57: The Prince of Yan is plotting a rebellion? (First order required)

Chapter 57: Prince Yan's Rebellion? (Asking for first subscriptions)

Under the dim lamplight, Zheng Yi was carefully examining several secret letters.

There were a total of seven secret letters, all of which contained details about purchasing massive amounts of weapons and armor from Yu Jian Villa.

Or rather, evidence.

Prince Xian had already been sent away by Zheng Yi, and this moment was precisely the other major matter that Little Gui Zi spoke of.

Zheng Yi was well aware of the matter regarding people purchasing weapons and armor from Yu Jian Villa.

The rebel army of Qing Province, Heavens Mandate Sect, White Lotus Sect, and even Wu Country outside Black Mountain Pass had all previously purchased weapons from Yu Jian Villa.

After all, Yu Jian Villa had been passed down for over three hundred years, and its ancestors were famous for sword casting.

Aside from casting swords, the villa also possessed superb metallurgical techniques.

As long as it was willing, it could transform from a sword-casting estate into an armory for forging other wartime weapons in an extremely short period of time!

Sabers, spears, axes, and even crossbow bolts, siege crossbows, and so on!

This was something Zheng Yi absolutely could not tolerate.

He also did not know why the Great Yu Dynasty imperial family had allowed a martial arts faction capable of forging wartime weapons to live for so many years.

If it were him, he would have already taken control of Yu Jian Villa!

However, this time's buyer was completely different.

Prince Yan!

This Prince Yan, named Zheng Zongzhao, was the fourth younger brother of the late emperor and also the imperial uncle of Emperor Zhengyong.

Back then, this person had vied with the late emperor for the imperial throne, but due to a single careless misstep, he failed, letting the imperial throne slip from his hands.

However, because his mother was the empress at the time and knelt to beg the late emperor for mercy, his life was spared, and he was sent to his fiefdom to assume his domain.

Originally, he had long been stripped of his military and political power, and could only be confined within his fiefdom to grow old and await death.

Who would have thought that at this moment, he would actually take advantage of the turmoil in the six northern prefectures to secretly cultivate factions, purchase weapons and armor, and even draw over numerous Sects in the northern lands.

What on earth... was Prince Yan planning to do?

The letters in his hands were the incriminating evidence of Prince Yan purchasing massive quantities of weapons from Yu Jian Villa.

Among them, three thousand sets of iron armor, twenty thousand sets of leather armor, and one thousand siege crossbows caused Zheng Yi to look sideways in surprise.

Zheng Yi furrowed his brows slightly and said, "Who else knows about this matter?"

Little Gui Zi hurriedly said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, only Your Majesty and this servant know about this matter; even Commander Ma does not know."

"You might lack manpower in your hands, so I will grant you five hundred thousand taels of silver and order you to establish the Eastern Depot. You may take my imperial decree to go to any department in the capital to recruit personnel."

"Your primary tasks will be to monitor all officials, supervise the Jinyi Guard, and guard the armory!"

Little Gui Zi's eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly knelt and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you for Your Majesty's trust! this servant will definitely remain utterly loyal; even if Your Majesty orders this servant to die, this servant will never frown even a bit!"

Monitor all officials, supervise the Jinyi Guard, and guard the armory!

As Zheng Yi's personal eunuch, Little Gui Zi naturally knew what these three powers represented.

Today's Jinyi Guard had already faintly become a major power organ of the Great Yu Dynasty court.

Its subordinates and spies practically spread throughout the entire capital.

Even if it was what kind of undergarment a certain official wore today, the Jinyi Guard could investigate it clearly.

The officials of the entire capital had already reached the point of turning pale at the mere mention of the Jinyi Guard.

As for guarding the armory, that was even more of an immensely lucrative position.

He, Little Gui Zi, was very clear about what was inside that armory: immortal treasures!

"Get up." Zheng Yi nodded with satisfaction. "I am giving you a task. This is your Eastern Depot's first mission, and you must complete it!"

"Understood!"

"You, send men to Yan, and investigate all of Prince Yan's movements clearly."

Zheng Yi instructed, "Especially the prices of supplies like salt and iron in the city. Once the prices are higher than usual, immediately contact the local garrison troops..."

