Looking back, it was all like a fairyland.

That single word is filled with murderous intent.

Regardless of whether King Cheng was replaced by a monster or not, he could not escape death. This is the majesty of the emperor.

"The Demon Slayer Division accepted the order." The figure vanished silently from the hall once more. Even with nearly a hundred eyes watching, he disappeared without a trace; no one knew how he left.

This scene still feels incredible no matter how many times I watch it.

The emperor, however, had no time for anything else. He rubbed his forehead again and said, "Court adjourned!"

He was actually not young anymore. He had been forty-five when he ascended the throne nine years earlier, and now, in his sixties, his energy was gradually declining. His grand plans remained unfinished.

He sighed, thinking how wonderful it would be to be eternally young. He didn't want to give up this supreme power easily. But how could there be a thousand-year-old emperor or a thousand-year-old empire in this world?

Reviewing the memorials, he observed that the country remained peaceful and the people safe, with no major incidents occurring. The lights in the palace flickered, while the sky was dotted with stars. As the ruler of a nation, the emperor wasn't as reckless as one might imagine.

But it still attracts countless people.

"By the mandate of Heaven, may your reign be long and prosperous"—how many people can resist such temptation? And he sits in such a position, revered by hundreds of millions. But human greed is insatiable; how many can be satisfied? Perhaps he will be the emperor who reigns for eternity.

Like countless other emperors, he had long sought immortality. The Exorcist Sect was less renowned than the Demon Slayer Division, but they had been searching for a way to prolong the emperor's life, whether through alchemy or miraculous medicine.

Unfortunately, the emperor's martial arts talent was mediocre, and his daily schedule filled nearly every available opportunity. Otherwise, martial arts training would have been a good option. Training in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer requires time and perseverance, something the emperor clearly couldn't achieve, nor could he do.

The physical fitness benefits of starting martial arts training do not significantly extend lifespan.

All it can do is allow you to live to the upper limit of your lifespan without any illness or disaster. To break through the limitations of lifespan, you must cultivate your mind, which is actually similar to cultivating the spirit in the immortal way.

Only with willpower can one break through the limitations of the flesh.

But most of these insights come from life-or-death battles. An extreme desire for survival can break free from constraints, and physical fitness rises with this drive. This is also why martial arts practitioners can achieve longevity. But there's still a limit.

Five hundred years is the limit, both in terms of will and body.

But it is impossible to let the emperor be tempered between life and death.

So the demon-slayers were constantly searching for shortcuts. They searched endlessly through ancient texts for elixirs of immortality, lamps of longevity, pills that increased longevity, and other such discoveries. Whether legends or strange stories, they verified them one by one.

One can imagine the manpower and material resources involved.

But the effect was minimal. It wasn't that there was no effect, just that it wasn't significant. The emperor was now healthy, but only healthy. He could live to seventy or seventy-five.

This was already synonymous with longevity in this era. But the emperor wasn't satisfied. He wanted boundless energy, like a young man, not a broken body lingering on.

Even though he hadn't reached that point yet, it would eventually come, wouldn't it? It was like someone on death row. He wasn't as calm as his father. In fact, his father's death had a profound impact on him.

His first thought that day was: Could such a great being as my father also die?

Would he end up like his father, unable to open his eyes again after closing them once? He couldn't do that. But any shortcut came at a price, and lifespan was difficult to increase.

In other words, it was difficult to be effective on the emperor. For unknown reasons, the exorcists discovered that many methods of increasing lifespan had become ineffective. They dared not speak of this phenomenon.

Perhaps the world simply doesn't allow for the existence of an emperor who reigns for thousands of years. It's destined the moment one becomes emperor. Perhaps this is the curse of this position?

In any case, no method had much effect on the emperor, and the emperor was unlikely to give up this position. There was no solution, so he could only try more, gamble on that one possibility, gamble on that one possibility.

In fact, everyone knows that this may be a delusion.

The emperor was stunned for a moment, then he looked at the memorial in front of him again, only to find to his surprise that the words on the memorial were scrolling and then changing into new words. When he saw these new words clearly, his eyes instantly became sharper.

Because the memorial clearly stated:

Want to live forever?

Those five words struck him directly in the eye, causing his heart to skip a beat. Did he want it? Of course he did. But he also knew he needed to rely on himself, not on these tricky words.

When he wanted to call the Demon Slayer,

The text on the memorial changed again.

If you don't believe it, you can ask yourself. Since ancient times, emperors have been unable to achieve immortality. This is the rule of humanity and also the drawback of this position. Whether it is practicing martial arts or cultivating immortality, it is nothing but useless illusions.

This is the price you have to pay for this position.

You have no hope of immortality.

The words on the memorial kept scrolling, making the emperor look even more unfriendly.

However, the text changed again, as if one could see what the emperor was thinking at the moment.

Why can I grant you immortality?

Why can I break the rules of humanity?

Why should I help you?

What is my purpose?

With each change, the emperor's heart sank. These piercing, yet deeply tempting, words made him subconsciously resist. He desired immortality, but through his own means, not by accepting this inexplicable gift. After all, he knew every gift came with its own hidden price.

But when his eyes rested on the last line of words, he couldn't help but breathe heavier.

Find it yourself.

The Kunlun Mountains in the sea are in the northwest.

Elixir of Immortality!!!

The emperor carefully examined the words on the memorial. For no apparent reason, he touched them with his finger. The next moment, the words twisted once more, then returned to their original form.

But the words "Kunlun Void, in the Northwest, the Elixir of Immortality" kept echoing in his mind. He desperately didn't want to believe the other party's hesitant and ambiguous words. But the words "Elixir of Immortality" seemed to possess a magical power, imprinted on his mind and impossible to erase; he found it difficult to forget them.

The long period of daze made the old eunuch beside him realize that something was wrong.

&34;Your Majesty! His Majesty! His Majesty! &34;

The calls came from far away and got closer, waking the emperor up in an instant, and his eyes became clear.