The spiritual energy was restored, and he became a mortal immortal in two days.

[The 175th Year of the Kendo Era - Autumn]

I, Wu Minghuang, received guidance from the holy master Chen Xiang in the deep mountains, beheaded my elder brother, and returned to Tianfeng Imperial City with the Heavenly Phoenix Crown.

On that day, the setting sun, like blood, illuminated the nine-tiered palace of the imperial city.

Outside the city gate, Prime Minister Xu Tianhua led a hundred officials to welcome him, a sea of ​​people kneeling in obeisance.

I stood before the city gate, clad in blood-stained battle robes and holding a broken halberd, my gaze sweeping over the faces that were filled with fear, suspicion, or lurking malice.

Xu Tianhua, together with his relatives, issued an imperial edict ordering me to "temporarily assume charge of state affairs."

Temporary filming? I sneered inwardly.

Having stepped through this gate, no one can relinquish this imperial throne.

[Enthronement Ceremony - Bloodstained the World]

Three days later, the coronation ceremony took place.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau would select an auspicious time to offer sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, and the ancestral temples.

The music and ceremonies were magnificent, and the banners obscured the sun. I wore a black robe embroidered with nine soaring phoenixes, and a phoenix crown on my head, as I ascended the ninety-nine white jade steps.

Below the steps, an old minister tearfully remonstrated: "A hen crowing at dawn brings ruin to the family! A woman as emperor is unprecedented in history; I fear it will invite divine retribution and jeopardize the very foundation of the nation!"

Some former officials and princes secretly colluded, intending to take advantage of the ceremony to "purge the court of corrupt officials and rectify the government."

I stand on the high platform, looking down upon all living beings, my face expressionless.

As soon as the old minister finished speaking, I raised my hand, and a flash of crimson gold flame appeared at my fingertips.

puff!

The old minister's brow creased open, a wisp of green smoke dissipated, and his body fell to the ground silently.

His eyes still held horror, as if he couldn't believe I would dare to commit such a brutal act during the sacrificial ceremony, under the watchful eyes of everyone.

The entire room was deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop.

"I am the will of Heaven."

My voice wasn't loud, but it carried to every corner of the square: "Those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish."

The hidden soldiers emerged and seized all the princes and nobles who had attempted to cause trouble, bringing them to the front of the stage.

I didn't even glance at them, but said to the Minister of Justice, "Investigate. Anyone who harbors disloyal intentions shall have their entire family executed, including nine generations. Their property shall be confiscated and added to the national treasury."

Blood stained the white jade railings of the ceremony. Cries and pleas for mercy were quickly drowned out by the shouts of armored soldiers and the clash of swords.

On that day, in the 3,742nd year of the Tianfeng Dynasty, the first female emperor was born.

Not with benevolence and virtue, but with iron and blood.

At the beginning of his reign, the court was like rotten wood, its interior already hollowed out by termites.

The powerful clans were deeply entrenched, officials were rampant with corruption, the border troops were decadent, and the national treasury was empty.

Furthermore, remnants of the former dynasty's princes and spies from foreign forces lurk in the shadows, waiting for their chance to strike.

I know that the Holy Teacher taught me to kill, not for bloodlust, but for a new life.

In the first year, I used the Heavenly Phoenix Guard as my eyes, ears, and henchmen to conduct a thorough investigation in secret.

Those with conclusive evidence will be severely punished, regardless of their official rank or background.

Seventeen households were exterminated and their families wiped out, while hundreds were exiled to remote border regions.

Bloodshed permeated the imperial court, and everyone lived in fear. Yet, the corrupt practices were gradually eradicated, and government orders began to be implemented.

The following year, the military was reorganized.

Replace incompetent generals and promote talented individuals from humble backgrounds.

Half of the national treasury's reserves were used to upgrade military equipment and reward meritorious service.

He personally went to the northern border, beheaded the enemy chieftain who had invaded the territory, and hung his head at the gate.

The morale of the troops was greatly boosted, and the border defenses were secured.

In the third year, the tax system was reformed, land was surveyed, and the annexation of land by powerful families was curbed.

He promoted water conservancy projects and encouraged agriculture and sericulture. He held imperial examinations to select officials, regardless of their social status, based solely on their talent.

He offended countless powerful families and clans, and assassinations, poisonings, and curses followed one after another.

I used the Heavenly Phoenix True Fire to burn away all demons and monsters, and annihilated the most rampant powerful clans of the three families, displaying their clan emblems at the city gates for three months.

From then on, the new policy was implemented without any further public obstruction.

In the fourth year, efforts were made to appease the people and reduce taxes and corvée labor. An orphanage was established to care for orphans and widows.

