Chapter 879: Borrowing a Chicken to Lay Eggs

Upon hearing this, Zu An stared at Mi Li in surprise. She had been empress for so many years, yet she was still a virgin?

"This might be the first millennia-old virgin in history, right?"

"But why can't I stop the corners of my mouth from curving upwards?"

A rare, almost imperceptible blush appeared on Mi Li's face, but she quickly hid it, looking coldly at Xu Fu. "How do you know all this?"

Logically, this was a secret between the emperor and empress. The emperor wouldn't publicize such a matter, as it concerned the royal family's dignity, so Xu Fu shouldn't have known. It seemed there was an unknown hidden agenda.

Xu Fu smiled. "A Pure Yin body must be a virgin to be effective. Given Qin Shi Huang's desire for immortality, he couldn't afford any mistakes regarding this, so he naturally wouldn't have touched you beforehand."

Zu An, standing nearby, had a strange expression. He recalled Xu Fu mentioning he had a 'Pure Yang body' earlier. *Hmm, my Yang energy is indeed strong, but if a Pure Yin body needs to be a virgin, does a Pure Yang body need to be a virgin man?* he wondered.

Even with Zu An's thick skin, he couldn't bring himself to say he was still a virgin.

The others, naturally unaware of his strange focus, heard Mi Li speak: "So Qin Shi Huang set up this Yin-Yang Five Elements Array here for this reason. It's a pity, despite all his elaborate schemes, he still didn't achieve immortality."

"He didn't achieve immortality because of a flaw in the array, but because of me," Xu Fu stated with a hint of arrogance.

Mi Li's dark brows furrowed. "Because of you?"

"Of course," Xu Fu said, as if recounting a proud accomplishment. "I spent my entire life searching for the method of immortality for Qin Shi Huang, wasting countless years. Finally, heaven rewarded my persistence, and I found it. My first thought was to bring it back and present it to him. But then I reconsidered, 'Why should I? Why shouldn't I become immortal myself?'"

Zu An remained silent; this was simply human nature. If it had been any other treasure, Xu Fu might never have dared to betray Qin Shi Huang. But immortality? Who in the world could resist that temptation?

Mi Li couldn't help but sneer repeatedly. "As expected, you truly harbored rebellious intentions. But what right did you have to betray Qin Shi Huang?"

This was what puzzled her most. At that time, Xu Fu's cultivation, status, and available resources were far inferior to Qin Shi Huang's, and he was even outmatched by some influential court officials.

"True, at that time I certainly didn't have the standing to betray him, nor could I complete this grand array alone," Xu Fu said. "So, without a word, I returned and reported the successful discovery of the immortality method to Qin Shi Huang. Of course, I made some personal modifications to the array; ultimately, it was just a means to achieve my own ends."

Mi Li frowned, remaining silent, knowing he had more to say.

As expected, Xu Fu couldn't help but continue: "Upon learning that I had successfully found the method for immortality, Qin Shi Huang was overjoyed and trusted me even more. He sent me to Xiquanqiu to supervise the construction of that grand array, which was meant to grant immortality."

"The first challenge with this grand array was that it required the vital essence of countless living beings as its foundation. Unfortunately, Qin Shi Huang was, after all, an emperor; he couldn't arbitrarily slaughter his own subjects, as that would easily lead to widespread chaos. So, we devised a plan: under the pretext of sailing overseas to continue searching for the elixir of immortality, we took many masters and three thousand virgin boys and girls and departed."

Zu An hadn't expected the truth to be like this. He quickly realized with a chill: "So those three thousand virgin boys and girls...?"

"Precisely," Xu Fu nodded with a smile, as if describing the most ordinary matter. "I took those people to sea, and we never returned. Many rumors spread across the land: some said we were buried in the ocean, others that we feared punishment from the emperor for not finding the elixir and chose to stay overseas, ruling as kings, never to come back... No one suspected that those three thousand virgin boys and girls and those masters were actually sacrificed not long after."

He pointed to the blood pool slowly swirling around the platform. "This blood pool was refined from their blood."

Zu An felt a chill down his spine. Bi Linglong dared not look at the blood pool, turning her head aside and dry heaving.

Mi Li said coldly, "After doing something so against heaven's will, Qin Shi Huang still hoped for immortality?"

She was truly enraged. All the education she had received since childhood made her unable to accept such an act of brutally sacrificing thousands of virgin boys and girls.

Of course, Xu Fu, who proposed this poisonous scheme to Qin Shi Huang, was even more detestable.

Xu Fu shrugged. "What's the big deal? During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, who knows how many slaves were buried alive with emperors as sacrifices."

