Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 394 Why Does the Official Cultivate Immortality?

The lightning bolt struck the glazed tile roof of the Yanhe Hall with a loud bang, shattering large sections of the glazed tiles and sending fragments flying.

Then, the main beam inside the hall that had been pierced broke off, but they leaned against each other at an angle, causing the entire Yanhe Hall to shake violently. Tiles and dust fell down, revealing a large hole in the roof.

If Ye Nanting hadn't reacted quickly and used his sword to slice away the broken wooden beams and falling tiles, Liu Dan would probably have been injured before the lightning struck him.

The first bolt of lightning wasn't very powerful; it was more like a test. It was blocked by the roof, and its power was further weakened.

When the lightning struck Liu Dan, it only made him groan. However, his dragon robe was charred black by the lightning and stuck to his body.

Although Liu Dan was not seriously injured by the first bolt of lightning, the guards outside the palace gates panicked and rushed into the palace, with the leader even drawing his sword.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Lord Ye! Where is Your Majesty!?"

"His Majesty is undergoing a tribulation of lightning. I will protect this place. You may all retreat to the outside!"

As Ye Nanting spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and a surge of powerful true energy propelled everyone out the door—

However, the palace gate was also shattered by his true energy.

"What!?"

"The Emperor is undergoing a tribulation of lightning?!"

Ye Nanting's words surprised everyone.

Although the Southern Chu Kingdom was too far from the White Stone Immortal Sect and didn't know much about immortality, who among those serving in the court hadn't read books like "The White Stone Immortal Dao Book"? And who hadn't heard the legends of the White Stone Immortal Sect?

Even though the guards dared not easily switch to the path of immortality because they held secure jobs in the royal family, they all knew that the so-called "transcending the tribulation of lightning" was a phenomenon that would only occur when a cultivator at least reached the Qi Refining stage was establishing their foundation!

The Emperor... has become an immortal?!
"This...Lord Ye, is His Majesty truly alright!?"

Although the guards were surprised, they were also somewhat hesitant. They looked at each other, wanting to step forward to "protect" the emperor, but none of them dared to offend Ye Nanting.

After all, this Young Master Ye is not only the closest and most trusted person of the emperor, but also a martial artist with the cultivation of a third-grade innate Venerable. These guards, who are at most fifth grade, even if they were all tied together, would not be enough for Young Master Ye to move a few fingers!
Knowing the hesitation of the guards, Ye Nanting deliberately raised the Shangfang sword and shouted loudly, "By order of the Emperor, I am here to protect the Fa family through the tribulation of lightning. You guard this place and do not allow any unauthorized persons to enter!"

The Shangfang sword in Ye Nanting's hand was bestowed by Emperor Liu Dan of Southern Chu. Of course, this real "Shangfang sword" did not have the function of "beheading tyrannical emperors and treacherous officials" as in the play. Even if it had the right to kill bandits, it was "to punish traitors and embezzlers according to the law".

As for Ye Nanting showing it to others at this time, it was merely a token for conveying an oral order, and had no special purpose.

With the Imperial Sword of the Imperial Guards above them and the Imperial Guardian Ye personally delivering the imperial edict, the guards finally felt at ease. They bowed, pushed back several feet, and quickly surrounded the entire Yanhe Hall, ready for battle.

Although the pressure brought by the tribulation lightning was unbearable, since Liu Dan was the main target, neither Ye Nanting nor the guards could tolerate it.

For a moment, everyone waited anxiously.

Before long, the second and third bolts of lightning followed one after another.

This time, Liu Dan was in a much worse situation. Amidst flashes of light and alternating thunder and fire, Ye Nanting heard Liu Dan's continuous screams and even smelled the aroma of burning flesh and a strong stench of blood. Clearly, Liu Dan was seriously injured. After an unknown amount of time, the continuous thunder finally subsided.

Liu Dan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With the help of the tribulation lightning, he finally succeeded in establishing his foundation, and the "spiritual root" described in the "White Stone Immortal Dao Book" appeared in his body—a root-like structure with veins of three interwoven colors.

After taking a few deep breaths and breathing for a while, Liu Danfang began to examine the spiritual root within his body.

It is mainly composed of three colors: gold, red, and ochre, intertwined together, with some other colors mixed in, which can be ignored.

Overall, the earthy yellow color makes up the majority of the color. According to the description in the "White Stone Immortal Dao Book", this situation should be considered as having three spiritual roots, and even three spiritual roots with good aptitude. At least he can consider cultivating earth-attribute techniques or related spells and supernatural powers.

At the same time, the dark clouds in the sky churned a few times and then completely dispersed, revealing a clear blue sky once again, as if the thunder and lightning just moments before had been an illusion.

Inside the hall, Liu Dan let out a long breath and stood up with some difficulty.

Ye Nanting quickly stepped forward, respectfully draped the outer robe he had already taken off over Liu Dan's shoulders, then knelt on one knee and begged for forgiveness:
"Your Majesty, I deserve death! In my haste, I borrowed the Imperial Executioner's Sword and falsely conveyed the Emperor's decree!"

"Youan, you've worked so hard all these years."

Liu Dan smiled, pressing down on the still-warm outer robe with one hand and helping Ye Nanting up with the other, saying, "I bestowed upon you the Shangfang sword for this very moment. How could you have falsely conveyed the imperial edict? You'an and I are of one mind, and he has rendered meritorious service in protecting the law. I should reward him!"

After speaking, he patted Ye Nanting's hand as a gesture of reassurance, and then wrapped himself in his outer robe and walked out of the dilapidated Yanhe Hall.

Outside the palace, surrounded by a group of guards, many ministers had already rushed over.

Zhao Xuan, the Chancellor of the Secretariat and the Chancellery, was also among them. However, his expression was very complicated, showing worry, fear, and panic. When he saw Liu Dan come out, he forgot to take the lead in bowing.

The other ministers were equally eager to follow suit.

After all, in the past, being struck by lightning in a palace was not a good thing. Someone might even lose their head to take the blame. The charges would probably be something like "deceiving the emperor" or "disrespecting heaven." As long as the treacherous officials who "deceived the emperor" were killed, heaven would calm down and the matter would be over.

Phenomena such as a solar eclipse are often handled in the same way.

But this time was different. Everyone knew that this was clearly a strange phenomenon caused by the legendary tribulation of immortals. Originally, everyone thought that it was Ye Nanting, who was close to the emperor, who had switched to cultivating immortality, which caused such a phenomenon. Many ministers were even eager to impeach him.

If you're going to undergo tribulation, fine, but what's the point of doing it in the palace? Isn't this disregarding the safety of the Emperor?
But when they saw the official, his face blackened and disheveled, walking out wearing only Ye Nanting's outer robe, everyone knew that the person undergoing tribulation was clearly someone else—the official himself!

This left many scheming court officials with unspoken grievances.

Why would an official like you cultivate immortality?!

Just as everyone was stunned, Liu Dan chuckled and asked unhurriedly, "Why are all of you gathered here?"

(End of this chapter)