Checking In for Sixty Years, From Puppet Emperor to Heavenly Emperor – Chapter 3

Ch 3: Heavenly Book

Back at Qianyuan Palace, he had barely arrived when the people from the Imperial Hospital delivered a pill. Zhou An took it and waved them away.

Regardless of its effects, this thing definitely isn’t good. It’s likely something similar to a tonic for virility and strength, which, bluntly put, means prematurely overdrawing on one’s life force.

The better the effect after taking it, the more life force it drains. Many emperors take these things, which is equivalent to greatly reducing their lifespan.

As soon as he returned, he closed the doors and windows and hid in his room to first read the system introduction of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady Records.

The Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady Records recorded Yin-Yang Art, Military Strategy, Soldier Talisman, Yin Talisman, The Mysterious Doors and Evasive Arts, Taiyi, and Liuren.

These were the Heavenly Book that the Nine Heavens Mystic Woman imparted to those destined by Heaven, to help them pacify the world.

Among them, the Yellow Emperor was the most prominent. He was taught Yin-Yang Art, which not only made the Yellow Emperor powerful but also allowed him to attain the Dao and become an immortal.

If one could fully comprehend the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady Records, pacifying the world and ascending to immortality would be certain. The problem is how to comprehend it.

On Earth, besides the Yellow Emperor, who fought a great battle with Chiyou, later generations could only comprehend a portion at most. Being able to fully learn even one of these skills would already make one a Great Power in the world.

However, Zhou An didn’t need to worry about this problem. As soon as he obtained this entire set of Heavenly Book, with a thought, it transformed into a white light and entered his brow, automatically comprehending it.

In the blink of an eye, his consciousness sank into a sea of clouds. Suddenly, an immortal maiden appeared before him, so beautiful that it made one’s heart drunk. Her eyes, as clear and moving as a lakeside, carried a shallow, gentle smile, possessing a refined and elegant temperament that was pure and detached from the world.

Wearing chiffon Thousand Water Cloud Dress, her smile was like a flower, lively and graceful, with an ethereal and exquisite bearing. She whispered in his ear, speaking of the cultivation method of Yin-Yang Art.

Afterward, Military Strategy appeared, and the immortal maiden personally guided him, arranging troops and formations like playing chess, except the chess pieces were replaced with legions.

The Soldier Talisman was actually a Great Seal for summoning heavenly soldiers, and the Yin Talisman was the art of talismans. These didn’t need to be taught; the content was directly imprinted in his mind.

On the contrary, the final The Mysterious Doors and Evasive Arts, Taiyi Divine Numbers, and Liuren Divination Techniques took the longest time and consumed the most mental energy.

After comprehending them, it felt like a very, very long time had passed, but in reality, it was only an instant.

He opened his eyes, and his gaze and temperament suddenly changed greatly, taking on a bit of the aura of a great Confucian scholar.

One couldn’t help but marvel at the power of this Heavenly Book; it could truly allow one to attain the Dao and ascend to immortality.

After comprehending the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady Records, he took out the Kaiyuan Pill and swallowed it in one gulp. The medicinal power transformed into a majestic force, rushing through all the meridians of his body, and finally returned to his Dantian.

Except for being extremely violent at the beginning, it became increasingly gentle as the number of circulations increased, and finally, it completely transformed into his own Internal Force, flowing within his body.

“As expected of something sent by the system, safety is the top priority, without any compromises. I wonder what level sixty years of Internal Force is in this world.”

Zhou An muttered, stretched, pushed open the door, and walked toward Changchun Palace, the place where he drank and played during the day. If he didn’t go for a long time, it would make the Empress Dowager unhappy.

Moreover, now that he had learned Yin-Yang Art, the beauties sent by those treacherous ministers and foreign countries naturally had to be put to good use.

Of course, Zhou An couldn’t possibly pass on this secret art to those Imperial Concubines who might be spies for others. What he had to do was to be a “good emperor” in the eyes of these people.

Arriving at Changchun Palace, he summoned the waiting Imperial Concubines, and soon laughter and music came from Changchun Palace.

Inside Eternal Life Palace, the Empress Dowager was listening to a Minister report on the situation in the Imperial Court. At this moment, Purple Guard Number 7 entered again and saluted, saying, “Greetings, Empress Dowager.”

This person was none other than the Right Prime Minister, whose official position was second only to the Left Prime Minister, and at the same time, he was the Empress Dowager’s elder brother, the master of the Shangguan Family, Shangguan Yuchen.

The Empress Dowager raised her hand, signaling Shangguan Yuchen to stop reporting, and then asked, “Speak.”

