If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1221 The Lotus Holy Scripture
"When the late emperor said 'I was wrong' and 'I am not reconciled,' what specific things did he refer to?" Grand Tutor Yu asked.

"This old servant didn't have a chance to ask. Under those circumstances, this old servant dared not ask in detail," Zhao Gao said.

“I know you didn’t ask, but you’ve followed the late emperor for so many years, didn’t you have any suspicions or notice anything amiss?” Grand Tutor Yu said.

Zhao Gao thought for a moment and said, "This old servant feels that the late emperor has been anxious about the 'power of the human emperor' since a hundred years ago."

The late emperor was not satisfied with the status quo and hoped to elevate the power of the human emperor to a higher level, even surpassing the heavenly emperor, so as to intimidate the Dao ancestor.

The late emperor was still planning to make the imperial power like the Imperial Seal of the State, which could be passed down through generations and used by anyone who possessed it. Only in this way could the Qin Dynasty's rule be eternally secure.

Perhaps His Majesty's dying words were wrong, or perhaps he was unwilling to accept his fate, and this was also related to the power of the emperor.

"Oh, why do you think that?" Grand Tutor Yu perked up and asked, "Was there a problem with the late emperor's imperial power back then?"

Zhao Gao hesitated and said, "This old servant is not sure either. The reason why I associate it with 'wrong' and 'unwilling' is related to the emperor's power."

Before His Majesty died, the feeling he gave this old servant was different from before.

When Your Majesty was in your prime, the supernatural powers and secret techniques that this old servant cultivated seemed to become nothing but air around Your Majesty; they could not be felt or used.

Not only the old servant, but also other Qi cultivators, sorcerers, and magicians were in the same boat.

Even a powerful immortal must be extremely careful when meeting His Majesty; they must still kneel as required, and the proper etiquette cannot be omitted. Unless His Majesty issues a decree of grace.

But after Your Majesty had the incident in Consort Rou's palace, this old servant felt that Your Majesty's power and authority were collapsing.

It was as if His Majesty was surrounded by an invincible fortress made of steel.

The fortress is invisible and intangible, yet it truly affects an area within a radius of hundreds of feet.

At that time, the fortress was collapsing on its own, and the old servant felt the Taoist magic within him beginning to revive.

You must know that during His Majesty's prime, within a hundred feet, the Great Dao and the Laws fell into complete silence.

Even pure internal martial arts techniques will be affected.

Back then, Prince Dan of Yan sent Jing Ke, the number one swordsman in China, and Qin Wuyang, the number one sword saint of Yan, to assassinate the late emperor.

Upon entering the main hall and approaching within fifty feet of His Majesty, Qin Wuyang lost control of his Dao heart, his forehead drenched in sweat and his body trembling.

Only the First Sword Immortal, Jing Ke, truly lived up to his reputation, resisting the suppression of the Human Emperor's power with his "Song of the Qin and Heart of the Sword".

This old servant's level of understanding is far inferior to Jing Ke's; back then, Jing Ke was capable of wielding a knife, which shows how severely Your Majesty's imperial power has collapsed.

"Why are you drawing your knife? Are you trying to assassinate Father?" Hu Hai asked in shock and anger.

Zhao Gao glanced at Grand Tutor Yu out of the corner of his eye and said with a wronged expression, "This old servant was just using a metaphor, I didn't actually draw my knife."

He certainly had no intention of assassinating the late emperor at the time.

But he did have the urge to draw his sword in front of the "First Human Emperor of All Time".

He subconsciously said "I can use the knife now" because he had actually tried to unleash the "Blood Soul Blade" at that time.

He succeeded.

For no other reason than that he had been suppressed for too long under the Emperor's oppressive aura. Once he had the chance to unleash his power, he couldn't help but make a burst of energy.

"Does Consort Rou know the details of the late Emperor's death? Did the late Emperor really die while doing 'that,' tragically dying on Consort Rou's belly?" Grand Tutor Yu asked curiously.

—Aren't you ashamed to ask such a question, you elegant and refined fairy?

There wasn't a trace of shyness or hesitation on her face; her eyes were filled only with an inquisitive curiosity to see what was going on.

Zhao Gao muttered to himself, shook his head, and said, "The rumors outside are all slanders against the late emperor by traitors."

The late emperor died at the fourth quarter of the Zi hour (exactly midnight), by which time Your Majesty would have already been asleep; how could you have done such a thing?

In modern times, midnight is the perfect time to do *that*. But in ancient times, many ordinary people would be in bed asleep by six or seven in the afternoon.

