Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 178

The State of Qi would not refuse a small request to borrow land, and in any case, everything would fall into Qin's hands in a few years anyway.

Before leaving, Yun Zhongjun refined several batches of pills and sent them to the Qin King's palace every month to treat the King's headaches.

Although the elixir has a limited shelf life and its potency will diminish over time, if Yun Zhongjun can return in time, everything will be fine.

Moreover, there were other alchemists in the palace, and although they were a bit rough around the edges, Yun Zhongjun was not a necessity for the King of Qin.

Last year, the Moon Goddess, knowing in advance about Xinghun's experiences, lured the Left Protector of the Yin-Yang School to Daze Mountain. Then, she herself was ordered by the Eastern Emperor to find Yunzhongjun to inquire about the preparations for the Mirage Project.

She only stopped for half a day in the Daze Mountain area on the way, revealing the background of the Yin-Yang School and her own 'Mirage Project' to Lu Wei.

Afterwards, she went straight to Sanghai City and brought Yun Zhongjun back to Xianyang.

The King of Qin did not urge Yun Zhongjun to return, but the Yin Yang School did not want the King of Qin to be away from Yun Zhongjun's elixir for too long.

No matter how many schemes the Yin-Yang School may have, they still ultimately need to hide under the giant tree of the Qin state for shelter.

Only by demonstrating your value from time to time can you gain long-term trust.

Furthermore, the fact that Xinghun was practicing the Yin-Yang Technique to cleanse his hatred could not be kept from Donghuang. The reason he went out was to provide a reasonable explanation for the object of his cleansing.

The Luo Wang organization was naturally listed as the scapegoat.

Logically speaking, Luo Wang killed Xing Hun's father, then tricked him into going on a diplomatic mission to Zhao, and ambushed him repeatedly along the way. No matter how you look at it, Xing Hun had an irreconcilable hatred for Luo Wang.

After wandering around for more than half a year, he casually wiped out several branches of the Luo Wang organization. His performance speaks volumes.

His actions were reported to the Eastern Emperor by the Moon Goddess at an opportune time. The Eastern Emperor pondered and ordered the Moon Goddess, a model of diligence, to go out again and bring the Star Soul back to Xianyang.

"I have always followed the teachings of the Moon Goddess. What brings you here this time, Moon Goddess?"

The young nobleman, Xinghun, asked the Moon Goddess, who was dressed in yin-yang formal attire, in a sarcastic tone.

"I've come to deliver His Majesty the Eastern Emperor's orders." The Moon Goddess's aura remained unfathomable in Xinghun's eyes, despite his rapid progress in Yin-Yang techniques over the past year: "Now is not the time for you to exact revenge on the Luo Net. It's time to end this petty squabble."

"The Moon Goddess is truly loyal to His Majesty the Eastern Emperor." After a few pauses, Xinghun chuckled strangely.

"If we could have a few more Moon Goddesses working for the Yin-Yang School, that would be even more wonderful."

"If Lord Xinghun has anything to say, he should speak to His Majesty Donghuang. As the Left Protector, whose status is above the Five Elders, it is about time that Lord Xinghun made some contributions to the Yin Yang School."

The Moon Goddess turned around, indicating that she had already conveyed the order, and the Star Soul would naturally understand what he needed to understand.

...

Inside Xianyang City, when the three special figures of the Yin-Yang School—Sun, Moon, and Star—met again, each harbored their own distinct thoughts.

What these different thoughts have in common is that they are not on the same page as the high and mighty Yin-Yang Master, Donghuang.

"Lord Xinghun has been traveling abroad for a long time. Upon his return, Lord Donghuang personally instructed him to serve the next step of Qin's plan. He truly has a bright future ahead of him."

Yan Fei, who was also from the Ji clan and knew that Xinghun's status in the Yin-Yang School would never be higher than hers, said calmly.

She glanced at the Moon Goddess again without any attempt to hide her feelings; her younger sister was the only and strongest competitor.

"Qin's next target is Wei. The rebellion in Xinzheng will soon be over. Lord Changping has already set off with the King of Qin's orders."

The Moon Goddess certainly had designs on her sister, but she wasn't in a hurry. Ignoring Yan Fei's gaze, she spoke only of business: "The Azure Dragon Bronze Box of Wei was targeted by the Luo Net ten years ago."

"This time, important figures from the Luo Wang Society will also be accompanying the army on this expedition. Lord Xinghun must not embarrass the Yin Yang School in front of his colleagues."

