly surprised and had people select some vegetables that could be eaten directly, wash them clean, and bring them over.
Wei Youyou tasted a few bites and judged, “Not nasty.”
The meal was nearly finished when Zhang Shaoheng finally arrived late.
He had now been transferred to the Ministry of Works as Minister, and his official duties were busy. Being able to spare time to return for a meal was already rare.
The main reason was that Chu Xun had arrived, and Zhang Jingheng had sent someone to notify him. This face had to be given.
After eating two bites of food and drinking a cup of wine, he hurriedly left again.
Zhang Jingheng sighed.
“Jing Kingdom looks prosperous, but in truth, there are many places that need repair. He is very busy. Sometimes I may not see him for three to five days. Thinking about it now, after I left home to take office back then, perhaps my father and mother felt the same.”
“They were better off. At least they had relatives to visit,” Chu Xun said.
“That is true.”
Zhang Jingheng nodded, then asked, “The weapons I mentioned in the letter?”
“I brought them. How many do you want?”
“How many do you have?”
“Several thousand.”
Zhang Jingheng did not speak for a long time. His cloudy eyes fixed on Chu Xun.
After a long while, he slowly exhaled.
“Luckily, Jing Kingdom is not in a chaotic age, and you have no ambition to contend for supremacy.”
Otherwise, who could stop him?
Zhang Jingheng knew very well how powerful those divine weapons were.
He had once personally wielded one and killed his way into the imperial palace.
No particularly high cultivation was needed. With a casual slash, anything could be cut apart.
When weapons became powerful to a certain extent, the strength of the individual was no longer especially important.
Chu Xun said, “But it will be very difficult to take all these swords away at once. They won’t be able to withstand them.”
Zhang Jingheng gave a sound of acknowledgment.
“We don’t need that many either. Too many would instead make the soldiers rely on the sharpness of their weapons and become lazy in daily training.”
Divine weapons would eventually be used up. Zhang Jingheng knew very clearly that Chu Xun had brought them only out of consideration for him.
Once he died, Chu Xun would no longer need to give anyone face.
Even if the emperor personally went to beg him, he might not obtain anything.
So divine weapons could be used as deterrence, but the foundation of protecting the country’s territory would always lie in people.
Having lived for so many years, Zhang Jingheng saw many things with extraordinary clarity and foresight.
Chu Xun did not object. Since he had brought the swords, naturally Zhang Jingheng could use them as he wished.
Now, gathering metal essence qi was no longer as troublesome for him as before. If not for the need to deal with underworld deities, he would not even need to store these things.
Afterward, Zhang Jingheng had someone notify the Ministry of War to send people.
Chu Xun followed his instructions and first took out one hundred swords. Half would be sent to Mobei, and half to the southwest.
At the court session several days later, many civil officials once again advised withdrawing troops from Mobei to rest and recover.
They did not say much about the southwest. After all, there were mountain forests there, easy to defend and hard to attack, a natural barrier.
Mobei’s terrain was complex, but relatively flat, easy to attack and difficult to defend.
If Jing Kingdom wanted to hold Mobei, it would require vast manpower, resources, and military strength.
And if Yue Kingdom farther away attacked, even several times more strength might not be enough to stop them.
Too much energy would be consumed, and the gains would not be worth the losses.
Emperor Yongxiang did not speak. Zhang Jingheng also did not speak. The court session ended under this strange silence.
Between ruler and minister, there was still some tacit understanding.
Not supporting, yet not opposing, was giving face to the late emperor and the Chancellor.
But after Mobei was taken, that might not remain true.
After all, the crown prince was not the Seventh Prince of those years. Although he had grown up under Zhang Jingheng’s guidance, he had always maintained his independence.
Emperor Changning and Zhang Jingheng had fought side by side, and the old Chancellor’s merit in helping him ascend had earned unconditional trust and support.
After Chu Xun learned of these things, he shook his head inwardly.
Jing Kingdom was likely about to decline.
From the founding emperor’s era until now, Jing Kingdom had lasted nearly a hundred years.
During this time, several good emperors had appeared. Even Emperor Chongming, who had been especially suspicious, had at least been assisted by famous ministers like Tang Shijun and Zhang Jingheng.
By Emperor Yongxiang’s era, there were already not many people in court worth heavy use.
Most ministers were merely echoing the emperor’s thoughts and were too conservative.
