Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

Zhao Qianyuan still had the strength to cover his severed neck. His eyes, which were losing their luster, were fixed on Xi Heng. He opened his mouth and stammered as if he wanted to say something, but could only spit out some dirty blood foam.

As blood gushed from the line running from his chest to his neck, he lost his strength and collapsed to his knees, finally lying prone in front of Xi Heng. The light in his eyes dimmed, and the blood from his neck pooled on the stone floor.

"Phew..." Xi Heng closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

The sword intent I felt when I swung the sword just now was extremely striking, so pure that it seemed as if I had suddenly undergone a transformation.

Having experienced the lingering aftertaste of the sword intent, the girl slowly sheathed the longsword in her hand.

He looked down at the corpse at his feet, then at the large gold and silver cauldron beside him.

……

Chapter 40, Establishing the Standards of Heaven

Xi Heng looked down and saw that the mad emperor's corpse was still twitching slightly, with blood gushing from his neck and shoulders...

For some reason, she unconsciously recalled the words "May you die a horrible death" that the loyal minister in the court shouted to Zhao Qianyuan before his death in her previous life.

In this state, he probably deserves to die a terrible death.

Xi Heng felt that the pool of blood on the ground was a bit of a waste, so he grabbed the other party's arm, which was wrapped in a wide dragon robe, and used his strength to drag the mad emperor up.

Looking around, they found a large, empty vat that looked like a water tank, and stuffed the body inside.

After clapping his hands to finish, Xi Heng looked around at the dim surroundings and prepared to start working.

"Let's add the firewood first... The ground formations have all been drawn, so there's no need to go through too much trouble." Xi Heng then picked up a pile of firewood from the wall and threw it under the gold and silver cauldron.

The embers of the red-hot coals, which were already barely burning, came into contact with the fuel and were quickly consumed by it, soon bursting into flames.

Xi Heng then went to the stone table next to him and began to identify the various rare materials. When the bottom of the cauldron was also red-hot, he poured the powder from the bowl and the five heads on the ground into the cauldron one after another.

Due to the intense heat, even though there was no water in the cauldron, it emitted a bubbling sound as if water were boiling.

After Xi Heng finished pouring out the medicinal herbs, the powder in the cauldron mixed together and turned into a dry, grayish-yellow color. He clapped his hands and ran to the other side to carry over the large jar containing the emperor's body.

"Heave-ho." The girl rubbed her arm, watching the various medicinal herbs in the pot boil continuously, and first tried scooping in half a bowl of fresh blood.

The blood fell into it, quickly staining the cauldron of medicinal sand.

Small bowls of black blood were continuously poured into the cauldron until the medicinal cinnabar turned bright red.

But in Xi Heng's opinion, the color wasn't quite right yet.

"As expected, I still have to throw myself in completely..."

Xi Heng used his sword to slice open the dragon robe, then grabbed the flesh inside and threw it directly into the cauldron.

The dark gold dragon robe that Xi Heng had just taken off was also thrown into the fire. The most precious silk and satin was quickly burned into charcoal in the raging fire, just like the most common fuel, which intensified the fire for a while before quietly turning into ashes.

She lifted the blood-stained shoe tip, touched the ground, and circled it once. Her fingers formed a hand seal, and the ritual array on the ground glowed with a faint red light as she chanted:

"The spirit lost by the blood of mortals is gathered in the Jade Yang, where the true spirit of all things gathers and yin and yang consume each other repeatedly..."

As the sound faded, Xi Heng paused, blinking one eye as he looked into the cauldron.

Dark red smoke rose, and Zhao Qianyuan, lying in the cauldron, became withered and weak, as if all the blood in his body had been drained, turning him into a dried corpse. His flesh and blood also rapidly shrank and dissolved, leaving only skin and bones, and his original majestic appearance was no longer visible.

She then took a larger piece of mutton-fat white jade from the side, placed her hand on the scorching hot cauldron, and loosened her fingers.

The jade stone happened to fall into the very center of the cauldron.

Immediately afterwards, the bright red medicinal powder next to it seemed to be attracted to the white jade like magnetic powder by a magnet, frantically sticking to it and turning the jade into a blood-red mass.

Under the roaring heat of the flames, the red color on the outermost layer of the jade faded, as if the medicinal powder and blood color had been absorbed.

Gradually, countless medicinal powders and Zhao Qianyuan's emaciated corpse faded into decaying ashes.

Xi Heng slowly lowered his tightly clenched fingers. The method of absorbing spiritual energy was complete. The white jade covered in medicinal powder should have now turned into a blood spirit stone.

