"Impermanence takes my life, my life is over."
There were dense footsteps coming from a distance. The young jailer Fang Yuan was walking in front. He looked unhappy and stared at Qiao Mu:
"Qiao Zhong, the time has come, it's time to get going."
Chapter 123: Splitting the Earth and Becoming the King
When Qiao Mu suddenly heard the bad news that he was about to be executed, he remained calm.
Qiao Mu pulled the calico cat that was hugging his trouser leg off his body, grabbed the cat's neck skin with one hand, turned his head and faced Hai Wuya in the next cell.
This prison is not a place where a prisoner like him can practice martial arts in peace.
Qiao Mu knew that he wouldn't be able to stay in the Sky Prison for long, but he didn't expect that things would turn out this way right after he started learning martial arts with Hai Wuya.
The truth has been exposed. Is there anyone who can't bear to see a death row prisoner practicing martial arts in the prison
Qiao Mu thought about it and passed the cat in his hand over the prison fence.
But as soon as the cat landed on the ground and escaped from Qiaomu's hand, it quickly regained its ability to move, turned its body and jumped, trying to dive back into Qiaomu's shadow as before.
But this time it didn't get through.
The prison was dark and damp, with only a ray of light coming through a bowl-sized window from the outside.
At this time, Qiao Mu was not standing under the window, and there was no obvious shadow behind him.
"Go away, you stupid cat, stay away from me." Qiao Mu pushed the fat cat to Hai Wuya through the fence in an unhappily.
As long as this Impermanence Demon Cat does not get too close to him and absorbs excessive amounts of death energy, it can freely display its own special abilities, such as easily hiding in the shadows and concealing the perception of many powerful people.
Staying with him, I have become a fat stay-at-home cat who eats and sleeps all day long.
"Let's do it." He turned around and looked at the jailer Fang Yuan and others.
"No, a person like you, Qiao Zhong, can't just die in the prison. You have to go to the execution ground," Fang Yuan said.
The latter put special steel shackles on Qiumu to prevent him from breaking free.
“Qiao Zhong, we didn’t torture you much in the prison, and you were very honest... When we get to the execution ground, don’t play any tricks. It would be disgraceful if you do it at the last minute,” said the young jailer Fang Yuan.
Qiao Mu had several layers of shackles on his body, and he walked with heavy steps, his whole body making clanking sounds. He was escorted away by the jailer.
Hai Wuya looked at Qiao Mu's back in a daze. He had just taught him martial arts and thought Qiao Zhong was a person in a similar situation as him and would stay in the prison for a while. However, he did not expect the death penalty to come so suddenly
At this time, a jailer came trotting over and opened the cell door for Hai Wuya.
"Is it time for me to get on the road too?" Hai Wuya also stood up and prepared to follow Qiao Mu.
"Master Hai is joking." The prison warden was very friendly.
"The emperor is kindhearted and has just issued an order to reinstate Lord Hai."
...
In the north of the imperial capital, inside the Taoist temple of the Da Dao Sect.
As the largest Taoist temple in the imperial capital, the incense burning here is far more popular than that of ordinary Taoist temples. Pilgrims come and go in large numbers, and the incense burning never stops day and night.
A side hall where "Qingyi Immortal" is enshrined is sparsely populated. In such a large hall, there is only one middle-aged man standing there, holding a long incense stick and bowing to the immortal.
This middle-aged man looked to be in his fifties, with thin lips and a well-proportioned and sturdy figure, except for his eyes, which were as cold as water.
Only when he saw the statue of the immortal on the altar, his indifference faded a little, and he felt a yearning that was hard to conceal.
suddenly.
"Qin Shiqing." A voice sounded in the middle-aged man's mind.
He looked around, but found that there was still no one around, only the statue of the immortal on the altar, looking down at him as before.
"Greetings to the Immortal Qingyi." The middle-aged man named Qin Shiqing knelt on the ground respectfully.
"You have done very well. Your determination to pursue the truth is indeed firm and you have passed the test..." This ethereal voice echoed in the side hall, and the door slammed shut.
"It's just that you don't have spiritual roots, and you don't have the qualifications to be an immortal..."
Qin Shiqing's face just showed joy, but it quickly froze.
He is a spirit-refining warrior who is quite famous in the martial world, but refining the spirit is not what he wants. What he has always longed for is the path to immortality.