He continued: "Besides these three thousand virgin boys and girls, the second difficulty was finding individuals who matched the Five Elements. Although I could deceive most people with my actions, I might not be able to fool other skilled alchemists. Among these alchemists, Lu Sheng and Han Zhong were the most proficient. Especially Lu Sheng; he possessed the 'Records and Diagrams of Destiny,' posing the greatest threat to me."

A thought sparked in Zu An's mind. No wonder Han Zhong, who had lost his sanity, panicked upon hearing Xu Fu's name. And the danger Lu Sheng had foreseen was probably also Xu Fu, because Xu Fu was hidden within this palace. To prevent his remnant soul from being exposed, Lu Sheng had deliberately erased memories related to Xu Fu.

"It wouldn't have mattered so much if the information leaked to others, but my biggest concern was that they might discover my manipulations within the array and make Qin Shi Huang suspect my true intentions." Xu Fu stood with his hands behind his back and soon chuckled. "Wouldn't you know it, by sheer coincidence, these two men's destinies aligned with Metal and Wood respectively, fitting perfectly into the Five Elements. So, I discreetly informed Qin Shi Huang of this. Qin Shi Huang, always ruthless and lacking in compassion, immediately harbored killing intent towards them."

"Unfortunately, Lu Sheng's 'Records and Diagrams of Destiny' was too powerful; he preemptively evaded our surprise attack and secretly escaped. Qin Shi Huang was furious about this. He then launched a massive search across the land, interrogated all alchemists connected to him, and finally buried alive hundreds of people closely associated with Lu Sheng, eventually forcing him out."

Zu An's heart stirred slightly. The same piece of history could yield new discoveries when recounted by different people. Everyone was essentially describing the same event, but their differing perspectives and positions led them to see different things.

Mi Li said, "Lu Sheng's 'Records and Diagrams of Destiny' could predict heavenly secrets, yet you still managed to capture him in the end."

"Knowing heaven's will is easy," Xu Fu paused, then added, "but defying it is difficult."

He then continued: "Next, dealing with Han Zhong. I initially thought it would be much easier. Who knew he somehow got wind of our plans, causing my encirclement to fail again. However, he suffered a severe head injury in that battle. Although he escaped, he became deranged. In the end, he still couldn't evade the pursuit of the imperial masters and was captured at Xiquanqiu."

Zu An thought to himself: *Back then, Lu Sheng, through his 'Records and Diagrams of Destiny,' learned fragmented glimpses of the future. When he escaped, he quietly informed Han Zhong, which allowed Han Zhong to be prepared. Unfortunately, he still couldn't escape the clutches of evil.*

Mi Li said with a cold face, "So you were behind the incident involving Fusu too?"

With her knowledge, she naturally knew Fusu's destiny was linked to the fire element.

"Precisely. To achieve my ultimate plan, I had to eliminate Qin Shi Huang's key supporters, primarily Crown Prince Fusu and the illustrious Meng family," Xu Fu recalled the events of that year, a victorious smile on his face. "I keenly perceived Qin Shi Huang's concerns about the influence of the Chu imperial relatives. So, I exploited this to make him resolve his decision. Fusu had half Chu royal blood. How could a man like Qin Shi Huang, who prided himself on unifying the world as an unparalleled feat, allow the fruits of his victory to be shared equally with the Chu people?"

"Coupled with Fusu's fire-aligned destiny, Qin Shi Huang finally made up his mind. And since the Meng family was close to the Crown Prince, with Meng Tian having spent a long time with him, eliminating Fusu necessitated purging the Crown Prince's faction, led by Meng Tian. Coincidentally, Meng Tian himself possessed the most perfect earth-aligned destiny. Qin Shi Huang naturally had no further hesitation."

"So you were the mastermind!" Mi Li's eyes reddened. She knew Fusu was her own sister's son, and the entire Chu imperial relative faction had been implicated back then.

She tried to lash out, but her form instantly dimmed as countless unseen energies firmly locked onto her.

"Don't be agitated, Your Majesty. With so many departed souls as sacrifices in this grand array, the suppression of spirits is paramount. Your current state is naturally restrained. The more violently you move, the faster your soul will dissipate," Xu Fu said with a smile.

Zu An quickly comforted Mi Li, fearing that her momentary impulse might truly cause her soul to scatter.

To divert her attention, Zu An quickly asked, "Among the Five Elements, the Water element is still missing. Who is that 'Water body'? And why does she harbor such deep resentment?"

Upon hearing this, the smile that had remained on Xu Fu's face vanished, replaced by a trace of weary melancholy. "She was the person I loved most in my life."

Zu An: "???"

Mi Li: "???"

Bi Linglong: "???"

None of them had expected such an answer.