"No, Prince Yan dared to secretly purchase massive amounts of weapons; it seems the garrison troops in Yan have long been roped in and corrupted by him."

"Transfer three Golden Token Hall of Offerings experts from the Hall of Offerings to go with you. Once you discover any unusual movements from Prince Yan, capture him... execute him on the spot!"

Little Gui Zi suddenly raised his head, then hurriedly lowered it and said, "Understood!"

"Wait a moment, it's still unstable..."

Zheng Yi called out to stop Little Gui Zi again, and quickly made his decision.

"Have Old Chen make a trip there. As long as there is verified evidence of treason, let Old Chen personally make a move and kill Prince Yan!"

"Understood!"

Although the forces Zheng Yi could currently deploy were not few, Chen Liancang was the only Martial Artist in the Innate Realm.

Prince Xian was a prince after all; letting him do the job of assassination, and assassinating his own imperial elder brother at that—only a fool would do it.

When a vassal king committed an offense, even if it was the crime of treason, he should be taken to the capital for interrogation, and then decided upon by the emperor.

This kind of order to directly choose to assassinate a vassal king was simply... unheard of!

However, these things were completely nothing to Zheng Yi.

He was not the real Emperor Zhengyong anyway; the title of imperial uncle held no meaning for him whatsoever.

What he wanted was merely the stability of Great Yu!

What of Prince Yan?

Presumably with Old Chen making a move, as long as Prince Yan did not have trump cards like Innate Realm Martial Artists or Cultivators under his command, he would undoubtedly die!

The next day.

The emperor issued an imperial decree.

In Wu Province, Yu Jian Villa harbored private weapons and armor, committing the crime of treason, and its entire household was executed!

At the same time, over three thousand former blacksmiths and sword smiths of Yu Jian Villa were detained by the wolf-like Jinyi Guard from the villas, shops, weapon shops, and blacksmith shops under Yu Jian Villa's name, sent to the capital, and demoted to official slaves.

Moreover, because a large number of newly defected martial arts figures from the Jinyi Guard and Hall of Offerings participated in the battle to annihilate Yu Jian Villa, it spread through the entire Great Yu Martial Forest like a storm.

"Yu Jian Villa was leveled by the Jinyi Guard in a single night!"

"I saw it with my own eyes! An immortal master made a move, bringing down endless heavenly thunder and blasting the entire mountain of Yu Jian Villa into dregs!"

"This old lady saw it too! First, a dozen huge immortal airships flew over, and then came countless heavenly thunders..."

"Over ten thousand people in Yu Jian Villa were blasted into minced meat!"

"That heavenly thunder was also extremely poisonous! I was several miles away, and I could still smell it..."

"There definitely are immortal masters who defected to the imperial court; Your Majesty has found true immortals!"

"How terrifying...!"

Countless martial arts figures fervently discussed the battle of Yu Jian Villa's annihilation, and quite a few Martial Artists quietly headed to the original site of Yu Jian Villa to take a look.

What greeted their eyes was a hillside blown to smithereens, filled with large craters everywhere, and even the ground charred black by explosions.

Only at this moment did they truly believe it.

As for those three thousand-plus sword smiths and blacksmiths, more than ten days later, they were sent into the capital.

After petitioning Emperor Zhengyong, an order was issued.

"All sword smiths, blacksmiths, and others of Yu Jian Villa are demoted to official slaves, exiled to the armory to be slaves. Anyone who dares to escape will be executed without mercy!"

The addition of over three thousand sword smiths, blacksmiths, and others greatly accelerated the armory's speed in manufacturing gunpowder and Thunderbolt Mines.

Especially the metallurgical Secret Manual; Minister Zhan Liang and his group quickly mastered the Advanced metallurgical technology after studying it.

Subsequently, they developed new steel, which also greatly enhanced the manufacturing speed of the Red Barbarian Cannon!

With the arrival of the special imperial examination and the implementation of selecting imperial concubines for Your Majesty, a great many people suddenly flooded into the entire capital.

This caused the public security pressure of the entire capital to increase significantly.

Even a portion of the imperial guards was detached to guard the city and maintain order in the capital.

Nanyue County.

Out in the fields, a caravan consisting of Baiyue tribesmen was winding its way toward the capital.

This was the contingent presented by the Baiyue Clan with the imperial concubine candidate, which was Yuechan.

