Chapter 884: Betrayal

Xu Fu’s voice deepened, clearly weighed down by the memory: “While I was drifting on the ocean, searching for the elusive immortal mountains, I encountered a giant monstrous fish. The masters dispatched by Qin Shi Huang helped me slay it.”

Zu An thought to himself that it must have been the fish bone temple he encountered on the first immortal island.

Xu Fu continued: “However, I didn’t realize that giant monstrous fish was a sacred beast of the Mermaid Clan. Later, the Mermaid Clan came to seek revenge. Through a series of coincidences, I got to know their empress… We clashed several times, gradually developed feelings for each other, and eventually became friends. She found my descriptions of life on land fascinating, so she returned with me to Qin.”

“Then you gave her to Qin Shi Huang?” Mi Li said coldly. There had been a similar depiction on the mural in the previous room.

Xu Fu nodded: “That’s right, I gave her to Qin Shi Huang.”

“No wonder she harbored such deep resentment. You’re utterly a scumbag for betraying her like that,” Zu An couldn’t help but exclaim. He wondered if these people all had a cuckolding fetish. What kind of person gives away the woman he loves?

“Her resentment wasn’t due to that,” Xu Fu replied.

Even Mi Li was puzzled. Did the woman also have some strange peculiarity?

Xu Fu explained: “Back then, she knew I was burdened with Qin Shi Huang’s task. She wanted to rescue me from my suffering, so she was willing to cooperate with my plan, infiltrating Qin Shi Huang’s side to help me.”

Bi Linglong couldn’t help but exclaim: “Then she must have loved you deeply.”

For a woman to be willing to serve another man for the sake of the man she loves—that kind of devotion requires truly profound feelings.

A hint of tenderness appeared on Xu Fu’s face: “She was indeed very good to me.”

Zu An asked in a low voice: “Then why did she end up harboring such strong resentment towards you?”

This time, Xu Fu didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Mi Li: “Originally, my plan was proceeding methodically: first gather the Five Elements individuals, and then finally deal with the Pure Yang and Pure Yin bodies. Since you were, after all, the empress of a nation and of noble status, you couldn’t be easily harmed, so I left you for last.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know if Qin Shi Huang grew suspicious, but he actually sealed you away early and hid you in a place none of us knew.”

Mi Li’s eyebrows twitched, indicating that memory from years ago was clearly not a pleasant one.

Xu Fu’s voice quickened: “Back then, I was filled with dread, constantly feeling that Qin Shi Huang had seen through my actions, so the scheme had to be launched prematurely.”

“I contacted the second prince Hu Hai, Prime Minister Li Si, and eunuch Zhao Gao. Finally, the few of us combined our strength and launched our attack when he was on his excursion to Shaqiu.”

Zu An was dumbfounded, never expecting such a hidden story behind the Shaqiu Incident. It turned out Xu Fu had orchestrated everything.

Mi Li snorted: “Even if the few of you joined forces, you wouldn’t be a match for Qin Shi Huang.”

Although they had never truly been husband and wife, having been married for so many years, she naturally knew Qin Shi Huang’s cultivation level.

Xu Fu smiled: “You’re right, at that time we truly couldn’t deal with Qin Shi Huang. But has Your Majesty forgotten one other person?”

“The Mermaid Empress?” Mi Li’s heart stirred.

“Precisely. Back then, she first administered a strange sea poison to Qin Shi Huang and simultaneously launched a surprise attack that severely wounded him. Only then did we appear to surround and kill him.” A hint of dread flashed across Xu Fu’s face as he recalled that day. “You must understand, the few of us were among the world’s top masters at the time, but Qin Shi Huang was truly too powerful. Even poisoned and injured, our collective assault still resulted in heavy losses for us.”

“The Mermaid Empress was severely wounded, Li Si was directly crippled and lost all his cultivation, and Hu Hai’s head was injured, making him dull-witted and unable to distinguish between a deer and a horse. I myself also suffered grave injuries, with only a few years left to live. The only one with relatively minor injuries was Zhao Gao.”

Zu An realized why Li Si, despite being the prime minister, was later easily killed by Zhao Gao after their power struggle; and why Hu Hai became the subject of the eternal idiom "pointing to a deer as a horse." Considering this whole operation, it seemed Zhao Gao was the biggest winner, apart from Xu Fu.

