Chapter 1100: Previous Dynasty Secrets

Zu An absorbed Old Man Mi's cultivation to help temper his soul.

Once he felt his preparations were complete, he began absorbing fragments of the other party's soul.

Only now, looking back, did he realize Old Man Mi was unfathomable, a formidable master even among Grandmasters.

Although his soul had scattered, each fragment still contained a powerful personal imprint.

If an ordinary person were to absorb them this way, they would likely go mad and die.

Zu An's own soul foundation was now solid, and with Mi Li's absorption technique, he could significantly reduce the danger.

However, Mi Li had also warned him to guard his inner self and not let the other party's lingering thoughts invade. Although there was no risk of possession, it could leave behind inner demons as a lingering problem.

Naturally, Zu An was careful and dared not absorb too much at once, so he cautiously absorbed one fragment first.

He then felt a wave of dizziness, and a multitude of jumbled images appeared in his mind, like various scenes from a boy's upbringing.

Zu An knew these were likely Old Man Mi's younger years, but everything was quite blurry, so it didn't affect him much; he simply observed calmly.

Soon, however, the images sharpened, and all sensations became incredibly vivid, as if he were truly there.

He saw Old Man Mi, too poor to survive, forced to sell himself into the imperial palace.

Someone like him, entering the palace, naturally could only become a eunuch.

He was then pushed into the legendary "silkworm room," where the temperature was very hot, and screams rose and fell around him. Clearly, one castration after another was taking place.

Seeing the old eunuchs around him with their strange smiles, Old Man Mi panicked and began to struggle.

But it was all too real; although he was watching Old Man Mi being tortured, in the next second, it felt as if he was the one being tortured.

It was truly like playing a VR game in the first person.

His hands were tied to the bed, and an old eunuch chuckled sinisterly, holding a gleaming shovel.

Immediately, a group of younger eunuchs roughly pulled down his trousers, and then the old eunuch slowly approached with the sharp little shovel.

Even from a distance, he could feel the coldness emanating from the shovel's sharp edge, gleaming with a readiness to slice through anything.

Although he knew this was Old Man Mi's experience, the first-person perspective still made his scalp tingle.

He had always thought his nerves were strong enough to endure any pain or injury, but he never expected to encounter such an overwhelming shock right away.

"No!"

As the other party drew closer, and he could even feel the chill of the blade on his skin, Zu An instinctively struggled.

The completely immersive experience made it difficult for him to distinguish between reality and illusion.

Yet, his limbs were tied to the bed, and like in a dream, he had forgotten all his cultivation, rendered powerless like an ordinary person.

However, as his trousers were removed and the blade approached his thigh, the icy touch made all the hairs on his body stand on end.

He didn't know where the strength came from, but he finally freed one hand.

Then he desperately reached forward to block the other party.

Why was it so soft where he touched?

He instinctively squeezed it, and it felt excessively soft and springy.

But at that moment, he couldn't think of anything else; he only wanted to avoid this disastrous outcome.

Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo was quietly observing the man by the bed. For some reason, the more she looked, the more pleasing he became to her eyes.

After a moment, however, she suddenly realized something was wrong, as his expression seemed to be one of extreme pain, as if he were going through something terrifying.

"Ah Zu, what's wrong?" Yu Yanluo quickly leaned closer to check.

To her surprise, his hand suddenly shot up, and in her haste, she couldn't dodge it.

She was caught directly.

Her mind went blank for a moment; she didn't know what to think.

Soon, the strange sensation in front of her finally made her snap awake.

This scoundrel actually squeezed it?

Rage value from Yu Yanluo: 555555555…

She instinctively raised her hand, wanting to slap him.

However, she immediately noticed that his eyes were still tightly shut and his expression was one of pain.

"Is he suffering from cultivation deviation?"

Yu Yanluo's heart skipped a beat. As a cultivator, she naturally understood the danger involved; if she slapped him, he would most likely die.

At this moment, she finally realized that throughout their time together, he had always been an absolute gentleman, and such a sudden action could not possibly be intentional.

With that thought, she immediately felt relieved and was no longer as angry as before.

At the same time, she pondered how to help him.

She wanted to channel vital energy to him, but she wasn't sure of his exact condition, fearing it might backfire.

She wanted to wake him but worried about disturbing him at a crucial moment.

Finally, she helplessly realized that all she could do was stay quietly by his side and not disturb him.

But this guy's hands were truly restless, showing no regard for her delicate form.

