0p0 Chapter 103 Undercurrents
Chapter 103 Undercurrents
As for how An Lushan rose to power, she originally entered the court by meritoriously suppressing the rebellion of ethnic minorities. Later, because she became the adopted daughter of Yang Guifei and was on good terms with Li Linfu, a former important official of the court, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang trusted her very much. That's why he entrusted her with the administration of Pinglu, Fanyang and the three towns of Hedong. Now she has an army of over 100,000.
Even though he was at odds with Chancellor Yang Guozhong, Yang Guifei acted as a buffer, so Yang Guozhong dared not do anything to An Lushan. The two were just vying for power and profit.
Furthermore, An Lushan not only inherited his mother's witchcraft, but was also proficient in astrology and alchemy, often divining good and bad fortune for Emperor Xuanzong and concocting miraculous elixirs. Such merits further enhanced her status in the court.
The next day, at Xingqing Palace.
Li Longji was sitting opposite An Lushan in a private room within the palace. Beside them was a red-hot alchemical furnace, its fragrant aroma filling the entire room. The wisps of fragrance invigorated Li Longji, and he smiled as he asked:
"Lu'er, the pill formulas you prescribed for me before are becoming more and more effective. Is there any way to improve them further?"
An Lushan chuckled upon hearing this, patted the storage bag at his waist with his left hand, and several medicinal herbs flew out and were placed on the tea table in front of the two of them.
"Father, the reason I have come to visit you today is for this reason. Your cultivation has been above the mid-Nascent Soul stage for some time now, and it is only by further improving your cultivation in time that you can adapt to the body tempering method that follows."
Li Longji became increasingly interested as he listened, and pressed on, "Ever since the Five Hearts Profound Yellow Pill you refined for me helped me break through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, even though I take time to cultivate after finishing my daily official duties, it has been several years since I've felt any improvement. Lu'er, could you perhaps think of a way for me to continue improving?"
An Lushan nodded slightly and pointed to several medicinal herbs on the coffee table, explaining, "After entering the Nascent Soul realm, each breakthrough requires the accumulation of years and an understanding of the Great Dao."
However, while innate factors play a role, acquired methods can also be helpful. The elixir formula I'm bringing for Your Majesty today is an improved version of the previous body-tempering elixir. Every ingredient used in its preparation is a rare and precious treasure, capable of further enhancing Your Majesty's absorption of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Please take a close look.”
When Li Longji heard An Lushan say this, although the miraculous medicine he had been expecting did not appear, it was still good news at least, so he gestured for her to show it.
No wonder Li Longji almost never went to the Imperial Hospital; those thousands of imperial physicians were no match for An Lushan's alchemy skills.
An Lushan's hands glowed with a deep blue light, and she manipulated several herbs on the table to rise slowly into the air, throwing them one by one into the burning alchemy furnace.
Instantly, the fire in the furnace burned even more fiercely with the arrival of these medicinal herbs, and the fragrance emanating from them became even more intoxicating. Xuanzong quietly and greedily inhaled the aroma, as if his spiritual realm was leaping with each breath.
After completing his ritual, An Lushan withdrew his magic, took his leave, and left Emperor Xuanzong alone to enjoy the miraculous elixir.
"I have some official business to attend to, so I will not disturb Your Majesty any longer."
"Thank you for your hard work, Lu'er. If you have something urgent to attend to, go and take care of it quickly. Your father is waiting for you to come back at home."
Emperor Xuanzong was very satisfied with the incense and medicine, so he didn't say much. After a few simple farewells, he calmed down and focused on his cultivation.
After slowly walking out of Xingqing Palace and closing the palace gates, An Lushan hurriedly headed outside the palace. In order not to attract the attention of the surrounding imperial guards, she did not show any abnormality even though she was in a hurry.
Only after she was completely out of the palace grounds and had carefully observed that no one was paying attention to her did An Lushan lean against a brick wall and begin to retch. Several violent coughs followed, and then she vomited a pool of dark, turbid blood.
As she used her feet to cover the blood with dust, she secretly sneered. It turned out that the body-tempering incense that Li Longji had been using for years was actually poison!
