Longevity: Sweeping Across the World as an Eunuch

Chapter 59: Chapter 55: Great Zhou Xuanlong Dynasty

Emperor Jianwu was dead.

Annihilated, body and soul, by that single sword strike.

High above in the heavens, the Giant Whale cried out as if in celebration, and the swirling snowstorm grew ever larger.

"Master Su, you..."

Xu Han was utterly stunned.

’So Master Su was this powerful all along. He never needed anyone to worry about him. The level of that sword strike... it must have been at the Peak, or perhaps even beyond it.’

"Master Su, this Thousand-year-old Ginseng King... I shouldn’t have taken it. It should have been for you. I’ve wasted this Treasure Medicine..."

Xu Han’s aura was faint and growing weaker by the second.

The Big Red Python Robe, which had once fit him perfectly, now hung loosely on his withered, emaciated frame.

He was once a handsome and vigorous man in his thirties, a Peak-level expert of his generation and the Chief Eunuch of the Western Depot. But now, with a full head of white hair, he was as withered as an old man on the verge of death.

If not for the swirling snowstorm that slowed the drain on his vitality, he likely would have aged to death in an instant.

CLAP. CLAP. CLAP!

A round of applause echoed out.

The Little Emperor, who had been kneeling on the ground, scrambled to his feet. With a look of profound emotion, he walked toward Su Chen and exclaimed excitedly.

"Lord Su, Lord Xu, you have performed a meritorious service in protecting the throne! You helped me execute my wicked father and remove this poisonous tumor that plagued the Great Liang Dynasty. You have rendered a great service, an immense service!"

"I will surely reward you handsomely!"

As he spoke, the Little Emperor approached, his eyes welling with tears. He was about to kneel before Su Chen to perform the rite of acknowledging him as a father.

"Lord Su, I still remember how you saved me back then in the Library Pavilion! To think that you have saved me again today... How about I honor you as my Uncle?"

"Then, you will be second to one and above all others!"

Su Chen remained silent, his gaze fixed on the Little Emperor with an inscrutable expression.

’Is he not satisfied?’

The Little Emperor was secretly annoyed.

’He really doesn’t know what’s good for him.’

"How about this? I shall create the position of Supreme Supervisor for you. You and I, Uncle, can share the Great Liang Dynasty and its people."

The Little Emperor ventured.

Still, Su Chen said nothing.

The Little Emperor grew angry.

"Su Chen, don’t be too greedy! The Immortal Treasure is an heirloom of my Great Liang! Without me, the sole remaining direct descendant of the Great Liang Royal Family, no one can control the Giant Whale, let alone obtain its Longevity Blood, acquire its Immortal Skill, or glimpse the path to Grandmaster!"

"I am your equal!"

"Don’t you go too far!"

The Little Emperor’s face was grim. This was his true nature.

Longevity Blood? Immortal Skill?

Did Su Chen care about such things?

He did not.

He was a monster of Longevity himself and had no need for life extension. As for the Immortal Skill and glimpsing the path to Grandmaster, he walked the Extreme Realm path of the Eighteen Golden Body Technique. After reaching the stage of refining his Internal Organs, it seemed his Path of Cultivation was already different from any other in the world.

"Long-lived Giant Whale... you pitiful creature. I will not end up like you."

Su Chen looked up at the Giant Whale.

In the next instant, he moved to the edge of the Bottomless Abyss.

Just as he’d expected.

There was a set of Void Chains, seemingly rising from the depths of the earth, piercing through the body of the Giant Whale in the sky and trapping it for all eternity, unable to leave.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

"These Spiritual Lock Chains can only be controlled by the bloodline of the Great Liang Royal Family using a Secret Technique... Ah! What are you doing?"

The Little Emperor’s smug words came to an abrupt halt.

SNAP!

The chains shattered.

With his Dust-Washing Sword, Su Chen had severed the shackles that had bound the Giant Whale for so long.

The Giant Whale cried out!

It sped away into the distance.

Though it lacked a conscious Soul Spirit, its instincts made it despise this place. It yearned to leave, to return to its home at the far end of the Endless Sea.

The raging snowstorm receded with it.

"What am I doing?"

"Releasing the Giant Whale, of course."

After speaking, he lifted his gaze to the white-robed corpse on the ground, now encased in ice, and said coldly.

"How long are you going to play dead?"

"If you don’t give chase now,"

"You’ll never catch up to your body."

Without hesitation.

The ice sculpture shattered.

