Chapter 177: Two Secret Tales

"Good heavens, so one of the culprits behind the sudden death of the Immortal Qin Lord was actually this predecessor from the Spirit Venerable path?"

"How did they do it? You, a Sequence 4, managed to trick the dignified Immortal Qin Lord? Not to mention his cultivation base was Sequence 2—that should have been a demigod, right? Even if he were terminally ill, he wouldn't be easy to fool."

"This skill, I must learn it."

Having only read the first paragraph of the preface, Li Yu's eyes were already shining.

No other reason; the predecessor's skills seemed truly miraculous, making him very eager to learn.

Fortunately, very soon, as this extraordinary book poured its contents into him.

The confusion in Li Yu's eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by an increasingly intense glow of excitement.

The book did not just list the names, charges, and processes of the various practitioners from major sects or powerful rogue cultivators who had been killed by the Immortal Qin Lord.

It also recounted the customs of the Immortal Qin era, palace secrets, the political situation, and so on.

Finally, it explicitly stated the author—that predecessor known as "Lu Sheng"—and the details of his revenge against the Immortal Qin Lord.

That's right!

His actions were nothing but revenge.

And it was a group operation.

The Immortal Qin Lord wanted to create his own path to godhood and monopolize a source of True God origin; naturally, he couldn't create it from nothing and needed to collect a vast amount of resources and secrets before he could even begin.

Thus, he set his sights on the Spirit Venerable path, which was rumored to be able to steal the laws of the gods. Using methods including coercion, conscription, and bribery, he met with many followers of the Spirit Venerable... and in the end, he had them all killed.

He even issued an imperial decree to ban the Spirit Venerable path.

Of course, by that time, the Immortal Qin Lord already showed signs of madness and had committed many evil deeds; the victims were not limited to Spirit Venerable practitioners.

The number of those seeking revenge was also countless.

The ones who ultimately succeeded were the group of Spirit Venerable followers represented by "Lu Sheng."

The process was quite convoluted:

"The Immortal Qin Lord was able to sweep across the four directions thanks to the full support of the Red God Sect, and he himself was a Sequence 2 【Fluorescent War Immortal】 of the Red God path. However, the Immortal Qin Lord was unwilling to be controlled by the Red God Sect Leader, and even less willing to accept that a terrifying True God already existed at the end of his path."

"So, under the bewitchment of an unknown evil god, the Immortal Qin Lord fell directly into depravity, seeking help from various gods and numerous evil god sects, attempting to blaze a new trail and create a path to godhood that belonged solely to him."

"To this end, he successively joined the ranks of True Gods such as the Vast Heaven, Blood God, Earth Mother, Demon-Quelling Heavenly Venerable, Hanging King, and Ancient Sage. He even hosted envoys from powerful, god-slaying races from the Spirit Realm and beyond, such as the 【Mechanical Undead Race】, the 【Ancient One Race】, and the 【Spirit Race】."

"Alas, all ended in failure."

"Until one day, a meteorite from beyond the heavens suddenly fell within the borders of Immortal Qin, containing a faint, ownerless source of True God origin. After consuming it, the Immortal Qin Lord's lifespan increased by a thousand years, and he gained hope of becoming a god. He was overjoyed and wanted more such meteorites."

"He then heard that the meteorite was actually summoned accidentally by a 'True Monarch of Qi-Eating' named Lu Sheng."

"He forcibly conscripted him, demanding he constantly set up altars to summon heavenly stars."

"During the process, the Immortal Qin Lord continuously invested massive resources and grew increasingly close to Lu Sheng, telling him every secret, even discussing the deposition and establishment of the Crown Prince with him. He did indeed obtain a large number of meteorites."

"Until the final moment, when Lu Sheng disappeared inexplicably."

"The pollution and backlash that had accumulated in the Immortal Qin Lord's body all erupted... At this point, even if a True God descended, they could not save him. The Immortal Qin Lord finally realized that this was all a scam."

"The so-called meteorites were both real and fake; they did contain ownerless True God origins, but the pollution was extremely severe and impossible to remove. Consuming them was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst."

"From the very beginning, this was a trap set entirely for him."

"For this, the Spirit Venerable path also paid a heavy price as bait, and the time span was very long."

"Upon realizing this, the Immortal Qin Lord struggled in resentment for a month before finally dying suddenly."

"Good, good, good. They know how to play."

When Li Yu finished reading Lu Sheng's self-account of the process of tricking the Immortal Qin Lord, he immediately felt his horizons had been broadened.

The predecessors of this path had extraordinary methods.

A group of people, with the highest cultivation being a Sequence 3 hiding in the shadows to check for gaps, and the one at the very front being the Sequence 4 Lu Sheng.

They had managed to kill a Sequence 2 powerhouse through careful planning and long-term dealing.

And this was accomplished while surrounded by numerous sects and a host of evil gods.

Of course, the True God "Spirit Venerable" must have secretly assisted; after all, at that time, this unlucky True God with a terrible reputation was still active.

"Judging from the actions of predecessor Lu Sheng and the others!"

"Every practitioner of the Spirit Venerable path is indeed an outstanding liar."

"But I suppose they've done this kind of thing too often, so their reputation is notoriously foul."

Li Yu muttered to himself while continuing to read the other records in detail.

Besides the ins and outs of the scam, Lu Sheng also wrote quite a few things.

For example, some palace secrets.

Regarding the two major pieces of gossip in Immortal Qin: the mystery of who the Immortal Qin Lord's biological father was, and the fact that his biological mother later had an affair with a fake eunuch and bore him a younger brother.

