Peter Jackson, having mostly finished filming King Kong, happened to visit the studio and found himself unable to leave. He discovered that what was being born before his eyes was potentially the greatest fantasy television series in history.
He had initially wanted to call it the greatest television series in history, but reconsidered, not daring to make such a bold claim. After all, fantasy films were naturally somewhat lacking in artistic merit, let alone a commercial television series; thus, being recognized by the industry as the best television series ever made was quite difficult.
However, Peter Jackson believed that this television series was undoubtedly the best fantasy television series and was even willing to admit that it surpassed his own Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Compared to *Piaomiao Zhi Lu*, the world-view of *The Lord of the Rings* was incredibly small, and the special effects were far inferior.
Thus, Peter Jackson became interested in directing this television series. If he could become its director, his future standing in film history would surely be on par with Cameron's.
Coincidentally, *Piaomiao Zhi Lu* was in disarray due to Tangren's lack of experience with large-scale productions. When Peter Jackson proposed taking over as director, Boss Huang immediately approved and granted him full control of the film's remaking work.
Since most of the film's content had already been shot, and the fundamental aspects of Chinese culture could not be altered, Peter Jackson focused on technical improvements. This collaboration was quite harmonious, without major mishaps.
Now, the finished product was finally presented to Boss Huang.
At the beginning of the film, a burning star appeared on screen. The star then continuously shrunk, though to the audience, stars do not shrink; it was merely the camera moving backward, intending to showcase an entire planet.
When the star had shrunk to half the screen, the audience began to sense something was amiss, as the star seemed to be held within a palm.
Indeed, as the view continued to zoom out, the star had shrunk to the size of a ping pong ball, held lightly in a hand. The person holding the star was a Chinese man, dressed casually with a shirt and jeans, exuding an air of laziness and nonchalance. He was exceptionally handsome, with skin as clear as jade.
"Perhaps humans never imagined that someone could hold a star in their hand, as if holding a ping pong ball!" a deep, profound narration began. "We call such humans cultivators."
The scene then rapidly shifted to the interior of a company, where about twenty to thirty employees were busily working.
However, the camera did not focus on any particular employee but finally settled on a dark-skinned, short man, who radiated an aura of vigorous effort.
"His name is Li Qiang, twenty-nine years old, short in stature and dark-skinned. He came from a poor family and, through extraordinary intelligence and the help of friends, struggled through four years of university. Due to his natural sociability, kindness, and generosity, he made many friends." The narration fittingly explained the protagonist's identity.
However, Chinese audiences watching this would likely chuckle. The actor playing Li Qiang was a well-known star in China named Pan Changjiang.
Yet, in the television series, Li Qiang was different from any role Pan Changjiang had ever played; he possessed a fortitude and decisiveness absent in his previous characters.
One day, after finishing work, Li Qiang decided to take a walk. Being observant, he noticed a mother with a crying child in her arms.
This might seem normal, but the way the mother held the child was incorrect, and she kept covering the child's mouth, attempting to stop the crying in this manner, which made it even more suspicious.
So, Li Qiang approached, smiling, and said, "Oh, isn't this Duoduo? What a coincidence meeting you here. Are you Duoduo's aunt?"
"Yes! Her mother couldn't look after her today, so she asked me to accompany her for a walk, but she's been crying non-stop!" the woman replied with a forced smile.
The next second, Li Qiang punched the woman directly in the stomach, causing her to clutch her abdomen and cry out in pain, dropping the child she was holding.
Then, holding the child in one hand and the woman's collar in the other, Li Qiang shouted, "I am a police officer. You are suspected of human trafficking. I am arresting you. You must come with me to the police station!"
Li Qiang, by using this tactic, was also subtly informing the surrounding onlookers of his identity, preventing them from being misled by the woman.
Unexpectedly, two burly men emerged from all directions. Both men held sharp knives and lunged directly at Li Qiang.
Caught off guard, Li Qiang was stabbed. However, he immediately retaliated, disarmed one of the men, and while protecting the infant, engaged in a fierce fight with the two men.
Ultimately, he defeated them both, but Li Qiang himself collapsed due to excessive blood loss.
The audience would undoubtedly exclaim, "Is that really Pan Changjiang?"
