Mysterious mirror hanging high

[Year 545 of the Changsheng calendar]

Zhao State's Imperial Capital, Prince Ping's Palace

A handsome young man in a blue satin python robe was sitting cross-legged in the pavilion in the back garden of the palace. In each hand he held a flawless, round jade bead the size of a baby's fist, and he seemed to be dozing with his eyes closed.

"call--"

Jing Yu slowly opened his eyes and let out a breath.

"This jasper bead is indeed an item related to the world of immortal cultivation. Its body-refining effect may not be as good as that of plant essences like the Vermilion Fruit, but it is more durable. One bead can be enjoyed for five or six years, and the accumulated benefits are enough to be equivalent to half a thirty-year-old Vermilion Fruit."

"In this way, the sixth level of the [Bitter Crossing Sutra] has been polished to perfection. I don't know when I can break through to the seventh level."

Looking at the two jade beads in his hand whose light had dimmed slightly, Jing Yu was very content.

It is now the 27th year of Xiangfu, and a full 26 years have passed since Zhao Mingcheng ascended the throne. Jing Yu is 45 years old.

In the third year of Zhao Mingcheng's reign, Prince Kang Zhao Mingyue died in the imperial prison. When Prince Xuan Zhao Minglou heard about this, he was frightened every night. It was said that he suffered from anxiety and his health deteriorated day by day. He finally died in the eleventh year of Xiangfu.

Jing Yu's biological mother, Li Anruo, passed away due to illness three years ago at the age of seventy-three, which was considered extremely long-lived in the common people of Zhao State. She did not have any regrets at the moment of her death. She just gently grasped one of Jing Yu's hands, said "Come with excitement, leave when excitement is gone", and passed away with a smile, looking very free and easy.

Jing Yu followed his mother's will and politely declined Zhao Mingcheng's proposal to move Li Anruo's body to the imperial mausoleum. He burned his mother's body into ashes and buried it in the courtyard of his own palace. He planted a ginkgo tree on it. Now, three years have passed, and it is growing quite well.

"Report!"

A palace guard led a young eunuch into the palace in a hurry and went straight to the back garden.

"Your Majesty! His Majesty urgently summons you!"

"What?" Jing Yu had a vague guess.

The young eunuch trembled and said, "Your Majesty is on his deathbed..."

Jing Yu closed his eyes and sighed slightly: "I know, you go back first, I'll be there soon."

This day finally came.

Zhao Mingcheng is thirteen years older than Jing Yu, and now he is only fifty-eight years old, but he is already unable to function.

Jing Yu did not waste any time. With his current level of body refining at the sixth level, he did not need to escape underground. Just running long distances on foot was already very fast. He arrived at the palace in less than half a minute.

At this time, the imperial guards could be seen patrolling everywhere in the palace, and the few palace maids and eunuchs that were occasionally encountered also seemed to be in a hurry. Jing Yu walked through half of the palace and came to the gate of Chongming Hall.

"Here again..."

Jing Yu looked up at the plaque of Chongming Hall, and his mind was in a trance. He didn't expect that Zhao Mingcheng's life would end here. There was a faint sense of fate.

"Prince, you are here! His Majesty has just woken up, please come in quickly!" An elderly eunuch was guarding the door of the palace. When he saw Jing Yu, he couldn't help but urge him.

"Ok?"

Jing Yu frowned suddenly. He listened attentively and found that there were more than a hundred people in Chongming Hall. Among them, seventy or eighty had long breaths and were obviously martial arts masters with successful internal qi.

Fourth brother!

What is this going to do...

I am really getting old and confused!

With Jing Yu's current strength, he would not be afraid at all even if seventy or eighty martial arts masters came together. However, the quick and decisiveness with which he had killed the innate masters with a single hammer and captured the enemy generals in the battle array in the midst of thousands of troops that day had all disappeared from Jing Yu's body at this moment.

Jing Yu, who had never hesitated for more than forty years, actually hesitated outside the gate of Chongming Palace.

"Your Majesty?"

Seeing the well-known King Ping standing there like a wooden stake, the old eunuch was actually at a loss: "What are you doing?"

"Huh, nothing, let's go in and take a look." Jing Yu had a complicated expression, but finally stepped over the threshold.

It was still daytime outside the hall, but the eternal lamp had been lit inside Chongming Hall. As the flame at the wick flickered, Jing Yu walked step by step towards Zhao Mingcheng who was lying on the main seat in the hall.

He looked around and found that there were no swordsmen behind the pillars in the hall as he had imagined. The breathing sounds mostly came from behind the wall. He guessed that the walls of Chongming Hall must have been specially modified by Zhao Mingcheng, and several secret compartments had been dug to hide people.

There were only two people standing below Zhao Mingcheng's main seat. One was a young man, and the other was an old man in a red robe with white hair and beard and age spots all over his face.

The young man was none other than the current Crown Prince of Zhao, Zhao Chenglu; the old man in the red robe was an old acquaintance of Jing Yu, Xu Fang, the former Prime Minister of the Cabinet. Although he had retired and no longer held the position of Prime Minister, he was the only remaining veteran minister in the previous generation of civil service system in the Zhao court.

Xu Fang is eighty-nine years old this year, right?

Jing Yu was speechless when he saw the old man. This former Prime Minister had sent away the late Emperor Zhao Sheng, but he didn't expect that he could actually starve Zhao Mingcheng to death.

"Sixth Uncle!" Zhao Chenglu, who was only 25 years old, quickly helped Zhao Mingcheng, who was lying flat on his back, and said repeatedly, "Father has been waiting for you for a long time!"

Xu Fang, who was so old that only a skeleton remained, opened his wrinkled eyes with some effort and looked at Jing Yu, who still looked like a young man, with a complicated expression: "Your Highness, it's been a long time since we last met."

Jing Yu nodded but didn't say anything. Now was not the time to exchange pleasantries.

Jing Yu looked at the aging Zhao Mingcheng. He was surprised to find that the emperor, who originally had a pair of thick eyebrows, had become much thinner. Perhaps because he was about to die, Zhao Mingcheng's spirit seemed to be even worse than that of the 89-year-old Xu Fang.

"Sixth brother." Zhao Mingcheng's hoarse voice echoed in Chongming Hall: "You are still as young as you were more than 20 years ago."

"But I am going to die."

"Fourth brother..." Jing Yu opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

"Sixth brother, you are now an immortal. You have entered the immortal path, right?"

Zhao Mingcheng suddenly stood up from his seat, pushed away the prince who was supporting him, and said with bloodshot eyes: "I heard that immortals all have ways to prolong life. Do you have any?"

"I, I don't ask for thousands of years, just three to five years will do!"

Zhao Mingcheng stumbled over to Jing Yu, his nearly dry hands tightly grasping the cuffs of Jing Yu's blue satin python robe, and said in a mournful voice:

"I am only fifty-eight years old this year! I have always been very attentive to health preservation and have never indulged in excessive sexual activities. When it comes to diligence, I am nowhere near as diligent as the previous emperor! How did I end up like this now?"

"Why did even the late emperor live longer than me?"

Zhao Mingcheng was between life and death, and tears streamed down his face in fear:

"Sixth brother, Mingjing! You and I have the best relationship among all the royal heirs. Since we are brothers, can you please save me?"

"I...I don't want to die!"

"I don't want to die!"