It was not that conservatism was bad, but considering Jing Kingdom’s environment, if you did not fight outward, sooner or later others would fight their way in.
Moreover, only one Tang Shijun had appeared in a hundred years. Would there be another in the next hundred years?
But these things had little to do with Chu Xun. The rise and fall of dynasties was normal.
What he cared about was people.
The metal-essence longswords were rushed to the border to guard the new cities.
Zhang Jingheng stayed in the Chancellor’s residence every day, but all kinds of important military documents were still sent to him for review.
Chu Xun did not understand these matters, so he took Wei Youyou out shopping.
They looked here and there, enjoying a rare period of leisure.
Several more days passed, and Zhang Jingheng’s health worsened.
While reading official documents, he fainted directly.
The imperial physician came to diagnose him and wrote a prescription, but judging from his expression, the situation was likely poor.
No one understood better than Chu Xun. Every day, he looked at Zhang Jingheng’s life flame.
It weakened day by day and could go out at any time.
Yet it continued to hold on stubbornly, like a giant tree about to rot and collapse, relying only on a bit of bark to remain standing.
The emperor, princes, nobles, and officials all came to visit one after another.
Princess Yunshu, Xiao Shuying, was naturally no exception.
When she arrived at the Chancellor’s residence, Zhang Jingheng had just drunk ginseng soup.
Naturally, it was the old ginseng Chu Xun had brought. Only, after drinking it too many times, its effect was no longer so good.
The steward hurried in and reported, “Princess Yunshu has arrived.”
After drinking ginseng soup, Zhang Jingheng’s complexion improved slightly. Leaning against the bed, he said to Chu Xun, “You haven’t met Princess Yunshu yet, have you? I imagine you want to ask what the immortal-like figure she met was like.”
Chu Xun indeed wanted to ask about that immortal-like figure.
Before long, the steward invited Xiao Shuying in.
Zhang Jingheng still leaned against the bed and said, “This old minister is unwell, so I will not rise to greet Your Highness.”
“Chancellor Zhang need not be so courteous. I came this time…”
Before she finished speaking, Xiao Shuying froze as she looked at Chu Xun standing beside the bed.
“Yo!”
Wei Youyou cried out.
Chu Xun was also slightly startled. So this was Princess Yunshu?
Having returned to women’s clothing, Princess Yunshu now wore a white palace dress. Her brows and eyes were like a painting, pure and beautiful beyond the dust.
Zhang Jingheng was still waiting for the princess to continue speaking, but after a moment, he heard a shocked cry.
“Senior!”
The old Chancellor froze. Xiao Shuying quickly walked over, and even Qin Shuang, the maid following behind her, looked excited.
She had thought the immortal-like person she met by chance would never be seen again in this lifetime.
Who could have imagined she would meet him again in the Chancellor’s residence?
Chu Xun was also somewhat surprised. Only then did he suddenly realize that Xiao Shuying’s father was the already-deceased Emperor Changning.
No wonder she had wanted to use flood dragon bone to extend his life.
Such a thing was useless whether to immortal cultivators or ordinary people. Even to a transformed monster spirit like Wei Youyou, it was the same.
So after obtaining the flood dragon bone, Chu Xun had directly tossed it into the carriage compartment and suppressed it with metal essence qi to avoid attracting unclean things that should not come.
Only python-type monster spirits and ghosts craving yin qi would desire it.
As for human emperors, there had always been the saying that they were true dragon sons of heaven.
Whether flood dragon bone could truly extend an emperor’s life was unknown, but from a certain perspective, it did seem reasonable.
Seeing Xiao Shuying walk over with an excited expression, Chu Xun did not know whether to laugh or cry.
After searching for so long, it turned out the so-called immortal-like figure was himself.
Xiao Shuying came before him and immediately bowed, showing not the slightest air of a princess.
The steward of the Chancellor’s residence watched with his jaw nearly dropping.
When Chu Xun had first arrived, he had spoken with Zhang Jingheng without regard for age or status, making others break out in cold sweat.
That situation could barely be explained as relatives not caring too much about etiquette.
But now, even the princess was so respectful toward this man. Why?
Even Zhang Jingheng sensed something unusual and asked, “Your Highness, this is…”
Xiao Shuying explained joyfully, “Chancellor Zhang, this is the senior I told you about. I never expected to meet him here again.”
Zhang Jingheng was slightly surprised. He turned his head and asked Chu Xun, “You can kill ghosts and evil spirits?”
