Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"How did you know?"

"Because Xu Fu analyzed my existence when we met - it was through his enlightenment that I learned that the reason why those of us who drank the blood of Hydra were divided like this is because there are primordial spirits, yang spirits and yin spirits. I didn't realize that I was incomplete before. I think Xu Fu himself may not realize that he is not a complete Xu Fu."

"Ah," Shangluo nodded, "You mean, there is someone else who is really behind all this?"

"I think it might be Xu Fu's spirit that is controlling all this."

"Then why did he do that?"

"I know something." Suddenly, Fu Yuanshan came back, "First of all, I can confirm that Xu Fu's soul does exist. I tested it just now, and the Xu Fu who waved the Six Soul Banner at you did not have any magic power, which means that the Xu Fu who repeatedly entered our fleet to rescue people was not this Xu Fu. The real Xu Fu with 2000 years of cultivation is probably still watching us silently. As for the reason why he did this..."

Fu Yuanshan looked up at the sky: "Perhaps, he wants to use us to kill his Yang God and Yin God so that his Yuan Shen can escape."

“Is there such a fighting style???”

"Xu Fu is an ancient alchemist, so I'm not surprised he uses this style of fighting. Perhaps there's a reason he can't kill himself, so he asked us to do it. Of course, the reason may not be that simple, but this is the motive I can think of right now."

"So Xu Fu's Yang Shen may know nothing?"

"You can go and ask for details. Oh, by the way, Titus, you can go too. You are the first person to discover Xu Fu. You can ask questions about what he said and what he did."

"No problem, this is what I'm good at." Titus was a little excited, as if he was going to carry out a mission plot.

"Mr. Xu Fu, I have a key question for you." Titus asked straight to the point, "I heard you say something that I think can be used as the beginning of our conversation and can also set the tone for this conversation."

"Go on." Xu Fu looked as if he had aged 2000 years, and even lacked the strength to speak.

"I want to ask - what exactly do you mean by 'my fight against the Qin finally ends'?"

"Everyone, are you all latecomers?" Xu Fu raised his head and looked at everyone. "I am so stupid, really. I actually thought that Daqin was still alive, and I actually thought that you were here to get medicine. I took in so many boys and girls, but I didn't refine any of them. I didn't dare to refine any of them! I just hid them on this island. I just wanted to be rich and famous in the world. I really didn't refine any of them!"

"I know that." Shangluo waved his hand, "Let's get to the point. Do you think I'm from Daqin? What do you want to do?"

"I thought you were the medicine-seeking envoys from the Qin Dynasty. I wanted to present the elixir of immortality to the Qin Dynasty. I knew that according to Qin law, I would still be executed because I embezzled 3000 boys and girls from the First Emperor. I said I would present them to the East China Sea aquatic creatures, but I kept them myself. But after that, I dared not rest day and night until I refined the real golden elixir some time ago, and then I came out of retreat. I never thought that the flying snake riding the mist would eventually turn into dust! The Qin Dynasty has been dead for 2000 years! Who should I present this golden elixir to? How can I pay for my sins?"

"Hmm," Shangluo shook his head helplessly, "Who do you think we are?"

"You are not Daqin."

"Then we can be too." Shangluo replied, "Let me read it to you: Xia, Shang and Western Zhou, the Eastern Zhou is divided into two periods. Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, unified Qin and Han. Three Kingdoms of Wei, Chu and Wu, two Jin dynasties. Northern and Southern Dynasties coexisted, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties. After Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the dynasty came to this. Bah, just ignore the latter part. Anyway, you see, there are so many behind your Great Qin."

"How come there are so many behind the Great Qin!!!" Xu Fu wailed in despair, "How many generations has the Great Qin been passed down? Prince Fusu is a wise and sage king, and he will definitely be able to inherit the great achievements of his father and grandfather. I have calculated for him, and he will definitely be able to do it."

"The premise is that he can inherit. The Qin Dynasty only had two generations. When the First Emperor died, the country was in chaos, and then the throne was passed to Hu Hai."

"It's over!" Xu Fu leaned back, "Hu Hai doesn't look like a king! Can he be an emperor with that face? He can't! I... I am really sinful! If the First Emperor could live forever, the Qin Dynasty would not be over!"

"That's not the point. The point is, look - although the Qin Dynasty was destroyed, its legal system has been passed down to this day. The present is also a rare golden age in ancient and modern times. Isn't this worse than the Qin Dynasty?"

