The Revival of Emperor Xia

"Senior Brother Lu Yang, we'll take our leave now," Ao Ling and the other two women said. Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had originally come to the Imperial City just to amuse themselves. Now that everything had wrapped up, there was no reason to linger. As for Jin Caiwei, she had accomplished all of her objectives in the Imperial City as well, so there was no need for her to remain either. "Then what about Great Yu's second Imperial Preceptor and General Yu...?" Holding the flattened second Imperial Preceptor and General Yu, Jin Caiwei wasn't sure how to handle them. "Since they are the spoils of you three Daoists, they are naturally yours to dispose of." Meng Junzi had no intention of snatching these two half-immortals away; he had always been a reasonable person. Besides, with Yun Zhi stepping in to capture Guan Shanhai, the greatest prize was already in the bag. Minor details no longer mattered. "However, it's best to search the second Imperial Preceptor's soul directly. Otherwise, if he finds a chance to employ his rudimentary Karma Dao fruit, he could easily escape," Meng Junzi kindly reminded them. "Understood." Even without Meng Junzi's warning, Ao Ling had already intended to handle it that way. "By the way, Senior Jin, since your rudimentary Dao fruit is spatial in nature, will there be... friction between you and Patriarch Hanhai?" Lu Yang phrased the question rather tactfully. He was worried that if the two fought over an immortal position in the future, he wouldn't know which side to support and would be caught in a dilemma. Looking at the half-crouching Lu Yang, Jin Caiwei patted his tense, stiff shoulder and consoled him, "Don't worry, there won't be any conflict." She beamed, flashing two little canine teeth. "It's not like I have what it takes to become an immortal anyway." "..." The little tiger added, "Besides, becoming an immortal is hardly that easy. Daoist Hanhai might not be qualified either, so your worries are completely unnecessary." "Alright, we should head out. See you next time!" Watching the three women's departing figures, Meng Junzi couldn't help turning to Lu Yang, remarking with wonder, "Just how on earth did you get so close to the three of them?" When he first heard that Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had joined the Heavenly Court, Meng Junzi had assumed it was the result of Yun Zhi's persuasion. Yet after interacting with Ao Ling and the other two, he realized Lu Yang seemed to have played a crucial role in all of it. It was the first time he had ever seen a minor cultivator get along so well with half-immortals—especially ancient half-immortals. *Naturally, it's because of the Immortal Fairy,* Lu Yang thought to himself. But the Immortal Fairy's existence was a secret, one he could tell to no one. Seeing Lu Yang remain silent, Meng Junzi made no habit of prying into private affairs. "If you can't say, then don't. Who doesn't have secrets?" "Come on, I'll take you into the Imperial Palace." *** "Just who is Lu Yang? Why do you call him Senior Brother Lu Yang?" Jin Caiwei had been completely baffled by this question, finally unable to resist asking on the road. Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi exchanged mysterious smiles, refusing to give the little tiger an answer. Consider it a small bit of payback. *** "The Ancestor really did become an immortal!" Having smoothly dealt with the Second Prince and his cohort, the Meng Family returned home to celebrate. Wine flowed, cups clinked, and merriment filled the air. None of them had expected their ancestor, rumored to be at the half-immortal level, to suddenly emerge as an immortal out of the blue. To prevent leaking word of Meng Junzi and tipping off Guan Shanhai, the only people who had previously known of Meng Junzi's breakthrough were Jiang Ping'an and Yun Zhi. Yun Zhi had learned of it only because, after breaking through, she went to the Imperial Palace to test her own strength, whereupon Jiang Ping'an felt it wouldn't look good if he alone lost and dragged Meng Junzi in as well. Only then did Yun Zhi discover Meng Junzi had also achieved immortality. As sworn brothers of Meng Potian, Old Horse and Steward Xu also joined the festivities, drinking to their hearts' content. Thoroughly drunk, Meng Potian sought out his second and third sworn brothers, slinging an arm around the horse's neck and pouring wine straight into Old Horse's mouth. "Old Horse, I think that Lu Yang kid is great! Quick-witted, remarkably gifted... Sure, his luck might be a bit poor, but our Meng Family has an immortal holding the fort. Look at how huge of a mess occurred this time—didn't the Ancestor still suppress it all?" "I say his luck is just a minor issue." Old Horse shot a sidelong glance at its drunken eldest brother, thinking: *What's having an immortal matter? You don't know that the very first time the boy went out on a mission, he revived an ancient immortal! And earlier at the East Sea, he ran right into a clash between two immortals!* Although Old Horse retained no memory of the details of the immortal battle at the East Sea, its instincts told it that the two immortals clashing there were far stronger than the two in the Imperial City. *My stance hasn't changed, Eldest Brother: if you think the Ancestor can keep Lu Yang safe, why don't you have the Ancestor pull the carriage in my place?* Over the past two years, Old Horse had been cultivating bitterly. It wasn't striving to reach the Tribulation Transcendence stage just to be Meng Jingzhou's Dao protector, but rather to reach Tribulation Transcendence so it could keep its own little life intact during future battles. *** Lu Yang entered the Imperial Palace once more, this time walking in openly and legitimately. The palace guards had initially moved to intercept, but the moment they saw Meng Junzi, they obediently backed away. Though Meng Junzi's presence in the palace did not adhere to protocol, such matters were hardly something Body Integration stage cultivators could interfere with. Meng Junzi led Lu Yang into the imperial bedchamber. Emperor Xia lay emaciated and breathless, his corpse resting upon a bed crafted from ten-thousand-year cold ice. Originally meant as a means to prolong his lifespan, after Emperor Xia's death, it served as a freezer to preserve his corpse—killing two birds with one stone. "Your Majesty—!" "Your Majesty, why did you leave us so soon—!" The imperial consorts were kneeling on the floor, weeping like pear blossoms in the rain, breathless with sorrow. It was impossible to tell how many were genuinely mourning and how many were merely putting on a show. His personal attendant, Eunuch Li, was weeping bitterly as well. None of the princes were present. After all, the immortal battle had broken out immediately upon Emperor Xia's death, and who would dare enter the palace at such a time? Only the consorts living in the inner palace could rush over on short notice. "Enough, enough. Everyone out. The kid isn't dead yet." Meng Junzi pushed open the doors and used his immortal power to sweep the consorts outside. Cut off midway through their wailing, the consorts found themselves somehow standing outdoors. Recalling Meng Junzi's words just now, they were utterly bewildered. *He's reduced to that state and he's still not dead?!* Meng Junzi activated his Dao fruit. A stream of obscure runes emerged from his body and surged into Emperor Xia—the lifespan he had borrowed earlier. When returning the lifespan, Meng Junzi even threw in a few extra years as interest. Under Lu Yang's gaze, as the lifespan returned to his body, Emperor Xia's shriveled form inflated like a balloon at a speed visible to the naked eye. The wrinkles on his face smoothed away under the restoration of his vitality, returning him to his middle-aged appearance—his true countenance. Emperor Xia opened his eyes, saw Meng Junzi and Lu Yang, and exhaled a long breath of turbid air. It seemed things were finally over; there was no need to keep acting. With Emperor Xia revived, the power of national destiny in Meng Junzi's hands also entered his body, signifying his reinstatement as the ruler of the nation. "A junior of the Jiang family pays respects to Senior Meng Junzi." "Alright, you've only just recovered your lifespan and still need rest. Don't move around." "Understood. May I ask, Senior, has the battle concluded?" Meng Junzi smiled with utter confidence. "Merely the Imperial Preceptor of Great Yu—naturally, he was no match for me." "Then where is the Imperial Preceptor of Great Yu?" Meng Junzi's smile froze.