Hearing this, Mi Li’s expression changed several times. In such a lethal trap, even someone as mighty as Qin Shi Huang would likely have died filled with regret.

Sure enough, Xu Fu said: “After paying such a heavy price, we finally succeeded in killing Qin Shi Huang.”

“In his final moments, Qin Shi Huang understood the truth. He severed his own bloodline, leaving me no Pure Yang body.” A hint of anger laced Xu Fu’s voice, clearly indicating his frustration at the failure of his plan all those years ago.

Mi Li sighed: “So you chose me as the Pure Yin body and him as the Pure Yang body. You truly have immense audacity.”

Zu An pondered why Qin Shi Huang would have been suspicious. He clearly knew he possessed a Pure Yang body, and combining that with Mi Li’s existence, it was natural for him to doubt Xu Fu’s motives.

In this light, all previous doubts were resolved.

When he first found Mi Li in the secret realm, he had been very curious why Qin Shi Huang went to such lengths to seal her. Wouldn't it have been simpler to just kill her?

It turned out her life needed to be preserved to activate the Yin-Yang Five Elements Grand Formation in the future.

If everything had gone smoothly in the end, Qin Shi Huang would have retrieved Mi Li to trigger the formation and achieve immortality.

And if any unexpected events occurred, Mi Li, being hidden, served as a contingency.

“To achieve immortality, one must be audacious,” Xu Fu’s laughter rang out. “After my severe injuries back then, my lifespan was nearly exhausted, and I couldn't find Your Majesty. Left with no choice, I had to activate the grand formation prematurely. Although the formation was incomplete at the time, it was sufficient to extend my life.”

“The only pity was that at least four elements were needed to activate the formation. Han Zhong had vanished without a trace back then; his discovery and imprisonment here happened much later. At the time, I had no alternative. The formation only had Lu Sheng’s Metal, Fusu’s Fire, and Meng Tian’s Earth. Lacking one more of the Five Elements individuals, I had no choice but to turn my attention to her.”

Mi Li sneered: “You are indeed ruthless. And that Mermaid Empress was truly foolish. A man like you, who didn’t hesitate to betray his sovereign and even readily gave away the woman he claimed to love, how could you ever cherish her?”

She felt no pity for the Mermaid Empress. After all, she was a rebellious subject; had it not been for her, neither Mi Li nor Qin Shi Huang would have faced such misfortune.

Bi Linglong tugged at Zu An’s sleeve and whispered: “You are never allowed to be like that in the future.”

She, however, felt great sympathy for the Mermaid Empress, who had sacrificed everything for love, only to meet such a fate.

Zu An chuckled wryly: “Don’t worry, I couldn’t bring myself to.”

Bi Linglong’s face flushed slightly, unsure whom he truly couldn’t bring himself to abandon.

However, she immediately realized that they would likely die here today, so there would be no “future.” Her expression gradually darkened.

Xu Fu said expressionlessly: “Precisely. When I acted against her, she was first bewildered, then intensely angry and resentful. I intended to use her boundless resentment to help me complete the ritual.”

Hearing his calm tone, Bi Linglong couldn’t help but say: “Don’t you feel any guilt at all?”

“Why should I feel guilty?” Xu Fu asked, surprised. “I was striving for immortality, to exist in the world in a completely new form, and naturally, her part would live on through me. By participating in the process of creating the first immortal among humans, she would be remembered forever by all under heaven, which is also a form of eternal life.”

“That’s just sophistry! That’s clearly not what she wanted!” Bi Linglong trembled with anger, as if she had personally experienced the Mermaid Empress’s plight.

Xu Fu smiled, then ignored her and looked at Mi Li instead: “I dissolved my physical body into this blood pool, becoming one with it in slumber, waiting for your arrival one day. Because I knew Qin Shi Huang would surely have made arrangements. As it stands, I guessed correctly. It seems all of this was destined; Heaven intends for me to become the first true immortal in this world.”

Zu An quickly asked Mi Li: “Master, is there any way to deal with him?”

Mi Li shook her head and remained silent. Clearly, she was suppressed now, and Zu An alone, no matter the method, could not deal with this terrifying monster.

High-speed text Land Key Immortal chapter list