Emperor Renhuang did not indulge in nightlife; when he did not have a nightlife, he went to bed relatively early.

Another very important point is that for those who cultivate themselves, midnight is the most special time, making it ideal for refining Qi and preserving the spirit.

The Emperor's body was burdened with too much dragon energy, making him unable to absorb pure spiritual energy and thus unable to cultivate immortality. However, he also practiced immortal martial arts and the Heart Sutra, and his martial arts skills were extremely high. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to walk around a pillar in front of Jing Ke, the "Number One Sword Immortal of China."

Even if Ying Zheng did not cultivate at midnight, he would never dare to "leak his essence and energy" at midnight.

Zhao Gao continued, "At that time, Consort Rou was already asleep. Whether His Majesty was sleeping, lying in bed silently practicing his profound arts, or doing something else, Consort Rou did not know."

He then added, "By the way, after His Majesty passed away, Consort Rou hanged herself on the same day and followed His Majesty in death."

Grand Tutor Yu thought for a moment and then asked, "The reason why the court officials did not unanimously support Fusu is not only because Fusu himself is not good at management, but also because the late emperor did not have a high opinion of him."

Did the late emperor ever express his opinion that Hu Hai was simple, honest, and intelligent, and should be the second emperor?

Zhao Gao nodded repeatedly, "This old servant can swear that this is indeed true!"

Grand Tutor Yu asked, "Then why did the late emperor change his mind before his death? I heard from Prince Zhao (Fusu) that he was the reincarnation of a wisp of 'mortal thought' of the Ziwei Emperor. Do you know that?"

"My elder brother is actually the reincarnation of the Ziwei Emperor?" Hu Hai was shocked and felt uneasy.

The eldest brother is the reincarnation of the Ziwei Emperor, born with the destiny of an emperor, while he is a demonic fetus, the Su Daji of the Qin Dynasty!

Zhao Gao hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying, "This old servant shouldn't have known about this. The late emperor intentionally kept it a secret from his ministers."

This old servant learned the information secretly.

The late emperor did hesitate before deciding whether to replace Crown Prince Fusu.

Later, he changed his mind because of the "burning of books and burying of scholars alive".

Among those who were buried alive at that time were alchemists, as well as many Confucian scholars who praised the past and criticized the present.

Your Majesty's magnificent achievements are known to all. If you want to criticize or deny him, you can only do so by using an even greater and wiser ruler to suppress him.

Whether the ancient sage rulers were truly more virtuous than Your Majesty is irrelevant. Those Confucian scholars don't care either; they simply want to use the past to criticize the present, to insult the current emperor.

Crown Prince Fusu pleaded for the Confucian scholars, urging His Majesty not to unleash a massacre.

His Majesty was furious, but Fusu did not back down and continued to explain his thoughts sincerely and logically.

His Majesty was even angrier and banished Fusu to the north to serve as a military supervisor in the Great Wall Army, but in his heart he grew to like Fusu even more.

Later, His Majesty took Prince Huhai with him on several tours of the country.

As they spent more time together, the late emperor realized that Prince Huhai was an incompetent fool who was neither handsome nor intelligent.

At that time, His Majesty became completely determined to pass the throne to Fusu.

"You're talking nonsense!" Hu Hai couldn't accept it and shouted angrily, "Father Emperor clearly likes me very much and often asks me questions. Under your guidance, I have always answered fluently."

Zhao Gao curled his lip, wanting to show disdain but not daring to, his expression twisted, and said, "Your Majesty, you may question the late emperor in any way. But you must not doubt his wisdom and his ability to judge people."

Look at the civil and military officials in the court, and even the scholars in various disciplines; most of them were personally selected by the late emperor.

Whether someone is talented or not, His Majesty can make a pretty accurate judgment after just a few words with him.

His Majesty tested your knowledge of mathematics. You barely passed only in the area of ​​'Qin Law'.

Merely meeting the requirements is not enough to please His Majesty.

"There's nothing I can do. You rely on this old servant to cheat, but this old servant himself doesn't possess any talent that would surprise Your Majesty!"

Grand Tutor Yu waved his hand and said, "Alright, we don't need you here anymore. Go home and prepare. We'll set off for Pengcheng tomorrow morning!"

"Grand Tutor, this old servant has a request," Zhao Gao said, still kneeling on the ground with a pleading look on his face. "This old servant has also heard people talk about His Majesty's infinite time travel and the time travel tests of the princes."

Besides 'calling a deer a horse,' this old servant has also heard that a divine skill called 'Lotus Holy Scripture' is circulating among the princes.

To master this divine skill, one must first castrate oneself.

