Chapter 30 The Master of Prosperity

Li Hong woke up from his cultivation and opened his eyes to see his brother staring at him.

“How do you feel, Fourth Brother?”

Li Ye believed that a grandmaster would not be so despicable as to lie to him. However, Li Hong’s change determined his subsequent instructions.

“Very good!”

Li Hong had cultivated top-notch internal cultivation techniques since he was young. There was a martial arts expert who tempered his muscles and bones, and he had taken many pills. At this moment, after being soaked in spiritual energy and combed, his physique and strength had greatly increased in a short period of time.

“After Senior saves you, find a place to cultivate and break through to the Connate realm, then find an opportunity to avenge our clansmen!” Li Ye reminded, “If the Zhao family is also protected by a grandmaster, there’s no need to take the risk to take revenge. Change your name and continue the Li family’s bloodline.”

“Big Brother!”

Even though Li Hong was young, he understood the meaning behind it and could not help but cry out.

“The men of the Li family can bleed and die, but they can’t shed tears!” Li Ye scolded Li Hong for being petty and repeatedly reminded him to focus on cultivation in the future and to be careful of the Uniform Guards.

“Thank you, Senior, for saving my life and imparting the technique. Regardless of whether the Li family descendants prosper or decline, they will respect you as their parents and as ancestors!” Li Ye brought his three younger brothers to the ground and kowtowed.

“There’s no need to be so formal.” Zhou Yi asked, “When do you want me to rescue him from the Sky Prison? Do you have any plans?”

Li Ye said, “Senior, wait for a few days. When the Imperial Court gives the verdict, it’s very likely that we’ll be exiled to the border. If bandits attack on the way, Senior can take advantage of the chaos and save Fourth Brother.”

Zhou Yi nodded slightly. Doing this would not attract any attention, and Li Hong would have a much safer time cultivating in the future.

“How can you be sure that the imperial court will exile you? In order to eliminate your family, they abandoned their own son!”

Li Ye said, “Emperor Hongchang wants to be a wise ruler and leave his name in history. He definitely won’t be criticized for mistreating his meritorious officials. Spare the Li family’s life and obtain a good reputation for benevolence, then send the mountain bandits to exterminate them. It’s the best of both worlds!”

Zhou Yi said, “If I didn’t see what happened to the Lu family, I wouldn’t have known Emperor Hongchang is indeed the ruler of prosperity!” During the reign of Emperor Chongming, the Fengyang Kingdom almost collapsed, and most of the territory fell into the hands of Great Yong and the rebels. In the 18 years of Emperor Hongchang’s reign, he had already swept away all decadence and restored the prosperity of the country.

Li Wu had contributed greatly to this, but war was not the only thing the country had. Emperor Hongchang could handle the mess left behind by Emperor Chongming and could be considered a monarch who was truly capable of governing a country. “The dog emperor himself isn’t much, but his judgment of people is extremely accurate. One is Li Wu, and the other is Hongchang.”

Zhou Yi recalled Emperor Chongming’s arrangements before his death. He had secretly nurtured Li Wu and schemed to kill Prime Minister Long. He had also ordered the Third Prince to ascend the throne. He had made excellent arrangements step by step.

“Why is such a smart person obsessed with cultivation?”

“Senior..” Li Ye saw Zhou Yi’s expression change and thought that he had missed something. He added, “If Emperor Hongchang judges the Li family to be beheaded, I’ll have to trouble Senior to kidnap Fourth Brother on the way.”

“Why not in the Sky Prison?”

Now that Zhou Yi was the oldest prison guard in the Sky Prison, he had survived three generations of wardens. It was easy for him to replace one person.

Li Ye said, “The four of us brothers are a thorn in Emperor Hongchang’s side. If we make a mistake in the prison, it will definitely affect the officials in the prison. Therefore, it won’t be good if we affect Senior’s seclusion.”

Zhou Yi looked at Li Ye deeply for a moment and nodded without saying anything. Such a clear-minded person could do well anywhere. It was a loss for him to be born into the Li family.

The aftermath was indeed within Li Ye’s expectations.

The three departments of the Imperial Court held a trial. Due to the conclusive evidence of the rebellion, a verdict was quickly given.

The Crown Prince was deposed as a commoner and could not leave the Imprisoned Palace for the rest of his life. The rest of the accomplices were either exiled or beheaded. Among them, the Li family, as the main supporter of the rebellion, was deposed of the title of the Duke of the country and will execute nine generations!

