As he asked this question, Xie An, who was usually calm, became unusually nervous.
Emperor Tianbao failed to open up the Great Yin Mountain.
Emperor Jingtai failed to open up the Great Yin Mountain.
Now, the Prince of Huainan is willing to collude with the Four Old Demons to rebel, just to open up the Great Yin Mountain.
From this point of view, there seems to be something outside the Great Yin Mountain…
But Su Yuqing once said that in the five thousand years of Daqian civilization, there has never been a record of anyone breaking the four-hundred-year lifespan limit…
Su Yuqing picked up her teacup and gently lifted the purple bamboo leaf floating on the surface of the tea with the lid, then slightly parted her red lips and took a sip of tea.
After moistening her throat, Su Yuqing slowly opened her mouth, "Since the beginning of civilization records in Daqian, countless capable people and people with lofty ideals have tirelessly searched for immortal opportunities. Some people have searched famous mountains and rivers and hidden tribes within the thirty-six states of Daqian, trying to find clues.
Some people have set their sights on the South China Sea islands south of Daqian, and some people have set their sights on the Sixteen Kingdoms of Beiliang north of Daqian.
According to the initial deduction of my dynasty's Department of Astronomy, there is an immortal opportunity in the south. Therefore, my father initially sent two martial arts grandmasters into the Great Yin Mountain to slay demons and expand territory, but the two grandmasters returned defeated."
Isn't the Department of Astronomy an institution that observes astronomical phenomena and calendars?
Can it also predict immortal opportunities?
Is this serious?
Su Yuqing glanced at the doubt on Xie An's face and chuckled, "Don't you think it's very unreliable?"
Xie An felt that Emperor Jingtai's way of seeking immortal opportunities was extremely unreliable, but he said, "I don't know the deduction methods of the Department of Astronomy, so I dare not speak rashly."
Su Yuqing turned to look at Xie An, and suddenly couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Xie An only felt his scalp tingle a little, "Why is the Eldest Princess laughing?"
If the Martial Saint took action, wouldn't it be easy to kill the Five Old Demons?
Now that Xie An learned that the reason why Jingtai sent people to the Great Yin Mountain was because of the Department of Astronomy's deduction, coupled with Su Yuqing's laughter…
Xie An had a deduction, "Could it be that the Department of Astronomy later deduced that the immortal opportunity was in another place?"
Su Yuqing nodded: "That's right. Just when my father was planning to open up the Great Yin Mountain, the Department of Astronomy's second deduction result showed that there was an immortal opportunity within the Sixteen Kingdoms of Beiliang. My father turned his attention and sent people to Beiliang, and the matter of opening up the Great Yin Mountain shipping route had to be abandoned."
Xie An supported his forehead, feeling very speechless.
This Department of Astronomy is somewhat similar to the Imperial Observatory in ancient times, mostly pretending to be mysterious to make the emperor happy…
And the emperors believed it.
Perhaps after becoming an emperor, sitting in a high position, feeling lonely at the top, they all want to seek some psychological comfort. Even ambitious and talented emperors… are no exception.
Su Yuqing continued: "Later, the Department of Astronomy deduced various results, some said it was inside Daqian, some said it was in the Eastern Wilderness, and some said it was in the Western Regions. My father initially had hope and ran around a few times. Later… he didn't pay much attention to the Department of Astronomy's deductions."
Xie An could understand Emperor Jingtai's thoughts.
He was tired and exhausted.
If he encountered a tyrant, he would probably chop off the heads of all those guys in the Department of Astronomy in a fit of anger.
However, this world is different from the previous world after all. The warlocks in the Department of Astronomy are mostly strange people and strangers, and Xie An would not completely deny them, "Does the Eldest Princess think that the deductions of the Department of Astronomy are credible?"
Su Yuqing pondered for a moment and frowned: "I have read the logical archives of the Department of Astronomy's several deductions, and it is not completely groundless. Although I wouldn't say there is an immortal opportunity, there must be something different that is difficult to explain with common sense. If you follow the direction of those deductions, it is no problem to find some strange and weird things, but whether it is an immortal opportunity, no one knows."
Xie An felt that the Department of Astronomy still had something to it. Otherwise, Emperor Jingtai wouldn't have gone to so much trouble several times.
Xie An had never left Qingwu County since he crossed over to this world, so he naturally didn't know much about the outside world.
