Taoist priests in the supernatural world

Chapter 106 Huang Shigong, the Queen Mother of the West's Elixir of Immortality

The peaks stand tall and steep, the cliffs rise thousands of feet.

At the summit of Mount Hua, jagged rocks jut out like inverted swords and halberds, and the mountain wind rushes up from the bottomless abyss, making a strange, howling sound.

Ying Zheng suddenly stood up, with a thousand-foot abyss shrouded in mist beneath his feet, and he was only a foot away from the edge of the cliff.

The precipitous Mount Hua seemed like flat ground before this emperor who swept across the land.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the sea of ​​clouds.

"Xu Qing."

"Your subject is here!"

Xu Fu bowed deeply, lowered his head, and tucked his hands into his sleeves.

He showed none of the arrogance of a great Daoist master, but rather resembled an old palace servant who had served the emperor for decades.

"How does my cultivation compare to that of the immortal Huang Baijun of Penglai?"

Ying Zheng still couldn't forget Huang Bai.

When other alchemists heard that the emperor had summoned them, they all rushed to Xianyang day and night without stopping.

Even those who were a bit arrogant, upon hearing that the emperor had personally come to invite them, would at least come out to meet him and exchange a few polite words, no matter how unwilling they were.

Only that guy, despite his imperial status as emperor, didn't even offer a word of greeting and vanished without a trace right before his eyes.

This isn't just disrespectful; it's downright disregard for the emperor's authority.

"Your Majesty has already taken the Penglai Immortal Elixir and cultivated the extraordinary appearance of green eyes and square pupils. Your cultivation level is naturally no less than that of the Yellow and White Immortals."

Xu Fu's words were 70% sincere.

He spared no expense for Ying Zheng's physical body, even using his treasured elixir of immortality that he had kept for many years.

This elixir, once ingested, transforms the mortal body, reshaping the muscles, bones, and flesh to a new state.

Otherwise, how could Ying Zheng have developed such a pair of blue eyes and square pupils in such a short period of time?

Of course, Xu Fu ultimately kept one trick up his sleeve.

He only gave Ying Zheng the cultivation of Dao, but never taught him the corresponding magical arts and supernatural powers. Ying Zheng possessed a vast amount of Dao cultivation, but did not know how to transform it into magic.

Whenever the emperor asked, Xu Fu would always say that his spiritual attainment was sufficient, and his supernatural powers would naturally come to fruition, thus brushing the question off with a few words.

After this incident, he trusted Xu Fu even more and regarded him as a confidant.

At Xu Fu's suggestion, Ying Zheng proclaimed himself "True Man" and stopped referring to himself as "I" (朕).

He ordered the renovation of the Xianyang Palace, connecting more than 270 palaces in the city with covered walkways and corridors.

He also issued a strict decree that no one was allowed to reveal the emperor's whereabouts, and anyone who dared to speak of his residence would be executed without pardon.

He transformed Mount Li, conscripted hundreds of thousands of convicts, carved the mountain into a mausoleum, cast bronze for the outer coffin, used mercury to represent rivers, lakes, and seas, and used luminous pearls to represent the sun, moon, and stars, so that he could possess a magnificent underground city even after death.

He commanded the entire realm to collect all the weapons left behind by the six kingdoms, transport them to Xianyang, and melt them down to cast twelve enormous golden statues.

Each statue was several meters tall and weighed over ten thousand kilograms. Standing outside the palace gates, they intimidated all directions and suppressed the restless hearts of those who were tempted to rebel.

In the north, the Hu people were eyeing them covetously; in the south, the Baiyue tribes had not yet completely submitted; and within the country, there were years of large-scale construction projects, including the building of palaces and mausoleums.

In a short time, official documents levying corvée labor from all over the Qin state flew to various prefectures and counties like snowflakes.

The people suffered terribly, and cries of despair filled the land.

People gradually realized that life after the unification of the world was not much better than during the period of war between the six kingdoms; on the contrary, it became even more difficult.

The longing for their lost homeland among the remnants of the six former states quietly took root in this land, and an undercurrent slowly surged beneath the seemingly stable Qin empire.