Chu Xun did not deny it.
“I can.”
Zhang Jingheng slowly inhaled. He knew Chu Xun was powerful, but he had not expected him to be this powerful.
“In that case, the princess’s sword was also given by you?”
“Yes.”
At the mention of the sword, Xiao Shuying immediately remembered another purpose for coming.
She quickly had Qin Shuang come over. This straightforward maid held the sword with both hands.
Xiao Shuying said, “Chancellor Zhang, I have brought the sword Senior gifted me. Would you like to see it and determine whether it is stronger or weaker than the weapons forged by the person you mentioned?”
As she spoke, she raised her chin slightly, as though proud of owning such a sword.
Zhang Jingheng laughed when he heard this.
“There is no need to look. The one himself is standing right here, so what is there to compare?”
Xiao Shuying froze, then reacted and asked in astonishment, “The person Chancellor Zhang mentioned is Senior?”
“Who else could it be?” Zhang Jingheng chuckled. “I told you there is no one beneath heaven who can forge weapons better than him.”
When Xiao Shuying looked at Chu Xun again, the astonishment on her face grew even stronger.
She had heard about the divine weapons many times.
But she had not expected it to be the same senior she had met by chance on her way back to the capital.
Yet upon careful thought, this was actually the most reasonable explanation.
How could there be so many extraordinary people and strange masters beneath heaven? Perhaps many of them were one and the same.
With the previous matter as groundwork, conversation became much easier.
Especially after learning that Senior was a relative of the old Chancellor, Xiao Shuying immediately became extremely interested in the village called Pinecone Village.
Two dukes, one extraordinary person, and many military generals.
Even another duke, Tang Shijun, had once served in the local area.
What kind of place could nurture so many outstanding figures?
Xiao Shuying’s beautiful eyes rested on Chu Xun, revealing an unusual light.
Or perhaps… it was because such an extraordinary person existed there that so many outstanding figures had been born?
Xiao Shuying had great martial talent. At only nineteen, she was already a second-rank martial artist.
Of course, this also had something to do with her imperial background, which meant she never lacked resources.
After witnessing Chu Xun’s methods, Xiao Shuying became interested in immortal cultivation.
To be precise, no one beneath heaven was uninterested in immortal cultivation.
Calling wind and summoning rain, overturning rivers and seas, eternal youth and immortality.
Every phrase stirred the heart.
Unfortunately, although Chu Xun had Foundation Establishment cultivation and Five Elements Dao arts, he alone had no way to teach others immortal cultivation.
Xiao Shuying felt somewhat disappointed and assumed only that Senior looked down on her talent and was unwilling to teach her.
Chu Xun could not explain this properly, so he could only let her guess on her own.
Even Zhang Jingheng curiously asked what ghosts and evil spirits looked like, and whether they were truly as terrifying and frightening as storytellers described.
“Ghosts are nothing more than human souls. Whatever people are like, ghosts are like. The so-called frightening appearance is merely an illusion caused by yin qi invasion. Those with abundant blood and qi, and upright hearts, are difficult for ghosts to harm in the slightest. Those whose blood and qi have declined or are insufficient, and whose hearts already contain ghosts, are naturally easily affected.”
Zhang Jingheng listened for a long while.
In the end, he truly could not maintain his energy and fell into a deep sleep.
Xiao Shuying had also stayed in the Chancellor’s residence for a long time and needed to return to the palace.
Since they knew each other, Chu Xun naturally saw her off.
As they walked outside, Xiao Shuying asked, “When will Senior return?”
“I’m not certain. Perhaps in a month or so, perhaps in a few days,” Chu Xun said.
Xiao Shuying asked again, “Then may I go with Senior to see Pinecone Village?”
Beneath the entire sky, all land belonged to the ruler.
A dignified princess of Jing Kingdom wanted to visit a small village, yet she was asking for someone else’s consent.
If princes and ministers saw this, their jaws would drop, and they would feel it was a great breach of etiquette.
But neither Chu Xun nor Xiao Shuying felt there was any problem with these words.
“If you want to go, naturally you may,” Chu Xun said.
A little more smile appeared on Xiao Shuying’s face.
“Then when Senior leaves the capital, please do not forget to send word, so we may travel together.”
“You’re not staying in the capital to observe mourning?” Chu Xun asked.
Xiao Shuying shook her head.
“Observing mourning does not necessarily have to be done in the capital. Besides, I do not like the people here.”