The White-robed Chu Master gave Su Chen a deep look, seemingly unable to understand why this member of the Human Race would do such a thing.

Its body was a priceless treasure.

An Immortal Treasure!

It could make one a Master of Creation as easily as turning over one’s hand, yet he wasn’t tempted.

"If you are ever fortunate enough to ascend to immortality, you may seek me at the end of the Endless Sea. Consider this a debt I, Xueluo, owe you!"

With that, the White-robed Chu Master strode away on the wind and vanished without a trace.

"A special Longevity Fire that can sustain life for a thousand years."

"Such a powerful life form."

"Yet it was no match for the venomous Human Heart."

The Grand Ancestor of Liang’s only son, Liang Chuye, was born with a Spiritual Root. He suffered a cultivation deviation while practicing a Cultivation Skill, and his lifespan was depleted.

Left with no choice,

The Grand Ancestor of Liang used the Giant Whale’s Longevity Blood to extend the Crown Prince’s life. He fell right into the Giant Whale’s trap. Its soul, which had been scattered by Soul Annihilating Grass, began to reconsolidate within Liang Chuye’s body.

And so,

began three hundred years of grievances and strife. The Great Liang Dynasty was thrown into turmoil, with repeated Palace assassinations, Demon Fiend uprisings, and even outright rebellions by the Princes.

The hand of this "Master Chu" was behind it all.

But now, all of it was over.

"Three hundred years of conflict between immortal and mortal have come to an end."

"And it’s time for the Great Liang to end as well."

Su Chen stood with his hands behind his back. Both of his arms were covered in a dense network of fissures in his flesh, from which no blood flowed. They were not healing.

"Su Chen! You Castrated Dog, do you have any idea what you’ve done?"

"You let the Immortal Treasure of my Great Liang escape!"

"My Immortal Treasure!"

"You may not want the Immortal Treasure, but others do! How could my Great Liang raise a treacherous dog like you!"

The Little Emperor was fuming, his body trembling as he watched the distant Giant Whale disappear.

He felt as if his entire world had been destroyed.

Without the Immortal Treasure, how could he ever create the strongest Great Liang Dynasty?! How could he surpass his father and become an immortal Grandmaster Emperor, living for three hundred years?!

Su Chen turned his gaze toward the Little Emperor.

"My apologies."

"Uncle, I lost my composure."

The Little Emperor started, a chill running down his spine. Only then did he remember that the man before him was the number one expert in the world, the Wind Snow Little Grandmaster, who had just slain his Grandmaster father.

"It’s all right."

Su Chen said.

The Little Emperor breathed a silent sigh of relief.

But Su Chen’s next words sent a shiver through his entire body.

"In any case, from the very beginning, you were next after I killed Emperor Jianwu."

"So there’s no need for you to apologize."

"Cursing me a little doesn’t matter either."

BOOM!

A mere sweep of blood-red Flame, and the Little Emperor, in his terror, was reduced to ashes.

Great Liang had fallen!

There was no longer an Emperor!

"Master Su, I’m so cold..."

With the snowstorm gone, Xu Han was fading fast. His vitality was rapidly dissipating, and he was growing older by the moment. His Longevity Fire had dwindled to a single spark.

"We’re going home."

Su Chen lifted Xu Han onto his back and walked step by step through the snow, heading out of the Imperial City.

The swirling snow fell upon Su Chen’s body.

It was cold.

But his heart was colder.

After tonight, he had one less old friend.

"Master Su."

"I want to see the peach blossoms bloom."

"Alright!"

Su Chen broke off a withered peach branch, crushed it into a fine powder, and infused it with the Longevity True Qi he was reluctant to even use for his own healing.

And so,

wherever Su Chen walked, the mountains and fields bloomed with peach trees.

"Master Su."

"I betrayed my godfather."

"That night, outside the Library Pavilion... I saw godfather’s aura weaken as he fled inside. When Empress Dugu led her troops to surround the place... it was actually... I was the one who informed on him."

"I was too desperate to climb higher. I thought godfather was so strong, that nothing would happen to him, but in the end..."

On Su Chen’s back, Xu Han wept uncontrollably.

"I know."

Su Chen had known all along.

Outside the Library Pavilion.

In the carriage of the Second-Grade Red Robe.

He had seen Xu Han’s Longevity Fire.

"Will godfather forgive me?"

Xu Han asked.

His voice grew fainter and fainter.

"He probably will."

"He wasn’t a petty man."

"Besides."

"You’re with me."

Su Chen said.

