His Excellency's Hazy Information
"Alchemist Zhou, please grant me the medicine!"
Zou Bugui was a favorite of the Venerable One, and he was almost always by the Venerable One's side.
However, very few demons in the Sacred Land showed Zou Bugui respect and friendliness.
This is related to the fact that Zou Bugui to the human race, and also to the concept that the strong are respected among the Demon Race.
The Demon King Luli was no exception.
He felt that although his alchemy skills Zou Bugui's, his strength was genuinely enough to overwhelm cultivators Zou Bugui.
He used to cooperate with Zou Bugui in his work, but he didn't show him much respect.
Only when the Tiger Strength Demon King, who was most skilled in close combat, was on the verge of death and needed the longevity pill refined by Zou Bugui to prolong his life, did he lower his head.
After obtaining permission from the Venerable One, the Demon King Luli also came to the Alchemy Chamber.
"I've never seen the Tiger Strength Demon King, so I don't know his injuries, his cultivation level, his strength, or how many life-extending pills he needs!"
Zou Bugui shook his head slightly.
His Majesty granted the requests of the Demon King Luli and the Goat Strength Demon King, but then deferred the matter of how many pills to give them to Zou Bugui.
The more pills the better, but giving more to the Demon King Luli means that the pills that the Venerable One is taking are being misappropriated.
Giving too little wouldn't save Tiger Strength Demon King's life, while giving too much would show no respect for the Venerable One's life.
Determining a relatively accurate quantity is also a challenge for Zou Bugui.
This left him with no choice but to state the facts.
"My brother Tiger possesses the strength of a beginner-level Demon Saint, which is equivalent to the Divine Ability Realm in your human realm, also known as the Seventh Realm," said the Demon King Luli. "Take a look..."
"I can't tell!" Zou Bugui shook his head.
"Then why don't you give me a hundred or two longevity pills?" the Demon King Luli suggested.
"If I give you a hundred or two hundred pills, how would I know how many you actually take?" Zou Bugui and said.
"If you want too much, I'll send it back to you; if you want too little, I'll come back to you for it," the Demon King Luli assured him.
"Then take one and use it first!"
Zou Bugui pointed to the Pill Furnace, indicating that his current level of authority was limited.
If the medicinal properties of the elixir are insufficient, the Demon King Luli will find another way to beg the Venerable One for mercy to obtain the medicine.
"You actually dare to say 'one'... one? It's such a waste of the two years we've spent together," the Demon King Luli said indignantly.
"Old man, hurry up and get to work! I need to go out drinking with my older brother and third brother. I don't have time to spend with you refining this damn longevity elixir. Old man, are you even trying to teach me properly? I suspect you're holding back. You son of a bitch, you're just trying to fool me, you..."
Zou Bugui recited a few words about the affection between the two, which made the Demon King Luli take the pill with a gloomy expression.
Rivals are enemies in the same trade; their long-standing friendship was so shallow.
If it weren't for the fact that a single pill couldn't be split in two, the Demon King Luli thought Zou Bugui would give him half a pill.
However, even after watching Zou Bugui refine pills hundreds of times, the Demon King Luli still couldn't learn how to properly refine longevity pills.
The principle is the same, but the two are worlds apart in their Law Power of manipulating the pills with magic to form them. The Demon King Luli Zou Bugui, and his failure rate in refining pills is extremely high.
The Pill Formula wasn't a secret, and the ingredients could be proportioned, but the Demon King Luli felt he would fail nine times out of ten when he tried to refine it.
If Tiger Strength Demon King were to wait until his refined elixir was ready, Demon King Luli felt that his brother might very well die in ten days or half a month.
He took a pill and left the secret place with a heavy heart.
"Giving him two more won't hurt!"
His Majesty granted the requests of the Demon King Luli and the Goat Strength Demon King, but granted the right to make Zou Bugui.
When the Demon King Luli left the secret place dejectedly with a single pill, the Venerable One couldn't help but feel that Zou Bugui had indeed been a little too stingy.
"That's the Tiger Strength Demon King's life-saving medicine, and also Your Majesty's life-extending medicine," Zou Bugui. "The Tiger Strength Demon King is only worth one ten-thousandth of Your Majesty's precious value; one pill is just right!"
"What you said isn't entirely unreasonable!"
Amidst the rising flames, the Venerable One's voice sounded somewhat satisfied.
His eyes remained closed, yet he seemed to see everything, even appearing extremely satisfied with the way Zou Bugui handled the situation.
He is truly trustworthy only if someone cares about him, not this group of demons who seek his protection but are useless in crucial moments.
