Legend Management Bureau Chapter 449

[ … words ]

Du Yu stood to the side, having completely read the “Reversing Cause and Effect Formula.” He realized that his previous speculations had been somewhat biased.

According to Guiguzi’s writings, the power of the “Reversing Cause and Effect Formula” was somewhat different from what it was now.

Guiguzi clearly stated in the formula that this ability could only alter a brief segment of history immediately preceding the caster’s use of the spell, and it served no other purpose.

Logically speaking, this time technique, which could only modify a single “Thread,” did not sound all that powerful.

However, the current situation was the result of a few exquisite coincidences.

The first coincidence was the birth of an uncanny genius within the Shiranui family. Not only did he comprehend and master this formula, but he also used it as a foundation to develop the “Snip and Slash Technique.”

Since “Time” could repair “Time,” the rest of the Shiranui clansmen continuously severed the “Threads” to throw “Time” into chaos.

In doing so, they infinitely amplified the abilities of the entity in the Cave of Time, while simultaneously magnifying the power of the Shiranui clan.

The only catch was that this entire premise relied on “Time” being present in the cave whenever the Shiranui family executed their “Snip and Slash Technique.”

The third coincidence was that Zhan Qisheng’s “shuttle spell” was highly unstable. It easily caused numerous iterations of “Du Yu” to continuously fall into the Cave of Time, leading them to converse with their past “selves” and triggering a massive chain reaction.

Having grasped all of this, Du Yu cast a profound glance at Guiguzi. His gaze then locked onto Xu Fu as he broadly reviewed the man’s life.

According to Guiguzi’s instructions, regardless of whether the master lived or died, Xu Fu was to study medicine on Mount Yunmeng for twenty years.

During the second year, Guiguzi peacefully passed away from old age.

Xu Fu began to teach himself traditional medicine.

In his free time, he also devoured Guiguzi’s writings on various other subjects.

When twenty years had passed, Xu Fu carefully swept Master Guigu’s tomb before heading southwest, following the divination laid out by his teacher.

Soon enough, he encountered a plague in a small city.

It unfolded exactly as Guiguzi’s first prophecy had stated: “Dispense medicine to save the afflicted; in the southwest, meet the First Emperor.”

He applied his medical skills and saved the lives of everyone in the city. During this time, the people learned that Xu Fu was a disciple of Master Guigu. Seeing his ability to snatch lives from the jaws of death, they revered him as an “Immortal.”

As it happened, Ying Zheng, who had just unified the six states, was touring the southwest. Hearing that an “Immortal” resided there, he invited him for an audience.

The two had a delightful conversation. Ying Zheng discovered that although this man knew no immortal magic, his insights into medicine, military strategy, diplomacy, and politics far surpassed those of ordinary men. Ying Zheng wanted to bring him back to Xianyang, but lacking a proper justification, he adopted the commoners’ moniker and appointed Xu Fu as his “Attendant Alchemist.”

Upon returning to Xianyang, Ying Zheng went a step further and crowned him the “Number One Alchemist.”

Ying Zheng intended for Xu Fu to remain by his side as an advisor, leaving him no choice but to bestow the title of “Number One in the World.” However, he had never anticipated that alchemists from all over the realm would flock to Xianyang to offer their services, driven by their thirst for fame and fortune.

To these people, the “Number One Alchemist,” Xu Fu, naturally became a thorn in their side.

The First Emperor found himself in a rather difficult position. If he dismissed Xu Fu now, it would make him appear “a poor judge of character with biased vision.” But if he protected Xu Fu, the man would be guilty of “deceiving the sovereign, a crime punishable by death.”

The First Emperor pondered for a long time before finally coming up with a solution.

That was to take Xu Fu on a journey to find true “Immortals.”

If an Immortal could offer Xu Fu a few pointers and teach him a bit of immortal magic, they could at least deceive the heavens to cross the sea.

This fulfilled Guiguzi’s second prophecy: “Accompany the sovereign to Mount Heng; draw water and make your name known.”

The First Emperor led Xu Fu and thousands of attendants on a grand and sweeping expedition.

Every time they passed a high, mist-shrouded mountain, they would climb to the peak to inspect it, hoping to encounter a true “Immortal.”

When passing Mount Heng, the First Emperor noticed the swirling Spiritual Energy and radiant mist, so he led his entourage up the mountain to seek immortals.

It happened to be a scorching hot day. Not only did they fail to find any immortals on Mount Heng, but they could not even spot a single stream.

