The Leap from Mount Tai

"Dongfang Shuo, have you ever experienced being condemned by thousands?"

"I've never had so many people criticizing me!"

"I was scolded! From ancient times to the present, emperors and their ministers who performed the Fengshan ceremony have repeatedly berated me!"

"Huh?"

"I am truly not qualified to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai!"

The Sky Shuttle soared into the sky, passing through the sea of clouds and drifting high in the air.

The new emperor's expression was solemn, and he let out a heavy sigh.

In ancient times, those who performed the Fengshan ceremony were mostly emperors who were wise and powerful in governing the dynasty and brought peace to the world, which is why they performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

At this time, the Great Han Dynasty was still plagued by internal troubles and external threats, and the new emperor had few achievements to speak of.

According to the standards of ancient texts, the new emperor was indeed not qualified to come to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices.

In the long river of destiny that Zhang Xuezhou and others saw, emperors were either kind or ruthless, but the long river of destiny they saw during the new emperor's sacrifices seemed to be out of place, and thus were reprimanded and rejected by the spiritual traces left by the imprint of the sacrifice to heaven and earth.

The Fengshan Records document the seventy-two emperors who performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai from ancient times to the present, and each new emperor also encountered seventy-two waves of opposition and setbacks.

"The Qilin Pavilion records Emperor Qin's ascension to Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony, but that document doesn't seem to bear Emperor Qin's seal!"

The new emperor was somewhat downcast, so Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to help him find someone similar to him.

Zhang Xuezhou did not see Emperor Qin Ying Zheng's name or the Qin state seal on the Fengshan Book, but this Fengshan Book was obtained from Xianyang City.

"Emperor Qin might have also tried using the Fengshan edict to persuade him, but he might not have agreed with this approach either," Zhang Xuezhou advised.

"That's right. The Qin Dynasty's system did not follow the ancient system. The rituals and sacrificial methods used by the Emperor Qin when he ascended Mount Tai seem to be unique. The Emperor Qin did not need the recognition of these people, and he even included the Seventy-Two Wise Emperors!"

The new emperor came to his senses and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Receiving the blessings of those who performed the imperial sacrifices would be a bonus, but without their recognition, the new emperor would not lack anything.

It would not affect an emperor if he did not come to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices. However, if his achievements were insufficient but he still offered sacrifices that attracted many emperors and sages, he would be affected by the influence of the sacrificial marks left by the former emperors and thus be cursed with misfortune.

The new emperor only came to know this through personal experience, realizing that his attempt to seize power had backfired and he had instead been stabbed.

He was feeling down, sensing that something was amiss.

However, Zhang Xuezhou mentioned the Emperor Qin, and the new emperor also tried hard to recall anything related to the Emperor Qin's sacrificial rites.

Where is the highest peak of Mount Tai?

After much deliberation, the new emperor quickly asked a question.

"The highest peak should be Jade Emperor Peak!"

"Jade Emperor Peak?"

The new emperor felt a sudden unease, sensing that the name was extremely ominous.

But he then put the idea aside and urged Zhang Xuezhou to head to Yuhuang Peak.

"Do you intend to perform the second sacrificial ceremony at Jade Emperor Peak?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully. "This is a significant matter, and we don't even have a sacrificial cauldron. Shouldn't we gather some people first?"

"The cauldron is unimportant," the new emperor waved his hand. "Those are all external things. Just like you don't need to burn incense and purify your clothes to refine elixirs, the most important thing in a sacrifice is the person, not a cauldron and incense!"

"Well!"

"You've also gathered a body of destiny, so lend me a hand. If it brings together the dynasty's destiny, that's fine. But if it also brings out those ancient sages, you'll have to help me shoulder the burden and give those incompetent, lazy officials a piece of your mind!"

"OK!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, then pondered the long river of fortune that Huo Qubing had created, finding it difficult to understand the situation the new emperor was facing.

Huo Qubing got the better deal, Zhang Xuezhou got away with it, Wei Qing was beaten, and the new emperor was humiliated in turn and tainted with possible misfortune. As for the others, most of them were confused and unable to adapt when their bodies were formed, similar to the situation of Ba'erbo who Zuo Jin.