Upon returning this time, she had clearly felt that the atmosphere in the imperial palace had changed greatly.
Those brothers and sisters she had once known all had their own thoughts.
Some tried to please the emperor, hoping for rewards.
Some avoided suspicion and refused to go out, seemingly afraid something might happen.
It was as though after Father passed away, everyone changed overnight.
Xiao Shuying had little pursuit of wealth and glory. She preferred the martial world’s clear grudges and free spirit.
Chu Xun subconsciously used his qi-gazing ability and looked over. He saw royal noble qi about half a chi tall around Xiao Shuying’s body, pressed tightly against her like a thin layer of golden gauze.
Her limbs and chest were indigo-blue, like a sword being unsheathed.
This was martial-world qi, clearly separate from the royal noble qi and not interfering with it.
What surprised Chu Xun was that beneath these two different forms of qi, there was actually a layer of deep ink-purple hidden within.
Still, thick, and carrying unquestionable authority.
When Emperor Yongxiang had visited the Chancellor’s residence to see Zhang Jingheng, Chu Xun had specifically observed the emperor’s aura.
It was almost identical to the hidden ink-purple layer on Xiao Shuying.
This was imperial qi!
Jing Kingdom had always honored men above women, and the inner palace was not allowed to interfere in politics. Why would Xiao Shuying carry imperial qi?
Could it be that this princess would become emperor in the future?
Seeing that Chu Xun’s gaze was somewhat unusual, Xiao Shuying could not help feeling nervous and asked, “Senior, why are you looking at me this way? Is something wrong with me?”
Chu Xun hesitated slightly, then asked, “Has Your Highness ever thought about what you want to do in the future?”
Without hesitation, Xiao Shuying said, “Naturally, to be a daughter of the martial world. Living freely and unrestrained is more comfortable.”
These were her true thoughts. She was no longer accustomed to life in the imperial palace.
Compared with its golden splendor, she preferred the wind and rain of the martial world.
Flashes of blades and shadows of swords, deceit and schemes, they never let one stay idle.
Chu Xun did not ask further. Present thoughts were only thoughts.
Judging from fate and fortune, the future might not necessarily follow one’s current thoughts.
He was merely curious whether a princess who only loved the martial world could actually become emperor.
And under what circumstances, by what method, would she become emperor?
After that, every few days, Xiao Shuying would come to the Chancellor’s residence.
She claimed to be visiting the old Chancellor, but it would be more accurate to say she came to see the extraordinary senior.
Chu Xun was someone without many material pursuits. He only liked eating and drinking.
Wei Youyou was the same, except she also liked little trinkets that looked pretty and fun.
So Xiao Shuying brought the best food and toys in the entire capital one after another, changing them constantly.
This deliberate attempt to curry favor was obvious even to a fool.
The princess cared more about the Chancellor’s relative than about the Chancellor himself. The people of the Chancellor’s residence gradually began to grow used to it.
Thus it came to the end of the first year of Yongxiang, when good news arrived from Mobei.
The last king of the horse tribes had been killed deep in the desert. Along with him, eight thousand main horse tribe soldiers had been defeated, and in the end, only a little over one thousand escaped.
Although they had not been completely annihilated, the horse tribes had lost their royal family and were now a pile of loose sand, no longer worth fearing.
When the news returned, the entire country was thrilled.
The horse tribes that had harassed the border for years had finally been dealt with.
Unfortunately, Emperor Changning had not lived to see this moment.
As for Zhang Jingheng, who received the news, he could not attend court to accept Emperor Yongxiang’s praise, nor did he see the covert glances exchanged by those civil officials.
This great merit would go to the military generals, making their reputation even stronger.
How could they, as civil officials, be willing?
The war absolutely could not continue!
At this moment, Zhang Jingheng had reached his final moment.
He forced himself to listen to the good news, then collapsed.
If Chu Xun had not caught him quickly, he likely would have died on the spot.
The steward was frantic and had people hurry to call Zhang Shaoheng, who was still at the Ministry of Works, as well as the grandsons.
Looking at Zhang Jingheng’s gradually extinguishing life flame, Chu Xun picked him up.
The white-haired old Chancellor’s body was as light as a child.
The Water Minister status governed winter storage.
The final bit of life flame was sealed by Chu Xun with divine ability.
Not everyone had arrived. What needed to be entrusted had not yet been entrusted. He could not die just like this.
