Blood Refinement of Strange Arts

Now.

The cell was a dimly lit doorway.

Zhou Yi was outside.

Zhu Xiaowei was inside.

"Old Zhou, if you want to laugh, just laugh. I can take it!"

Zhu Xiaowei, dressed in a ghastly white prison uniform, wore a mournful expression. "Considering our years as colleagues, could I ask you a favor?"

Zhou Yi nodded. "Old Zhu, go ahead."

Zhu Xiaowei pleaded, "Being implicated in a major rebellion case, there's bound to be confiscation of property and exile. When the time comes, Old Zhou, please help look after things a bit, so my wife and children don't suffer too much on the road."

"Old Zhu, how did you get involved with the Crown Prince's Faction?"

It wasn't that Zhou Yi looked down on people, but before the rebellion, the Crown Prince was already supervising the country. How could he have taken a fancy to a mere ninth-rank captain?

"The year before last, at White County Marquis's wedding, I got acquainted with the Heir of the Duke of Qi,"

Zhu Xiaowei said, "Later, taking advantage of my position in the Heavenly Prison, I squeezed a lot of silver out of several convicted officials, which caught the Crown Prince's eye."

The Duke of Qi's niece was the Crown Prince's concubine. Affected by the rebellion case, the Duke's title was demoted to Marquis.

Some of the corrupt officials imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison had hidden their ill-gotten gains before their cases were exposed. Zhu Xiaowei used his position to extract the silver through torture, coercion, and enticement.

The Heir of the Duke of Qi was short of silver to buy official positions, so he didn't care about Zhu Xiaowei's humble origins and pulled him into the Crown Prince's Faction.

"Old Zhu, rest assured, your colleagues in the prison will take good care of your family."

Zhou Yi comforted him, "Once they're sent to the place of exile, I'll make sure to smooth things over with the local yamen. I can't promise they'll live comfortably, but at least they won't have to do heavy labor or suffer abuse."

"Old Zhou, you're a true friend!"

Zhu Xiaowei was deeply moved. In this world, many people add flowers to the brocade, but few offer charcoal in the snow.

Zhou Yi comforted Zhu Xiaowei a few more times, saying that once his family was pardoned and returned to Shenjing, he could arrange for them to become prison guards, ensuring they had a way to support themselves.

Cell Block Nine.

There was something wrong with the feng shui of this cell; many important figures who entered it died prematurely.

Li Ye paced back and forth in the cell, occasionally looking towards the corridor, as if expecting something.

Also in the cell with Li Ye were his three younger brothers, ranging in age from seven or eight to over ten, their expressions fearful and their faces pale.

Zhou Yi arrived outside the cell door, his gaze sweeping over the four of them. The three younger ones had been born into a life of luxury, never following Li Wu in his military campaigns, their spirit and energy far inferior to Li Ye's.

A look of joy flashed in Li Ye's eyes, and he tentatively said, "Senior, are you..."

"It is I."

Zhou Yi transmitted his voice, "I promised Li Wu that I would leave a bloodline for the Li family, to prevent heroes from dying without descendants!"

The old voice fell into his ears, exactly the same as the senior who had secretly taken action before. Li Ye breathed a sigh of relief; this was the last lifeline his father had left for the Li family.

"Thank you, Senior, for your life-saving grace."

Li Ye observed Zhou Yi's expression and, knowing that Zhou Yi didn't want to reveal his identity, asked his three younger brothers to retreat to the inner room.

Zhou Yi asked curiously, "How did you know my identity?"

Li Ye said, "Before his death, my father sent someone to tell me that if one day the entire family was imprisoned, the person delivering food to this cell would be the Li family's last chance."

Zhou Yi asked again, "Did the Li family actually participate in the Crown Prince's rebellion?"

Li Ye was silent for a moment, then truthfully replied, "This junior did have contact with the Eastern Palace, hoping to help the Crown Prince ascend the throne as soon as possible, in order to seek survival in death. However, the time was too short, and I hadn't had time to contact old acquaintances in the army."

Zhou Yi was surprised. "So, the rebellion was orchestrated by the Hongchang Emperor himself?"

Li Ye nodded. "As far as this junior knows, the Crown Prince never had any intention of poisoning him, only wanting to force the current emperor to abdicate."

Zhou Yi clicked his tongue in amazement. "The Hongchang Emperor is also a ruthless man. To completely eradicate the Li family, he's willing to sacrifice his own son. Such a hasty frame-up clearly indicates that his days are numbered."

Li Ye bowed. "Please, Senior, save the Li family!"

Zhou Yi reminded him, "I only promised Li Wu that I would save one."

