Chapter 181: Secret of the Dashun Imperial Family

Wang Ping wasn't surprised in the slightest by the First Seat's appearance.

After all, this number one martial artist in the world, with her terrifying intuition, had already pulled a similar stunt on him once before. He was more than used to it by now.

"Greetings, Master."

Wang Ping stood up and bowed with cupped hands. "Now that Xuanhe is dead, the Immortal Gate will definitely replace their Furnace-Tending Disciple. I'm afraid the next one won't be as easy to deal with."

Before he even finished speaking, an ethereal voice drifting in the wind gave him an answer that was both unexpected yet completely logical. "Xuanhe isn't dead. He resurrected at Book Mountain. Afterward, I sent both him and Chenlong back to the Tribute Hall in the capital. He's been waiting for you for a long time."

"He didn't die..."

Wang Ping blinked, a smile slowly creeping onto his face. "He must be in pretty pathetic shape right now. After all, the person might have resurrected, but his wealth was wiped clean."

After all, Xuanhe didn't have the First Seat's Divine Intent accompanying him to warn him to transfer his assets ahead of time. By dying so suddenly, he had likely gifted everything he owned to Kunyun.

"Indeed."

A hint of amusement entered the ethereal voice. "He was mad with rage when I first found him. He didn't calm down until I took action."

"That works out perfectly."

Wang Ping gave a slight nod. Xuanhe was undoubtedly a tiger that had fallen to the plains. Having sunk to such a state, he would be even more desperate to cling to their cooperation.

At the same time, Xuanhe would lose his lofty status as a Furnace-Tending Disciple. Because of that, Wang Ping could easily overtake him and seize the dominant role in their partnership. While an inner sect disciple was nowhere near as valuable as a True Transmission disciple, if he just squeezed him dry, he could surely extract some value.

"Master, you just mentioned... the Little Immortal of Taoshen Temple?"

Pulling his thoughts back, Wang Ping shifted the topic. "Everyone in the capital is talking about it—what's going on? All I know is that the Daoist Sovereign Emperor has summoned me to the capital to refine pills."

"It's the same old story,"

The ethereal voice replied casually. "It's nothing more than the National Academy not wanting the Old Emperor to continue favoring the cultivators of Taoshen Temple, so they are trying to obstruct it."

"Unfortunately for them, it's useless."

"The Old Emperor has made up his mind, and the National Academy can't change that. So, they aimed their spears at you instead, claiming you pale in comparison to the Master of Taoshen Temple who died so suddenly."

Wang Ping looked somewhat surprised. "Do you mean those civil officials in the National Academy don't want the Old Emperor to keep draining the nation's strength to refine life-extending pills?"

"Not exactly." The ethereal voice laughed softly. "The main reason is that the National Academy has also roped in a faction of extraordinary person sects skilled in alchemy. They've always wanted to refine pills for the Old Emperor to win his favor and expand their own power, but they could never find an opening because of Taoshen Temple."

"They finally managed to wait until the Master of Taoshen Temple died."

"But then you popped up."

"Simply put, this new identity of yours is blocking the National Academy's path. That's why they are weaponizing public opinion to smear you—so they can chase you off and take your place."

Hearing this, Wang Ping breathed a sigh of relief.

"So that's how it is. I thought the National Academy was genuinely worried about the Old Emperor wasting national resources and civilian labor on life-extension pills, and opposed me out of a love for the common people."

"You think too highly of them!"

The ethereal voice sneered. "They are nothing but a bunch of hypocritical, self-serving opportunists. They only know how to curry favor with extraordinary persons and the Old Emperor. Since when have they ever spared a thought for the common people?"

"To them, one person dying is just a number. A million people dying is also just a number. At most, they might have the historians jot down a line about it, compose a poem lamenting the hardships of the populace, and then go right back to singing and dancing. If things weren't this rotten, why would there be so many rebel kings in the world?"

'The First Seat's resentment seems incredibly heavy.'

Wang Ping pondered for a moment before finding another point hard to understand. "Master, that Daoist Sovereign Emperor should also be a cultivator, right? Why would he need to hire people to refine life-extending pills for him?"

Normally, cultivators had incredibly long lifespans.