She scooped a bowl of water from another small water vat next to her and poured it onto the fire under the cauldron.

After a few blows, the fire went out.

Xi Heng grabbed the large hardwood ladle from the cauldron and scooped out a red jade stone covered in medicinal ash from the loose ash powder.

The once smooth mutton fat jade has now turned a red color, like crystallized blood.

The girl tried touching it, and it was still quite hot, so she scooped it out with a spoon and placed it on the table next to her.

She returned to the cauldron, intending to clean up the scene.

Xi Heng has not given up hope of surviving in this world and plans to make up a reason to try to escape.

The dragon robe had been burned by her, and now only a withered, dried corpse remained. Judging from its appearance and figure, it was impossible to recognize it as Zhao Qianyuan.

"Hmm..." She looked around, but there wasn't really anywhere she could hide.

So their attention turned to the large water vat that Emperor Sai had previously possessed.

"Let's just throw it in here, albeit reluctantly." Xi Heng then grabbed the head of the mummified corpse in the cauldron and pulled it up.

With a snap, I felt my hands suddenly loosen, and when I looked again, my head had been torn off by her pull.

"..."

"Feel sorry?"

Xi Heng paused for a moment, then casually threw his head into the jar.

With another grab, the arm broke.

The same was true for the thighs and calves; after Xi Heng's handling of the mummified corpse, it was immediately divided into several sections.

One by one, the broken parts were thrown into the jar. The mummified corpse shrank to its limit, its size only enough to cover the bottom of the jar.

Finally, Xi Heng took the rack used to hold firewood and threw all the charcoal from under the gold and silver cauldron into the vat.

The charcoal and ashes covered the skeleton, and then she poured the dregs from the cauldron into it spoonful by spoonful until she could no longer see any trace of Zhao Qianyuan, before she breathed a sigh of relief.

Returning to the stone table beside him, by the dim light of the candle, Xi Heng picked up the bright red Blood Spirit Stone and quietly examined it.

The center of the jade stone emitted a faint red glow, the tiny rays of which were almost invisible.

Simply holding it can bring a sense of calm and a warm, gentle sensation that spreads through the palm of your hand, clearly promoting blood circulation and relieving muscle and mental tension.

"But how do you extract spiritual energy from it? Through meditation..."

Although he already had spirit stones, he had not yet obtained the method of cultivating Qi.

She glanced back at the large water vat containing Zhao Qianyuan.

"He just said that he had absorbed spiritual energy into his body, so he must have a qi cultivation technique... It's just a pity that we can't ask him about it now."

"There might be some Qi cultivation techniques in the Imperial Study or Zhao Qianyuan's residence. I'll try to find them later... Hmm?" Xi Heng suddenly noticed a faint light emanating from the jade in his hand, which was because he had gripped it a little tighter earlier.

At the same time, she felt the so-called spiritual energy ripple away from her palm.

The spiritual energy was formless and odorless, yet it felt strangely familiar to her, and she could perceive its flow with a peculiar sense.

"This feels like the feeling I get every time I inscribe a spell on the back of my hand..." Xi Heng thought to himself, gripping the Blood Spirit Stone tightly in one hand and making a hand seal with the other, softly reciting a spell for the Blood Arrow Technique.

Immediately afterwards, Xi Heng pressed the Blood Spirit Stone directly onto the back of his other hand.

When he raised his hand again, a mark of the Blood Arrow spell appeared on the back of his hand.

"So spells are actually driven by spiritual energy? That makes sense. The Blood Sea Great Spellbook states that one obtains a bit of spiritual energy from a large amount of flesh and blood, and then guides that spiritual energy into spells through an array..."

"And this Blood Spirit Stone is simply a collection of the spirit extracted from flesh and blood, preserved within the jade."

Xi Heng couldn't help but ponder a most fundamental question:

Is the spirit extracted from flesh and blood the same as the spiritual energy used in Qi cultivation and immortality practice?

If these two things are not the same thing at all, then the path to immortality through Qi cultivation becomes even more ambiguous.

Even if it is indeed the same thing, the problem of spiritual energy spontaneously dissipating must be addressed.

"In short, it's a long and arduous journey." Xi Heng vaguely felt that he wouldn't be able to overcome these difficulties in a short time.

"Now this Blood Spirit Stone can only be used to cast spells. I wonder if if I obtain a large amount of flesh and blood, I can store the spirit of the flesh and blood in the spirit stone. I also wonder if the spiritual energy inside the Blood Spirit Stone will evaporate and dissipate on its own... These are things we can only experiment with slowly."

Xi Heng placed the teacup-sized blood spirit stone into the money pouch at his waist and looked back to face his current situation.

