Mysterious mirror hanging high

Qi Dong left the mine with a lot on his mind. Instead of returning to his own cave immediately, he went to a tavern in the mining town.

Although it was still time to go down to the mines, the monks in the mines always worked in two shifts. The miners who had not yet started work would gather in the taverns and teahouses in the mining town to have a few drinks.

The tavern here is also the black market for underground transactions in the mining town, and many shady things are sold in the tavern.

Qi Dong originally wanted to use the spirit stones he had accumulated over the years to buy some self-defense magic weapons and talismans to prepare for his escape from the Heavenly Palace. However, when he passed by a wine table, he heard two miners sitting at the table discussing something:

"Have you heard? A few days ago, Demon Lord Xuanyu and Demon Lord Xichang suddenly announced to the world that they were leaving Heaven!"

"Is this true? These are two Demi-Gods! How many Demi-Gods are there in our Heavenly Court?"

One of them said mysteriously, "During the past, when the Celestial Continent experienced a great calamity and the Divine Cauldron descended, His Majesty swore a great oath to his inner demons, vowing not to ascend until he had overcome the calamity... This attracted many Divine Transformation Heavenly Sovereigns and Nascent Soul True Sovereigns to join the Heavenly Court."

"Those bigwigs are just trying to protect themselves and keep each other warm."

"Now that the great calamity has been averted, it is natural for everyone to return to their own sects and no longer need to be under the protection of Heaven."

"Is it really that simple?"

Another person curled his lips: "But the news I heard is not that simple."

"It is said that the reason these two Deified Demon Lords were so eager to leave Heaven and cut ties with Heaven is because of Lord Lu..."

"Your Majesty once had a grudge against the [Heavenly Fate Tower]. Now that the catastrophe has ended, the conflict between the two has naturally come to the fore. I estimate that a war between us and the righteous forces of the East China Sea and Penglai is imminent!"

"That Lu Tianjun... has already become an invincible figure who dominates the world. It's obvious that our Heavenly Court is about to be wiped out by him alone. Why don't those important figures just run away? Are they waiting to be buried with the entire Heavenly Court?"

"Shh... keep your voice down."

"Hmm...what are you afraid of? This is spreading across all the realms. They can arrest me just for making a few idle remarks. Understand that the law does not punish the masses."

One of the miners worriedly said, "You said that the Heavenly Palace is such a big thing, can it really collapse at any time? If the Heavenly Palace collapses, what will we do?"

"Without the Emperor's life, I have the Emperor's heart."

One person sneered, "Who cares if it's Heaven or the East Sea? Even if the Jade Emperor comes, he'll have to find people to mine! They say that the True Lord Xuan Ce who rules the East Sea is extremely kind to ordinary cultivators. Maybe our treatment can be improved a bit..."

"Hehe, if the East China Sea attacks, I'll be the first to lead the way..."

Qi Dong's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Is Heaven's doom coming? People everywhere are already seething with resentment!"

He hurried back to his cave, secretly calculating, "If I take this opportunity to contact the lower-level cultivators here and secretly launch a major event, and then wait for the arrival of the righteous masters from the East China Sea and Penglai, and then join forces inside and outside, wouldn't that be a great achievement?"

The more Qi Dong thought about it, the more reliable it seemed. As far as he knew, there were many miners like him who had complaints about the Heavenly Court. After work every day, they would gather together to complain about the heavy workload and indirectly criticize the top leaders of the Heavenly Court... If someone raised a call at this critical moment, everyone would surely respond.

The young monk was obviously excited, and at this moment, there was a knock on the door outside the cave.

"Xiao Qi, are you there? I'm Lao Xu."

Qi Dong opened the cave door and saw Old Xu standing outside with a medicine bag in his hand. He was surprised:

"Old Xu, what are you doing..."

"I looked around in the cave and found some antidote powder left, so I brought it over to you."

"Old Xu..."

Qi Dong felt warm in his heart and quickly welcomed him in.

"Are you feeling better?" Old Xu asked with concern.

"Much better, thank you for your concern."

Qi Dong suddenly had an idea. The old man Xu in front of him was actually a very good accomplice... Although he was always thinking about accumulating spiritual resources and having descendants, he had many complaints about the Heavenly Court in private!

So he pulled Old Xu to the bedside and whispered:

"Old Xu, I have something important to do... Do you want to join me?"

Old Xu hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation yet. He just laughed and said, "What big deal can you possibly get into?"

"Rebellion!" Qi Dong shouted.

"What?" Old Xu was stunned.

Qi Dong said hurriedly, "The Heavenly Court is already on its last legs, and many fellow Taoists in the mine have long been dissatisfied with it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... Why don't we seize it and start a rebellion?"

Old Xu scratched his head and said, "Xiao Qi, are you hallucinating because of diarrhea?"

"No, I'm serious!"

Seeing Qi Dong's stern face, Old Xu finally realized that the words spoken by this young boy in front of him came from the heart. A chill ran straight to his head, and he said in horror:

"Are you crazy? Who can a third-level Qi training cultivator like you defeat? Those Foundation Establishment Supervisors alone are more than you can handle... and you're still trying to start a rebellion! Damn it!"

"What are you afraid of? Today's foundation-building cultivators are worthless."

Qi Dong whispered, "A new batch of [Purple Thunder Staffs] have arrived on the black market. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be seriously injured if they were hit by one. Let's find a way to get a batch..."

"Magical weapons like the [Purple Thunder Staff] and the [Flame Staff] have always been strictly controlled! How could such things appear on the black market?" Old Xu shuddered.

"Doesn't this just show that the Heavenly Court's control over the grassroots is much weaker than before?"

Qi Dong's lips curled up slightly. "Old Xu, when the rebellion succeeds, you and I will have made great contributions. We will then go to the East China Sea, where spiritual resources are abundant. Is there anything you want? It's better not to waste your time here! It takes most of your life to save up for the bride price to marry a female cultivator."

Old Xu was speechless for a long while before he finally managed to utter, "But... this is punishable by death..."

"Wealth is found in danger!"

Qi Dong looked dissatisfied and whispered, "Old Xu, please rest here for a while. I'll contact a few like-minded Taoist friends and come here to discuss important matters..."

After that, he turned around and left.

At this moment, Old Xu's expression changed, and he seemed to be hesitating about something.

Just when Qi Dong was about to leave the cave, Old Xu seemed to have finally made up his mind. A golden brick magic weapon flew out from his sleeve and hit Qi Dong's back of the head accurately.

Old Xu was older and his cultivation was far superior to Qi Dong's. He launched a sneak attack with deliberate intent, and succeeded in one blow. Qi Dong's brain burst and he died on the spot.

"You forced me to do this, you forced me to do this..."

Old Xu looked at Qi Dong's body with a look of pity, and murmured: "Can't we just live a good life? Why do we have to suffer so much..."

At the same time, Jing Yu and Xiao Shihua were standing in the clouds, their sight seemed to be able to penetrate everything. Through the walls of the cave, they were concentrating on watching everything that was happening inside the cave.