Before long, Zhang Shaoheng and the others rushed in.
Seeing his old father lying on the bed with his life nearing its end, his grandson Zhang Mingyu, who was in his thirties, shed tears and was just about to open his mouth and cry out when he heard a shout.
“No noise. Has everyone arrived?”
He looked over in astonishment. Seeing Chu Xun sitting beside the bed, displeasure immediately rose in his heart.
He knew this was a relative of the Zhang family, but this was the Chancellor’s residence. As a relative, what right did he have to point fingers and shout orders?
Zhang Mingyu currently served as a principal in the Ministry of Rites. He immediately stepped forward, intending to rebuke him.
Chu Xun swept his gaze over. His gaze struck Zhang Mingyu like a heavy hammer.
This principal of the Ministry of Rites only felt his body stiffen. The one sitting before him was no longer a person, but an insurmountable mountain range.
Merely looking up at it brought unimaginable pressure.
It was as though if one sentence or one word was wrong, that mountain would press down.
Under this heaven-collapsing, earth-shattering pressure, his face reddened, and he tremblingly withdrew the step he had just taken.
Zhang Shaoheng still knew a little about Chu Xun’s background. This relative was not an ordinary person. Even the princess was extremely respectful toward him.
So he stepped forward, cupped his hands, and asked, “How is Father now?”
Chu Xun said, “Once he speaks, he will leave after three to five sentences. Who else in the family has not arrived?”
The divine ability of winter storage from Water Minister status could not last forever either.
Especially for a person of great merit like Zhang Jingheng, the time was even shorter.
Zhang Shaoheng quickly turned to look at the children and grandchildren. Most had arrived. Only two daughters married far away and a younger brother serving as an official elsewhere had not returned.
Chu Xun said, “We cannot wait for them. After listening to his final words, everyone must leave the Chancellor’s residence.”
Zhang Shaoheng remained silent for several seconds, then still forced himself to ask, “Why must we do that?”
“If you don’t leave, you will die,” Chu Xun said.
At the same time, in the capital City God Temple.
The City God’s golden body trembled.
“Jing Kingdom’s Chancellor, Zhang Jingheng, has reached the end of his lifespan. Civil Judge, make a trip.”
The Civil Judge appeared with a judge’s brush in hand and cupped his hands.
“As commanded!”
The capital City God was determined to obtain the soul of such a person of great merit.
Even if he could not be used within Jing Kingdom’s borders, exchanging him with orthodox gods of neighboring countries would also be good.
Inside the Chancellor’s residence, Zhang Shaoheng and the others were all shocked by Chu Xun’s answer.
If they did not leave, they would die?
Who wanted to kill them?
And why?
Chu Xun did not answer. Only his powerful aura pressed down until these people could hardly breathe.
At this moment, Zhang Jingheng’s life flame began burning once more. Chu Xun placed three ginseng slices into his mouth, and only then did Zhang Jingheng barely open his eyes.
The final vitality made his eyes somewhat clearer, and he barely saw everyone standing in the room.
Perhaps knowing his time was short, he opened his mouth and said, “Heng’er, come here.”
Zhang Shaoheng quickly stepped forward, his eyes reddening as he half-knelt on the ground.
“Father, your son is here.”
Zhang Jingheng said weakly, “There are three matters you must handle. First, after I leave, listen to Chu Chen in all matters. You must not disobey him.”
Zhang Shaoheng glanced at Chu Xun, then lowered his head and answered, “Yes. Your son will remember.”
“Second, properly settle the soldiers in Mobei and the southwest, especially those who sacrificed themselves. Their families must be cared for. Do not chill their hearts.”
Zhang Shaoheng still lowered his head.
“Your son will remember.”
“Third…”
Zhang Jingheng’s voice weakened further.
“After completing the first two matters, everyone in the Zhang family must resign from office and return to Pinecone Village.”
Zhang Shaoheng abruptly raised his head, his face full of shock.
Not only him, everyone else in the room looked baffled.
They could still understand the first two matters. One was to let this man named Chu Chen help handle the funeral affairs. Since he was a relative from their hometown, perhaps there were certain rules they did not know.
The other was to settle the soldiers after the war and maintain Jing Kingdom’s stability, which was also reasonable.
But the third matter was something they could not understand no matter what.
Why did everyone have to resign from office and move to some village they had never visited before?
Zhang Jingheng did not look at them again. Instead, he raised his head slightly and opened his lips.
