Qin Renhuang just became an immortal, and you told me this is the prehistoric time

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The First Emperor bowed deeply, this time with genuine excitement and relief. In his eyes, Ying Xuan had finally heeded his most crucial advice, and the foundation of the Qin Dynasty finally had hope for continuation! As for the specific considerations behind Ying Xuan's agreement, they were no longer important at this moment.

Ying Xuan nodded slightly, thus settling the matter. With the succession issue resolved, the potential dangers arising from the Imperial Guard's excessive power now had a systemic buffer.

Even if he were to be unable to return for a long time due to exploring a higher level of world, as the First Emperor feared, with a legitimate heir to the Qin Dynasty, a relatively complete court system, and a legitimate cause, the Qin Dynasty would not fall into chaos, and there would be no absurd tragedy of "dying after only two generations".

This is the safest solution under the current circumstances.

Ying Xuan agreed to the First Emperor's request to leave an heir for the royal family. Seeing the look of relief and even a hint of triumph on his father's face, who had been through both his past and present lives, Ying Xuan turned and walked away with steady steps, but his heart was filled with complex emotions.

He was not afraid of death. With the Stone Gate Space, a near-bug-like ultimate escape route, he was confident that he could escape into it and save his life no matter what danger he encountered. Therefore, he never worried about his own safety.

His concern was always about the stability and continuation of the Qin Dynasty, the "world foundation" he had built and on which he placed his hopes.

If, as the First Emperor hypothesized, he were unable to return for decades or even centuries due to exploring higher-level worlds, then even if he left behind numerous contingency plans and established the most perfect systems, he would still be no match for the surge in power of nearly ten million.

Moreover, without a direct bloodline heir to serve as a "righteous cause" to restrain the Imperial Guards, he truly had no idea how chaotic the empire would become in the face of the powerful ministers with their own differing intentions. History had taught him too many lessons; a power vacuum had always been the perfect breeding ground for ambition and chaos.

Originally, he was all alone, pursuing personal transcendence and the eternal Dao. The continuation of his lineage was not in his plans, and he even felt it was a burden. However, the First Emperor's almost heart-wrenching analysis laid bare the "weakness" of having no heir, which he had subconsciously ignored, and directly linked it to the stability of the Qin Dynasty.

For this world, to which he had poured countless efforts and which would become one of his sources of power in the future, he had to make compromises.

"Fine, let them stay if they want."

"If having an heir can bring decades or even centuries of internal stability, it's worth it."

Ying Xuan sighed inwardly, suppressing his helplessness.

He watched the First Emperor's figure disappear outside the palace gate, and could even imagine what the other was thinking at that moment.

Although this young man is exceptionally talented and resourceful, he is ultimately young and overconfident. He does not understand the ways of an emperor, which require leaving room for maneuver in all situations. Now that he has come to this understanding, I am relieved.

A barely perceptible bitter smile flickered across Ying Xuan's lips as he shook his head.

It's not that he doesn't understand; it's just that he used to think it wasn't worth the effort. Now that he's made the decision, he'll do it.

He raised his head and looked around the transformed hall. Since the Great Qin Imperial Palace and the Void Heaven Palace merged and evolved into the prototype of a celestial artifact to suppress the nation's destiny, subtle and mysterious changes had been occurring every day.

The main hall, used for grand court assemblies, was originally made of spirit jade, but gradually transformed into an unknown material that was neither gold nor jade, radiating an eternal and sacred luster. Its light was warm and gentle, yet contained an inviolable majesty.

The interior space appears unchanged, but in reality, it has been infinitely stretched and expanded. Standing within it, looking up at the dome, one can see the phantoms of the sun, moon, and stars slowly rotating, radiating starlight; looking down, one can see pure white clouds gathering into auspicious clouds, rising and falling. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth, so dense as to be almost tangible, spontaneously gathers into a light mist, swirling within the hall.

Sitting on the dragon throne carved from star-shaped jade, Ying Xuan could clearly feel that he was as if he had become one with the entire palace. With a slight thought, he could sense every plant and tree in the palace and even mobilize part of the palace's array power.

This hall has evolved from a relatively balanced component during its initial construction into one of the most crucial hubs of the entire imperial palace's grand formation.

Composing himself, Ying Xuan decided to act decisively. Having made his decision, he would act swiftly and decisively.

He took a step forward, and his figure disappeared from the empty hall.

The next moment, he appeared in the inner palace area, in the bedroom of Empress Lü Zhi.

It was late at night, and most of the palace lights had been extinguished, leaving only a few ever-burning lamps casting a soft glow. Steam rose from the hot spring bath in the inner palace. Empress Lü had just finished bathing and was standing up from the pool; glistening water droplets rolled down her smooth, delicate skin, shimmering alluringly under the lamplight.

