Chapter 249: Chapter 183: Do Not Harm Your Emperor

Another day and night passed in a mountain pass on Qifeng Mountain, in Yuan Guang County.

“Greetings, General Leader!”

Hundreds of Hongxing Gang members dropped to one knee in unison, offering a grand salute and their highest respect to the towering figure in the distance.

The lowest-ranking members, who formed the vast majority, revered him as they would a god!

This was no exaggeration. After all, these men had just experienced the despair of helplessly awaiting their own executions.

They had been labeled as rebels by the Governor of Jiangnan, who had personally led troops to arrest them and throw them onto death row. All they could do then was wait a few days for a hearty final meal before being sent to the execution block.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t considered the possibility of their General Leader arriving in time to rescue them from the execution grounds.

But even a moment’s thought made anyone realize how utterly absurd that idea was.

After all, when Zou Feng had left Yuan Guang County Town, he was merely at the Seventh Grade.

Even if more than three months had passed and he had made a powerful return at the Sixth Grade Gang Qi Realm, a Sixth Grade expert was little more than a loud fart in the face of Yuwen Boxi.

In short, even the most optimistic gang members were convinced they were well and truly screwed this time.

Pinning their hopes on being a hero again in their next life, twenty years from now, seemed more realistic.

And yet, as it turned out, there was no dramatic rescue from the execution grounds.

Reality was even more outrageous than fantasy: Yuwen Boxi had simply let them all go…

After being released from the dungeons, everyone was utterly bewildered, with no idea what had just happened.

It wasn’t until a short while ago, when disciples from the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall notified them, that they were told to head to Qifeng Mountain.

After they entered Qifeng Mountain and Master Tian appeared, they finally understood what had happened.

The General Leader had completely wiped out Yuwen Boxi’s entire estate…

And now, the sight of Zou Feng actually standing before them, holding the Quasi-Martial Champion Scholar Yuwen Zheng, still made everyone feel as if they were in a dream.

The only imperfection in this joyous reunion was that the Gang Leader, Bian Yixia, had not been released.

But one look at Zou Feng with Yuwen Zheng was enough to understand that he intended to make a final exchange with Yuwen Boxi…

As for having to retreat into Qifeng Mountain and become bandits after this narrow escape, the vast majority of the gang members didn’t mind in the slightest.

Becoming a bandit might sound like a downgrade, but it was infinitely better than being beheaded.

Besides, in an era of peace, being a bandit was a dead-end job; they’d be quickly exterminated.

However, these were chaotic times, and it was uncertain if the Great Yan Dynasty itself would even survive.

And with a General Leader who could work miracles, becoming bandits might just be the path to achieving something great…

Some gang members who thought this way actually voiced their ambitions on the spot, and were even ready to take action.

If Zou Feng hadn’t stopped them in time, they might have cobbled together some yellow cloth on the spot and had him ascend the throne right then and there.

Seeing Zou Feng on the verge of blurting out, “Do not bring harm upon Us,” Tian Yun couldn’t help but tease, “Your Majesty, do you have a suitable candidate for Empress?”

With her disciples saved, Tian Yun was naturally in high spirits.

Her teasing carried a hint of jealousy.

’After all, if he exchanges Yuwen Zheng for Bian Yixia, I’ll probably have to sort out the question of my status with the former Miss of the Black Flood Dragon Gang.’

Zou Feng coughed, avoiding the question.

’After all, my goal is longevity and eternal life. I truly have no interest in the pinnacle of secular power.’

’Besides, with the Major Sects looming over everything, the Emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty can hardly be considered the pinnacle of power anyway.’

The next matter to handle was the daily sustenance for so many bandits.

Qifeng Mountain was rich in resources, and with several hundred Martial Artists, not to mention a Fifth Grade Expert like Tian Yun watching over them, survival in the short term would not be an issue.

But they had to be prepared for a long-term stay.

It would likely be difficult to obtain supplies through normal channels, unless they could be transported from the Southern Border…

In truth, it didn’t take long to cross through the depths of Qifeng Mountain into the Southern Border.

However, that wasn’t a realistic option, as Zou Feng had personally verified.

Even after he had killed Duan Wuya and reached the Sixth Grade, he still got lost deep within Qifeng Mountain, completely losing his sense of direction.

This had to be due to some unknown strangeness deep within the mountains; the area was likely a massive Illusion Array.

But the disciples of Biyou Palace clearly possessed a unique method that allowed them to come and go freely through the depths of Qifeng Mountain.

Otherwise, they never could have raised that Giant Scorpion.

’As it happens, the new Cave Master of Biyou Palace’s Silk Cave still owes me a favor…’

’Opening a path over Qifeng Mountain from the Southern Border would be a small, effortless favor for the new Cave Master.’

’And once the path is open, I can travel to the Southern Border whenever I want to acquire resources.’

’Especially those other Exotic Poisons from Biyou Palace—besides the Scorpion Poison and Spider Poison. I have to get my hands on some more of those.’

As for the Iron Blood Gu Poison Group, which was always on Zou Feng’s mind…

They had started with fifty members, but five were lost during Yuwen Boxi’s previous roundup.

Of the remaining forty-five, seven had already reached the Entering Grade.

This was a respectable ratio; Zou Feng’s previous, resource-intensive cultivation of them had clearly paid off.

But given his current needs, he was not satisfied with this ratio.

There was only one thing to do. As soon as he had a moment, he would give every member of the Iron Blood Gu Poison Group a dose of his “Wise Triple” to help them break through their bottlenecks more smoothly.

The miraculous nature of Zou Feng’s “Wise Triple” went without saying; Tian Yun had been able to advance to the Fifth Grade precisely because she had been on the receiving end of it almost daily.

The other beneficiary, Murong Yunhai, had most likely also succeeded in his breakthrough by now.

After Zou Feng finished administering the technique to each of them, another member of the Iron Blood Gu Poison Group, who had been stuck on the verge of the Entering Grade, broke through right then and there.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep