Eternal Life as False Emperor

Returning to Baiyu City, Zheng Yi was still pondering why the number of spirit roots possessed by humans in the Spirit Pool World was several times that of the Great Yu World.

Indeed.

Whether ordinary people have spirit roots, and whether this is related to the abundance of spiritual qi in their world, was something Zheng Yi did not know.

However...the proportion of mortals with spirit roots in the Spirit Pool World was a bit too high!

In the Great Yu World, those with spirit roots among mortals are one in ten thousand at most.

He expanded the recruitment of Concubine Candidates around the Capital Region, searching through hundreds of thousands of people to find more than five hundred beauties of extraordinary talent and intelligence, among whom only two had spirit roots.

Yue Chan, Zhuang Yuheng.

And within the entire Imperial Palace, only Noble Consort Cui, Chen Liancang, Dongyun Jie, and Dongyun Yu had spirit roots.

His spirit roots were acquired from Noble Consort Cui, Yue Chan, and Zhuang Yuheng.

Among his ten daughters, he had only tested the spirit roots of five, from the Eldest Princess to the Fifth Princess, and two of them had spirit roots.

The remaining five have yet to be tested.

In other words, there were at most only nine people with spirit roots in the entire Imperial Palace.

And in the Spirit Pool World...

He recalled when he last entered the Spirit Pool World, there were intermittent waves of three or four thousand children living in Spirit Pool B-7.

Most children without spirit roots are sent out early.

Those with spirit roots would stay in the Spirit Pool to cultivate until the age of twelve, then be given to various demons for consumption.

Even so, Zheng Yi clearly remembered that at that time, there were over a hundred children in Spirit Pool B-7 who could stay and cultivate until the age of twelve!

He had lived in Spirit Pool B-7 for twelve years, and there were over a hundred people with spirit roots!

What does this imply?

Where did so many children with spirit roots come from in the demon race's Spirit Pool?

Are they innately endowed?

Or is it that...the demon race has some method to mass-produce spirit roots?

Thinking of this, Zheng Yi couldn't help but feel more excited.

If he could obtain this method of mass-producing spirit roots, or rather, uncover this secret...

Decided!

The next time he enters the Spirit Pool World, he would attempt to find this secret.

There's no need to be obsessed with Liuu Ling'er.

"Before entering the Spirit Pool, I still have some matters to resolve."

Zheng Yi murmured, "Every time I enter closed-door cultivation, it requires at least twelve days, so..."

He took a brush and a decree from the bookshelf, and began to transcribe the Netherworld Scripture from the jade scroll by memory.

Of course, only the Qi Cultivation Chapter.

He planned to give the Netherworld Scripture to Chen Liancang for cultivation; if possible, he could also have him clandestinely search for those with spirit roots among the Shadow Guard, ensuring loyalty while allowing cultivation!

Soon, as the sky brightened, Zheng Yi stopped his hand.

"Elder Chen."

"Your Majesty, this old servant is here."

Zheng Yi placed two sheets of paper in front of Chen Liancang, saying, "Here are two Cultivation Techniques; see which one you choose."

"Whichever Your Majesty wishes for this old servant to cultivate, then this old servant shall cultivate."

"Heh heh heh, you slippery old fox."

Zheng Yi laughed and casually tossed both Cultivation Classics to Chen Liancang.

"Take them both; you decide carefully."

"Also, request some Spirit Testing Talismans from Noble Consort Cui. Try to detect if there are any with spirit roots within the Shadow Guard."

Zheng Yi ordered, "If there are, ensure their loyalty and then reward them by conferring upon them Cultivation Techniques in batches."

"This old servant obeys!"

After Chen Liancang exited, Zheng Yi summoned Liu Cheng'en.

"Your Majesty."

"Where has Xu Xuanwu been escorted to?"

Liu Cheng'en replied, "Returning to Your Majesty, Xu Xuanwu is being escorted by Lords Chen Zhong and Chen Yi. The latest news from three thousand miles away is that they have entered Jinggzhou and should return to the Capital City in about half a month."

"Half a month, eh..."

Zheng Yi murmured, that's enough.

"I shall go into closed-door cultivation, and matters of state shall be handled by the Ritual Department and the Cabinet."

"Understood!"

"Military affairs will proceed according to the plans I discussed with the Grand General."

"Understood!"

"You may go now~"

Liu Cheng'en left, while Zheng Yi closed his eyes.

Currently, he has three Cultivation Techniques.

The Great Five Elements Life and Death Scripture, Netherworld Scripture, Spirit Eating Technique.

The Great Five Elements Life and Death Scripture he planned to cultivate himself, although his spirit root aptitude now was only Four Spirit Roots, lacking the Fire Attribute Spirit Root.

But he believed that as long as he found a woman with a Fire Attribute Spirit Root, he could immediately obtain the Fire Attribute Spirit Root.

The Netherworld Scripture was to be given to Chen Liancang and other Shadow Guards with spirit roots for cultivation.

This technique belongs to the Yin attribute, very suitable for eunuchs to cultivate.

Moreover, he possessed the entire content of the Netherworld Scripture from the Qi Cultivation Chapter to the Nascent Soul Chapter; cultivators of this technique would have to remain loyal to him and work for him to gain subsequent parts of the technique.

Thus, he could control the Shadow Guards under his command.

As for the Spirit Eating Technique, Zheng Yi did not plan to cultivate it himself, still intending to give it to his subordinates.

After all, it only covers the Qi Cultivation Chapter.

