"Why would a history book record such fanciful things..." Liang Xiao took the ancient book, a look of suspicion on his face, and slowly opened it.
Ye Chong chuckled, "It's merely ancient secret history, supposedly recorded by a close attendant of the Yellow Emperor. The original text was in ancient script, which we, the Ye family, can decipher. We've transcribed it into the script of the Great Gan dynasty..."
Before Ye Chong could finish speaking, Xiao Qing and the three chief ministers noticed Liang Xiao's hand, holding the ancient book, tremble violently.
Xiao Qing leaned in, puzzled, and her pupils contracted in shock!
One passage was recorded concisely.
[A Taoist priest was renowned for his alchemy. He presented five portions of an elixir of immortality, round and transparent, containing flowing liquid. The Emperor, having heard the priest had not yet taken the elixir, bestowed one portion upon him. The Taoist priest held the elixir, and it melted into his body through his fingers...]
The description of the elixir of immortality in the text perfectly matched the treasure of the Xichuan Sword Clan that Liang Xiao had acquired!
Furthermore, it recorded that four people who took the elixir exploded and died. The Yellow Emperor gave the last portion to his personal guard and bestowed upon the guard a piece of silver-dragon gold, used to seal the item...
Liang Xiao's hand trembled more and more fiercely.
Seeing this, Xiao Qing was filled with worry and instructed everyone to withdraw.
Only she and Liang Xiao remained in the imperial study.
"Brother Xiao..." Xiao Qing, her emotions complex, gently hugged Liang Xiao's arm.
Liang Xiao's hands jolted, and the ancient book fell to the ground. He quickly crouched down, his trembling hands reaching for the book, but he only managed to grasp it, unable to lift it.
At this moment, the ancient book felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
"Could that... guard, perhaps be the ancestor of the Xichuan Sword Clan? And that clan treasure, could it be an artifact they've been crafting from silver-dragon gold for generations, carving the silver-dragon gold, taking thousands of years..."
Xiao Qing heard Liang Xiao's mumbling still laced with a tremor and felt even more heartbroken. She said, "Brother Xiao is truly blessed by heaven, to have survived unscathed, and even..."
At this, Liang Xiao slowly placed the ancient book on the table, buried his head in Xiao Qing's embrace, his entire body shaking, unable to speak.
"Brother Xiao..." Xiao Qing looked at him with a pained expression.
Could her Brother Xiao truly achieve immortality?
But only she understood Liang Xiao's fear at that moment, for she recalled their conversation under the moonlit blossoms.
Immortality, so longed for by the world, was merely eternal torment in his eyes.
"It's fake, isn't it? Fake..." Liang Xiao just murmured, his voice still trembling.
The characteristic of the clan treasure melting into the body through one's fingers, instead, precisely proved the reliability of the ancient texts. Even this item was recorded in such detail...
Xiao Qing spoke softly, "It's just the Taoist priest's one-sided account. Whether Brother Xiao can achieve immortality or not, Shuang'er only wishes Brother Xiao to be safe always. If it is truly so... after we are a hundred years old, Shuang'er does not wish Brother Xiao to do anything foolish..."
Xiao Qing could not continue.
She had once fantasized about Liang Xiao living forever, establishing true eternal peace, but forgot to consider Liang Xiao's feelings.
Liang Xiao nodded, feeling a lump in his throat, unable to utter a word.
Xiao Qing comforted him again, "Perhaps it's just a medicine to prolong life, a hundred years of longevity, Brother Xiao..."
Liang Xiao finally calmed down, took a deep breath, and sighed, "Now I finally understand why Jian Beihai was willing to betray the Xichuan Sword Clan. It was all for the so-called clan treasure. He must have learned this news from the clan leader. That old scoundrel is truly detestable, all for a mere legend..."
Xiao Qing finally relaxed, nodding obediently. "No matter what, this clan treasure has improved Brother Xiao's hearing, eyesight, and energy. At least, it is beneficial for now. Brother Xiao, let's seize the day and cherish the present."
