Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 329 Huangting Daojun!

The next moment, a figure slowly emerged from the mist.

Zhu Yijun stared intently, his mind instantly calming down, his eyes blazing with wild joy: "Immortal Dao! You've finally arrived!"

"I have witnessed what Your Majesty has done."

Chen Zhan, shrouded in mist, was indistinct and his voice was flat and emotionless, revealing no emotion.

"It's good to see! It's good to see!"

Zhu Yijun spoke urgently, with a hint of seeking credit, "I have already issued an edict of self-reproach, exonerated the Grand Secretary, and cleared the name of the Qi Family Army! I have obeyed your orders without the slightest negligence!"

"Ah."

Chen Zhan's voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority, "However, His Majesty still has an unfulfilled promise. When will it be fulfilled?"

"promise?"

Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment, then raised his head with a blank expression: "What promises have I not kept? The Immortal Path refers to... the compensation for the fallen soldiers?"

Chen Zhan remained silent amidst the fog, tacitly acknowledging the matter.

Zhu Yijun sighed heavily, his face showing undisguised bitterness, and his tone became weak:
"Alas, Immortal Dao, you are unaware that the Ming Dynasty's treasury is already depleted. The disastrous defeat at the Battle of Sarhu has resulted in the loss of countless military funds and provisions, making matters even worse. Even if I wished to allocate funds for the families of the deceased, it would be like a skilled cook without rice to make a meal!"

He kept his head down, not only out of fear that Chen Zhan would refuse to treat him, but also out of concern for the future of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty today is indeed in turmoil and no longer enjoys its former glory.

Chen Zhan remained silent for a long time, and the fog seemed to thicken even more, making his figure even more indistinct.

Zhu Yijun's heart was in his throat. He lowered his head and dared not look up, only daring to steal glances out of the corner of his eye, fearing that this immortal figure would turn away in anger and cut off his last chance of survival.

In his dream, Zhu Yijun could actually hear his own heartbeat.

After a long while, he cautiously looked up and saw the figure still standing in the mist. His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was slightly relieved, but he still dared not urge him.

"What does Your Majesty desire?" Chen Zhan's voice finally rang out again.

"I beg for my life! I only beg the immortals to save me! If they can cure my incurable ailment... and extend my life by a few years, ten years would be a divine grace!"

Zhu Yijun's eyes suddenly lit up, knowing that they had finally gotten to the point. He disregarded the dignity of an emperor and spoke urgently with a pleading tone.

"Is that all?" Chen Zhan's voice remained calm.

Zhu Yijun was taken aback, thinking to himself, "Is that all? Isn't that enough? An opportunity that ordinary people crave is so commonplace in the eyes of immortals?"

Despite his inner grumbling, he dared not be the slightest bit negligent, and his tone was firm and resolute:
"If I recover, I will work diligently to govern the country, reduce taxes and levies, and restore the people's livelihood! After accumulating national strength for a few years, I will surely drive the Later Jin traitors out of Liaodong and restore peace to the border people!"

This was half true and half false. He did have such thoughts, but they were just his delirious ramblings on his sickbed, and even he himself didn't have much confidence in them.

No sooner had the words been spoken than an aged voice suddenly came from the darkness of the mist, hollow and somewhat deafening.

"Why wait for years to accumulate strength? The old Taoist priest will send one person to help you, not only restoring your health and extending your life by ten years, but also enabling you to conquer Liaodong within a year!"

"Go and find a man named Huangting Daojun."

Zhu Yijun was shocked. He opened his mouth, but for a moment he forgot to speak. He turned his head sharply, but the person who had spoken had disappeared.

He suddenly woke up from his dream.

Zhu Yijun was covered in sweat and quickly checked his physical condition.

I feel a bit lighter now; the heaviness in my lungs and the stickiness in my throat have lessened.

"It really works! It really works! You're not lying to me!"

"The path to immortality, truly the path to immortality."

"What did the Immortal Dao say at the end? Right, right, Huangting Daojun!"

Zhu Yijun was talking to himself inside the palace, and the eunuchs outside the palace heard him and stood up to listen to the proclamation.

"Come on, come on!"

Zhu Yijun's shouts were urgent and loud. The eunuchs waiting outside the hall dared not delay and scrambled into the hall, kneeling down with a thud.
"Your Majesty, your servant is here!"

The old emperor, ignoring the cold sweat on his brow, pointed outside the palace and urgently said, "Quickly! Post a notice for me, search the whole country for one person!"

The eunuch quickly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, I'll go right away. May I ask who Your Majesty is looking for?"

"This person is named Huangting Daojun, and he must be a Taoist priest."

Zhu Yijun spoke rapidly and urgently: "This matter must be handled quickly. Let the Eastern Depot take the lead and find it as soon as possible!"

"Slave understands!"

The eunuch dared not ask any more questions. His Majesty had only given him a title, without mentioning his appearance or age. This matter was going to be very difficult to handle.

But that was the business of the Eastern Depot, and had nothing to do with him. He didn't dare to hesitate for a moment, kowtowed, and hurriedly withdrew, then turned around and passed on the imperial edict.

That night, the order to find the missing person was delivered to the Eastern Depot's office.

Currently, the position of Director of the Eastern Depot is vacant, and although there are many mid-level officials, Xu Long is the leader.

Xu Long submitted the case file for the extermination of the demonic cult yesterday. Saintess Zhen Yue is still reviewing it, and we will soon have all the information about the Nanyang demonic cult.

He also promised the emperor that he would personally go to Southeast Asia to wipe out the entire heretical sect, leaving no one alive, to avenge Wang An. Upon hearing Xu Long's report, the old emperor was greatly pleased and full of pride.

