Let’s take another look.
Yu Ziyu tiptoed closer and closer to the Sanqing Hall.
She hadn’t been to the palace many times, and she’d never been to the Sanqing Hall before. She’d only heard from her father that the Sanqing Hall was where the emperor used to refine the elixir of immortality.
Once inside the palace, Yu Ziyu found a suitable spot and leaned against the windowsill to look around.
Sure enough, the Ancestral Master was inside.
White smoke billowed from the hall, and numerous Bagua diagrams adorned the walls. Various alchemy furnaces of different sizes stood within, including an octagonal Bagua furnace, a Taiji furnace with a round top and square bottom, and a Mingli furnace covered with a black hood…
In addition, all the alchemical tools, such as the elixir well, the elixir tablet, and the ash pool, were also readily available.
Yu Ziyu was mesmerized.
Taoist methods of cultivating inner alchemy can be divided into external alchemy and internal alchemy.
External alchemy involves using rare and precious materials from the outside world to refine elixirs in a furnace. By consuming these elixirs, one can achieve immortality and longevity.
Internal alchemy relies on one’s own enlightenment and cultivation to refine the essence, qi, and spirit within the body, in order to achieve unity between man and god and ultimately attain immortality.
Yu Ziyu’s cultivation method is the latter, which focuses on cultivating her own essence, energy, and spirit.
Although she did not take any pills, she had some knowledge of alchemy and was well-versed in books on alchemy such as “The Supreme Purity Golden Elixir Classic”, “The Fire Dragon Classic”, and “The Secret Formula of Returning Elixir”.
She had only seen descriptions of various alchemical tools in books.
Now that I’ve seen this, I can’t help but exclaim in admiration, it’s truly wonderful.
Not long after, Yu Ziyu saw the Ancestral Master, Lingxuzi, holding a whisk, sternly reprimanding several Daoist boys. She was quite fierce.
A moment later, the palace doors creaked open.
The old emperor was helped in by a tall, thin eunuch and stood before Lingxuzi.
Lingxuzi stood upright, neither humble nor arrogant. When the emperor arrived, she merely performed a normal Taoist bow.
Seeing this, Yu Ziyu felt very gratified. As expected of her ancestral master, she was fearless in the face of power; such Taoist integrity was worthy of her learning and reverence.
Ling Xuzi said, “Your Majesty, I observed the celestial phenomena last night and saw that a guest star was moving along the Taiwei Heng celestial region. I can deduce that a Ziwei star is rising in our Great Xuan Dynasty. This Ziwei star will surely help Your Majesty achieve longevity in the future.”
”Where is the Purple[1]Ziwei jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2160675_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2160675_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); Star now?”
The old emperor asked, and he spoke with great difficulty, each syllable requiring him to desperately scrape together the last bit of strength from his exhausted body.
Lingxuzi said, “This humble Taoist will perform divination for Your Majesty.”
Yu Ziyu crouched on the windowsill, staring intently at everything inside the hall.
Ling Xuzi took a few steps and came to a bronze cauldron that was half a person tall. She then tapped the bronze cauldron with the handle of her whisk.
Soon, a rather large black-necked turtle crawled out of the cauldron.
Ling Xuzi grabbed the black tortoise with one hand, picked up the cleaver on the Bagua table, and with an eerie speed chopped off the tortoise’s head. She then threw the tortoise into the blazing furnace.
The old emperor was already accustomed to the method of divination using tortoise shells, and he sat cross-legged beside the low table, waiting patiently.
Sparks crackled and popped inside the furnace, burning for about half the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. Ling Xuzi used fire tongs to take the black tortoise out and placed it on the Bagua table.
”Your Majesty, look at the number of lines on the turtle’s shell. The three lines in the middle of the shell represent Heaven, Earth, and Man, while the ten lines around it represent the Heavenly Stems.”
As she spoke, she flipped the black turtle over again and pointed to the underside of its shell.
”Your Majesty, the twelve sections on the turtle’s belly represent the twelve Earthly Branches. When the turtle’s back and belly are combined, they form the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches in the Book of Changes.”
The old emperor waved his hand: “Forget about these things. Just tell me, where exactly is the Ziwei Star that can help me achieve immortality?”
Ling Xuzi tried to turn the black tortoise right-side up, her long fingernails constantly scraping across the tortoise’s back, making a piercing sound.
After a long silence, she said, “Judging from the crack patterns that appeared after the forging process, the Purple Star is currently in the capital, and very close to the Emperor. She is eighteen years old, a girl, with a pure heart and a mind unlike that of ordinary people!”
The old emperor burst into laughter, his voice like a broken bellows.
”Hahaha! Could it be the youngest daughter of the Yu family?”
