The rebellion of King Xu Yan ended with a dramatic conclusion.

West Zhou Mu Emperor, having gained the Immortal Dao and formed a Golden Core, traversed Qingming and beheaded King Xu Yan with the Nine Infant Flying Sword, completely dismantling the Xu army.

The Eastern Barbarians' unrest was thus quelled.

Mu Emperor took reign of Haojing and rewarded his meritorious ministers, among whom Zao Fu was also enfeoffed in the Qin territory for his merit in handling the chariots and horses.

Afterwards, Zhong Shenxiu held a grand banquet to impart the path of Qi Refinement and Immortal Cultivation.

He held nothing back, lecturing from Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment, all the way to Core Formation, leaving the nobles and ministers below enamored and intoxicated.

These people, enamored by the strength of the Immortal Dao, and grateful to the Emperor's generosity, swore to serve the Great Zhou for generations.

Zhong Shenxiu did not take it seriously, smiling as he let it pass.

Time flew by.

Under his governance, the Great Zhou grew stronger, territories cemented, population flourished, showcasing a great era.

Sixty years hurriedly passed.

Mu Emperor's appearance remained youthful, outliving even his sons and grandsons.

Just as everyone believed that Mu Emperor would govern the Great Zhou forever, an astonishing news spread from the royal palace.

Mu Emperor, with three thousand concubines, ascended during the day!

...

Kunlun Mountain.

Zhong Shenxiu looked at a stone tablet, his expression somewhat peculiar.

The ancient stone tablet recorded the westward journey of Mu Emperor, along with two poems.

Besides the five-character verse, there was another seven-character verse.

"Turquoise Pool's Mother opens her ornate window, the song of yellow bamboo resonates sadly across the land. The eight steeds journey thirty thousand miles daily, why does King Mu never return?"

With a touch of resentment and grievance, Qingyuan said, "To cooperate with my lord's grand plan, my reputation was completely sacrificed."

"Haha, it's my fault..."

Zhong Shenxiu promptly apologized, soothing her gently, "After this, it's certain that the Immortal Dao will be prosperous, and I need to do nothing more but quietly wait for the seeds to blossom and bear fruit..."

The alchemical method he initially deduced was precisely this seed!

This propulsion and planning required a solid start, akin to setting the correct track, and how it developed or diverged thereafter were merely different branches of the Immortal Dao.

If the natives were left to develop on their own, who knows what witchcraft, magic, mysticism, or bizarre systems they might concoct.

"Then my lord must accompany me well."

Qingyuan coquettishly said.

"Haha, of course."

Zhong Shenxiu readily agreed, embracing the Queen Mother of the West as they returned to the East King Palace.

...

On Kunlun, time seemed to freeze, unaware of the years in the human world.

Five hundred years swiftly passed in leisure.

The Great Zhou's Immortal Dao flourished, but Golden Core practitioners remained rare, and over the five hundred years, due to life span exhaustion or battling arts, cultivators perished in waves.

The nobility monopolized Immortal Law, and tensions with the lower class intensified, while Great Zhou saw several inept rulers come one after another, employing treacherous ministers and imposing heavy levies, weakening the nation gradually.

Qin territory.

"Haha... It has succeeded, finally succeeded!"

In a palace, an elderly man, hair white and face full of wrinkles, suddenly stood up with a terrifying aura.

A few Foundation Establishment cultivators trying to enter were blown away directly.

"Ancestor?"

Eventually, a Golden Core practitioner donning a vestment robe burst into the palace, witnessing a scene that left him agape.

The ancestor of the Qin Clan, Zao Fu, who once drove the chariot for Mu Emperor and was nearing death, suddenly had his white hair turn black and teeth regrow, transforming into a middle-aged man with a long face.

Additionally, the spiritual pressure surrounding him grew increasingly terrifying.

"Ancestor, what is happening to you?"

The Golden Core practitioner asked in a daze.

