"I originally thought you were just a sycophant, eager to please the powerful. I even believed that with Yu Xiyan, that little hussy, you'd become arrogant and conceited.
But after spending time with you these past few days, your actions seem to contradict the rumors. So, I want to know, why are you staying by Yu Xiyan's side?
What does that little hussy have that makes you protect her so fiercely? I'm very curious about the reason!"
Mu Qiuyao's rapid-fire barrage of questions left Shen Zhao with a splitting headache.
After she finished, Shen Zhao asked in confusion, "Which eye saw me licking her boots? Are you out of your mind?"
Mu Qiuyao snorted coldly, "The son-in-law of the Great Yin Dynasty's imperial family, who else could it be but you, Shen Zhao?"
"Stop!" Shen Zhao immediately waved his hand to stop her. "Did your Northern Region just get internet access?
Before you say that, please understand that I never married Yu Xiyan. So how can I be called a son-in-law of the imperial family?"
Mu Qiuyao frowned, "Didn't marry Yu Xiyan? That's impossible. How could you not marry her? Weren't you practically willing to give her your life?"
Shen Zhao shrugged, "Are you still dreaming? Why don't you go back and nap for a bit, clear your head, and then start spouting nonsense? I don't even know how to answer this string of bizarre questions."
Mu Qiuyao took a deep breath and then said, "Shen Zhao, do you believe in the reincarnation of time and space?"
Shen Zhao was startled, looking at Mu Qiuyao with some surprise, "What do you mean?"
Mu Qiuyao said, "You might not believe it, but in fact, I've lived a second life. Right before I attended the Tianjue Holy Land wedding, I inexplicably was reborn."
A Reborn?
Shen Zhao's heart skipped a beat.
Mu Qiuyao continued, "You might not believe it, but all this truly happened,
"I did indeed get reborn. It was thirty years after you died, at the very moment Lin Feng failed to activate the Ascension Stairway, I was reborn."
Shen Zhao's expression gradually became serious as he continued to listen.
"After your death, I learned a great deal of information about you. Then I understood that your abilities didn't match your supposed actions. You could have achieved so much more,
yet you were willing to be ridiculed by Yu Xiyan to the point of losing your life. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Mu Qiuyao paused, then let out a soft hmph: "Right, it's pointless to tell you all this. You definitely don't know what I'm talking about."
Unexpectedly, Shen Zhao said with an easy expression: "No, I understand what you're saying.
After all, I am the laughingstock of the entire Immortal Martial Continent, every word you said resonates with me."
Mu Qiuyao was stunned for a moment, then thought of something, and said with surprise: "You mean, you also…"
Shen Zhao nodded in agreement.
Mu Qiuyao took a deep breath, suddenly becoming interested: "That's wonderful. I didn't expect you to be back too. Then there are some things I must ask, what exactly is the charm of Yu Xiyan that makes you willing to put aside your dignity and fawn over her?"
Shen Zhao really couldn't answer that question, because he couldn't very well say that it was all a mandatory main quest arranged by the system. He had to act nice, whether he wanted to or not.
"It's all in the past, why bring it up again? I didn't play the role of a tool in this life. Why dwell on it? Besides, what does it have to do with you whether I fawn or not?"
Shen Zhao looked nonchalant, but inwardly he was shouting with joy: Great, finally I don't have to bear the pain of my past life alone.
Mu Qiuyao sneered: "You really don't care? You were married to that little hussy for over twenty years, and you never even slept with her. I'm very curious, is it because you're not capable, or is there another reason?"
Men hate being told they're not capable. Shen Zhao immediately lost his temper when he heard this: "You say I'm not capable? Want to give it a try?"
Mu Qiuyao chuckled: "Alright, I'm looking forward to it. If you have the guts, come try it. I'm going all out today and letting you have it once. I'll play along with whatever you want."
With that, she directly removed her shawl, looking at Shen Zhao with a posture of both welcoming and refusing.
Shen Zhao sucked in a breath of cold air, thinking: This woman is so fierce, she doesn't have any restraint at all.
So he immediately turned his face away: "Sorry, I'm not interested in older women."
"Cultivation knows no time, kid, don't use such a boring excuse to brush me off!"
Mu Qiuyao practically ground out the words through gritted teeth.
She was so beautiful; just a beckoning finger would have countless geniuses kneeling at her feet, begging to be her dogs. Yet, he actually thought she was old?
According to cultivation age, Mu Qiuyao was still very young, just over two thousand years old.
"Put on your clothes and speak properly. I'm not in the mood for a physical game with you right now."
"Kid, you wouldn't happen to be...impotent, would you? If that's the case, then I can understand why that little hussy is out there looking for other men to cheat with."
"I have a strange quirk. I'm afraid you'll ask me to take responsibility afterward, so…"
"So what?"
"If that's the case, I'll kill my wife to prove my Dao."
Mu Qiuyao was stunned, unable to speak for a long time. She kept recalling the words Luo Pianhong had said to her:
"Sister, don't underestimate Shen Zhao. Besides Yu Xiyan, he won't even glance at other women. Believe me, even if you stripped naked and lay beside him, he wouldn't be interested in you."
Mu Qiuyao suddenly felt a strong sense of frustration: "Damn, am I dealing with a celibate, capital-circle Buddhist monk? My thought process can't keep up with his rhythm."
Seeing that she hadn't spoken for a while, Shen Zhao urged, "Do you have any other questions?"
Taking a deep breath, Mu Qiuyao slowly said, "Let's change the topic, Shen Zhao, what do you want to do with the Blood Brahma Dragon Sutra?"
When it came to serious matters, Shen Zhao's expression immediately became serious.
