Longevity Candle

Chapter 92 Why the Demand for Immortality, and the Reluctance to Continue?
With the witness of all the people, Emperor Yunmeng rode a dragon to defy the will of Heaven, and the news quickly spread to Ning Kingdom.

Just then, a shocking piece of news broke in the Ningguo Palace.

"Your Majesty, you have passed away while riding the dragon."

After Li Qingping, the deaths of emperors of Ningguo were all described as "riding a dragon to the heavens."

Initially, it was to commemorate Li Qingping, but now it's just a psychological comfort, a prayer that the emperor can ride a dragon to the heavens and see the ancient immortals.

"Impossible! His Majesty is in his prime and has cultivated martial arts. How could he possibly ride a dragon away at this moment?"

The imperial concubines, court officials, palace eunuchs, and martial artists of the Taiping Dao were all stunned by the news.

Emperor Ning was a man of great talent and ambition, and his martial arts skills were also remarkable. The palace physicians had also taken great care of his health. How could he have died young?
One by one, highly skilled medical officers examined the cause of death.

Officials, concubines, princes, and princesses were all waiting outside.

After examining the patients, the physicians looked horrified and exclaimed, "Poisoning?"

"How could it be poisoning?"

The physicians were stunned. After repeated examinations, they finally had to believe that the Emperor Ning had been poisoned.

"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Seal off the entire palace and find the murderer! I will have him torn to pieces and his entire family executed!"

Immediately, the entire palace was placed under martial law, and people were filled with fear.

The fact that an emperor was poisoned in the palace sent chills down everyone's spine.

That's the emperor, the emperor of Ningguo!

Going back several dynasties, no kingdom could compare to Ningguo today.

Just now, news came from the south that the Yunmeng Kingdom had been destroyed.

The achievement of destroying a nation!

Yet, in such a powerful nation, the emperor died deep within the palace.

Was it the work of mountain and sea spirits, or immortal masters and Taoist priests?
They quickly identified several people: the Emperor Ning's personal eunuch, the people from the Imperial Kitchen, and the physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy.

Inside the Imperial Hospital.

An old man stopped writing, his expression furious.

"Why? I've already let go of my hatred, so why did you push open that door? Why did you ask about immortality?!"

The old man murmured to himself, gazing out the window at the chaotic palace: "I am not like you. At first, I did not seek any peace. I only knew that I was a descendant of Peach Blossom Spring, and I only thought of repaying kindness and avenging wrongs!"

“I didn’t seek immortality. I wanted revenge, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. He did not betray his ambition for peace. He was a monarch of great talent and ambition.”

But when he pushed open that door, seeking the forbidden path to immortality, the Path to Immortality returned... They were searching for the Green Lamp...

"I had no choice but to take action. With the country stable, he began to crave immortality, and the elixir of life!"

“I have read through the secret scrolls. The national policy of Ningguo was actually decided by the founding emperor and the Qingping ancestor. It also stipulated that a crown prince should be established early. Why didn’t you issue the edict to establish the crown prince?”

I found the will left by the founding emperor, which stated that those who attain immortality must die! I did it, and I succeeded, but I felt no satisfaction from revenge…

"I will leave a will. It was the spirits of the mountains and seas and the immortal masters who guided me to poison the emperor. My ambition for peace had just begun, so why did I contact the path to immortality? Why was I unwilling to continue..."

“My name is Li Wanyun. I am a man who betrayed the cause of peace and disappointed my brothers. I deceived them with the promise of immortality. They will never look for me again. I have devoted my whole life to studying poison and medicine, all for this day.”

"I succeeded..."

Black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. He didn't know if what he did was right or wrong, nor did he want to argue about it.

At first, all he remembered was that Taoyuan Village was destroyed by the Ningguo Emperor, his home was gone, and all his relatives died under the Ningguo army.

But after meeting the Emperor of Ningguo and witnessing the prosperous world, he settled down to be a royal physician and treated the Emperor's health.

