Emperor Xia's Lifespan

Having secured the support of the Five Great Immortal Sects for the matter in Jizhou, Emperor Xia was in high spirits. He immediately brought up another matter: "You should all have heard by now that the Sect Master of the Corpse Driving Sect was originally targeted for body seizure. However, because his soul lamp was kept at the Dao Seeking Sect, the Great Yu cultivators hesitated out of fear of being discovered by the Dao Seeking Sect. Only because of that did they refrain from completely taking over his body, leaving a strand of his soul behind." "Indeed. While I was handling the aftermath in Hanshui City, that bastard Lu Baqian, having cheated death, flaunted his Tribulation Transcendence physical body in front of me all day long. Truly wicked!" Qiu Jin'an snorted. Emperor Xia acted as though he had not heard Qiu Jin'an's grumbling. "Could we learn from this experience and have the other sects place their soul lamps with the Five Great Immortal Sects and the imperial court? It would serve as a safeguard. "Fellow Daoist Yun mentioned earlier that Great Yu still has at least four Tribulation Transcendence cultivators. If a Body Integration cultivator attempts to seize another Body Integration cultivator, a clash is inevitable, and we would notice it. But for a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator to seize a Body Integration cultivator, it is far too easy—it could be achieved without making a sound. "If something like what happened to Sect Master Lu occurs again, having the soul lamp system in place will make the Great Yu cultivators hesitant to act recklessly for fear of exposure, preserving at least a strand of the victim's soul." "This proposal is feasible," Yun Zhi nodded, being the first to agree with Emperor Xia's suggestion. She had already thought of a similar measure on her way here and intended to propose it at the meeting, only for Emperor Xia to beat her to it. "I also see no issue with it." "The Prison Suppressing Sect considers it feasible." The Abbot of the Hanging Temple said nothing, giving his tacit consent. Seeing that everyone had reached an agreement, Emperor Xia continued, "After the meeting, I will have a list drawn up, distribute it to all of you, and notify the sects on that list." Sects in Great Xia operated under a registration system. As long as they registered with the yamen, reporting basic details such as the sect's headcount, scale, location, and sect master, the registration was considered complete without any need for review or approval. If changes occurred later, such as the succession of a sect master, they were still required to report it to the yamen. Thanks to this system, Great Xia possessed an exceptionally clear record of the number and locations of all sects, allowing officials to quickly draft the list according to Emperor Xia's requirements. With the critical matters concluded, five of them walked out of the hall chatting and laughing, while the Abbot of the Hanging Temple walked out smiling and chuckling silently, the atmosphere harmonious. Eunuchs and palace maids stood respectfully outside the main hall, preparing to see off the five sect leaders. "*Cough, cough—*" Emperor Xia, who had been discussing Daoist Buyu with Qiu Jin'an, suddenly began coughing violently. He clutched his mouth and nose, leaving several specks of blood stamped across his palm. A single strand of white hair fell across his forehead, jarringly stark against his otherwise thick, jet-black hair. "Your Majesty!" Seeing this, the chief eunuch was scared half to death. Hurrying forward in double time, he rushed to support Emperor Xia. "Summon the imperial physicians! Quickly summon the imperial physicians!" The other eunuchs and palace maids fell into disarray, clearly terrified out of their wits. "What happened to you?" Qiu Jin'an frowned, reaching out to grip Emperor Xia's wrist. His expression shifted. "Why is your body so frail?!" Logically speaking, this should have been impossible. Even provincial governors enjoyed the protection of the power of national destiny, making them invulnerable to all poisons and immune to all illnesses. As the Emperor of Great Xia, who wielded supreme control over the power of national destiny, it was even less conceivable for his body to develop any ailments. Emperor Xia waved his hand with a wry smile, clearly reluctant to elaborate. In his heart, the Abbot of the Hanging Temple silently chanted Amitābha, saying nothing. Yun Zhi had the highest cultivation base and saw through Emperor Xia's condition at a glance. "His lifespan is exhausted." "His lifespan is exhausted?" Luo Hongxia was taken aback, never expecting Emperor Xia to face the exhaustion of his lifespan, and so abruptly. Emperor Xia looked