I managed to locate the source material and read through it. The story is decent, with the main character cleverly deceiving the empress, believing he's deceased, for a cultivation-related purpose. He also plans to establish a new cult, where the empress holds a high-ranking position akin to a pope, with potential for additional members, similar to the large harem in "My Beautiful Teacher," which has over fifty characters.
The plot stretches quite a bit to accommodate more characters, and currently, around seven have been introduced. Despite being in chapter 400+, I sense the number might increase to at least twenty. While it's not extraordinary, it has its moments and keeps growing.
