Chapter 188: The Death of the Cabinet Chief

Lin Jiufeng watched Emperor De leave.

The disturbance outside became livelier as time pa.s.sed by, but Lin Jiufeng didn’t go out.

He stayed quietly in the Cold Palace.

He stroked the white cat.

“Are you going to the Northwest Territory soon?” The white cat asked.

Lin Jiufeng shook his head. “I want to take a look at the Land of Extreme Negative Energy once again.”

Lin Jiufeng felt that there was a huge secret in the Land of Extreme Negative Energy.

But it seemed that he couldn’t track down that secret with his current cultivation base.

“Didn’t you go down before?” The white cat mumbled.

Lin Jiufeng didn’t answer.

He went down once again.

Through the narrow pa.s.sageway, Lin Jiufeng went deep into the Land of Extreme Negative Energy.

He saw rows of tombs inside.

He had seen them countless times before and he signed in using each tomb.

Upon seeing the tombs today, he didn’t feel anything strange.

The sign-in opportunity also didn’t appear.

‘Why did these people fought to the death for the right to occupy the Land of Extreme Negative Energy? And why is it that they refused to leave this place even after death?’ A frown spread on Lin Jiufeng’s face as he thought.

He strolled around the Land of Extreme Negative Energy.

The Land of Extreme Negative Energy was scary and creepy in the eyes of outsiders.

But for Lin Jiufeng who lived here for decades, he felt as if he was strolling in his garden.

He lived here for decades. Naturally, he knew everything in here like the back of his hand.

Moreover, the ghosts and evil spirits in this place didn’t dare to approach Lin Jiufeng.

Lin Jiufeng had once taught them a lesson back then.

Upon realizing his return, they tucked their tails between their legs.

They didn’t even dare to show their heads, afraid that Lin Jiufeng would teach them a lesson again.

Lin Jiufeng was too lazy to find trouble with them.

It wasn’t like he could trigger the signing-in opportunity if he did so.

The goal of his visit this time was to dig out the deeper secrets in the Land of Extreme Negative Energy.

This time, he chose to explore the place in detail.

Step by step, he cautiously walked through the Land of Extreme Negative Energy.

Lin Jiufeng wanted to see if he had forgotten or missed a few places that held clues about the deeper secrets in this place.

Lin Jiufeng was neither anxious nor in a rush. He walked for a full seven days.

Seven days later, Lin Jiufeng sighed helplessly.

He stood at the exit of the Land of Extreme Negative Energy.

He didn’t discover anything.

After searching every inch of land in the Land of Extreme Negative Energy, he gained nothing of significant value other than the fact that he had now thoroughly memorized every inch of the land here in detail.

Meow ~

The white cat called out softly.

She followed Lin Jiufeng throughout the seven days, but she never understood what he was trying to do.

“We can go out now.” Lin Jiufeng stroked the white cat and walked out.

‘Maybe I’m simply too weak to find the secrets here.’ Lin Jiufeng thought.

Lin Jiufeng made a decision. He must become stronger first before coming back.

‘I still have to increase the number of powerhouses in this world. This way, the recovery rate of the world’s spiritual energy will be faster. I don’t want it to stay like this. Stable, neither fast nor slow.’ Lin Jiufeng thought in his heart.

After seven days, Lin Jiufeng left the Land of Extreme Negative Energy and came to the Cold Palace.

After more than a hundred years of living in the Cold Palace, most of the buildings had become dilapidated to the point that they could not be even recognized anymore.

Some of the walls were torn apart by vines and branches.

Without anyone to take care of it, the Cold Palace lost its liveliness and fell into ruin.

If it weren’t for the illumination of a lone lamp, a large portion of the Cold Palace would have already collapsed by now.

Lin Jiufeng walked out. Facing the sunlight, he took the white cat off his shoulder and held her in his palm. He looked at her and said, “I previously said that I would bring you to see the glory of the Northwest Territory, but I was delayed by the trouble here involving Emperor De…”

“Now that everything’s over and done, we will definitely be able to go this time.”

Meow ~

The white cat called out happily.

Her voice was sweet and she licked Lin Jiufeng’s palm with her pink tongue.

Dong dong dong!

Dong dong dong!

But at this moment, a bell sounded from the Forbidden City.

The sound of the bell was very loud, causing Lin Jiufeng’s expression to change.

He had heard this bell twice before.

Once was for Emperor Yuan.

The second was for Emperor Ming.

Could it be that…

Lin Jiufeng solemnly looked at the Forbidden City.

Boom!

