Chapter 883: Substitution
Zu An looked at Mi Li in surprise when he heard those words. She was still a virgin even after being an empress for so many years? Doesn’t this make her history’s number one oldest bachelor girl? But why is there a grin on my face?
A rare blush appeared on Mi Li’s face, but she quickly covered it up. She looked coldly at Xu Fu. “Why do you know about these things?”
That should have been the palace’s secret, and there was no way the emperor would publicly talk about something like that. After all, it was related to the royal family’s dignity! Xu Fu shouldn’t have known about that. It now seemed that there were many secrets that had remained unknown to everyone.
Xu Fu laughed and replied, “A pure yin body has to be a virgin, no? Ying Zheng desired immortality so much, so how could he compromise on something like that? Of course he wouldn’t choose to touch you.”
Zu An had a strange expression on his face. Didn’t this guy mention that I had a pure yang body? I mean I guess I do have a lot of masculine yang energy, but if the pure body needs to be a virgin, doesn’t the pure yang body have to be a virgin as well? No matter how shameless he was, he couldn't bring himself to say that he was a virgin.
The others obviously didn’t know that what he was currently worried about was something so strange. Mi Li said, “So that was why Ying Zheng set up a Yin Yang Five Elements formation here. But even though he completed everything, he still couldn't obtain eternal life.”
“The reason he couldn't obtain eternal life wasn’t because there was an issue with the formation, but rather because of me,” Xu Fu said proudly.
Mi Li’s brows furrowed. “Because of you?”
“Of course.” Xu Fu looked as if he were recounting something he was immensely pleased with. “I spent my entire life looking for Ying Zheng’s method of immortality, squandering away endless years. In the end, the heavens didn’t let me down and allowed me to find it. My first reaction was to offer it to Ying Zheng, but then I suddenly thought, why? Why couldn’t I use this for myself?”
Zu An remained silent throughout the entire speech. This was human nature. Perhaps Xu Fu wouldn’t have dared to betray Ying Zheng, but once he touched upon immortality, who could resist such temptation in this world?
Mi Li sneered. “I knew you didn’t have any loyalty. But what authority and power did you even have that would let you betray Ying Zheng?”
That was what she was the most confused about. After all, whether it was in terms of cultivation or status, Xu Fu couldn't compare to Ying Zheng. There were even some other authoritative subjects who had surpassed him in both respects.
“Indeed, I didn’t have many qualifications back then, and I alone had no chance of completing such a great formation,” Xu Fu said. “That’s why I didn’t reveal a thing and still reported this immortality method to Ying Zheng. Of course, I made some modifications to this formation so that I could take his place.”
Mi Li frowned, but she remained quiet. She knew that he had more to say.
Sure enough, Xu Fu couldn't stop himself from continuing, “Ying Zheng was overjoyed when he learned that I successfully obtained the method of immortality, and his trust in me grew. He sent me over to oversee Westhound Tomb and put me in charge of this eternal life formation’s construction.
“The first problem with this formation was that it needed the blood and ki of tens of thousands of creatures as the foundation. Unfortunately, Ying Zheng was an emperor and couldn't kill his own people for no reason, as that would easily throw the entire world into chaos. As such, we thought of another method, which was to set out to sea again. Under the pretext of finding the elixir of immortality, we took many experts and three thousand male and female virgins with us.”
Zu An didn’t expect that to be what had happened. However, he quickly realized with horror, “Then those three thousand virgins…”
“Correct.” Xu Fu nodded with a smile, as if he were talking about something completely normal. “I left with those people, but never returned. There were many interpretations of what happened. Some said that we lost our lives at sea, while some said that I fled because I couldn't find the immortality the emperor wanted, so I just lived out at sea as a king and didn’t come back… No one once suspected that the three thousand virgins and the other experts were actually quickly turned into sacrifices.” He pointed at the blood that flowed all around the stage. “This pool of blood was made from their blood.”
Zu An felt a chill run down his back. Bi Linglong felt even more repulsed, unable to even look at the pool of blood anymore. She turned her head and threw up.
Mi Li asked coldly, “Ying Zheng actually still wanted eternal life even after committing something so atrocious against the heavens?” She was truly angry. All of the education she had experienced growing up made her unable to tolerate the merciless slaughter and sacrifice of thousands. Of course, the one who had planted those ideas in Ying Zheng’s head, Xu Fu, was even more hateful.
