I have a cultivation simulator

Chapter 14 The Truth of the Treason

Beyond the simulation, Zhou Qing's gaze remained calm.

Actively revealing one's identity as a cultivator before bringing up the matter of the Fourth Prince's rebellion will be much more persuasive.

Moreover, doing this doesn't require any effort on their part. As long as Emperor Qian isn't an idiot, even a pig would know what to do if he knew about the Fourth Prince's rebellion so far in advance.

If the fourth prince had been killed beforehand, ensuring that the eldest prince could pacify the northern barbarians and return to the throne smoothly, the Zhou family would not have suffered the fate of extermination.

Zhou Qing continued to look at the illusory font.

[Your display of fireball magic shocked your parents and siblings.]

"A cultivator? Ah Qing, you're a cultivator?" Zhou Shizhong's pupils constricted sharply as he asked incredulously.

From Zhou Shizhong's tone, you can tell that he definitely knows about the existence of cultivators.

[You are not surprised by this at all; the "Qi-Inducing Technique" you obtained came from the Lin family in the capital.]

[As for the Lin family, even you know that an immortal appeared in their ancestry, so the high-ranking officials in the capital must also be aware of it.]

[Furthermore, during the first simulation, when your mother, Zhou, and your two elder brothers were being led to the execution ground, you vaguely sensed fluctuations in spiritual energy, confirming that there were cultivators among the Fourth Prince's subordinates.]

"So that's how it is. Ah Qing, you went to cultivate immortality during your disappearance..."

[Zhou Shizhong automatically imagined the scene, a look of surprise spreading across his face, "Hahaha, I never thought my Zhou family could produce a cultivator."]

The Zhou family already stood at the pinnacle of worldly power, and Zhou Qing's becoming a cultivator filled the last void in the Zhou family's legacy.

"Third brother, it's said that cultivators can fly and escape from the earth. Can you fly too?" Second brother Zhou Wu couldn't help but ask.

"I can't do it," you said truthfully, your lips twitching.

Only Foundation Establishment stage cultivators can achieve the ability to fly and escape through the earth with their physical bodies.

[A Qi Refining stage cultivator? They can fly using a flying artifact, but it consumes too many spirit stones, and flying artifacts are very expensive; you don't have one yet.]

"Oh, right, there's something I need to tell you."

[Your expression turned serious, and you began to get down to business.]

"I learned from some fellow Daoists that the fourth prince of the Qian Kingdom plans to seize the throne while the eldest prince is away pacifying the barbarians in the north."

You looked at Zhou Shizhong and said in a deep voice.

"The Fourth Prince? Plotting rebellion?"

Zhou Shizhong paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Even if the Fourth Prince harbored rebellious intentions, he couldn't possibly rebel."

Because of Zhou Qing's identity as a cultivator, Zhou Shizhong patiently explained, "The Fourth Prince has no foundation; he wouldn't succeed in doing that."

"What if he colludes with the barbarians to the north?"

You stated your speculation.

In the first simulation, the Fourth Prince's rebellion occurred precisely when the First Prince went to the Northern Border.

If the Fourth Prince truly relied on external forces, the barbarians were the only option.

"Colluding with barbarians?"

Zhou Shizhong frowned and glanced at Zhou Qing a few more times.

If this had come from someone else, Zhou Shizhong would never have believed it.

"Shall I go and speak to His Majesty?"

Zhou Shizhong was undecided, but since it involved rebellion, even if the possibility was slim, he had to inform the Qian Emperor.

【"Um."】

You nodded; that was your purpose as well.

[They want to use Emperor Qian's power to deal with the Fourth Prince]

【"OK."】

Zhou Shizhong set off immediately.

You return to your room in the Zhou residence and quietly await the outcome.

Night fell in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Shizhong still hasn't returned.

Although you have doubts, it's understandable.

[After all, it involves the Fourth Prince's rebellion, which is a royal scandal. Even if Zhou Shizhong rashly reports it, he will be affected to some extent. Before the matter is settled, it will definitely be controlled.]

In the stillness of the night, you sit cross-legged, consuming elixirs to cultivate.

Just then, your senses as a cultivator detected that a large number of auras were approaching the Zhou residence.

[This was immediately followed by a loud crash.]

Then came the sounds of fighting.

[A final, deep voice resounded.]

"Zhou Shizhong has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country; not a single member of the Zhou family will be spared!"

"How is this possible?" You were shocked and incredulous.

[You experienced this scene in the last simulation as well.]

However, this happened more than a year later.

"There's the aura of a cultivator?"

Compared to the last simulation, this time you sensed something more; you could vaguely sense the auras of several cultivators rapidly approaching.

In a flash, you made your decision.

【Walk】

[Escape immediately before those cultivators surround the Zhou residence.]

You have successfully left the Zhou residence.

[No one noticed during this period.]

[Inside another 'secret base,' you frowned, pondering the reason behind what had just happened.]

