5: Huang Tianzhen, Imperial Preceptor's Residence

Guishan City.

The capital city of Guishan Commandery, with a wall circumference of nearly twenty li and a population of nearly two hundred thousand, was considered a premier city even within the Yu Kingdom.

However, it was now the capital of the "Yellow Heaven Celestial Kingdom."

In the center of the city, within the royal palace converted from the original Commandery Governor's Mansion.

The Leader of the Yellow Heaven Cult, who called himself the Great King, True Man Huang Tian, sat at the head of the great hall. Below him stood dozens of ministers of the Celestial Kingdom, wearing yellow turbans and various styles of clothing.

"Reporting to the Great King, General Qingtian reports that our Celestial Kingdom's Great Army successfully captured Nanlin Commandery City in May and now occupies the entire Nanlin Commandery!"

"Our Celestial Kingdom has already occupied two of the nine commanderies in the world. We have dozens of cities and over a million subjects under our command. Even now, many government officials and prominent families have secretly surrendered to us."

"The Yu Kingdom is on the brink of collapse, and the great momentum of Huang Tian is about to be realized. Your subordinate congratulates the Great King!"

"Congratulations, Great King!!"

The synchronized shouts of congratulations echoed through the great hall.

Everyone looked at True Man Huang Tian sitting at the head with excited eyes, the fanatical atmosphere expanding along with the scorching air.

In less than half a year, they had occupied two commanderies. The process of the uprising was much smoother than they had anticipated!

True Man Huang Tian sat on a Dragon chair cast from gold, his stern, square face still full of majesty and solemnity.

He only gave a faint nod and a "hmmm" in response to his subordinates' congratulations, and then his entire body emitted a dazzling golden light.

A phantom of a golden armor giant, five zhang tall, slowly appeared behind him, its hands suddenly clasping into a fist.

"Boom—!"

"The pseudo-dynasty of the Yu Kingdom is tyrannical and immoral!"

"This King was born in accordance with heaven's mandate and will surely save the people from their suffering. When the pseudo-dynasty's soldiers meet my Huangtian Great Army, they will naturally collapse!"

The powerful sound waves exploded in the air, making many people's eardrums ache and giving them splitting headaches.

But no one felt displeased because of this. Facing the golden armor phantom, there were only more fanatical gazes and roars!

"Trample the Yu Kingdom!"

"Long live Huang Tian!"

"..."

Set against the backdrop of the mountain-like shouts and the golden armor giant behind him, at this moment, True Man Huang Tian indeed seemed to have the Aura of the so-called son of the huang tian supreme god, looking like an immortal god!

...The Yu Kingdom's capital, Yujing City.

As the undisputed number one city of the Yu Kingdom, over five hundred thousand people lived in this giant city, which remained bustling and prosperous day and night.

The rebellion in the south didn't seem to have affected this place; instead, it became a topic of conversation for the common people of the capital in their daily lives.

With the incredibly wide Canglan Great River as a natural barrier and the protection of the immortal Revered Masters from the State Preceptors Mansion, even if all three commanderies in the south were lost, it would not affect the foundation of the Yu Kingdom.

At least, that was what most of the capital's subjects believed.

In the center of Yujing City was the royal palace, covering an area of five li.

The sprawling palace complex appeared pitch black, yet it didn't feel eerie. Complemented by the Black Bird Royal Flags symbolizing the Yu Kingdom's royal family seen everywhere, it instead exuded a thick sense of solemnity and majesty.

In a side hall, the elderly King of Yu sat at the head, and to his lower left sat a plain-looking middle-aged man wearing a red robe.

The King of Yu had a slightly flattering smile on his wrinkled face as he said cautiously:

"Immortal Master Ding, you are now aware of the Yellow Heaven Cult matter. Regarding the State Preceptors Mansion—"

Ding Qing replied with a mocking expression: "Don't worry, they are just a few arrogant Wild Loose Cultivators from the mountains."

"Although Revered Master is in seclusion year-round, as long as our State Preceptors Mansion is here, these rebels won't be able to stir up any big waves."

Hearing this, the King of Yu breathed a sigh of relief: "Phew~, that's good, that's good."

"However, starting from this year, the medicinal materials and resources you submit every year will increase by another twenty percent. Is that a problem?"

The King of Yu's expression stiffened, and he quickly lowered his head, a flash of resentment passing through his eyes.

A Cultivator rebellion has already occurred in the country, and two commanderies of territory have been occupied!

You, the State Preceptors Mansion, usually receive so many offerings, yet now you don't go and deal with the rebel army, but are instead increasing the demands on me. Is there no justice?

But although he was angry in his heart, he didn't dare to show it at all and could only pretend to be calm as he said: "No... no problem!"

"Rest assured, Immortal Master Ding. I will immediately issue a strict order. Every commandery and county will do their best to collect all medicinal materials and spiritual items. There are still some reserves in the national treasury, so I guarantee there will be no shortage."

Speaking of this, the King of Yu's expression was a bit hesitant, but he still gritted his teeth and spoke:

"It's just that the three southern commanderies have many spiritual mountains and blessed lands. More than half of the medicinal materials in previous years were supplied by those three commanderies. If they are occupied by the Yellow Heaven Cult, I'm afraid next year..."

Ding Qing suddenly waved his hand and interrupted the King of Yu: "Alright, just put your heart back in your chest and do your own job. The Yellow Heaven Cult won't be able to cause trouble for much longer."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up and left on his own, not caring at all about the King of Yu, who sat there with a stiff face.