As natives of Nanyue County and one of the ethnic minorities that actively surrendered to Great Yu, the status of the Nanyue Tribe in the Great Yu Dynasty was very special.

Many ministers in the imperial court looked down upon them, yet they had to win over the Baiyue Clan.

As for Yuechan, the imperial concubine candidate presented by the Baiyue Clan, she did not need preliminary selections; after her identity was verified, she could be sent directly into the imperial palace.

Her status would far exceed that of ordinary concubine candidates, and her lowest rank upon entering the palace would be a Consort.

There was even a possibility of her being bestowed the title of Noble Lady!

Inside the carriage, a young girl who looked to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, adorned with a large amount of silver jewelry and resembling an elf, was lifting the curtain and looking outside with great interest.

Beside her sat another lively maid.

"Elder Sister, have we walked out of South Yue? I'm so nervous!"

Yuechan smiled and said, "Of course, the High Priest has already promised me that from now on, I will be the Great Yu Emperor's woman!"

"The Great Yu Emperor..."

The maid Ani's eyes lit up as she said, "I wonder if the Great Yu Emperor is handsome? Is he tall? Is he fair?"

"How would I know?"

"And also, I heard the Great Yu Emperor will marry several hundred women; he's even more formidable than Uncle Clan Chief!"

"Hmph!"

Yuechan let out a soft huff and said, "My man can only like me alone!"

"If push comes to shove, I'll use the Love Gu to control him and make him love only me..."

"Love Gu? Bu-But he is the Great Yu Emperor! Didn't the old priest say we must..."

"Halt!"

At that very moment, a sound of hooves came from the back of the contingent, along with a great deal of shouting.

The maid Ani's expression immediately became excited. "It's General Xu! Elder Sister, it's General Xu coming to find you!"

As she spoke, she hurriedly poked her head out. "General Xu! We're here, we're right here~!"

Soon, a fully armed troop of soldiers swept past the carriage team, blocking them.

At the lead was a stalwart man clad in deep black armor.

This man was around twenty-odd years old, with steady eyes and a faintly visible scar on his cheek.

Upon seeing Yuechan's carriage, his eyes burned with passion as he said, "Yuechan! Come out! I have something to say to you."

"General Xuanwu."

After a few breaths, Yuechan gracefully stepped down from the carriage and said, "I have already been betrothed by the old priest to your Great Yu Emperor. Please do not pester me anymore."

"The emperor? That sickly ghost, how is he worthy of you!"

Xu Xuanwu's eyes burned with fervor as he said, "Yuechan, agree to marry me, okay? I am willing to give everything for you!"

"As long as you nod, I will immediately take you away to wander the ends of the earth. Wherever you want to go, I will take you!"

"Aren't you afraid of your emperor?"

"Emperor?"

Xu Xuanwu gritted his teeth and said, "As long as my father is here, that emperor can do nothing to me."

"Right now, the entire Great Yu Dynasty relies on my father. Who dares to stop me?!"

Yuechan shook her head, pursing her lips as she said, "General Xuanwu, you already have a wife and three concubines. Forgive Yuechan for not being able to marry you."

"The person I want to marry is the Great Yu Emperor!"

"You..."

At that moment, another troop of soldiers and horses caught up.

The leading burly man was none other than Shuyue, the Clan Chief of the Baiyue Clan.

"General Xu! What are you doing stopping my Baiyue Clan's carriage? Hurry back, this old man still wants to drink with you, hahahaha..."

"Shuyue..."

Xu Xuanwu gritted his teeth. With his father absent, he was simply no match for Shuyue.

After a bout of entanglement, he could only watch helplessly as the carriage escorting Yuechan traveled further and further away.

He was so furious his eyes split at the corners, yet he was utterly helpless.

"Emperor... Emperor brother-in-law... If I were the emperor, what then?"

...

Inside Qiankun Hall.

Zheng Yi sat cross-legged in front of a giant cauldron made entirely of precious jade.

The giant cauldron was grayish-white overall, standing over a person's height and about a zhang wide, making it extremely precious.

Moonlight poured down within the courtyard like flowing water, illuminating the entire ground and Zheng Yi as if they were draped in a layer of moon-white frost.

Even the surface of the giant cauldron seemed to develop patches of frost.

