Old Friends

The blazing sun hung overhead.

It was already midsummer.

On the official road of Great Jing, a convoy of carriages and horses moved slowly forward.

Several hundred guards accompanied them, all cavalry.

Every one of them was a strong man carrying blades and swords. Their movements were orderly, clearly showing that they knew martial arts.

More than twenty carriages stretched for over half a li. At the center was a carriage pulled by eight black steeds.

The eight horses were flawless in color, while the carriage itself was plainly decorated. Yet upon closer inspection, both the timber and craftsmanship carried an air of grandeur.

Great Jing decreed that the Son of Heaven could ride with nine horses and a prince with six. This carriage had already exceeded the permitted standard.

Not only did ordinary pedestrians make way, even the carriages of wealthy families kept far away.

"That's the Chen Family's convoy."

"Which Chen Family?"

"In this world, is there another Chen Family?"

"So it's them. They truly gave birth to a fine daughter."

"Watch your words! Watch your words!"

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Liu."

The scouts ahead of the convoy returned to ask their master whether they should rest for the night, as dusk had fallen.

If they continued tomorrow, they would reach the capital by noon.

An aged and imposing voice came from within the carriage. "Pick up the pace. We must enter the capital today!"

"Understood!"

The cavalrymen snapped their reins and loudly passed on the order. "Pick up the pace! Pick up the pace!"

Inside the carriage.

An elegantly dressed elderly woman sat within. She was Chen Jinyu.

There was also a pale-faced youth and four maidservants dressed in four different colors.

Though it was the height of summer, the youth was wrapped in a brocade quilt and shivered from time to time.

"Grandmother, can Grandfather really cure my illness?"

"Don't worry, Nian'er. Your grandfather is the most formidable man under heaven. He will certainly cure you, and he'll teach you how to cultivate. One day, you'll become an immortal."

"Grandfather is an immortal?"

Hope flashed in Zhou Nian's eyes. "Grandmother, are immortals powerful?"

"Of course they are. Immortal Wine House has spread across the land, and eighty or ninety percent of that is thanks to your grandfather's reputation. Tell me, are immortals powerful or not?"

As Chen Jinyu spoke, her eyes reddened, and she nearly wept.

The four maidservants beside her were already used to it and hurriedly offered her embroidered handkerchiefs.

After the old ancestor gave the order, the convoy sped up and did not arrive at the gates of the capital until night had fully fallen.

The one welcoming the Chen Family was none other than the Crown Prince of Great Jing, Li Zhu.

After not seeing him for several months, Li Zhu had shed his scholarly frailty. His skin had turned bronze, and he wore gleaming silver armor.

A spear in hand, a saber at his waist, and a bow on his back, he looked every bit the dashing general.

Two hundred soldiers accompanied him as guards, standing straight on either side of the capital's gate with their eyes fixed ahead. Their murderous aura kept everyone away from the northern gate.

"Greetings, Master's Wife." Upon seeing Chen Jinyu, Li Zhu dismounted and stepped forward to salute her.

"This old woman is merely a commoner. How could I deserve such a grand courtesy from the Crown Prince? You honor me too greatly."

Chen Jinyu controlled Immortal Wine House. Beneath it were the Wine God Trading Company, Wine God Farm, and Taibai Tower. From grain cultivation to winemaking to restaurants, it had become a massive trust spanning the prefectures of Jiangnan.

At least a million people directly or indirectly relied on the Chen Family for their livelihoods. In terms of influence alone, she was no weaker than Crown Prince Li Zhu.

Several months ago, Emperor Li Yu had sent Eunuch Chu to Immortal Wine House in Jiangnan with a secret edict and a letter from Zhou Yi to ask for money. Even he had been astonished by Immortal Wine House's power.

After receiving the Imperial Edict, Chen Jinyu had not immediately believed it. She first sent people to investigate and confirmed that Zhou Yi had become Grand Tutor.

Eunuch Chu hauled ten million taels of silver from the treasury to serve as the initial funding for the Imperial Guard Directorate. In return, however, Chen Jinyu demanded the post of Vice Commissioner of the Imperial Guard Directorate, a second-rank official position.

Chen Jinyu had no interest in an ordinary second-rank official post. But the Imperial Guard Directorate controlled intelligence throughout the land, making it anything but ordinary.

Even if it did not steal the imperial family's secrets, it could pass along critical intelligence at crucial moments and perhaps even save the family from disaster.

After seeing Eunuch Chu off, Chen Jinyu immediately headed north to the capital in search of Zhou Yi.

Li Zhu did not dare put on airs because of his status, not only due to his master Zhou Yi, but also because Chen Jinyu herself was an extraordinary woman not seen in five hundred years.

Half the funds for the imperial family's reconstruction of the Imperial Guard Directorate had come from his master's wife.