Zou Bugui is very hardworking and conscientious in his work, and he is also considerate of others.
The Venerable One was finally satisfied as he coiled around the Tenglong pillar in the flames, continuously absorbing the Spiritual Qi from the earth's veins to nourish his body.
His body was bound by numerous chains, but the pull of the massive chains kept him suspended in mid-air, eliminating the need to use the power of flight to maintain his enormous and heavy body.
Nourished day after day for a century, the Venerable One could also feel the pair of eyes in the underground palace that would occasionally curiously examine his body.
His secret place is rarely visited by outsiders. Even the Demon King Luli and his companions can only stay for a short time before they need to leave.
The reason for keeping Zhang Xuezhou in the secret place is simple: Zou Bugui indeed getting old and it is difficult for him to continue refining pills. The Venerable One needs someone who can truly help Zou Bugui share the workload.
He gave Zou Bugui on the Yin-Yang School's teachings, and he would also allow Zhang Xuezhou to continue this arduous task until he was satisfied.
"That Little Zhang!"
When the Venerable One was directing Zhang Xuezhou to work with Zou Bugui in alchemy, he would occasionally think about the important things Zhang Xuezhou used to do.
"Do you think Emperor Jing was truly insane?"
Despite Kong Ning's relaying of the account, His Majesty felt that he could still ask Zhang Xuezhou, the spy, for his own words when he had some free time, and hear his true account once more.
"Your Majesty, Emperor Jing not only went mad, he's also dead!"
If His Majesty wishes to make a resounding voice, it is enough to echo throughout the entire Sacred Land; if used in ordinary circumstances, His Majesty's voice is as gentle as a spring breeze.
As if a question were being asked right next to his ear, Zhang Xuezhou answered without even thinking.
Whether he answered early or late, the fact that the Han Dynasty had a new emperor could not be kept secret.
The Northern Border Military Region received the message in about a week, and His Majesty will likely find out in about half a month to a month.
As an informant, Zhang Xuezhou felt he needed to demonstrate his value.
This would not only reduce the Lord's dislike for him, but also give the Lord a show of goodwill.
"Dead?" His Majesty asked in surprise.
"He's dead," Zhang Xuezhou nodded. "I learned in Shanggu County that the new emperor's name is Liu Che, and he has already ascended the throne to inherit the Han Dynasty!"
"That's impossible!" His Highness exclaimed in surprise. "Even though Emperor Jing was a human, he still had at least twenty more years to live. How could he have died so young?"
"You suspect he faked his death?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.
"This..."
Zhang Xuezhou's rhetorical question indeed hit the emperor's Achilles' heel.
In the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, the emperors' forbearance far exceeded ordinary people's imagination.
Let alone Emperor Jing, even the sudden death of Emperor Qin a hundred years ago remains an unsolved mystery.
Emperor Qin swept across the six kingdoms and conquered the eight directions, possessing the ability to compete on the grand stage of the Three Realms, but he died suddenly just over ten years later.
While Emperor Qin was alive, he inspired fear; but after his death, he brought even more serious hidden dangers.
While countless cultivators pursued the mystery of Emperor Qin's life and death, the Venerable One was equally suspicious.
He even suspected that Emperor Jing had faked his death, and Li Guang's words of "welcome" to him to Chang'an City seemed like a trap.
If he had actually done that, His Majesty felt he would surely have lost his life.
"But if Emperor Jing is truly dead, then..."
Emperor Jing's feigned death would bring a series of risks, and might at some point deliver a devastating blow to his adversaries.
In particular, the danger posed by the Han imperial sword made His Majesty have no intention of being struck by it.
But Emperor Jing's death meant that the Han Dynasty in the Southern Jambudvipa Continent was teetering on the brink of collapse, and apart from Li Guang, there were no other top-tier experts to rely on.
From the information the Emperor vaguely gathered, he sensed that Li Guang and the Han Dynasty's royal family were not of one mind, but merely had a cooperative relationship.
If Li Guang were eliminated and the Imperial Sword were obtained, the Han Dynasty would be nothing more than an empty shell, allowing the Xiong State's army to easily sweep in.
"It seems that the Emperor Qin has found a way to achieve immortality, making everyone like a dragon. If we could find the Emperor Qin's secret treasure..."
The information His Majesty received about Emperor Jing was extremely vague, as was the information about Li Guang, and the information he received about Emperor Qin was equally vague and difficult to verify.
But longevity is indeed appealing, especially for ways to achieve it that benefit the general public.
If the Southern Jambudvipa Continent could become an empty shell, he wouldn't mind stepping out of the secret realm to truly explore the Emperor Qin's hidden treasures.