An Inevitable Gift
The Empress Dowager couldn't save herself, and she couldn't save Zhang Xuezhou either.
Just as she herself was bound by the inescapable knot of the Sha Qi of the formation, Zhang Xuezhou also had an inescapable knot in his body.
Without resolving this deadlock, nothing can be discussed. Even though the Empress Dowager never placed her hopes for the Great Han Dynasty on Zhang Xuezhou, she mostly reiterated everything she had told Divine Lord Zhenyuan at Anle Palace. When entrusting Divine Lord Zhenyuan again, she also hoped that Zhang Xuezhou could solve one small problem.
That was to assist the new emperor in dealing with Liu An, the King of Huainan.
But before she could get to that point, Zhang Xuezhou, seemingly sensing something, politely declined.
"Liu Qi..."
"I have no connection with His Emperor Jing. He owes me nothing, and I owe him nothing!"
"He spared your life, so he must have left you something; otherwise, given his temperament, he would have issued an arrest warrant for you before he died!"
The Empress Dowager found it difficult to persuade Zhang Xuezhou, and after much thought, she could only bring up Emperor Jing, whom she did not particularly like, once again.
"I was trapped in the Liang King's tomb and had no way to escape. What do you think he could have left me?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.
After giving a brief reply, the Empress Dowager added, "Perhaps you haven't realized it, but you have indeed influenced the fate of Liu Qi's dynasty, and perhaps even to a considerable degree!"
"I don't understand any of what you're saying," Zhang Xuezhou replied dismissively.
"If I launch a military campaign against you, do you think we'll end up in a war?"
The Empress Dowager murmured something, which made Zhang Xuezhou tense slightly.
As his gaze swept across the vast territory of the Great Han below, which they had not yet ventured into, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
If no cultivation technique was discovered, the Empress Dowager could only use realm suppression to deal with Zhang Xuezhou, but cultivation combat is a confrontation on another level.
The Empress Dowager was unaware of Zhang Xuezhou's background, and Zhang Xuezhou was also unsure of the Empress Dowager's abilities; their confrontation was of uncertain outcome.
"If you haven't cultivated your cultivation techniques, my techniques won't have any effect on you," the Empress Dowager said. "Your grip on the cloud sedan chair has tightened, and your energy and spirit have increased. This shows that you're wary of me and alert to any attacks I might launch using my cultivation techniques. You're not unaware of your own cultivation techniques."
"What good is knowing my own situation?" Zhang Xuezhou said, "I am neither an emperor nor a feudal lord, so it's difficult for me to succeed in using magic. I can only try to gain some advantage by skirting the edges. If Your Majesty succeeds in using magic, I will have to avoid danger and stay away from the Great Han Dynasty!"
"Far from the Great Han Dynasty..."
The Empress Dowager murmured the words several times, her voice gradually turning bitter.
Zhang Xuezhou possessed the self-awareness to protect himself, a quality that Emperor Jing and Prince Liang lacked most in their relationship; neither of them was willing to back down.
Even the most upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes, and even the Empress Dowager could not prevent her eldest and youngest sons from engaging in a life-or-death struggle while overturning the table.
Time has buried Emperor Jing and the Prince of Liang, but the contest of fate has not disappeared.
As long as there are people learning this art and hoping to enjoy the wonders it brings, there will always be people falling into it.
With Emperor Jing and the Prince of Liang gone, the struggle between the new emperor and the King of Huainan was already beginning to unfold.
Currently, there are only a handful of people who can intervene in the struggle for power in the Great Han Dynasty, and those capable of maintaining the balance are even rarer.
"You've intended to avoid His Majesty, but Liu An, the King of Huainan, might not let you off the hook," the Empress Dowager murmured. "Liu Qi's talent in strategy is limited. He left Liu An as a backup plan against Liu Wu, which means he must have left some means to deal with Liu An. If you want to save your life, you'd better figure out what Liu Qi has left for you!"
"Emperor Jing had nothing of value at the time, and the Crimson Sky Sword he summoned was merely a fleeting shadow. How could he possibly give me anything!"