Chu Xun knew what he wanted to say. With a sigh, he said, “If they truly return, I will ensure their safety.”
A faint smile appeared on Zhang Jingheng’s face. He murmured, “Teacher… Your student has finished everything he needed to do…”
In the next instant, his life flame completely extinguished, and his hand fell powerlessly.
Zhang Shaoheng saw this clearly and immediately wanted to step forward and cry out.
Chu Xun sensed that the aura of the underworld deity had already arrived nearby and immediately said, “Everyone leave the Chancellor’s residence. No one is allowed to come near. Go!”
He waved his hand. Without waiting for Zhang Shaoheng and the others to agree, their vision blurred.
When they regained clarity, they were already standing outside the Chancellor’s residence.
Everyone’s faces were filled with shock. Only now did they understand that the person the old Chancellor had entrusted his funeral affairs to was no ordinary man.
The Civil Judge brought a ghost official to the Chancellor’s residence. There were only two underworld deities.
After all, this was the capital City God’s territory. There was no need to be too cautious.
With his strength, even a fierce fiend would be directly crushed by his aura.
Moreover, the one they had come to receive this time was a person of great merit, not some resentful soul or vengeful ghost.
However, just as they entered the Chancellor’s residence and before they saw Zhang Jingheng’s soul, a voice sounded.
“I will take his soul away and arrange for his reincarnation. I ask the underworld deities to give me some face.”
The aura of the Foundation Establishment stage was revealed without concealment.
The Civil Judge froze slightly, feeling that this aura was somewhat familiar.
When he came closer and saw the man sitting beside Zhang Jingheng’s corpse, a few white strands growing at his temples, he remembered.
“You are the one who previously came to visit the Department of Rewarding Good?”
“Indeed.” Chu Xun nodded. “I have old ties with the Zhang family. I agreed to help him reincarnate and not enter the underworld to take office.”
The Civil Judge shook his head.
“It is not that I refuse to give face, but bodies of merit are all judged by the City God. Neither you nor I can decide. If you wish to discuss this, please follow me back to the underworld and negotiate with the City God in person.”
How could Chu Xun be willing to go? Once he truly reached the underworld’s territory, would anything still be up to him?
“What if I refuse to go?” he asked.
The Civil Judge seemed to understand his meaning. His voice darkened.
“All human souls fall under the jurisdiction of the underworld. You are a cultivator who has attained the Dao. Do you intend to disrupt the heavenly order?”
“In any case, no matter what you say, I must take this soul away!” Chu Xun said.
“Then you may try,” the Civil Judge said, his voice even gloomier. The judge’s brush in his hand was already raised.
Chu Xun did not want this fight. If it could be solved peacefully, he would not mind saying a few pleasant words.
Unfortunately, judging from the Civil Judge’s stance, words alone were clearly useless.
As expected, if one could not win a fight, one could not win at the negotiating table either.
Without further hesitation, Chu Xun moved with a thought.
The carriage compartment that had been tied in the Chancellor’s residence stable for several months exploded with a boom.
Thousands of metal-essence longswords rose into the air and arrived before him in the blink of an eye.
At the same time the carriage compartment exploded, Wei Youyou leaped up and grabbed the flood dragon bone, then jumped toward the direction outside the city.
This was Chu Xun’s instruction, to keep the flood dragon bone safe and wait outside the city.
As Wei Youyou swiftly jumped out of the Chancellor’s residence, she turned back to look.
“Master will be fine, yo!”
Chu Xun had brought five thousand seven hundred and seventy-three swords from Pinecone Village. These were all the swords he had accumulated over the years.
Zhang Jingheng had taken one hundred, leaving five thousand six hundred and seventy-three.
Every longsword contained one strand of metal essence qi.
Such a great number caused the Civil Judge’s expression to change slightly.
“Metal-essence magic artifacts?”
But he did not fear them. He only looked at Chu Xun, his voice cold to the extreme.
“Do you think that by relying on these metal-essence magic artifacts, you can disregard the heavenly order? This is the capital, under the jurisdiction of the capital City God. I advise you not to make a grave mistake and destroy the cultivation you worked so hard to obtain. Hand over the person of merit to us, and the underworld will naturally arrange everything properly for him.”
Chu Xun no longer wasted words with him. With a thought.
Half of the five thousand seven hundred and sixty-three metal-essence longswords exploded directly in midair.
