Chapter 871: Faking It

The sound of Guan Shanhai’s voice reverberated throughout the entire Imperial City. From the high-ranking ministers and nobles down to the common citizens, every single person felt a jolt run through their body upon hearing that name.

Even the young children learning to read and write in the private academies had heard of the name "Sage Meng."

He was the ancestor of the Meng family, a figure who had once vied with the Jiang family for dominion over the world. Although the Jiang family had ultimately emerged victorious and established the Great Xia, the Meng family had not been purged like the vanquished of past dynastic struggles. On the contrary, they had flourished exceedingly, rising to become the preeminent clan of the Great Xia.

While this was certainly due in part to the Jiang family’s ancestor remembering their old ties, a far more significant reason lay in the unfathomable depth of the Meng family’s foundations.

The Meng family traced its origins back to the Yu era, but back then, they were merely an ordinary clan. The one who had truly led the family to greatness and glory, accumulating their profound legacy, was Sage Meng, who had become the clan head during the twilight of the Yu dynasty.

"Fellow Daoist Guan, such heavy malice is hardly becoming," Sage Meng remarked, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. He exuded an aura of perfect balance and peace, dissolving the immortal pressure that had blanketed the Imperial City.

"You really have achieved immortality!" If Guan Shanhai had harbored lingering doubts before, Sage Meng's effortless display now confirmed beyond a doubt that the man before him was indeed a fellow immortal.

The appearance of Sage Meng sent shockwaves through everyone present, and that included Meng Jingzhou.

Meng Jingzhou stared blankly at his ancestor floating in the sky above, his mouth gaping wide in astonishment.

Wait a minute, so Old Ancestor, you actually became an immortal?

Mangu was equally stunned. He had only been in the Imperial City for an hour, yet he had already encountered two immortals. He knew that following Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou would always broaden his horizons.

Sage Meng had only ever shown himself at the very beginning of the Great Xia’s founding, and had never appeared again since. People said he had grown disheartened after losing to Jiang Ping'an and had sealed himself away from the world.

Guan Shanhai had believed the same. Jiang Ping'an and Sage Meng were two geniuses of the later generations who shone too brightly for him to ignore; otherwise, he would not have sent his students to teach at the Meng family's private academy in his capacity as the Dean of the Supreme Academy.

Back then, he had witnessed with his own eyes Sage Meng sealing himself away, ordering his descendants to bury him within the mountains of the Meng estate.

Looking at it now, that self-sealing had almost certainly been nothing but a performance for his benefit.

Why would an immortal ever need to seal themselves?

Guan Shanhai stared intently at Sage Meng, racking his brains to figure out exactly when this man had achieved immortality right under his nose, and where the tribulation of immortality had taken place.

Suddenly, realization struck him. Sage Meng had achieved immortality as early as one hundred thousand years ago.

"Back then, Wu Yao and I attained immortality simultaneously during the founding ceremony of the dynasty. It was the same for you and Jiang Ping'an—you both achieved immortality during the final decisive battle!"

"Incredible. For one hundred thousand years, you have never once deployed the power of a Dao Fruit, constantly masquerading as a half-immortal. You truly possess a remarkable capacity for patience. Sage Meng, I have truly underestimated you!"

Sage Meng offered a faint smile. "When it comes to fishing, one must always have patience. See? Doesn't today bring a fine catch?"

Guan Shanhai had always been a cautious and prudent man, avoiding conflict whenever possible. Battles could be won or lost, but as long as he refrained from fighting, he would remain forever undefeated. It was for this very reason that he had lured Jiang Ping'an away; had he known Sage Meng was also an immortal, he would absolutely never have shown himself in the Imperial City.

Acting as though he had not heard Sage Meng’s provocation, Guan Shanhai let out a cold laugh. "When I commanded General Yu to intercept the Celestial Peach, you did not even show your face, watching with open eyes as the Emperor of Xia passed away. You are truly heartless."

These were words meant to murder the heart. Guan Shanhai deliberately raised this matter loudly so that the entire Imperial City could hear it clearly, intending to tell the citizens of Great Xia that their so-called emperor was merely a tool pushed forward by immortals to be manipulated and maneuvered. This was a revelation capable of shaking the emperor's status in the hearts of the people!

