Chapter 98: A Shocking Secret

In the Immortal Realm, since the establishment of the centralized empire, nearly every emperor has undertaken grand construction projects to build imperial tombs—often, the very first command upon ascending the throne is to repair the imperial tomb. Moreover, there are many requirements involved in the construction of these tombs.

The principles of Feng Shui are well-known; sometimes, to find a good site for an imperial tomb, wars may even be waged to seize it!

In addition to Feng Shui, another crucial point is that when constructing an imperial tomb, it is best not to use magic! Why? Because all cultivation is done by the living, and all spells, magical powers, and true essence belong to “Yang Law.” Thus, an imperial tomb constructed using magic will be negatively affected.

Additionally, there are evil spells like those involving zombies, but these belong to dark magic and are clearly incompatible with the supremacy of an emperor.

Furthermore, if possible, it is best to dig as deep underground as one can. The deeper, the better.

The third point is that the more luxurious and grand the imperial tomb, the better.

Additionally, there is one more thing—preventing tomb robbing! This goes without saying.

But why build an imperial tomb?

His Majesty the Emperor shared this secret with Li Xian: it is the “Heavenly Language”! Every emperor, upon ascending the throne, has a so-called “auspicious time,” and the emperor who ascends at this auspicious moment, strictly following the regulations, will hear the “Heavenly Language.” If an emperor ascends hastily, they can still hear the Heavenly Language later through a supplementary coronation ceremony. Thus, the emperor is also called the Son of Heaven, or simply the Heavenly Son.

No emperor knows where this Heavenly Language comes from; only emperors can hear it. Regardless of the size of the emperor, as long as they are an emperor of a centralized state, qualified, and strictly following the regulations during their ascension, they will hear the Heavenly Language.

Li Xian’s heart surged with waves of emotion, feeling both astonished and shocked. The Emperor spoke vaguely, only hinting that as long as the imperial tomb is built satisfactorily, the true spirit of the emperor will enter another world—a world after death, possibly the realm of the deceased—continuing the struggle for dominance. The imperial tomb will provide the soul with an unending source of vitality, cultivation foundation, and even luck.

Finally, the Emperor finished speaking and looked at Li Xian, saying, “Little Xian, I initially wanted to defy the heavens and change my fate, but destiny is hard to go against. Thus, time has slipped away, and I have less than three years left.”

Li Xian struggled to suppress the shock in his heart, asking, “Father-in-law, aside from the prohibition on using magic, are there no other restrictions?”

“Yes. It’s not that magic cannot be used, but rather that it should be avoided as much as possible. If absolutely necessary, it can be considered.” His Majesty the Emperor understood that with less than three years—possibly only two—left, completing the construction of the imperial tomb would indeed be very challenging.

“Father-in-law, I guarantee I will complete the imperial tomb within two years, and it will exceed the scale of any imperial tombs from previous emperors of the Great Xia!” 

“Oh?” The Emperor was genuinely interested. He looked at Li Xian for a long time, seemingly confirming that Li Xian was not just speaking recklessly, and then waved to Fu Minghui.

Fu Minghui turned and retrieved a large chest, about a person’s height, from a nearby room, gently placing it in front of Li Xian.

Li Xian was curious; it was his first time receiving a gift in the palace.

Fu Minghui set down the chest and stood up, saying, “This is 500 blank imperial edicts, and the seals have already been stamped. You must guarantee that the construction of the imperial tomb is completed within two and a half years!”

Five hundred blank imperial edicts?! Li Xian was taken aback, then overjoyed. He immediately vowed with great fervor, “Absolutely! I swear. If I fail to complete the imperial tomb within two and a half years, may my soul scatter!”

His Majesty the Emperor was immediately pleased. “Little Xian, you are too serious. Now tell me, what did you bring to the palace this time?”

Li Xian inwardly sneered—could you be any more hypocritical? But regardless of the disdain in his heart, he did not forget his “duty.” “Father-in-law, what I brought this time is something called gunpowder. I believe you have heard about the new developments in the battles between Anyang and the Cai Kingdom. This new development is gunpowder.