"No, Liu Qi's fortune has blessed you. He must have left something for you. Even if he didn't give it to you at the time, you will definitely receive it later."
The Empress Dowager whispered the secrets of magic.
While the art of transportation cannot transport objects across vast distances, it can bring together two unrelated individuals.
In particular, Emperor Jing most likely bestowed upon Zhang Xuezhou a fortune before his death, which is equivalent to Emperor Jing's unique fortune mark.
This will inevitably pass on the keepsake left by Emperor Jing, and even after going through various transfers and changes, it will eventually reach Zhang Xuezhou's hands.
After the explanation, Zhang Xuezhou's eyes narrowed slightly.
Zhang Xuezhou entered and exited Yangling several times. He pried open Emperor Jing's spirit jade, but took nothing else besides the spirit jade. However, Zhang Xuezhou did manage to obtain an important burial item from Yangling.
This is the Suihou Pearl that Kong Anguo handed over to him.
This is the nemesis of evil spirits, and it once helped Zhang Xuezhou.
Emperor Jing did not personally hand it over to him, but the important items buried with Emperor Jing did indeed end up in Zhang Xuezhou's hands.
The ingenuity of this was beyond words, but Zhang Xuezhou couldn't understand how the Suihou Pearl could be used against Liu An, the King of Huainan.
"Then I will wait for His Emperor Jing Jing's gift!"
Zhang Xuezhou slightly raised his eyes.
He neither admitted nor denied it, but simply gave a calm reply.
As his gaze swept over the landscape below, Zhang Xuezhou's mind calmed down.
They continued to carry the cloud palanquin high into the sky, having now crossed the territory of the Great Han and entered the territory of the Western Barbarians.
The Western Barbarians were not a single state, but included kingdoms such as Dian, Loulan, Cheshi, and Dayuan.
This territory is long and vast, with kingdoms scattered in all directions. Their development tends to align with the Great Han Dynasty Great Han Dynasty Heavenly Court remains closed off, causing these kingdoms to fall into disarray. Not only is their lineage weak, but some minor demons are also causing trouble within them.
This was especially true the closer they got to these remote and desolate areas. For example, Zhang Xuezhou and his group encountered a tiger demon in the border region of Bashu and Chongqing, and the demon had a fragile connection with the Heavenly Court.
This was an area that the Great Han Dynasty had never controlled, and it was also here that the Empress Dowager was no longer able to influence the fate of the Great Han Dynasty.
Zhang Xuezhou's destiny is like a rootless duckweed, seemingly powerful but lacking the continuous support of the dynasty's fortune. If he cannot defeat his opponent in one fell swoop, he will be entangled and dragged down until his destiny perishes and he is defeated.
Only when they are in the same environment can Zhang Xuezhou feel truly confident.
You will definitely get what Liu Qi left you!
The Empress Dowager murmured something under her breath.
Perhaps also because she was separated from the Great Han Dynasty's territory and unable to receive its fortune, the Empress Dowager's aura quickly weakened, making it extremely difficult for her to even speak, and she could no longer continue her conversation with Zhang Xuezhou.
"You absolutely... you absolutely must help Che'er!"
She murmured to herself, her voice fading, and she began to drift into a drowsy state.
"She has two years left to live, but this lifespan is borrowed through magic, making it a false lifespan. She has already been away from Anle Palace for six hours, and her method of extending her false lifespan is unlikely to be successful. She is now essentially a living dead!"
Flying ahead, Divine Lord Zhenyuan spoke, indicating that the Empress Dowager's lifespan was coming to an end.
For ordinary people, the other party is already dead, and only some stimulating methods can bring the Empress Dowager back to consciousness for a relatively short time.
"The lifespan we gain through cultivation using the Longevity Fruit is also a false lifespan. Once we encounter unforeseen circumstances, we will end up like Fellow Daoist Dou!"
Zhang Xuezhou chatted with the Empress Dowager, while Divine Lord Zhenyuan felt a pang of sympathy, thinking that the Empress Dowager's fate might foreshadow his own future.
If he cannot resolve the drawbacks of the Longevity Fruit, or if he is targeted and imprisoned with difficulty in escaping, he will also become a living dead.