Nearly three thousand white sword shadows pierced toward the Civil Judge.
Metal essence qi filled the sky. Wherever it passed, everything was shattered by its sharp force.
Zhang Shaoheng and the others standing outside the Chancellor’s residence turned deathly pale, shocked beyond belief.
Longswords flying through the air, sword shadows dancing like dragons and serpents—this was a grand scene they had never seen before.
“Retreat! Move farther away!”
Zhang Shaoheng, who had not understood earlier, finally understood why they had to leave the Chancellor’s residence.
If they had stayed behind, they truly would have died!
Even Xiao Shuying inside the imperial palace sensed something unusual.
The sword blade wiped with cotton cloth trembled, as if about to fly out of her hand.
But after shaking a few times, it quickly quieted again.
She frowned.
“What happened?”
At that moment, the maid Qin Shuang hurried in.
“Princess, terrible news! Chancellor Zhang has passed away!”
Xiao Shuying abruptly stood, then looked toward the sword that had just been trembling nonstop, immediately thinking of the senior she respected so much.
Could this be related to Senior?
She quickly said, “Hurry, go to the Chancellor’s residence immediately!”
The Chancellor’s residence was not very far from the imperial palace. The two of them had excellent movement skills, and not long after leaving the palace gates, they heard a thunderous boom.
Following the sound, they saw thousands of longswords rising into the air, blocking out the sky.
Like a silver-white dragon, they tore through the sky and crashed heavily into the Chancellor’s residence.
Fear appeared on Qin Shuang’s face, and her little face turned pale.
“What is that?”
Xiao Shuying’s eyes, however, shone brightly.
“It must be Senior’s method!”
But what kind of opponent could force Senior to use such an earth-shaking technique?
This was the capital. Who dared cause trouble in the capital?
Without hesitation, Xiao Shuying moved even faster toward the Chancellor’s residence.
“Princess!” Qin Shuang was startled and quickly followed.
When the two crossed one street, they saw more than half of the longswords explode.
White sword shadows flew out, their power even greater than before.
Qin Shuang immediately cried out, “Heaven-Reliant Sword!”
A strange look flashed in Xiao Shuying’s eyes. After Chu Xun handed her the even better Flying Stream Sword, she had tested its power.
Its sword qi swept everywhere, unstoppable.
At that time, she had suspected that this senior had some connection to the Heaven-Reliant Sword her master had obtained.
Now, seeing the white sword shadows, she immediately confirmed it.
She still remembered Master once saying, “Whether first-rank martial artists or Innate Grandmasters, they are nothing more than this in the martial world. Truly powerful figures do not reveal mountains or water.
Perhaps you will merely go to drink a bowl of tea and witness their peerless bearing.”
Thinking about it now, he must have been describing this senior.
At the time, she had felt Master was exaggerating. Innate Grandmasters were already unrivaled supreme experts beneath heaven. How could they deserve only the words “nothing more than this”?
Now, it seemed her own experience had been too shallow.
One could even say Master’s evaluation seemed extremely small compared to the methods she was witnessing now.
Such bearing, how many people beneath heaven could possess it?
Only this one!
Inside the Chancellor’s residence, the Civil Judge held his judge’s brush and casually swept it.
Large amounts of ink splashed out, blocking the metal essence qi one by one.
Aside from lacking the suppressive power of the City God’s seal, he could compare to a prefectural City God in every other aspect.
This was the strongest enemy Chu Xun had ever encountered.
Aside from the Civil Judge’s own strength, there was also the pressure brought by the capital City God.
Just as the Civil Judge had said, the capital was the capital City God’s own territory.
How could Chu Xun run wild on someone else’s land without bearing pressure?
Even metal essence qi that could kill an ordinary ghost official with a single strand did not have much effect before the Civil Judge.
When strength reached a certain level, quantity was no longer the key factor in deciding victory.
Chu Xun hesitated no longer and detonated all the remaining longswords.
Endless metal essence qi rushed over, and the pressure on the Civil Judge instantly increased.
He shouted sharply, “You dare run wild in the capital just because you have many magic artifacts? How bold!”
Even more ink splashed out, but metal essence qi was one of the most fierce and unyielding powers in the world.
Even the Civil Judge, facing the assault of several thousand white sword shadows, found it somewhat hard to fight with only two hands.
The ghost official beside him could not withstand it and was pierced through by dozens of strands of metal essence qi, releasing large amounts of black smoke.