Xu Fu curled his lips into a smile. “What’s the big deal? The Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties’ emperors sacrificed who knows how many servants to be buried with the dead.” He continued, “Apart from those three thousand virgins, the second difficulty was finding those who matched the five elements. However, even though my actions could deceive most people, I couldn’t deceive other powerful sorcerers. The most brilliant of the sorcerers were Lu Sheng and Han Zhong. Lu Sheng, in particular, possessed the Book, so he was a major threat to me.”
Zu An’s mind stirred. No wonder Han Zhong had lost his mind and immediately panicked when he heard the name Xu Fu. Meanwhile, the danger Lu Sheng had foretold was probably referring to Xu Fu as well. Since Xu Fu had also been hiding in the palace, for the sake of preventing his own soul fragment from being exposed, he had deliberately erased his memories about Xu Fu.
“It wouldn’t have mattered much if it were anyone else, but if these two saw through my alterations to the formation, Ying Zheng would start doubting me.” Xu Fu stood with his arms behind him. He laughed and said, “It really is quite the coincidence, actually. One of them had the metal attribute, the other the wood attribute. They were perfect candidates for the five elements. As such, I secretly reported that to the emperor. Ying Zheng was always harsh and merciless in nature, and he immediately resolved to kill them.
“Unfortunately, Lu Sheng’s Book was too formidable, warning him about our attack in advance, so he secretly escaped. Ying Zheng was furious and immediately carried out a search. He interrogated every official Lu Sheng came into contact with, ultimately killing hundreds of people he was close to. Finally, he was able to force Lu Sheng out of hiding.”
Zu An was alarmed. The same piece of history, from different mouths, could bring entirely different information. They were all talking about the same thing, yet a different perspective would immediately change everything.
Mi Li said, “Lu Sheng’s Book can bring profound revelations, yet he was still caught by you two in the end.”
“You can know heaven’s will,” Xu Fu paused for a moment before continuing, “But defying it is something else entirely.” He then added, “I thought that dealing with Han Zhong would be much easier, but somehow, he received some information and our encirclement failed. However, he was seriously injured from that battle. Even though he escaped, he became deranged. Later on, he couldn't escape from our pursuit and was brought back to Westhound Tomb.”
Zu An figured that Lu Sheng had probably told Han Zhong what he learned from The Book, that he had secretly contacted Han Zhong when he ran. Unfortunately, he was still caught in the end.
Mi Li asked with a frigid expression, “Then Fu Su’s situation was also because of you?” She naturally knew that Fu Su was a candidate for the fire attribute.
“Correct. In order to achieve my ultimate plan, I had to get rid of Ying Zheng’s helpers. The one who bore the brunt was precisely the crown prince Fu Su, as well as the glorious Meng clan.” Xu Fu had the smile of a victor on his face as he recalled the past. “I keenly sensed Ying Zheng’s concern toward the Chu State’s power, so I used that to make him set his resolve. Fu Su carried half of the Chu State’s royal blood within him, so how could Ying Zheng, someone who boasted of having unified the world single-handedly, tolerate letting the Chu people inherit half the fruit of his success?
“Together with the fact that Fu Su had the fire element, Ying Zheng finally made his decision. Meanwhile, the Meng clan was close to the crown prince, and Meng Tian was someone who spent a long time with the crown prince. In order to get rid of Fu Su, they had to first get rid of his faction, led by Meng Tian. Coincidentally, Meng Tian was the perfect candidate for the earth element himself. Ying Zheng didn’t feel a shred of hesitation then.”
“So the main culprit behind all of this was you!” Mi Li’s eyes were turning red. After all, Fu Su was her older sister’s son! Furthermore, the entire Chu State had been dragged into this matter as well. Just as she was about to act, however, her body rapidly grew dim. Countless strands of invisible energies firmly restrained her.
“Your highness, please don’t fret. This formation was created using the souls of so many sacrifices, so dealing with a soul like your current self is far too easy. The more you move, the more vicious the formation will become, and thus the faster your soul will disappear,” Xu Fu said with a smile.
Zu An quickly tried to appease Mi Li for fear that she might just kill herself here. In order to divert some of her attention, he quickly said, “The formation is still missing the water element. Whose body was in that position? Why did she carry so much resentment?”
Xu Fu’s smile disappeared when he heard those words. In the end, a sorrowful smile appeared on his face. “She was the one I loved most in this life.”
Zu An, Mi Li, and Bi Linglong were stunned. None of them could ever have guessed that would be Xu Fu’s response.