People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

Even if he were a king, he would find it difficult to remain calm in the face of the Azure Dragon Seven Constellations.

An incredulous look appeared in Gai Nie's cold eyes.

Even though he had no interest in the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions, it did not prevent him from being interested in this thing that had been passed down for thousands of years and was even praised by his teacher Guiguzi as something that could change the world.

Donghuang Taiyi said calmly, "Your Majesty, please do not be surprised. This is indeed the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions, or more precisely, one of the seven bronze treasure boxes related to the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions."

Ying Zheng's eagle eyes narrowed slightly as he looked closely and noticed that the bronze treasure box in Donghuang Taiyi's hand seemed to be very similar to the bronze treasure box recorded in their royal family.

"Seven stars, seven treasure boxes, seven secrets... and now only seven countries remain..."

Donghuang Taiyi spoke with intonation and rhythm.

"Your Majesty, according to my divination, if we unify the seven kingdoms, we will be able to find a way to unlock the secret of the Azure Dragon's Seven Mansions."

Ying Zheng suddenly sneered, "It is said that by deciphering the secret of the Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon, one can control the world. If I were to unify the world, why would I need to rely on something that is completely fictitious?"

The Qin state never obtained a single bronze treasure box, yet it still became a hegemon. What was the secret to its rise to power?

It is the law!

Instead of an unopenable bronze box!

Donghuang Taiyi was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty only knows one side of the story."

Ying Zheng calmly asked, "What is the second point?"

"Immortality".

The simple four words made the air in the hall freeze.

Ying Zheng suddenly burst into laughter, "Immortality? Do you take me for a three-year-old child?"

Although he rarely came into contact with alchemists, he had read countless stories in classical texts about how emperors were misled by supernatural phenomena, such as seeking cures and immortality.

In his mind, the Donghuang Taiyi before him was already equated with those who pretended to be gods and ghosts.

Donghuang Taiyi did not take Ying Zheng's dislike of him seriously.

Back when he was young and had become a grandmaster, full of vigor and ambition, he also looked down on everyone and everything in the world.

At this moment, Ying Zheng didn't care; he wasn't disappointed.

He has already planted the seeds.

One day, as people age and their physical functions weaken, few will be able to resist the temptation of immortality.

Especially when it's something you can potentially pursue.

Donghuang Taiyi muttered to himself.

On the shores of the East China Sea, on the fairy island of Penglai, amidst the seven constellations of the Azure Dragon.

For him, untying the ancient Ming Gui knot of the Mo family was not difficult.

When he saw the word "island," he realized that the scroll next to the elixir of immortality recipe he obtained during his travels in the State of Chu was likely the place where the secret of the Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon could be unlocked.

That is, the legendary fairyland, Penglai Island.

However, according to the scroll, Penglai Island is extremely far from the coast of the East China Sea, a place that ordinary people cannot reach.

He also needed to rely on the power of the Qin state to build a large ship to help him reach his destination.

Just as Donghuang Taiyi was plotting how to achieve his goal, Ying Zheng said calmly, "If Your Excellency Donghuang has nothing else to say, you may leave now. You Yin Yang School can keep this box."

He had little interest in the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions, and at least before unifying the seven kingdoms, he did not want to be bothered by such ethereal things.

Regardless of whether the bronze box holds the secret to immortality, he will not allow himself to be led by the nose by others.

Clearly, Donghuang Taiyi's motives are not simple.

If he didn't need various forces to consolidate his position and power, he would have even wanted to drive Donghuang Taiyi out directly.

Donghuang Taiyi narrowed his eyes slightly. The King of Qin in front of him... was very confident, or rather, arrogant.

However, he was not unaware that Ying Zheng was not interested in the Azure Dragon Seven Constellations, after all, it was just a bronze box.

"Does Your Majesty know where this bronze box came from?"

Ying Zheng remained silent, his eyes revealing impatience.

Donghuang Taiyi said to himself, "It was obtained by the Yin-Yang School from the ancient tomb of Zhuanxu. Zhuanxu was one of the Five Emperors, possessed the virtue of water, and was also known as the Xuan Emperor."

Although Dongjun and Yueshen have made it clear that the ancient tomb may not be the tomb of Zhuanxu, it does not prevent him from using this as a starting point.

Ying Zheng suppressed his impatience and became somewhat interested.

"The Five Virtues Theory of Yin and Yang".

The people of Qin revered black, and their clothing, banners, and tallies were all made of black.

Black represents water, and water represents mystery. He wanted to see what principles Donghuang Taiyi could come up with.

Donghuang Taiyi said, "That's right."

"This time, I am not only presenting the bronze treasure box, but also the 'Theory of the Five Elements' of our Yin-Yang School, to help the Qin State unify the six states."

At this point, Donghuang Taiyi sighed inwardly.