It is best suited for eunuchs, and is extremely powerful, with the miraculous effect of yin transforming yang and celestial beings giving birth to life.

Now that this old servant is about to rush to the battlefield, I wonder if you can grant me some favor? Grand Tutor Yu said in surprise, “It’s not surprising that you heard about ‘calling a deer a horse,’ but your ‘Strange Book of Heyang’ is not weak.”

The Lotus Sutra is merely a magical skill from a dream; its actual effects in reality are uncertain.

Why did you set your sights on it?

Zhao Gao said, "This old servant hadn't noticed it before. Some time ago, the King of Bohai was ambushed by Yan Wushuang, the son of Yan Dan. Has the Grand Tutor heard about that?"

"Heh, Yan Dan's son? Yan Dan himself didn't even know he had a son," Grand Tutor Yu sneered.

Zhao Gao nodded and said, "That's right, Yan Wushuang is definitely not Yan Dan's son."

This old servant is quite certain of this, and the ministers in the court are also well aware of it.

After Yan Dan's assassination attempt on the late emperor failed, the late emperor sent the Imperial Observatory to obtain the "Book of Life and Death" and locate all of Yan Dan's descendants within his nine clans. Not a single one was spared; they were all beheaded, thus completely severing Yan Dan's lineage.

His Majesty has never dealt with other members of the former royal family so ruthlessly.

However, although Yan Wushuang was not Yan Dan's son, his strength was not weak.

In addition to the fifty elite warriors, there were also three immortal masters assisting them, one of whom was even a true immortal.

They recruited another three hundred wandering swordsmen, and despite their calculated attack, they still failed to kill the King of Bohai.

Because the King of Bohai had unexpected forces by his side—the Grand Eunuch Qin Fu and the Junior Eunuch Qin Cao'er.

Both of these eunuchs practiced the Grand Tutor's "Lotus Sutra".

I am familiar with both Qin Fu and Qin Cao.

Qin Fu was an old man who served the King of Bohai for a hundred years. He was old and frail and nearing the end of his life.

Although he had cultivated secret techniques and immortal martial arts, possessing profound skill, he was unable to condense his primordial core and become a human immortal due to his physical disability.

Zhao Gao became excited, his eyes filled with longing and anticipation. "Now that Qin Fu has switched to studying the Grand Tutor's Lotus Sutra, his white hair has turned black and his teeth have grown back within a month. He has truly been transformed by the divine, and has regained boundless vitality."

In other words, his time practicing the Lotus Sutra was too short; he could only rescue the King of Bohai, but not the Crown Prince.

The King of Bohai was assassinated, and the assassin even claimed to be the son of Yan Dan. When the news spread, the whole world was shocked.

However, most people were concerned about "national affairs" such as the princes of the Ying clan, the son of Yan Dan, and the first uprising in China, and no one cared about the old eunuch beside the King of Bohai.

They didn't care what changes had occurred to the old eunuch.

Only Zhao Gao, who was also an old eunuch, was astonished by the effects of the Lotus Sutra.

In fact, he was already planning the "Lotus Scripture".

It will probably be some time before they are able to steal the sacred texts from the close associates of the feudal lords.

The main reason for his proactive request at this time was to make things clear, since he had just taken the Ancestral Dragon Qi Pill and couldn't escape it.

"The Lotus Holy Scripture focuses on Qi cultivation, while the accompanying Lotus Sword Scripture is rather ordinary and far less powerful than your Heyang Wonder Book."

"If you think you can make a name for yourself in Pengcheng with the Lotus Sutra, you'll definitely be disappointed," Grand Tutor Yu said frankly.

Zhao Gao said, "What this old servant needs most is precisely the Qi cultivation method prepared specifically for eunuchs."

Grand Tutor Yu seemed to be deep in thought. The Lotus Sutra was suitable for eunuchs to cultivate their Qi and preserve their spirit; Zhao Gao's "Strange Book of Heyang" was not good at cultivating Qi, but it was all-encompassing, and its secret methods were evil, sinister and vicious, which was particularly in line with the stereotypical image of a dead eunuch who was ruthless and vicious.

If the Lotus Sutra and the Strange Book of Heyang were combined...
"Very well, I took your Heyang Wonder Book, so I should compensate you with a secret manual."

Grand Tutor Yu closed his eyes and let his thoughts drift into a dream.

He studied the "Strange Book of Heyang" in his dreams for ten years, and then revised the "Lotus Holy Scripture".

When she opened her eyes again, her face showed obvious fatigue and hesitation.

