Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

April of the third year of Tianxin.

The Blood Robe Sect's Protector Wu Ma—the Crimson Fire Venerable—appeared on the shores of the East Sea in Wangliu City, a small seaside town, where all 120,000 residents died from poisoning.

In the same month, the plague spread from the small town to the coast of the East China Sea.

The third year of Tianxin, May.

The rebellion in Youzhou escalated to a scale of one million people in just one month, with the rebels taking refugees with them.

The Youzhou prefecture submitted a memorial to the imperial court, stating that the rebellion was jointly launched by the Blood Robe Sect and the remnants of the Black Heaven Sect, and that the local prefecture was powerless to suppress it. They earnestly requested the imperial court to send troops to quell the rebellion as soon as possible.

In the months that followed, rebellions broke out in 208 states of the Great Qi Dynasty, from south to north and from west to east, with turmoil occurring in 49 states.

Furthermore, Yuan Chengkai, the governor of Qin Prefecture, openly declared himself king, intending to establish a separatist regime and claiming to command an army of 500,000.

According to various sources, this great chaos was instigated by the three major evil sects, with numerous other unorthodox forces joining in. The reason for this is currently unknown.

The old emperor personally attended the court and issued an edict to recall the Tiger Warriors, the Heavenly Constellation Army, and the Seven Killers Army.

The three elite forces of the Great Qi Dynasty were mobilized simultaneously, working with various prefectures and cities to suppress the rebellion and eradicate the evil cult.

The Dark Feather Guard was mobilized in full force. All ten Heavenly Stem commanders received imperial edicts from the old emperor, ordering them to spare no effort in eradicating the remaining forces of the Demonic Sect.

The Sky Patrol Offices in various prefectures also received orders from their superiors to cooperate with the Dark Feather Guards in their efforts to capture and kill members of the Demonic Cult.

Many skilled eunuchs from the South Tower also left the palace, carrying the emperor's edicts, and went to various prefectures and counties.

In an instant, the winds of change rose and the entire martial arts world was in turmoil.

……

At the Qishan Circuit Inspection Office, Mu An had his feet propped up on the table, half of his body slumped against the back of the chair.

Behind the table, a landscape painting by the Sage of Painting hung on the wall, directly facing Mu An's position.

With just a slight glance, one can see this painting filled with Taoist charm.

An elderly eunuch with white hair and a purple robe was holding a secret letter and waiting respectfully about five meters away from his desk.

"As you can see, I'm sick, very sick. I can't even walk. Let's leave the task of suppressing the demonic cult to those energetic young people."

Looking at Mu An, who was putting on airs, the old eunuch still bowed slightly, speaking respectfully, leaving no room for criticism.

"Since the envoy of Kaiyang is seriously ill, he should rest well. His Majesty will surely understand your difficulties."

However, with the world in turmoil and Lingzhou being a crucial stronghold of the Blood Robe Sect, and now that the Tiger Legion has withdrawn from Lingzhou, I urge the Commander-in-Chief to be extra careful and prevent any unrest.

Mu An, who was lying down, waved his hand and deliberately made his voice sound weak.

"I understand. If any trouble breaks out in Lingzhou City, I will send troops to support it immediately and make those cultists who dare to cause trouble know what regret is."

"Then I will trouble you, Commander-in-Chief. I will certainly convey your words to His Majesty truthfully."

Upon hearing this, Mu An looked at the old eunuch with a focused gaze. He struggled to stand up, coughing as he took a step, and walked to the old eunuch who was still bent over.

"That's excellent!"

He squinted and patted the old eunuch on the shoulder, "Thanks to His Majesty's favor, the prosperity of Qishan Road today is entirely due to His Majesty's kindness."

Even the venerable master painter misses His Majesty dearly, but the mountains are high and the roads are long, and Qi'an City is thousands of miles away, making it inconvenient to travel there. Therefore, I can only ask the venerable master to convey the master painter's longing for His Majesty.

The old eunuch lowered his head even further, his eyes drooping, and wrinkles appeared on his face as he smiled.

"Is there really such a thing? His Majesty must be overjoyed to hear this! I have troubled you greatly this time, so I will take my leave now and not disturb the Kaiyang Envoy's recovery any longer."

"good"

……

Outside the gate of the Qishan Circuit Inspectorate, the old eunuch stepped out with a smile on his face.

He greeted the guards at the gate with a smile and slipped two silver ingots into their arms.

An antique-style carriage was parked in front of the gate, clearly having been waiting for some time.

The moment he stepped into the carriage, the old eunuch's smile vanished, but he didn't utter a word until the carriage had traveled three miles away, at which point he looked up at his old friend sitting opposite him.

An old eunuch with equally white hair, dressed in a purple python robe.

"How is it? How does this Grand Commander of Qishan Dao compare to his cultivation level back in the palace?"

The old eunuch remained silent for a long time before shaking his head and letting out a long sigh.

"The momentum has been established, and only immortals and gods can kill him; he is suspected to be a direct disciple of the Painting Sage."

The carriage fell silent for a long time before sounds resumed.

"What is his attitude? Princess Yongning has been dead for several years. Is he willing to serve His Majesty?"

"He only recognizes the Qishan Road and not the Dark Feather Guard. This boy may take advantage of this turmoil to control the entire Lingzhou and has the ambition to establish his own independent regime."

"So be it. Sooner or later they will be immortal beings on land, not something we old eunuchs can afford to offend. Just go back and report to His Majesty the truth."

"good"

……

After seeing off the old eunuch who served the emperor, Mu An had no intention of continuing to pretend. He stood up, looked at the sand table representing Lingzhou in front of him, and his thoughts were churning.

"The Demonic Sect's rebellion presents a good opportunity to take over Lingzhou City. The bait is tempting, but it also hides immense danger."

The painting master's reputation is likely to be ruined for much longer, so there's no need to continue provoking the court at this juncture.

I can leave anytime if I'm alone, but others can't, so it's best to be cautious.

Standing in front of the sand table, Mu An pondered for a long time, but finally gave up the idea of ​​swallowing up the entire Lingzhou in one fell swoop.

He was ultimately alone and couldn't guarantee that he could keep an eye on his family at all times. The court was wary of him, and he was wary of the court.

Having enjoyed the beauty of being bound by bonds, one must also bear the associated risks.

"Someone, bring Wang Le here."

……

"What are your orders, Lord Mu?"

"Is there still no news about the Blood Robe Sect's Lingxiao Hermit?"

"According to information obtained from the Fengyulou, a Jianghu intelligence organization, that damned old devil was last seen in Yunzhou in the southwest."

"The territory of the Marquis of Zhennan? That's a place to hide."

Wang Le stood in front of Mu An, scratching his head and lowering his body, looking like he wanted to say something but didn't dare to.

"Why are you hesitating? Just say what you have to say."

"Lord Mu, it's no secret that our men are extensively gathering intelligence on Lingxiao Sanren throughout the martial world. I'm afraid that old devil is already on guard. And..."

"What else?"

Wang Le straightened up abruptly, his voice tinged with worry.

"Perhaps because of the Blood Robe Sect's rampage in Lingzhou, some rumors have been circulating in the city recently, some of which are about Miss Ling'er..."

boom! ! !

With a sudden slap, Mu An dented the table, his voice filled with anger.

"What a bunch of cultists! I didn't bother them, but they've come to mess with me!"

"Pass down the order: close in now and wipe out all the marked cult strongholds within the Qishan region!"

The voice paused for a moment, then became even more ferocious.

"Send a messenger to Qishan, mobilizing all our manpower. Leave no cult member alive! Within seven days, I want to see a mound of corpses made from cult members!"

"yes!"