She picked up a soft silk handkerchief from the side, about to wipe herself, when suddenly she sensed something, looked up sharply, and saw the figure in black robes appear silently beside the screen.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"

Lü Zhi was startled at first, but when she saw who it was, her charming yet shrewd eyes were instantly filled with immense joy.

Ignoring the water droplets still clinging to her body and forgetting to pick up her clothes to cover herself, she walked briskly towards us barefoot, exuding a damp fragrance and radiating heat, her voice trembling with disbelief and tenderness.

"Why...why are you here so late at night? You didn't even let anyone announce your arrival..."

Countless thoughts raced through her mind in an instant. His Majesty's sudden, midnight visit to her palace—what an extraordinary favor! Could it be…?

Ying Xuan looked calmly at the alluring body before him, which appeared even more seductive in the lamplight and steam.

He chose to come to Lü Zhi's place for no particular reason; he simply happened to scan her with his divine sense and find her bathing. On a whim, he came over. Since he intended to have an heir, these women who had followed him for so long naturally had a chance. Lü Zhi was quite shrewd and capable; among the concubines of the Qin Dynasty, she was considered one of the best.

"No need for formalities."

Ying Xuan spoke calmly, reaching out to help Lü Zhi, who was about to kneel. His hand touched her warm, smooth skin, carrying the sweet fragrance of a post-bath bath.

However, although Ying Xuan's arrival concealed most of his aura, he was still as clearly identifiable as a lighthouse in the dark for the other concubines who had also achieved cultivation and were within the palace's array.

Especially when he appeared in the palace of a concubine, the special spatial fluctuations and the unique Daoist charm belonging to Ying Xuan could not be hidden from the "sisters" in the same palace.

Almost at the same time that Ying Xuan appeared in Lü Zhi's palace, in several palaces not far apart, Qu Ruo, Jing Rou, and Zhao Shan, three concubines of similar extraordinary birth and high aspirations, were awakened from their meditation or rest at almost the same time. Their consciousness subconsciously swept towards the direction of Lü Zhi's palace, and then, their three beautiful faces were instantly filled with undisguised anger and jealousy!
"That vixen!" Qu Ruo smashed the jade cup in her hand, her beautiful eyes filled with murderous intent.

"They must have used some underhanded means to lure His Majesty there late at night!"

"Hmph, Lü Zhi has always been the most scheming. Relying on her early achievements, she doesn't take her sisters seriously!"

Jing Rou gritted her teeth, her fingers gripping her sleeve tightly.

"She has the most people in the inner study, and she competes with us the most fiercely for resources! Now she even wants to monopolize His Majesty's space?"

Zhaoshan was relatively calmer, but her expression was still extremely unpleasant.

"Recently, there have been rumors circulating in the palace that the Emperor Emeritus has persuaded His Majesty to produce an heir for the royal family... His Majesty has yet to appoint an Empress, leaving the harem without a mistress. If Lü Zhi were to give birth to a prince first... given her cunning and ruthlessness, coupled with the prospect of having an heir, would we still have a place in this harem?"

These four women, along with several other local concubines, were initially brought into Ying Xuan's inner study and given power, with the intention of checking and balancing each other, monitoring the court and recruiting talent for him. However, power breeds ambition, and over the years, they have engaged in constant open and covert struggles to expand their influence in the inner study and the court, and have already developed deep conflicts.

Now that it involves such a momentous matter as "giving birth to an imperial heir," which concerns their future status and even the throne of empress, how could they not be anxious and hate Lü Zhi, who seemed to have "taken the lead," with a burning hatred?

Ying Xuan paid no attention to these palace intrigues.

Once he made his decision, he acted swiftly and decisively. After staying overnight in Lü Zhi's palace, he appeared in the palaces of more than a dozen of the main concubines, including Yao Yue, Lian Xing, Shangguan Haitang, and Li Xiuning, as well as Qu Ruo, Jing Rou, and Zhao Shan.

His actions instantly quelled the undercurrents in the harem caused by his nighttime visit to Empress Lü, but also stirred up even greater waves and expectations.

All the concubines understood His Majesty's intention—he truly intended to leave behind an heir! Moreover, judging from the situation, he wasn't favoring just one person, but rather spreading his affections evenly among them! This rekindled the hopes of Qu Ruo and others who had been filled with despair because of Empress Lü, and it also made all the concubines extremely vigilant, serving him with utmost care and anticipation.

Ying Xuan was fully aware of this, but he didn't care.

