Within the Alchemist ranks, there originally existed fourteen Emperors.
However, Zhu Rizhao and Gao Huan were both betrayed by Tao Qian and devoured by the remaining twelve Emperors.
Now, seven Emperors had successively made their appearances, not in the chronologically historical order of dynasties but rather in a disordered and random manner.
Tao Qian himself was well-versed in history, and so far, these seven Emperors had not gone beyond his expectations.
Yet at this moment, he couldn't help but be curious about the upcoming five, wondering who they all were.
The answer quickly became clear.
Still in the Imperial City and Fengtian, another Founding Emperor appeared in each locale, displaying miracles and issuing Imperial Edicts.
This occurrence, however, was quite unlike the previous seven Emperors.
The voices of the newly appeared Emperors in both locales were layered heavily, with one place having more layers than the other.
And the "historical evaluation" selected seemed not only to evaluate one individual but to concatenate the words appraising several people.
Most crucially, the Divine Treasures and Treasure Vaults bestowed upon Zhang Jinluan and Si Xixin were also more than one.
Imperial City contained up to ten.
Fengtian, five.
What truly surprised Tao Qian was the true appearance of these "Two Emperors" that captured his eyes.
Although it was just a fleeting glimpse of a shadow from the Outer Realm, it was still caught by the Spiritual Eyes of Tao Qian.
The Emperors among the Alchemists were all mutated monsters, a fact known to Tao Qian for a long time.
Yet people like Li Wanshou and Yang Longxi were, at the very least, recognizable as extremely powerful human cultivators who had slowly mutated and fallen.
But now, Tao Qian saw two colossal shadows that were clearly not a single individual.
The two Emperors were each a huge mass of tumor-like flesh, with countless "nauseating organs" attached, releasing millions of writhing, twitching tendrils that penetrated this world and constantly consumed nutrition. Any cultivator below Cavernous Mystery who concentrated on looking too long would suffer contamination of their Heart Soul and perish.
Even Tao Qian, after having seen it, couldn't help but feel swelling in his head, drowsy and nearly asleep.
In this negative state, Tao Qian saw clearly:
The Emperor monster of Imperial City that had descended had, on its Mutated Dharma Body, alongside countless limbs and tendrils, a total of ten different faces, each cursing, fighting, and mingling chaotically.
The one in the Fengtian Province had five Emperor faces on its Dharma Body, also in a state of chaotic bloodshed that was revolting.
"Could it be…"
A guess formed immediately in the heart of Tao Qian.
Just at that moment, Yuann Mingzhen at his side discerned the confusion in Tao Qian's heart and promptly transmitted a sound to clear it:
"The Longevity Heavenly Dynasty once had a relatively unique history."
"Back then, the great dynasty established by Li Wanshou had fallen, and thereafter, the Alchemists were supposed to guide from the shadows, swiftly ending the chaos, giving birth to a new Emperor, and starting another dynasty."
"But during that period, many unexpected events occurred, producing numerous tribulations and disasters in both the Mortal World and the Cultivation World. Daoist and Buddhist fought, demons waged war, and heresy and heterodoxy saw thousands of Magic Veins in endless combat. Even disputes arose within the Alchemists themselves; Li Wanshou, a prodigy blessed by heaven, after entering the Alchemists, was not content with Liu Pei controlling all power, thus actively instigated a war."
"Even though in the end, it was Liu Pei who had a slight advantage, Li Wanshou's status also greatly increased, sharing a good portion of benefits."
"By the time various chaos was quelled, the Alchemists realized that during that period, the Longevity Heavenly Dynasty had produced a large number of short-lived dynasties, thus also giving rise to over a dozen Founding Emperors."
"If suddenly absorbing so many Emperors into the Alchemists, it would have been necessary to distribute a large amount of resources, which no one within the Alchemists wished to do."
"Just at that time, these Emperors were nearly all innately deficient, with massive defects, each carrying a cost they fundamentally couldn't afford. Not to mention competing with Liu Pei or Li Wanshou, even Gao Huan and Yuwen Heitai couldn't compare."
"In the end, the Two Emperors reached a consensus and used some kind of Secret Technique, dividing the dozen Emperors into two parts, each fused together, occupying a throne within the Alchemists."
"The 'Five Emperors' led by Zhu Wen were refined by Liu Pei. Given the latter's methods, naturally, underhanded tactics were employed during the fusion process, thus those Five Emperors had no power to resist before Liu Pei and could only obey."
"The 'Ten Emperors' led by Wang Jian were refined by Li Wanshou. He, too, employed some underhanded tactics, adding elements to control the Heart Soul, so the Ten Emperors could only fully obey Li Wanshou too."
"Although there's some difference in the number between the Five Emperors and the Ten Emperors, their actual strength is comparable."
Even the Divine Ear Sect and the Ting Di Sect, who could not know this secret, Yuann Mingzhen revealed it casually.
While Tao Qian had guessed the origins of those monstrous masses, how could he have known these details?
After listening, he could only sigh: Liu Pei and Li Wanshou, in dealing with their successors, were indeed in perfect dark harmony.
Yuann Mingzhen, having shared this secret, seemed not yet satisfied and wanted to divulge more, but before speaking, he teased Tao Qian with a question.
"Brother Tao, now that you know there are factions within the Alchemists, who do you think is stronger between Liu and Li?"
"If it truly came down to a struggle, between Zhang Jinluan and Si Xixin, who would gain the upper hand?"
This question had indeed been on Tao Qian's mind earlier.
The Twelve Emperors of Alchemist had split into two groups, each supporting a new Human Emperor.
At this point, it seemed that Si Xixin, supported by Li Wanshou's faction, had the upper hand. After all, not only did this scoundrel control over ten provinces, but he also held the most flourishing and crucial Capital Cities, the Imperial City and the Demon City, within his territory.
