Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

To give or not to give.

Mu Zhaoyang knew the answer in his heart immediately.

No way!

An ancient relic who crawled out of some unknown grave dared to attack the Mu family royal family on his very first day of ascension.

What kind of good person could someone like that be?

Thinking back to how he had asked Qin Ge to borrow the original version of the Book of Great Harmony several times, and how Qin Ge had always found various reasons to refuse, saying that he would never let him read the first edition of the Book of Great Harmony.

Mu Zhaoyang became even more certain of her thoughts.

The original Datongdao was definitely not a good thing!

If I were truly innocent, how could I not dare to show it to him?

Who knows what outrageous content might be written in that book?

Time has passed, and few people remain who lived through the end of the Great Qi Dynasty and the Five Kingdoms period.

Those that still exist today are all ancient monsters of the level of terrestrial deities.

These old monsters are mostly taciturn and rarely mention what happened back then, let alone write a book to record what happened back then.

Historical records, over time and with many people handling them, are prone to various problems.

Even if dynasties did not change, much of history was completely buried or even altered beyond recognition for various reasons.

The general direction may be correct, but it is difficult to distinguish the truth from the falsehood in the details.

Centuries have passed, and the records related to the Datong Dao have changed again and again, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

……

Even today, Mu Zhaoyang, the emperor of the Great Ling Empire, has no way of knowing what the original Great Tongdao was all about.

He even suspected that even the core members of Datongdao themselves had no way of knowing what exactly happened back then.

Just like the historical records of their Great Spirit Empire, for hundreds of years, it has been nothing but greatness.

The emperor of the empire never had any personal desires, never made any misguided decisions, and shone like the sun on the path of the empire's progress.

But is that really the case?

As the emperor of the Great Ling Empire, Mu Zhaoyang knew the answer to this question better than anyone else.

Such is the history of the Great Spirit Empire, and even more so the history of the Great Unity Path; it should not be taken too seriously.

In the history that Mu Zhaoyang knew, he only knew that the Datong Dao had created the Datong Empire a few hundred years ago.

During the more than one hundred years of the Five Kingdoms period, the Datong Empire clashed with the Daling Empire on several occasions.

If the leader of the Great Harmony Sect had not offended the Guiyi True Man of the Two Elements Immortal Island, and if the Great True Lord had not grown weary of the conflicts of the mortal world, this war might have lasted for who knows how long.

From this perspective, the Datong Dao of yesteryear was definitely not a law-abiding and virtuous group.

Now that the founder of Datongdao has been resurrected, does this old-fashioned person really not have any intention of restoring the old order?

……

Having been emperor for a long time, Mu Zhaoyang viewed everything with a degree of suspicion, and paranoia had become a part of his daily life.

Mu Zhaoyang didn't know what Zhuang Sheng was thinking, but in Mu Zhaoyang's eyes, the name Zhuang Sheng was synonymous with trouble, and he regarded him as a target for establishing his authority.

With success imminent, the Yin Yin Domain project is progressing rapidly, and the Mu clan princes are making successive contributions, showing a strong momentum to subdue the entire Yin Yin Domain in one fell swoop.

Why not come earlier or later?

At this critical juncture, an old fogey, who appeared out of nowhere, shouted that these Mu clan princes should be executed according to the law, thus clipping Mu Zhaoyang's wings.

What does that mean?

Having been emperor for so long, Mu Zhaoyang had long forgotten what humility meant and what ordinary people meant to the empire. He only knew that thunder and rain were all imperial favors.

Anything that displeases him is considered blasphemy against the emperor.

Even if Zhuang Sheng's attitude was respectful, it was clearly stated.

He would deal with these feudal lords according to their circumstances. As long as they did not kill innocent people and claim credit for others, leaving no way for ordinary people to survive, he would treat them with caution and mainly issue warnings.

Fearing Mu Zhaoyang would refuse, Zhuang Sheng specifically emphasized that while purging the feudal lords, he would also deal with those unforgivable warlords to ensure that the Yin-Yang Domain would not descend into too much chaos.

In order to get Mu Zhaoyang to agree and to maintain the hard-won peace, Zhuang Sheng lowered his bottom line again and again, writing five versions of the list in total.

After agonizing for three whole days, Zhuang Sheng finally chose the version that involved the fewest people, in order to minimize the risk as much as possible.

Even so, Mu Zhaoyang still felt that Zhuang Sheng had no respect for him or the Mu royal family.

When did it become the business of an outsider to interfere in the affairs of the Mu family?

Even if some members of the royal family harbor ill intentions, they are still members of the Mu family, possessing the most noble bloodline in the world. How can they be allowed to desecrate it?

As for Zhuangzi's words about the powerful feudal lords who might cause internal strife and threaten the foundation of the empire, Mu Zhaoyang paid no attention to them at all.

In a world where strength reigns supreme, as long as Mu Zhaoyang can break through to the realm of a terrestrial immortal, when the great sun shines upon him, how could a few members of the royal family possibly rebel against heaven?

Even if that day ever comes and the members of the Mu family start fighting amongst themselves, that's their own business.

The Great Spirit Empire still belongs to the Mu family; it is not for others to interfere.

As for Zhuangzi's talk of popular sentiment, the well-being of the people, and the hardships of ordinary life, Mu Zhaoyang found it utterly laughable.

The current hardships are for a better future.

As long as the hidden dangers of the cathode domain can be resolved in one fell swoop, what does it matter if a few people die or a generation or two suffer?

If these two generations endure more hardship and patience, the empire can suppress the various warlords and completely control the Yin-Yang Domain.

When that time comes, the people of Yin Yin Domain will naturally be able to bask in the glory of the empire and live a happy life.

What is happening now is nothing more than necessary sacrifices.

The founder of this Great Unity Sect was nothing more than that; he was truly short-sighted!

With her thoughts forming a closed loop, Mu Zhaoyang subtly refused Zhuang Sheng's request through feigned politeness, while also hinting at it in her words.

Zhuang Sheng has no right to interfere in the affairs of the Great Ling Empire, and only the Mu family has the authority to judge the Mu family.

……

Mu Zhaoyang's thoughts could not be hidden from Zhuang Sheng. With just the simplest exchange, Zhuang Sheng guessed Mu Zhaoyang's intentions.

Having risen from an ordinary schoolteacher to where he is today, Zhuang Sheng understands better than anyone the uncontrollability of the human heart.

Zhuang Sheng sensed Mu Zhaoyang's wariness of him and knew how difficult it was to change an autocratic emperor, but he still chose to persuade him time and time again.

Unfortunately, Zhuangzi ultimately failed to achieve the results he desired.

Having neither obtained the imperial edict nor changed Mu Zhaoyang's mind, Zhuang Sheng found today's journey nothing but disappointment.

After walking out of the main hall, Zhuang Sheng stood in the center of the magnificent square for a very long time.