In this ritual, everyone's experience was clearly different.

The new emperor was now considering imitating the baptism of the Emperor Qin to remove any ominous influence he might have been tainted by, and Zhang Xuezhou cooperated as much as possible.

We sped through the sea of clouds, and the Jade Emperor Peak, which connects to the Heavenly Gate, came into view.

This flat mountaintop has no trees, only some weeds, which resemble the top of a bald person's head.

There were no signs of trampling on the weeds, indicating that no immortals had recently passed through the Heavenly Gate to descend to the mortal realm, which made Zhang Xuezhou feel slightly relieved.

With a sway of the Sky Shuttle, he landed steadily on the magical Law Treasure.

"This is Jade Emperor Peak!" Zhang Xuezhou pointed out.

"I understand!"

The new emperor nodded in response, then sat down cross-legged.

From the first rays of dawn to the height of the sun, the sunlight above the sea of clouds is completely different from that below the mountain.

However, when the sea of clouds sweeps in, it's like a violent storm. Sitting on the Jade Emperor Peak under the sun is not dry and hot, but rather the cold wind combined with the heat emanating from the body causes a constant flow of water.

Zhang Xuezhou shook his clothes several times to keep them dry, while a puddle of water had formed under the new emperor's cross-legged knees.

Zhang Xuezhou gazed at the ever-rotating sun, feeling that its position was moving further and further west.

The previous sacrificial ceremony lasted only a quarter of an hour, but the new emperor has now been sitting in the regalia for almost a whole day.

Bored while waiting, Zhang Xuezhou wandered aimlessly around Jade Emperor Peak, wondering if he, having received the blessing of the herb-bearing emperor, possessed a unique advantage in detecting medicinal herbs.

But Zhang Xuezhou was ultimately somewhat disappointed.

There were only weeds near Jade Emperor Peak. He dug up the roots of a plant called white cogon grass, broke off a piece of tender root, and chewed it for a while.

It's normal for geographical factors to lead to no results in the search for medicinal herbs. What disappointed Zhang Xuezhou was that he didn't sense anything special during the search, and his ability to distinguish them by taste remained unchanged.

"Hey, so you were just putting on an act with those herbs. I thought you were skilled at gathering and refining herbs so I could get a little something out of you!"

Zhang Xuezhou vented his frustrations, feeling that it would be difficult to ascertain for the time being what benefits he had experienced.

He felt he had received a benefit, but found it difficult to verify the source of that benefit.

This is like someone having a certain talent but not realizing it; without discovery, it's difficult to utilize, which Zhang Xuezhou finds somewhat regrettable.

He touched the pills in his Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag, and was about to take a Creation Pill to test its effects when he saw the new emperor sitting on the Jade Emperor's Peak stand up and then leap down.

"Hello!"

Zhang Xuezhou's eyelids twitched, and his body swung as he chased after him.

Why did you suddenly decide to jump off a cliff?

Zhang Xuezhou shouted, and the new emperor, who was gliding like a bird with his arms outstretched, did not respond to him, but simply continued to slowly fall.

"The drop from the top of Jade Emperor Peak to the bottom of the valley is at least a hundred feet. If you want to test your skills, you'll have to find another place. If you can't withstand the gravitational acceleration from that height, you might lose your footing and fall. I've seen several people who didn't believe in this fall break their legs!"

As Zhang Xuezhou flew, he complained, while the new emperor remained silent, occasionally waving his arms wildly and even pushing away Zhang Xuezhou's outstretched hand.

This made Zhang Xuezhou sigh. He could only accelerate downwards, preparing to push and pull the new emperor when he fell, so as not to injure him.

Using his leaping technique, Zhang Xuezhou landed first and extended his hand.

He shouted upwards, and saw that no one had fallen amidst the swirling clouds and mist.

After waiting for more than ten seconds, Zhang Xuezhou quickly realized that something was wrong.

The new emperor leaped down from the Jade Emperor Peak, but he did not fall.

Zhang Xuezhou soared into the sky, even quickly darting to the spot where the new emperor had previously landed. He surveyed the surroundings and found that there was no one around except for clouds and mist.

As if suspended in mid-air, the new emperor vanished completely.