He indeed had the capital to not care.

Ultimately, the State Preceptors Mansion was the true Revered Master of the Yu Kingdom.

The royal family was merely a Puppet pushed to the front to handle worldly affairs and collect cultivation resources for them.

Whenever they were dissatisfied, they could be replaced at any time.

All the surrounding countries were like this, at most just with different names.

For example, the Hunyuan Sect, Xuantian Sect, Celestial Immortal Sect, and so on... The Yu Kingdom's State Preceptors Mansion was not in Yujing City, but on Purple Gold Mountain, fifty li east of the city.

This mountain was not high, only one thousand one hundred zhang, nor was it steep, but it was the core of the entire Yu Kingdom's Dragon vein and the place where spiritual energy gathered.

It could be said that the most suitable place for cultivation in the entire Yu Kingdom was this mountain.

Because it contained the only Spiritual Vein in the Yu Kingdom.

Even if it was only a low-level First-rank Medium Grade Spiritual Vein, it was barely enough for dozens of Qi Refining Cultivators to practice, making it extremely precious in this Dharma-ending age.

"Whoosh~~"

Ding Qing stepped on a huge fiery-red Flying Sword, turning into a streak of light that broke through the sea of clouds, then passed through a thin protective mountain Formation and landed in front of a palace on the mountainside of Purple Gold Mountain.

"Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother, you're finally back. How was the Kang Country Dharma Assembly? Was there anything unusual?"

Two Disciples on duty outside the hall ran over to meet him, their faces full of smiles.

"Hmm."

Ding Qing nodded faintly, put the Flying Sword back into his Storage Pouch, and asked as he walked into the hall: "I'll tell you about the Dharma Assembly later. Has Revered Master still not come out of seclusion?"

"No, in the three years since you left the mountain, Senior Brother, we have never seen the State Preceptor."

"Still not out of seclusion?"

Ding Qing stopped, his brow furrowed as he looked up toward the mountain Peak.

The Disciple following him glanced cautiously at Ding Qing and repeated: "Yes, Senior Brother, but the King of Yu has been coming often these past few years."

"I see. But what's going on with that Yellow Heaven Cult in the south? I've only been away for three years, how could such a mess have arisen?"

Ding Qing's expression was not very good.

"Senior Brother, you already know?"

"Nonsense!"

He gave the two behind him a sharp look and continued: "When I passed through the capital, all the Mortals on the streets were talking about the Yellow Heaven Cult. Am I deaf? I even specifically went to find the King of Yu to get the full story."

"Ahaha, Senior Brother is naturally intelligent, please don't joke."

"You're the one with all the clever thoughts. Go and call all the Disciples over; I have something to say."

"Yes!"

Thirty minutes later.

On the mountainside of Purple Gold Mountain, in the main hall of the State Preceptors Mansion.

"Senior Brother is back."

"Greetings, Senior Brother!"

More than twenty figures gathered here.

Excluding a few who were in seclusion or traveling far away, this was almost all the Cultivators of the State Preceptors Mansion.

It looked a bit meager, but that was the reality.

The end of the Dharma era had arrived, and the concentration of spiritual energy was decreasing year by year. The entire cultivation world was regressing rapidly, and the State Preceptors Mansion naturally couldn't support more Cultivators.

Although life in the State Preceptors Mansion was hard, they at least possessed the three thousand li of territory of the Yu Kingdom and the First-rank Spiritual Vein of Purple Gold Mountain, which was much better than being a Wild Cultivator drifting outside.

"I won't say much else. I've only been away for three years; what is going on with that Yellow Heaven Cult in the south?"

"This—"

Looking at Ding Qing's unhappy face, everyone looked at each other, silent for a moment.

After a few breaths, someone finally spoke cautiously: "Senior Brother, please don't be angry. It's probably just a few Wild Cultivators who popped up from somewhere?"

"Probably?"

"So you don't know?"

Ding Qing raised an eyebrow and questioned in a cold tone: "It's been three years, and you never thought to go and check it out?"

"This... Senior Brother, you may not know, but this Yellow Heaven Cult only rebelled a few months ago. I only recently learned that they have Cultivators."

"Moreover, the spiritual energy outside is so thin, and I am about to Breakthrough to the Late Stage of Qi Refining. I really didn't want to go down the mountain and delay my cultivation."

Hearing this, Ding Qing carefully sensed the person's cultivation level and found that they had indeed reached the Peak of the Middle Stage of Qi Refining. His expression softened slightly, and he gave a cold snort: "I'll consider that you haven't been lazy!"

"Hehe."

Looking around， Seeing that everyone's cultivation level has basically improved， Ding Qing's tone unconsciously softened.。

"The State Preceptor is in seclusion, and with the vast Yu Kingdom relying solely on me and the two Elders for support, it's still slightly insufficient. You must work even harder in your cultivation."

Seeing Senior Brother's expression improve, everyone in the hall quickly bowed: "We will keep Senior Brother's teachings in mind!"

Regarding the Yellow Heaven Cult in the south, they indeed weren't very worried.

Their State Preceptors Mansion had presided over the Yu Kingdom for hundreds of years and had more than thirty Cultivators, including three Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivators, including Ding Qing!

They even had the State Preceptor, a Peak Qi Refining existence, overseeing everything!

Just a few minor mountain Cultivators—once Senior Brother found some time, he could just take a few people south and wipe them out.