But he had also heard that the Sixteen Kingdoms of Beiliang were eyeing Daqian covetously. In the south, pirates were invading and wreaking havoc.
Neither of these two places are safe.
The risk of exploration is simply as difficult as ascending to the sky.
If it were simple, it would have been found by the Daqian royal family long ago.
Department of Astronomy!
Xie An remembered this keyword.
Su Yuqing saw the excitement in Xie An's eyes and immediately poured a basin of cold water on him, "It is not very meaningful to just have a direction. The South China Sea encompasses more than hundreds of thousands of miles of water, with countless islands, and some island countries. Even if Daqian sends out millions of troops, entering the South China Sea is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
And Beiliang encompasses tens of thousands of miles of territory in the Sixteen Kingdoms, and it is full of war and chaos, and it is a mortal enemy of my Daqian. My father is not yet so昏聩that he would launch a large-scale war and waste money for the sake of the Department of Astronomy's illusory deductions.
In my opinion, the matter of immortal opportunities is mostly just rumors. And some religions, in order to win over nobles and martial arts masters, will deliberately fabricate legends of immortals to plot for their own interests. Among the evil cults that were wiped out during the Jingtai Dynasty alone, seven or eight out of ten were fooling people with legends of immortals."
Xie An listened with sighs.
How similar is this to the previous life?
For example, Hong Xiuquan claimed to be the second son of God and the younger brother of Jesus, and then used this to create the God-Worshipping Society, which later became the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Daqian is also like this. Legends of immortals are prevalent, and more than half of them are propaganda, behind which are interests.
Seeking immortal opportunities is already very difficult, and you have to distinguish between these true and false messages. If you accidentally fall into a "pyramid scheme" with the signboard of immortals, then your whole life will be wasted.
Seeking immortality to gain longevity… how difficult it is!
Even the Daqian royal family is at a loss, let alone a bachelor like himself.
Xie An sighed and lowered his head to drink tea.
Although he had known for a long time that seeking immortality was very difficult, hearing the Eldest Princess's words made him feel even more difficult.
Su Yuqing saw Xie An's expression and sighed: "The road to seeking immortality is inherently difficult. No one has found an opportunity in Daqian for five thousand years. If you have this ambition, after the Qingwu County matter is over, you can follow me to the capital, where there are more resources. The records about immortal opportunities in the imperial palace library are piled up in several buildings. The Department of Astronomy has also established a special department to deduce immortal opportunities. Even my teacher is looking for immortal opportunities."
Xie An's dark eyes suddenly became much brighter, "Thank you, Eldest Princess."
Emperor Jingtai has been searching for immortal opportunities for more than a hundred years, and the recorded information is naturally extremely vast. If he can go to the capital to understand it, there will definitely be great benefits.
Having connections makes it easier to get valuable information.
You must know that Xie An's four older brothers could only find it themselves because they didn't have resources in this area, and they didn't have any results even after exhausting half their lives. And Xie An, because he had the Eldest Princess behind him, easily had the opportunity to go to the imperial palace library to see what was going on.
This is the difference in platform, and also the benefit of having a benefactor.
The two people had a conversation about immortal opportunities for a while, and the more Xie An listened, the more desperate he felt, and finally he didn't dare to ask any more questions.
After a long period of silence, Xie An finally recovered.
Don't worry, I still have a hundred years of lifespan.
If I open the human body's secret treasures and step into the martial arts grandmaster realm. Plus, the body-nourishing technique can make up for the physical damage caused by martial arts training, and I can have three hundred years of lifespan.
Three hundred years is enough for me to seek immortality!
When the Qingwu County matter is completed, my Bright Jade Skill will go further, or I will step into the martial arts grandmaster realm and have enough strength, and I can start planning the matter of seeking immortality.
Now I am too weak, so I should develop a wave first.
After making up his mind, Xie An let out a long sigh and asked about the main business: "What does the Eldest Princess think we should do about Master Huang?"
If Su Yuqing didn't know Master Huang's identity, Xie An planned to complete the transaction with Master Huang and be done with it.
Since she knew, he still had to ask, at least to express his attitude.
Su Yuqing retracted her thoughts and murmured: "Master Huang has a conflict with the Four Old Demons, you can try to win him over, maybe he can be of great help. And make another great contribution."