And in terms of strategic methods and wisdom Talent, Si Xixin was regarded as a prodigy among prodigies, overwhelmingly surpassing Zhang Jinluan.
If no accidents occurred, such as interference from a figure like Great Master Tao, it wouldn't be long before Si Xixin would ascend the throne.
However, since Yuann Mingzhen asked deliberately, the answer ought not to be so simple.
Indeed, seeing Tao Qian hesitant, Yuann Mingzhen didn't tease any further and directly said:
"Among these two factions, if we solely consider the foundational strength, Liu Pei is stronger than Li Wanshou."
"It's not because Liu Pei entered the alchemist circle first, but because there are more powerful descendants born in the Liu Family than in the Li Family."
"Among the Liu Family's younger generation, some possess talents, qualifications, blessings, and fortunes that are not weaker than Liu Pei himself. They just lacked the crucial title of 'Founding Emperor,' which prevented them from overcoming the Daoist Transformation Tribulation."
"Even so, the power of those individuals is extremely terrifying. Below the Daoist Transformation, they have almost no rivals... If they unite to launch a joint attack, even when facing a true Daoist Realm powerhouse, they would not be at a disadvantage."
"Because the descendants are quite powerful, Liu Pei has always been able to suppress Li Wanshou."
"Hence, although Si Xixin appears to have the upper hand now, it doesn't mean that Zhang Jinluan can't turn the tables if a conflict arises."
Another big secret seeped into Tao Qian's ears.
Tao Qian didn't need Yuann Mingzhen to elaborate too much; by briefly comparing historical records, he inferred who the terrifying Liu Family descendants Yuann Mingzhen mentioned were.
After guessing, Tao Qian seemed to think of something and subconsciously asked:
"Most of these Emperors were enlightened rulers in their lifetimes, but their temperaments greatly changed after becoming alchemists. This must be a heavy price of their bloodthirsty longing for longevity."
"The fierce Liu Family descendants must have changed as well. If so, would they still respect Liu Pei, the old ancestor?"
"They might think the old ancestor used the 'Founding Emperor' rule to rob them of their fortune, preventing them from reaching the Daoist Realm."
"Being mutated cultivators striving for the Daoist Realm, they surely wouldn't mind slaughtering or assassinating their ancestral forebear, right?"
"Even if they don't kill him, they would at least turn against him, wouldn't they?"
Yuann Mingzhen seemed to have predicted that Tao Qian would ask such questions.
After hearing this, he immediately smiled and responded:
"Indeed, that's what those individuals think, and indeed that is the case."
"Liu Pei precisely uses that rule to continuously suppress and extract the powerful fortunes and strength from his descendants, thus maintaining his suppression over Li Wanshou."
"Regrettably, although these individuals know this, they can't retaliate."
"Due to bloodline reasons, they are all under Liu Pei's control, with their lives and deaths in the hands of the old ancestor, so how could they attack?"
"As for whether there are any covert schemes, outsiders wouldn't know."
"However, there are exceptions..."
At this point, Yuann Mingzhen paused.
Then, seemingly sensing something, he pointed in the direction of the Imperial City, and continued:
"Given that the Liu Family has produced so many Emperors, having an exception isn't strange."
"Now among the Twelve Emperors, nine have already emerged, leaving three, among whom one also bears the surname Liu. This person has an extraordinary fortune and before even becoming Emperor, allied with an exceptional talent who used a cunning method to evade Liu Pei's bloodline control and even secured an alchemist emperor position."
"Perhaps for this reason, although he is a descendant of the Liu Family, after becoming an alchemist, he turned against Liu Pei and even stooped to support Li Wanshou."
"Oh, which Emperor from the history books is this? And what method did he use?"
Hearing more secret gossip, Tao Qian's eyes lit up as he asked.
Just as Yuann Mingzhen was about to speak, a familiar noise and an imperial edict resounded again from the direction of the Imperial City:
"Liu Xuande!"
"He is also a new ancestor of the Liu Family, his governance and rituals used in unison, his dignity and virtue run parallel, his merits to the people are immense, and his legacy shall be worshipped for a thousand years."
"I have heard that the Longevity Forbidden Technique in this realm has shattered, and my heart worries for all people. I have specially returned, wishing to establish Si Xixin as the new Human Emperor."
"Grant Ancestral Dragon Jade Pendant!"
"Grant Liu Family's Treasure Vault!"
...
When this imperial edict echoed, the observers from seventy-two provinces, watching the excitement and focusing on the big event, were initially stunned.
Then, they also began to sense some gossip and secrets within.
A group of Founding Emperors, split into two factions supporting two different Human Emperors, is now a well-known fact to the world.
And you, Liu Xuande, being an Emperor of the Liu Family, why not support your ancestral forebear but instead support Li Wanshou, this junior?
Could it be that the Liu Family has internal conflicts?
Just as everyone was curious about this, unexpectedly to everyone.
The next echoing imperial edict was still in the Imperial City.
Not only followed right after Liu Xuande's descent but also the words in the imperial edict indicated a close relationship between the two:
"Cao Mengde!"
"He is the founder of the Cao Family too. Observing Lord Cao's keen and strategic acumen, his divine unpredictability, his perseverance in adversity, his unshaken resolve in dangerous situations, his decisive action in critical moments, without regrets, such has not been seen since ancient times."
"I and Xuande were traveling abroad when suddenly hearing of the disaster in this realm, we returned together, wishing to establish Si Xixin as the new Human Emperor."
"Grant Ancestral Dragon Secret Book!"
"Grant Cao Family's Treasure Vault!"
...
PS: Seeking a wave of monthly tickets, give Yu some encouragement.