Seeing this, the Civil Judge became furious and directly threw out his judge’s brush.
“Invite the Platform of Good and Evil!”
The judge’s brush drew a talisman in the air, and the talisman released dense yin qi that connected with the underworld.
A tall stone platform appeared indistinctly. When the metal essence qi struck it, all of it shattered.
The stone platform seemed to possess spirituality. Strange patterns spread outward and bound Chu Xun with lightning speed.
Chu Xun only felt as though his soul was about to be pulled away. Even the faint, nearly formless spirit of the Songliu Water God loosened somewhat.
The Platform of Good and Evil could distinguish right from wrong and investigate everything from one’s life.
But Chu Xun’s secret was firmly locked away. It was not something the Platform of Good and Evil could uncover.
Because of this, however, the Platform of Good and Evil shook violently, forcing Chu Xun to spit out a mouthful of blood.
If it continued shaking like this, even if his secret was not dragged out, he would be shaken to death alive.
If it could not determine good and evil, then it would grind him away, and there would be no need to determine anything.
“These old undying things, even their magic artifacts don’t follow reason!”
Chu Xun could not speak and could only curse inwardly.
The Heavenly One Divine Water Beads moved with his thoughts, manifesting from nothing and splashing over the Platform of Good and Evil.
This water essence, which greatly restrained underworld magic artifacts, caused the Platform of Good and Evil’s shaking to slow.
The Civil Judge looked on and snorted coldly.
“You truly have many tricks. No wonder you are so arrogant. Unfortunately, this is the capital, not a place where you can run wild!”
As he spoke, the judge’s brush moved again, and the talisman it outlined became even darker.
The form of the Platform of Good and Evil became clearer as well.
After the water essence was shaken away, it immediately scattered.
Chu Xun’s heart sank. He had thought the underworld deities of the capital would be powerful, but he had not expected them to be this powerful.
He had fought the Civil Judge under a prefectural City God before.
Although the Mirror of Good and Evil had been somewhat mysterious, it had not been this formidable.
This Platform of Good and Evil seemed to be only a blurry projection, not its true body, yet it was already so powerful.
If the true body came, how terrifying would it be?
With his current cultivation, he was indeed no match.
At the very, very least, he would need to advance his cultivation one more time.
After reaching the Golden Core stage, both his cultivation and the power of his spells would increase by more than ten times. Perhaps then he would have some confidence to face it.
But now, he did not have many chances.
Chu Xun gritted his teeth inwardly. Now, he could only hope that the old Daoist would act.
The old Daoist had once promised that when Chu Xun encountered a life-and-death crisis, he would act once on his behalf.
Although Chu Xun did not know how high the old Daoist’s cultivation was, judging from what had happened at Chen Guizhou’s house before, he was at least far stronger than himself.
At that moment, Zhang Jingheng’s soul drifted out from his body.
People of great merit did not have muddled souls.
Seeing Chu Xun battling the Civil Judge, Zhang Jingheng was slightly stunned.
Especially when he saw Chu Xun bound by the Platform of Good and Evil and shaken until he spat blood, Zhang Jingheng’s face immediately darkened.
He asked no questions. Instead, he looked at the Civil Judge and shouted loudly, “What demons and monsters dare act recklessly in the capital of my Jing Kingdom!”
The words “act recklessly” rose like overlapping mountains, transforming into an invisible force that pressed toward the Civil Judge.
Caught off guard, the Civil Judge was struck so hard that smoke rose from his mouth.
He abruptly turned back and saw Zhang Jingheng’s entire body shining with resplendent golden light, like a god.
“He has actually achieved complete merit!” the Civil Judge cried in shock.
There were also levels among merit.
Someone like Tang Shijun possessed great merit of a higher level and could be received into the underworld to take office, with a position that would not be low.
But Zhang Jingheng’s case was complete merit.
In theory, this was almost equivalent to becoming an immortal on the spot.
The soul of such a person was a merit golden body, far more powerful than a jade tablet.
His words followed law, truly achieving what it meant to punish with speech and condemn with the brush.
The Civil Judge quickly explained, “Chancellor Zhang, please do not misunderstand. I am the Civil Judge under the capital City God, here to receive you into the underworld.”
Zhang Jingheng looked at him coldly.
“Before this Chancellor, a tiny demon dares impersonate an underworld deity!”
On behalf of Heaven, I punish you!
Die!”
[End of Chapter]
Comments 1