"The Western Buddha Sect Kingdom was polluted by a邪气 (evil qi) tens of thousands of years ago, and is no longer the paradise that Buddhist disciples yearn for. The Blood Brahma Dragon Sutra contains a传承 (legacy) that can eliminate the邪染 (evil contamination), and I must obtain it."
"How did you know?"
Mu Qiuyao was intrigued by Shen Zhao's words.
Shen Zhao opened Journey to the West: "Think about it differently. Is it possible that Xuanzang knew the Western Buddha Sect Kingdom was corrupted, and embarked on his journey west to purify the Buddhist sect?"
Mu Qiuyao frowned: "Impossible. First of all, whether the story of Xuanzang's journey west is true is debatable. Even if it is, he still experiences eighty-one tribulations before finally achieving enlightenment and ascending."
Shen Zhao shook his head: "Books can be altered, just as victors have the power to rewrite history books, leaving only what is beneficial to them for the world to worship. Why couldn't the Western Buddha Sect Kingdom do the same?
And haven't you noticed that the closer you get to Spirit Mountain in the book, the more ferocious the demons and monsters become? Since Western Spirit Mountain is a Buddhist holy land, how could such vicious demons appear there?"
Mu Qiuyao frowned.
Shen Zhao continued, "Just like the description of Lion and Camel Ridge, where the skeletons are like ridges, the bones like forests, human hair matted into felt, and human flesh rotting into mud..."
Human tendons wrapped around trees, dried and gleaming like silver. It was truly a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, emitting a foul stench. On the east side, small demons were flaying living people; to the west, vile demons were cooking and grilling human flesh.
One might ask, how could such a terrifying place exist near a Buddhist holy land? Is this even reasonable?"
Mu Qiuyao: "So, you plan to go to Lion and Camel Ridge to investigate?"
"I went there once in my previous life." Shen Zhao said, "Unfortunately, I had to stop before I could figure anything out."
Mu Qiuyao was taken aback: "Kid, are you risking your life like this for Yu Xiyan?"
"Your Majesty, can you stop acting like I can't live without a woman?" Shen Zhao was speechless. "The Western Buddha Sect Kingdom caught my attention,
because the situation was already critical. If things went wrong, it would be even more terrifying than the Calamity of the Nine Hells!"
Mu Qiuyao immediately retorted: "That's just your one-sided opinion. In the decades after your death, the Western Buddha Sect Kingdom didn't make any unusual moves."
"Heh…" Shen Zhao chuckled softly, "Is it possible that the reason the Western Buddha Sect Kingdom hasn't made a move is because of my involvement?"
Mu Qiuyao was stunned, her face filled with disbelief: "You? How did you do it?"
Shen Zhao said, "After I received Yu Xiyan's recall order, I anticipated that this trip would be fraught with danger.
So, before I left, I exhausted my cultivation to set up the Lost Purity Demon-Quelling Array, successfully suppressing the spread of the evil corruption to the outside world."
"Lost Purity Demon-Quelling Array?" Mu Qiuyao's face was full of disbelief. "Legend has it that the Lost Purity Demon-Quelling Array requires at least five Ancient Artifacts, and consumes at least ninety percent of an Emperor Realm cultivator's cultivation to activate.
But the Ancient Artifacts have long been lost in the river of time and space, so how could you possibly possess five…"
Shen Zhao chuckled softly, "Who told you that you need five Ancient Artifacts to activate the Lost Purity Demon-Quelling Array? As long as they are imitations, they still work."
"Imitations?" Mu Qiuyao was taken aback. "What do you mean by that?"
Shen Zhao replied, "Naturally, it's according to the characteristics of the Ancient Artifacts recorded in ancient books, crafting five imitations with the same effects. Is that difficult?"
"You can forge Ancient Artifacts?" Mu Qiuyao was completely shocked. "That's impossible! How could Ancient Artifacts be imitated? Boy, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"How would you know it's impossible if you haven't tried?" Shen Zhao sneered. "Then I ask you, weren't those artifacts also created before they appeared in the world?
If they could create them, why can't we? As long as the conditions are right and we have similar materials, anything is possible!"
Mu Qiuyao fell silent. Although these words sounded utterly absurd, she couldn't explain why she still felt this man wasn't lying.
"Of course, imitations are, after all, imitations. After all, time was pressing, and there wasn't time to meticulously arrange more profound arrays.
But as long as it can exert sixty percent of the original's effectiveness, it will completely support the consumption of the Lost Purity Demon-Quelling Array."
Finally, he added, "Although my imitations can only ensure that the evil contamination won't spread for ninety-nine years, it can still be considered my last contribution to the entire continent before I die."
Mu Qiuyao: "So, when you went to the Peak of the Nine Abysses for the appointment, your cultivation was greatly damaged, right?"
Shen Zhao crossed his arms and replied calmly, "Less than ten percent of my cultivation remained."
"You lunatic, kid, I truly can't see through you. You and that guy are complete opposites. What exactly are you doing all this for?"
"If you high-and-mighty Immortal Sect experts could consider things from the perspective of the innocent and weak, I wouldn't have to fight so desperately."
"I..."
Mu Qiuyao didn't know what to say for a moment. Shen Zhao's words actually made her feel a twinge of guilt.
As an empress, she hadn't experienced the suffering of the common people in a long time.
Even though she had come to her current position step by step from a mortal body, even though she had sworn that when she became empress, she would speak out for the people at the bottom.
But she went back on her word. After achieving the realm of the Great Emperor, Mu Qiuyao focused on how to reach the peak of the Emperor realm, how to make the Profound Heaven Immortal Dynasty eternally prosperous, and how to find the path to immortality, completely disregarding the pleas of the "ants" at the bottom.
It was just as Shen Zhao had said: "When the great roc spreads its wings ninety thousand miles, it cannot see the ants on the ground."
At this moment, she didn't even dare to look Shen Zhao in the eye.
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)