Could it be that the Fourth Prince truly possesses such extraordinary connections and influence?

[Zhou Shizhong had just told the emperor about the fourth prince's plot to rebel, and the fourth prince immediately seized control of the palace and began silencing the Zhou family?]

[No, if the Fourth Prince truly possessed such abilities, why did he wait over a year before making his move in the last simulation?]

Seeing this, Zhou Qing's gaze deepened, and a guess surfaced in his mind.

Zhou Qing had always been certain that there was a force supporting the Fourth Prince; otherwise, it would have been impossible for the other party to so easily purge the court and ascend the throne.

Zhou Qing originally thought this force was the barbarian tribe from the north.

But now...

He is the emperor.

It was the Emperor of Qian Kingdom who was supporting the Fourth Prince.

Aside from the Emperor of Qian Kingdom, Zhou Qing couldn't think of any other power that could achieve this level of capability.

In the capital of Qian Kingdom, they brazenly humiliated the Zhou family, a powerful and prestigious clan.

"Gandi..."

When the mastermind behind the scenes was identified as Emperor Qian, many of the questions that Zhou Qing couldn't understand were explained.

During the first rebellion, the Fourth Prince seized control of the court too quickly, and the First Prince's faction was purged too easily.

"The father is weak, the son is strong..."

Zhou Qing sighed inwardly, vaguely knowing the reason why Emperor Qian did this.

The eldest prince's prestige is so high that everyone in the court and the public believes he will definitely be able to sit on the throne.

Many ministers have even begun to take sides in advance, choosing to side with the eldest prince when his opinion clashes with that of the emperor.

What would the Qian Emperor think of this?

If the eldest prince goes north to pacify the barbarians and returns with an even greater reputation, wouldn't that force Emperor Qian to abdicate earlier?

Therefore, Emperor Qian harbored murderous intent towards the eldest prince.

Such things had happened many times on Blue Star before Zhou Qing's transmigration.

For example, Qin Shi Huang and Fusu.

For example, Emperor Wu of Han and Liu Ju.

The higher the prestige of a crown prince or heir apparent, the faster he is destined to die.

......

[After spending a few days in the 'secret base,' you discovered that this time, your mother, Zhou, and other members of the Zhou family, including your eldest and second eldest brothers, were not taken to the execution ground at Caishikou.]

[You speculate that Emperor Qian, knowing of your existence as a cultivator, was hesitant to act rashly.]

Perhaps that Emperor Qian is waiting for you to infiltrate the prison and rescue your parents and siblings.

You did not do that.

Instead, they left the capital and returned to Wushanfang City.

As long as you don't show up or reveal yourself, your parents and siblings can continue to live, they'll just be locked up and lose their freedom.

However, if they were to appear to rescue him, they risked falling into a trap and ending up completely in the hands of Emperor Qian.

The following year, when you were seventeen, Master Yun Dan visited again, wanting to continue exchanging ideas on alchemy, and you gladly agreed.

[In the third year, you are eighteen years old. With your help, Master Yun Dan has entered the realm of a high-grade alchemist, which is three or four years earlier than his entry into the high-grade alchemist realm in the first simulation.]

Master Yun is extremely grateful to you and has invited you to invest in Yun's Pill Workshop, promising 20% ​​of the workshop's profits.

You didn't agree; you knew this was Master Yun repaying a favor, and that wasn't your goal.

[In the fourth year, you are nineteen years old. You secretly express to Master Yun your desire to become a high-grade alchemist. Master Yun ponders for a while and begins to search for a suitable alchemy lineage for you.]

In the fifth year, when you were twenty, Master Yun found several high-grade alchemy lineages for you, and you gained a great deal.

[In the sixth year, you are twenty-one years old. After a short period of seclusion, you vaguely realize that you have already completed half of the fifth level of Qi Refining.]

In about six or seven years, I will reach the peak of the fifth level of Qi Refining and then attempt to break through to the sixth level.

[From the initial stage of Qi Refining Level 5 to the peak of Qi Refining Level 5 in just over ten years? This cultivation speed is even stronger than that of an ordinary mid-grade spiritual root]

The main reason you can achieve this is by taking pills at a high frequency.

[You have a talent for eliminating poison, and as an alchemist, you can consume several Qi-Nourishing Pills every day.]

To prevent the accumulation of toxic pills, ordinary Qi Refining Level 5 cultivators usually only take one pill every five or six days.

In the seventh year, you are twenty-two years old, and you still spend most of your time cultivating and studying alchemy.

[In the eighth year, at the age of twenty-three, you feel you have reached a bottleneck in your alchemy practice.]

[In the ninth year, at the age of twenty-four, your alchemy skills have reached the peak of the middle grade.]

In the tenth year, at the age of twenty-five, you passed by the Yun Clan's Pill Workshop and saw a familiar figure.

It was Ye Feng.