Yet, upon hearing this, Sage Meng showed no signs of anxiety, maintaining his relaxed demeanor. "And how can you be so certain that the Emperor of Xia is truly dead?"

"Or rather, did the Emperor of Xia ever truly suffer from an impending end to his lifespan?"

"What do you mean by acting? The Emperor of Xia didn't die of old age? Is it still in time if we deliver the Celestial Peach now?"

The Immortal Fairy had still not fully woken up, continuing to yawn with sleepy eyes. "Celestial Peach? Didn't that girl Yun say she only found one, and that the Spirit Root of Heaven and Earth had vanished to who knows where? Little Yang, you might as well eat such a good thing yourself. Anyway, the Emperor of Xia's exhausted lifespan was all just an act."

"An act?"

Lu Yang was thoroughly shocked. He had originally thought that the "acting" the Immortal Fairy referred to was the Emperor of Xia's passing, but from the sound of it, even the issue with the Emperor's lifespan was a complete fabrication?

Hearing the elevated tone of her second-in-command, the Immortal Fairy finally jarred herself awake and added, "If he were truly about to die, why on earth would this immortal have appointed him as Chancellor?"

"Fairy, did you know from the very beginning that the Emperor of Xia's lifespan was faked?"

"Well, not right from the start. It was during those three months when this immortal served as the acting sect master. Around the time we were preparing to hold the hundred-and-twenty-thousand-year celebration of the Ask Dao Sect, didn't I go to the palace for a meeting and see the Emperor of Xia once? It was then that this immortal realized he was faking it."

"Wasn't that just the very first time you met him!"

This was something even Yun Zhi had not anticipated. The Emperor of Xia's disguise could deceive Lu Yang, could deceive the world, and could even deceive Guan Shanhai, but it could not deceive the Immortal Fairy, who possessed the Immortal Dao Fruit and held dominion over the authority of life and death.

Lu Yang recalled something.

In the beginning, it was his Eldest Senior Sister who had told him and the Fairy that the Emperor of Xia was failing, asking the Fairy if she possessed any immortal treasures capable of extending life. The Immortal Fairy had suggested giving the Emperor of Xia an embryonic form of the Immortal Dao Fruit to make him the fourth-in-command. After Eldest Senior Sister declined the proposal, the Fairy had brought up the matter of the Celestial Peach.

And ever since the Fairy had met the Emperor of Xia at the palace meeting, she had never again mentioned making him the fourth-in-command.

Not only did she drop the subject, but while she was at the palace, after thrashing the four grand sect masters, she had even proposed challenging the Emperor of Xia.

If the Emperor of Xia really had little time left back then, the Immortal Fairy would never have done such a thing.

Lu Yang understood now. From the very beginning, this entire affair was a pit dug specifically for Guan Shanhai.

No wonder Eldest Senior Sister had not delivered the Celestial Peach directly to the palace, but had instead passed it to him through Mangu.

Eldest Senior Sister had never intended for the Emperor of Xia to consume the Celestial Peach to extend his life.

If the Emperor of Xia had extended his lifespan, the power of the national destiny would still reside within him, and Guan Shanhai would never have ventured out into the open.

The true purpose of the Celestial Peach was to provoke Guan Shanhai into intercepting it, thereby convincing him that the Emperor of Xia was truly at death's door.

Guan Shanhai’s expression grew so dark it seemed ready to drip water.

He had never imagined that everything was an illusion.

He had been closely monitoring the Emperor of Xia’s movements recently, and had even observed him at close range in his identity as Dean Qi, yet he had failed to see through the Emperor's disguise.

He was a suspicious person by nature, but the recent upheavals in the Imperial City had genuinely mirrored the actions of an emperor nearing his end: first, the Emperor of Xia had the First Prince masquerade as him to handle state affairs and test his capabilities; then, when the First Prince proved unwilling to inherit the throne, the Emperor systematically eliminated the Fourth and Fifth Princes, forcing the First Prince into a position where he had no choice but to succeed him.

"Excellent, truly excellent. To think that I, Guan, have spent my entire life plotting against others, only to end up being outschemed by a flock of juniors like you!"