She had hidden Zhao Qianyuan's body, and no one except her knew what had happened inside.

But the emperor's sudden disappearance was no small matter for the Great Zhao.

If he walked out like that, he would likely be caught and beheaded by the palace guards—even if Zhao Qianyuan was a foolish and tyrannical ruler, there should still be a few loyal people among the palace guards.

"I have this feeling that if I go out, my head will fall off." Xi Heng looked at the heavy wooden door that was tightly closed.

"Is reloading the save file the only option?"

It seems we've truly reached a dead end.

Having only arrived at the palace today, and lacking any real power in the court, killing the emperor wouldn't even qualify as usurping the throne.

Other royal children kill their fathers to ascend the throne and rule the world, but she only did it to refine a spirit stone. She made no other preparations, so naturally no one would drape her in imperial robes.

"Unless everyone in the court hates Zhao Qianyuan so much that they wish they could devour his flesh, I can't possibly survive, right?" Xi Heng always felt that was impossible.

"Just leave it to fate."

She had already prepared to load the save file before she came, so there was no need to hesitate or delay any longer.

She patted her chest and moved toward the thick wooden door she had come from.

In the blink of an eye, we arrived at a distance of just over ten meters.

The girl pulled the handle and slowly opened it, listening to the creaking of the wooden door, and saw a little bit of light and color from the outside corridor seeping into the dim room.

Inside the corridor are green eaves and tiles, red beams and painted rafters. Outside the corridor is a delicate and exquisite courtyard with flowers and plants. In the courtyard is a large pond, filled with water lilies and water chestnuts. On the bank are smartweed and reeds. Strangely shaped rocks stand in the forest. Flowers and birds accompany the scene, making it elegant, luxurious and magnificent.

The beautiful scenery unfolded before his eyes, and the stark contrast between the dim and gloomy indoors and the magnificent world outside brought a moment of peace to Xi Heng's heart.

"Your Highness," the old eunuch by the door bowed and asked, "Is His Majesty still busy? It's almost 9 AM, and His Majesty still needs to go to the Tianhe Hall to review memorials..."

Xi Heng walked out calmly and gave the simple reason he had just come up with:

"Your Majesty, you have become an immortal."

"...Your Highness, please forgive my poor hearing. Perhaps I repeated myself?" The old eunuch thought he had misheard.

“He received spiritual energy and became an immortal,” Xi Heng said.

"Become... an immortal?" The old eunuch's tone and eyes were hazy, completely unable to understand these two words. He only felt a light shining down his back and had a vague sense that a great calamity was about to befall him.

After a few seconds, he asked again, "Did you ride the crane to the west?"

"No, it's becoming an immortal." Xi Heng wouldn't change his story:

"His Majesty has cultivated to the point of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, achieving the realm of ascension to immortality. At this moment, he is in the Jade Terrace and Fairy Garden in the heavens, meeting with the immortals, drinking fine wine and eating peaches of immortality, and sharing eternal bliss."

"Three flowers gathering at the top... Ascending to immortality?" The old eunuch was stunned for a long time, clearly fooled by Xi Heng: "Will His Majesty return?"

"He has already ascended to the Heavenly Court, why does he still care about this mortal world?" Xi Heng asked rhetorically.

"But, we can't just ignore it..." the other person said blankly.

"Then go find someone else to be the new emperor," Xi Heng said, and then tried to leave before the other party could react.

She deliberately made her steps appear natural, while the old eunuch behind her hurriedly ran into the stone house, repeatedly calling for the emperor.

The noisy shrieking only stopped when his throat became hoarse and Xi Heng had already walked away.

The girl, who had just committed regicide, looked around. The surroundings were empty, and no one came to question her.

It seems like I simply walked out of Fuqing Hall...

"Is it that simple?"

As she was talking to herself, she suddenly heard the sound of many footsteps and running behind her, followed by the high-pitched voice of a eunuch:

"Stop her! Quickly!"

"As expected, it's still troublesome." When Xi Heng saw that the guards holding long spears and standing on both sides of the road behind her were looking at her, she immediately took flight and fled.

The red-armored guards immediately understood and obeyed the eunuch's order to surround Xi Heng.

Most of them had already mastered the power of their internal energy and could use it to propel their lightness skills. Xi Heng tried his best to escape, but he still couldn't shake off the Imperial Guards behind him in a short time.

Furthermore, there were still guards stationed ahead of him, and those men were also surrounding Xi Heng.

"stop!"

"I am the Princess of Great Zhao! All of you, step back!" Xi Heng's shout made the approaching imperial guards pause in surprise.