Cultivation: Being Immortal - Chapter 216

Heavenly Wall Divine Kingdom, Royal Palace in Jingdu City

“Rebel, rebel, all rebels…”

Emperor Li Si of the Divine Kingdom walked back to the palace from the outer court, scolding all the way. A group of palace maids and eunuchs remained silent, fearing the emperor’s anger may be unleashed upon them. Their position was no different from slaves in the outside world, as the emperor’s words could take away their lives.

“What happened to His Majesty today? He seems so angry.”

Jade Concubine walked over, placing down the bowl in her hands. She came around to Emperor Li Si’s side, gently massaging his temples. Li Si felt somewhat relaxed.

“It’s all because of those rebels, causing trouble every day. Today they accused each other again. The third son said the crown prince violated the rules, suspecting him of overstepping boundaries. The fifth son said the third son embezzled military funds. As for the crown prince, he said… well, forget it, it’s irritating.”

“Your Majesty, there’s no need to worry too much. The princes are still young, just fooling around.”

“Fooling around? All those sons of mine are older than me put together, and they’re still fooling around. I haven’t died yet, and they’re already causing havoc. What would happen if I actually died?”

“Your Majesty, you mustn’t say such things randomly. If you were gone, I wouldn’t be far from my end either.”

“What do you mean? Who is trying to harm you?”

“The Emperor, there are things he doesn’t know. People outside call me a bewitching concubine, saying I have enchanted the Emperor. Someone told me that when the Emperor dies, I will be buried with him.”

“Who? Who said that? I will wipe out their entire family.”

“Your Majesty, everyone outside is saying this. It’s not that I don’t want to go with you, it’s just that if I leave, what will happen to our child? I come from a farming family, my parents and siblings are all farmers…”

Jade Concubine’s face became teary, she looked down at her slightly swollen belly, and Li Si followed her gaze, full of worries for their unborn child.

“Jade Concubine, don’t worry, as long as I’m here, no one can harm you.”

“Your Majesty, what if you go instead?”

“Ah, well…”

“That’s why Your Majesty must let the alchemist concoct the elixir. I still want to stay by your side.”

“Jade Concubine, don’t worry, the precious elixir will definitely be successfully concocted.”

At this moment, Li Si made up his mind. No matter what it takes, he will make the medicine and live with his beloved.

“Your Majesty, it’s such a great honor for me to meet you.”

“Alright, alright, stop crying. I need to take care of those rebellious subjects.”

“Your Majesty, I have recently learned some cooking skills. Will you accompany me? I’ll cook delicious food for you.”

“Beloved, those few…”

“Your Majesty, children are mischievous because someone supports them. Instead of punishing them, we should punish those who support them.”

Jade Concubine playfully spoke to Li Si, unaware of the consequences. But Li Si’s eyes suddenly lit up with enlightenment. Those rebellious subjects, aren’t they misbehaving because someone supports them? If no one supports them anymore, would they still dare to defy him?

·······

“They are really wealthy. If it were an ordinary kingdom, it would have been destroyed long ago.”

Outside the city walls of Jingdu City, Lin Jiang watched the passing mortal army and thought to himself. This army is going to suppress a rebellion. And in the past six months, several armies like this have already been sent out.

The Divine Kingdom’s system is not yet in its final stage, but its efficiency is still good. Of course, the most important thing is its strong financial foundation. This is not an ordinary mortal kingdom. With the help of Formation Spirit, the Divine Kingdom has had smooth weather every year and has accumulated great wealth. It can still continue to thrive.

“Senior Brother Xiao, the leader requests your presence.”

A person came up from behind and said to Lin Jiang.

“I will go now.”

Lin Jiang nodded and quickly arrived at Zhou Huaiying’s residence.

“Xiao Yi greets the leader.”

“Xiao Yi, no need for excessive courtesy. Please have a seat.”

“What is the leader summoning Xiao Yi for? Is there something important?”

“Nothing serious, we received a message from the Jade Concubine in the palace. The news has spread, and the emperor may take action against the people behind the princes. Should we put in more effort?”

“No need, leader. Let’s not get involved in this matter. Power struggles in the palace have always been brutal. They will fight among themselves. We should hide ourselves and watch them fight on their own.”

“Do we need to guide them?”

“No need for that. As long as they fight on their own, it’s fine. We have already ignited the fire, and it’s already spreading. They will burn themselves. Now we need to guard against the Formation Spirit.”

Lin Jiang said. The rebellious thoughts are already the most powerful weapon. Once they see the light, they will no longer tolerate the darkness.