With the Eldest Princess speaking, Xie An felt relieved, no longer needing to worry about being attacked for associating with a great demon.
… …
"Seeking immortality is difficult, so very difficult!"
Returning to the central courtyard, Xie An's mind was still filled with Su Yuqing's words.
Throughout the Great Qian Dynasty's five thousand years, countless individuals had sought immortality, generation after generation, relentlessly pursuing it, yet no one had ever found a path to immortality.
Naturally, Xie An wouldn't be so arrogant as to believe he would be the exception.
However, Xie An possessed the Destiny of Longevity.
Furthermore, it had advanced to Level Two, enabling him to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and to perceive extraordinary beasts and spiritual objects.
This gave Xie An confidence.
"Although seeking immortality is as difficult as ascending to heaven, others may have reasons to give up, but I have no reason to give up!"
Soon, Xie An formulated a plan in his mind.
First, he needed to improve his strength before traversing the five lakes and four seas; otherwise, encountering a bandit or demon along the way would lead to his demise. Moreover, even if he found a path to immortality, he would need sufficient strength to protect it.
The strength of a Martial Dao Grandmaster would be relatively safe.
Then, after completing the affairs of Qingwu County, he would travel to the capital city to peruse the imperial palace's library and observe how the Department of Celestial Observation divined the path to immortality. Perhaps he could find some clues. However, before entering the capital, it would be best to establish a great merit here, obtaining a noble title or a higher official position to facilitate matters.
In Qingwu County, Xie An, as a fifth-rank Chief, had unrestricted access to various藏书楼.
But the capital city was different. In that place… tossing a brick at random would likely hit a bunch of high-ranking officials of the fourth or third rank. If one's official rank was too low, who would pay attention?
He might not even be able to enter the Department of Celestial Observation.
He couldn't rely on the Eldest Princess for everything, could he? She would also find it annoying.
The newest novels are first published on 69书吧!
In everything, one still needed to have their own abilities and status.
Strength, official position, and noble title.
None could be lacking.
Having made up his mind, Xie An felt that his path ahead suddenly became much clearer.
Therefore, the most important thing at the moment, besides increasing his strength, was to secure his position as the fifth-rank Chief of Qingwu County and establish another great merit.
If he could subdue Master Huang, helping the Eldest Princess dismantle the Five Old Demons and thwart the Prince of Huainan's rebellion, wouldn't that be a great merit? Adding to that his advancement to Martial Dao Grandmaster, obtaining a second-rank official position with real power shouldn't be a problem.
After all, Su Yuqing had previously said that any Grandmaster who served the imperial court could be granted a second-rank official position at the very least. If a great merit was added, obtaining a duke of the second class shouldn't be an issue.
The key still lay with Master Huang.
"Master Huang, you are my lucky star."
… …
The next day.
Xie An woke up early. After breakfast, he handed Chunlan two hundred-tael silver notes.
Chunlan was startled and quickly refused, "Master, He Ge'er does some teaching at the Weisheng Martial Arts School, earning some income, which is enough for the family's daily expenses. No need…"
Although Xie An had paid for the house, Chunlan and He Chunli didn't want to live and eat for free. He Chunli did some work on the side to supplement the family income, and Chunlan occasionally helped the neighbors with chores.
Xie An had repeatedly said that it wasn't necessary, but the two stubbornly insisted, saying they felt uncomfortable if they didn't do some work and couldn't stay idle. Xie An didn't force them further.
"This is for entertaining Master Huang. In a moment, go buy some good quality fruits and pastries, and use the Purple Bamboo Leaf tea from my room. It's cold, so replace the stove in the east wing with a larger one, using good quality charcoal. Also, Master Huang's back isn't good, so add a soft cushion to the chair…"
After instructing her, Xie An left.
Chunlan was stunned, thinking, "Isn't Master Huang a mirror grinder? Is it necessary for the fifth-rank Chief to spend so much?"
Fortunately, Chunlan wasn't nosy and immediately did as she was told.
At the beginning of noon, Master Huang arrived and followed Chunlan into the east wing.
As soon as he entered the room, he felt a wave of warm air rushing towards him.
A brand-new chair, a comfortable soft cushion, a new brush rack, wolf-hair brushes, and even the rice paper had been replaced with expensive silk…
This treatment…
Made Master Huang feel flattered.
