Chapter 454: Emperor Xia's Lifespan

The support of the five great immortal sects regarding the affairs of Jizhou had lifted the Emperor of Xia’s spirits considerably.

He turned immediately to another pressing matter. "You have likely heard that the master of the Corpse-Driving Sect was on the verge of being possessed. However, because his soul-lamp was kept at the Wendao Sect, the cultivators of Great Yu, fearful of detection, stopped short of complete possession, leaving his spirit intact."

"Indeed. While I was cleaning up the aftermath in Han-shui City, that scoundrel Lu Baqian survived his brush with death," Qiu Jin’an scoffed, a cold edge to his voice. "He’s been flaunting his Tribulation-Transcending physique in my face all day. Intolerable."

The Emperor of Xia feigned deafness to Qiu Jin’an’s grumbling and pressed on. "Could we then learn from this occurrence? If we require the other sects to place their soul-lamps with the five great immortal sects and the imperial court, it might serve as a safeguard."

"Fellow Daoist Yun remarked earlier that Great Yu possesses at least four more in the Tribulation-Transcending stage. For a Body-Integration cultivator to possess another of the same level ensures an inevitable struggle, one we would notice. Yet, for a Tribulation-Transcending cultivator to possess someone of the Body-Integration stage is altogether too simple; it can be accomplished in total silence."

"Should an incident like Sect Master Lu’s arise again, a system of soul-lamps would make the Great Yu cultivators think twice, allowing us to preserve at least a single spark of the victim's soul."

"This course of action is viable," Yun Zhi murmured, nodding as she became the first to assent to the Emperor's proposal.

She had conceived a similar measure during her journey here, intending to raise it at the gathering, only for the Emperor of Xia to forestall her.

"I see no objection to this either."

"The Zhenyu Sect deems it feasible."

The Abbot of the Hanging Temple remained silent, offering his tacit approval.

Seeing that a consensus had been reached, the Emperor of Xia continued, "Following our adjournment, I shall have a list drawn up and delivered to each of you, and the specified sects will be notified."

The sects of Great Xia operated under a system of simple registration; so long as they reported to the local government with their numbers, scale, location, and the identity of their leader, the registration was complete, requiring no official scrutiny or approval.

Subsequent alterations, such as a change in leadership, merely required another report to the authorities.

By virtue of this system, Great Xia possessed a flawless understanding of the quantity and whereabouts of its sects, and the officials would rapidly compile the list according to the Emperor's command.

With the weightier matters concluded, the five leaders walked out of the great hall, laughing and conversing with one another. Even the Abbot of the Hanging Temple wore a smile, the atmosphere remarkably harmonious.

Eunuchs and palace maids stood respectfully outside the grand hall, preparing to see off the five sect masters.

"Cough, cough—" The Emperor of Xia, who had been discussing the Silent Daoist with Qiu Jin’an, suddenly erupted into a violent fit of coughing. He clamped a hand over his mouth and nose; when he pulled it away, his palm was flecked with crimson. At his temple, a solitary lock of white hair drifted, stark and jarring amidst his thick, dark mane.

"Your Majesty!" The Chief Eunuch’s soul nearly leaped from his body at the sight. He scrambled forward in desperate strides to support the Emperor.

"Summon the imperial physicians! Quickly, summon the physicians!" The other servants fell into a panicked frenzy, clearly terrified.

"What ails you?" Qiu Jin’an’s brow furrowed deep as he seized the Emperor’s wrist. His countenance shifted instantly.

"How can your body be this frail?"

By all rights, this was impossible. Even provincial governors were shielded by the destiny of the state, rendered immune to all poisons and illnesses. As the sovereign of Great Xia, the Emperor held supreme command over that national destiny; his physical vessel should have been inviolable.

The Emperor of Xia offered a bitter smile and waved his hand, clearly reluctant to elaborate. The Abbot of the Hanging Temple silently chanted a prayer to the Buddha, remaining tight-lipped.

Yun Zhi, possessing the highest cultivation among them, pierced through the Emperor's condition with a single glance. "His lifespan is exhausted."