Rage value from Yu Yanluo: 333333…

At this moment, Zu An in the illusion was once again held down, and as he saw the gleaming shovel about to cut down, despair filled his heart.

Just then, a series of rage values echoed in his mind.

Yu Yanluo, rage value…

Who am I, where am I?

In that instant, countless jumbled pieces of information flooded back into his mind, and his eyes suddenly became clear.

It was Old Man Mi being tortured, not me!

Once he understood all this, it was as if all his cultivation had returned. He immediately broke free from the surrounding young eunuchs and kicked the old executioner flying.

As he regained consciousness, the various images began to vanish, and this soul fragment was completely absorbed by him.

Zu An secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected the process to be so perilous. Although that shovel might not have caused any physical harm, it could very well have left a psychological scar.

He certainly didn't want to personally experience what Old Man Mi had gone through.

Next, he began absorbing the second fragment. With the previous experience, this time was much easier for him.

"Huh, wait, what was that soft thing?"

Could it be a steamed bun?

Why would Old Man Mi's memories have such a sensation?

As an experienced person, he instinctively knew what it was, but then he dismissed the thought, considering that Old Man Mi, being a eunuch, would certainly not have such an experience.

He mused that Old Man Mi was probably an errand boy in the palace initially, perhaps kneading dough in the imperial kitchen or something similar.

And this must have been one of his happiest times, otherwise it wouldn't have given him such a pleasant feeling.

"Alas, this Old Man Mi was truly unaccomplished. After all his life, his happiest memory was kneading steamed buns as a kitchen helper?"

He collected his thoughts and continued to absorb the next few soul fragments.

Immediately afterward, he saw various scenes. The imperial palace in these memories seemed quite different from the current one. At first, he thought it was a different palace, but several distinctive features were identical to the current one, confirming it was indeed the same imperial palace.

"Huh, has the imperial palace changed so much over the years?"

Then, there were images of various palace maids, concubines, and even emperors.

What surprised Zu An, however, was that the emperor in the images was not the current Emperor Taishi.

Could it be the late emperor?

No, his expression quickly changed, because he noticed that the style of the emperor's dragon robes was vastly different from Emperor Taishi's current ones.

Having served in the imperial palace for some time, he knew that imperial attire and regalia had detailed regulations; such a significant difference was impossible.

Immediately afterward, he vaguely heard some indistinct titles and finally realized.

This was the emperor of the Meng Dynasty, before the Great Zhou!

Official records regarding the Meng Dynasty had always been shrouded in secrecy, but Zu An, now in a high position with access privileges beyond ordinary people, roughly knew that the current emperor had inherited power from the Meng Dynasty, and the methods seemed rather unsavory.

Even he had no way of knowing more specific information.

"Huh, this Old Man Mi actually lived through several emperors," Zu An thought, observing the scenes with some surprise.

Aside from the first emperor, the subsequent emperors were all very young.

He watched for a long time, guessing and inferring, that it seemed the first emperor's children had all died young, and later he suffered severe injuries and fell ill, facing the crisis of having no heir.

Thus, he had no choice but to select an heir from the imperial clan. Because the empress was not his original consort and had only recently risen in favor, she was not old.

If an adult from the imperial clan were to succeed as the new emperor, it would be quite awkward for her, a young empress dowager.

So, in the end, a young nephew from the imperial clan was chosen as an adopted son.

Zu An felt a bit puzzled. Logically, the memories that could remain in soul fragments should be the most unforgettable memories of Old Man Mi's life, as only strong obsessions could persist after destruction.

For example, the scene where he was castrated was completely understandable.

But why were these current memories so deeply ingrained in Old Man Mi's mind?

Various scenes flashed by like a revolving lantern. Then he saw a young emperor leading eunuchs and palace maids, wielding weapons and charging towards a minister.

That minister remained completely indifferent and did not lift a finger; his subordinates swiftly executed all the eunuchs and palace maids.

Even the young emperor died in the chaos.

Zu An's heart jumped. He found the minister's appearance familiar; he had seen it before on an altar in the imperial palace.

That was Emperor Taizong of the current dynasty!

No wonder official records about the Meng Dynasty were so secretive. So this was the reason.

One by one, the soul fragments were absorbed, with only the last one remaining.

As soon as he started, an endless sea of flames appeared before his eyes, a terrifying pressure washed over him, and a giant phoenix, engulfed in flames, emerged from the darkness.