The new Lotus Sutra has been created, but its power is so great that it worries her: she is worried that the eunuchs who practice this technique are wicked and have committed too many evil deeds, yet no one can cure them.

"Once you go south, you will only be in charge of supervising the army; other matters will not be your responsibility."

Grand Tutor Yu warned him before taking out a piece of spirit jade and making a copy of a new version of "Lotus Holy Scripture: Fragment".

It still only has pure Qi cultivation techniques, without any evil killing moves derived from the "Strange Book of Heyang".

Compared to the original version, it is more suitable for Zhao Gao, who has already mastered the Heyang Wonder Book.

However, it is significantly inferior to the complete version of the "New Lotus Sutra".

—Perhaps, once Zhao Gao has mastered the Lotus Sutra, I will use the "Great Annihilation of Father" to break the new Lotus Sutra, and then integrate the method of breaking it into the "False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill"? Let the Emperor's Divine Skill restrain the Lotus Sutra.

Grand Tutor Yu had a new idea in mind, and his worries about the excessive power of the "New Lotus Holy Scripture" immediately disappeared.

Those who cultivate the Lotus Sutra can bring disaster to the world. Those who cultivate the False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill, the "hypocrite," must remain hypocrites for life, never daring to commit evil.

By using the "False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill" to suppress the Lotus Holy Scripture, there's no need to worry about the power getting out of control.

After Zhao Gao left, Hu Hai asked, "Father, after Zhao Gao took the Ancestral Dragon Qi Pill, could he still suddenly appear and stab me to death?"

"What do you mean by suddenly jumping out and stabbing you to death? Why would he stab you?" Grand Tutor Yu asked curiously.

Hu Hai said, "When I traveled through time in my dream before, I was killed by Zhao Gao countless times."

Sometimes he did it himself, and sometimes he assassinated me in ways I didn't know about.

If he were to take action himself, he would suddenly appear behind me like a ghost, piercing my chest with a sharp knife or severing my head.

After seeing him so many times, I became terrified whenever I saw him.

Today I've completely severed ties with him. If he holds a grudge, he might turn my nightmare into reality.

Grand Tutor Yu understood that Zhao Gao had used the "Heavenly Ghost Steps" and "Blood Soul Blade" from the "Strange Book of Heyang" to kill Hu Hai and leave him with psychological trauma.

"Don't worry, Zhao Gao will definitely not dare to kill you. Even a Golden Immortal cannot bear the pain of the Ancestral Dragon Qi Pill. Moreover, killing you would bring even heavier karma, and the Ancestral Dragon Qi in his soul would be even more difficult to remove. He would probably never be able to be reincarnated."

Hu Hai said, "In other words, if he goes mad and is not afraid of death, he can still kill me."
"Could the Ancestral Dragon Qi Pill automatically activate whenever he harbors murderous intent towards me?"

"No, the Ancestral Dragon Qi Pill isn't that 'smart'," Grand Tutor Yu shook his head.

Hu Hai then asked, "Could my mentor teach me a secret method so that I can also activate the ancestral dragon's energy within Zhao Gao's body?"

"It still doesn't work." Grand Tutor Yu shook his head again and explained, "'Qi Pills' are not quite the same as Poison Pills."

Qi pills are made from the cultivator's original Qi.

A cultivator's primordial energy is naturally only under their own control.

Just as Hu Hai showed a look of disappointment, Grand Tutor Yu had a sudden thought and said, "The spirituality in the Ancestral Dragon Qi Pill comes from my pure Yang immortal power. Even if I give you the incantation, you still can't activate it."

However, I can craft a magical artifact imbued with my spirit and will and give it to you.

"You are the emperor, and you possess the aura of the ancestral dragon within you; you should be able to activate it."

She pulled out a lump of refined gold and a piece of refined iron from her sleeve and slapped her nose hard.

My nose hurt so much I felt like I was on fire, "Boom!"

Three streams of fire shot out from his nostrils and mouth, the flames merging together to transform into the Feathered Samadhi True Fire.

Silently, the refined gold and iron melted into silvery water.

Grand Tutor Yu raised his left hand, as if sprinkling salt while stir-frying vegetables, adding some shimmering spiritual essence—crystallized immortal energy.

The silver water absorbed spiritual essence and gradually became transparent.

Then, the Demon Eye opened, and a beam of eerie light fell into the silver water, where runes were generated and combined.

Finally, the Samadhi Fire died down, and the silver liquid solidified, turning golden yellow and becoming a gong the size of a plate.

“Keep it with you. If Zhao Gao tries to kill you regardless of the consequences, strike the gong once, and he will immediately fall to the ground.”

(End of this chapter)