The Great Qin Dynasty: The egg of the Black Bird was revered as a national guardian beast.

After discussing it together, Lu Sheng and his companion made a decision.

If one wanted to make some small moves in Xianyang, under the First Emperor's watchful eye, it was essential to divert his attention.

Therefore, the two of them often got together.

They fabricated ambiguous prophecies and divinations that other sorcerers had said in private, in order to confuse the public.

Lu Sheng raised his eyes and looked at Hou Sheng.

"This time, you and I must work together to push this matter forward and achieve victory in one fell swoop!"

"That's how it should be."

After they made their agreement, they decided to split up.

Instead of returning to his residence, Lu Sheng wandered around the bustling markets of Xianyang.

When Xianyang was first built,

It's just an insignificant little town.

To the people of the vassal states at the time, the entire city of Xianyang exuded a rustic air and was considered a city of barbarians in the western frontier.

A century has passed.

Today, Xianyang has also undergone tremendous changes.

Not only did the palaces grow taller and the city walls expand, but the population also increased, making it the largest city in the world.

With more people, information circulates more easily.

Events from all over the country converged in Xianyang, and events from Xianyang also dispersed to other places.

Here, something new happens every day, becoming a topic of conversation in the daily lives of Xianyang residents.

This is exactly what Lu Sheng needs.

This is the most convenient way to obtain information, and naturally, it is also the fastest way to spread news.

........

In just a few days

Some sorcerers privately discussed and ridiculed the First Emperor, and the rumors spread throughout Xianyang.

It got worse day by day, and eventually it became uncontrollable. It was clear that soon the public opinion would reach the ears of the First Emperor.

Lu Sheng had no choice but to meet Hou Sheng in private.

The whole of Xianyang is talking about this now, and the sorcerer caught in the middle of the controversy is also in a terrible predicament, busy trying to refute the rumors.

They could only act while the First Emperor was still unaware of the situation, during a time of great chaos in Xianyang—a delicate moment.

That's their only chance to survive!

Lu Sheng came to a small alley, turned east and west, and finally arrived at this inconspicuous little house.

There was no one around; Hou Sheng had secretly purchased this place with the money he earned from refining medicine, just in case.

From the outside, there is no difference whatsoever.

But once inside, you can smell some strange odors in the air, like cinnabar and sulfur...

Upon seeing this, Lu Sheng frowned slightly.

Although he was a Taoist priest, he never believed in alchemy, and his voyages to seek immortality were merely for profit.

"Ha, a bunch of lunatics."

Yes, most alchemists, except for a few sane individuals, believe they can concoct an elixir of immortality.

That's undeniably insane.

Upon entering the alchemy room, one sees Hou Sheng devoutly placing powdered cinnabar into the alchemy furnace.

"Refine cinnabar into mercury, then transform the mercury into elixir..."

Seeing a shadow looming over him from behind, Hou Sheng said without looking up, "That's it then."

"Lord Hou," Lu Sheng said, standing up, "it's time to go."

Hou Sheng stood up, turned to look at Lu Sheng, and smiled gently: "The timing is just right."

The alchemy furnace exploded with a deafening roar as soon as he finished speaking.

Inside, three round pills lay quietly, seemingly glowing faintly in the firelight.

Soon after, a group of jailers kicked the door open.

But when they entered, there was no one there, only a shattered alchemy furnace, still warm.

And... the three pills on the ground.

........

The First Emperor, accompanied by a group of attendants, walked to a palace and looked up.

This is the palace where the Heavenly Mandate Black Bird resides.

For this reason, the First Emperor personally ordered that this palace be renamed the Xuan Niao Palace.

Upon seeing the First Emperor arrive here.

Before the Xuan Niao Palace, the Xuan Niao Guards, who were dedicated to protecting the Xuan Niao of Destiny, knelt down, their spears gleaming coldly.

The First Emperor stopped, but merely raised his hand.

The attendants behind him responded in unison, half of them standing silently outside the palace gates, while the other half dispersed.