Moreover, this technique originated from the Spirit Pool World, handed to the captive Human Race by the demon race; he wasn't sure if there was anything questionable about it and wouldn't personally get involved.

The current issue is...Yao'er, Huan'er, his two daughters do not have a Cultivation Technique.

However, there's no rush.

His two daughters are only about five years old now, still young; finding suitable Cultivation Techniques for them in a few years is also fine.

For now, Zheng Yi's task is to enter the Spirit Pool World and attempt to find out why there are so many spirit roots among the Human Race there.

Zheng Yi's mind calmed down, and he quickly connected with the Yin Yang Treasure Mirror.

The starlight remained constant. As soon as he touched the star representing the Spirit Pool World, his entire spirit was drawn in once more.

Mere moments later, he appeared once again in what seemed like a sky of chaotic clouds.

In a daze, he once again discovered dozens of different 'auras' swirling densely in front of him.

These auras were golden, purple, blue, and white.

"This is..."

Zheng Yi then remembered that the first time he entered the Spirit Pool World, he had also encountered these mists.

At that time, he had interacted with three white auras!

Human Rank Life Chart: Eternal Freeze. After death, the body enters a frozen state, remaining uncorrupted for a millennium.

Human Rank Life Chart: Forever Lost. You are prone to getting lost, even losing your way in broad daylight.

Human Rank Life Chart: Little Strong. Tremendously resilient life force, hard to kill.

"Life Chart?"

Zheng Yi murmured, his eyes shimmering as if recalling something.

"The last time I entered the Spirit Pool World, I merged with these three auras, essentially three Human Rank Life Charts."

"Among them, Eternal Freeze and Little Strong didn't activate at all... only Forever Lost took effect, which caused me to get lost in the Spirit Pool World and end up at the edge of the Spirit Pool where I encountered the hidden demon!"

"Could it be... these different colored mists represent varying strengths of Life Charts?"

"The white aura is the most common, and its Life Chart is the weakest."

"And these blue, purple, gold ones... could they represent stronger Life Charts?"

Zheng Yi's eyes grew brighter: "In other words, these Life Charts are essentially the 'Golden Finger' in my Illusion Truth World!"

"The stronger the Life Chart I choose, the greater my strength and potential in the Illusion Truth World!"

With this thought, he no longer hesitated and rushed towards the furthest golden aura.

To successfully navigate the Spirit Pool World, one naturally needs to obtain the strongest Life Chart!

At this moment, the aura around his body churned, and the three auras he selected last time floated out again.

Zheng Yi immediately noticed this and quickly understood.

"Every time I acquire a Life Chart, the previous ones are reset and must be reselected?"

Although he was pondering this in his mind, his actions did not pause.

By accident, he reabsorbed one of the white auras into his body.

"Damn! Another white aura..."

Zheng Yi frowned. The three Human Rank Life Charts from last time weren't very helpful. He hoped not to encounter Forever Lost or Eternal Freeze again.

With a mental flicker, he realized that the white aura he had absorbed was the Human Rank Life Chart, Little Strong!

"Little Strong, huh? It's somewhat useful..."

He dashed towards the distant golden aura again, but the white auras blocking his way were too numerous, and he accidentally brushed against another one.

Blue?

Zheng Yi sighed deeply. Oh well, blue is better than white. This will have to do.

The phantom of the Yin Yang Treasure Mirror appeared again, with lines of text emerging within it.

Human Rank Life Chart: Little Strong. Tremendously resilient life force, hard to kill.

Human Rank Life Chart: Premature Aging. Your body is extremely weak before the age of ten, significantly increasing the risk of death from illness, falling, or other accidents.

Yellow Rank Life Chart: Heaven's Wrath and People's Resentment. Upon death, randomly experience punishments of the Underworld such as climbing a mountain of knives, crossing a sea of fire, being boiled in oil, having the tongue pulled, being eaten by bugs, being dismembered, being steamed, or being sawed. The pain intensifies and affects your soul, and your suffering and resentment can cause great changes in the heavens around you.

"Hmm?"

Looking at the latest Life Charts acquired, especially the first Yellow Rank Life Chart, Zheng Yi's mouth twitched slightly.

What is this?

Premature Aging?

Is it possible to die prematurely before the age of ten?

And Heaven's Wrath and People's Resentment?

What in the world have I done that was so heinous that after death, I must endure the various punishments of the eighteen levels of the Underworld?

Zheng Yi shook his head, resigned to his fate.

If worse comes to worst, he could start over.

After all, he still had over five thousand years of lifespan, enough for him to enter the Spirit Pool World hundreds of times.

He didn't believe he couldn't conquer the small Spirit Pool World!

The infinite passage of light flashed before his eyes again, and his spirit was quickly drawn into a colorful channel, soon disappearing from sight.

In an instant, his consciousness became nebulous and fuzzy once more, like a dream, unable to control himself freely.

He didn't know how much time had passed. When he opened his eyes, he found himself being held by a familiar figure.

Was that...

Nanny Wang?!

Zheng Yi shivered, looking down.

He was still in the form of a baby.

And the familiar, kind, youthful face of Nanny Wang was just as it was before.

He was back again.

And it was the same time point as when he was first born.

Time reset?

Or was it that... every time he entered the Spirit Pool World, it was a fixed point in time?

Zheng Yi had just thought of this when he once again turned nebulous, being embraced by the mother of this world, enveloped in warmth.

"Waaaah..."

In his daze, a thought suddenly arose in Zheng Yi's mind.

"So... every time I enter the Spirit Pool World, it's a fixed point in time."

"Illusion Truth, Illusion Truth, so this world really is an illusion...!"