The King Of The Underworld of course wanted to leave the Fiend Prison and go back.
Yet, he was fully aware that he would be drifting in the river of time forever if he walked into the chaotic darkness without anyone's help.
The patch of dark cloud followed him to the edge of the broken cliff. The bell rang in the cloud once in a while, giving off a crisp sound and producing a lovely flash of lightning.
The mosquitoes of the Fiend Prison had also arrived nearby, but they didn't dare come close because they were intimidated by the power of the thunder.
The King Of The Underworld pulled back his gaze and looked at those tiny mosquitoes. After a long moment of silence, he had finally made up his mind.
The moment he made up his mind, the light flowing in his body sped up, and his energy grew a bit stronger.
…
…
It was the middle of winter, and the snowstorm fell on Zhaoge City.
Because of the protection of the formations, the accumulated snow in the city was not so heavy, and no houses were crushed. Yet, it didn't stop those poor people who didn't believe in the existence of the Cultivation practitioners from complaining to the crowd with a livid expression, wearing thin cotton clothes. The farmers outside the city and the refugees from the north were the best evidence of their belief.
The people in the Royal Palace were not affected by the snowstorm and the refugees, living a warm and comfortable life. However, the Royal Concubine Hu, who had always been favored and loved the warmth of the quilt, didn't have such a luxury recently. It was because her son, Jing Yao, had to get up before dawn and practice boxing outside the window.
No matter how carefree she was, she couldn't stay in bed at such a time.
Seeing Jing Yao standing in the snow with a slightly red face, his legs trembling, and his eyes full of tears, the Royal Concubine Hu felt her heart was almost broken. She held the corner of her sleeve tightly with her right hand and refrained from asking the palace servant girl to bring Jing Yao back. Yet she cursed Gu Qing in her mind, wondering why a child less than four years old had to suffer like this every day.
"Mister Gu is here."
Hearing the palace servant girl's report, the angry expression on the Royal Concubine Hu's face disappeared. She walked over to Gu Qing and bowed to him with a faint smile.
Gu Qing returned the greeting, "No need to be so courteous, Your Highness."
Suddenly, there was a loud thud outside the window, followed by Mo Mo's exclamation. Jing Yao must have fallen.
Royal Concubine Hu's heart trembled a bit, and she couldn't help but say with a forced smile, "The Immortal Master Jing Jiu said the other day that you shouldn't cultivate for a few years and should study first. What do you think …"
"The Second Prince is very smart. He knows when to fall."
Gu Qing calmed the Royal Concubine Hu down with one sentence, and then continued, "I know what my Master told me. I'm not cultivating right now, but doing some preparation. It is said that Senior Master Zhao started training her body at the age of two when she was in Zhaoge City. Compared to the Second Prince, she started training a year and a half later."
Royal Concubine Hu didn't know what to say, but she was thinking that how many Cultivation practitioners like Zhao Layue could there be in Chaotian?
Gu Qing was telling the truth. The Second Prince was still young, and it was not yet time for him to cultivate. Every day, Gu Qing taught him lessons from books and self-control.
The self-control here referred to emotions, desires, and most importantly … the control of intelligence.
Jing Yao was still young, so he didn't really understand the importance of this last control to cultivation.
Royal Concubine Hu wasn't smart enough, so she couldn't understand the deep meaning behind it.
Gu Qing entered the palace before sunrise every day and left the palace after sunset. It was already very tiring for him, so he didn't have the energy to explain it to her.
Fortunately, a smart child had the advantage of knowing who had the final say. As such, Jing Yao behaved very obediently in front of Gu Qing.
In the evening, Gu Qing walked to the outside of the royal palace as usual. He nodded at the familiar eunuchs and palace servant girls on the way.
The people in the royal palace had gotten used to the existence of this immortal master of Aoyama. Those kings and chancellors who had been cautious and uneasy didn't talk about it anymore, at least on the surface.
Gu Qing's low-key behavior seemed to indicate that the Aoyama Sect didn't intend to change the current situation completely.