The First Emperor remained silent and stepped inside.

Inside the Xuan Niao Palace, a rustling sound rang out; it was the beads on the First Emperor's head touching each other.

Wherever they went, everyone bowed down.

Soon, they arrived at the inner palace, where there stood a huge phoenix tree.

"sand."

I stepped on the fallen leaves, making a soft thud.

Looking up, I saw a dark figure standing on the sycamore tree.

The First Emperor did not change his robes and was still wearing his court attire.

We walked to the sycamore tree, where a table was set up with various kinds of fruit.

He raised his head and stared blankly at the sycamore tree.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but a voice brought the First Emperor back to reality.

"What are you looking at?"

He lowered his head and turned around.

Before he knew it, Xuan Ye had climbed down from the tree and was standing on the table, looking at him.

The two stared at each other for a while, and then the First Emperor tilted his head to the side.

"I didn't see anything, but I just felt that it was a bit rudimentary for the Heavenly Fate Mystic Bird to live in a tree."

Xuan Ye ignored him.

He just kept his head down, eating the fruit on the table.

After a long while, he finally raised his head: "There's no such thing as simple or not simple. After all, I'm just a bird."

The First Emperor was stunned for a long time, then laughed out loud, a deep and resonant laugh: "I had forgotten about that."

"However," he paused, "you're no ordinary bird; you're a divine bird."

After saying that, he smiled and looked at Xuan Ye: "After all, this is the first time I've ever seen a bird that can speak human language."

As he spoke, he turned around and sat down at the table.

"Is there any wine? I'd like to have some."

"There's no wine here, only water. Would you like some?"

"..."

The First Emperor raised his eyes: "Such a large palace, how come there isn't even a drop of wine?"

The First Emperor was somewhat angry.

Xuan Ye looked at the First Emperor with a strange expression. "Has the First Emperor forgotten that everything here was arranged by you?"

The First Emperor then fell silent.

He simply sat silently at the table.

For a moment, no one spoke. After a long while, Xuan Ye glanced at the First Emperor and said, "Speak."

"Huh?" The First Emperor was taken aback. "What did you say?"

Xuan Ye tilted his head slightly: "Every time you come here, it's because you're feeling frustrated and you're telling me about it."

"Although it wasn't mentioned today, they immediately wanted to drink."

At this point, Xuan Ye's eyes narrowed: "Tell me, what happened? If you can, I'll help you resolve it."

After a long while, the First Emperor burst into laughter.

"What can you solve?"

That being said, his mood improved noticeably. He turned his head to look at the sycamore tree, its leaves falling and withering.

"I want to kill the sorcerers of Xianyang."

The Blackbird Palace was very quiet at midday.

All that could be heard was the rustling of leaves, as if time itself had slowed down.

Xuan Ye paused for a moment, then asked, "Why?"

In truth, he knew that because of this incident, he would be falsely accused of burying scholars alive in the ground, but it was actually the alchemists who were being harmed.

The First Emperor raised his eyes, grinned, and said, "Because they deceived me, they betrayed me!"

"I have bestowed great favors upon them, yet they now slander me."

"Damn it, they all deserve to die!"

Looking at the First Emperor, Xuan Ye fell silent. He knew that what the First Emperor hated most in his life was betrayal.

Everyone he trusted betrayed him.

He was first abandoned by his father, then betrayed by his own brother, and even his most trusted general, Fan Yuqi, and the prime minister, Changping Jun, all betrayed him.

Finally, even his own mother...

The person he trusted most in his life, Empress Dowager Zhao Ji, with whom he had relied on each other in the state of Zhao, also betrayed him.

He had an affair with his lover, preferring his lover's child to him, and attempted to dethrone him.

"Your Majesty the First Emperor," Xuan Ye said, looking at the First Emperor, "they deserve to die. How about I go and capture them?"

The First Emperor lowered his head, grinned, and smiled silently.

She had a smile on her face, but there was no smile in her eyes behind the bead.