In the Qin Dynasty's Guoji Commandery, a secluded mountain villa is nestled among the surrounding mountains.

To evade pursuers from the government, Xiang Liang and his nephew Xiang Yu hid their identities and went into hiding here.

As the political situation in the country became increasingly turbulent, Xiang Liang's covert efforts to unite the former Chu forces gradually moved from the shadows to the open.

Deep within the manor, on a spacious training ground.

"kill!"

"kill!"

The earth-shattering shouts of battle startled the birds in the mountains and forests, causing them to flutter and take flight.

From afar, one could see thousands of warriors dressed in hempen shorts, practicing with spears under Xiang Yu's leadership.

Under the eaves beside the drill ground, Xiang Liang stroked his gray beard, squinting at the army that was gradually taking shape below the stage, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

"The morale of the troops is high," he muttered to himself. "We just need to wait for the right moment."

Xiang Liang and his nephew were waiting for an opportunity.

Waiting for an opportunity when the whole world rebels and one call is met with overwhelming support.

Yingchuan County, located on the banks of the Ying River.

This place was once the homeland of the State of Han. After Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, the descendants of the Han royal family were unwilling to serve the Qin court and instead took their families to live in seclusion amidst the mountains and rivers.

As night deepened, a bright moon hung high in the sky.

A young man with a fair complexion and a short beard stood with his hands behind his back on the banks of the Ying River.

The night dew soaked his shoulders, but he was oblivious, simply gazing quietly at the flowing water under the moonlight, his mind already drifting to his homeland, which he could never return to.

His name was Zhang Liang, a descendant of the royal family of the state of Han.

His grandfather and father were both prime ministers of the State of Han, and the state was ruled by five generations of kings.

After his father died with resentment, Zhang Liang gave away all his wealth and dismissed his servants, betting his entire life and fortune on restoring the Han dynasty.

"Young Master, it's time to go back."

The attendant couldn't help but step forward and whisper, "It's late; we shouldn't stay here any longer."

Zhang Liang remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a soft sigh.

"Let's go back."

Whoosh!

Just then, a rustling sound suddenly came from deep within the grass behind them.

"not good!"

Zhang Liang's pupils suddenly contracted, and every hair on his body stood on end.

He almost instinctively lunged to the side, rolling several times along the ground.

Puff puff!

Where he had stood, seven or eight steel crossbow bolts were now deeply embedded in the soil, their shafts still trembling.

If he had dodged even half a breath later, Zhang Liang would now be riddled with arrows.

"Take them down! Don't let a single one escape!"

More than ten Qin soldiers dressed in black suddenly sprang out of the forest, each wielding a short crossbow and a curved knife, their eyes gleaming with ferocity.

On the other side, downstream of the Ying River.

A bonfire slowly rose on the riverbank.

Gao Yao squatted by the campfire, holding a plump pheasant skewered on a wooden stick, turning it over and over the fire until the skin sizzled and dripped oil.

On the other side of the campfire, Song Wuji and Huang Bai sat facing each other.

Song Wuji poked at the campfire, a hint of confusion on his face, and whispered:

"Immortal, we are traveling far too slowly. At the speed of the paper horse, it should only take a few days to reach Xianyang. But with our current stop-and-go pace, we may never arrive."

"Don't rush." ​​Huang Bai said calmly, taking the half roast chicken that Gao Yao handed him and chewing slowly. "The time is not yet ripe."

He was waiting for Xu Fu to use the power of the meteorite to refine the elixir of immortality before he, Huang Bai, would officially set off for Xianyang.

"There's someone in the water!"

Gao Yao suddenly threw down the roast chicken in his hand and jumped up shouting.

Suddenly, the boy appeared at the riverbank, clutching a wet "corpse" with both hands.

"Huh? It's still breathing?"

Song Wuji quickly stepped forward and bent down to check the man's breath.

He raised an eyebrow, and without saying a word, took out the pill, dissolved it in the talisman water, and poured it into the man's mouth after pinching open his chin.

In his half-dreaming state, Zhang Liang vaguely saw two figures, an old man and a young man, standing in front of him.

