Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

The shadow took a deep breath before slowly walking over Shu Shu's body. He carefully extended his divine sense, scanning every part of her body. Usually, such an intimate act would be considered a violation of a person's privacy. As a subordinate of the Emperor, he should never know the body of an Imperial Consort so vividly unless he was a doctor. However, the situation was different, and since it involved the Emperor's body, the shadow had to cross the line.
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"Well?" Shu Ren asked after seeing the shadow frown and not uttering a word.

"Her…[Existence] is collapsing," the shadow replied.

"What? Such a severe injury?" Shu Ren asked. The anger he had previously controlled immediately resurfaced. "So, someone did get to her?"

"I'm afraid not," the shadow explained.

"What are you saying?" The shadow was quiet. "Now you want to be quiet?" Shu Ren roared, releasing his killing intent to the shadow again, making him kneel on the ground.

"Explain what you discovered."

"The Imperial Consort is…a failed experiment, after all. The foundation of her [Existence] is the concept of [perfection], and since she was not appropriately made, it is not collapsing."

Shu Ren clenched his hands after hearing this. He had forgotten about this fact. Most perfection experiments do not last long, and the few successful ones usually require the subjects to cultivate to a high enough level to make up for their flaws. Shu Shu had no cultivation and could live for so long because Shu Ren fed her many immortal pills. The worst part is that she cannot cultivate herself in the current situation.

"Do you have any solutions?" Shu Ren asked.

"For now, we can only return her to…" The shadow stops as he remembers the Emperor destroyed the dimension Shu Shu was found in case something was wrong with it. The worst part is it was the shadow's suggestion.

"We can only temporarily seal her to prevent the collapse. Maybe the scholars will have a method."

Shu Ren calmed down before walking to her; he finally checked himself, and without hesitation, he tried to inject some of his powers into her body. However, his actions seemed to accelerate the process as a quarter of Shu Shu's hair suddenly turned white. Shu Ren immediately stopped his actions.

"Summon the dynasty's brightest mind. I need an answer before the sun rises," Shu Ren ordered, his gaze not leaving her side. "One more thing — the news cannot leave this hall."

"As you wish," the shadow nodded before summoning a sword. After massacring all the maids present, he summoned these scholars and enlightened beings. Under the threat of death, these scholars gave Shu Ren two solutions.

He sat on his throne, contemplating their words. The first solution was unusable since Shu Ren knew he would lose Shu Shu if he dared show her before Supreme Unity. If he asked Taoism for help, the best scenario was that they would use her to control him, and he would still lose her in the end.

"Are you sure we don't have any resources for Perfection Dao?" Shu Ren asked his Minister of Finance who was in charge of the dynasty's treasury.

"His Majesty, as I said, these things are rare, and we don't have any at hand."

"But I remember we had a few crystals that contained some essence of perfection."

"You gifted them to Xun Junyao," the minister replied.

"Her?" Shu Ren's eyes suddenly brightened. "Yes, her. As long as I get my hands on her and refine her blood and soul, I should be able to perfect Shu Shu and save her life."

Shu Ren looked at the shadow: "It's your job to find her as soon as possible — no matter the price we have to pay."

"Your majesty, our chances at finding that woman are not high — especially in such a short window."

"It's your job to make the impossible possible," Shu Ren snapped.

"I will do my best, but I suggest we focus on finding the remains of other people experimenting on perfection. Such an approach has a higher chance of success."

"Do both," Shu Ren ordered with a slightly raised voice. He then turned to another team in the meeting: "How long will the seal last?" The team looked at each other before the leader was forced to step forward and explain:

"If we are lucky, about 200 years."

"So little? How can you guys be so useless?"

"Pardon us, Your Majesty, but we have no knowledge about perfection, and this is the best we can do," the leader, a middle-aged man with a thick beard and yellow dress, swiftly answered. He wanted to tell his majesty that his previous actions drastically shortened the Imperial Consort's time, but he did not dare.

Shu Ren grunted: "You said if we were lucky, what about if we're not?"

"...Less than 30 years."

"Are you serious?" Shu Ren asked, almost losing control. Thirty years might be long for mortals, but for being on his level, it cannot even be compared to seconds. "No, time is too short. We need better solutions." Shu Ren looked at these scholars, releasing his killing intent. They immediately knelt on the ground while yelling:

"Your majesty, we have tried our best."

"It's not enough," Shu Ren replied coldly. "Give me solutions or die."

"We have no more solutions."

However, Shu Ren ignored them while slowly increasing the pressure. To say the tension in the room was palpable is an understatement. Finally, one scholar desperately yelled:

"We can try to let her cultivate."

"Stop speaking nonsense," the others yelled.

"This might be the only choice," the scholar argued. The others wanted to kill this bastard since his words could get all of them killed.

"Bastard, how is that a solution? No one in this world can cultivate, so unless you've suddenly surpassed the two suns, shut the hell up."

"We can ask Taoism for an exception."

"And you think they will agree?"

"They…might."

"Bastard, you're going to get us killed."

"Big Nose Chen, if I die, I will curse all 18 generations of your ancestors."

"You!"

"Silence!" Shu Ren yelled. He pondered briefly. Taoism has been asking for cooperation, so he might ask them for this favor in return. The issue is hiding Shu Shu under their watch while using this favor. "This might work," Shu Ren muttered.

"Your majesty, it won't work," said another scholar.

"What do you mean?"

"We considered this possibility, even theorizing using a battle technique that temporarily increases her fleshly body to stabilize the situation," the scholar explained, and Shu Ren nodded. He knew the lock's cultivation restrictions had a "flaw" involving boosting techniques or battle skills.

"However, the result of our calculations was that such an approach would accelerate the Imperial Consort's [Existence]. In fact, any attempts to heal her that do not involve perfection will only bring her harm."

Shu Ren's face contorted out of sheer anger. He looked at Big Nose Chen: "So, you lied to me?"

"I…I…" Big Nose Chen stuttered. He only said these words to buy them enough time to survive today's events. At worst, he could take this opportunity to escape. Big Nose Chen tried his hardest to find an explanation, but Shu Ren did not give him the chance. His body exploded into a blood pool, splurging the throne room. A few bold people with enough status blocked the blood with an invisible shield, but most people did not dare move and allowed their bodies to be stained.

Shu Ren slouched on his throne while massaging his temple. "Everyone disperse and do what you're supposed to do." He realized killing these scholars wouldn't change his current predicament, so he could only wait for news from his shadow.

Shu Ren never left Shu Shu's side, waiting for news. A few weeks later, the shadow sent news they had found something, but it was a trial. Sadly, no one could get the information it contained without passing the trial. Shu Ren did not want to waste time, so he tried to use his overwhelming strength to take it forcefully, but the thing self-destructed, almost injuring him.

After that, he had to be patient. The scholars reviewed the history, trying to find any information about ancient cultivators interested in the path of perfection. Sadly, Time Eater did an excellent job erasing most of history, making Shu Ren regret not keeping more records. He considered getting the information from these ancient lineages, but he dared not invade their sect without backing from the others.

Shu Ren's luck seems to have run out as Shu Shu's collapse accelerated, meaning he did not even have 200 years. Fifteen years passed, and just as she was about to die and Shu Ren was about to become mad, Shadow brought him good news.

"What good news? Hurry and hand it over," Shu Ren said as soon as he teleported to their meeting room. However, the shadow hesitated.

"What is it? Is there something wrong with what you found?"

"It seems too coincidental," the shadow replied.