The concubines, princes, and princesses all knew that he was highly skilled in medicine and could also develop medicinal herbs to aid in cultivation, so they almost all vied to have him treat them.

He seemed to have forgotten the blood feud in Peach Blossom Spring. Although he felt guilty every day, he still upheld the ambition for peace.

Emperor Ning desired immortality and even began to contact the Daoist sect of immortality, intending to prolong his life and rule the country forever.

"Peach Blossom Spring, we can never go back."

He murmured, completely losing his life.

The imperial guards rushed into the room and saw the most skilled imperial physician, and the last letter he had left behind.

"My name is Li Wanyun. I come from Taoyuan. In my childhood, peace and tranquility prevailed. Taoyuan was carefree, without war or troubles, and farmers owned their own land..."

"That day, the army of Ningguo stormed into Taoyuan. They destroyed Taoyuan, ruined my home, killed my father and mother, and killed my grandparents..."

“I buried my hatred deep in my heart and went to seek the help of immortals, hoping that they could avenge me. I met the alligator spirit, who taught me medicine, how to use poison, and guided me to Ning Kingdom to join the Imperial Medical Academy. I looked for an opportunity and succeeded.”

"Peach Blossom Spring, what is Peach Blossom Spring?"

Empress Ningguo's eyes flashed with cold light: "When did Ningguo destroy Peach Blossom Spring? The Way of Peace, Zhang Youwei!"

The elderly Zhang Youwei replied in a low voice: "The Taiping Secret Scroll, during the reign of Emperor Yongning, a white fox entered the world. The alligator dragon looked out and carved a road through the mountains, so he sent the Taiping Dao with a page of Taiping. The emperor ordered the dragon energy to suppress the white fox and the alligator dragon. He found Peach Blossom Village, saw the white fox and the alligator dragon, and took action to suppress them."

"The Peach Blossom Sword Technique of Taoyuan Village was practiced by a man who claimed to be a descendant of the Taiping Dao Master. His skill was said to be astounding, and he guarded a chapter of peace. However, he was ultimately no match for the army, and Taoyuan Village was destroyed."

According to the secret scroll, no one was left alive in Peach Blossom Spring at that time, and the white fox and the alligator dragon disappeared without a trace.

This is a secret kept by Emperor Yongning. Apart from the leader of the Taiping Dao, only the new leader of the Taiping Dao and the new emperor of Ningguo can access it by reading the secret scroll.

He only recently learned this from flipping through the secret scrolls, and he never expected that the Peach Blossom Village, which was completely wiped out back then, would still have descendants.

Zhang Youwei would naturally not bring up such a disgraceful matter, as the Emperor of Ning was busy with state affairs and should not have seen it.

"I once heard a word in the southern kingdom of Yunmeng: 'May Peach Blossom Spring protect us, and may we live in peace and tranquility.'" A general said with a grim expression.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" the Empress scolded angrily.

The general hurriedly knelt down and said, "At the time, I thought it was just a slogan of the Yunmeng clan, and there was nothing supernatural about it."

He was innocent; almost no one knew about this, let alone a general like him who was fighting on the front lines.

Those who participated back then either died of old age, died in battle, or were silenced.

"Find them! We must find the people of Peach Blossom Spring!"

The Empress issued an order: "All physicians of the Imperial Hospital, immediately examine all princes and concubines in the harem to see if anyone else has been poisoned. Furthermore, I hereby order the entire country to hunt down and kill the alligator dragon, leaving no survivors!"

……

The news of Emperor Ning's poisoning has been temporarily suppressed.

The wealthy and powerful people in Yunmeng, far away, began their revelry.

Because they received an imperial decree, Emperor Ning sold Yunmeng to them, leaving them free to fight over it.

In the previous battle, Chen Xuanzhi was killed, and the Ningguo army suffered heavy losses.

The powerful and wealthy had no doubt that Ningguo no longer had the ability to conquer Yunmeng.

