Ch. 241Speculation: A Forbidden Creature? The First Emperor Mausoleum Declared a Forbidden Land?
Key plot points and events
- After the Black Dragon seized Xu Fu and the Elixir of Immortality, the Japanese exploration team survived and found Xu Fu’s ruins largely untouched.
- Japan claimed it had defeated the ruins’ guardian and gained the Fangshi inheritance. Other countries offered only perfunctory congratulations, while online users mocked the claim, pointing out that the team had been helpless against Xu Fu.
- Attention shifted to the Black Dragon and its possible connection to the First Emperor. Xu Fu had addressed it as “His Majesty the First Emperor,” prompting speculation that the dragon was the Emperor’s avatar and that the Emperor might awaken once the Elixir reached his jade coffin.
- A popular online analysis proposed that Xu Fu had once sought to keep the Elixir for himself, while the First Emperor, Xu Fu, and the Fangshi lineage had all fallen into a long sleep.
- Central Continent officials held emergency meetings and judged the Black Dragon’s spatial powers impossible to counter. They classified it as a Forbidden Creature, designated the First Emperor Mausoleum a Forbidden Land, and prohibited martial artists from approaching.
- The chapter ends with Gu Chen in Coastal City checking his Origin Points.
Character developments
- The Japanese exploration team go from terror and near-despair to relief and opportunism, then present their survival and likely access to the ruins as a national triumph.
- Xu Fu becomes central to public speculation: his address to the Black Dragon suggests a deep connection to the First Emperor, while commentators suspect he once intended to keep the Elixir.
- The First Emperor is recast in public imagination as potentially more than a historical ruler—perhaps a sleeping figure of immense supernatural power.
- Gu Chen remains separate from the global crisis, appearing briefly at the end as he checks his Origin Points.
Significant themes
- The collision of history and myth: Ancient legends and historical figures may be real, powerful forces in the modern world.
- Fear of the unknown and state control: Officials respond to an overwhelming threat by declaring it forbidden, acknowledging their inability to resist it.
- Propaganda versus public perception: Japan’s boastful account contrasts with the online audience’s knowledge of what actually happened.
- Speculation in the information age: Social media rapidly turns limited evidence into competing theories about the First Emperor, Xu Fu, and the Elixir.
Character interactions
- The Black Dragon’s seizure of Xu Fu and the Elixir ends the confrontation at the ruins and leaves the Japanese team free to explore.
- Japan’s announcement draws dismissive reactions from other nations, whose attention is fixed on the Black Dragon.
- Xu Fu’s words to the dragon fuel the public’s theories about their relationship and the First Emperor’s possible return.
- Central Continent officials discuss the threat collectively, ultimately responding with a ban on approaching the mausoleum.