Chapter 577: Cool Breeze

Zu An felt a hint of self-contempt. At such a critical juncture, he actually had the luxury of thinking about such trivial matters.

He wasn't entirely sure if the Forgiveness Hat's effect would work on the Emperor. After all, the Emperor was the strongest person in the world, and it would be troublesome if he had some way to avoid its influence.

Although he wasn't solely relying on the Forgiveness Hat's efficacy, it would be safer if it did work.

As he was lost in thought, the Emperor sat on his throne, eyes closed in contemplation. It was unclear if the Forgiveness Hat's effect had taken hold, or if he was simply perceiving the contents of the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture."

Not long after, he slowly opened his eyes, his expression extremely complex. After a long pause, he murmured to himself, "It holds no flavor, yet it would be a waste to discard."

"Has Your Majesty comprehended the essence of immortality?" Zu An asked cautiously. The mental incantation he had left in the hat was, of course, not the true "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture." After all, he wouldn't be foolish enough to reveal his trump card completely.

Of course, the incantation wasn't entirely false; it was ninety percent true and ten percent false. But that ten percent falsity was enough to ruin the ninety percent truth.

His previous life watching "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" hadn't been in vain. The story of Huang Rong tricking Ouyang Feng into madness with a fake "Nine Yin Manual" was well-known to him.

The Emperor's cultivation was too high; he would spot a simple forgery at a glance, so Zu An dared not change too much.

Even so, it wasn't something he could have modified on his own. It had been Mí Lì's handiwork. In this era, only her cultivation and insight could have made the changes seamless.

Speaking of which, Mí Lì had a rather strange expression when she heard he was going to tell her about the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture." He wondered what she had been thinking at the time.

"How can there be such a lowly cultivation method in the world, one that requires getting beaten to improve one's power?" The Emperor frowned, looking at Zu An. "Do you also get beaten often?"

Zu An replied, "Indeed. I've walked on the edge of life and death countless times, teetered on the brink innumerable times. I've lost count of how many times I've been beaten."

The Emperor let out an "Oh," then said, "No wonder you've developed such a lowly personality."

Zu An: "..."

What the hell? Can he even talk?

He desperately wanted to jump up and give the Emperor a good slap. However, weighing the vast difference in their cultivation levels, he realized he'd more likely be taught a lesson himself. So he dismissed the thought, settling instead for staring at the bright green hat on the Emperor's head, employing the "Ah Q Spirit of Victory."

The Emperor continued to muse aloud, "I am the Son of Heaven. Who in this world would dare to strike me, or even manage to? That's one thing, but the critical point is that to cultivate this art, I would have to abandon all other methods and practice only this one. What I lack most right now is time; how could I possibly manage it?"

Zu An, pretending to be concerned, said, "This art is extraordinary, and Your Majesty's talent is exceptional. Perhaps you could master it faster than anyone else."

The Emperor shook his head. "Even if it's fast, there's a limit; it's too late. Furthermore, the further one cultivates this art, the more astronomical the amount of *qi* required becomes. Even I am astonished by it. To truly achieve immortality, one would probably need to start cultivating from the womb, and even then it might not be enough. No wonder the 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture' has appeared several times throughout history, yet no one has ever truly achieved immortality. In the end, it's a cultivation method destined to never be perfected."

Given his status and position, how could he possibly abandon his astonishing cultivation and start anew at this critical juncture? If he did, wouldn't all those ambitious individuals who were already stirring simply rebel? What would he use to suppress them?

At that point, with his death and the ruin of the kingdom, he likely wouldn't even achieve the immortality of a lasting reputation.

Having cultivated to become the strongest person in the world, how could he not see through these crucial implications? Perhaps others might be deluded by the allure of immortality, but certainly not him.

The Emperor looked at Zu An with a strange expression. "Zhu Xie Chixin reported something peculiar: that you clearly had opportunities to escape along the way, yet you didn't. Instead, you cooperated actively, as if you were eager to come to the capital to your death. He and I could never understand why. Now it seems you already knew I couldn't cultivate this method, which is why you were so calm, isn't it?"

"Your Majesty is wise," Zu An bowed, his demeanor impeccably respectful.

This was indeed the source of his confidence in coming to the capital. If the Emperor had been in his prime, Zu An would have run as far as possible, never daring to risk entering the capital. But now that everyone knew the Emperor had only a few years left to live, there was room for maneuver.

In contrast, the function of the Forgiveness Hat was merely icing on the cake.

"It's a pity you miscalculated one thing," the Emperor sneered. "Although I won't cultivate this 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture,' you are younger than I am and have great hope. Do you think I would let someone with the potential for immortality live?"

Zu An, however, remained calm as a still lake. "Your Majesty, you just said that no one can truly master such a cultivation method. How could I possibly achieve immortality? If there truly were a hope of mastering it, I wouldn't have dared to come to the capital."

He wasn't lying about this, as he had experienced it himself. Cultivating the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" alone became progressively more difficult to advance. Even with his Keyboard Warrior System assisting him, he found the cultivation arduous. Just the first few formations of the fifth rank already required hundreds of millions of Rage points each.

Not to mention that the Rage points required for each formation in later stages increased exponentially, making it virtually impossible to achieve.

For ordinary people, cultivation would be even slower.

Of course, he now had several other cultivation methods of similar rank that complemented each other, so there might be hope for him to truly cultivate it. But for others, it was out of the question.

The Emperor's breath hitched. He realized he had lost his composure, likely due to the initial excitement of suddenly acquiring a method for immortality, followed immediately by the disappointment of understanding its impossibility. Even his iron will had wavered, causing his words to contradict each other in his daze.