It is precisely because of gunpowder that I have the confidence to complete the imperial tomb in two years. I plan to directly blast through mountains and create tunnels. Using mountains as the tomb and high peaks as the gate!”

“Gunpowder? Let me see it! Quick, let me see!” 

Since the Emperor wanted to see it, that was no problem at all. Immediately, the guards became busy, and under Li Xian’s guidance, a simple experimental site was quickly set up. The palace guards were skilled, effortlessly using magic to arrange everything swiftly.

One by one, indistinct clay figures stood up, small walls rose, and soon a model of a city appeared. Having magic truly made things convenient.

Li Xian placed a fist-sized bag of gunpowder into the small model, drawing out a fuse and handing it to the Emperor. “Father-in-law, just use magic to ignite it. You will witness the power of gunpowder.”

The Emperor shook his head. “Little Fu, you do it. I can’t use any magic right now.”

Li Xian quickly added, “Using incense would be fine too.”

Immediately, a guard lit some incense and handed it to the Emperor. His Majesty happily lit the fuse, watching as a trail of sparks quickly ignited and raced forward.

Just as the fuse was about to ignite the small bag of gunpowder, Li Xian suddenly stood in front of the Emperor, raising a small True Yuan shield.

Boom! 

With a loud explosion, the fist-sized bag of gunpowder unleashed significant power, instantly blowing half of the miniature city model to smithereens; dirt and debris flew everywhere.

The Emperor shouted in excitement, “Great! Little Xian, don’t block! Do it again!”

The guards, accustomed to the procedure, quickly got into the swing of things, and the Emperor became engrossed in the explosions. The scale of the blasts grew larger, and soon, the cart full of gunpowder Li Xian had brought was quickly consumed.

“What a good thing!” Looking at the wreckage strewn across the ground, the Emperor reflected, “Magic is great, but the consumption is high and not sustainable. Talismans are also good, but they are too few in number, low in production, and expensive. This gunpowder is excellent.”

The Emperor’s insight was sharp. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly said, “Little Xian, this gunpowder is good. How about preparing a hundred thousand shi for the Imperial Guard?”

A hundred thousand shi of gunpowder? That’s almost fifty to sixty thousand tons! Your Majesty, what are you planning? Li Xian was drenched in cold sweat at the thought. An explosion of that scale would be equivalent to a Tsar Bomba nuclear explosion, enough to wipe out Wuyang City from the celestial realm.

The destructive power of large-scale gunpowder explosions could certainly rival that of devastating celestial magic—though Li Xian had never seen celestial magic, he imagined it must be similar.

Wait! 

Li Xian’s thoughts shifted, and he realized that asking for a hundred thousand shi of gunpowder was unreasonable. The Emperor was not after the quantity of gunpowder but rather the formula for making it.

Li Xian felt speechless: Why must you all twist your words so many times? Don’t you find it exhausting? Fortunately, he had already prepared to disclose the secret of gunpowder before coming.

“Father-in-law, a hundred thousand shi of gunpowder is too much; I’m afraid I can’t produce that much at once. The formula for gunpowder is actually very simple: seven parts saltpeter, two parts sulfur, and one part charcoal. The purer, the better.”

“Is it that simple?”

“Yes, it’s that simple!”

The Emperor immediately instructed the guards nearby to gather the materials. The palace had no shortage of saltpeter, charcoal, sulfur, and other ingredients. As expected, the results were excellent, and the explosions were just as powerful.

“Good! Good! Hahaha…” The aged Emperor’s laughter rang out, surprisingly loud and cheerful.

“Little Xian, tell me, what kind of reward do you want?”

“Um… nothing for now.”

“You truly are an honest child.”

Li Xian thought…Can I be a dishonest child instead…?

Seeing Li Xian’s stunned expression, the Emperor became even happier. “I will give you a few rewards; you will definitely find them useful. Draft an edict appointing Li Xian as the Governor of Anyang, overseeing the Eastern Command of the Great Xia, and as the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Finance.”

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