Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 289 These calamities are enough to slow them down.
Seeing Lin Jiang's puzzled look, Old Zhao chuckled with delight, then explained as he recalled the events:
“My brother was arrogant and unruly in his youth. He always looked down on unscrupulous people and believed that the world should be under his control, so he ascended to the throne. But as soon as he sat on that throne, he realized something important.”

"What's the matter?"

"He was extremely gluttonous, but had no cooking skills. During the war, he could endure it by relying on his cultivation; but when the dust settled, he wanted to treat himself properly, only to find that no one around him was good at cooking. In a fit of pique, he had no choice but to cook for himself, and ended up making a piece of food that looked like charcoal."

Old Zhao suppressed a laugh, while Lin Jiang couldn't imagine what the scene was like at all.

Could the older brother, who couldn't even do it properly, really squat on the palace roof and roast meat? And he ended up burning the meat?
Although it sounded far-fetched, Lin Jiang inexplicably felt that it was actually quite possible.

"This was originally a small matter; he only needed to find another cook. But in the blink of an eye, he discovered that Daxing had just finished a battle, the national treasury was empty, and he had no ability to make money at all."

"It doesn't matter if you can't make money. Anyway, you can just steal things or barter. But outside of Daxing, there are piles of corpses, and there are a few people farming in the fields. There are even people exchanging children to eat. He hated that tragic scene and felt extremely irritated just looking at it."

"In the end, he found that the country he had conquered was in complete ruins, and the wealth and glory he had longed for were nowhere to be found. This enraged him."

"So he found the Imperial Preceptor, then the Ancestor of Literature, then the Ancestor of Law, and finally me, and discussed it with us."

"I still remember what he said at the time."

"This godforsaken place is awful! I want beautiful women, I want to eat meat! I want to live in the most magnificent and largest mansion! I can't stand those wailing noises anymore, keeping me up all night! You guys, give me some ideas!"

"and then?"

"And then," Old Zhao stroked his chin again, "we've been messing around with things until now, and we've managed to create the capital city and Daxing."

"After tinkering for a while, this old brother found that there were many things in the world that he couldn't do himself. He didn't like doing things that required a lot of brainpower and always said that he was just a barbarian warrior. So he simply recruited talented people from all over the world to help him with the work."

"Later, as more talented people came up to handle things, a few gifted individuals emerged and became stars. However, they also developed their own ambitions, thinking that they might be able to gain even more benefits."

"Then why not deal with it?"

Old Zhao looked at Lin Jiang with a half-smile:

“Since the founding of Daxing, I have killed three people, the Grand Preceptor and his group have killed seven, and my old brother has killed ten. In the end, my old brother’s favorite woman died.”

"Were you retaliated against?"

"No, it was because several calamities occurred in Daxing, and there weren't enough stars to go around. She fought one of them by herself and ended up dying."

Lin Jiang didn't know what to say.

"Later, the old brother's ideas changed. He formed a council with some trustworthy people. Although he was still nominally the emperor, he discussed and resolved matters big and small with us."

"The neutral faction you see in the capital now consists of members of the council, and we are the actual power holders in the capital. Unless Dianxing is tainted by the calamity, we will not easily take action."

At this point, Lin Jiang suddenly remembered something:
"When you were injured, Master Zhao, was it because someone was afflicted by the calamity?"

“I went to visit an old friend who was a lay Buddhist who specialized in studying calamities, but I never expected that when we met, he would be bewitched by that power. Now that I think about it, the fact that the general can use calamity-related methods might very well be the work of my old friend.”

At this point, Old Zhao couldn't help but sigh deeply:

"We thought that as long as our old friend was still around, the situation could be maintained, but a few years ago he also ran into trouble, and some people couldn't hold back anymore."

Lin Jiang nodded, having roughly understood the current situation in Daxing.

The two princes, like puppets, performed energetically on stage.

The so-called general's mansion and civil officials behind them are also irrelevant.

The key is the presence of stars in the General's Mansion and among the civil officials and grand secretaries.

The rest are extensions of their power tentacles.

However, because the real power holders in the capital were still in power, they ultimately did not completely break off relations.

Old Zhao leaned against the edge of the boat, intending to enjoy the sea breeze, but found that his magical creature had completely shut out the sea breeze.

His expression suddenly darkened, and he lightly tapped the bell with his finger. The treasure immediately understood, and a faint light rippled around it, opening a hole in front of Lin Jiang and Old Zhao.

Unexpectedly, the surging wind was trapped in a vortex, transforming into a shrill gale that caused the two men's sleeves to flutter wildly. Just as Old Zhao's brows furrowed in worry, the bell had already deftly closed the barrier.

An unyielding melancholy lingered between Old Zhao's brows, whether from the creature's dullness and lack of understanding, or from recalling old friends and past events:
“My old brother once asked if it was possible to cultivate a true immortal who could transcend heaven and earth. But he breathed on the immortal and summoned delicacies from the mountains and seas, and with a wave of his sleeve, a peerless beauty would appear to accompany him. One person was a world unto himself, and the world was in his grasp. If one could obtain such supernatural powers, one would naturally not need to concern oneself with the troubles and mundane affairs of the mortal world.”