The women around him came from different worlds, and he had no intention of showing particular favoritism towards any of them, nor did he plan to establish an empress at this time. Since he had decided to keep an empress, in order to maintain balance and to have more "insurance," he planned to ensure that each of his main concubines would bear at least one child.

As for the palace maids who were always by his side and whom he trusted, he would not mind bestowing upon them the same good fortune if the opportunity arose.

Time flies, and a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Throughout the year, good news kept coming from the Qin imperial harem. Led by more than a dozen principal concubines, along with hundreds of close palace maids who were always by Ying Xuan's side and whose qualities and character were well-regarded, they were all diagnosed with pregnancy.

For a time, women with slightly protruding bellies could be seen everywhere in the harem, their faces radiating maternal glow and anticipation for the future.

However, as time went on, a strange phenomenon began to make everyone, including the pregnant women themselves, feel uneasy and anxious—they were ten months pregnant, or even more than ten months pregnant, but there was no sign of the baby being born!
No matter how the imperial physician examined the fetus, its vital signs were stable and strong, even stronger than those of an ordinary fetus, but it just "lingered" in the mother's body and refused to come out.

The news spread, sparking much speculation and discussion throughout the court and among the public. Some worried whether there were unusual celestial phenomena, while others guessed that His Majesty's offspring were extraordinary, hence the unusual pregnancy. It wasn't until Ying Xuan, through his deep connection with the core of the Great Qin world, carefully examined the condition of the pregnant women and fetuses that he suddenly understood the key to the matter.

The path of cultivation is inherently defying the heavens; the higher the level of life, the more difficult it is to conceive offspring.

These pregnant women had all broken through to the first level of life, and some, like Yaoyue and Lianxing, were even close to Foundation Establishment, with the nascent form of their primordial spirits condensed within them. Ying Xuan himself was about to step into the threshold of Earth Immortal.

Both parents possess life essences far exceeding those of ordinary people. Their offspring, conceived together, will undoubtedly have an exceptionally strong innate foundation. However, the gestation period and "nutrients" required will also be far beyond those of an ordinary fetus.

This long pregnancy is precisely the process by which the fetus spontaneously absorbs the essence of heaven and earth, integrates the life imprints and law information of the parents, and lays the foundation for the supreme Dao within the mother's body!

Successful conception was already a result of Ying Xuan's own formidable strength, as well as the women's full cooperation and willingness to sacrifice their own life essence. As for a natural birth? According to Ying Xuan's feedback from the world's core and his own deductions, it would take at least... three years and six months!
"Three years and six months..."

Ying Xuan was speechless upon learning the result.

This meant that he could not stay in Qin and witness the birth of his offspring.

He has more important things to do—to explore new worlds and acquire greater power and resources.

However, the news of a large-scale pregnancy among the concubines and palace maids had already produced the effect Ying Xuan had anticipated. The Qin court and the country had truly "stabilized."

Those high-ranking officials and generals who might have harbored a lingering anxiety—"What should we do if His Majesty does not return for a long time?"—were now completely at ease. His Majesty had an heir, and the foundation of the nation was secure! They only needed to follow the existing system, perform their duties, and remain loyal to the Ying imperial family.

Furthermore, in order to gain an advantage in the potential "meritorious service of supporting the emperor" in the future, many officials began to devote themselves more diligently to the factions of the concubines they favored or had connections with, offering them advice and consolidating their power. The connection between the harem and the court thus became closer and more subtle.

Of course, this matter did not please everyone. The princes of the First Emperor, who were nominally Ying Xuan's brothers, were all furious when they heard the news that hundreds of women in the harem were pregnant. Many of them simply announced that they would go into seclusion to avoid seeing the situation.

Originally, since Ying Xuan had no heir, these closest blood relatives of the royal family theoretically still had a slim chance of succession. But now, with Ying Xuan's own children about to be born in droves, their pitiful illusions have been completely shattered, and their path to supreme power has been completely blocked. The disappointment and resentment in their hearts are unimaginable.

With the succession issue settled, the imperial court and harem experienced a new period of stability. Meanwhile, in the Qin Dynasty, the lives of the nearly ten million imperial guards who retired from the army underwent a dramatic transformation that year.

These soldiers, after a year of rest and recuperation, did not truly become idle.

With their superhuman physique and strength, they reclaimed and cultivated vast tracts of farmland with astonishing efficiency. Although the imperial court exempted some of their families from land taxes due to their military achievements, each household still owned at least a hundred acres of land, producing far too much grain!

Moreover, they were using high-yield grain varieties that Ying Xuan had brought back from the modern world years ago and that had been cultivated and optimized by the Shaofu (Imperial Household Department) over many years.

They couldn't possibly consume all the grain they wanted, so the surplus naturally went to the market to be exchanged for money and other necessities. (End of Chapter)