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Also the first year of Yongxing.

Emperor Yongxing employed treacherous officials and embezzled military provisions, which incited a mutiny that surrounded the imperial city.

The deposed Crown Prince Zhao Xian, who was confined to the Cold Palace, joined forces with men of honor and entered Shangyang Palace to request an audience.

Zhang Zhengyang spoke earnestly, “Your Majesty, for the stability of the National Dynasty, this old minister takes the liberty to ask Your Majesty to abdicate in favor of the eldest legitimate son of Zhongzong!”

Emperor Yongxing, overwhelmed with anger, suddenly died!

Since Emperor Yongxing only served as emperor for half a year, ascending the throne in May and passing away in December, history books referred to him as the “Half-Year Emperor.”

Thus, the first half of that year was the eighteenth year of Hongchang, and the latter half was the first year of Yongxing.

After Zhao Xian ascended the throne, he declared a general amnesty for the crimes of assassination and rebellion against the Three Wangs’ mansions. Alas, the Three Wangs’ families had been wiped out, so collateral members of the royal family had to be adopted to continue the line of descent.

All officials, military and civil, and nobility from the royal family, praised His Majesty for his benevolence!

Three days after his ascension to the throne, it was the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Zhao Xian announced the new reign title as Jinglong and, accompanied by all officials, paid tribute at the Ancestral Temple to announce to the ancestors.

At this time.

The temple officials realized that the Mountain and River Cauldron had vanished without a trace.

The Court was in an uproar.

Emperor Jinglong ordered the Jinyiwei to investigate rigorously and soon learned that on the night of the rebellion, many had heard thunderous booms.

The soldiers on duty claimed that they personally saw a mass of purple Qi flying directly toward the Northern Border!

Emperor Jinglong had only been on the throne for a few days and dared not rashly transfer troops from the Capital Garrison or the Imperial Guards, so the matter ended without resolution.

The Ministry of Works recast the sacrificial cauldron, making it more than ten times heavier. It was inscribed with a map of Fengyang Country using gold wire and silver threads, and also inlaid with jade and precious gems, a luxury surpassing the Mountain and River Cauldron by a hundredfold.

Emperor Jinglong was extremely satisfied and named it “Jinglong Cauldron.”

The loss of the Mountain and River Cauldron gave rise to various rumors among the people, saying that just as Emperor Yongxing had executed his own brother, Emperor Jinglong did the same, angering the ancestors of Fengyang Country.

Latter unofficial histories recorded: The cauldron fell in the Northern Border; such was the decree of Heaven!

…

The political stage of the Imperial Court changed, one after another taking their turn.

All unrelated to Zhou Yi.

The carriage traveled day and night non-stop, killing several horses along the way.

Three days later.

The first day of the Lunar New Year.

Zhou Yi had already left the boundaries of Jingji and arrived in central Xuanzhou.

Of the six states in the north, only Xuanzhou did not belong to the Northern Border. Because it was protected by the natural barrier of Serpentine Mountain to its north and had not seen war in over a hundred years, the cities within it were quite prosperous.

Pengshan County.

To the west of the city was a range of low hills, known as Pengshan, which gave the county its name.

At this time.

Outside the city gate, porridge shelters were erected. Scores of ragged refugees, holding pots and pans, queued to receive porridge.

Zhou Yi reined his horse and asked, “Old man, did a disaster strike somewhere in Xuanzhou?”

“We’re refugees from the Northern Border; war has broken out there again,” said the elderly man with a sallow complexion, indiscernible in age, feeding an infant in his arms with a finger dipped in porridge soup.

Zhou Yi wondered, “Isn’t the Imperial Court always in negotiations for peace?”

Great Yong took advantage of the power transition in Fengyang Country and the dispirited Northern Border army to recapture some lost territory. After Emperor Yongxing ascended the throne, he summoned troops from various prefectures to head north and confront the Great Yong army.

Emperor Yongxing had the reserves his father had saved up; if it really came to a fight, it wasn’t certain that Fengyang would lose to Great Yong.

The Great Yong Emperor didn’t get greedy either, demanding territory and indemnities from Fengyang Country as well as the return of the prince and marshal’s corpses from the Ancestral Temple.

The envoys of both countries haggled for a long time without finalizing specific agreements, so how could the war have restarted?

The old man shook his head, “What does an old man like me know about war matters.”

A younger refugee nearby said, “They say that from our side, some general refused to surrender, launched a surprise attack on the Great Yong army, and set fire to their camp, killing tens of thousands!”

“They had their fill of killing, and we’re the ones who suffer for it.”

“We can’t say that, winning is still a good thing, just afraid we might lose again!”