This poison has a long incubation period, capable of destroying the absorber's dantian, spiritual root, and meridians from the inside out...
After each time An Lushan finished refining this kind of fragrant medicine for Li Longji, he had to take an antidote pill as soon as possible. Otherwise, being shrouded in the poisonous gas for too long during the process of refining the fragrant medicine, which is closest to the source of the poison, would be difficult for her to resist, given her mid-stage Golden Core cultivation.
"Hmph, once this pot of even stronger incense is burned, even if Li Longji, that old man Bi Deng, is only at the Nascent Soul stage, he will still be unable to escape the poison and die!"
The ruthlessness of a forty-year-old woman could be seen in the face of this fourteen-year-old girl. With a low, cold laugh, her figure gradually disappeared into the shadows.
Little did they know, all of this was clearly seen by a pair of eyes.
In a tavern in the capital, Zhang Yunling ordered a table full of food and drinks, but sat there motionless, staring blankly at the plate of braised beef on the table, which attracted the attention of the waiter.
"This official spends ten taels of gold at a time, yet he orders so many dishes but doesn't touch a single bite. How strange," the waiter muttered under his breath.
While Zhang Yunling appeared to be in a daze, his mind was actually racing with thoughts as he constantly considered the series of events that had occurred recently.
"I thought this secret realm was specially created for me, but I didn't expect it to be a public area. Even that little girl under Pei Yao's command came in. It's really terrifying to think about."
"When we first entered the Immortal Ruins, we fought with Zhu Yi from Sanqing Mountain. Although we were slightly better, we don't know where those people from Sanqing Mountain have gone. If they also enter this secret realm, the situation will become much more complicated."
"Where is that guy named Chen Tianfan who saved Zhu Yi now... I wonder how the Quanzhen Sect and the Pei family are doing. I feel a little sorry for them for choosing to avoid the war and live a quiet life. I hope Senior Sister Ren won't hate me."
"But the strangest one is Qiankun Dao. According to my memory, Qiankun Dao has at least three Nascent Soul stage elders. What method did Dong Wan use to prevent those old guys from challenging her position as sect leader..."
"That Yang Guifei doesn't seem simple at all. Although she always puts on an act of being detached from worldly affairs and going with the flow, I always feel that she's hiding some secret..."
"That Princess Yuzhen is even more so. Thinking back to when I was a Hanlin scholar in the court a couple of years ago, I didn't actually have much interaction with her. I was mostly on good terms with her because of her status as a member of the imperial family. However, it seems she is a Taoist practitioner, so it's best to be cautious..."
Just then, someone suddenly sat down opposite Zhang Yunling. The unexpected figure interrupted his thoughts. Zhang Yunling looked up and saw that the person was Dong Wan, the sect leader of Qiankun Dao.
As expected, Zhang Yunling had arranged for Dong Wan to infiltrate the capital, and after recently learning An Lushan's identity, he entrusted Dong Wan with gathering intelligence.
"As you predicted, that brat was indeed up to no good. I have seen everything she said and did. Now that we have evidence that she plotted to harm the emperor, what are you waiting for? Just go and file a complaint."
Dong Wan picked up the glass that Zhang Yunling had already filled, and the two clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp.
Zhang Yunling sighed and replied, "I would like to file a complaint, but we have no information at all about when that girl began to possess An Lushan's body or when she began to serve Li Longji."
"If we rashly report this matter, and An Lushan holds a significant position in Li Longji's heart, wouldn't we be inviting trouble upon ourselves? It would save An Lushan the trouble of taking action himself."
Dong Wan smiled generously, poured another glass of wine, and filled Zhang Yunling's glass as well. Despite her gentle and sweet appearance, she drank like a man, raising her glass and downing it in one gulp.
After a few hiccups, Dong Wan started cursing: "Anyway, I've already broken even after getting those few Heaven-Rank magic treasures, hiccup~ Damn it, I'm going to do this to you, I'll beat that brat to a pulp, and then I'll be an emperor for a bit, hahahahaha!"
Although Zhang Yunling was somewhat speechless, seeing that no one around him was paying attention to the woman's crazy ramblings, he smiled along and the two of them drank one cup after another.