Severely punish cruel officials who oppress the people.

People began to praise her, saying, "Although the Empress was strict, she was fair in her dealings and cared deeply for the common people."

In the fifth year, the Tianfeng Dynasty gradually recovered its national strength, its treasury was full, and its army was strong and well-equipped. Neighboring countries from all directions sent envoys to pay tribute and submit to the emperor.

In the imperial court, although the officials still held dissenting opinions, none dared to question the emperor's authority.

His decrees were carried out as easily as his own arms.

In the past five years, I have spent far more nights in my study than in my bedroom.

It was common for him to review memorials until dawn. His methods became increasingly forceful, and his thoughts increasingly profound.

His smiles faded, and his gaze grew colder.

The princess who once shed tears of grievance due to her brother's coercion has long since been tempered into a true emperor through blood and fire, power and intrigue.

However, no matter how busy I am with court affairs, every year on the day of the first snow, I will travel light and secretly leave the capital to go to that deep mountain, that thatched cottage, and that peach tree.

【Annual Pilgrimage, Supreme Respect】

On my first visit, I brought with me a hundred delicacies prepared by the imperial chefs, fine wines and exquisite clothes.

The sage took only a pot of clear tea and two coarse grain cakes, and said, "The greatest taste in the world is simple joy."

The following year, I gathered rare treasures, ancient books, secret texts, and miraculous herbs from all over the world.

The sage glanced at it briefly, picked up a withered branch from the corner of the wall, and drew a few strokes on the ground to explain the principles of Yin and Yang, which was more effective than reading the Daoist canon for ten years.

In the third year, I gathered skilled craftsmen to renovate and expand the thatched hut, and build a magnificent palace.

The sage waved his hand to stop him, pointing to the thatched roof: "This hut may be humble, but it can shelter you from wind and rain; if your heart is extravagant, it will be difficult to carry the Great Way."

In the fourth year, I no longer carried any external objects.

Alone, dressed simply, he brewed tea for the Holy Master under the peach tree, reporting on the gains and losses of the past year's political affairs and his confusion about spiritual practice.

My sage teacher occasionally offered guidance, and with just a few words, he enlightened me.

The fifth year was the same. Snow fell silently, and tea smoke curled upwards.

The Holy Master sat on a stone bench, and I stood beside him, just like the most ordinary master and disciple.

In a daze, it felt as if I had returned to the time when we first met at the age of eighteen. But now, my hands are stained with countless drops of blood, and I bear the weight of a nation on my shoulders.

"Excessive killing and violence can easily damage one's Daoist heart."

The sage suddenly spoke, his gaze calm, "The way of the emperor is to combine strength and gentleness."

"You have grasped the sword firmly; it is time to learn when to sheath it."

I bowed and said, "Your disciple will remember this."

For the past five years, I have acted as a disciple, despite my imperial status.

In the eyes of the Sage, all things in the world seem to be without distinction.

My courtesy is not out of flattery, but out of heartfelt reverence and gratitude.

If it weren't for the Holy Master's words of enlightenment that day, which taught me the path to Nirvana, how could I be the Martial Phoenix who holds the reins of the universe today?

In the winter of the 180th year of the Sword Dao Era, the Tianfeng Dynasty was as solid as a rock.

However, I know that worldly power is but a small part of the long path of spiritual practice.

But the tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease.

How many people's paths have been cut off by my rise to power?

How many eyes have been stung by my autobiography?

This magnificent fortune has attracted countless greedy eyes.

Beyond the secular world, numerous immortal sects exist, which they seek to control and dominate.

I have no fear.

For I know that even if the whole world is my enemy, deep in the green mountains, under the thatched cottage and peach tree, there is still one person who quietly observes the changing world.

I, Wu Minghuang, will build upon the foundation forged in these five years of iron-fisted struggle, and with the collective fortune of all people, towards a more prosperous dynasty, towards a dynasty at its zenith...

Take that step.

.......

.......

Lu Yao held the communicator, looking at the autobiography written in classical Chinese, which exuded an iron will and domineering spirit between the lines.

Especially when reading the passage about Wu Minghuang visiting her senior brother and performing the disciple's ceremony every year despite the wind and snow, I felt a strange sense of envy and comparison.

"Senior brother, Her Majesty the Empress truly respects you," Lu Yao whispered.

Chen Xuan turned his gaze from the distant sky to the last few lines of text on the communicator screen, a barely perceptible complex expression flashing in his eyes.

"She has embarked on her own path."

He said calmly, "I chose this path, and I have to bear the consequences myself."

The heyday of the Tianfeng Dynasty was not permitted in the cultivation world at that time, especially by those self-important and aloof immortal sects.