Emperor Xiu had previously prescribed seven days' worth of medicine for the Sixth Prince. During these seven days, no news came from the palace. 001 glanced around and realized that Consort Zhao was afraid that someone would harm her son, so she suppressed the news. However, this news could not be suppressed for long.
After he finished his seven-day course of medicine, Consort Zhao couldn't wait to have him invited to the palace for a follow-up examination.
After examining the Sixth Prince's physical condition and inquiring about his recent eating, drinking, and bodily functions, Emperor Xiu made slight adjustments to the prescription and prepared to leave. However, he was invited to the Imperial Hospital by the imperial physician who had come to wait for him.
No sooner had they left Yonghe Palace than someone from the Empress's entourage came to invite them, followed by Pang Yuan, who was ordered to summon Physician Hu to Qingdan Palace. The person sent by the Empress had no choice but to leave.
Emperor Xiu took a step forward, bid farewell to the imperial physicians, and went to the Qingdan Palace where the emperor practiced alchemy.
After asking a few questions about the sixth prince, the emperor ordered him to stay at the Qingdan Palace to save him from having to travel back and forth. This would also allow him to exchange ideas with the alchemists. The emperor mainly wanted to see which was stronger, alchemy or ordinary medicine.
Di Xiu and 001 actually looked down on the pills the emperor consumed. After learning about the absurd things he had done to refine pills, they disliked the emperor very much.
This emperor was actually very capable. In the first ten years of his reign, he served the people and issued many policies that benefited the country and its people, making him a wise ruler.
However, as he became increasingly obsessed with alchemy, he forcibly conscripted young boys and girls into the palace, engaged in extravagant construction projects, and squandered wealth, leading to widespread suffering and endless complaints from the people.
However, thanks to its absolute power, even though it neglects state affairs, this dynasty has not experienced any major chaos to this day.
001 had suggested that Di Xiu should try to usurp the throne again, but this was an internal conflict within the human race. Di Xiu was now a demon, and seizing the throne in his demon form would inevitably incur divine punishment.
As for supporting others...
This emperor had no other brothers or cousins, and his eldest son was only four years old. There was no one capable of rebelling. Emperor Xiu was now in a lowly position and his voice was weak. It would be difficult to persuade the emperor to stop taking drugs, so the matter could only be left unresolved for the time being.
After searching around, they found seven truly skilled alchemists in the capital. These weren't the kind who concocted a bunch of random, haphazard ingredients into potent elixirs, but rather alchemists who could genuinely cure diseases through alchemy.
Every few days, Di Xiu would go to treat the Sixth Prince's illness, and he would spend the rest of his time learning alchemy from them.
The sixth prince was getting better day by day. Seeing the emperor's face glowing from taking drugs, 001 had a sudden inspiration and came up with a bad idea. He asked Di Xiu to pretend to be a god and appear in the emperor's dream, telling him not to cultivate immortality anymore, but to cultivate the path of merit.
He was the emperor, and everything he did affected the people. Any word he uttered could benefit the masses. Was there anyone more suitable to achieve immortality through merit than him?
No.
After a moment's thought, Emperor Xiu decided it was worth a try and praised 001 again.
That night, the emperor took the elixir of immortality, made love with a beautiful woman, and then fell asleep.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his face. He opened his eyes and realized that he was no longer in the palace, nor even in the mortal world.
He was standing on clouds, surrounded by mist, with cranes flying by from time to time.
It was clearly night, yet he saw the sky ablaze with rosy light everywhere.
In the distance stood a majestic gate inscribed with the three characters "South Heavenly Gate." Beyond the gate, immortals occasionally soared through the clouds, each possessing extraordinary bearing and emanating a subtle golden light.
Further away, above auspicious clouds, a magnificent golden palace stood tall and imposing. Just one glance at it stung his eyes, and he dared not look directly at it.
He was deeply shaken, thinking to himself, "Could this be the legendary immortal realm? I have finally moved the heavens and successfully ascended to immortality."
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through the back of my head, and someone angrily cursed, "You bastard, you think you can become an immortal? With all the mess you've made, even hell wouldn't tolerate you."
The emperor turned around, surprised that this person could hear his thoughts. After a moment of thought, he said angrily, "Who are you? How dare you attack me?"
But the man was imposing and dignified, and his glare was so intimidating that it made people feel uneasy for no reason.
The man kicked him to the ground, pointed at his nose and cursed, "I'm your ancestor. I was wise all my life, how could I have such stupid descendants like you? You make it impossible for me to have peace even in death, you've completely disgraced me."
The emperor's expression changed drastically, and he asked with disbelief, "You...you are the founding emperor? Have you become an immortal?"
The man sneered, "You scoundrel want to become an immortal? I've worked hard my whole life, why can't I?"
The emperor was overjoyed, but then he remembered his usual behavior and became uneasy. He also thought of the Taizu Emperor's character and methods. He immediately knelt down, feeling extremely ashamed and remorseful: "This unworthy descendant, Zhu Houcong, pays his respects to the Taizu Emperor. Please allow me to explain."
"Emperor Taizu" kicked him over again, gave him a good beating, and said with great pain, "A mistake is a mistake. What you're doing isn't explaining, it's clearly trying to argue with me, making one mistake on top of another."
The emperor fell silent, shrinking into a quail, letting the founding emperor, who had conquered the country on horseback, beat him mercilessly.
After a while, when "Grand Ancestor" had calmed down, he asked timidly, "Grand Ancestor, what are your instructions for summoning your grandson this time?"
"Emperor Taizu" glared at him, gritting his teeth. After a long sigh, he said, "You bastard... By all accounts, I have become an immortal and should no longer interfere in human affairs. The rise and fall of this dynasty is none of my business. But... alas, you are clearly capable, yet you have committed such atrocities, causing the people to suffer greatly. It makes me very uneasy."
The emperor was taken aback, and at the same time felt as if his face was burning.
"If you truly wish to become an immortal, I will point you in a path: cultivate merit. It's far more effective than taking those random medicines. I'll just tell you one thing: even if you were to one day get incredibly lucky and obtain some elixir of immortality, you'd be struck back by divine lightning from the heavens."
The "Emperor Taizu" spoke a few words to him, which the emperor remembered.
When they were sending him back, "Emperor Taizu" instructed again: "Deal with those swindlers you recruited as you see fit, and don't let them harm the innocent."
The emperor nodded repeatedly, when the person in front of him suddenly pushed him off the cloud. The feeling of weightlessness made his heart pound violently, and at the same time, he was terrified because the person on the cloud was gradually disappearing.
"Great Ancestor!"
He sat up abruptly, clutching his still wildly beating heart. Recalling the last look from "Grand Ancestor," his heart felt as if it had been dragged into a boiling oil hell, and his eyes instantly reddened.
"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" a woman's soft voice asked timidly.
Without even glancing at the beauties beside him, he called out for people to come in and help him bathe and change. Ignoring the fact that it was still dark, he summoned the imperial carriage, and with the imperial guards on either side, he hurriedly went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
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