Without the protection of the formation, Jing Jiu walked out of the palace gate, and the cold wind hit his face like a hammer.
Gu Qing wasn't afraid of the cold, but he didn't know how terrible the situation outside of Zhaoge City would be since it was already so bad.
On his way from the royal palace to Taichang Temple, Gu Qing was still thinking about this issue. What would he do if he were an official of the Imperial court? Should he ask for help from Aoyama?
The power of heaven and earth was indeed something the Cultivation practitioners couldn't resist, but a few elders in the state of Broken Sea should be able to deal with the snowstorm outside Zhaoge City this year by working together.
It didn't take long for Gu Qing to come to a conclusion.
Even if he asked for help, those elders in the state of Broken Sea in Aoyama wouldn't help him, and neither would the Immortal Sect Master and the Sword Justice force them to help.
Life and death could happen anytime and anywhere in the mortal world. It was unreasonable for the Cultivation practitioners to disturb their cultivation because of such a matter.
Otherwise, why would those officials of the Imperial court who had graduated from Zhongzhou School be so calm?
Even the Guocheng Temple and Yimaozhai had only sent some monk doctors and scholars to the outskirts of the city to help treat the victims, without doing anything in advance.
Of course, the Cultivation practitioners had their own reasons for doing so, which was that they would be punished by heaven if they tried to interfere with the operation of heaven and earth …
However, what the Cultivation practitioners were doing was against the natural order; otherwise, they wouldn't have the heavenly punishment when they ascended.
Why would they cultivate if they were afraid of the punishment?
Gu Qing wasn't worried about the mortal world, but he couldn't help but think about it when he had been away from Aoyama for half a year and had absorbed too much of the mortal world in Zhaoge City.
It was just a thought.
He told himself this.
Otherwise, it would be too boring to walk from the royal palace to Taichang Temple without riding the sword.
Thinking of all this, Jing Jiu came to the entrance of the alley outside the Jing House, and was stopped by someone.
The person who stopped him was Xiang Wanshu, a disciple of the Zhongzhou School.
Gu Qing and Xiang Wanshu had met a few times, and they had traveled together in the snowland, so they were familiar with each other. He vaguely remembered that Xiang Wanshu was the personal disciple of the Center Sect Master. Seeing Xiang Wanshu suddenly appear here, Gu Qing couldn't help but feel alarmed, asking, "Why is Cultivationist Xiang here?"
Xiang Wanshu knew why Jing Jiu was alarmed, and said with a bitter smile, "I know this is your Master's home, so I should stay away from it. But you stay in the palace all day, so I have no choice but to wait for you here; otherwise, I don't know when we will meet again."
Gu Qing asked, "What can I do for you?"
Xiang Wanshu said seriously, "I'll treat you to a meal."
Cultivators paid particular attention to cleansing their minds from the vulgar world. Once they were able to abstain from eating, they would rarely touch food, except for those evil cultivators who indulged in their desires.
Inviting him to a meal naturally meant that he had something to discuss.
There was an Immortal House by the White Horse Lake. The two of them entered a room on the top floor of the lake and sat down.
The Immortal Master did not eat hotpot, nor did he need any hard dishes. At most, he would eat some fruits for a meal.
However, those fruits were the special fruits grown on the spiritual source, so they were very expensive.
Xiang Wanshu thought of what had happened earlier, and asked confusedly, "The Gu Clan in Nanhezhou is one of the wealthiest clans in the land, so they must have a house in Zhaoge City. Why do you live there?"
Gu Qing said, "No matter how rich the Gu Clan is, they can't compare to the Xiang Clan in Zhongzhou. So this meal is for you."
Xiang Wanshu laughed and said, "I heard that you are in charge of all the affairs on the Shenmo Peak. I didn't believe it at first, but now it seems to be true."
Gu Qing said with a smile, "If you want to say that I'm more of a businessman than a Cultivation practitioner, just say it."
Xiang Wanshu shook his head and said, "You are the teacher of the second prince, and you might become the teacher of the emperor in the future. I can't treat you lightly."
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