His boundless divine consciousness instantly spread to the Forbidden City.

No one noticed him deploying his divine consciousness.

To others, Lin Jiufeng’s divine consciousness was something from another dimension.

It was already considered strong if a Boundless Realm expert’s divine consciousness could cover the entire Forbidden City.

After all, the Forbidden City was huge. It occupied an area of hundreds of miles.

But Lin Jiufeng could instantly encapsulate the entire imperial capital with his divine consciousness. Obviously, he was far more powerful than ordinary Boundless Realm experts.

Lin Jiufeng’s divine consciousness permeated the Forbidden City.

He saw Emperor De and Princess Yulin standing with mournful expressions.

The sound of a bell reverberated as an imperial guard struck it.

It sounded—a total of six times!

It wasn’t nine times, which represented the Emperor.

Lin Jiufeng heaved a sigh of relief knowing that Emperor De was still alive.

But in the blink of an eye, he became curious.

What influential figure pa.s.sed away that the Forbidden City had to knock on the copper bell to announce his pa.s.sing?

In the Forbidden City, Emperor De sighed and said to Princess Yulin. “Teacher has pa.s.sed away. He will be buried with the standard of a state funeral. I will personally write a monument to comfort his spirit in heaven.”

“Everything has been arranged. He could have lived for another year or so, but the matter this time has exhausted him far too much. After he returned and slept, he never woke up,” Princess Yulin said sadly.

“He is an elder of four generations. He followed Grandpa Emperor to pa.s.s reforms on the Yuhua G.o.d Dynasty, he supported Father Emperor, and eventually supported me. During my reign, many troubles arrived along with all sorts of civil issues, but Teacher handled them well.”

“Send an obituary notice throughout the world to inform the citizens of his pa.s.sing,” Emperor De said with reddened eyes.

“I will.” Princess Yulin nodded gently.

Emperor De sat down quietly and sighed.

Princess Yulin also made her retreat.

Today, the imperial capital mourned the pa.s.sing of a great man.

Lin Jiufeng finally understood.

It turned out that the Yuhua G.o.d Dynasty’s Cabinet Chief had pa.s.sed away.

“He’s indeed qualified for the ringing of the copper bell and for the Emperor to write an obituary notice announcing his death to the world.” Lin Jiufeng agreed with Emperor De’s approach.

When Lin Jiufeng came to this world, the Cabinet Chief was already the Yuhua G.o.d Dynasty’s most trusted scholar. He was only 23 years old back then.

Back then, he swore to a.s.sist a wise ruler.

But Lin Jiufeng’s father didn’t listen to his suggestion.

Lin Jiufeng’s father didn’t think that the Yuhua G.o.d Dynasty had to be reformed. Thus, the former sent the Cabinet Chief to become an official in another city.

After enduring the turbulence of life and becoming a middle-aged man, the Cabinet Chief finally met the honest and upright ruler that he wanted to serve when he was young.

Emperor Yuan!

Emperor Yuan shared the same thoughts as him.

The ruler and minister worked together to reform the Yuhua G.o.d Dynasty.

After Emperor Yuan pa.s.sed away and Emperor Ming succeeded the throne, he began to a.s.sist Emperor Ming.

He pushed the pa.s.sing of the reforms with an iron hand.

Even though he offended many people in his service, even though he was scolded by the aristocratic families, he remained steadfast in his goal.

Even when Emperor Ming suddenly asked him to retire to his hometown, he accepted the order gracefully and had no regrets.

Fortunately, Emperor Ming came to his senses in time and invited him back to the imperial court.

Then, from Emperor Ming to Emperor De, he painstakingly guided Emperor De on the path of being a wise ruler.

Today, he was more than a hundred years old and was already at the end of his life.

No matter how good the pills and the spiritual energy were, they couldn’t nourish his already dried-up body.

This Cabinet Chief worked hard all his life.

Even on his deathbed, he was still worried about Emperor De.

Hence, Emperor De sent him off with the highest possible etiquette that he deserved.

Lin Jiufeng hugged the white cat and looked at her puzzled eyes.

He explained. “The Cabinet Chief who dedicated his life to the Yuhua G.o.d Dynasty pa.s.sed away, so the copper bell only rang six times.”

“Are you going to stay here to send him off?” The white cat asked.

“No…”

“The person who should send him off is Emperor De. I had no contact with him whatsoever in his entire life. Although I respect him from the bottom of my heart, I have no reason to stay to send him off myself.” Lin Jiufeng shook his head.

He carried the white cat and left the imperial capital as he headed for the Northwest Territory.