With the jade pendant swindled from Cao Fan, dealing with the upcoming chaos shouldn’t be a problem.
Speaking of the jade pendant…
In the hands of others, its usefulness would not be as significant as one might imagine.
Because,
after all, the jade pendant is for storing one’s own power and releasing it again, it’s at most like a backup battery that isn’t very durable, and a damaged one at that, you could even say it’s somewhat superfluous.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so casually handed over to Cao Fan, and Cao Fan wouldn’t have so easily pledged it to Zhang Lai.
But,
Chen Sansi possesses the Immortal Treasure Strange Fire!
He isn’t yet clear about the realms of cultivation on the Immortal Path, but he can sense that its power far surpasses the Sword Qi Skill, and even a common initiate couldn’t withstand it.
It is truly a weapon of death.
The only pity is that it can only be used once.
But then again, it was a windfall, so using it to exchange for a chance at an Immortal fate in the deep pool would be worth it.
In two days, the great chaos will commence.
Though he was supposed to be in seclusion, most of his time was actually spent at night, and during the day, Chen Sansi spent quite some time on guard at Ziwei Mountain. As dawn was breaking, he didn’t bother sleeping at all and simply picked up his long spear and went out the door.
Ziwei Mountain was heavily guarded.
Every few hundred steps, one would encounter patrolling armored soldiers.
Li Gong, who had previously disappeared, was now nowhere to be seen, without a trace to be found.
The Crown Prince was in custody.
While Prince Qin and Prince Qi kept sending petitions to impeach, raking up old complaints, claiming that the Sixth Prince’s rebellion was a complete frame-up by the Crown Prince and that his confinement should be ended.
"Mr. Chen,"
a little eunuch appeared silently, "His Majesty summons you for an audience."
"To see me?"
Chen Sansi replied, "Please, lead the way, eunuch." Find exclusive stories on freewebnovel
Inside the Golden Palace,
Emperor Longqing was sitting cross-legged atop a cushion.
"Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty."
"Dispense with the formalities,"
Emperor Longqing interrupted, "Grant a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty,"
Chen Sansi bowed.
"Aren’t you afraid?"
Emperor Longqing added, "That day on the mountain, the assassins who attacked me were all masters above the Profound Image Realm. By standing in their way like you did, weren’t you afraid of dying?"
"To be honest,"
Chen Sansi answered, "the incident happened too suddenly, and I was unaware of their realms. All I knew was that protecting the carriage was my duty as a military officer."
"Very good,"
Emperor Longqing commented with emotion, "You are a loyal minister, similar to Sun Xiangzong in his youth. That year, it was also an assassin—had it not been for Sun Xiangzong taking a strike for me, I would long have been a mound of yellow soil."
"Let’s discuss."
"Who do you think sent the assassins?"
"Your Majesty,"
Chen Sansi evasively said, "I truly do not know. If I must speculate, then too many have suspicions."
"The human heart is unfathomable,"
Emperor Longqing did not press further and instead looked at the mountainscape outside the palace, "In my life, I’ve seen too many people, dealt with too many matters. Still, I do not understand why people change. Although I have never wronged anyone, they are never satisfied and always oppose me, always pressuring me…"
"…"
Chen Sansi found himself at a loss for words.
He couldn’t figure out why the old Emperor had suddenly brought him here for this kind of sentimental talk.
"Seventy years have passed,"
Emperor Longqing’s tone became suddenly aged as he spoke, "Seventy years ago, when I first ascended the throne, there were power-hungry officials within the court and formidable enemies without. Beside me, there were only Sun Xiangzong and a handful of brothers who I brought from the Prince Mansion. The Dasheng nation was on the verge of collapse, ready to crumble at any moment.
"It was I who implemented reforms, sweeping away the decay."
"It was I who raised troops and nurtured generals, pacifying all sides."
"It was I who turned the tide, creating the Longqing resurgence, ushering in a golden age."
"Thirty years of hard work and dedication, in exchange for a stable realm."
"Because of this, I was afflicted with a grievous illness. After the Imperial Physician took my pulse, he privately told the Empress that at best, I had two more years to live."
"At that time, I finally realized."
"That my life was passing by…"
"I didn’t even have the time to properly enjoy the peaceful and prosperous age I had created with my own hands, to take in its full spectacle."
"In search of a cure, I had no choice but to seek immortal paths and often had to seclude myself."
"I just wanted to live, and then continue to protect the Cao family’s realm. Was it really wrong for me to do so?"
The Dasheng Dynasty, seventy years ago, was in an even more chaotic state than now.
It was on the brink of being a fallen nation.
Indeed, it was after Emperor Longqing took the throne that he reversed the decline, almost single-handedly forging twenty years of resurgence and prosperity.
Moreover,
In this world of Martial Arts Saint,
Emperor Longqing was a scholar, or rather, someone whose martial arts talent was exceedingly poor, and at that time, there were two Regent Martial Saints and a veteran minister serving for three generations in the court. Despite this, he was able to cleanse the royal court within just a few short years, which demonstrated his exceptional strategy and capability, ranking among the world’s best.
But all of this took a dramatic turn for the worse as he began his seclusion and pursuit of the Immortal Path.
"Now, everything is stable,"
"I do not need to spend day and night in seclusion anymore, but times have changed, and so many people have changed."
"They became strangers to me!"
At this point,
Emperor Longqing’s aged and despondent aura vanished in an instant, and an indescribable imperial presence began to rise.
"Chen Sansi, will you also change?"
Following a suffocating interrogation, his tone abruptly softened, "Enough! You need not respond, for I already have my answer. Let us discuss your reward.
"Crossing Hongze four times to pacify Pingming State, thousands of troops avoid the man in the white robe to secure Lai State, breaking through a hundred thousand at Hulaoguan with just three thousand men.
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"These are all Heavenly Merits."
"Tell me, what reward do you desire?"