Zou Yan, as the most outstanding disciple of the Yin-Yang School, created the "Theory of the Five Elements and Their Cycles," which greatly enhanced the reputation of the Yin-Yang School.

Unfortunately, he could not defy fate and died of illness in the State of Qi before he decided to go to Qin.

No one can live forever; who can escape death?

Ying Zheng stood ramrod straight. "I am all ears. I hope Your Majesty the Eastern Emperor can give me some surprises."

Donghuang Taiyi said, "Your Majesty will not be disappointed."

He slowly began to explain the "Theory of the Five Virtues".

In short, the Yellow Emperor's era was associated with the virtue of Earth (yellow); the Xia Dynasty with the virtue of Wood (blue); the Shang Dynasty with the virtue of Metal (gold); the Zhou Dynasty with the virtue of Fire (red); and the present-day Qin state, located in the west, is associated with the virtue of Water (black). Therefore, the Qin state was the one that replaced the Zhou Dynasty and unified the world.

Ying Zheng immediately replied, "That makes sense!"

If the theory of righteous war provided a justifiable reason for Qin's military campaign, then the theory of the cyclical succession of the Five Elements provided a theoretical basis for Qin's replacement of the Zhou Dynasty.

In short, it means 'being ordained by Heaven'.

Donghuang Taiyi continued, explaining from various perspectives why the Qin state was associated with the element of water.

For example, the Qin state used the number six. The Qin system used six as a standard, with tallies being six inches long, cart tracks being six feet wide, and hats being six inches high. The element of water corresponds to the number six.

For example, the Qin state advocated strict laws and severe punishments.

Water, being associated with Yin, symbolizes punishment and killing, which aligns with the Qin state's governing philosophy.

After hearing this, Ying Zheng, who firmly believed in Legalism and thought that the country should be governed by law, went from being very interested to smiling constantly, and suddenly found Donghuang Taiyi very pleasing to the eye.

"If Your Majesty follows the tradition of the Five Elements from beginning to end, and the Zhou dynasty obtained the element of fire, and the Qin dynasty replaces the Zhou dynasty, then the Qin dynasty will be unable to overcome the Zhou dynasty."

After speaking in one breath, Donghuang Taiyi calmly looked at Ying Zheng.

Instead of covering his face with a robe, he wore a human skin mask to conceal his face, which was riddled with burn marks.

If there's anything about the body that's still intact, it's the eyes—eyes that can predict the future through the stars.

Ying Zheng clapped his hands and laughed, "Your Majesty the Eastern Emperor is right!"

"This treasure box obtained from the tomb of Emperor Zhuanxu is indeed a rare treasure of the Qin state, and I will accept it."

"Gai Nie, bring up the bronze box and place it in the back hall of Zhangtai Palace. Have someone guard it day and night."

"Now our Great Qin also has its own bronze treasure box."

Ying Zheng laughed heartily.

This was the first time he had laughed heartily since his major disagreement with Lü Buwei.

Donghuang Taiyi placed the bronze treasure box in Gai Nie's hand.

Suddenly he said, "You are better than Gongsun."

Gai Nie paused for a moment, then said, "My teacher is better than me."

Donghuang Taiyi shook his head and said, "Gongsun is not as good as you. He is still confined to the Ghost Valley School, while you have already broken free."

Gai Nie remained silent, not quite understanding why Donghuang Taiyi said that.

Please enlighten me.

Donghuang Taiyi chuckled and said, "What guidance do you need? Once you chose to enter Qin, you no longer needed anyone's guidance."

Gai Nie seemed to be deep in thought.

He chose to enter Qin not because of his political skills, but because he wanted to choose someone who could end the chaos of the world, and that person was Ying Zheng, who was now sitting on the throne.

After spending several months together, he deeply felt that Ying Zheng was the man who could end the chaos of the world.

Donghuang Taiyi strode out of the palace.

Remove the human skin mask and transform back into a coat hanger.

He was pondering the pros and cons, the gains and losses of his move to offer up the bronze box.

Six bronze treasure boxes have now been discovered.

It is rumored that the bronze treasure box of the State of Qi was obtained by an unnamed swordsman.

The bronze box of Wei was still under the care of Lord Longyang.

The bronze treasure box of the Chu Kingdom is said to be guarded by the Xiang clan.

The bronze box from the Yan Kingdom was in the hands of the royal family and is now in the collection of Crown Prince Dan.

The bronze box from the State of Zhao is the most deeply hidden, and who is guarding and protecting it remains unknown.

The last bronze box has yet to be discovered...

As Donghuang Taiyi thought of this, a thought suddenly struck him.

Seven stars, seven treasure boxes, seven secrets...

Could it be that fate has ordained that the last bronze treasure box will be born in South Korea?

Upon realizing this, Donghuang Taiyi wrote it down.

They decided to try their luck at the observatory to determine the whereabouts of the last bronze box and whether it would appear in South Korea.