Over the years, he has sacrificed a lot, and now he has finally established a relationship with the Da Dao Sect. He has worked hard for the Da Dao Sect and passed the test of the immortals. But in the end, he cannot cultivate to be an immortal because he has no spiritual roots
"Although you cannot cultivate immortality, have you heard of the rumor about achieving enlightenment through martial arts?" The ethereal voice seemed to have guessed his thoughts and continued.
"To enter Taoism through martial arts?"
"That's right. If you can accomplish this, your achievement will not be comparable to becoming an outer disciple of my Dao Sect." Qingyi Immortal said:
"The Martial Saint died tragically, and the martial artists in the world are leaderless. If you can succeed, it will naturally be an extraordinary feat. You can be the leader of the martial arts world, and you will have the hope of being crowned king. On behalf of our Xianmen Da Dao Sect, ask for a position of king."
After discussion, Da Dao Sect has made a decision.
Temporarily retreating behind the scenes, the immortal sect only focuses on collecting offerings and no longer acts in a ostentatious manner.
Worldly affairs are worldly. Since Emperor Yonghe has pulled out the Sword of the Human King, the Immortal Sect naturally has a way to deal with it.
By creating a so-called invincible warrior, he can naturally become the leader of the new era in this era when the martial arts saint has died.
With the Human King Sword in hand, the immortal cultivators who care about immortality are unwilling to suppress Emperor Yonghe head-on, so they can only take a slightly more tactful approach.
It is false to create an invincible warrior who is crowned as a king.
It is true that they took the opportunity to dismember the Great Yan Dynasty and gradually establish an earthly fairyland belonging to the Da Dao Sect.
When the Great Yan Dynasty is gradually dismembered, the country's fortune will naturally be lost, and the Human King Sword will also lose its luster.
As for whether Qin Shiqing is capable and qualified to be the official agent of the Da Dao Sect, it all depends on whether he can survive... .
In a small dark room.
Daozhen, the disciple of Elder Qingyi, was flipping through the book in his hand out of boredom.
"Qin Shiqing, who killed his wife to prove his truth, is also a mortal with a firm heart." Daozhen curled his lips as he looked at Qin Shiqing's life recorded in the book.
Twenty years ago, Qin Shiqing was the lord of a city in Zhongzhou. Later, he met an immortal cultivator from the Xuantian Sect. In order to prove his firm determination to pursue the Tao to the immortal leader of the Xuantian Sect, he resolutely killed his wife to prove his Tao.
Of course, the immortal cultivators of Xuantian Sect did not accept him.
However, he did not lose heart, and during these twenty years, he forged ahead bravely and finally succeeded in embarking on the path of spirit refining. With a firm mind and determination, he was promoted to the warden of the Heavenly Prison in the imperial capital, and was one of the spirit refining masters in the Heavenly Prison in the Great Yan court.
"Speaking of the Heavenly Prison, the time for Qiao Zhong's execution is almost here." This thought flashed through Daozhen's mind, and he felt a little bit of anticipation in his heart.
"Mortals are like mayflies in the universe, their lives are fragile and short."
“Even if we are as weak as a mayfly, as dim as a grain of rice, when facing life and death, mortals can have a brief moment of brilliance.”
Whether out of his own interest or as a disciple of Elder Qingyi, he had to go to the execution ground.
Chapter 124: Execution at Caishikou
The sun is rising, and the sunlight shines through the clouds.
Under the sunlight, the imperial capital's Caishikou was bustling with activity; it was market time.
Today, the Caishikou Street is crowded with people coming and going. There are peddlers carrying sesame cakes and selling them along the street, and the sound of their shouting is endless.
In front of the shops on both sides of the street, some shop owners came out with a long table and placed it in front of their doors. They also brought a wine jug and wine bowls and placed three bowls of white wine.
"Boss, are you going to worship the gods at the doorstep today? Why not go to the north of the city?" A passerby and a familiar customer happened to see this scene and asked.
"To worship the gods, we must go to the Taoist temple in the north of the city. What gods are we worshipping today?" The shopkeeper said mysteriously while busying himself:
"Don't you know? The government has posted notices these days. Today is the day to go on a red mission. What I'm serving here is the wine for sending souls away."
"Otherwise, guess why the market is so busy today, and why there are some strong-looking martial artists?"
"On a red mission?" The passerby's eyes suddenly lit up:
"Who is going to be beheaded? What crime did they commit? How many people?"
The group looked around and saw that there were indeed many burly men in Caishikou today.
At the doors of the shops on both sides, more than one store had set up altars or tables, poured a few bowls of soul-sending wine, or fried some side dishes, and the aroma of wine and meat filled the air.
