Puppet Emperor, the Empress Wields All Power and Calls a Deer a Horse

Chapter 22 The Reincarnation of the Red Lotus Empress!

“F*ck!”

Looking at the treasure he had drawn, Gu Changsheng’s face was full of smiles, and his heart was filled with joy.

This round of the lottery felt like being blessed by the luck of a European Emperor*—everything he drew was excellent.

The Ten-Thousand-Year Enlightenment Tea, a heavenly treasure, allowed cultivators to comprehend the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, making its value immeasurable. Across the entire Shen Zhou, only saints possessed some.

This Ten-Thousand-Year Enlightenment Tea was not only extremely useful to Gu Changsheng, but he could also use it to win over the ministers in court.

Especially the Left Prime Minister, Xue Wuyan, who held great power and influence, with cultivation at the peak of the Great Expert Realm.

If Gu Changsheng presented the Left Prime Minister with this Ten-Thousand-Year Enlightenment Tea, helping him improve his cultivation further, Xue Wuyan would undoubtedly be grateful.

Sometimes, winning over ministers didn’t require force or coercion. As the saying goes, to win someone’s heart, one must understand human relations and offer benefits that the other cannot refuse. In turn, the goal would naturally be achieved.

For example, the Empress Dowager planned to use Lu Tao’s daughter as leverage to control him. Such dishonorable methods could never win Lu Tao’s genuine loyalty, and might even backfire if mishandled.

The Empress Dowager was essentially “trying to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice.”

Without thinking further, Gu Changsheng inspected the second reward he had drawn: a constitution immune to all poisons.

“Open attacks are easy to defend against, but hidden ones are not.”

With this constitution, he no longer feared being poisoned or harmed secretly.

However, when Gu Changsheng saw the third reward—Red Lotus Flame—his face lit up with surprise.

In the original story, Red Lotus Flame was powerful enough to burn everything in existence, and it was the most formidable weapon of the Red Lotus Empress from 100,000 years ago. Even emperors feared it.

Now, this Red Lotus Flame had fallen into his hands.

With a thought, Gu Changsheng summoned a scorching, golden-red lotus-shaped flame into his palm.

As soon as the flame appeared, the surrounding space in the Imperial Study seemed on the verge of evaporating.

This flame was none other than the Red Lotus Flame.

In the original story, the Red Lotus Empress, whose real name was Luo Qingyue, lived 100,000 years ago in Shen Zhou.

Mastering the Red Lotus Flame, she became one of the most powerful emperors, earning the title of Red Lotus Empress, with overwhelming power.

Suddenly, Gu Changsheng thought of another issue.

The exotic flames of Shen Zhou are unique and can not exist twice.

Now that I possess the Red Lotus Flame, doesn’t that mean that the Red Lotus Empress in this life would lose her flame?

Or is the Red Lotus Flame he possessed from another world, not Shen Zhou?

Shaking his head to clear these thoughts, Gu Changsheng focused on his status.

[Host: Gu Changsheng]. [Identity: Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty]. [Age: 18]. [Cultivation Level: Divine Sea Realm]. [Constitution: Emperor’s Divine Body]. [Skills and Treasures: Emperor’s Qi Observation Technique, Emperor’s Path Technique, Ten-Thousand-Year Enlightenment Tea, Red Lotus Flame…].

“If only my cultivation level were higher!”

Looking at his system panel, Gu Changsheng smiled while toying with the Red Lotus Flame in his hand, muttering to himself.

He was somewhat dissatisfied with his current cultivation level being only at the Divine Sea Realm.

If anyone else knew his thoughts, they would undoubtedly feel envious.

In just a few days, he had broken through two major realms from the Innate Realm to the Divine Sea Realm—yet he was still not satisfied?

…

At the same time, when Gu Changsheng drew the Red Lotus Flame from the system’s store, at the Tenth Princess’s residence in the Great Zhou Dynasty, a young girl with an indistinct yet terrifying aura sat cross-legged in a secluded courtyard.

She slowly opened her deep eyes, gazing in the direction of the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, murmuring softly:

“Why is the aura of the Red Lotus Flame appearing in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace?”

“Before my reincarnation, the Red Lotus Flame was sealed in the Forbidden Land of Gods and Demons. There’s no way it could appear in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace.”

