Daoist Ritual Offering, Child of Destiny

As an emperor, could you honor Heaven?

Those eight words were more than an exchange between Jiang Sheng and the Universal Emperor. In a sense, Jiang Sheng wanted to see just how far the emperor could go.

Judging by the Universal Emperor's actions over the past few years—from clinging to the throne and sending away his princes to building seagoing dragon boats—he was not a man who would sit and wait for death.

Jiang Sheng did not fear the Universal Emperor having plans of his own. He feared the emperor having none.

If the Universal Emperor was truly willing to sacrifice himself and even his descendants for the Great Yu Ghost Dynasty, which had endured as one through ten thousand generations in the Netherworld, Jiang Sheng had no better solution. He had plenty to do himself and no time to replace the Yu emperor.

Besides, replacing him would bring a host of problems. Merely untangling the court's tangled factions and reaching an understanding with each of them would take untold years.

Better to work with the Universal Emperor. He had ruled for five hundred years, after all, and almost every official at court had risen through his favor. Their interests were bound to his.

If Jiang Sheng could reach an understanding with him, his plans would proceed far more smoothly.

The Universal Emperor clearly understood Jiang Sheng's meaning. After some thought, he wrote his reply while asking Ji Hong about his years on Jinhua Mountain.

As he listened to Ji Hong describe the peace of Lingyou Prefecture, Jinhua Mountain's splendor as an immortal sanctuary, and conditions across the Yu Dynasty's prefectures and commanderies, the Universal Emperor began forming his own judgment.

In truth, despite wielding real power over the Yu Dynasty for more than five hundred years, his grip on