"I know what I'm doing regarding the task of retrieving the Azure Dragon Bronze Box."

Xinghun had just come from Donghuang and received some instruction. Compared to the words of instruction, he was more satisfied that his Yin-Yang Cleansing Technique had not gone out of control in front of that black-cloaked figure.

Regarding the near-joint arrival of Dongjun and Yueshen, Xinghun developed a natural aversion to them due to his desire to avenge himself.

These two women have clearly conspired to seize the throne of the Eastern Emperor, yet they still secretly compete with each other in front of me. How boring.

Ironically, he has to do this kind of boring performance every day.

"Lord Dongjun and Lady Yueshen must have received other orders from His Majesty Donghuang, right?"

"We have come here at the invitation of His Excellency Donghuang."

"In that case, I'm in your way again." Xinghun stepped aside and made a 'please' gesture with a smile.

Yan Fei immediately became alert, but Yue Shen walked straight past with her head held high. Unwilling to fall behind, she only noted Xing Hun's unusual behavior and nimbly caught up with her sister, maintaining the same level as her...

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, the Left Protector of the Yin-Yang School's expression instantly turned cold, and he walked away in another direction with his hands behind his back.

Those are the five positions; he is looking for Elder Yun Zhongjun, the Minister of the Golden Palace!

According to the agreement between Xinghun and Lu Wei, he cannot attack the King of Qin yet. In order to completely destroy the Qin state, Xinghun can be very patient.

However, regarding the test of that bottle of odorless and colorless poison, he had to conduct the test in the most rigorous manner.

Since everyone eventually has to go through Yun Zhongjun's test, Xinghun naturally intends to use Yun Zhongjun as the test subject from the very beginning...

Chapter 200 Taking the Poison Pill

Yun Zhongjun is working diligently to refine elixirs for the King of Qin.

He is an ambitious man.

After the Mirage Project was proposed, the highest rulers of the Qin state and the Yin-Yang School hoped to find the overseas immortal mountains through this project and achieve their wishes of either immortality or the restoration of the Zhou dynasty.

As the person in charge of this project, how could Yun Zhongjun not covet the ability of the immortal mountain to grant wishes?

Whether it's immortality or Donghuang's mysterious plan, Yunzhongjun has no interest in any of that. In the future, he will definitely be the owner of the mirage ship and the first person to come into contact with the immortal mountain!

Yun Zhongjun's greed for the immortal mountain was not great: he wanted to become an immortal.

Once he becomes an invincible immortal, the Qin state, the Yin-Yang school, and all other schools of thought will grovel at his feet!

To achieve this goal, he now needs to work hard for the Yin-Yang School and refine elixirs for the King of Qin.

To achieve success, one must work diligently. If Yun Zhongjun had no ambition, he could easily live a life of leisure; however, he has ambition, the ambition to become the only immortal in the world...

"call..."

Xu Fu regulated his internal energy and stopped the fire in the alchemy furnace. The elixir had already taken shape, but it still needed residual heat to lock in its medicinal power, and it would take some time before the elixir could be extracted.

"The alchemy skills of Lord Yunzhong are truly unparalleled in the world." A sudden burst of applause came from behind, startling Xu Fu.

My alchemy room has been silently infiltrated again...

He turned around and saw the short Left Protector approaching him with a wicked smile: "You've only recently returned from investigating the mirages by the sea, yet you've already diligently refined the fifth batch of pills for the King of Qin. No wonder you're appreciated by the King of Qin."

"Lord Xinghun is joking." Yun Zhongjun was extremely shocked. Although the young man in front of him was the Left Protector, he had only been a member of the Yin Yang School for a few years.

Last time, the Moon Goddess appeared silently in his alchemy room, and Yun Zhongjun was able to accept that her strength far exceeded his own.

After all, even though the woman was less than half his age, her mastery of Yin-Yang techniques surpassed his own when she was just over ten years old. Over the years, Xu Fu had become accustomed to her making rapid progress every now and then.

However, when Xinghun first entered the sect, Yun Zhongjun witnessed it firsthand: at that time, Xinghun was someone Yun Zhongjun could easily crush...

This young man now gives me the same unfathomable feeling as the Moon Goddess...

"It is His Majesty the Eastern Emperor's order and entrustment to refine elixirs for the King of Qin. How could I dare not do my best?"

The last woman who claimed to be loyal to His Majesty the Eastern Emperor personally handed him the secret techniques he hated, the Yin-Yang School. Now this old fellow also claims to be loyal to the Eastern Emperor. Could he also be a traitor with a guilty conscience?