Indeed, with Pan Changjiang's usual demeanor, he had never portrayed someone as fierce and decisive as Li Qiang.
When Li Qiang regained consciousness, he was horrified to find himself lying in a coffin, surrounded by raging flames. He could vaguely see his family crying outside through the furnace's glass.
"They think I'm dead? They're going to cremate me?" Li Qiang exclaimed in shock. The intense heat of the flames caused him excruciating pain.
Just as Li Qiang felt he was about to be burned alive, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear, "Eat it, and you won't feel hot anymore!"
"Okay," Li Qiang, not caring whether the words were true or false, desperately wanted to survive. He opened his mouth, and a purple flame floated into it.
Magically, as the flame entered his abdomen, Li Qiang felt a warmth within him. The surrounding flames, reaching thousands of degrees Celsius, enough to turn him into ash, no longer felt so scorching. Instead, it was a gentle warmth, like the sun in winter.
"What is happening?" Li Qiang muttered in astonishment. Then he heard the voice that had told him to eat the flame say, "You died from excessive blood loss, which is why they sent you to the crematorium. However, I protected your soul and repaired your body after you entered the crematorium, causing your soul and body to reunite, thus resurrecting you!"
"Furthermore, what you just ate is the Foundation Building artifact I refined, the Purple Flame Heart. This artifact can protect your body from mortal fires."
"Sir, who are you? Why are you being so kind to me?" Li Qiang asked.
"My name is Fu Shan. We've met before, but this is not the place to talk. Follow me!" As Fu Shan spoke, the scene spun violently. When Li Qiang came to his senses, he found himself sitting in a brightly lit grand hall.
This hall was exceptionally magnificent, with intricate patterns visible in every detail, signifying the palace's extraordinary nature.
The palace seemed to be entirely constructed of bronze. The lighting in the hall was not from electric lamps but from oil lamps, similar to antique long-form palace lamps.
What terrified Li Qiang the most was that in the center of the hall lay a sarcophagus, which was a staggering 10 meters high and 6 meters wide, resembling a house.
Furthermore, countless Terracotta Army soldiers guarded the sarcophagus… wait, Terracotta Army?
Li Qiang grasped a terrifying answer, while Fu Shan smiled and said, "It seems you recognize it. Yes, this is the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. Since both this place and the crematorium are places where bodies are buried, it's the same to stay here!"
"And it's absolutely quiet here. Apart from Qin Shi Huang, no one will disturb our conversation. Qin Shi Huang lies in that sarcophagus. I even went in to see him when I first returned; his body and appearance are still lifelike. He's just a bit ugly, completely different from the Qin Shi Huang I imagined."
"You saw him? You opened that sarcophagus?" Li Qiang asked in horror.
"No, I didn't need to open the sarcophagus; I could just walk into it!" Fu Shan said with a smile. Then, right before Li Qiang's eyes, he phased through the multiple layers of protection around the massive sarcophagus.
As if he had learned the art of phasing, he entered the sarcophagus, and a few seconds later, he emerged, holding a digital camera. He pointed to a photo inside and showed it to Li Qiang, saying, "Here, this is Qin Shi Huang!"
"This is Qin Shi Huang?" Li Qiang couldn't help but glance. He saw that the corpse was indeed lying inside as if alive, though it was admittedly quite ugly.
"That's not right. According to historical records, after Qin Shi Huang died, Li Si and Zhao Gao secretly withheld the news of his death, using salted fish to mask the smell. They buried him nearly two months later, and his body should have long since decayed!" Li Qiang exclaimed in surprise.
"Which historical record did you get that information from?" Fu Shan asked curiously.
"Of course, from the *Records of the Grand Historian*!" Li Qiang replied without hesitation.
"The *Records of the Grand Historian*? Written by Sima Tan, the Grand Historian? His book is finally out? Did he actually achieve his dream?" Fu Shan said in surprise.
"Sima Tan? Isn't the Grand Historian Sima Qian?" Li Qiang asked, confused.
"Oh, then perhaps it was his son. So he compiled the *Records of the Grand Historian*? But why would he fabricate a story about the First Emperor dying early? He clearly passed the throne to Huhai before his death and was buried nine days later, residing in this grand coffin. Where did the salted fish come from?" Fu Shan was also bewildered.