Xu Fu suddenly sat up and said, "You all say that you can inherit the Great Qin Dynasty - then where is the imperial seal? If you can find the imperial seal, then your Great Ming Dynasty will be the Great Qin Dynasty. I will offer the golden elixir with both hands, and my merits will be fulfilled."

"I can show you the Imperial Seal. But I need to inspect the goods first! You spent 2000 years refining the golden elixir, I need to inspect its quality first."

Chapter 1169 Jade Seal

The standoff lasted until the 180th second after both sides spoke.

One asks the other party to take him to see the goods first.

The other one asked the other party to hand over the imperial seal.

"So I said, Daqin is the Red Country Shenzhou, Daming is also the Red Country Shenzhou, there is only one Red Country Shenzhou in this world, isn't it the same if you give us one?"

"That's different." Xu Fu rejected Shangluo's request again. "My employer is the First Emperor himself. I will only give the elixir to him and his direct successors. I don't deny that you are the current court, and I don't care whether you are or not. I only care whether you can represent the First Emperor himself."

[He seems to only serve his monarch, which is a bit difficult. Where can we find the authorization from the First Emperor himself? I'm afraid we can only give him the imperial seal. ]

"But the imperial seal has been lost for nearly 1000 years."

Shangluo remembered that the last completely verifiable source of the imperial seal was actually the time when Sun Jian fished it out of the well.

After that, the imperial seal was passed on to the Western Jin Dynasty along with the Cao Wei Dynasty - after that, the legend about the imperial seal disappeared. Although there were rumors that the Sui Dynasty once regained the imperial seal, the imperial seal eventually passed down to the Tang Dynasty, but it disappeared during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period at the end of the Tang Dynasty.

In the final analysis, it is actually quite difficult to verify where the Imperial Seal is. After all, the Imperial Seal was first made by the First Emperor to replace the Nine Cauldrons as a symbol of the Son of Heaven. It was so important that the First Emperor himself did not use it as a seal for signing official documents. After that, in the Han Dynasty, the Imperial Seal was treated as a treasure like a mascot, and it was not difficult to use it on a daily basis.

Because no one used it, only a handful of people knew where it was. Whenever there was a change of dynasty, someone would think of grabbing such a big seal.

As time went by, it was naturally lost. In the Hongwu period, Emperor Taizu Gao lamented that there were three major regrets in life:

"The Emperor said that the whole world was one family, and there were still three things that were not resolved. One, the imperial seal was not passed on; one, Wang Baobao had not been captured; and one, there was no news from the Crown Prince of Yuan."

The number one regret was that he failed to obtain the imperial seal.

Of course, the imperial seal could not be in the hands of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, this would be a great event that would make even Emperor Taizu Gao laugh for decades.

【What should we do? 】

"If he really wants it, it won't be hard to find the imperial seal. It's a piece of jade, and jade is a hard stone. The oldest objects that have survived to this day are all made of stone. Not to mention a thousand years, even after 40 years, the stone will still be there. As long as this thing is there, it will be found one day."

[Well, in theory, this is indeed possible. And the imperial seal is quite large. I searched your memory and it seems that there is something similar? ]

"Yes. A similar thing is that Emperor Guangwu bestowed the seal of the Kingdom of Hanwei on Japan. After that, there was no news. After all, Japan was still in the wilderness at that time, and the reward was almost like a stone sinking into the sea. Many people were not sure whether this thing really existed. As a result, more than 1700 years later, in 1784, an old farmer in Fukuoka Prefecture really picked it up in the field."

[Then how did you determine that it was real? I mean, if we were to look for the imperial seal, how could you determine that it was real?]

"Because the real thing is real at first glance."

【ha? 】

"However, archaeology relies on evidence. Generally, when historical records and unearthed artifacts coincide, we can confirm the authenticity of a fact. The [Seal of the King of Nuguo during the Han Dynasty, Wa] is 20% authentic—first, historical records show that it was indeed awarded to Japan at the time. Then, in the 50s, the [Seal of the King of Dian], crafted during the same era, was unearthed in Yunnan. It looks identical to the [Seal of the King of Nuguo during the Han Dynasty, Wa], and it can be essentially confirmed to have been made by the same group, or even the same individual. This means that evidence has been found in both historical records and unearthed artifacts, and the facts can be verified accordingly."

[What about the Imperial Seal? ]

"Well, it's not that troublesome. Just ask Xu Fu and you'll know." Shang Luo asked, "Let me ask you, if I bring you the imperial seal, can you recognize it?"

