Chapter 92: An Immortal Seeks Disciples. Zhou Ming had a general idea of the situation after hearing this.

Empress Su Mingyue and Old Marquis Su Yongning must have reached an understanding.

The father and daughter hadn't fallen out completely, but the actual control of Youzhou had shifted from Empress Su Mingyue's sole grasp to a joint rule.

Old Marquis Su Yongning took control of the Northern Border Army, while Empress Su Mingyue continued to hold power in the heartland of Youzhou and within her existing sphere of influence.

As for the warlord-controlled regions that had already broken away, neither of them had the time to deal with them for now.

The current Three Kingdoms: Great Xia, Great Yuan, and Great Yan.

It could be described as a land of numerous warlords, each governing their own territory.

The return of over two thousand Blood Refining Realm Martial Artists, coupled with the widespread dissemination of the Dushi Sutra among the populace and the military, meant that...

The boundary between Martial Artists and Cultivators was rapidly blurring.

Forces in various regions were frantically recruiting soldiers and horses, Cultivating the Dushi Sutra, stockpiling provisions, and while remaining inactive, they were secretly accumulating strength, awaiting the opportune moment to strike.

On the surface, it seemed as if everyone maintained a fragile balance, developing independently, with no one initiating an all-out war.

But Zhou Ming knew all too well what this calm signified.

It was like a parched grassland, where all forces were desperately piling firewood at their feet, needing only a single spark for the entire grassland to erupt into a raging inferno.

Zhou Ming didn't ask anything further; his figure silently vanished from the City Lord's Mansion.

He ascended into the night sky once more, his gaze sweeping over the city below, which had changed its banners.

Old Marquis Su Yongning had returned.

Emperor Yongchang had died.

Empress Su Mingyue's path to emperorship was completely disrupted by these two events.

However, none of this mattered to him.

The world was in chaos, warlords were everywhere, and everyone was desperately Cultivating the Dushi Sutra.

Wasn't this precisely the situation he desired most?

After standing for a while, Zhou Ming's eyes darted around, and he thought of how to light this fire.

He did not head towards Youzhou but turned and flew northwest.

He would return to Yongning City eventually, but there was a more pressing matter than returning to Yongning City at the moment.

It was chaotic, but not chaotic enough.

Whether it was warlord separatism or individual governance, all forces were currently still observing, still holding their ground, unwilling to be the first to break the stalemate.

The firewood was piled everywhere, lacking only a spark.

And he, Zhou Ming, now intended to personally light this fire.

His destination was Liangzhou.

Liangzhou is located at the junction of the Three Kingdoms of Great Xia, Great Yuan, and Great Yan, with a city on its border called Fengdu City.

This city is not under the jurisdiction of any of the Three Kingdoms; it is a true no-man's-land.

Merchants traveling north and south stop here, and desperate bandits fence their stolen goods here.

Spies from various countries meet here, and collateral branches of aristocratic families secretly operate here.

People from all walks of life mix here, and news travels faster than anywhere else.

Zhou Ming came here precisely because he valued this point.

It was sunset when Zhou Ming arrived above Fengdu City. The summer evening was the coolest time of the day, and people who had been hot all day were sitting in their courtyards enjoying the cool air.

Zhou Ming hovered directly above the city, circulating his magical power to obscure his face with a thin layer of mist.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering in the wind, without any support beneath his feet, standing steadily in the Void Realm.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Ming channeled his magical power into his throat, and his voice, like rolling thunder, rumbled down from the heavens, shaking the window frames throughout the city.

"I am Venerable Qingyun of the Qingyun Sect. Today, I seek three disciples to impart the Great Dao of Longevity: one who conquers the world, one who is the bravest in the three armies, and one who possesses unparalleled wisdom and strategy. Each shall receive one."

The entire Fengdu City seemed to have been put on pause.

The peddler carrying a pole on the street froze in place, craning his neck and looking around.

