NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 236: For a Woman?
Although Qin Zhengji knew the other’s identity, he still couldn’t bring himself to take action.
In the end, he even helped the princess of the Holy Demon Dynasty conceal everything from the Great Xia.
The result? The princess’s mind became increasingly eroded.
Her temper grew stranger by the day.
It sent the entire harem scrambling in fear.
Watching the princess of the Holy Demon Dynasty succumb more and more, Qin Zhengji realized that his beloved was on the brink of being completely sealed away.
At that moment, he was faced with two choices.
First, kill her and wipe out a formidable enemy.
Second, let her return to the Holy Demon Dynasty and become a potent adversary for Great Xia in the future.
By then, Qin Zhengji was no longer young.
He had lingered in the quasi-saint realm for quite a while.
But when it came down to these two options, he ultimately couldn’t make a decision.
He didn’t want to kill his lover, but he definitely didn’t want to doom the entire Great Xia royal family out of selfishness.
So, he opted for delay!
Year after year, he hoped the situation would improve, until he could no longer suppress the princess of the Holy Demon Dynasty, and the royal family also noticed something was off.
Qin Zhengji found himself making a decision that violated the will of his ancestors.
At that time, he was on the verge of breaking through to the Saint Realm.
Succeed, and he’d become a timeless emperor!
Fail… and he’d fall flat on his face!
The decision he made? To use the Void Sutra and engage in dual cultivation with the princess of the Holy Demon Dynasty!
Because at that time, this was the only solution he could come up with to rescue her.
If he succeeded, he could entirely pull her from the clutches of the demonic path.
If he failed, the consequences would be rather severe.
Not only would he create a tougher foe in the demon path, but he himself could also easily end up going demonic.
However, Qin Zhengji felt he had no other options left.
He had to take that gamble.
As for the outcome…
Well, it was painfully obvious.
He failed.
From that point on, Qin Zhengji was corroded by demonic energy and became Qin Zhengmo.
And as for the one he tried to save, thanks to the Void Sutra’s energy boost in dual cultivation, her mental state improved slightly, but that was about it.
Yet, her power surged as she broke through into the Saint Realm in one leap.
A Saint Realm individual of the demonic path appeared within Great Xia.
And there was Qin Zhengji, the Emperor of Xia at the time, suffering in agony from the influence of demonic energy.
The results were utterly clear.
Great Xia faced an unprecedented disaster.
Suffering of all living beings was merely a polite way to put it.
Hell on earth? It was hardly that bad.
Fortunately, Qin Zhengji wasn’t completely dimwitted.
Before attempting dual cultivation to save someone, he had already considered the worst possible outcome.
So, after utilizing Great Xia’s resources, he managed to preserve it.
The injured princess returned to the Holy Demon Dynasty and never made an appearance again.
And he, Qin Zhengji…
The Emperor of Great Xia.
He committed such a foolish act, leading to dire consequences.
The punishment he faced was rather straightforward.
There was no way he could retain his position as Emperor of Great Xia.
Not only that, but Qin Zhengji would also have to apologize to his ancestors and his subjects.
It’s safe to say that at that time, he single-handedly tarnished the royal family’s reputation.
And Qin Zhengji was acutely aware of the grave mistake he had made.
Once he had a successor, he chose to enter meditation.
In the end, despite his guilt, he also had merits to his name, which is how he was eventually allowed into the inner circle of the imperial mausoleum.
However, they didn’t bring him in to rest; they intended for him to become the nourishment for the inner mausoleum.
A once-great emperor, celebrated for his achievements, found himself not only scorned in life…
But also paying for his errors in death.
“Oh~ Now I understand a bit more, but there’s no one else to blame but yourself.”
After hearing everything, Qin Bei looked surprisingly calm compared to what Qin Zhengji had anticipated.
“That’s it?”
Qin Zhengji asked, bewildered.
“What do you mean that’s it?”
Qin Bei seemed genuinely puzzled.
“Don’t you hate me? After all, in recent years, Great Xia’s territory has steadily shrunk, and its standing in the Cangzhou Continent has plummeted, even making us a joke in others’ mouths—only the sinner across the ages, right?”
Qin Zhengji spoke with sincerity.
Qin Bei could see that his great-great-great-grandfather was genuinely remorseful.
“Didn’t you conquer all those lost territories yourself? Besides, in the end, they still belong to Great Xia, right? As for the jokes? Let them laugh; the more they laugh, the more they’ll end up being the joke. At least you’ve shown us that the Holy Demon Dynasty has its own underhanded tricks.”
Qin Bei said earnestly.
That was his inner thought.
“From the way you acted earlier, you clearly have strong opinions about demon cultivators. Now that you hear I’m also a demon cultivator, you must despise me or hurl insults my way, right? Don’t worry; let it fly! I’ve already been scrubbed from the honored list. I’m no longer your great-great-great-grandfather, just a senior of yours at most.”
Qin Zhengji chuckled.
“Who said that? I don’t have any strong opinions about demon cultivators. If they want to cultivate, let them! Just don’t mess with me, and certainly, don’t mess with Great Xia. Outside Great Xia, feel free to wreak havoc.”
Qin Bei said matter-of-factly.
In fact, Qin Bei thought, how can the righteous and the wicked be so clearly delineated?
Who says demon cultivators are inherently evil?
Who says righteous cultivators are necessarily virtuous?
It’s merely a difference in stance; after all, the ultimate goal is the same—personal gain.
Just like Great Xia, is it not true that their current territories were obtained step by step through invasion?
In the eyes of those who suffered invasion, what kind of role did Great Xia play?
Righteous? Wicked?
In any case, in Qin Bei’s view, Great Xia is righteous.
Because his allegiance is with Great Xia.
So even if one day Great Xia perpetrates massive slaughter on smaller nations for profit, Qin Bei will only have one thought.
Great Xia is justified!
But Emperor Xia saw things differently.
To him, strength equated to righteousness.
Talking about other matters was just a sign of insufficient power.
“Hey~ You’ve got quite the carefree spirit, unlike your father; he thinks a lot.”
Qin Zhengji laughed.
“What good does overthinking do? If you lack strength, you can only guard your territory.”
Qin Bei replied bluntly.
“Your father does very well in that department. He truly achieved what the late emperor wanted. Just unaware of how much pressure he had to bear to get there.”
Although Qin Zhengji wasn’t fully in the loop about current Great Xia, he still knew a bit.
He figured that Qin Bei’s father was doing better than he had at the beginning.
His talent shone even brighter than Qin Zhengji’s original self.
Expanding territories is easy, but defending them is a different story altogether.
This is an eternal truth.
“His? Hey~ Don’t be fooled by my father’s smiling face; I feel his ambitions run deep. I wonder if this Cangzhou Continent will be enough for him.”
Qin Bei shook his head.
Don’t let that sunny disposition fool you; Emperor Xia may look laid-back now, but Qin Bei knew the time for expansion just hadn’t arrived yet.
“I just hope he doesn’t follow in your ill-fated footsteps.”
Qin Bei mumbled quietly.