“Do you know who burned down Great Yong’s military camp? The second dog who escaped said it was a young general barely in his teens. He’s surnamed Zhou or Zou, didn’t quite catch it.”

“That’s impressive, no less than the State Duke.”

“If the State Duke were still alive, those Great Yong bastards, how would they dare to wage war?”

“…”

The news the refugees knew was mostly hearsay, true and false yet to be determined, but the general direction should not be wrong.

“Fengyang waged war without declaration! When scholars get ruthless, soldiers really can’t compare …”

Zhou Yi sighed. During the time of great defeat and negotiation for peace, who would dare to start a war without the heart of the Imperial Court’s will?

Chancellor Zhang, to completely cut off Emperor Yongxing’s chances of survival, did not hesitate to wage a great battle at the Northern Border, to prevent the mobilization of the garrison troops back to Divine Capital for protection.

“With the arrangement in Divine Capital, seizing the throne is already almost certain, so why let so many more people die?”

Zhou Yi could not understand the thoughts of great figures, therefore he was ultimately not capable of great undertakings, but could only strive to live his own life well.

The soldiers were inspecting people entering the city, and the refugees could only sleep outside the city.

Zhou Yi gave two taels of silver, and the soldiers grinned and waved him through, indeed it was not the Imperial Edict but silver that could pass unobstructed throughout the land.

He replenished several bags of rice and flour in the city, then left the city heading towards Pengshan.

Pengshan was insignificant in Fengyang Country, with neither strategic strongholds nor picturesque scenery.

Occasionally hunters would enter and leave the mountains, no other disturbances, which suited seclusion for cultivation.

Those who secluded themselves on famous mountains sought a shortcut!

Upon a Nameless Peak, Zhou Yi found a bear den and made bear meat porridge. His mana turned rock into mud, transforming it into a neatly squared and tidy stone chamber.

He blocked the entrance with a huge rock; should anyone truly pry it open, he would know in advance.

“Cold, desolate, silent …”

Zhou Yi murmured, “Compared to secluding oneself from the mundane world, there’s not a hint of human touch, yet it’s a different kind of enjoyment.”

The Mountain and River Cauldron stood erect in the center of the stone chamber, and Zhou Yi followed the Blood Refinement of Spiritual Weapons spell, forcing out drop by drop of essence blood from within his body, and using mana to force it into the bronze interior.

“The first step is blood refinement; this Mountain and River Cauldron … is quite large!”

Zhou Yi thought to himself, there was no one else in the world who wasted essence blood like he did.

The Blood Refinement of Spiritual Weapons required the soaking of all parts of Spiritual Objects with essence blood, with the size and weight of the Mountain and River Cauldron directly draining the essence blood of hundreds of people.

Essence blood is not ordinary fresh blood, coming from the heart, it is the essence of one’s Qi-Blood!

After consuming more than ten drops of essence blood to refine treasures, Zhou Yi needed more than ten days of cultivation to recover.

“No wonder Li Ye suggested refining the Jade Seal, no ordinary Innate grandmasters would be willing to refine the Mountain and River Cauldron; after finally refining it, there wouldn’t be many years left to live!”

The Spiritual Energy in the mountains was slightly richer than in Divine Capital, by about thirty to fifty percent.

Apart from blood refining the Mountain and River Cauldron, Zhou Yi dedicated himself to cultivating the Guiyuan Technique, and finally broke through on the third year.

Mana emanated from his body and turned into Sword Qi, which was several times more concentrated than before and expanded from a range of two or three zhang to five or six zhang, greatly increasing its lethality.

“Is this probably from the first level of Qi Refinement to the second level?”

“Indeed a bit slow … but for me, as long as there is growth, it’s fine. Speed doesn’t matter; safety comes first!”

Zhou Yi made a breakthrough in his mana realm, his state of mind remained without ripples, continuing the blood refinement of the Mountain and River Cauldron.

The immersion of essence blood was nearing completion, the next step was to communicate with the spirit of the cauldron, and then to refine the spirit of the cauldron …

The sun rose and the moon set, time flew like a shuttle.

Before you knew it, ten years had passed.

People age and die, while grass and trees flourish and wither.

Only Zhou Yi, who secluded himself for cultivation, retained his youthful appearance, time and the years leaving no trace on his countenance.

On this day.

Zhou Yi formed a spell with his hands and shouted loudly.

“Quick!”

The Mountain and River Cauldron standing in the stone chamber flew up and started spinning rapidly, shrinking to the size of a grain of rice.

Zhou Yi opened his mouth and swallowed the tiny cauldron into his stomach, patted his belly, and revealed a smile.

“Finally, it has been refined!”