The two did not speak, but judging from their positions, the young man seemed to be in charge.

A warm medicinal force surged down the throat into the abdomen, transforming into a warm current that spread throughout the body.

Zhang Liang's hazy consciousness cleared slightly for a moment, and he realized that it was these two people in front of him who had saved him.

He struggled to sit up, wanting to bow and express his gratitude, but he couldn't find any strength in his body.

"Zhang Liang...thanks to my two benefactors..."

Before he could finish speaking, he could no longer hold on, his head lolled to the side, and he fell into a deep sleep.

"Zhang Liang?"

Huang Bai looked at that pale, handsome face, his expression shifted slightly, and then he smiled.

"Meeting is fate." Huang Bai stood up, his gaze sweeping across the riverbank, and soon found a yellow boulder about half a person's height.

He drew the First Commandment Sword, its blade flashing coldly as it landed on the stone surface.

With a flick of his wrist, the sword moved like a dragon and a snake, carving the military strategies and esoteric arts from the Yellow Stone Master's Heavenly Book into the stone, stroke by stroke.

The sword light ceased, and Huang Bai sheathed his sword.

"Set off."

The three mounted their paper horses, which, bathed in moonlight, made a clear, melodious sound as they disappeared into the deep night.

After an unknown amount of time, a sliver of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon.

Zhang Liang slowly woke up. He sat up and the first thing he saw was the huge yellow rock in front of him.

The stone surface is covered with densely packed characters, containing exquisite military strategies and tactics, every word and phrase of which is truly remarkable.

Zhang Liang became more and more excited as he looked at it.

He was a descendant of a prominent family in the state of Han, and had read extensively on military strategy since childhood, but had never seen such profound and unfathomable tactics.

"Could this... be a divine revelation?"

Zhang Liang was trembling slightly as he gently stroked the carvings on the stone surface with his hands.

The scenes from last night flashed through his mind.

The person I encountered last night was probably not an ordinary wandering sorcerer, but a true immortal.

What was the immortal's name? He didn't know, he only remembered that excessively young face illuminated by the campfire.

"Huangshi bestowed the Heavenly Book..."

Zhang Liang muttered to himself, a light suddenly appearing in his eyes.

"I'll call you Huang Shigong then."

He imprinted every word on the stone into his mind. Then, he picked up the stone and smashed it to pieces, throwing the fragments one by one into the rushing Ying River.

Water splashed up and fell back down, and the pebbles bearing the weight of unparalleled strategy were swallowed by the river and disappeared without a trace.

Time flies, and the days pass like an arrow.

On this day, a brilliant meteor streaked across the sky with a long, fiery tail, illuminating half of the night sky before finally falling into the East China Sea.

The Emperor Qin immediately ordered the local government to send the meteorite to Xianyang, with fast horses relaying the message along the way, without daring to delay for even a moment.

"A harbinger of disaster has appeared; the imperial star is in jeopardy."

Huang Bai stood atop the mountain with his hands behind his back, gazing at the fallen star, the purple light of the Emperor's Qi Observation Technique flashing briefly in his eyes.

"It's almost time."

He said to Song Wuji beside him.

The three immediately turned their horses around and headed towards Xianyang.

The world is becoming increasingly chaotic, and no one is willing to be the first to raise the flag.

Some insightful people had already vaguely sensed that the foundation of the Qin state was unstable and began to secretly prepare for the restoration of the state.

Deep in the Mangdang Mountains.

Yi Xiaochuan, using the pseudonym Liu Bang, sat alone on a rock, looking up at the shooting star that streaked across the sky.

His once handsome face is now covered with a messy beard, and his hair has not been combed or washed in a long time, matted into clumps.

Yi Xiaochuan didn't want to change history, nor did he want to achieve fame and success; he only wanted to find his way home.

That night, Huang Bai beheaded Liu Bang with a single sword stroke, cutting off all his escape routes.

"Meteorite..."

Yi Xiaochuan suddenly stood up, a long-lost glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"Could this be the key to getting home?"

No matter what, he must find the secret of how he came to be from another time.