The crowd grew unbearably thirsty, and the First Emperor felt dizzy and lightheaded. He ordered the men to split into several groups to search for water.

After waiting for quite some time, none of the search parties returned. Seeing this, Xu Fu led over a hundred men out to find water himself.

He naturally applied the geomancy techniques he had learned on Mount Yunmeng, carefully observing the layout of the mountain range.

A few minutes later, an idea formed in Xu Fu’s mind. He walked straight toward an open clearing, picked up a rock nearby, and gently tapped the ground.

An underground spring happened to be hidden right beneath that patch of earth. With Xu Fu’s light tapping, the ground instantly cracked open, and spring water gushed out.

This action utterly stunned the hundred or so men behind him.

From then on, the tale spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred.

Xu Fu’s feat of “striking a stone to draw water” instantly became a nationwide sensation, exaggerated into a miraculous legend.

The other alchemists in the royal court were quite astounded when they heard the news. To draw water from a stone—if he didn’t possess a profound understanding of the Five Elements, how could he wield such divine power?

Some alchemists began to change their opinion of Xu Fu, while others started devising ways to make things difficult for him.

They publicly suggested in court that a “Number One Alchemist in the World” like Xu Fu must surely know the method for refining the elixir of life, so why not have him forge a pill for His Majesty?

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng furrowed his brows slightly.

How could a man capable of unifying the six states be a mediocre fool?

He instantly saw through their intentions. It was a brilliant ploy to kill with a borrowed knife.

And the borrowed knife was none other than his own.

Which Mortal in this world could truly live forever?

But if Xu Fu were to outright refuse, how could he maintain his prestige?

Whenever the words “elixir of life” were mentioned, Xu Fu’s expression became incredibly complicated.

This echoed Guiguzi’s third prophecy: “Pitiful it is; three months later, sail into the vast unknown.”

Xu Fu remembered his master once saying that his fortunes would rise in the Eastern Ocean. Thus, he decided to give it a try, thinking he might actually be able to find the “elixir of life.”

As for the “Reversing Cause and Effect Formula” left behind by his master, its contents were far too esoteric for him to comprehend in a short amount of time.

“Nine years, two sets of sails hoisted; achieve your Dao in the Eastern Ocean.”

Xu Fu spent four years on his first voyage, yet he ultimately found nothing.

When he returned to Xianyang, he thought he would be able to see the king he had been parted from for so long.

To his surprise, Ying Zheng greeted him with a stern, frigid expression and ordered him to hastily prepare for a second voyage, insisting that he absolutely must find the “elixir of life.”

He warned Xu Fu that if he failed to find it this time, he would be executed.

Despite all his calculations and foresight, Xu Fu had never anticipated Ying Zheng saying such a thing.

Perhaps four years was too long—long enough to change a person’s very nature?

Four years was indeed a long time, but what Xu Fu didn’t know was that it wasn’t Ying Zheng’s nature that had changed; it was the nature of the many alchemists in the court.

During those four years, they prayed daily that Xu Fu would fail to find the elixir of life, hoping he would die in a foreign land.

When Xu Fu returned to Xianyang empty-handed, the entire city was permeated with a strange, hostile atmosphere.

Ying Zheng also knew that this time, he could no longer protect Xu Fu.

Conquering an empire was easy; defending it was hard.

The moment the six states were unified, it was no longer martial prowess that governed the world, but the hearts of the people.

If he repeatedly showed favoritism to a Mortal, he would eventually lose his authority, and the stability of the court would crumble.

This time, he provided Xu Fu with an unimaginably large entourage and assembled a massive fleet. Ying Zheng then ordered his men to load the ship’s cabins with vast amounts of wealth and food. Finally, in front of everyone, he handed Xu Fu a bamboo slip.

Before the entire court of civil and military officials, he declared to Xu Fu, “If you are unable to find the elixir of life, this bamboo slip shall serve as my royal decree. You are to follow this decree and take your own life.”

With a look of sheer despair, Xu Fu accepted the bamboo slip and led the expedition away.

His heart was already dead.

In his mind, he was already constantly calculating a “way out.”

The timeline traced all the way back to the scene where Xu Fu unrolled the bamboo slip.

Only then did Du Yu understand everything.

Xu Fu had climbed to high ground alone in the dead of night because he intended to commit suicide.

Yet, he could never have expected that the contents of the bamboo slip would cause him to break down completely.

From the very beginning, Ying Zheng had wanted to protect Xu Fu. Even if everyone in the royal court had petitioned for the king to sentence Xu Fu to death, he still wanted to protect him.