His Longevity True Qi was pouring into Xu Han’s body, but unfortunately, it passed right through him as if through empty air.

"That’s good..."

Xu Han’s voice trailed off.

At that moment, the snow stopped.

Su Chen stopped as well.

Outside the Imperial City.

On Cyan Mountain.

The mountains and fields were covered in peach trees. A gentle breeze stirred, sending countless peach blossoms fluttering through the air, their intoxicating fragrance seeming to send off someone’s soul.

Xu Han was dead.

Su Chen buried him outside the Imperial City, deep within Cyan Mountain, next to Zhang Gui’s lonely grave. Su Chen took a drink, then poured the White Confucian Wine in his hand before the tombstone.

"This White Confucian Wine tastes more and more bitter."

"Zhang Gui, did you see? The Great Liang has fallen. Han wanted to accomplish for you what you couldn’t. In truth, you never blamed him, did you?"

Before the grave, a Hibiscus Tree’s silvery leaves and branches swayed in the wind as if nodding, echoing the peach blossoms that covered the mountain.

"Heh."

"How fitting."

"One Nine Thousand Years from the Eastern Depot, one Nine Thousand Years from the Western Depot. Hahaha."

Su Chen laughed.

It began to rain.

Raindrops splattered against his face.

Just like that year.

This rain... it was so salty.

After two harsh winters and three years of frozen earth, the Great Liang finally welcomed its first spring rain.

...

"Escape!"

"This terrifying Great Liang Imperial City... If I ever set foot in here again in my life, I’m a dog! If anyone ever makes me come here again, I’ll kill their entire clan with a single sword strike..."

Outside the Imperial City.

In a Great Zhou stronghold.

The Great Zhou Longxuan Lord, a Peak First Grade expert and the sole survivor of the expedition to the Imperial City, was trembling as he frantically rummaged through his belongings.

Then, with a torch, he intended to burn away all traces he had left here.

"Wait."

"Why is it so quiet outside?"

"Where are the Profound Clothes Guards?"

Long Xuanjun sensed that something was wrong.

He walked out of his room and into the main hall, where he saw the floor littered with unconscious spies from the Great Zhou Profound Clothes Guard. He was furious.

’Can any Tom, Dick, or Harry just waltz in and push me around now?’

’Do they really think a Peak First Grade expert like me is made of clay?’

A murderous glint grew in Long Xuanjun’s eyes as he looked toward the figure sitting lazily in the hall, sipping tea.

Wait a minute.

Why did he look so familiar?

"I’ve heard that the Emperor of Great Zhou, His Majesty Xuanlong, is benevolent and loves his people. Is that so?"

The man spoke.

VMM!

Long Xuanjun’s knees went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

It turned out he really *was* made of clay.

"Yes!"

"I swear on my life, my royal uncle truly loves the people as his own children. He is a wise and rejuvenating ruler of his generation..."

Long Xuanjun gritted his teeth and finished speaking on his knees, trying to sound defiant.

"Good."

"Let him take over the Great Liang."

"Under Tianwu, Celestial Chaos, and the two Jianwus, the thirty million people of Great Liang have suffered far too much..."

’Could it be...’

’The Grandmaster of Great Liang... he...’

Long Xuanjun was in disbelief.

He wanted to ask something.

But when he looked up, there was no one in the hall. Everything that had just happened felt like a dream.

"Having received your approval, when Great Zhou takes charge of Great Liang, we will certainly love and protect the people, and treat the Liang People as we do the Zhou People! If we violate this vow, I invite you, my lord, to take my head!"

Long Xuanjun kowtowed heavily.

「Fifteenth Year of Jianwu.」

The Great Liang fell!

The Great Zhou Celestial Soldiers took control of Great Liang.

In the final winter of the dynasty’s last years, the Great Zhou Royal Family, along with all its Civil and Military Officials, moved the capital to the Great Liang Imperial Capital.

On Cyan Mountain.

Before two lonely graves.

Su Chen witnessed it all.

"From now on."

"There will be no more Great Liang Jianwu Period. It will be the Great Zhou Xuanlong Dynasty..."

At the end of the Fifteenth Year of Jianwu,

The first year of the Xuanlong Dynasty.

Beyond Cyan Mountain.

Within Su Chen’s body, his Longevity Qi churned like a stormy sea, showing faint signs of breaking through to the Third Grade of Longevity.

"Eighteen years."

"Time passes, and the Human World is ever-changing."

"It’s like a youthful journey; in the blink of an eye, a dream, the world has changed..."