I am a living immortal.

Chapter 518 True or False

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell into a deeper silence. They had no idea what the emperor meant by this; his calm words betrayed no emotion, and they didn't dare to risk causing trouble, so they all lowered their heads.

His eyes glanced at Wei Ming from time to time, and Wei Ming also felt the feeling of being on edge. He cursed these old guys in his heart for wanting him to take the blame and analyze the emperor's intention, whether to take the medicine or not.

There was no way around it. These people were determined not to be the first to do something. With a helpless sigh, he said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider."

As soon as he said this, he immediately observed the emperor's expression when he heard this. However, this expression made Wei Ming feel relieved. Although the emperor still had no expression, his tense brows subconsciously relaxed, which showed that the emperor was more inclined not to take it.

While he breathed a sigh of relief, he also understood that this storm had only just begun. If he didn't take it, he would face many problems: first, how to deal with the immortality elixir, second, how to appease the Exorcists who had suffered heavy losses, and finally, these old ministers were also a problem.

Sure enough, the emperor sitting above said casually: "Then what should we do with this elixir of immortality?" It was clearly the emperor's fault, but he just threw it down lightly.

Wei Ming didn't hesitate and said directly: "I think this elixir of immortality should be destroyed. How could such a rare thing exist in this world? If it did, how could ordinary people like us bear it? The cycle of heaven and earth, the waxing and waning of the moon, is natural and the law of nature. Life and death are predetermined, so how can there be immortality?"

Wei Ming's point was simple: first, deny the reality of the elixir of immortality, then deny that mortals could possibly possess it. Just as medicine, if taken in excess, becomes poison, so too might this miraculous object. It all comes down to whether you dare to take the plunge, whether to try or risk your life. Finally, regarding the world itself, if the world already has the laws of life and death, how could it possibly create an elixir of immortality? Isn't that a contradiction? Everything he said was well-reasoned and well-founded.

However, the moment he said this, he was met with fury from the courtiers. It was unanimous that they wouldn't allow His Majesty to consume it, but they also couldn't let His Majesty waste it. Their stances shifted in an instant. This was the court; they could speak for you one moment and then step on you the next. Wei Ming was already accustomed to this.

But these old bastards are really impatient. Even if His Majesty doesn't accept it, it will be your turn? They're so blatant, everyone knows Sima Zhao's intentions. Aren't they just courting death? Immortality, it's truly an irresistible temptation. But it makes sense. Looking at those in the same position as them, most of them are already in their eighties, and they may not have many years left to live. How can they not be afraid of death? Life and death are originally force majeure, but now there is an opportunity before them, how can they give it up?

"What do you think, my dear ministers?" The emperor's gaze swept over the crowd, and the sight of his deep pupils made everyone sweat profusely. The hall suddenly fell silent, and cold sweat soaked their backs. They now understood the emperor's intentions and calmed down under the pressure. Yes, if His Majesty didn't want to eat, and they wanted to eat at the same time, what kind of dream was that? This world belonged to the emperor, not them. Everyone felt like they had walked through the gates of hell. This was clearly crossing the emperor's bottom line. Their reputations were almost ruined in an instant.

Upon hearing the inquiry, someone immediately responded after a quick thought: "I feel that although we don't know whether this immortality elixir is real or not, we should not give up on our determination to eliminate demons. This search for the elixir has been fraught with danger and countless people have died and been injured. If we abandon it, it would be inappropriate."

This resonated with the emperor: "So, what do you think should be done?" Actually, this kind of thing shouldn't be discussed openly, but since the emperor asked, he could only continue: "Although the demon-eliminating sect has made great contributions, as Lord Wei said, there are still some doubts about the authenticity of this immortality elixir. We must find a way to verify it."

That's the logic, they all understand it. But how can it be verified? While this is an elixir of immortality, it only promises immortality, not immortality. Not to mention that even if someone takes it, a single blow can kill them. Is there any reason to wait? Or should we hope that this elixir can restore youth? The difficulty of verifying its authenticity is one aspect.

"How to verify it? Although I have never seen or heard of it, speaking of medicine, how much of it should be taken for it to be effective? Should we eat the leaves and flowers or the whole thing? Does anyone know? What if we have to take the whole plant? It will damage the medicinal properties, so wouldn't it be a waste?" someone else retorted.

Wei Ming silently gave the other person a thumbs-up. Right, no one had ever seen it before, and the emperor wouldn't have stuffed it into his mouth without testing. Eating a little might be useless and even destroy the medicinal properties; eating the whole plant would be even more pointless. There's only one plant here, and if it were eaten, regardless of life or death, would anyone dare to gamble their life? Even if someone didn't care about their life, they wouldn't be allowed to eat it, so what's the point of discussing this?

Hearing the crowd's discussion, the emperor's eyes lit up. Yeah, who could guarantee this was the elixir of immortality? Would the demon-slayers dare to guarantee it? And how did they know for sure it was the elixir of immortality?

“Xuan.”

When the demon-exorcists arrived at the main hall, a group of ministers looked at them with hope in their eyes. They hoped the demon-exorcists would produce evidence and not let them down for nothing. Whether they got it or not was another matter, but the struggle was not over the elixir of immortality.

However, upon hearing the reason, the demon-slayers broke out in a cold sweat. They didn't know. They had gone through so much hardship, and when they saw that spiritual herb swaying in the wind and snow, emitting the breath of life, they immediately thought it was the elixir of immortality. But now, thinking carefully, it seemed that everything was just their own subjective judgment. Spiritual herbs can actually emit the breath of life, so this doesn't mean it's an elixir of immortality. But in the circumstances at the time, everyone subconsciously assumed it was. If the emperor rashly consumed it and something happened, his entire clan would be executed...

At this moment, all the demon hunters felt was a deep fear.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't know." The demon-slayers kowtowed heavily to the ground. Their utilitarianism nearly caused a disaster.

A hushed silence fell. Only Wei Ming knew they had the elixir of immortality, but he couldn't say it. He felt a twinge of guilt towards these loyal men, but for the sake of Yan Dynasty, he had to let them suffer the consequences. He felt mixed emotions. Ultimately, this wasn't their fault, but rather the emperor's selfish desires. But he was the emperor; he wouldn't, couldn't, admit his mistakes.