He sneered, "Flaunting your cleverness before me is not a good idea."

Zu An replied, "I am not flaunting my cleverness; I am simply stating a fact."

The Emperor gave him a deep look, then changed the subject. "What is your opinion of the Crown Prince?"

Zu An thought to himself, *Doesn't he, as the father, have any idea what kind of person the Crown Prince truly is?*

However, he still dared not bluntly call the Crown Prince stupid. After all, even the most impartial father would be displeased hearing such a thing. So he said, "The Crown Prince is pure and simple, possessing the demeanor of ancient times."

He almost wanted to cry. *Was it easy for me to find such a roundabout way of speaking?*

The Emperor paused, a fleeting smile crossing his face. "You certainly are cunning."

Zu An tentatively asked, "Did Your Majesty specifically send Eunuch Li to bring me to see the Crown Prince earlier?"

He had also been an emperor in the Yin Ruins and naturally understood the imperial mindset. There was no need to be perpetually obsequious; asking pertinent questions occasionally could actually facilitate communication.

The Emperor snorted, "That fellow has already been chopped up and fed to the dogs."

Zu An's heart tightened. He hadn't expected such an answer.

He had always felt that his encounter with the Crown Prince was somewhat strange. Now, the Emperor's words revealed that he had not instructed Eunuch Li to bring Zu An near the Crown Prince.

Clearly, Eunuch Li wouldn't have acted on his own initiative, so someone must have ordered him to do so.

As for the motive, it must have been to eliminate him using the Crown Prince or Crown Princess. Given the Crown Prince's character, it would be easy for an ordinary person to offend him. The Crown Princess also had a bad temper, often ordering people to be beaten to death.

Trapped in a desperate situation and humiliated by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, he might have chosen to take a desperate gamble, perhaps even abducting or killing the Crown Prince to take with him to his grave.

Whether the Crown Prince killed him or he killed the Crown Prince, it would have been advantageous for the mastermind. Clearly, that person lacked the ability to arrange an assassination within the palace, so they could only resort to such a method.

But how could that mastermind have known that Zu An wasn't desperate? He had originally intended to meet the Emperor to resolve the matter, so he naturally wouldn't have played into their hands.

At this moment, the Emperor walked to the window, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the distant empire. A trace of fascination flickered in his eyes. "Do you know why it was arranged for you to stay outside the palace for an extra night?"

Zu An hesitated, about to speak, but then stopped. The Emperor smiled. "It's fine to show your intelligence. What I am about to do requires a clever person, not a fool."

Only then did Zu An speak. "I've always found that puzzling. Logically, staying outside for an extra day would introduce more variables. And indeed, assassins came. As the strongest person in the world, Your Majesty shouldn't engage in such unwise actions."

The Emperor snorted, "Flattery will get you nowhere."

Zu An chuckled, then continued, "After meeting Your Majesty, I suddenly realized. It seems Your Majesty used me as bait to draw out various disloyal forces, so you could then catch them all in one fell swoop."

Previously, only Prince Liang and a few Embroidered Uniform Guards were sent. While seemingly powerful, with the allure of immortality, their strength simply couldn't withstand the forces that would inevitably converge upon hearing the news.

Speaking of which, the Emperor truly was ruthless. The arrangements along the way weren't enough; he deliberately gave those in the shadows another opportunity once Zu An reached the capital.

If Zu An hadn't had various fortuitous encounters, the grass on his grave would probably be overgrown by now.

The Emperor then said, "But surely there are clever people among those forces. Would they jump into a trap even if they knew it was one?"

Zu An replied, "Your Majesty's plan was very clever; it wasn't overtly obvious. And even if a few discerning individuals were suspicious, it wouldn't matter, because this was an overt strategy. Everyone desires immortality, and those people certainly wouldn't want Your Majesty to achieve it. So, even if it was a pitfall, they had no choice but to leap."

The Emperor looked at him with some surprise. "If not for intelligence reports confirming you grew up in the common market, I would suspect you were an old fox who had immersed himself in politics for decades, to see things so clearly."

"Just a wild guess, a wild guess," Zu An chuckled. In truth, the Emperor's thoughts weren't wrong; Zu An had been an emperor for decades in the Yin Ruins, so such stratagems were commonplace to him.

The Emperor then continued, "You are right. I have indeed reeled in many fish lurking beneath the surface this time. Many seemingly loyal provincial governors had already sided with them. It seems I need to find a way to reassign them. And as for the audacious assassination that occurred in the capital this time, the Inspector of the Capital, from the Murong family, won't be needed anymore..."

The Inspector of the Capital was responsible for overseeing central officials and imperial relatives in the capital region, and also for maintaining public order in the capital. This role was similar to a combination of a later era's disciplinary commission chief and public security minister, holding a crucial position in court.

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. He vaguely remembered Chu Chuyan mentioning that her maternal grandmother was from the Murong family. *Damn, so I've inadvertently set a trap for my wife's family!*

The Emperor looked at him with a half-smile. "How do you think I should deal with you?"

Zu An chuckled. "Considering how cooperative I've been along the way, and how I've helped you catch so many 'fish,' simply bestowing upon me a ducal or marquis title would suffice."

The Emperor: "..."

*Does this fellow think dukes and marquises are as common as cabbages, to be bestowed so casually?*

He snorted coldly. "I see you're quite sharp, young man. It just so happens that my trusted eunuch recently passed away. You can stay by my side and serve me as a eunuch."

Zu An: "???"

He instinctively clamped his legs together, feeling a chill run through him.