"No, I don't."

“???” Shangluo was stunned for a moment, and he looked straight at Xu Fu.

"Shang Jun, please don't look at it. I really don't know. Because I have never seen the imperial seal - it is a national treasure, and I am just an alchemist. Although I have survived until now by luck, there is no way I could have seen what the imperial seal looks like back then."

"If you don't even know what it looks like, how do you know whether the imperial seal I gave you is real or fake?"

“Real things are real at first glance.”

How come he said the same thing as you?

"We are all from the same country, so of course we think similarly." Shang Luo pressed his forehead, "Please be more specific. How do you judge?"

"Although I have never seen a real imperial seal, I recognize bird and insect scripts and I can write them myself. The imperial seal is engraved with 'Received the Mandate from Heaven, Long Live and Prosper'. I can tell whether it is authentic just by identifying the seal text. Because what you write in later generations is definitely different from the original version."

"It really is"

Having said that, Shangluo did not intend to get away with it. Because among the people present, the one who was closest to the imperial seal was only Xu Fu. Xu Fu was an old liar. It was difficult to deceive him, and it was even more difficult to deceive him in an area he was familiar with. Instead of spending a lot of time and effort to make a fortune, it would be better for Shangluo to find the real imperial seal himself. This would be fine.

But he also had to make sure whether Xu Fu's reward was worth it.

"So, Mr. Xu, what effect can your golden elixir have if taken?"

"If you eat it, you can become an immortal instantly."

"Is there no specific standard? For example, foundation building stage, golden elixir stage, etc."

"I don't understand what you young people are talking about." Xu Fu waved his hand. "When I say immortal, I mean the real person - the real person in ancient times, who sleeps without dreams, wakes without worries, eats without sweetness, and breathes deeply. He can enter water without getting wet, enter fire without being burned, and can soar into the clouds, and can live as long as heaven and earth."

[This sounds like at least the cultivation level of the Golden Core Stage. One can use one's own small Zhoutian to surpass the external big Zhoutian, can surpass all the dangers of the mortal world, can achieve immortality, and can travel freely.]

"Not necessarily. Maybe there is really no way to quantify this."

As Xu Fu said, the ancient magic he studied and today's magic can both be said to be Taoist magic. But compared with the ancient magic, today's magic is still too modern.

Chapter 1170 Exchange

"The Immortal is also the wish of the First Emperor himself." Xu Fu shook his head and said, "When the First Emperor was alive, he often did not call himself "Zhen", but called himself "Zhen". But later he felt that it was inappropriate and changed it to "Zhen". But within two days, he gradually admired "Zhen" again."

"What kind of person is the First Emperor?"

"The First Emperor is the greatest man of all time. The whole world belongs to the emperor." He stopped here and said no more.

As a subject, he would not say a word more about the First Emperor.

But they can meet, but it is precisely because he is "greater" than everyone else that he also sees what is beyond human reach - after all, no matter how virtuous the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of ancient times were in ruling the world, their countries were not bigger than the Qin Dynasty. He thought that what the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors could do, he should be able to do too. So he traveled around the world, seeking immortality. Finally, he asked Xu Fu for help.

This is the origin of what happened today.

"Well." Shang Luo looked at Xu Fu, "My request is still the same - take me to the place where you make the elixir, I want to check it out."

"No." Xu Fu refused again, "I can't trust you. This is the golden elixir prepared for the First Emperor. I dare not let anyone see it."

"How about this." Shangluo raised a hand, "I swear by the Luo River, how about that?"

[Ah, this. Is this really possible? ]

"Okay." Xu Fu nodded. "You must have made up your mind to swear by Luoshui. I can trust you."

[You really believed it! Don't you know that I don't want to bully an old man? Isn't it useless to swear by the Luo River? The Sima family has already ruined it. ]

"Who cares?" Shangluo replied, "As long as he believes it, that's fine."

"Let's go then." Xu Fu stood up, "I'll take you to the dojo where I make pills."

[It's over, he really believes in the Buddha of Infinite Life.] Apollonia said out of guilt, [Shangluo, you are too skilled at taking advantage of loopholes.]

"This is called proper citation - this is the benefit of studying history. These allusions come to mind and can be used at will. You don't know that the ancients before the Qin Dynasty were fond of this. If you don't learn poetry, you can't speak. They regard these allusions as part of the language. For any matter, you only need to say "this matter is also recorded in such and such place", and then quote it in a reasonable format, and it will immediately become reasonable."