"His lifespan is exhausted?" Luo Hongxia was taken aback, never imagining that the Emperor would face the expiration of his days, and so abruptly at that.

The Emperor raised his eyes to meet Yun Zhi’s gaze, equally astonished. He was perpetually shrouded by the protective aura of the nation's destiny; no one should have been able to discern his true state. He had not expected her to see through him so easily.

Realizing that concealment was no longer an option, he could only sigh and speak. "After all, I am merely at the Soul-Transformation stage."

Among the six of them, Yun Zhi's cultivation was supreme, while the Emperor's was the lowest.

Ascending the throne bore no direct relation to one's personal strength; no matter how high an emperor's cultivation might be, he could hardly suppress the entire world by his lone might.

"Even so, it makes no sense. You are barely a thousand years old. One in the Soul-Transformation stage should live for fifteen hundred to two thousand years," the Sect Master of Zhenyu muttered, deeply perplexed.

Presently, Great Xia was beset by internal strife and foreign perils. If the Emperor’s health failed—and on the fundamental level of his remaining years—it would inevitably destabilize the realm, drawing out every hidden malice and ambition. This was no auspicious sign.

"When I was the crown prince, I fell grievously ill, my life hanging by a thread. To cure me, countless rare herbs were consumed; even two roots of the Medicine King were used. Alas, my body at the time was too weak to bear such intense nourishment. My life was preserved, but my fundamental lifespan was severely damaged."

The five leaders had heard whispers of this past event, and the elder attendants of the palace knew it well.

"Our sect possesses several lesser Medicine Kings capable of extending life—the Longevity Chuan, the Stone of Boundless Longevity, and the like," Qiu Jin’an offered earnestly. The Emperor could not be permitted to fall at such a juncture.

The Longevity Chuan, which counted eight thousand years as a single spring and another eight thousand as autumn, was a rarity of the world and an unparalleled remedy for lengthening one's days.

The Stone of Boundless Longevity was a mineral that grew continuously each year, though its progress was so glacial as to be imperceptible to the naked eye, taking ten thousand years just to expand a fraction. Shaving off even a few flakes yielded a longevity treasure that would tempt even a Body-Integration cultivator.

Hearing Qiu Jin’an’s words, the Emperor’s eyes flickered with a brief spark before dimming once more. He shook his head gently. "It is futile. I have consumed too many heavenly treasures in the past. The physicians say my body has developed a resistance; no lesser Medicine King will avail me now."

The question of lifespan was absolute, a deficiency that even the national destiny could scarcely replenish. Unless one could transcend into immortality and attain endless days, there was no remedy.

"How much time do you have left?"

"Ten years or so." A man knew his own vessel best.

A heavy silence fell over the gathering. Ten years flew by in the blink of an eye for those who walked the path of cultivation; it was far too brief.

Was the Emperor destined to close his eyes just as the grand curtain of this great era was being raised?

Since his ascension, the Emperor of Xia had labored tirelessly for his realm and his people. The power of Great Xia grew with each passing day, its national destiny thickening, marking him as a rare and wise sovereign who could easily rank among the top three in the empire's history. Could it be that heaven grew jealous of such talent, demanding his demise at so critical a juncture, denying him even a glimpse of the true golden age?

It was unjust.

Yet, even if it were unjust, what recourse did they have?

The Sect Master of Zhenyu could not help but speak out. "There is still time. I shall return and consult with the elders. The world is vast; there must be another way."

He refused to believe that while they might not completely repair the void in the Emperor's lifespan, they could not eke out another several decades or a century.

The five masters of the immortal sects departed the imperial city, taking to the air. In their hearts, each sighed silently as they flew back to their respective domains to search for a solution.

"Come to think of it, the crown prince has not yet been established. There will be another storm of blood and rain."

"Great Yu and Great Qian, the Demon Realm and the Eastern Sea... internal strife and external peril. Now, added to that, the exhaustion of his years. Truly, a season of many troubles."

After the guests had gone, the Emperor of Xia dismissed his attendants and walked alone toward the ancestral grounds of the imperial palace, harboring a faint hope that the ancestors might possess a remedy.