"Master's Wife, please. I specially vacated Prince Guangyang's Mansion for you. Its small bridges and flowing water resemble the scenery of Jiangnan. Master is currently at a critical stage of refining a technique and cannot get away for the time being."

"Hmph! When is he not either practicing martial arts or refining techniques?"

Chen Jinyu snorted softly and followed Li Zhu into the capital.

The plaque at Prince Guangyang's Mansion had been changed three days ago. It had originally been intended to read Zhou Mansion, but Zhou Yi ordered it changed to Chen Mansion instead.

At that moment, Zhou Yi truly was at a critical juncture.

Eighteen thousand Army Corpses had been buried in five Five Elements Corpse Nurturing Grounds, then nourished by disciples of the Heavenly Corpse Sect with Profound Yin Qi.

In the first month, corpse transformations occurred, producing several dozen Walking Corpses.

The disciples of the Heavenly Corpse Sect followed the method, killing the Walking Corpses and refining their corpse qi to continue nourishing the grounds.

Afterward, dozens or even hundreds of corpse transformations happened every day. The Heavenly Corpse Sect disciples could no longer keep up with the cleanup, so the new army used them for training.

Though Walking Corpses were the lowest-grade zombies and moved slowly, they possessed the strength of oxen and were impervious to blades and spears.

In the new army, anyone who could kill a Walking Corpse alone could become a Squad Leader. Killing ten qualified one as a Centurion, while killing one hundred qualified one as a Chiliarch.

Of course, anyone bitten to death by a Walking Corpse would be thrown into the corpse pits, where they would wait to become Walking Corpses and then kill others in revenge.

Through this unending selection, the resentment, fiendish qi, and corpse qi within the five corpse nurturing grounds grew ever denser. Until one month ago, a Spirit Corpse was born.

Spirit Corpses differed from ordinary zombies. Not only were they born with innate techniques, they also possessed a degree of intelligence.

Only after more than ten soldiers sent to surround and kill zombies mysteriously drowned in Yin Cold Pool did they discover the Spirit Corpse's traces.

After that, things were simple. Zhou Yi entered Yin Cold Pool himself, captured the Water Spirit Corpse, and used his powerful Divine Sense to wipe out its newly formed intelligence.

The corpse refining methods in the Mysterious Yin Corpse Refining Technique were divided into three types.

Artifact Refinement used artifacts to control corpses. Most corpse refiners in the Heavenly Corpse Sect used this method.

Its greatest benefit was that when the cultivator died, the refined corpse could be passed down. After all, an Innate Grandmaster's lifespan was only one hundred and fifty years, while ordinary Iron Corpses and Bronze Corpses could live for two or three hundred years.

Blood Refinement linked the refined corpse and the caster by blood, allowing it to be controlled as easily as one's own limbs.

The third was Soul Refinement, in which the soul merged with the corpse, allowing one to control the corpse with one's soul.

Old Ancestor Tai Yin combined Soul Refinement with the Soul Possession method, reincarnating as a zombie. As long as his soul did not scatter and he continuously changed zombie bodies, it was equivalent to another form of immortality.

Zhou Yi chose the Blood Refinement Method. He had no need to pass it down or transform his own body into a corpse. He only sought the innate techniques of the Five Elements Spirit Corpses.

He infused his heart's blood into the Water Spirit Corpse and refined it with a secret technique for seven days and nights. At last, it became like an extension of himself.

The disturbances in the Five Elements Corpse Nurturing Grounds became increasingly frequent. At most, five hundred Walking Corpses transformed in a single day, with Iron Corpses mixed among them.

The Heavenly Corpse Sect disciples captured the Iron Corpses for refinement, while five thousand soldiers fought the Walking Corpses to temper their courage and combat strength, all while incorporating fiendish qi for Sha Qi Tempering.

Afterward, the Gold Spirit Corpse, Wood Spirit Corpse, and Earth Spirit Corpse emerged one after another. Only the Fire Spirit Corpse in the Sun-Charging Fiend Tomb refused to appear.

A single Five Elements Spirit Corpse was already an enormous boon to an ordinary person.

Escape arts could only be cultivated by Innate Grandmasters. Refining a Spirit Corpse was equivalent to obtaining an Innate Realm technique in advance.

Yet Zhou Yi was already an Innate Grandmaster. He lacked neither techniques nor a single escape art.

The only thing that caught his eye was the Lesser Five Elements Evasion Technique recorded in the Mysterious Yin Corpse Refining Technique, which could be performed by controlling the Five Elements Spirit Corpses.

Not only had no Spirit Corpse appeared in the Sun-Charging Fiend Tomb, but even Walking Corpses were rare there on ordinary days. The Walking Corpses that did transform were sickly and weak, becoming moving military merits fought over by the soldiers.

Zhou Yi had already mastered the Mysterious Yin Corpse Refining Technique to perfection and soon found a solution.

Feed the corpses Fire Spirit Objects!