Chapter 37

In the blink of an eye, there was a dark, gloomy wall; as he turned to his side, a dull ache washed over him.

Liu Hong felt his head swimming in a daze. He slowly sat up from a pile of hay, rubbed his temples, and cast a glance around his surroundings.

"This... what is this place? Why would Imperial We be here?"

Liu Hong looked completely bewildered.

"Your Majesty, this should be the Yellow Gate North Temple Prison."

A voice drifted over. Liu Hong turned his head and saw a short, dark figure in the adjacent cell.

"Minister Cao?" Liu Hong asked tentatively.

"It is this humble servant," Cao Cao replied, his voice devoid of strength.

Liu Hong was startled and suspicious: "Why would Imperial We be locked in the Yellow Gate North Temple Prison, and Minister Cao, why are you here as well?"

Luoyang possessed two great prisons: the Court Commandant Prison and the Yellow Gate North Temple Prison.

The former generally held high-ranking officials who had broken the law and heinous roaming knights, while the latter was not a formal prison but a private dungeon overseen by eunuchs. In the past, whenever Liu Hong arrested scholars involved in the Partisan Prohibitions, he had them locked away here.

After all, unlike the Court Commandant Prison, this place was not influenced by the literati, allowing one to use torture and coercion to extract confessions without restraint.

Yet, Liu Hong never imagined that there would come a day when he himself would be locked up here!

Cao Cao let out a sigh: "Your Majesty has just awakened from a coma, which is why you have forgotten the preceding events. If you calm your heart and recall them carefully, you will understand."

Hearing this, Liu Hong forced himself to settle his mind. Slowly, images began to emerge in his consciousness: the Moth Bandits storming the city, the false god mounting the altar, the summoning of thunder and lightning, and so on.

"Imperial We... Imperial We have been captured?!"

Liu Hong sat motionless, unable to believe it, feeling as though he had just lived through a nightmare.

Cao Cao lamented: "Being captured is still a fortune. The General-in-Chief, Grand Marshal Deng, Minister of Works Zhang, Gongsun Bogui, and Dong Zhongying all died on the spot under the lightning; there was nothing left of their remains. Commandant Sun Jian and his personal guards were hacked to death by the chaotic army. Only a few, such as Liu Xuande, Yuan Benchu, this humble servant, and Your Majesty, were fortunate enough to survive, though all of us have sustained injuries of varying severity."

At the mere thought of that mythical Thunder Spear, Cao Cao shuddered instinctively. Liu Hong also trembled slightly, his teeth chattering.

"Xuande... is Xuande well? Are his wounds severe?" Liu Hong asked, forcing himself to remain calm.

Cao Cao nodded: "Colonel Liu is unharmed, but he has just been taken out of his cell by the Moth Bandits for questioning."

Hearing the news that Liu Bei was safe, Liu Hong's heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions. He had initially hoped that Liu Bei would be able to carry him out of the city after it fell; he never expected that Liu Bei would also be captured.

Fortunately, Liu Bei was not severely injured. In that case, there might still be a chance to have him lead an "escape"...

Just as Liu Hong was lost in his boundless delusions, the prison door creaked open with a clatter. A burly military officer walked in—it was the Yellow Turban Army Commander, Huang Shao.

Huang Shao looked at Liu Hong with a smirk and said, "Awake? Since you're awake, come with me."

Liu Hong plucked up his courage: "Moth Bandit! Where are you taking Imperial We? Release Imperial We at once!"

Huang Shao clicked his tongue twice: "Still 'Imperial We' this and 'Imperial We' that. It seems you don't recognize the situation without suffering a bit."

He grinned hideously as he stepped forward, breathing onto his fists.

Liu Hong's face turned pale with terror. He tried to back away, but his spine was already pressed against the wall; where else was there to retreat?

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Huang Shao raised his iron fists and landed several heavy blows directly onto Liu Hong's pale, delicate face.

"Still 'Imperial We'ing?!"

"Go on, keep 'Imperial We'ing!"

"You're a prisoner now, yet you still put on that high-and-mighty air of a Son of Heaven?!"

Liu Hong was left dizzy and seeing stars, crying out: "Stop! Don't hit me anymore!"

Cao Cao could no longer bear to watch. They were cellmates, after all, and this was the monarch he had once served, so he spoke up: "Sir, strike no more at His Majesty. If you want to vent your anger, take it out on me!"

Huang Shao ignored Cao Cao and focused his attention on beating the Emperor, though he was careful with his strength, ensuring Liu Hong felt the pain without sustaining internal damage.