The girl, dressed in a red celestial robe, had a youthful and tender face, but the aura surrounding her was incomprehensibly vast and terrifying.

What was most shocking was that countless laws and immortal lights swirled around her, shining brightly.

She seemed not of this mortal world but rather transcendent, like an empress descended from the heavens, commanding all of heaven, earth, and the creatures of Shen Zhou to bow before her.

This girl was none other than the Tenth Princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Gu Ningshuang.

But her true identity was the reincarnation of the Red Lotus Empress, who lived 100,000 years ago.

In her previous life, she was known as Luo Qingyue, one of the emperors of Shen Zhou, titled the Red Lotus Empress.

At five, she began cultivating. By six, she reached the Innate Realm.

At seven, she broke through to the Profound Realm. At eight, she attained the Divine Sea Realm.

At eighteen, she became a saint and was known as the most monstrous talent in Shen Zhou, walking the path of the emperor, invincible across the world. She swept through countless geniuses and peers.

As a woman, she reached the rank of emperor before the age of one hundred and became the Red Lotus Empress of Shen Zhou.

Yet, even as an emperor, undefeated and commanding the submission of billions, she had a lifespan of only ten thousand years and would eventually fall.

Throughout history, countless cultivators have sought immortality through cultivation.

No matter how exceptional or radiant a genius was, in the end, none could resist the passage of time, turning to dust and bones.

For this reason, she ventured into the Forbidden Land of Gods and Demons, the most terrifying place in Shen Zhou, where even emperors dared not tread lightly.

After enduring countless hardships and paying the price of her life, she found the answer to immortality within the Forbidden Land of Gods and Demons.

Beyond the realm of the emperor, immortals were eternal and undying, witnessing the rise and fall of ages and epochs, untouched by the cycle of reincarnation.

In addition, she obtained a cultivation technique called “The Immortal Dao Reincarnation Technique” from the Forbidden Land of Gods and Demons.

It was precisely because of this technique that she was able to reincarnate after her death and continue her journey.

Those who practiced this technique, even if they perished, could continually reincarnate through the cycle of life, achieving immortality.

At first, she hadn’t believed it, but after successfully reincarnating into the Tenth Princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty, she now knew how terrifying “The Immortal Dao Reincarnation Technique” truly was.

Even the scriptures of emperors paled in comparison to it.

“This lifetime, my name is Gu Ningshuang.”

“I have nine older brothers and am the Tenth Princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty, possessing the Phoenix Divine Body and exceptional talent.”

“At fifteen, I am at the peak of the Life and Death Realm!”

The girl’s expression remained indifferent as she recalled the memories of her current body and found herself relatively satisfied.

At the age of fifteen, to have reached the peak of the Life and Death Realm was quite impressive, though still far from her achievements in her previous life.

However, by the standards of Shen Zhou, she could be considered an exceptional genius.

“Still, why is the aura of the Red Lotus Flame appearing in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace?”

“Could it be that a powerful figure of the Great Zhou Dynasty entered the Forbidden Land of Gods and Demons?”

Gu Ningshuang frowned slightly, her face filled with solemnity as she murmured to herself.

The Forbidden Land of Gods and Demons, an ancient place, could claim the lives of even emperors.

The strongest experts of the Great Zhou Dynasty are saints—how could they have entered the Forbidden Land of Gods and Demons and obtained the Red Lotus Flame?

“It seems there is a secret within the Great Zhou Imperial Palace. If I can acquire the Red Lotus Flame in advance…”

“Even if my strength hasn’t fully recovered, I will have a means of protecting myself.”

Gu Ningshuang’s face remained cold as she thought about her current situation, feeling somewhat frustrated.

Her identity now was no longer that of the unrivaled Red Lotus Empress but rather the Tenth Princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty, with cultivation at the peak of the Life and Death Realm.

Though her strength in the younger generation was respectable, in the grand scheme of Shen Zhou’s many powerful figures, she was insignificant.

She needed to improve her strength as quickly as possible.

If she could obtain the Red Lotus Flame earlier, with her previous life’s techniques, she could protect herself, even against saints.

As these thoughts passed through her mind, Gu Ningshuang’s gaze deepened as she looked in the direction of the Imperial Palace, her thoughts unknown.