Chapter 580: Cool Breeze

Zu An felt a bit contemptuous of himself, realizing he had the leisure to think about such random things at a critical life-or-death moment.

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

While he wasn't solely relying on the hat's power, it would certainly be safer if it worked.

As Zu An was lost in thought, the emperor sat on his throne, eyes closed in contemplation. It was unclear if this was due to the Forgiveness Hat's effects or if he was simply perceiving the contents of the 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture'.

Not long after, the emperor slowly opened his eyes, his expression extremely complex. After a long silence, he muttered to himself, "It's not worth the effort, yet too much of a pity to abandon."

"Your Majesty, have you comprehended the essence of immortality?" Zu An asked cautiously. The spiritual incantation he had left within the hat was naturally not the true 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture', as he wouldn't be so foolish as to fully reveal his trump card.

Of course, the incantation wasn't entirely false; it was ninety percent true and ten percent false. Yet, that ten percent of falsehood was enough to completely undermine the ninety percent of truth.

His past life's knowledge of *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 could instantly discern ordinary fakes, so Zu An dared not alter the scripture too much.

Even so, this wasn't something Zu An could have modified on his own. It was Mi Li's handiwork; in this world, only her cultivation and insight could have made it so flawless.

Speaking of which, Mi Li's expression had been quite strange when she first heard Zu An wanted to tell her about the 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture'. He wondered what she had been thinking at the time.

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

Zu An replied, "Indeed. I've walked the edge of life and death countless times, my life hanging by a thread on numerous occasions. I've been beaten so many times I've lost count."

The emperor responded, "Ah, no wonder you've developed such a pathetic personality."

Zu An was speechless.

*Can't he speak properly?*

He desperately wanted to leap up and deliver a resounding slap, but weighing the vast difference in their cultivation levels, he realized he was far more likely to be taught a lesson himself. So, he dismissed the idea and instead fixed his gaze on the verdant green hat atop the emperor's head, employing Ah Q's method of spiritual victory.

The emperor again mused aloud, "I am the Son of Heaven; who in this world would dare to strike me, or even be able to strike me? That aside, the crucial point is that to cultivate this art, I must abandon all other cultivation methods and only practice this one. What I lack most right now is time; how could I possibly manage it?"

Feigning concern, Zu An interjected, "This art is miraculous, and Your Majesty's talent is extraordinary. Perhaps you could cultivate it faster than anyone else."

The emperor shook his head. "Even with speed, there's a limit; it's too late. Furthermore, the further one cultivates this art, the astronomical amount of primal energy required becomes astounding, even to me. To truly achieve immortality, one would probably need to start practicing from the womb. 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 never to be fully mastered."

Given his status and position, how could he possibly abandon his astonishing cultivation at this juncture and start anew? If he did, wouldn't those already restless factions immediately rebel? What would he use to suppress them?

At that point, with his death and the fall of the empire, he probably wouldn't even achieve the kind of immortality that means being remembered throughout history.

Having cultivated to become the strongest person in the world, how could he not see through these critical implications? Perhaps others would be deluded by the allure of immortality, but it would never be him.

The emperor looked at Zu An with a strange expression. "Zhu Xie Chixin reported something peculiar: you clearly had opportunities to escape along the way but didn't. Instead, you cooperated actively, as if eager to come to the capital to your death. Both he and I have been unable to understand why. Now it seems you knew all along that I couldn't cultivate this method, which is why you were so calm."

"Your Majesty is truly sagacious," Zu An bowed, his attitude impeccably respectful.

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

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

"Unfortunately, you miscalculated one thing," the emperor sneered. "Although I won't practice this 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture', you are younger than me and have great potential. Do you think I would let someone with the possibility of achieving immortality live?"

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

In fact, he wasn't lying about this. He himself had experienced how difficult it became to make progress in cultivating the 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture' the further he went. Even with the Keyboard Warrior System assisting him, he found it incredibly tough; just the first few formations of the fifth rank required hundreds of millions of Rage points each.

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

For ordinary people, cultivation would be even slower.

Of course, now he had several other cultivation methods of the same level complementing each other, so he might still have hope if he truly cultivated them, but others shouldn't even dream of it.

The emperor's breath hitched. He realized he had lost his composure, likely due to the sudden excitement of obtaining a method for immortality, immediately followed by the disappointment of realizing he couldn't achieve it. Even his iron-willed resolve was stirred, causing his words to contradict each other.

