The Great Qin Dynasty: The egg of the Black Bird was revered as a national guardian beast.

The king will go, and the crown prince will remain to oversee the state.

With Crown Prince Fusu acting as regent, the First Emperor, accompanied by a large entourage, left Xianyang...

Tens of thousands of people, with carriages and horses following one after another.

The Blackwater Black Bird Banner fluttered, and spears and halberds stood like a forest, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

The First Emperor sat in his carriage.

He raised his hand to lift the curtain, looked at the people seeing him off outside the carriage, and glanced around as if searching for something.

Then, I saw a familiar figure in the crowd.

A smile appeared on his face.

I lowered the curtain and sat back in the carriage. For some reason, I suddenly felt a sense of unease.

Or perhaps it was the cold reception they received upon first arriving in Xianyang that led to prejudice.

The First Emperor never liked Xianyang very much, always feeling that the water there was too salty, the accent too rustic, and the palaces too cramped.

Therefore, after unifying the world.

Whenever he had the chance, he would never stay there, but would constantly relocate people from outside to build palaces modeled after those of the six kingdoms.

Xianyang has been completely transformed!

But this time, as he got further and further away from the city where he had lived for nearly forty years, he felt a pang of reluctance.

"Forty years have passed..."

He left countless times, and returned countless times.

But this might be the last time I leave, with no chance of ever returning...

Lift the curtain,

Looking at Xianyang receding further and further behind me.

The First Emperor felt a void in his heart, as if someone he had known for many years was waving to him.

The flowing Wei River is like flowing tears.

Goodbye, Xianyang.

Goodbye, my friend...

............

Watching the First Emperor's carriage gradually disappear into the distance.

Xuan Ye turned around and looked at Xianyang, feeling a sense of loss, as if it were empty and so unfamiliar.

He closed his eyes and sighed softly.

"His Majesty is on an inspection tour, and Crown Prince Fusu is staying behind to oversee the country. What about me? What should I do next?"

I stood there for a long time.

He slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze gradually hardened, and when he looked around Xianyang again, he was no longer confused.

"I will never give up!"

"Even if Heaven is against me, and despite Your Majesty's advice, I believe I will be able to refine the elixir of immortality."

"must...."

After saying this, he strode forward and headed towards Xianyang without hesitation, his clothes fluttering in the wind.

There is nothing else here.

Only one person remains, with a face etched with obsession.

............

Shangjun.

An envoy, carrying an imperial edict and a tally, arrived at Meng Tian's military camp.

"envoy."

Meng Tian, ​​accompanied by his subordinate general Wang Li, stepped out of the tent.

Looking outside the tent, the messenger, holding a tally in one hand and an imperial edict in the other, clasped his hands in a salute.

"Hehe, General Meng, this is great news!"

The envoy, all smiles, stepped forward, first congratulating Meng Tian, ​​and then solemnly announcing the imperial edict.

The decree stated: "General Tian has been leading an army of several hundred thousand to garrison the border for more than ten years. He has rendered meritorious service in the border defense and should be granted the title of Marquis Lun."

"An imperial edict was issued appointing General Meng Tian as Marquis of Wujian."

"The imperial edict ordered him to return to Xianyang immediately to assume the post of Commandant of the Guards, and his troops were assigned to the subordinate general Wang Li."

After reading the imperial edict in his hand.

The envoy handed the imperial edict to Meng Tian, ​​who was kneeling before him, with both hands.

"With His Majesty's high regard for you, what are you waiting for, my lord? Hand over the tiger tally and return to Xianyang!"

After the messenger left.

Inside the military tent, Wang Li stared intently at Meng Tian opposite him, who was holding the imperial edict, and remained frozen in place for a long time.

"General, this..."

Wang Li hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke.

"General, you have spent many years guarding the border. Now that you are able to return to Xianyang, why do you seem so unenthusiastic and act in this manner?"

Meng Tian remained silent for a long time.

He put the silk scroll aside, sighed,

He said, "I have been guarding the border for more than ten years, yet His Majesty has now granted me the title of Marquis and summoned me back to Xianyang."

"In my opinion, something must have happened in the country."

Wang Li was taken aback, then frowned and thought for a while. After a long silence, he spoke.

"General, I fear there may be something to do with Fan Li and Wen Zhong..."

This happened after the Wu-Yue rivalry ended. Fan Li saw that Yue had conquered Wu and dominated the Jianghuai region, so he left the Yue state.

After leaving, he left a letter for Wen Zhong.

The letter said,

The King of Yue was a man who could share hardship but not happiness.

However, after reading the letter, Wen Zhong dismissed it. But just as someone was slandering Wen Zhong to the King of Yue, saying that Wen Zhong intended to rebel,

The King of Yue then bestowed a sword upon Wen Zhong, saying: "Sir, you taught me seven methods for destroying a country. I used three of them and annexed the state of Wu."

The remaining four are of no use; you may take them to the deceased king on my behalf. Then Wen Zhong committed suicide...

Who was Meng Tian?

He immediately understood what Wang Li meant.

He held immense military power, and if anything were to happen to the First Emperor, the next emperor might not be able to control him.

This time, the First Emperor summoned him to Xianyang.

We fear we will repeat the mistakes of Wen Zhong, Bai Qi, and Li Mu!

Looking up at his surroundings, Meng Tian smiled and breathed a sigh of relief before looking at Wang Li.

"General Wang should be careful with his words."

Wang Li also realized what was happening, nodded, and stood aside watching Meng Tian without saying a word.

Meng Tian bowed towards the direction of Xianyang.

"General Wang, you are overthinking it. My achievements are nothing compared to your father's, so how could I be in danger?"

"His Majesty the First Emperor was not the King of Yue."

"He was able to treat his subordinates with respect and trusted his subordinates, which is why he was able to achieve even greater success than the former!"

As he spoke, his eyes turned to the imperial edict beside him.

"Your Majesty's favor is such. As your subject, I shall obey the imperial edict and return to Xianyang to assume my post."

Not long after,

Meng Tian then completed the handover of the tiger tally.

In the end, he was escorted back to Xianyang with only a few dozen personal guards to assume the post of Commandant of the Guards.

.............

at the same time.

Xianyang, inside a palace.

Xuan Ye was fiddling with the cauldron in front of him, his expression focused.

To his left was a scroll containing instructions on how to concoct medicine and various methods.

During this period of time,

He dried the medicinal herbs he brought back, ground them all into powder, and stored them in bottles and jars.

When it was time to refine the medicine.

He then picked them up and poured them into the cauldron one by one.

"This time, I must refine the elixir of immortality." With a gleam in his eyes, Xuan Ye encouraged himself.

He held the book in his left hand.

Based on the steps for refining medicine recorded above,

Xuan Ye added the medicinal herbs one by one, and finally added his blood and eggshell powder.

The roaring fire shone brightly, illuminating his face.

He stared intently at the furnace, his expression a mixture of listlessness and anticipation.

"Yes, it will succeed..."

"I will definitely succeed!"

After a long while, the blazing fire gradually died down.

Bending down, carefully and reverently, I gently lifted the lid of the cauldron, and the pill appeared inside.

They were all pulled out by hand.

Holding it in my hands, it doesn't look particularly remarkable.

But upon closer inspection, his eyes lit up; he could smell a faint, unusual fragrance.

"this...."

"Is it done?"