Ling Xuzi, feigning mystery, fiddled with the tortoise shell a few times: “It can be calculated that the birth date and time of this Ziwei Star are Yiwei and Xinsi.”
”Ren Shen, Geng Xu.”
Upon hearing this, the old emperor laughed loudly again: “Born in the fourth month at the hour of Xu, isn’t she the third daughter of the Yu family? I still remember when the poppies on the back mountain of the Yu family were in full bloom, and the third daughter was born at that time. She didn’t cry or make a fuss after she was born, which worried her parents to death.”
Ling Xuzi smiled but said nothing.
Yu Ziyu listened from outside, unable to contain her excitement.
She had only been curious about why the Ancestral Master was here, intending to take a quick look and leave. But now, she was overjoyed and could no longer hide it.
Ziwei Star, she herself is the Ziwei Star of the Great Xuan Dynasty! Indeed, she is a sage sent from heaven.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Yu Ziyu rushed to the main entrance of the hall, pushed the door open, and burst in, laughing wildly to the sky.
”Hahaha! Your Majesty, I am indeed the Purple Star. From a young age, I possessed extraordinary talent and was a genius in cultivation. After opening my Yin-Yang Eyes, I became unparalleled in the world, unprecedented and unmatched!”
The old emperor had always been lenient with Yu Ziyu, and pointed at her with his wrinkled finger.
”I knew it was you, you little rascal! Cough cough cough… Come sit here, let’s discuss the grand plan for immortality!”
Yu Ziyu strode forward, sat cross-legged beside Ling Xuzi, and asked, “Grandmaster, what are you doing in the palace?”
Ling Xuzi remained calm and composed: “I am going to the palace to help the Emperor refine the elixir of immortality. You don’t need to concern yourself with this matter.”
Yu Ziyu sensed that the Ancestral Master was highly skilled and mysterious, and that she had her own reasons for doing things. So she didn’t ask any more questions, but simply asked, “Ancestral Master, are you going back to the Taoist temple? What should I do if I need to find you?”
”Yes, I do. I usually live in a Taoist temple and only go to the palace occasionally.”
Yu Ziyu nodded: “That’s good then.”
The old emperor looked at Yu Ziyu for a long time, then asked Ling Xuzi, “According to you, Ziyu is the Ziwei Star of the Great Xuan Dynasty, which means she can cultivate into an immortal and find the elixir of immortality for me?”
Ling Xuzi: “Your Majesty is wise, that is indeed the case. After Ziyu becomes an immortal, Your Majesty will be able to attain immortality.”
These words pleased Yu Ziyu and the old emperor. One wanted to attain immortality, and the other wanted to live forever. The two were of one mind!
Ling Xuzi glanced at Yu Ziyu, then at the old emperor. She had only intended to swindle a small amount of money from Yu Ziyu, but this time… she planned to swindle a much bigger sum.
Lingxuzi sat upright with a solemn expression, and then spoke about some techniques of cultivation and alchemy.
Yu Ziyu listened with rapt attention, clapping and cheering when she was thoroughly entertained. When she had doubts, she eagerly asked for answers.
Ling Xuzi didn’t say much, patting Yu Ziyu on the shoulder: “You should go back to the banquet. Your parents are still waiting for you. There’s plenty of time in the future. Ask me if you don’t understand anything later.”
Yu Ziyu was still not satisfied.
She suddenly raised his teacup and said, “With the Ancestral Master above and the Emperor above, Ziyu offers you a cup of tea in place of wine. If the three of us work together and discuss our great cause, we will surely enter the Immortal Realm and attain immortality!”
Yu Ziyu spoke with great passion, which pleased the old emperor, and Ling Xuzi also smiled broadly.
After serving the tea, Yu Ziyu bid farewell to the two.
Overjoyed, she returned to the banquet, her steps unusually light.
The mother was very worried: “Ziyu, why have you been gone for so long? I thought you had gone crazy somewhere again.”
”Mother, I am protected by immortals, so please don’t worry so much.”
Yu Ziyu couldn’t wait to leave her seat and go home to cultivate. Her long talk with the Emperor and Ling Xuzi had filled her with excitement. She just wanted to get home quickly to cultivate and become an immortal as soon as possible.
Looking around, she saw Li Jiyan sitting upright, his face cold and silent.
Yu Ziyu found it amusing. This shameless man was so lively in front of her, but he put on airs in front of outsiders. She wondered where he had learned such seductive tricks.
But she didn’t care. Whether it was the spirited general or the handsome third prince, she didn’t take them to heart.
Her only goal was to cultivate immortality and attain godhood; that was her lifelong pursuit.