Liang Xiao then hugged Xiao Qing tightly, filled with emotion.
He could not let others know of this matter, causing them to worry for him, nor could he let outsiders know he had absorbed the clan treasure.
He didn't even bother to ponder where the materials for the elixir of immortality and treasures like silver-dragon gold came from.
Cherish the present!
After confirming Liang Xiao had regained his composure, Xiao Qing breathed a sigh of relief, followed by lingering fear: thankfully, he hadn't exploded and died!
However, this matter truly could not be blamed on Jian Nanfeng and his daughter. After all, it was the clan treasure, and even they were kept in the dark. Moreover, that liquid was utterly unpredictable.
If Jian Nanfeng had known that the clan treasure's purpose was merely to preserve a sliver of hope for future sages in moments of despair, he would never have let Liang Xiao touch it.
After thinking it through, Xiao Qing also let go of her worries and accompanied Liang Xiao to continue examining the ancient texts.
These ancient books had already been cataloged by the Ye family, with some important contents marked in the list.
Especially some ore deposits that even the Dongye clan had failed to record...
The Tianqin Mountain, a mountain of gold and silver, was also recorded in the ancient texts, further proving their credibility!
This was because the Tianqin Mountain, a mountain of gold and silver, was discovered by the court by chance, only about a hundred years ago.
"Even the name of the King of Donghai is recorded..." Xiao Qing exclaimed.
The King of Donghai of the previous dynasty was unparalleled in valor, but knowing his deep sins, he had requested that history books not mention his name before his execution.
Yet, a secret history of the Great Heng kingdom had secretly recorded the King of Donghai's name.
Chou Cangsheng!
Upon seeing this name, Liang Xiao merely sneered, "I can roughly understand why the King of Donghai was so insistent on his own death..."
His name meant "for all living beings," yet he massacred twenty cities and the royal family of Great Zhou, leaving behind endless harm, shaming the very meaning of his name.
Ten of those cities were in Xichuan and the southwest, causing the people of those regions to lose trust in the court and live in constant fear. Rebellions frequently occurred, and even after the founding of the Great Gan dynasty, they could not be pacified, allowing the Spring Revival Cult to take advantage...
Yue Lian was of the King of Donghai's lineage, and his sixth son was named "Liang Cangsheng." Fortunately, Liang Xiao had not made him take the surname Chou, otherwise, he would have shared the same name as his ancestor, the King of Donghai...
The King of Donghai had expanded territory for this land. His merits outweighed his demerits, but no one would wish to be among those sacrificed innocently.
Seeing Liang Xiao's relaxed demeanor, Xiao Qing smiled like a blooming flower, "Little Cangsheng will be taught by Brother Xiao and will not follow his ancestor's example of massacring cities in the future~"
Liang Xiao nodded with a smile and turned to the records of the Tianri tribe. This was a book from the Great Zhou imperial dynasty, which detailed the Great Zhou Emperor's personal expedition and the Martial Saint's beheading of the Tianri tribe's god of war, "Achilles."
Achilles?
Liang Xiao frowned.
His memory of this name was associated with a hero recorded in "The Iliad."
If this world also had similar ancient history, it would mean that Greek culture had been absorbed by the Tianri tribe, located five thousand li to the northwest of the Western Regions.
This indirectly indicated that the Tianri tribe had conquered the Western Continent long before the Great Zhou dynasty, plotting for two thousand years, massacring cities and exterminating tribes everywhere. What a terrifying race!
The Aryans he knew were not as powerful and cruel...
The six hundred volumes of ancient books contained far too much content. Xiao Qing could only temporarily set them aside, ordering a reward of a thousand taels of gold for the Ye family, and appointing the Ye family members as historiographers, with Ye Chong serving as Grand Historiographer.
Each ancient book that Liang Xiao finished reading was handed over to the printing house to be urgently printed using movable type, preserving backups.
The next day, Qin Feng, the Marquis of Zhenguo of Great Liang, finally arrived at the capital of the Great Gan dynasty.