As for going back to attack Ningguo?
They are not stupid. The capable soldiers under their command were all migrated from Ningguo. If they rebelled, very few would follow them.

But Yunmeng was different; they had a legitimate reason for joining the competition and spent a lot of money to buy their qualification.

They didn't want to spend money, but they still had to maintain appearances, since Ningguo had only suffered heavy losses, not that it had no resources left.

More importantly, Ningguo provided them with armor and weapons, thus controlling them!

The powerful and wealthy picked up knives, ready to cut up the cake that was Yunmeng.

In various parts of Yunmeng, some officials led the people to relocate, while others opened the city gates and surrendered.

Those officials who surrendered did not choose to live on, but instead chose to die for their country.

The clans and the powerful finally clashed.

How could the powerful and wealthy tolerate their clans occupying their land and seizing their interests?

The clan hates Yunmeng, and they also hate these powerful people. If they want to seize everything from them, they have to ask if the people agree.

Amidst the chaos, there always remained a group of people, their expressions resolute, searching for traces of immortals. They witnessed divine wonders, and saw the Cloud Dream Emperor riding a dragon to defy the Heavenly Dao.

The celestial light guided them, and they followed the path of their past battle in the heavens.

"There are immortals in the world. Emperor Yunmeng angered the immortals, who then unleashed divine punishment, destroying Emperor Yunmeng."

One by one, those seeking immortality recounted the sins of the Cloud Dream Emperor.

Someone found divine blood in the mountains.

Someone found hair and scales in the mountains, rivers, and lakes.

These were all descended from the immortals and possess the power of the immortals.

Just as they thought, these things did indeed possess the faint power of mountain and sea spirits and immortal masters.

But ordinary people can hardly bear it.

Some who sought immortality died from the rotting of their internal organs, some were corrupted and went mad, and some had their bodies set ablaze by the divine light and burned to ashes.

The spirits of mountains and seas, immortal masters and Taoists, are merely remnants of their blood and fur; for mortals without any foundation, they are divine wonders beyond their grasp.

Unrest has also broken out in Qiuyue City. In order to prepare for the impending crisis, the Chang family has begun to conscript soldiers.

They conscripted men everywhere, even at the Peach Blossom Tavern.

Chang Sen couldn't protect them anymore. Li Zhu was already old, but the Chang family didn't care about that now.

In this life-or-death crisis, the old, the weak, women, and children all had to fight for the Chang family.

Li Zhu didn't want to get involved, so he unleashed a sword strike, the blade's edge piercingly sharp.

At this moment, Qiuyue City realized that the owner of Peach Blossom Tavern was actually a highly skilled wandering swordsman.

That night, the streets were deserted, and no one dared to linger outside, all knowing that the Chang family was about to make their move.

A middle-aged man led more than ten young people to the Peach Blossom Tavern.

Countless venomous snakes came from afar, taking advantage of the night to crawl towards the Peach Blossom Tavern.

The art of controlling snakes!

"In this Autumn Moon City, no one can defy the Chang family, not even a wandering swordsman!" The middle-aged man's expression was full of arrogance.

But the next moment, the venomous snakes turned around and crawled away at an even faster speed, as if they had seen something terrifying.

The middle-aged man's expression changed; he felt fear emanating from the venomous snakes.

Looking up, above the tavern, a golden snake gazed at the bright moon, spitting out its moonlight.

It made no attempt to chase after them, but simply lay there, and the myriad snakes fled in terror.

Snake King!

The middle-aged man's expression was fanatical. If he could obtain a snake king, he could command all snakes. The entire Chang family only had three snake kings.

The earth trembled, and three enormous pythons appeared from three directions, their stench filling the air.

The golden snake glanced sideways, a hint of disdain flashing in its eyes. "Just an ordinary snake king."

The three giant pythons stopped 300 meters away, staring at the golden snake, not daring to go any further.

A silver light burst forth, and a figure in white robes arrived riding on clouds, standing beside the golden snake.

"Immortal, immortal..."

