Chapter 1773: Train Killing Trap

That Emperor... is he really going to die of old age?

Whenever this thought appeared in Lord Chong’s mind, he couldn't help but feel excited. He didn't hope for Ying Fu’s death; on the contrary, he very much hoped that Ying Fu could live well...

The past presidents of the Alchemy Association had conducted secret investigations, and it seemed that the Emperor was that person from history... If it really was that person, then his obsession with longevity would undoubtedly become a springboard for the Alchemy Association to further control the world!

The Alchemy Association could refine the Philosopher's Stone, and the Philosopher's Stone could carry a person’s consciousness to complete spiritual immortality. Plus, the Alchemy Association had already found Li Shangfeng, the key to stitching spirits and artificial humans together. They could be said to have grasped the key to eternal life... Lord Chong didn't believe that the First Emperor could refuse the temptation of eternal life!

With the key to eternal life, they could influence the Emperor’s life and death to a certain extent. As long as they operated reasonably, they could even turn that person into a puppet for them to control the world!

This secret letter was the beginning of the Emperor starting to reuse the Alchemy Association... Lord Chong believed that the South Sea Prison would definitely become their first experimental field for refining the Philosopher's Stone.

The Alchemy Association had finally waited for this day.

Thinking of this, the unease in Lord Chong’s heart dissipated for the most part. He clutched the secret letter in his hand, feeling his heart surge with excitement.

Clang——!!

Just then, a dull sound rang out from the domain train’s tracks.

Lord Chong felt his body jolt, followed by a harsh screech of brakes. This carriage, which only had him as a passenger, kept slowing down in the Grey World...

Finally, it stopped quietly on the barren land.

Lord Chong was stunned.

He immediately looked around from the window. There were no calamities present. Lord Chong had never heard of a domain train stopping for no reason in the Grey World.

"What happened? Why did we stop?"

"Attendant... Attendant!"

Lord Chong called for the attendant in the carriage, but received no response. Both inside and outside the carriage were quiet, and the eerie, dead silence made his scalp tingle.

The unease in Lord Chong’s heart grew stronger. Just as he was about to open the carriage door himself, it opened slowly with a crisp sound...

Creak——

The carriage door opened in the barren world. In the monotonous black, white, and grey world, a figure in black and red python robes stood silently behind the door.

It was a man with a majestic demeanor, with jade pendants hanging from his waist and a wooden box on his back. A four-clawed dragon soared through the clouds on his gorgeous python robe, and his whole person exuded an indescribable nobility.

Seeing this person, Lord Chong was startled at first, then said happily:

"Duke Zhao?! Why are you here??"

Lord Chong naturally knew this person; he was one of the three contemporary demigods, the Book God Path demigod, Duke Zhao. This Duke Zhao was elusive and was often sent out by the Emperor to perform secret missions. Lord Chong had heard before he set off that Duke Zhao had also gone out, but he hadn't expected to see him here.

"I am here, naturally, to wait for you," Duke Zhao stood calmly in the Grey World, looking at the joyful Lord Chong, a subtle smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Did His Majesty send you?"

"...Yes."

Lord Chong finally breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately said, "Thank you, Duke Zhao... To tell you the truth, I am on a secret mission from His Majesty to go to the South Sea Prison to handle a major matter concerning the survival of the dynasty... The domain train stopped for no reason, but with Duke Zhao here, I can rest easy."

"Lord Chong... you won't make it to the South Sea Prison."

Duke Zhao’s voice rang out leisurely.

Lord Chong was startled. Just as he was about to say something, a sharp brushstroke like a spear piercing the sky flew out from the wooden box on Duke Zhao’s back!

The speed of this brushstroke was too fast; it pierced Lord Chong’s shoulder blade directly, carrying him away for dozens of meters with a whistle, and then nailed him firmly to a Grey World boulder!

Thud——!!

Hideous cracks spread across the surface of the boulder, and Lord Chong spat out a mouthful of blood, his face as pale as paper.

He looked at Duke Zhao, who was walking slowly toward him, in bewilderment, his face full of confusion... He immediately shouted:

"Duke Zhao! Is there some misunderstanding!? I am on a secret mission from His Majesty..."

"Secret letter?" Duke Zhao shook his head. "His Majesty never wrote you any secret letter."

"It’s true! The letter is in my arms, it..."

"Does it have His Majesty’s personal seal on it? Does it have His Majesty’s signature? It doesn't even have a subject on it. With only the four characters 'South Sea Prison,' who can prove it’s His Majesty’s secret letter?"

Lord Chong’s body shook as if struck by lightning!!

"You..." he stared blankly at Duke Zhao, unable to speak for a moment. "How do you know... but it was clearly Eunuch Zuo who personally handed it to me... He also said His Majesty..."

Seeing the subtle smile at the corner of Duke Zhao’s mouth, Lord Chong finally seemed to realize something, and disbelief appeared on his face!

"It’s His Majesty... His Majesty wants to kill me?!?"

Eunuch Zuo was His Majesty’s confidant. He handed him the secret letter and only mentioned that it was to be passed on by His Majesty, but didn't say a word about anything else... The four vague characters in the letter, a subtle conjecture, and a train ticket leaving the Chengtian Domain—everything had a reasonable but eerie sense of secrecy.

Lord Chong had thought that the materials for refining the Philosopher's Stone were not honorable, so he could understand why His Majesty was so secretive. But now it seemed that wasn't the case... Eunuch Zuo and Duke Zhao were both people His Majesty trusted most. The two of them joined forces to trick him out of the Chengtian Domain and into this desolate Grey World to kill him. It was impossible for His Majesty to be completely unaware.

The only possibility was that all of this was pushed by His Majesty in the dark. He used an obscure secret letter to make him leave the Taishi Bureau and the Chengtian Domain, and he didn't even dare to tell those around him what he was going to do before he left... He just left quietly, and his corpse would be discovered in the Grey World along with an "attacked" domain train.

No one would suspect the Emperor. The Alchemy Association, including Brand, would only attribute the cause of death to the calamities of the Grey World.

"No... I don't understand!" Lord Chong’s emotions were a bit agitated. "Why does His Majesty want to kill me?!"

"Lord Chong, are you really stupid, or are you pretending to be?" Duke Zhao sneered. "Do you really think that your little thoughts in the Alchemy Association... can escape His Majesty’s notice?"

Lord Chong’s body shook.

"I..."

"You still don't understand His Majesty at all... You think that a Philosopher's Stone, an ethereal opportunity for eternal life, can manipulate His Majesty? Do you really think His Majesty would truly believe in your Alchemy Association?" Duke Zhao said unhurriedly,

"Everything you see is what His Majesty wants you to see... Everything you fantasize about is also what His Majesty deliberately guided you to fantasize about."

"After all, if he didn't give you some hope, how would you have served His Majesty so wholeheartedly for more than three hundred years?"