Therefore, the warrant on Xu Long's body was not taken back. The Eastern Depot is still under Xu Long's control, and he has almost hollowed it out, replacing key positions with his own people.

Xu Long, clutching the hastily written edict, frowned and addressed the crowd below in a deep voice:
"Huang Ting Daojun? Has any of you heard of this person?"

Below the hall, Shen Tong, Pei Qian whose injuries had just begun to heal, and several chief executioners from the Eastern Depot looked at each other and then shook their heads.

"Reporting to the Commander, I have never heard of it."

Shen Tong spoke first, “The Ming Dynasty reveres Taoism, and there are countless Taoist temples in various places, but very few dare to call themselves ‘Taoist Lords’. I have never seen the title of Huangting Daojun in the records.”

Pei Qian nodded in agreement, then hesitated for a moment before adding, "Commander, I have indeed never heard of Daoist Huangting, but..."

"Speak directly!"

Xu Long glanced at him, his tone impatient.

Pei Qian no longer hesitated and asked directly, "Does the Commander still remember what the Demonic Sect was called when it was first established more than five hundred years ago during the Northern Song Dynasty?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Long was taken aback, then a flash of understanding appeared in his eyes:

"You mean... the Huangting Sacred Teachings?"

"Exactly!"

Pei Qian nodded: "Although the Demonic Sect called itself the Sun and Moon Holy Sect in the Ming Dynasty, it was because it changed its name many times to avoid trouble. When it was first established, it was called the 'Yellow Court Holy Sect', and the first Demonic Lord called himself the Yellow Court Holy Lord."

Because so much time has passed, many people have forgotten the name of the Huangting Sacred Sect, and mostly remember it as the "Demon Sect" or the "Sun and Moon Demon Sect".
Those who belong to the demonic cult all call themselves the divine cult or the holy cult.

The name "Huang Ting" has almost disappeared over the course of several hundred years.

Everyone's hearts stirred, and the hall fell silent instantly.

If this is related to the Huangting Sacred Teachings of five hundred years ago, then this Huangting Daojun is definitely not just an ordinary Daoist.

The others were fine; they thought His Majesty was going to issue an arrest warrant for Huang Ting Daojun.

However, Shen Tong and Xu Long knew more about the changes in the old emperor these days, and how, despite searching for so long and turning the capital upside down, they had found no clues about the other relic.

That means we can only stay within the palace.

Chen Zhan's words, "Go ask the old emperor," still echoed in my ears.

Xu Long was filled with doubts, but dared not delay the imperial order.

"Regardless of whether this Huangting Daojun is related to the Huangting Holy Sect, His Majesty is pressing us hard, so let's proceed according to the imperial decree first."

"Yes, sir!"

The crowd below responded in unison.

Shen Tong and Pei Qian exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes. This matter was far-reaching, concerning not only His Majesty's will but also possibly related to the Yellow Court Holy Teachings of five hundred years ago. It could not be taken lightly in the slightest.

Before nightfall, the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already mobilized their forces.

Yellow paper notices were firmly pasted on the city wall notice boards, the city gate towers, and the entrances of government offices. Under the candlelight, the characters were clearly legible.

The next day, as dawn broke, the people of the capital bustled about and immediately noticed the notices posted everywhere.

Upon closer inspection, everyone looked surprised.

The notice only stated that they were looking for "Huang Ting Dao Jun," without any description of his height, appearance, or clothing.

Only when the rewards and rules are clearly written down:
[Anyone with information about Huang Ting Daojun will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver; anyone who can bring him to the emperor will be rewarded with five hundred taels of silver. You may post a notice at the yamen or the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division to provide clues. If the clues are found to be false, the person will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane.]

This rule is not superfluous. In previous years, when missing persons notices were posted in the capital, there were always ruffians who would impersonate clues to cheat for rewards. The government punished many people for this, and some even lost their lives because they couldn't withstand thirty strokes.

Over time, no one dared to act recklessly anymore. One had to be careful when posting notices. If one did not post notices but only provided clues, even if they were wrong, one would not be punished. This was also a consideration by the government to gather more information.

The notice was posted until the afternoon, and various government offices received the news one after another, but only two people dared to come forward to provide clues, and neither of them dared to answer the call to arms.

The two men gave similar accounts, both saying that they had recently seen a Taoist priest wandering around the Confucius Temple area in the south of the city. However, they did not know the priest's name, nor could they say whether he was the "Huangting Daojun" sought in the notice.

The guards on duty dared not neglect their duties and quickly recorded the two clues, reporting them to the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard who were in charge of the matter.

Just as the government office was busy verifying the clues, a figure in a green robe slowly walked towards the notice posted at the entrance of the yamen.

The person who arrived was Chen Zhan, who had changed his clothes.

He wore a clean and crisp blue Taoist robe, his long hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin, and he had a long beard under his chin. His eyebrows and eyes were indifferent, and he exuded a sense of otherworldly elegance, which was completely different from ordinary wandering Taoists.

The constables standing guard beside the notice were keeping a close watch on their surroundings. When they saw someone walk straight up to the notice, their eyes narrowed and they were about to step forward to ask questions.

But then the Taoist in the green robe raised his hand and tore it off the yellow paper notice from the wall with a clean and decisive motion.

"Wait a moment, Daoist!"

The constable's heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting as he asked, "Does the Taoist priest have any clues about the Yellow Court Taoist Lord?"

Chen Zhan slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping calmly over the yamen runners, his tone indifferent:
"I am Huangting Daojun."

(End of this chapter)