up at Yun Zhi, equally astonished. He was protected by the power of national destiny at all times, so no one should have been able to discern his state. He had not expected Yun Zhi to see right through to the heart of the matter. Knowing he could no longer conceal it, he had no choice but to speak. "After all, I am only at the Soul Formation stage." Among the six of them, Yun Zhi possessed the highest cultivation, while Emperor Xia had the lowest. Whether one became emperor bore no direct relation to one's cultivation. After all, no matter how high an emperor's personal strength was, could he suppress the entire realm through brute force alone? "That still makes no sense. You are only a thousand years old, and a Soul Formation cultivator can live between fifteen hundred to two thousand years," the Sect Master of the Prison Suppressing Sect frowned in bewilderment. Presently, Great Xia was plagued by both internal troubles and external threats. If something went wrong with Emperor Xia's health—especially concerning his lifespan—it would inevitably destabilize the realm, emboldening every sort of monster and troublemaker to emerge. That would be anything but fortunate. "When I was the crown prince, I fell gravely ill, hovering on the brink of death. To cure the illness, I consumed countless precious medicines, including the roots and leaves of two Medicine Kings. Unfortunately, my body was too frail back then to withstand such intense nourishment. My life was saved, but my lifespan was severely damaged." The five sect leaders had all heard rumors about this, and the older eunuchs and palace maids in the palace were also aware of it. "Our sect has several Little Medicine Kings that extend life—things like the Everliving Chun and the Boundless Longevity Stone," Qiu Jin'an said. Emperor Xia could under no circumstances suffer any mishap right now. The Everliving Chun counted eight thousand years as spring and eight thousand years as autumn. Extremely rare in the world, it was an exceptional medicine for extending life. The Boundless Longevity Stone was a kind of stone that grew year by year, though at an excruciatingly slow rate imperceptible to the naked eye. Only after ten thousand years would it grow by a single ring. Scraping off even a few shavings yielded a life-extending treasure that would tempt even Body Integration cultivators. Hearing Qiu Jin'an's words, Emperor Xia's eyes brightened for a moment before dimming again. He shook his head gently. "It is no use. I consumed too many heavenly materials and earthly treasures in the past. The imperial physicians said my body has developed a resistance to medicine. No Little Medicine King works anymore." The issue of lifespan was fatal. Even the power of national destiny could scarcely replenish it. Unless one achieved immortality and attained boundless life, there was simply no cure. "How much longer do you have?" "About ten years." No one knew his own body better than himself. Silence fell over everyone. For immortal cultivators, ten years passed in the blink of an eye; it was far too short. Could it be that just as Emperor Xia watched the curtain rise upon the Golden Age, he would be forced to close his eyes forever? Since ascending the throne, Emperor Xia had worked diligently and conscientiously for the country and its people. Great Xia's national strength had grown day by day, and the power of its national destiny had grown ever richer and sturdier. He was a rare, wise ruler who could easily rank among the top three in Great Xia's history. Was heaven truly so jealous of brilliance that it would let him die at such a critical juncture, unable even to behold the true Golden Age? It was unfair. Yet even if it was unfair, what could be done? The Sect Master of the Prison Suppressing Sect could not help but speak up. "There is still plenty of time. I will return and consult with the other elders. The world is so vast; there must be another way." He refused to believe that if they could not fully mend the void in Emperor Xia's lifespan, they could not at least extend his life by several decades or a century. The masters of the five immortal sects walked out of the Imperial City and took to the skies, each sighing silently as they flew toward their respective sects to search for a solution. "Speaking of which, the crown prince has not been designated yet. That will bring another storm of bloodshed." "Great Yu and Great Qian, the Demon Domain and the East Sea, internal troubles and external perils... and now on top of that, his lifespan is running dry. Truly troubled times." After everyone departed, Emperor Xia dismissed all attendants and walked toward the ancestral grounds of the Imperial Palace, hoping the Old Ancestor might have a solution.