"Master Huang, I'll be busy outside. If you need anything, just call me." Chunlan brewed tea, then bowed and left.
Master Huang sat down on the chair, the soft cushion providing excellent support and comfort.
"Humans really know how to enjoy life! What stimulated this kid? Suddenly adopting a friendly style? He's not exactly a friendly person. But I like the feeling of being valued."
Master Huang waved his hand, rolled up his sleeves, and began to wield his brush, "Good brush, good ink, good silk… I even feel like my handwriting looks much better."
… …
Xie An spent a boring day at the Town Demon Division, and as soon as it was time to leave work, he hurried home.
"Chunlan, has Master Huang been here?"
"Yes, he came. He arrived at noon and just left."
"Did he say anything?"
"He said the pastries from Wufangzhai were good, and it would be nice to have an extra serving tomorrow. But they're expensive. Should we prepare them for Master Huang?"
"Prepare them, prepare two extra servings."
For the next three days, Master Huang came every day.
On the evening of the third day, when Xie An returned home, he finally received all of Master Huang's manuscripts, and the answers were revealed:
Demon Court!
Four hundred years ago, there was a Demon Court in Beiliang!
Four hundred years ago, a civil war broke out in the Demon Court, and a Demon King comparable to a human Azure Dragon Martial Saint was seriously injured and fled south, but he was near death when he reached the Dayin Mountains.
Finally, the Demon King settled down on the Five Old Peaks and died there.
Because the Demon King was comparable to an Azure Dragon Martial Saint, his essence blood and flesh could affect external objects, causing the Five Old Peaks to be filled with evil and frequent demon activity. In the end, five demons developed the best, becoming the later Five Old Demons.
Master Huang was originally an ordinary fox, but due to being nourished by the Demon King's essence blood, he mutated and transformed, becoming a Nine-Tailed Red Fox.
Those white cocoon stones, ancient books, wine vessels… were all used by the Demon King before his death. The Nine-Tailed Red Fox brought them out when he fled, and that bronze mirror was also an item that belonged to the Demon King.
Hiss!
After reading all the manuscripts, Xie An gasped, feeling a chill run down his spine.
There was actually a Demon Court in this world!
And a Demon King comparable to a human Azure Dragon Martial Saint!
How terrifying.
No wonder the Five Old Demons had become a hidden danger on the border during the Tianbao and Jingtai dynasties, it turned out they were relying on the Demon King's essence blood for nourishment.
Could that drop of Martial Saint essence blood from the Fairy Queen be from the Demon King?
Speaking of which, the Department of Celestial Observation of the Great Qian Dynasty has some skill, being able to deduce the South Sea and Beiliang… Perhaps what they deduced wasn't immortality, but the Demon Court?
Xie An's imagination ran wild.
"I wonder what kind of Demon King that Demon King was… Moreover, the ruler of the Demon Court should be called the Demon Emperor, right? If the Demon King is comparable to a human Azure Dragon Martial Saint, wouldn't the Demon Emperor be even more perverted?"
"Above the Azure Dragon Martial Saint… is that immortality?"
Su Yuqing had said that the Azure Dragon Martial Saint was the limit that humans could reach!
The Tianbao Dynasty lasted for three hundred years and didn't produce an Azure Dragon Martial Saint. It's evident how rare the appearance of an Azure Dragon Martial Saint is.
If there's something above the Azure Dragon Martial Saint?
Demon Emperor?
Could finding this Demon Court lead to finding immortality?
Xie An paced in the room with the manuscripts in hand, finally going to the backyard to find Su Yuqing.
She had already seen the previous manuscripts, there was no reason not to show her the later ones… Moreover, for Xie An, the value of this Eldest Princess was far greater than a stack of manuscripts.
After carefully reading the manuscripts, Su Yuqing suddenly looked up at Xie An, her beautiful eyes wide, and the hand holding the manuscripts trembled slightly.
This was the first time Xie An had seen the Eldest Princess so agitated.
After a long time, Su Yuqing regained her composure, "Xie An, you are truly the lucky star of our dynasty. Although my imperial father and teacher suspected the existence of a Demon Court, it was never verified. Your verification of this matter is a great achievement. I will immediately send a letter to my imperial father and teacher to ask for a medium merit for you."
Xie An: "… …"
Damn, this is just a medium merit?