The middle-aged man stared in horror at the figure in white. It was a deity, and the Chang family also worshipped deities.

However, immortals would absolutely not want to go to war with each other unless something unexpected happens.

Li Qingxuan looked at him quietly, her eyes calm, her voice ethereal: "This place is just a tavern."

"Yes, yes." The middle-aged man hurriedly kowtowed and responded repeatedly.

The three giant pythons left without looking back, not daring to face the immortal master.

Everything returned to calm, as if nothing had happened, except for the golden snake, which continued to breathe in the moonlight from the rooftop.

Peach Blossom Tavern has become a special place in Autumn Moon City, and even members of the Chang family would not cause trouble there.

In addition to the family of three, there was an extra baby and a fox.

Hu Ling, looking distressed, said from behind, "I really don't know how to take care of children."

“I don’t know either,” Li Qingxuan said.

"I certainly won't," Gu Pingsheng said matter-of-factly. "Have you ever seen an emperor personally take care of his children?"

"This is your younger brother," Hu Ling said angrily.

"Thank you for your hard work, Fairy Fox." Gu Pingsheng quickly said, "I'll go out and do good deeds to thank you, Fairy Fox."

Hu Ling was furious. This was really bullying the fox; they actually made her take care of the child.

"My mother will take care of me, so don't be angry," Li Qingxuan comforted her. "It's just that I've reached a crucial point in my research, and I really need you to look after me."

"I also want to study the Taiyin Soul Refining Technique," Hu Ling muttered, but stopped making a fuss.

The backyard quieted down as everyone got busy with their own tasks.

Gu Pingsheng carried the peach wood lantern and floated out. Protected by the moonlight, he was not afraid of the sunlight.

Although he is no longer the emperor, these are still his subjects, and he needs to send them away.

The tavern was peaceful and carefree, while outside, war raged and smoke billowed everywhere.

The clans were forced to rise up in rebellion to defend their homeland.

Their methods were revealed to the public for the first time: the Wolf Guard, Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, Elephant Cavalry, and various wild beasts from the deep mountains emerged from the forests.

The clans' actions caught the powerful and wealthy families of Ningguo completely off guard, causing them heavy losses.

Poisonous insects, rodents, and ants were all used, and even herds of cattle were employed.

Fortunately, these clans were fighting their own battles and were scattered, so there was still hope.

The people of Yunmeng suffered the most; their clans forced them to fight, and the powerful and wealthy of Ningguo treated them like dirt.

Left with no other choice, they could only join a clan, at least that way they could at least have something to eat.

The land was engulfed in flames, the mountains and rivers were ravaged, and corpses littered the fields.

Gu Pingsheng was heartbroken every time he saw the soul being sent away, but now that it was a wandering spirit, it could no longer care about human affairs. All he could do was pray to heaven for an afterlife.

To his delight, the officials who had served him followed his orders and led the people under their jurisdiction to relocate to the mountains and forests.

Although it was difficult to survive by begging in the mountains, at least some embers could be preserved.

In the first year of the chaos, countless people died or were injured, while the powerful and wealthy clans were evenly matched and relatively restrained.

However, as news spread that Ningguo was unable to wage war, these clans became ambitious.

Emperors and generals are not born, and all people can compete for the throne.

The words of the Yunmeng Emperor continued to provoke these clan forces.

In the second year of the chaotic era, a farmer named Wang Sheng, carrying a hoe, uttered words that would resonate through the ages: "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny? I will carry on the legacy of the late emperor and protect my Yunmeng land!"

In just one year, countless people responded, and people from all over the country joined in, creating a massive movement.

The powerful and influential families of Ningguo, and the clans of Yunmeng, were all their enemies.

Unfortunately, in just the third year, Wang Sheng became a new wealthy and powerful figure, indulging in pleasure and losing all desire to wage war, while oppressing the common people.

And it was in this same year that shocking news arrived from the north: the Emperor of Ningguo had passed away…

(End of this chapter)