This is not the most exquisite thing. Some people even put up red couplets and hung bright red silk at the door of the store, creating a festive atmosphere.
If you don’t know, you might think today is a festival or some auspicious time for a wedding.
"There are quite a lot of people offering soul-sending wine. Which nobleman is going to lose his head today? With such a big scene, how many people will die?" The familiar customer observed and was a little amazed.
"In all my years in the Imperial Capital, the most spectacular one I've seen was when a group of rebels were escorted to the Imperial Capital. More than a hundred of them died, and the executioner's sword must have been blunted. That time didn't seem to be as big as today, right?"
Executions at Caishikou have occurred both in ancient and modern times.
Especially the Caishikou execution ground in the imperial capital, which has continued from the previous dynasty to the present day. Over hundreds and thousands of years, countless heads have been chopped off there, and it has long been famous.
The remnants of the previous dynasty, the dignitaries of the current dynasty, the most vicious criminals... the number of dead is naturally countless.
The more vicious the deceased was and the more prominent his status was, the more people would watch and the more lively the Caishikou would become.
The Caishikou execution ground has become one of the famous sights in the imperial capital!
Coming to the imperial capital but not going to Caishikou to witness a beheading is like going to Sichuan and not eating spicy food; it just doesn’t taste right.
"This time, only one person died, and his name seemed to be Qiao Zhong?" said the shop owner.
"Only one?" The familiar customer immediately lost interest.
"That's meaningless."
"Killing is not the right thing to do. One strike and the person is gone. The scene will end soon. What are you still watching?"
They are from the imperial capital, so their vision and knowledge are naturally not comparable to those of the country people.
Country people, when they see a dead person, will gather around to take a look.
The people in the imperial capital had seen countless beheadings at Caishikou, many of whom were high-ranking officials and dignitaries. The fact that only one person was being executed did not excite them at all.
If a person loses his head, but there isn't a river of blood, what's the point
"Oh, you don't understand this." The shopkeeper laughed:
"Just one person was executed, but there was such a big scene. This person must be of a special status, or he must have committed a special crime!"
"As for Qiao Zhong, he has committed many crimes. Not only did he assassinate the current emperor, but he also desecrated the statue in the Taoist temple..."
"Ah, what's wrong with this guy's brain? Isn't he afraid of angering the gods in heaven? The immortals in the Taoist temple are all here."
"This is retribution. He has been caught by His Majesty and has been locked up in the prison for some time. I think he has been tortured."
On the bench at the entrance of the teahouse next door.
Daozhen, who had changed into casual clothes, raised his head slightly and glanced at the two people chatting next to him, and many thoughts flashed through his mind.
"How could these people be so stupid that the knife didn't fall on their heads?"
"Qiao Zhong and the Wu Ji Hui gang died for assassinating the emperor and resisting our sect."
Qiao Zhong's death sentence is very unusual.
During the assassination attempt on Emperor Yonghe, the notorious Martial Saint was said to have been struck to death on the spot by a bolt of lightning from the sky, turning into ashes.
As the only death row inmate who did not die on the spot, Qiao Zhong was naturally the focus of many warriors.
The Martial Saint was notorious throughout the world, and the arsenal of the former Wu Ji Hui contained all the martial arts in the world. Countless warriors in the imperial capital wanted to find this Qiao Zhong and ask him about what happened on that day.
"Ever since the death of the Martial Saint, even the Martial Arts Association has fallen silent, and we rarely hear news about the Martial Arts Association anymore."
Daozhen looked around. Apart from himself, a disciple of the Da Dao Sect, there were quite a few warriors gathered in Caishikou at this time, many of whom were very powerful.
"I heard that some warriors are unwilling to give up and want to use Qiao Zhong to find the arsenal of the Martial Saint? Ha, these people are stupid. Even the Martial Saint is dead, what value does the arsenal he left behind have? No matter how strong you are in martial arts, can you be stronger than the Martial Saint? Anyway, they are just mortals who can be killed by a thunderbolt from the immortal cultivator..."
Daozhen sat quietly, sipping the tea from his cup, feeling quite comfortable.
The Martial Saint was a scorching sun, but now this sun was easily swallowed by the darkness. From now on, the sky of warriors would be a long night, while the immortals would be high above the clouds in the night sky, overlooking the mortal world.
And at this moment.
Ding ding ding!
The sound of rapid gong beating suddenly rang out, drowning out the noisy voices in the vegetable market.
The person who was bargaining in the market stopped talking and just tilted his head to look in the direction of the sound.