A tea guest by the window on the second floor of the teahouse held his teacup suspended in mid-air, his eyes fixed on the figure in the sky.

In the caravan lining up to enter the city gate, someone instinctively tightened the camel's reins, and the camels, startled by the sound waves from above, raised their heads and neighed.

After a moment of dead silence, someone shouted, "There's an Immortal in the sky!"

At this shout, people looked up at the sky, and when they saw Zhou Ming's figure,

The entire city's populace knelt down in unison, like a receding tide.

Their foreheads pressed against the bluestone slabs and dirt roads, shouting, "Immortal!"

Many others hadn't even realized what was happening before they were grabbed by the arm by those beside them and pulled to their knees.

Their knees ached, but they didn't dare to rub them, only stealing glances at the sky from the corners of their eyes.

Zhou Ming repeated his previous words loudly once more, enunciating each word, his voice shaking the four wilds.

He paused briefly, giving the people below enough time to digest the shock, and then repeated it a third time.

After the third repetition, he no longer lingered, and his entire being lightly vanished into the distant horizon, as if he had never appeared.

His disappearance didn't matter, but Fengdu City below erupted like a disturbed hornet's nest.

The common folk scrambled to their feet, patting the dust off their knees, their expressions shifting from awe to excitement, then from excitement to fanaticism, as they loudly discussed in the streets.

Taking three disciples?

One who conquers the world—isn't that an emperor who unifies the realm?

Bravest in the three armies—isn't that an unparalleled general with supreme martial prowess?

Unparalleled wisdom and strategy—aren't those the strategists who plan from behind the scenes in the various aristocratic family compounds?

The method of longevity, personally taught by an Immortal.

Whoever could obtain one of these three tickets would gain the qualification for eternal life.

How many people could refuse such a temptation?

Of course, some didn't believe it.

Several merchants who had traveled extensively squatted at the teahouse entrance, holding coarse ceramic bowls, shaking their heads and saying that the figure in the sky looked intimidating, but no matter how far the voice traveled, it wasn't necessarily an Immortal; it must be some Jianghu trick.

But some believed it deeply.

Especially those Blood Refining Realm Martial Artists who had escaped from the Blood Pool Prison.

They had recognized Zhou Ming from afar the moment he appeared in the clouds.

The same clothes, the same figure, the same face hidden in a thin mist, making it hard to see clearly.

He was identical to the mysterious person who had crushed Emperor Liu Jun with a single palm in the valley, severed over two thousand chains with a single sword, and then casually carved the Dushi Sutra onto the stone wall.

They knew better than anyone that it wasn't a fraud, not some Jianghu trick; it was an Immortal.

While the city was abuzz with discussion, hundreds and thousands of eagles soared from the rooftops of Fengdu City.

Carrier eagles and homing pigeons of various feather colors scrambled into the sky, their wings flapping in a continuous chorus. Each carried a small bamboo tube, inside which was a freshly written secret message.

These messenger eagles circled above Fengdu City for half a turn, then scattered, flying towards various directions in the Three Kingdoms of Great Xia, Great Yuan, and Great Yan.

Zhou Ming stood on a distant mountain peak, his Divine Sense encompassing Fengdu City from afar, taking in everything.

He watched the eagles disappear into the horizon, nodded, and then turned to fly towards Yongning City.

The spark had been thrown; now it was just a matter of when it would ignite.

He didn't believe anyone could resist the temptation of longevity.

Power, wealth, beauty—these things eventually grow tiresome, but longevity does not.

Emperors desire eternal dynasties, fierce generals wish for invincibility, strategists aim to predict all heavenly secrets, and longevity is the ultimate answer to all of these.

Even better, his 'Immortal' wasn't just a figure in vague legends.

Those more than two thousand Blood Refining Realm Martial Artists were all living witnesses.

Others might not believe, but these two thousand-plus people would certainly believe without a doubt.