This giant cauldron was presented by the Baiyue Clan of Nanyue County and was named the 'Black Jade King Cauldron'. It was made from special local jade of Nanyue County and had the effect of warming and nurturing the Bloodline.

In Nanyue County, this item had another use: cultivating Gu insects!

Placing Gu insects into vessels made of black jade could keep them energetic, restrain their aura, and yield even better cultivation results.

As for Zheng Yi's Black Jade King Cauldron, it was presented by Shen Xing along with that Moonlight Gu.

At this moment, it had become the best container for Zheng Yi to cultivate the Moonlight Gu—or rather, the Blood Moon Gu!

Inside the Black Jade King Cauldron, more than a dozen Moonlight Gu were intertwined, biting and slaughtering each other all to vie for a drop of vital essence blood that Zheng Yi had just dripped into the cauldron!

Cultivating the Blood Moon Gu!

The previous Moonlight Gu mother worm had long since reproduced, laying seventeen worm eggs in the first batch.

According to records in the 《East Cloud Spirit Insect Blood Sacrifice Method》 and the Gu refinement secret techniques of Nanyue County, spirit insects of the Gu insect category won by quantity.

However, there had to be a mother worm, a king worm, or a few leader-level spirit insects among them to command the insect swarm's attacks.

What Zheng Yi was doing today was cultivating the king worm within the insect swarm!

While cultivating the king worm, this method could also nurture the spirit insects' ferocity and killing intent, making this group of Moonlight Gu even more ferocious.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

Seventeen Moonlight Gu were engaged in fierce slaughter and devouring, relying on their tiny mouths to bite their own kind and swallow them in large gulps.

While slaughtering each other, they also wriggled toward the direction of Zheng Yi's vital essence blood, rolling their entire bodies in the essence blood and continuously absorbing its power.

At the same time, rays of moonlight shone upon them, slowly seeping into their bodies to heal their injuries and replenish the moonlight essence within them.

Finally, after a bout of slaughtering and devouring, out of the seventeen Moonlight Gu, only eleven survived.

The other six Moonlight Gu all became nourishment for these eleven Moonlight Gu.

Their bodies became plump and white, looking just like a dozen silkworms about to spin cocoons.

The difference was that a faint red silk thread had appeared on their bodies, revealing their uniqueness.

Seeing this situation, Zheng Yi unhesitatingly dripped another eleven drops of vital essence blood, which fell onto their bodies.

The power mixed with the vital essence blood and moonlight essence was gradually absorbed by these eleven Moonlight Gu.

Eleven drops of vital essence blood equaled eleven years of lifespan!

Ordinary Cultivators simply couldn't have such grand audacity to use their own lifespan to cultivate Moonlight Gu.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak~"

Suddenly, one of these eleven Gu insects emitted a series of shrill cries.

It abruptly turned its head and bit down on a nearby companion, tearing into it with large bites.

The companion being bitten also let out a shriek, turning around to bite back at this Moonlight Gu.

Seeing this, the other Moonlight Gu actually crawled away to other places one after another, continuing to absorb the vital essence blood and moonlight essence.

"Eh?"

Zheng Yi's eyes lit up slightly. Instead of stopping this Moonlight Gu, he looked at it with great interest.

"The other Moonlight Gu have eaten almost enough, and having absorbed enough moonlight essence and essence blood, they will fall into a short-term 'digestion' state."

"This state makes them like well-fed cats, needing to sleep for a while to digest the various energies within their bodies."

"Vital essence blood, moonlight essence... I didn't expect this Moonlight Gu to still have the time and Physique to slaughter!"

"It seems this Gu insect's potential is quite extraordinary. Perhaps it's just like the mother worm..."

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the commotion of the two Gu insects biting each other finally stopped.

In the end, the Gu insect that had been bitten was completely devoured by this Gu insect.

Along with those two drops of vital essence blood, they were also absorbed by it.

The size of the entire insect far exceeded other ordinary Moonlight Gu, being about the size of a cherry tomato.

On its moon-white body, that blood-colored silk thread could also be clearly seen.

As for the other nine Moonlight Gu, whether in size or the blood-colored silk thread, they were clearly weaker than this Gu insect.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak~"

Suddenly, this Moonlight Gu slightly raised its head and spat out a thumbnail-sized Moon Blade that shot out fiercely.