Yu Ziyu recalled that Li Jiyan had seen her eating mushrooms on the mountain before. Those mushrooms were a spiritual medicine bestowed upon her by an immortal, and she was not to let outsiders know about them.
She then got up, quietly crept behind Li Jiyan’s position, and poked him in the lower back with the scabbard: “Ugly thing, turn around, I have something to tell you.”
Li Jiyan kept his eyes straight ahead, but leaned back slightly: “What is it?”
”You must not tell anyone about the mushrooms I ate on the mountain that day. If this gets out, I’ll deal with you. Understand?”
”Hmm.” Li Jiyan asked again in a calm voice, “Where did you go just now? Why didn’t you come back for so long?”
”Why are you looking at me? Mind your own business. What I’m doing is a secret of heaven, and secrets of heaven cannot be revealed. Don’t ask any questions.” After saying this, Yu Ziyu was about to leave.
Li Jiyan reached behind her and grabbed half of her sleeve. He hesitated for a moment before saying, “I’m not ugly.”
Yu Ziyu was overjoyed. She pointed her sword sheath at Li Jiyan’s waist and said sarcastically, “You’re ugly to begin with, and this part of you is ugly, terribly ugly, unbearably ugly.”
Li Jiyan’s handsome features remained still throughout, but the tips of his ears still turned red. He lowered his voice and said, “I’m not so ugly now. I’ve been applying medicine these past few days.”
He finally turned his head, staring expectantly at Yu Ziyu’s slightly flushed face, and tentatively asked, “Do you… want to take another look?”
With nothing else to do, and given the noisy banquet that gave her a headache, Yu Ziyu agreed, “Okay, let’s see. But let me tell you, if you scare me again, you’ll be in trouble.”
She first went back to her mother and told her, “Mom, I’m taking Li Jiyan for a walk. I’ll be right back.”
”Why are you taking a walk again?”
Yu Ziyu picked up an oil lamp and ran far away, then beckoned to Li Jiyan: “Ugly thing, come out quickly.”
The two left the banquet and walked towards the back garden, stopping under an old locust tree.
Yu Ziyu looked around for a moment to make sure no one was around before sneaking off like a thief: “Okay, right here. Quickly unzip your pants so I can see.”
”Right here?”
Li Jiyan was shocked. He thought Yu Ziyu was taking him to some secluded palace room to peek secretly. He never expected that this woman would actually ask him to take off his pants in this very place.
”There’s no one here, hurry up, let’s finish this quickly,” Yu Ziyu urged him.
”I won’t show it to you here.” Li Jiyan turned to leave.
Yu Ziyu was instantly annoyed: “You’re wasting my time. You were the one who told me to see it, and now you won’t let me. You’re going back on your word. I wouldn’t want a husband like you. If you won’t let me see it, I’ll look at someone else’s.”
She picked up the lantern and prepared to leave.
Li Jiyan stopped her again: “Can we go somewhere else?”
”No way, being all coy will ruin my mood. I’m going to watch it right here!”
Li Jiyan, undeterred by the prospect of death, pulled her behind the locust tree and instructed her, “Then be careful, don’t let anyone see us.”
”I know, I know, don’t tell me what to do. Who am I? Don’t you trust me to handle things?” Yu Ziyu lowered her head, watching Li Jiyan lift his robe and undo his belt with trembling fingers.
She craned her neck and held the oil lamp high, trying to get a better look.
A deep male voice came from behind, scaring the two of them out of their wits.
”Ziyu, what are you doing?”
Yu Ziyu was so startled that the oil lamp fell to the ground. She turned around and looked in the direction of the sound, and saw the Third Prince Xiao Jin standing not far away.
She was obsessed with cultivating immortality. Although her mind was somewhat erratic, she wasn’t stupid and of course knew about propriety, righteousness, and a sense of shame.
She picked up the oil lamp and rushed over, hurriedly saying to Xiao Jin, “Li Jiyan urgently needs to urinate, so I brought him to find a latrine. This guy is such a troublemaker, always causing me problems.”
“Why did you bring him here?”
Xiao Jin had already heard about Li Jiyan’s marriage proposal to the Yu family. But based on his understanding of Yu Ziyu, he felt that she probably wouldn’t be interested in Li Jiyan, or at least wouldn’t fall in love with him.
Over the years, he has expressed his love for Yu Ziyu openly and secretly many times, but Yu Ziyu does not appreciate it. She is focused on cultivating immortality and has reached the point of going astray.
Yu Ziyu didn’t know how to answer, so she put on a stern face and said her old saying: “I have my reasons for doing things, so don’t ask me any more questions.”
Li Jiyan quickly straightened his trousers under the shade of the tree and walked past the two of them without making a sound.
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