Chapter 1774: Old Man

"If there is one major characteristic of your Alchemist Association to speak of, it is that you know how to endure patiently."

"You want immortality too much. You knew that even when you reach the day you grow old, you could also seal yourselves in the underground of the Taishi Division. And eventually one day, descendants will find the method to immortality, and then bring all of you to immortality together..."

"Therefore, you were willing to pay everything for immortality, time, energy, painstaking effort... Anyway, there is still endless lifespan to squander in the future, so what if you first bet decades of life to establish trust with His Majesty?"

"Thus, generation after generation of Alchemist Association presidents, leading generation after generation of Alchemist Association members, burned out their entire lives, building super high walls that could be called spectacles for the Eight Great Bastions, constructing countless high towers that could block Calamities, crazily building Realm Trains that travel between the major bastions..."

"Lord Chong... have you ridden a donkey before?"

"Hanging a carrot in front of a donkey can entice this donkey to work tirelessly for a whole day... In this world, what could be better than this?"

Lord Chong stared blankly at the Duke of Zhao, only feeling his thoughts being shattered to pieces... For these over three hundred years, their Alchemist Association had been complacent about gaining the Emperor's trust and developing steadily under the shell of the Taishi Division. Even now, he still remembered the previous generation president secretly pulling him aside, analyzing with him how to utilize the Emperor's greed for immortality to step by step gain even greater power...

But looking at it now, this was nothing more than a self-intoxication of the Alchemist Association spanning over three hundred years. From the very beginning, Ying Fu hadn't taken them seriously at all, but instead treated them as nuclear-powered donkeys!

"Impossible... He is the First Emperor! Doesn't he want immortality?! Is he really willing to just die of old age like this?!"

"Who told you, that the current His Majesty, is that person from the past?"

The Duke of Zhao snorted coldly.

Lord Chong's expression became rigid once more.

"Let's not talk about the Philosopher's Stone only being able to help a person achieve spiritual immortality... Even if there was a method to make the physical body immortal as well, so what? Divine Pathways in this world are as numerous as the stars, do you really think His Majesty only has your Alchemist Association as a single walking stick?" The Duke of Zhao continued unhurriedly,

"Not to mention that in these over three hundred years, it wasn't just you guys using the shell of the Taishi Division to secretly develop power, His Majesty was also using the core of your Alchemist Association to expand the Taishi Division bit by bit... Whether it is the method to refine the Philosopher's Stone, or other Alchemist Association inheritances, someone has already mastered them all."

"Let alone just killing you now, even if the entire Alchemist Association was slaughtered, someone would immediately replace your positions... When the sun rises, the Taishi Division will still be that Taishi Division, His Majesty's most loyal right-hand man."

The Duke of Zhao raised his hand and patted Lord Chong's shoulder, speaking earnestly and thoughtfully:

"So..."

"Don't take yourselves too seriously, Lord Chong."

"In His Majesty's eyes... you guys, are nothing."

Lord Chong was nailed to the boulder, his lips dry and cracked, his face like dead ash...

He knew that no matter how he and the Alchemist Association fought back to the death, it would never yield any results anymore... The annihilation of the Alchemist Association was already a foregone conclusion. They were like chess pieces squeezed dry in Ying Fu's hands, casually tossed into a pool of water, unable to even splash up a single trace of a ripple.

"Regardless, thank your Alchemist Association for the contributions made to humanity..."

"After all, without you guys burning yourselves so desperately, how could there be the currently impregnable human fortresses?"

As the Duke of Zhao's voice fell, the aura of the Path of the Scholar God erupted once more. Dense ink and brush that blotted out the sky surged out from the Wooden Box on his back, instantly submerging the terrified Lord Chong within.

...

Chengtian Domain.

Imperial Study.

A slender writing brush gently stroked across, sharp brushstrokes penetrating into the paper's surface. A faint fragrance of ink dispersed dimly in the air. A figure sat behind a thin bead curtain, only able to vaguely discern an aged outline.

Suddenly, that figure seemed to perceive something, and the smoothly sliding brush tip paused slightly...

He held the brush and fell silent in the air for a moment, slowly putting it down.

"Your Majesty, what is wrong?"

He Jing, serving in front of the bead curtain, asked respectfully.

"Chong Zhiqiu is dead." Ying Fu's voice sounded calmly.

He Jing's eyebrows arched up slightly, but he didn't seem surprised by this result, opening his mouth unhurriedly, "From top to bottom, the Taishi Division was slaughtered entirely by the Calamity of Mockery, and the former Chief Chong Zhiqiu died in an attack in the Gray World... This news will quickly spread throughout the court."

He paused for a moment and continued:

"The Taishi Division is the mainstay of Chengtian. Since it was slaughtered entirely, new personnel naturally need to be replenished... Those aristocratic and noble families will probably fight until their heads are broken and bleeding over a few quotas again."

"With new fat meat appearing, those jackals will probably also be able to quiet down for a while, shifting their gazes away from Your Majesty, and focusing on mutually slaughtering each other in internal strife."

"Of course, ultimately who can enter the Taishi Division and who cannot, is still up to Your Majesty to decide."

As He Jing's voice fell, a burst of weak coughing sounded from behind the bead curtain.

"Cough cough cough cough cough..."

He Jing's expression changed, immediately asking, "Your Majesty, should I go call the imperial physician now?"

"...Even the imperial physician finds it hard to add to human lifespan." Ying Fu paused for a moment, as if finally making up his mind, "Even if the vacancies in the Taishi Division can attract the attention of those parasites... but as long as I do not appear for a day, they still won't have a day of rest."

"Your Majesty's meaning is..."

"It is about time." Ying Fu slowly opened his mouth, "He Jing... are you, ready?"

He Jing's expression instantly became serious. He knelt on both knees in front of the bead curtain, answering without hesitation:

"This official, is willing to offer up my life for Your Majesty at any time!"

"I do not need your life... I, only need ten years, and that is enough."

Ying Fu casually waved his hand behind the bead curtain, and the wall on the side of the Imperial Study flipped over like a chessboard, exposing a black and red wall in the air... And at the edge of that wall, an exquisitely designed gambling table was quietly placed, covered in dust, as if it hadn't been used for many years.

He Jing took a deep breath, walking straight to the side of the gambling table and sitting down, his gaze looking forward, his face writing "facing death with courage".

At the same time,

An aged figure wearing simple white clothing slowly walked out from behind the bead curtain with steady steps.

That was an old man whose eyebrows and eyes revealed majesty. His hair was graying, like withered branches about to fall in winter. His body was hunched, and his breathing was shallow and frequent, yet the emperor's Oppressive Aura revealed in his every movement still made one shudder at all times.

He just slowly sat down by the gambling table like this, those deep eyes looking at He Jing. The latter's mind trembled, as if gazing into a vast starry sky.

"Let's begin..."

Ying Fu lifted the black round cup on the gambling table, a single die quietly lying within.