Shangluo also stood up as he spoke: "Then Mr. Xu, shall we go now? Do you want me to untie you?"

"No need. With the rope around my neck, you'll be more likely to believe me. I have nothing to be ashamed of, and this just proves my innocence."

During the conversation, Xu Fu's neck was tied with a rope - this was an immortal rope brought from the imperial prison, specially used to tie up immortals and other powerful people. This rope can change with the body shape of the prisoner, and it will remain the same whether it becomes larger or smaller.

According to the safest method, the scapula should be pierced. As long as the scapula is pierced, even Sun Wukong can be arrested.

However, after consulting Lu Huaiyang, Shangluo did not torture Xu Fu with the full set of torture. After all, it would be difficult to end the case after the collar bone was pierced. The only thing used in the imperial prison was the immortal rope, and other things were not often used.

"Wait a moment." Shangluo took out the map, "Where is your dojo?"

Xu Fu walked to the map and glanced at it. He was stunned for a moment:

"Why is it so big?"

What he pulled over casually was a world map. On the map, half of the world was covered in red. The "Royal Capital" of the Red County Shenzhou, which was the two capitals and thirteen provinces, was marked in vermilion. Its scope reached Yuyuan in the east, Kunlun in the west, Nanjiao in the south, and Chaohai in the north, forming the shape of a begonia. The Royal Capital covered all visible terrain on the earth, from high mountains to deep valleys, from snowfields to deserts. This was a huge territory, much larger than that of the Qin Dynasty.

Outside of the vermilion, the entire Pacific Ocean and half of the world beyond are marked in light red. All the tributary states in the world are distributed in the light red area, and among them are the vassal states wrapped by the golden border line, including the four powerful vassal states of Nanyang, Beiting, Xiyu and Yangzhou, as well as powerful vassal states such as Korea and Ryukyu. This unprecedented huge territory is the territory of His Majesty the Holy Son of Heaven.

"You really are a land of this kind. Even the First Emperor himself would be pleased to see this." He pointed to the periphery again, "What is this purple circle?"

"It's Rome," Shang Luo replied, "It's our ally. In fact, the Han Dynasty also called them Daqin, because people at that time thought that Rome was in the west, and like Daqin, it had a vast army and was admired by other countries, so they called it Daqin. It's a pity that times have changed, and Rome has forgotten about it. We are preparing for Rome's death and preparing to accept Rome's legacy. But because of what happened here, it attracted my attention."

"Da Qin. This name is unlucky." Xu Fu shook his head. "I guess Da Qin died at the hands of the barbarians?"

"How did you know?" Shangluo was shocked. He was indeed an old alchemist, and he knew something was different the moment he made a move.

"The one who destroyed the Qin Dynasty was Hu." Xu Fu replied, "This was the prophecy made by the alchemists to the First Emperor. We all thought that the Qin Dynasty would eventually be destroyed by the Hu people, so the First Emperor launched a large-scale war and built the Great Wall to keep the Hu people out. No one thought that the Hu was actually Hu Hai. The Qin Dynasty died at the hands of Hu Hai. I said at the time that Hu Hai did not have the face to be a king, but I never thought that my words would come true."

He sighed and looked to the west again: "But Rome is most likely to die at the hands of the barbarians."

"Wuwuwu~~" Victoria's unwilling voice came out from the channel, "Why, I am unwilling. Why do I have to be hurt here? It's like my forehead is black."

"Uh," Shangluo asked Xu Fu, "Mr. Xu, do you think there is still hope for the Qin Dynasty?"

"There is hope," Xu Fu replied. "Build the Great Wall and drive all the Hu people out of the Great Wall. This will keep the Qin Dynasty safe. That's what the First Emperor did. The Qin Dynasty did not perish at the hands of the Hu people after all. As for Hu Hai, there was no way out, right?"

"But it's too late for me to repair the Great Wall now."

Shangluo conveyed the problem.

"This Great Wall and this Hu do not refer to the Great Wall and Hu literally, but can also be names."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Victoria asked.

[It can also be a symbolic Great Wall and barbarians - in the case of Cybernetics, he predicted that Cybernetics would not be able to save the Romans from destruction unless you build a firewall to block the foreign virus. Otherwise, Daqin will be doomed sooner or later. In this case, it is a joke.]

Apollonia thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say what this Hu is. It can't be a butterfly."

Chapter 1171 Oath