Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 243 Immortality, Creation

The secret guard team that Lei Laowu belongs to.

It is the Nine Gates, which is composed entirely of people from the Five Families and Four Schools.

To put it simply, it was a secret guard composed of tomb raiders.

Normally, other Xuanjia Secret Guards wouldn't join their secret guard unit, unless...

Were those two also tomb raiders?

Seeing Yan Yimei's serious introduction, Lei Laowu immediately became interested.

Soon, two figures appeared in front of Lei Laowu and the others.

"Secret Guard Qu Yang".

"He was a former elder of the Sun Moon Sect. In order to find the long-lost 'Guangling San,' he robbed twenty-nine ancient tombs from the Eastern Han Dynasty. His skills in tomb raiding and locating tombs were extremely high. Now he has joined the Secret Guard and become a member of your Nine Gates Secret Guard." Yan Yimei introduced Qu Yang, who had just joined the Secret Guard.

Next, I introduced another person.

"His name was Lu Miaozi. He was the greatest polymath of the Sui Dynasty. He designed the Yang Gong Treasure Vault, which caused a sensation in the Sui Dynasty. He was well-versed in finding gold and burial sites, constructing tomb chambers, and various mechanisms. He was also proficient in astronomy, calendrical calculations, and many other subjects."

He was also hailed as the greatest craftsman of the Sui Dynasty.

"His fame is in no way inferior to that of Zhu Ting, the most skilled craftsman in our Ming Dynasty."

Qu Yang, an elder of the Demonic Cult.

Lu Miaozi, the greatest craftsman of the Sui Dynasty?
Lei Laowu and his bodyguards swallowed hard, feeling an immense pressure and a sense of urgency that the younger generation would surpass the older. Many secretly cursed their inaction.

Qu Yang, an elder of a demonic sect, instead of engaging in murder and arson, stole twenty-nine ancient tombs from the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Twenty-nine seats!
All of their combined achievements are not enough to defeat Qu Yang alone.

Although Lu Miaozi had no actual experience in tomb raiding, he was even more impressive. He was directly in charge of construction, and many of the tomb mechanisms that the Five Families and Four Sects couldn't recognize were probably things he had already mastered.

In short, I'm impressed.

Although it's unclear how long we'll be working together.

But Lei Laowu introduced the other members of the team to Qu Yang and Lu Miaozi one by one.

"My name is Lei Laowu. They are from the Wu family of the Xuanmen sect, as well as the four lineages of Green, Red, Yellow, and White. This sleazy-looking guy is from the same lineage as me, Laowu, the Mountain Moving Taoists. This old geezer is named Gu Chuanzhen, and he's a Heavenly Official of Tomb Raiders. That old Chen over there is a Tomb Raider Captain, and this one..."

"These two are truly renowned figures in their respective fields."

"Everyone welcomes you with applause."

As Lei Laowu finished speaking, enthusiastic applause erupted.

Lu Miaozi and Qu Yang nodded at them upon seeing this.

After they finished getting acquainted, Yan Yimei said, "You Nine Gates Secret Guards, your primary task next is the Qin King's Tomb, followed by numerous Qin and Han dynasty tombs, and even those from before the Qin and Han dynasties. If you need anything or any assistance during the process, just let us know. His Highness has already instructed that you will receive maximum support."

Upon hearing this, Lu Miaozi, Qu Yang, and Lei Laowu all beamed with joy.

If the Xuanjia Secret Guards could provide strong support, they would be confident that they could not only enter the Qin King's Tomb, but also the First Emperor's Mausoleum, which is said to be difficult to open for thousands of years.

……

Just as the Nine Gates Secret Guards were making intensive preparations to explore the Qin King's tomb...

Zhu Jinzhen also managed to glean some insights from the fragments of that celestial body.

"Interesting, such rich energy."

"Or should it be called, vitality?"

"Wasn't my earlier thought just idle speculation?" Zhu Jinzhen murmured, gently tightening his grip on the celestial fragment as he stepped into the sunlight, as if trying to get a clearer view. Yan Yimei, having finished arranging Zhu Jinzhen's instructions, happened to witness this scene and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Your Highness, is there anything extraordinary about this celestial fragment?"

"Vitality, lifespan?"

