I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

"This sword technique is perfect for our family!"

Zhou Yi, with his extraordinary vision, could not fail to understand the difference between the state of 'forgetful love' and 'ruthless love'.

Take Nameless, for example, who killed all his friends and family to break through to the Innate Realm, yet developed a heart demon as well. When he wielded his sword technique, his mind was unclear, as if possessed by a demon, and he did not at all resemble a righteous Sword God.

Forgetful love is different; it's an understanding that naturally arises after living for a long time.

"My father lusts after women, my mother is gluttonous, and my big brother is obsessed with being an official… their ways are hardly those of long-lived people. After a couple more generations, our Zhou family will be able to attain forgetful love too!"

Zhou Yi could understand the state of forgetful love and felt no familial affection towards the Nine Clans, yet he knew that cultivating the sword technique would be difficult for him.

Understanding it doesn't mean one can achieve it!

He continued to read the silk manuscript—the handwriting in the latter part was distinctly different from the earlier part and was not written by Qing Jing, but by an expert known as the 'Resentful Demon of the Sky', who had deduced his own methods for cultivating in the Innate Realm.

"No wonder Nameless fought so desperately with our family; he was effectively cutting off his own path forward…"

Zhou Yi suddenly realized that the subsequent cultivation process requires oscillating between emotion and heartlessness, until reaching the true state of Supreme Forgetfulness.

As long as a person lives in this world, they will encounter others, make friends, and take disciples. Various entanglements of gratitude, grudges, and emotions are what they call moving from heartlessness to emotion.

After that, one must apply the method of eradicating one's friends and family to return to heartlessness, greatly advancing one's power and realm!

"This truly is an evil method!"

Zhou Yi couldn't help but take a deep breath. No matter how cruel and brutal he himself might be, the people he killed were either his enemies or unrelated, while the sword technique required the killing of one's true friends and family.

For example, if Zhou Yi killed his godson, his state of mind wouldn't change in the slightest, solely because there was no affection or righteousness between them to begin with.

Nameless had already cultivated to this realm, and his cultivation epiphanies were written on the silk manuscript.

"For those with affection, disciples are the best choice, few in number but deep in emotion. Killing them greatly advances one's realm, and the heart demons thus produced will be lighter… Therefore, that Xiao Yun, he must be the newly chosen disciple of Nameless, used to practice his skills with the disciple's life!"

Zhou Yi noted down the core essence of the sword technique and slipped the silk manuscript into his sleeve before waving over the officials accompanying him.

"Magistrate Zeng, seize the property of the Heavenly Sword Sect, incarcerate all the core disciples and their Nine Clans, and convert all the fields and wealth into gold. You keep twenty percent, and send the rest to the Inspectorate!"

"Understood."

Magistrate Zeng bowed deeply to accept the order. With over three hundred core disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect being major merchants and gentry locally, the seizure of their properties would surely be lucrative.

Furthermore, those nominal disciples who wanted to stay unscathed would also need to show some sincerity!

Zhou Yi then said, "Commander Xie has made a great contribution. I will personally petition His Majesty for permission to lead the troops and visit the other sects."

"Understood."

Commander Xie spoke up, "My lord, a thousand and eight hundred people died or were injured in the great battle. Although the formation was chaotic, there was no rout. With this battle, they can be considered elite troops. May I incorporate them into my command?"

"Of course you can. What I want, I never return!"

Zhou Yi said, "The dead will be compensated with one hundred taels of silver, and the living rewarded with fifty taels. It amounts to no more than thirty to fifty thousand taels of silver. As long as they obey me, they won't lack for riches."

One hundred taels of silver for compensation could buy ten lives in a slaving establishment—a sky-high price.

Fifty taels as a reward could buy a dozen or so acres of land in the countryside, enough to support a family. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

When the word spread, cheers erupted from the military formation.

Under the leadership of the Squad Leader, they all knelt and kowtowed loudly on the ground, causing a thunderous rumble, shouting long life to the lord for thousands and thousands of years.

Seeing this, Magistrate Zeng's eyes flickered with a strange light, and after pondering for a while, he said.

"My lord, since we've seized such a vast amount of land from the Heavenly Sword Sect's disciples, why not sell it cheaply to the soldiers? It would perfectly serve two purposes!"

"That's not a bad idea."

Zhou Yi nodded slightly and chuckled, "That way, I won't even have to spend tens of thousands of taels of silver."

The Heavenly Sword Sect perished under the siege by the soldiers, and Zhou Yi took the lion's share of the seized lands. By allocating a small portion to the soldiers, they felt not injustice but instead saw Zhou Yi as a benefactor and a living Bodhisattva.

It truly was the best of both worlds!

Sure enough, once the order was given, the cheers from the soldiers grew even louder.

Zhou Yi continued to give orders, "Magistrate Wen, send word to the Inspectorate in all regions to spread the news of our annihilation of the Heavenly Sword Sect and the slaying of the Sword God."

"As you command."

Magistrate Wen asked, "My lord, this matter will require the use of the Sword God's head, as he rarely appeared in the martial world in recent years. Relying solely on our words would hardly convince the other sects."

An Innate Grandmaster, the pinnacle of martial arts.

Defeating is easy, but killing is as difficult as difficult can be; otherwise, Eunuch Hai and Eunuch Wei wouldn't have such exalted statuses.

"Hehehe…"

Zhou Yi tossed Nameless's head over while cackling a few times, saying.

"Display the head for all to see. Let those martial sects see the consequences of provoking the Eastern Depot!"

...

The fourth year of the Orthodox reign.

At the end of October.

The Heavenly Sword Sect was destroyed, and the Sword God fell.

As the old masters from various sects confirmed the head to be real, those in the martial realm who were criticizing and cursing the Eastern Depot suddenly choked up, no longer making any sound.

The seizure of the Heavenly Sword Sect's property contributed five million taels of silver to the imperial coffers.

A sect that had been passed down for many generations, dominating a region and amassing wealth, even Zhou Yi was astonished.

The Orthodox Emperor was elated, his eyes shining, and ordered the Court of Imperial Entertainments to bring a calligraphy piece to Zhou Yi, inscribed with eight bold characters.

"All under heaven belongs to the emperor!"

...

Jiajing Mansion.

Back Office study.

Zhou Yi held a brush in hand, constantly writing and drawing on the paper.

Little Yinzi, his godson attending him, watched his godfather write these few words over two months and couldn't help feeling puzzled.

"Godfather, you've been writing only these few words?"

Zhou Yi glanced at him, not sure if he was truly dull or feigning ignorance perfectly, and placed the brush on the Jade Stone brush rest.