Even if one hadn't developed magic power and was just the most ordinary independent cultivator, they could easily live past a hundred years. If they understood the Dao of health preservation, they could even live to two hundred.

Once one cultivated magic power, their lifespan would immediately jump to over five hundred years. That wasn't even factoring in Divine Powers cultivators, whose lifespans were casually measured in millennia. From that perspective, the Emperor of Great Shun sat on the resources of the entire world. Even a pig could cultivate to become a Loose Immortal with that kind of wealth and enjoy a lifespan of five hundred years.

Why bother finding people to refine life-extending pills?

"...It's not the same."

The ethereal voice paused, seemingly to calm her breathing, before continuing a moment later. "The Dashun Imperial Family is the most unique group of extraordinary persons in the world."

"Because their cultivation does not increase their lifespan."

Wang Ping stared blankly. 'Something like that is actually possible?'

"The exact reasons are lost to history, but it seems to be related to what Dashun Taizu did when he founded the dynasty. It resulted in the Dashun Imperial Family being cursed by some kind of supreme power."

The ethereal voice explained.

"I once researched this specifically. I can basically confirm that this supreme power is one of the Twenty-Four Qi. When he founded the dynasty, Dashun Taizu must have done something massive that disrupted the qi of heaven and earth. This triggered a backlash from the qi, which resulted in the Dashun Imperial Family being cursed to this day."

"One of the Twenty-Four Qi..."

Wang Ping pondered this, instinctively trying to deduce the answer, but there was simply too little information. Relying solely on those two sentences, there was no way for him to figure out exactly which stream of qi it was.

After all, he didn't even know which qi was responsible for "lifespan."

'Perhaps it's the wood element?'

Whenever vitality and lifespan were mentioned, one's first reaction was always the wood element of the five elements. But specifically, was it yin wood or yang wood? Where did it fall within the three realms of heaven, earth, and humanity?

He was completely lost in the fog.

Since he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't force it. Wang Ping quickly convinced himself to drop it and asked, "Since that's the case, what cultivation level is the Daoist Sovereign Emperor at?"

"A Loose Immortal. He didn't cultivate his magic power that long ago."

The ethereal voice replied, "However, he's not an ordinary Loose Immortal. Within the confines of the capital, no one can kill him. At best, one could only force a mutual destruction."

"...What?"

Wang Ping's first reaction was pure disbelief. No one in the capital could kill him? Not even you, Master? You're someone who can exchange blows with the Heaven-Stealing Thief! How could that Daoist Sovereign Emperor possibly be that powerful? But very quickly, he caught on and understood the underlying reason.

"A Heavenly Work Spiritual Treasure?"

"Exactly."

The ethereal voice chuckled. "I told you before that if you came to the Great Shun Capital, I could take you to see two Heavenly Work Spiritual Treasures. This is one of them."

"However, with this new identity of yours, you'll be able to see one of them without my help at all."

Wang Ping understood completely. "You mean the Spiritual Treasure in the hands of the Dashun Imperial Family?"

"That Heavenly Work Spiritual Treasure is called the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron. It was left behind by Dashun Taizu after he founded the dynasty. It is said that as long as the cauldron stands, Great Shun will not fall."

"Since the Old Emperor wants you to refine pills for him, he will inevitably let you observe this Treasure Cauldron. When the time comes, you'll naturally have plenty of chances to come into contact with it. As for the second Heavenly Work Spiritual Treasure, it resides in the Tribute Hall. It is called the Three Sovereigns World-Observing Mirror. The Tribute Hall uses this treasure to monitor evil phantoms across the world."

A look of anticipation washed over Wang Ping's face.

After all, having faced the Heaven's Will Profound Blade head-on, he knew the might of a Heavenly Work Spiritual Treasure better than anyone. Naturally, his imagination was running wild with the possibilities.

He wouldn't get to play with the blade anytime soon.

But the cauldron and the mirror? He might just have a chance.

Unlike that Floating Furnace Immortal Blade, both the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron and the Three Sovereigns World-Observing Mirror were clearly domesticated Heavenly Work Spiritual Treasures.