Li Wu's four sons were wanted criminals, thorns in the Hongchang Emperor's side. It was already very risky to find an opportunity to save one of them.

"This junior wouldn't dare to ask for too much. Being able to preserve the Li family's bloodline is already a great fortune."

Li Ye continued, "My father left behind a scroll of unusual techniques, taught by the late Emperor back then. Now that the royal family wants to destroy the Li family, this junior doesn't need to abide by his oath anymore, so I offer this technique in exchange for Senior accepting my third brother as a personal disciple!"

"Third brother?"

Zhou Yi asked in confusion, "You are the current Duke Who Pacifies the Nation. If you die, most of the Li family's connections in the army will be wasted."

"After my father's death, even uncles and cousins avoided the Li family like the plague. What connections are left?"

Li Ye said, "This junior's martial arts talent is poor, and I have no hope of becoming an Innate Grandmaster. My third brother has extraordinary talent. If he can follow Senior and cultivate, he may be able to break through to the Innate realm in the future."

Zhou Yi asked, "Is it the flying sword technique?"

Old Bai had witnessed Li Wu luring and killing Jianghu experts back then, the flying swords killing people like mowing grass.

"This unique technique is called Blood Refinement of Spirit Weapons, and only Innate Grandmasters can practice it."

Li Ye explained, "You find a weapon with a spirit, sacrifice blood to it, and connect with it through your mind. Over time, you can incorporate it into your body and control it like an extension of your limbs."

Zhou Yi looked interested but shook his head. "The technique is good, but unfortunately, I don't take disciples."

The relationship between master and disciple in this era wasn't as simple as teacher and student; it was more like a second parent.

If the master had something to do, the disciple would serve him.

If the disciple committed evil, the master would also bear the consequences.

Li Ye sighed in disappointment. The Blood Refinement technique was the only thing he had to offer, and there was nothing else that could impress this grandmaster.

"However..."

Zhou Yi changed his tone, "I have a cultivation art that requires a special kind of Spirit Root, and few in the world can master it. If you can get started, with decades of dedicated practice, you might have a chance at becoming an Innate Grandmaster!"

Li Ye pondered for a moment, knowing he had no other choice. "Thank you, Senior, for bestowing this art upon me. I will first tell you the Blood Refinement method..."

He then told Zhou Yi the entire technique, word for word.

"Such a unique technique can already be considered weapon crafting."

Zhou Yi pondered to himself, finding it increasingly profound. He asked, "How do you determine what is a weapon with a spirit?"

"I don't know either, but my father once said that there are two spiritual objects in Shenjing."

Li Ye said, "The Rivers and Mountains Cauldron enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the Imperial Jade Seal passed down in the Fengyang Kingdom. These two items were passed down from the founding emperor and, along with my father's ancestral sword, are known as the Three Treasures of Fengyang."

"Both are troublesome."

Zhou Yi had seen the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. It was nearly a person's height and weighed two or three tons.

Although the Imperial Jade Seal was small, it was hidden deep within the palace, guarded by countless imperial guards inside and out. Moreover, he would need to personally investigate which palace and where exactly the Jade Seal was hidden.

"Let's put this matter aside for now and plan it slowly in the future."

Zhou Yi could afford to wait, even to the point of outliving the Fengyang Kingdom, and then the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron and the Imperial Jade Seal would be his for the taking.

"This cultivation art of mine is called the Origin Returning Art, and less than one in ten thousand people can cultivate it."

Zhou Yi said, "Call your three younger brothers out and test their Spirit Roots one by one. If they can't do it... you can also try other members of your clan."

"Everything will be done as Senior says."

Li Ye didn't insist on saving his three younger brothers. There were still Li Wu's illegitimate sons and daughters in other prison cells, and even more distant relatives of the Li family.

The clan's revenge plan couldn't be abandoned due to personal relationships!

"Heaven and earth are vast and without end, combining to form primordial energy, mixing and returning to one..."

Zhou Yi passed the Origin Returning Art to the four brothers and waited for them to sit cross-legged and practice. They didn't need to actually cultivate magical power; if they could sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it would indicate they had the aptitude for cultivation.

About half an hour later.

Li Ye was the first to get up, shaking his head slightly and looking at his three younger brothers with hope.

Then the second and third brothers ended their meditation, unable to sense the clear spiritual energy of heaven and earth described in the Origin Returning Art.

Only the fourth brother, Li Hong, sat cross-legged in meditation, not feeling tired at all, but instead showing an expression of enjoyment and immersion.

"This is... a Spirit Root?"

Zhou Yi keenly sensed that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was fluctuating slightly, gathering towards Li Hong's body, the amount and speed several times faster than when he cultivated.

"The Li family has an heir!"