“You’re right, indeed Formation Spirit has been acting strange in recent years. It seems like he’s not keeping an eye on us anymore.”

“Leader, I have low cultivation, so I can’t sense it. Are the other elders the same?”

“They’re saying the same thing. Perhaps it’s because Lin Batian and Chen Zheng are engaged in a battle. But it’s actually for the better. Thanks to their distraction of Formation Spirit, we can plan without being noticed.”

Zhou Huaiying said. Formation Spirit is like the will of the Divine Kingdom. He may not pay attention to weak mortal beings like us. It’s like how we view an ant hill. It’s hard to distinguish the intentions of one or two ants, but if there are ants several times larger than the others, we can’tice them. And those larger ants are the ones we should be wary of.

“Leader, I think we should quickly have them compete to determine a winner. Only then can we have a strong and united Formation Spirit against our enemies.”

“Not appropriate, we shouldn’t interfere in their matters.”

Zhou Huaiying shook his head. He knew there was a grudge between Lin Jiang and Lin Batian, but he wouldn’t easily get involved in their conflicts.

“Leader, it’s not appropriate to sit and watch as Er Hu fights. If they fight, they will both be harmed, and the one benefiting will be Formation Spirit, not us. If they end up being dealt with by Formation Spirit, they might turn against us. That wouldn’t be good.”

“You’re making sense, I will consider it.”

“Yes, Leader.”

Lin Jiang spoke, he had already tried many times to reason with Lin Batian, but Zhou Huaiying and the others were clever and not easily persuaded. Lin Jiang knew when to stop.

“Hmm, as for the matters of the Divine Kingdom’s court, you continue planning. The Divine Kingdom’s resources are still abundant, so deplete them as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Leader, I will find ways to speed up.”

“Go ahead.”

“Thank you, Lord.”

Lin Jiang bowed and then left Zhou Huaiying’s house.

Lin Jiang returned to his own home, where he had changed his public identity. Now he was the owner of a trading company in Jingdu City, and his business was doing well. Many people came and went from his residence every day, all as part of a cover for his true identity.

Before long, some important members of the Immortal Alliance arrived at Lin Jiang’s mansion to report on the progress of various plans.

“The Divine Kingdom still possesses great strength. The princes and dukes stationed in various areas are exerting a lot of effort to expand their forces, in order to resist the rebel slogan. They have even eased the oppression on the common people and slaves. As a result, the rebellions in various regions are struggling and seem to be on the verge of being crushed.”

After hearing the reports, someone summed it up, saying that the princes and dukes are fighting even harder than the Imperial court in order to maintain their power. The rebel forces are finding it difficult to hold on.

“Drunk, resting on the beauty’s knees, awakening to hold the world’s power. These princes and dukes have tasted the flavor of power and will definitely not give up easily. But reality is not subject to their will.”

Lin Jiang nodded. He had long anticipated this. The taste of power is very delightful. Without saying anything else, Lin Jiang already had many people in his hands. Over the past ten years, he has been laying out his plans. He has manipulated countless important figures in the Divine Kingdom. This is also a form of power. If his mind were not so steadfast, he too would easily be consumed by it.

“Senior Xiao, what should we do? We have sent almost all of the warriors we’ve trained, and if we send more people, we’ll have to use cultivators. Divine Kingdom is very cautious of us, we must not act rashly.”

“What’s difficult about handling this matter?”

“Please teach us, senior.”

“We should mobilize the people in our court and advise the emperor that the war is intense, so that the court can impose taxes on various regions and withhold military pay from the prince’s army, causing the court’s forces to be on guard against the prince’s army.”

“Senior, will the court agree to such a foolish plan?”

“They definitely will. The court wants both the prince and the rebels to suffer losses, and then they can deal with them together. They don’t want the prince to win and boost their reputation. Even though it’s a foolish plan, it’s a good strategy for them.”

Lin Jiang said. The prince sees it as a foolish plan because their interests are different. But for the court, it’s only natural. And if officials propose this suggestion, they can also help. They haven’t been giving their loyalty for nothing all these years. Many people in the court were trained by them or are under their control.

“Yes, let’s arrange things according to what you said, senior.”

“Go ahead, don’t be afraid of using foolish tactics. The effectiveness of those tactics depends on the person. The intensity of the war isn’t strong enough yet, so let’s add more fuel to the fire.”

Lin Jiang nodded, but when it came to when the war would stop, he couldn’t decide. He was just an executor. The real decision-makers were Zhou Huaiying and the others.