“Reporting to the Empress Dowager, after the Emperor stayed in Qianyuan Palace for half an hour, he went to Changchun Palace. His complexion looked very good, much better than when he had just returned.”

“Hmm, it seems he took that Elixir. You may leave.” As soon as the Empress Dowager finished speaking, Purple Guard Number 7’s figure flashed and disappeared.

“Empress Dowager, this Zhou An is quite to our liking, it’s just a pity about Rong’er…”

Before Shangguan Yuchen could finish speaking, the Empress Dowager interrupted, “Rong’er is a daughter of my Shangguan Family, so naturally, she must make contributions to our family. Moreover, becoming the Empress will naturally bring her benefits in the future. Others don’t even have the opportunity.

A country cannot be without an heir. In the past, we could use his minority as an excuse, but now we can only choose one for him. If it were a daughter from another family, what if she harbored ulterior motives and said something in Zhou An’s ear? That would be a potential threat to my claim to the throne.

Now, in the Imperial Court, although all the Ministers are obedient, that’s because I haven’t touched their bottom line yet. Once I claim the throne, there will definitely be a lot of people rebelling. Therefore, Zhou An, as a transitional figure, is very important to my future plans.”

“It is this subject’s inadequate consideration. Please punish me, Empress Dowager.” Shangguan Yuchen quickly kowtowed.

“Alright, everyone here is my person. Elder Brother, there’s no need to be like this. You must make those old fellows reveal their flaws so that I can take action against them,” the Empress Dowager said.

“Those old fellows are very vigilant, and they do everything meticulously. Plus, two of them are veterans of two dynasties, making it difficult to investigate them excessively. It’s really too difficult to find their problems. I think it would be better to have the Azure Guard assassinate them.” Shangguan Yuchen made a neck-slitting gesture.

“Others can be assassinated, but not the veterans. No matter what they die from, it will be blamed on me. Therefore, we must not only not assassinate them but also do our best to protect them.

Otherwise, as long as one of them dies suddenly, those who oppose me will definitely unite and rebel. Once the Imperial Dynasty is in turmoil, those foreign countries will definitely take advantage of the chaos and attack us. What I want is the Jiangshan of the Qianyuan Empire, not a dying dynasty.”

The Empress Dowager said here, and a trace of displeasure appeared in her eyes, but it quickly flashed away, and she returned to her calm expression.

“This subject understands. Recently, envoys from the Western Regions countries have sent beauties and precious tonics for virility. How should we deal with them? It seems that several surrounding countries have agreed to send beauties and various tonics that harm the body in batches.

These people know that Zhou An likes women, and they want to use this method to make him die early. Now, apart from Zhou An, the other Imperial Princes of the Zhou Family are all missing. They want to accelerate the Imperial Family’s internal strife. What if Zhou An dies in women’s bellies before we are ready? Then we…”

Shangguan Yuchen was worried. After all, the Shangguan Family couldn’t dominate everything alone. Even with the three major organizations, the Purple Guard, the Azure Guard, and the Dark Guard, the other Ministers in the Imperial Court, if united, could still pose a threat to them.

Just as the Empress Dowager said, she wanted a great Jiangshan, not a tottering dynasty to hand over to the surrounding countries.

There were many small countries in the Western Regions of the Qianyuan Empire, and the Empire could easily suppress any one of them, but if they all united, it would be enough to cause considerable losses to the Empire.

What’s more, there was the Ice and Snow Empire in the north, whose military strength was similar to that of the Qianyuan Dynasty, but its economy was far inferior to that of the Qianyuan Empire, so it dared not invade.

The Azure Dragon Empire in the east had a weaker military force but an extremely developed economy, even surpassing the Qianyuan Empire.

In addition, the Southern Five Kingdoms, if they joined forces, would also be no small matter. That’s why the Empress Dowager had been hesitant to take action.

“Accept them. Let them also think that we have fallen for their trick, appease the hearts of the various countries, and buy us more time. As long as we control these medicinal materials, Zhou An is only 16 years old. It won’t be a problem for him to live for five years,” the Empress Dowager said nonchalantly.

“Hmph, Zhou An is really enjoying his time as Emperor. It won’t be a waste of his life when he dies,” Shangguan Yuchen said unhappily, which made the Empress Dowager glance at him. He quickly lowered his head and dared not spout any more sourness.

“Alright, you may go back,” the Empress Dowager said, getting up and returning to her bedroom.

“Respectfully seeing off the Empress Dowager.” Shangguan Yuchen stood up, cupped his fist, and bowed.