"Having personally heard the Queen Mother of the West preach on Kunlun back then, after three hundred years of arduous cultivation, reaching the late-stage Golden Core, and painstakingly contemplating for two hundred years, I finally found the path to advance, breaking the core to form a nascent soul!"

Zao Fu gazed at the small figure within his Dantian resembling himself, smiling, "Beyond the Golden Core is the Nascent Soul! The Nascent Soul, an embryonic Primordial Spirit! This realm can move mountains and overturn seas, possessing a life span of a thousand years!"

Rumble!

As soon as he finished speaking, heaven and earth resonated, suddenly birthing thunder.

"Congratulations to Ancestor on achieving the Nascent Soul Realm!"

The members of the Qin State's Royal Family immediately knelt to extend their congratulations.

"Haha... When I secluded myself, the Great Zhou was already in decline, how is it now?"

Zao Fu waved a hand and asked with a smile.

In his heart, excitement surged:

'Mu Emperor ascended, the Queen Mother sealed the mountain, now is my time to rule the world!!'

"Reporting to Ancestor, since King You of Zhou, the Great Zhou has waned, feudal lords have risen across the realm, including Qi, Jin, Chu, Song, Zheng, Wei, Lu, Wu, Yue, and Qin... Each state is guarded by Golden Core cultivators, the strongest among them being Qi Huan, Jin Wen, Chu Zhuang, Wu Cha, and Yue Gou, all probably at the late-stage Golden Core, even the West Zhou Empress can't suppress them... They are known as the Five Hegemons!"

The Qin State's Golden Core Ancestor answered somewhat embarrassmently.

His own Golden Core, achieved through unorthodox means, was always deemed weak, and Qin State was viewed as an easy target.

"Haha, from today on, there's no Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons or West Zhou Empress, only my Great Qin, unifying the world!"

Zao Fu declared with great vigor.

He was well aware that the West Zhou Empress and those Golden Core Ancestors, and even powerful mythical beasts like dragons and phoenixes, were of the same realm.

But now, he was a level higher than all of them!

Speaking of which, the Empress was the most unfortunate, during the pinnacle of the Great Zhou's power, she perhaps equaled Nascent Soul, but now with West Zhou in decline, the dragon energy equally feeble, maintaining Golden Core was impressive.

Zao Fu, having once driven a chariot for Mu Emperor, knew many of West Zhou's secrets, and understood the hidden truths of Kunlun, now realized that heaven had gifted him a great opportunity!

If he didn't unify the world now, later when each nation had Nascent Souls emerging, it would be impossible.

"Quickly gather the army, I will march east into the Central Plains, to unify the world!"

Zao Fu declared domineeringly, "Once peace reigns, we will confiscate all Immortal Laws, burn books and bury scholars, only allowing my Great Qin's people to cultivate the Immortal!"

...

Kunlun Mountain.

Zhong Shenxiu ascended with Qingyuan to survey the atmosphere.

Lord Qingyuan gave a light exclaim, "Is the fate of the Central Plains changing? Dragon energy rising in the Qin territory?"

"Haha, my lady's insight is as sharp as ever!"

Zhong Shenxiu smiled lightly, "That Zao Fu is quite the waste… I almost thought he'd die of old age… but ultimately had to use the Utopian State to aid him a bit."

The Golden Core offers a lifespan of five hundred years, but it's mostly around five hundred, give or take.

Zao Fu, unsurprisingly crafty, possibly due to visiting Kunlun and experiencing the Dao Rhythm, enjoyed a rather long lifespan.

Even so, he nearly died of old age.

Fortunately, before death, under the subtle influence of the Heavenly Dao, he comprehended that step, successfully forming the Nascent Soul, snatching life from the heavens!

"This path of the Nascent Soul, aligns closely with my ideals, and marks the pinnacle of Refining Qi and Transforming God, beyond which lies Refining God and Returning Void…"