"Or perhaps... immortality?" Zhu Jinzhen turned to look at Yan Yimei, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. "Regarding the Heavenly Sword, I initially thought it was just empty talk, but the appearance of this Heavenly Star Fragment has made me somewhat suspicious. Could it be a self-fulfilling prophecy?"

"Your Highness means..." Yan Yimei's pupils contracted, and upon realizing the possibility, she couldn't help but exclaim, "There really is a celestial star within the First Emperor's Mausoleum, and it possesses the power of creation?"

"maybe."

Zhu Jinzhen turned around, grasped the fragment of the celestial star, and said quietly, "The energy contained within this small fragment is full of vitality, yet it also possesses the vicissitudes of time that have aged with the years. Even I find it difficult to fathom."

"This power is immense. The energy of even a tiny fragment is enough to rival the power of a Grandmaster of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm for a hundred years. If it were the complete Yinghuo Stone, that celestial star might..."

"It may truly contain the secrets of immortality, but that remains to be seen."

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Jinzhen gradually increased the pressure in his palm, crushing the fragment of the celestial star directly. With a 'bang', a lot of purple fluorescence emanated from between his fingers like smoke.

“A vibrant life force, boundless and limitless, capable of withstanding the vicissitudes of time.” With a thought, Zhu Jinzhen found the surrounding space under terrifying confinement. The purple smoke from the broken celestial fragments, which should have completely dissipated, was grasped in his hand as if it were a tangible object, like a lively dragon.

"Your Highness, how should we deal with this power?" Yan Yimei narrowed her eyes. From her height, she could naturally see through the strength of this energy at a glance. It wasn't too powerful, about the strength of a Grandmaster of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm for several decades or even hundreds of years.

They can't compare to immortals on land.

However, you should know that before Zhu Jinzhen crushed and dissipated this energy, it only existed in a celestial fragment less than two fingers in size!
If it's a complete celestial meteorite, then the energy...

“I already have an idea.” Zhu Jinzhen smiled slightly at Yan Yimei, then raised his hand and summoned a five-hundred-year-old Vermilion Fruit from afar. He placed it in the purple smoke and used the reverse infusion method to inject all the energy into the Vermilion Fruit.

Energy was dissipating violently, but the surrounding space was confined by Zhu Jinzhen's sword domain.

The energy of those celestial stars dissipated and was then reassembled by Zhu Jinzhen.

It wasn't until about half an incense stick's time later that Zhu Jinzhen released the restraints of his sword domain and looked at the Heavenly Star Version Vermilion Fruit in his hand, which had changed color slightly, was crystal clear, and seemed to have liquid flowing inside.

"I wonder what this can produce." Zhu Jinzhen said, recording the new version of the five-hundred-year-old Vermilion Fruit on the Gourmet Tablecloth, and then tossed it directly to Yan Yimei, "Pick a secret guard, test it, and tell me the results."

A five-hundred-year-old Vermilion Fruit is not precious, but a five-hundred-year-old Vermilion Fruit infused with celestial energy should have other wonderful uses. Even if it does not, and is even more harmful than beneficial, it is fine.

The Teyvat omelets are piled high; if one or two die, it's no big deal.

But Zhu Jinzhen still harbored a faint sense of anticipation.

He always felt that the energy within those celestial stars was not so simple; otherwise, Zhu Jinzhen wouldn't have deliberately poured it all into the five-hundred-year-old Vermilion Fruit.

As for the celestial energy and the five-hundred-year-old Vermilion Fruit.

Zhu Jinzhen is not sure what he can create yet.

"Yes."

Yan Yimei carefully put it away.

Having followed Zhu Jinzhen for so long, she naturally knew the importance of this Celestial Star Version of the Vermilion Fruit and prepared to find someone to try it immediately.

"Just now, a message came back from Wangqing's side."

"Master?" Yan Yimei's eyes lit up.

"Your Highness, was there a great victory in Taiyuan?"

"Well, see for yourself." Zhu Jinzhen smiled and tossed the frontline battle report, which had just been delivered by the secret guards, to Yan Yimei.

The latter excitedly caught it, and wrote the two characters "Great Victory" in large vermilion ink on it.

The contents revealed a battle report from Taiyuan, Shanxi, concerning the Cangyun campaign.

(End of this chapter)