He sneered, "It's not a good idea to show off your cleverness in front of me."

Zu An replied, "I'm not showing off my cleverness, merely stating a fact."

The emperor gave him a deep look, then changed the subject. "What do you think of the Crown Prince?"

Zu An thought to himself, *As his father, don't you have a clear understanding of what kind of person the Crown Prince is?*

However, he still dared not directly say the Crown Prince was foolish. After all, no matter how selfless a father was, such words would still be offensive. "The Crown Prince is pure and possesses a certain ancient simplicity."

He was almost in tears, wondering if it had been easy to come up with such a diplomatic phrase.

The emperor was momentarily startled, a smile flickering across his face before disappearing. "You are quite cunning, aren't you?"

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

Having once been an emperor in the Yin Ruins, he naturally understood the imperial mindset. There was no need to be constantly timid; asking appropriate questions 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 instructed him to do so.

As for the purpose, it was likely to eliminate him through 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.

In such a desperate situation, and being humiliated by the Crown Prince and Princess, he might have chosen to take a desperate risk, perhaps by taking the Crown Prince hostage or even killing him to drag him down with him.

Whether the Crown Prince killed him or he killed the Crown Prince, it would be beneficial for the mastermind. Clearly, that person lacked the ability to arrange assassinations within the palace, so they had to resort to this method.

But how could that mastermind have known that Zu An wasn't desperate, but had originally intended to meet the emperor to resolve the matter? Naturally, he wouldn't act according to their plans.

At this moment, the emperor walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, and gazed at the distant landscape, a hint of infatuation flashing in his eyes. "Do you know why I arranged for you to stay outside the palace for an extra night?"

Zu An hesitated, about to speak but stopping himself. The emperor smiled. "It's fine to show some cleverness. What I'm about to do requires an astute person, not a fool."

Only then did Zu An say, "I've always found this strange. Logically, staying outside for an extra day would introduce more variables. Later, assassins indeed came. As the strongest person in the world, Your Majesty shouldn't do something so unwise."

The emperor snorted. "Enough flattery."

Zu An chuckled, then continued, "After seeing Your Majesty, it suddenly dawned on me that Your Majesty used me as bait to draw out rebellious forces from all sides, and then capture them all in one fell swoop."

Previously, only Prince Liang and a few Embroidered Uniform Guards were sent, seemingly strong, but with the temptation of immortality, their meager strength simply couldn't stop the forces that would stir at the rumor.

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

If not for his various fortuitous encounters, the grass on his grave would probably be knee-high by now.

The emperor then said, "But surely there are clever people among those factions who would jump into the trap even if they knew it was one?"

Zu An replied, "Your Majesty's execution was very clever, not overtly obvious. And even if a few discerning individuals were suspicious, it wouldn't matter, because this is an overt scheme. Everyone desires immortality, and those people certainly don't want Your Majesty to achieve it, so even if it's a pitfall, they have no choice but to jump."

The emperor looked at him with some surprise. "If not for intelligence indicating you truly grew up in the common world, I'd suspect you were an old fox who had been immersed in politics for decades, to see things so clearly."

"Just a wild guess, a wild guess," Zu An chuckled. In reality, the emperor was right; having been an emperor for decades in the Yin Ruins, such tricks were already commonplace to him.

The emperor then continued, "You're right. This time I've indeed reeled in many fish lurking beneath the surface. Many seemingly loyal provincial governors had already sided with the other faction; it seems I'll have to find a way to reassign them. Also, a public assassination actually occurred in the capital this time; the Commander of the Imperial Censors from the Murong family won't be needed anymore..."

The Commander of the Imperial Censors was responsible for supervising central ministers and imperial relatives in the capital region, while also maintaining public order. This position was akin to the head of a disciplinary commission combined with a ministry of public security in later eras, holding a crucial status at court.

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. He vaguely remembered Chu Chuyan mentioning that her maternal grandmother seemed to be from the Murong family. *Crap*, he thought, *I've been unwittingly causing trouble for my wife's maternal 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 all along, and how I've helped lure so many 'fish,' casually granting me a dukedom or a marquisate would suffice."

The emperor was speechless.

Did this fellow think dukedoms and marquisates were as common as cabbages, to be granted so casually?

He snorted coldly. "I see you're quite clever, young man. It just so happens that my trusted eunuch died recently. Why don't you stay by my side and serve me as a eunuch?"

Zu An: "???"

He instinctively squeezed his legs together, feeling a sudden chill.