After hearing the verdict, Emperor Hongchang lay on the bed and called for Zhang Zhengyang.

“The Li family has done a great favor for the country. Even if Minister Li betrayed me, I can’t betray him. I’ll change the punishment to exilement. I can’t let Minister Li have no successor!”

These words spread through the imperial court, and the officials shouted that His Majesty was merciful! When the commoners heard this, they had to admit that the current emperor was a benevolent ruler who cared about old ties.

March of the same year. The imperial court sent the imperial guards to escort the 137 members of the Li family to the northern border.

Zhou Yi had already applied for leave half a month in advance. The reason was that he was visiting a friend in the martial world and the date of his return was uncertain.

Warden Liu approved it sensibly and said earnestly that he would keep the salary and dividends of his job and told him to remember to come back no matter how long he went out. After all, it was difficult to find an expert who did not fight for power!

Mount Longevity. Chongming Tomb.

Zhou Yi’s dharmic powers penetrated the soil and gently tapped the top of the tomb. He waited for a long time without hearing a response.

“Did Huang Yuniang have an accident? Emperor Chongming is in charge of a country and is famous for plundering all kinds of treasures. It’s not necessarily that he doesn’t have a real cultivation method. The blood-refining spirit weapon technique is one of them! It’s a little unsafe to rashly send Huang Yuniang into this tomb!”.

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment before leaving Mount Longevity. He would not try to enter the tomb. There were many methods related to cultivation in the mortal world. If there were array formations or restrictions in the tomb, one would die if they were not careful.

“I’ll come back to investigate after my cultivation is complete!”

Zhou Yi bought a horse and headed north along the official road. For the first time in more than twenty years, he left the territory of the Divine Capital and saw the people and scenery along the way. He was naturally happy. As the wise man said, read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles!

He took shelter from the rain in the deserted mountain temple. With the help of the bonfire, he told a few ghost stories to the traveling merchants. They were clearly too scared to sleep, but they urged him to say the rest. He also encountered heroes of the martial world who would fight to the death if they disagreed.

Zhou Yi cheered loudly and even kindly rewarded them with a silver ingot. In the end, the two heroes did not know what was good for them. They thought that they had been insulted and charged over.

“How can I be a fighter?” Zhou Yi shouted and fled.

He even saw a valiant and extraordinary woman in the martial world who fell in love with Zhou Yi at first sight and said that she would not marry anyone but him.

Zhou Yi had always heard Old Bai brag about how carefree the people of the pugilistic world were, so he wanted to experience it for himself. So when he followed the woman to a house, before anything good could happen, seven or eight black-haired men jumped out.

“Stinging kidneys.. Bah, robbery!”

“Old White, you harmed me!” Zhou Yi looked up at the sky and sighed. He had no choice but to kill all the thieves.

As he walked and stopped on the way, Zhou Yi did not forget his goal. He was constantly paying attention to the imperial guards.

“They’re almost at Snake Mountain!”

Zhou Yi shook the reins and the horses galloped. Mountains appeared at the end of the plain. He rode for another twenty miles.

The mountain range in front of them was clearly visible, like a winding green python that crossed the sky.

Snake Mountain!

This mountain range was continuous, and there was only one mountain path among them. After crossing over would be the northern border.

The Fengyang Kingdom used Snake Mountain as a natural barrier. Even in the later years of Chongming Dynasty, the Yong army was unable to break through.

“The plentiful mountains and deep forests are a good place to silence them! The Northern Frontier Army has many generals promoted by Li Wu, if Emperor Hongchang doesn’t make a move soon..”

Zhou Yi tied the horse to the foot of the mountain and stuck a Light Body Talisman on himself before flying towards Snake Mountain. His body was as light as a feather. With a light tap on the ground, he rose into the air and crossed more than a hundred feet before slowly landing.

“With Qinggong and talismans, it’s already 30% as good as flying!”

About an hour later.

Zhou Yi climbed up the nameless mountain and looked into the distance. The mountains were like the sea, and the setting sun was like blood. The mountain wind blew through the forest, and the green waves rolled. It was majestic. Eagles flew across the sky, and tiger roars came from the mountains.

Zhou Yi looked down at the mountain path below. The imperial guards and prison vehicles were winding for a mile or two, and he could faintly hear cries.

“In this situation, it’s not beautiful to kill someone!”