Liu Hong wailed under the blows and finally dropped his imperial airs, covering his head and pleading: "Spare me! Spare me!"

"So you know how to use the word 'I' now?"

Huang Shao rubbed his right fist in satisfaction: "Since you know how to speak properly, honestly come with me."

Liu Hong touched his aching face: "Go... go where?"

Huang Shao said: "To be interrogated, of course. Where else? Or would you prefer to be beheaded, torn apart by five horses, or executed by slow slicing?"

"No, no! I... I do not wish to die! I will go to be interrogated!" Liu Hong hurriedly said.

"Fine, let's go..."

Huang Shao ordered his men to tie Liu Hong's hands, then led him out of the prison.

In the Luoyang Imperial Palace, within a magnificent chamber.

Huang Tian was sitting in deep meditation, his consciousness turned inward toward a ball of purple light within his sea of consciousness.

This orb of light appeared after he moved into Luoyang and established it as the capital of the Dao Court.

"This must be the stroke of fortune I sensed in the darkness after pacifying the world, but what exactly is it? Faith, incense, or destiny?"

Huang Tian could not figure it out for the moment, but from the vague messages emanating from the purple orb, he knew it was not yet fully complete. Only when the world was unified would it become perfect and natural, and only then could it be "used."

"Enough, regardless of what it is, I shall pacify the world first. Its nature will naturally become clear when the time comes."

Huang Tian withdrew from his sea of consciousness, ended his meditation, rose to leave the palace chamber, and arrived at the Deyang Hall.

The Deyang Hall, with its painted beams, jade stairs, and gold-inlaid railings, was extremely magnificent and had historically been the place where the emperors held their regular court sessions.

However, those present in the hall today were not the scholars, famous ministers, dukes, or generals of the past, but the "Moth Bandits" branded as rebels by the Han Court, such as Zhang Jiao, Zhang Liang, and He Yi.

"Greetings to the Holy Venerable!" Zhang Jiao and the nine others prostrated themselves.

"All of you, rise."

Huang Tian looked at them, and his first words left the ten men both startled and overjoyed: "Now that Luoyang has been easily taken, the situation of the world is largely settled. I intend to bestow upon you all Daoist arts as a reward."

Seeing that the group wanted to excitedly prostrate themselves again, Huang Tian raised a hand to stop them: "Focus your minds and listen carefully!"

Everyone became solemn.

"The cultivation technique I am about to impart is named the Mountain-Suppressing Spirit Scripture. Although this technique is merely the foundational scripture of a sect from a certain world, it possesses ingenious concepts that are perfect for laying the foundation of an immortal base.

However, cultivation has never been easy. Some enter the path in a few days, others in months or a year. You must maintain a heart as unmoving as a boulder to achieve success. Those who master this technique are like mortals building a ladder to the heavens; shedding the mortal coil to become an immortal, attaining longevity and long-lasting vision is no longer an extravagant hope. Today, I shall impart the Qi-Gathering chapter..."

According to the information obtained from Mo Qiu of the Thick Earth Sect world, as well as his own realization from cultivation, Huang Tian discovered that the vast majority of people in the world could cultivate.

It was just that their meridians, bone structures, comprehension, and the affinity of their souls toward spiritual energy differed, leading some to have spiritual energy gush like a spring during cultivation, while others might not be able to absorb even a few wisps of energy after three or five years.

Thus, the distinction between geniuses and trash was born.

To improve aptitude, the great beings of the Thick Earth Sect world researched the art of "Spirit Root Planting," transplanting monster beast cores and medicinal root systems into the human body to forge a "Spirit Root," using it to assist in absorbing spiritual energy and creating many cultivation geniuses.

However, Mo Qiu had only mentioned this casually at the time and did not explain how to perform the planting, so Huang Tian did not know how to go about it.

As for Zhang Liang, He Yi, Huang Shao, and the others, none could be considered geniuses; they were only slightly better than trash.

The one with the best aptitude was Zhang Jiao, who barely reached the level of an average person.

But Zhang Jiao is nearing his seventies. Even though his natural talent is higher than the average person, the possibility of him reaching the Dao Foundation realm is still very small...

With this thought flashing through his mind, Huang Tian continued to impart the Dao:

"...The beginning of cultivation is the Yellow Heaven and the Thick Earth; embrace the One and guard the source. The Mountain Spirit clears the orifices, Qi penetrates the Yellow Court, the stars of the heavens rotate, the river cart moves on its own, jade is planted in the Yellow Court, and true breath leads to long life..."