"You're so kind, Lord Yunzhong~" Xinghun smiled even more brightly, but the strange patterns on his face only made Xu Fu feel a chill: "It is indeed important to refine pills for the King of Qin, but I wonder if Lord Yunzhong has the time to refine a batch of pills for me as well?"

"I will gladly accept Lord Xinghun's request."

Banishing the chill in his heart, Xu Fu chuckled twice, and without asking what he wanted to refine, simply agreed.

As the world's greatest alchemist, Xu Fu was extremely proud of this: if there was any elixir that even he couldn't refine, then that elixir itself was a mistake.

Besides refining elixirs for the King of Qin, refining elixirs for his fellow disciples of the Yin-Yang School was also one of Yun Zhongjun's duties. Xinghun was originally the Left Protector, whose status was higher than his, and now his mastery of Yin-Yang arts was also higher than his, so Yun Zhongjun was happy to make a good connection with him.

After all, compared to the Moon God, Xinghun and he were both from outside the Yin-Yang School who joined halfway through their journey.

"I wonder what kind of pill Lord Xinghun needs to refine, so I can go to the treasure vault to prepare the materials in advance."

In theory, anyone who seeks his alchemy services must bring their own medicinal herbs. However, Xinghun is the Left Protector of the Yin-Yang School and has certain privileges to use the treasure vault's resources. Yunzhongjun only needs to mention Xinghun's name when he goes to the treasure vault to retrieve materials, and he can also get a little extra for himself.

"No need for Lord Yunzhong to trouble yourself, I have already brought the materials."

Xinghun stretched out his left hand from behind his back and opened a small box: the box was divided into five equal sections, each containing a different medicinal herb.

"This..." Xu Fu examined the contents of the box, his gaze instinctively shifting from the box to the grinning Xing Hun, his tone hesitant:

"Lord Xinghun is going to refine the Clarity Pill?"

In the art of alchemy, in most cases, the more medicinal materials used, the more precious the elixir becomes.

Although there are a few precious elixirs that only require a few or even one medicinal material as the main ingredient, they are extremely rare.

The five medicinal herbs in Xinghun's hands were of ordinary quality and even more ordinary variety. With just a glance at the ingredients, Xu Fu accurately identified the name of the elixir that the Left Protector intended to refine.

Qingming Dan is a very simple supplementary medicine that can help people maintain focus for a period of time in the absence of loud noise.

It might have some effect on ordinary disciples, but it's completely useless for geniuses like Xinghun.

Moreover, even within the Yin-Yang School's Metal Department, there's no need for the Five Spirits Mystic Union to produce such pills; many ordinary disciples can refine them.

It seems to carry a hidden sense of humiliation that Xu Fu, a minister of the Jin dynasty, was so skilled in such low-level elixirs.

“That’s right, it’s the Qingming Pill.” Xinghun nodded: “Yun Zhongjun should be able to refine this pill very quickly.”

"The Qingming Pill treasury has a considerable reserve of it. Lord Xinghun can take it directly from the treasury. Let's not waste these medicinal herbs."

Xu Fu's tone became much colder.

“If it were just an ordinary Qingming Pill, why would I bother Lord Yunzhong to take action?” Xinghun said calmly, pacing around the alchemy room with the wooden box in his hand. “I obtained these medicinal herbs by chance during my year of travel. Some people say that they have been poisoned and that if they can be extracted, they will be priceless.”

“I am very interested in this poison. This box of herbs cost twenty gold coins to purchase. I would like to trouble Lord Yunzhong to examine it for me.”

The numerous lies, when spoken by a character like Xinghun, gain a natural credibility.

"Oh, let me take a look."

Since the Left Protector had said so, Yun Zhongjun took the wooden box. He first used his special internal energy to carefully turn the medicinal herbs inside over and over. Then, he frowned, reached out and gently broke off a small section of each of the five types of medicinal herbs, and laid them on the table.

Then, he took out a small white porcelain bottle from his pocket and very carefully and preciously dripped a drop onto each of the five medicinal herbs.

After waiting quietly for a third of an incense stick's time, Yun Zhongjun closed his eyes and shook his head: "Lord Xinghun has been deceived. These are all normal medicinal herbs, and they are not poisonous."

"Is it possible that they are currently non-toxic, but will develop toxicity in the pills after they are refined?"

"The possibility of that is very low."

Xu Fu thought for a while and decided to directly demonstrate the experiment to Xinghun, since producing a batch of Qingming Pills wouldn't take much effort.