Yi Xiaochuan strode down the mountain and, taking advantage of his men's lack of awareness, rode his horse towards Xianyang.

Mount Li.

This mountain is shaped like a dark blue horse, with its head held high and hooves raised. Surrounded by other mountains, the earth's energy converges from all directions, making it the central point of the mountain's shape and terrain.

A towering platform rises abruptly from the ground, standing atop the mountain.

At the top of the platform, there is a bronze three-legged alchemy furnace with two handles. The furnace body is engraved with sun, moon, stars, cloud patterns, and dragons.

Xu Fu stood with his hands behind his back beside the alchemy furnace, his square, emerald-green eyes gleaming with barely suppressed excitement.

On the table in front of him was a jade box, its lid open, filled with a box full of sparkling powder.

The powder shimmered under the moonlight, as if the light of a star was sealed within each grain of dust.

"The prophecy has indeed come true—water and fire alternate, a celestial star descends to earth, the Queen Mother bestows an elixir, granting immortality."

The Fangxian Dao has worshipped the Queen Mother of the West for generations. According to the prophecy left by their patriarch, Lie Yukou, the Kingdom of the Queen Mother of the West will open once again.

At that time, a meteorite will streak across the sky and fall on the shore of the East China Sea.

These celestial stars contain an incredible power that grants immortality and allows one to ascend to heaven.

Xu Fu reached out and gently stroked the edge of the jade box, feeling the slight warmth from his fingertips. He then turned to look at an elderly man with gray hair and beard behind him.

"Cui Wenzi, you shall refine this elixir. Now that the time, place, and people are all in harmony, and the power of the stars, the energy of the earth's veins, and the national fortune of Qin can all be used by me, it is the perfect time to start refining the elixir."

Cui Wenzi's dough twitched slightly; he understood perfectly well why Xu Fu didn't do it himself.

While the Zhou Tian Technique can indeed borrow external forces to refine elixirs, the stronger the borrowed force, the greater the backlash will be.

The power of the celestial stars, the dragon energy of the Qin Kingdom, and the earth veins of Mount Li—any one of these three forces would be enough to crush an alchemist to dust.

Xu Fu, that old fox, clearly didn't want to be devoured, so he pushed this deadly task onto himself.

But what could he do? As a subordinate, facing the undisguised coldness in Xu Fu's emerald green square eyes, Cui Wenzi finally lowered his head and submitted.

"This old man...accepts the order."

boom!

A ball of eerie blue flame ignited at the bottom of the alchemy furnace.

The flames leaped silently, yet no heat rose; instead, a chilling aura spread in all directions.

A thick layer of ice crystals quickly condensed on the floor of the platform, and Cui Wenzi's eyebrows and beard were covered with white frost.

This is the Taiyin Sea Mirage Fire, a secret passed down only by the Immortal Path.

It is no ordinary fire, but a strange fire forged from the mirage of the East Sea and tempered with the power of the Taiyin.

At the same time, in the heavens above, the light of the stars seemed to be summoned, and strands of starlight hung down in the daylight, swirling around the alchemy furnace.

Deep within Mount Li, the earth's energy surges and billows, flowing along the mountain's veins and converging beneath the high platform.

In the direction of Xianyang, the fortune of the Qin Empire gradually condensed into a faint black dragon, its head lowered, facing the summit of Mount Li.

All three external forces converged on the thousand-foot-high platform at this moment.

Cui Wenzi sat cross-legged in front of the alchemy furnace, his hands constantly forming hand seals, veins bulging on his forehead, and his face paling a little more with each seal he cast.

On the outskirts of Mount Li, amidst layers of dense forest, the reflection of armor appeared and disappeared intermittently.

Thousands of Qin's elite troops had already laid an ambush here, each with bows and crossbows nocked and spears in hand, exuding a murderous aura.

They were the Iron Eagle Warriors, handpicked by Ying Zheng from among hundreds of thousands of Qin soldiers; each one was a fierce warrior capable of taking on ten men.

At the foot of the mountain, Ying Zheng sat upright in his imperial carriage, his gaze coldly fixed on the high platform atop the mountain.

This elixir of immortality can only be mine.