'As Qi Refining practitioners manipulating magical artifacts, there's absolutely no way the Dashun Imperial Family and the Tribute Hall have full control over their Heavenly Work Spiritual Treasures. At best, they've found a few tricks to tap into a fraction of their profound power, but they can't be considered the true masters of the Spiritual Treasures. So, in theory, there's a loophole for me to exploit!'

Just then, the ethereal voice rang out once more.

"Alright, we shouldn't delay."

"Just as you said, a new Furnace-Tending Disciple could show up at any moment. It'll be much more troublesome for you to make a move then. Head out as soon as possible. Arriving in the capital early will save you a lot of trouble."

Wang Ping nodded. "Your disciple understands."

Of course, before heading to the capital, there was one final step left to take.

In the next second, Wang Ping formed a hand seal. His body and appearance immediately began to shift, and before long, he transformed into a fair-skinned, red-lipped young boy.

'I definitely can't go to the capital wearing my original face.'

'I've used it way too many times recently. If I strutted into the capital with my original handsome face, I'd definitely be recognized. Getting the Old Emperor to trust me would be impossible.'

Therefore, the identity of the Little Immortal had to be completely severed from "Wang Ping."

Fortunately, with his cultivation having surged and his mastery over the False Form spell, his transformation was practically flawless. Anyone below the Divine Powers realm wouldn't be able to see through it at all.

"Everything is ready!"

Wang Ping rallied his spirits.

Even though plans could never keep up with changes, and his operation to hunt down Kunyun had gone wrong before it even started—nearly collapsing entirely—the opportunity was still there.

'I can still make this work!'

...

Great Shun Capital, Ninghui Hall.

This was the place where the Son of Heaven burned incense and sought the Dao. Pill furnaces glowed brightly while hazy incense smoke spiraled straight into the sky, making the palace's glazed tile roof look as though it were submerged in the clouds.

Looking up, it was as if someone had shredded the blue sky itself and draped it over the pinnacle of the palace.

In the very center of the hall, there was no dragon throne. Instead, there was only a woven straw Meditation Mat. A man sat upon it, wearing a moon-white Daoist robe, his long hair loosely pinned up with an ebony hairpin.

This was the Daoist Sovereign Emperor of Great Shun, the man countless people referred to as the "Old Emperor."

His face was taut, a cinnabar-like flush coloring his cheekbones. His temples were neatly groomed, yet a few silver strands stubbornly managed to break free from his bound black hair.

He sat there staring into the bright mirror before him, locking eyes with his own reflection for a long time. Only then did he dip his fingertip into a bit of ink powder. He reached up toward his temples and smoothed it over his hair roots, his movements as gentle and slow as if he were tending to a fragile piece of porcelain. Only when those few silver strands were completely hidden did he let out a long sigh of relief.

"How much longer will it be?"

As soon as he spoke, a pale, beardless eunuch wearing a fish-dragon robe stepped forward. "To reply to the Lord of Ten Thousand Years, your servant has already sent people to urge them on."

"At the latest, they will definitely bring the Little Immortal of Taoshen Temple here in three days."

"Send more people."

With that said, the Old Emperor closed his eyes and formed a hand seal, speaking no more.

The eunuch didn't dare delay and immediately rushed off to send more men. The Old Emperor was left completely alone in the palace, and all sounds fall silent, until a sudden, muffled boom rang out.

"Clang—!"

Almost at the exact same moment, the Old Emperor opened his eyes. Ripples disturbed the normally calm and indifferent depths of his gaze, betraying his current state of mind.

"The Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron is trembling."

"Is it telling me... that when a nation is about to fall into chaos, monsters and demons will surely appear? Is this the National Academy's doing? Are they using the Spiritual Treasure's hands to oppose me summoning the disciple of Taoshen Temple to the capital?"

"Do they want me dead that badly?"

"Or are they trying to force me to abdicate?"

The Old Emperor muttered to himself, the emotional fluctuations in his eyes growing more intense by the second. However, right at that moment, the bright mirror beside him suddenly began to glow faintly.

The Old Emperor shot a sideways glance at it, his expression instantly changing.

"The Furnace-Tending Disciple has been replaced... The cycle of the Dao waning and demonic forces surging wasn't supposed to happen for another thirteen years. Why is it happening so early? Is a new era of chaos about to begin?"