Amidst the piercing sound of breaking air, this Moon Blade slammed into the edge of the Black Jade King Cauldron, instantly slicing off a thumbnail-sized piece of black jade!

"Good fellow!"

Zheng Yi was also surprised, thinking that this Moonlight Gu had mastered the Moon Blade attack so quickly?

Apart from ordinary biting attacks, the Moonlight Gu could also use the moonlight essence stored within its body to spit out Moon Blades.

The more moonlight it absorbed, the more magical power contained within its body, and the stronger the power of the Moon Blades it shot out!

"Squeak, squeak, squeak?"

Suddenly, a blood-colored flying insect about the size of an infant's fist crawled out from Zheng Yi's left shoulder.

This flying insect looked like a moth, but it was blood-red.

Moonlight shone upon its body, and a layer of moon-white halo surfaced on its surface.

Blood Moon Gu, mother worm.

This was the first Moonlight Gu mother worm cultivated by Zheng Yi, and now it had grown to this extent.

He had experimented before: the Moon Blades emitted by the Blood Moon Gu were blood-red.

With a single strike, it could easily pierce through three-inch-thick steel!

If such power hit a person, it would be enough to kill an Innate Realm Martial Artist!

As soon as the Blood Moon Gu mother worm appeared, the nine Moonlight Gu inside the Black Jade King Cauldron obediently lay flat within it, their heads pressed tightly against the jade cauldron.

As for that particular Moonlight Gu, it actually raised its head, its small eyes staring fixedly at the Blood Moon Gu mother worm.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

The Blood Moon Gu mother worm spread its wings, turning almost into a phantom as it landed inside the Black Jade King Cauldron, slapping that Moonlight Gu down to the ground with a single claw.

This old lady gave birth to you!

You actually dare to glare at this old lady?!

The Blood Moon Gu slapped that Moonlight Gu claw after claw, scaring it into squeaking frantically and crawling everywhere to dodge its old mother's claws.

Seeing this scene, Zheng Yi couldn't help but chuckle. Why did it feel like an old mother disciplining a mischievous child?

"Don't kill it. I still have a use for it."

"Squeak, squeak, squeak...!"

Answering him was a series of shrill screeches from the Blood Moon Gu mother worm.

With a thought, the Yin Yang Treasure Mirror appeared in his mind.

Rows of text also prominently appeared.

[Destiny Master: Zheng Yi]

[Talent: Yin and Yang]

[Lifespan: 24 / 113]

[Cultivation Technique: White Lotus Reincarnation Divine Skill Second Layer (125 / 1000)]

[Hundred Battles Blood Fiend Saber Third Layer (11225 / 100000)]

[Comprehensive Strength: Grade One]

[innate spiritual energy Progress (First Order): 5 / 10]

Because of cultivating the Moonlight Gu, his lifespan was left with only 113 years, making Zheng Yi's sense of urgency become increasingly clear.

"Over a hundred and ten years old, which means I can live another 90 years? That's too little!"

"I've only cultivated a dozen or so Moonlight Gu and it consumed this much. What's going to happen in the future?"

"I still need to have the palace maidens enter the palace as soon as possible!"

With a stir in Zheng Yi's mind, the Blood Moon Gu crawled back onto his shoulder.

His tone also turned icy: "Little bug, this emperor has a task for you."

"Go on, don't let this emperor down."

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

The Blood Moon Gu spread its cicada-wing-thin wings, rising swiftly and shooting out like a streak of blood-red light.

And the target direction of its flight was... Cining Palace!

Aside from being able to fire Moon Blades for attacks, the Blood Moon Gu also had the ability to absorb human vital energy and terrify human hearts.

Since you don't want to keep up appearances with dignity, this emperor will grant you some dignity!

"Your Majesty~"

Liu Chengen walked in briskly: "Greetings, Your Majesty. Which consort's palace will Your Majesty sleep in tonight?"

"Let's go to... Consort Bi's place."

"By the way, I can also check on Noble Lady Zhen, as well as Dongyun Jie and Dongyun Yu."

The White Lotus Reincarnation Divine Skill was still only at the second layer; he needed to continue working hard and achieve a Breakthrough as soon as possible.

"Understood!"