As for the final truth, there were various claims. Unexpectedly, this predecessor Lu Sheng from his own path provided the definitive answer.

Furthermore, words that were both familiar and shocking to Li Yu appeared in the text:

"The secret of the Immortal Qin Lord's biological father was a subject of controversy throughout the court. One day, after consuming 'Immortal Bait,' his soul was in chaos, and he accidentally blurted out his inner suspicions: after verifying it through many channels, he believed his biological father was likely his 'sub-father,' a high-ranking official with great power in the current court."

"It's just that both father and son were emotionless people; they wouldn't bother to acknowledge each other, but continued to harbor their own ulterior motives and scheme against one another."

"His biological father was also a practitioner, and the path he belonged to was extremely unique, having only three sequences. But even the initial sequence, 【Nine-Stream Idler】, possessed extremely powerful divine abilities."

"After some probing, our plan was seen through by the forces behind him. We also learned of his schemes, and after negotiations, we chose not to disturb each other and went our separate ways."

"The Immortal Qin Lord's biological mother, Lady Zhao, was also a practitioner, a Sequence 5 Saintess of the Lust Sect's Sinful God path."

"Because she gave birth to an overlord, the Lust Sect once enjoyed a period of great prosperity in Immortal Qin."

"Until Lady Zhao was defiled by a fake eunuch. This eunuch was actually not a human from the current world, but a terrifying unknown race from the depths of the Spirit Realm. This race seemed to have a grand plan to steal the bloodlines of powerful beings or powerful races across the heavens."

"They would send out a strange type of soldier called 【Blood-Stealing Pseudo-Human】 to steal bloodlines through various means."

=9+Book_Bar

"This type of soldier possessed powerful abilities for reproduction, birth, and pollution."

"Lady Zhao was defiled by it and willingly helped the pseudo-human steal the Immortal Qin Lord's powerful bloodline, giving birth to a hybrid that mixed the bloodlines of the two races."

"In the end, the plan failed, and the Immortal Qin Lord had both of them and the hybrid executed."

"The Lust Sect was implicated as a result and was banned."

When Li Yu finished reading these two secrets, the seventeenth bubble of truth suddenly flickered and charged frantically, surging forward by a large margin.

It made sense; they were indeed explosive, major secrets.

They couldn't be seen in the outside world, and if it weren't for a Spirit Venerable path practitioner redeeming this book.

If another Demon Star Order Holder had come to read it, they would have had to accept the judgment hidden within.

If they couldn't pass, there would be a risk of alienation and sudden death.

However, after reading these two secrets, Li Yu felt even more curious in his heart.

"If I remember correctly, the Nine-Stream Idler is the initial sequence of the path belonging to the people of the 【City Lord's Mansion】."

"So, back in the Warring States Immortal Qin era, the City Lord's Mansion had already started making moves."

"That high-ranking official was ruthless enough; clearly seeing through Lu Sheng and the others' plan to target his own child, he chose to stand by and watch. Was he just treating him as a pawn?"

"And that 【Blood-Stealing Pseudo-Human】, what race does it come from?"

"It seems the Spirit Realm is not only vast and boundless but also infinitely dangerous. I've already heard of several races capable of slaying gods... By comparison, the real world, which is clearly a playground for the gods, seems safer?"

After muttering these things.

Li Yu went to look at the subsequent records regarding the political landscape.

It was a coincidence.

The "Immortal Qin Fragmented Realm," the strange domain he was about to head to, was exactly where the final afterglow of Immortal Qin was solidified.

And what the liar predecessor Lu Sheng focused on recording was precisely the situation one month before the Immortal Qin Lord's sudden death.

After reading it, Li Yu felt a headache.

"Because of the actions of the Spirit Venerable group, the Immortal Qin Lord's plan for godhood ended in failure, leaving him to end up piled together with rotting, stinking fish after his death."

"Only, before he died, his mind and soul were already insane. His naturally violent and suspicious temperament was catalyzed to the extreme. From high-ranking officials down to commoners, and all practitioners in between, anyone could provoke him for some inexplicable reason and thus suffer misfortune."

"For example, if a meteorite with nothing unusual about it fell in a certain territory, it would immediately remind the Immortal Qin Lord of the Spirit Venerable group's actions, and he would immediately issue an imperial decree to slaughter all living beings in that territory."

"Besides the threat brought by the Immortal Qin Lord, that period was also the most turbulent time within Immortal Qin. Several factions attacked each other, with open spears and hidden arrows, making it impossible to guard against, and many innocent people died as a result."

"The final outcome seems to have been that a eunuch supported by an unknown evil god sect quietly gained the upper hand. On the night the Immortal Qin Lord died suddenly, he used secret arts to bewitch an Immortal Qin Imperial Prince into forcibly ascending the throne, killing other royals, and finally taking control of the giant, tyrannical vessel that was the Immortal Qin dynasty."

"Unfortunately, this giant vessel soon sank along with him."

"That sect's efforts were all in vain; Immortal Qin collapsed, war broke out, and it entered the next era."

"So, the high-ranking official that the King of Happiness wants to use a high-sequence strange object to possess is likely that eunuch who is also surnamed Zhao in the historical records."

"After I am conscripted, besides going to rely on him, it seems I really have nowhere else to go?"

"And I must be even more careful and cautious; I must never expose my identity as a Spirit Venerable path practitioner, otherwise, I will directly attract the Immortal Qin Lord."

"Hmm?"

"Across the long span of history, a small, transparent person like me can actually be implicated by the predecessors?"

At this thought, Li Yu couldn't help but feel it was both absurd and helpless.

PS: There is more.

(End of chapter)