"If such a person truly existed, then the world would probably still be controlled by the immortal who climbed the mountain and consumed the elixir of immortality."

Lin Jiang muttered softly.

Upon hearing this, Old Zhao looked at Lin Jiang in surprise, then burst into laughter:

“You said exactly the same thing as the Imperial Advisor.”

"This shows that my thoughts are aligned with those of the Imperial Advisor."

Lin Jiang responded.

"You must not be too much like that old bald man. He's too cunning; he can do the work of eight people."

After saying this, Old Zhao also sighed:
"That old bald guy is keeping it a secret from me, my old brother. When I go to him this time, I'm going to grab him by the neck and ask him properly."

"Please don't strangle him to death." "You're so glib. If I can strangle him to death, then I can strangle the calamity to death too."

Old Zhao shook his head. After saying all this, he suddenly turned to Lin Jiang and stared at him for a while.

"Young Master Lin."

"This is too kind of you, I feel a little uncomfortable."

“Normally speaking, dealing with a calamity would probably require more than a few stars, and there is also a high chance of being seriously injured in the process, but you are different, young master.”

Old Zhao said slowly:

"Young Master, your breathing technique has such a significant impact on the calamity. Such a skill is beyond our reach. This time, we will probably have to rely on you to help the Imperial Preceptor."

At this point, Old Zhao clasped his hands together and bowed deeply towards Lin Jiang.

This startled Lin Jiang slightly, and he immediately reached out to help Old Zhao up:
"This is a matter I cannot shirk. Besides, to me, these calamities are quite delicious."

Old Zhao's lips twitched uncontrollably.

This was the first time in all these years that he had heard someone describe a calamity in this way.

"Coming!"

Suddenly, they heard someone call out from the bow of the ship, and the group instinctively looked in the direction of the sound.

The ice floes were already close to the shore.

With a gentle wave of his hand, Old Zhao caused the surrounding soundproof barriers to quietly disappear.

There was no port on that shore, so it seems that after the mishap, the ice floes ultimately deviated from the intended course and failed to deliver Lin Jiang and the others to the correct location.

However, once they were ashore, they could at least tell which way to go, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

Everyone around was already rushing to pack their belongings, and Old Zhao also went to the cabin first, presumably to convene a pre-battle meeting with his "treasures".

Lin Jiang was about to return to his cabin to pack his bags when he caught sight of Jiang Jinyue gazing quietly at the distant shore.

Lin Jiang parted his lips slightly, but ultimately remained silent.

He understood what Jiang Jinyue was looking at. She was about to see Li Xinguang.

What will she be able to say to him then?

……

On a towering mountain peak in the far suburbs of Chuanlai City, a young cultivator was gazing into the distance with piercing eyes, his gaze penetrating through layers of mist and locking onto what lay ahead.

The distance he was gazing into was shrouded in a thick fog, and in his reflected eyes, a huge bald head was floating in mid-air, surrounded by iridescent fireflies.

Beyond the fireflies, countless chaotic lines spread like a tangled mess, frantically wrapping around and eroding the bald head, yet they were always blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to get any closer.

"The third attack failed."

The young man immediately reported to the rear, where four people were gathered.

Not far behind him, four figures stood silently: two were clad in armor and armed with weapons, resembling military generals; one had a bronze-colored upper body with bulging muscles; and the other had his eyes covered with a strip of cloth, like a blind man.

They were all generals under the General's Mansion, many of whom were highly skilled in Taoism, and were left here to guard the Imperial Preceptor.

"This bald guy is really amazing. It's been several days now, and with so many calamities surrounding him, he doesn't seem to be getting tired at all."

"After all, he is the Imperial Advisor, a figure from the Ninth Heaven. How many people in this world can reach that level?"

At this point, a hint of unease appeared on the face of the general who had just read the words:

"Is the general's plan really feasible? If this drags on, I feel we might not be able to kill the Grand Preceptor."

"Don't worry," the blind man sneered. "Even if we can't deal with the Grand Preceptor, this period of time is enough for the General to finish his business."

"Support has arrived from all sides. Can our calamity really hold the Grand Preceptor captive for so long?"

The same person who asked the question earlier asked it again.

The blind man, however, paid no heed to his words:

"It's not like we haven't dealt with calamities before. Don't you know how long it takes to eliminate one? Even that bald guy would have to spend a lot of effort to eliminate a calamity. According to the general's calculations, these calamities are enough to keep the Grand Preceptor trapped here for twelve years. Even if reinforcements come from all directions, how could the Grand Preceptor possibly leave so easily before a full year has passed?"

Upon hearing his words, the others nodded in agreement.

Indeed, calamities have been troublesome for more than just a year or two. Compared to natural disasters, they are even more difficult to deal with, and any Qi that is poured into them will cause abnormalities.

Even a tiny speck of dust takes a long time to process.

Of course no problem.

(End of this chapter)