The Unruly Immortals

"Hmm." Facing Li Huowang's explanation, the Da Liang National Master turned around, stroking his white beard while nodding appreciatively.

At this moment, Li Huowang felt somewhat anxious, uncertain whether the other party believed him or not. The other party's strength was formidable, and should a fight ensue, he might not be able to escape.

As he was brewing up other explanations in his mind, the other party spoke again. "Since His Majesty is so fond of you, and you can get connected with the Royal Family, this is indeed a great fortune for you. Cherish it well."

"Yes!" But in Li Huowang's heart, he didn't feel it was great fortune at all. Given that there were others coveting the throne, it was hard to say how many days that simpleton Ji Lin could sit on it.

"Go now, do well. The Da Liang Dynasty needs people like you," said the Da Liang National Master, patting Li Huowang on the shoulder as he spoke.

When Li Huowang keenly felt something travel from his shoulder into the root of his tongue, he immediately understood that, despite the threat, the other party was still not at ease and had placed a restriction on him.

However, Li Huowang didn't care about this. He didn't plan to speak to others about it anyway; such a matter, if disclosed, would surely invite trouble.

"I will comply. I shall take my leave now." After giving another Daoist salute, Li Huowang turned and left the Imperial Temple.

Once he had followed Lian Zhibei out of the tall, date-red Imperial City with the Yangshou Pill, Li Huowang glanced back at the oppressive Imperial Palace and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He still disliked this place; the entire city felt alive and as if it was constantly consuming people.

Despite some hitches, at least everything had concluded rather smoothly.

But now that he knew several princes were vying for the throne, it seemed that the Capital City would once again be fraught with undercurrents. He should finish his business and leave this place as soon as possible.

As for helping Ji Lin stabilize his imperial power, that was never within Li Huowang's considerations. Even though the young man seemed a good fit for friendship and was quite kind to him,

after all, they had met only once. Such an acquaintance was not worth risking his life for. Moreover, that young fellow didn't seem cut out to be an Emperor.

"It's your turn to keep your promise," Li Huowang said, turning to Lian Zhibei, who was excitedly looking at the Jade Token in his hand.

The pure Yangshou could not be condensed into an Elixir; it must be personally administered by a specialized individual, and that Jade Token was the proof needed to obtain the pure Yangshou.

"Relax, relax, of course," said Lian Zhibei, about to leave, but Li Huowang directly blocked him, now it was his turn to be wary. "Where are you going?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to fetch my mother to give her the longevity treatment! Didn't we agree on this?"

Li Huowang reached out and snatched the Jade Token. "Bring your mother here first, then come look for me. You better hurry, if you don't come within a month, I will use this pure Yangshou for my wife."

"Come on, we're already at the Capital City, you don't trust me? How about I leave my Astrological Bureau waist token as collateral?" Lian Zhibei pleaded earnestly.

But Li Huowang couldn't be bothered with his ramblings. He shook the Jade Token in his hand at Lian Zhibei and turned towards the Astrological Bureau Government Office.

No rabbit, no eagle loosed. If he thought to pull a fast one on him, there was no chance at all.

Arriving at the Inner Treasury, Li Huowang didn't waste words with the eunuch who had two Copper Coins perched atop his head; he simply poured out the four hundred Yangshou Pills from the Gourd. "Exchange them for the Shariputra I asked about before! Hurry up!"

The Shariputra was kept inside the Seven-Layered Pagoda. As the eunuchs unfolded the nested Pagodas layer by layer, when the last one opened, a red agate box giving off a faint glow appeared in front of Li Huowang.

The red agate box was so transparent that Li Huowang could directly see the shariputra glimmering with a Buddha light inside; it was a piece of human bone. A small, crystal-clear little finger.

"Shariputra is actually a human bone? And to obtain the method of heart-eye insight, one actually has to eat human bone?" Li Huowang looked at the eunuch beside him with skepticism. This practice didn't seem very decent at all.

"Master, please rest assured, this is the last one. The previous six have all been used, and everyone who used them are all well now. Nevertheless, I still have to remind you once again, you must be kind-hearted, you really must be kind-hearted!"

"Enough, how many times do you intend to repeat the same thing? This is it." Now Li Huowang was starting to feel troubled, about how to persuade Bai Lingmiao to swallow this human bone when he returned home.

It seemed to be the shadow from their time at Qingfeng Taoist Temple, she was extremely resistant to things like human flesh and bones, and she even avoided ordinary elixirs whenever she could.

However, when Li Huowang returned home with the agate pagoda containing the shariputra, along with two roasted geese, and saw Bai Lingmiao groping about in the pitch-dark room, he knew he had been overly worried, Bai Lingmiao was now literally blind.

"Brother Li, you're back?" Bai Lingmiao, looking rather wan, tilted her ear towards the direction of Li Huowang.

"How did you know it was me?" Li Huowang placed the lotus leaf-wrapped roasted geese on the table beside him.

"I can tell by listening. I recognize the sound of your footsteps. Brother Li, ever since my eyes started failing, my ears have begun to grow incredibly sharp."

Li Huowang walked over to her side and gently helped her to the meditation chair. "Miaomiao, don't worry, there's a way to cure your eyes."

As he spoke, Li Huowang took out a water calabash and the fist-sized agate pagoda from his bosom. "Open your mouth."

"Brother Li, what kind of miraculous elixir is this that it can even cure blindness?" Bai Lingmiao's face showed a mix of curiosity and anticipation as she opened her mouth.

Li Huowang didn't answer; he simply used his finger to place the shariputra at the root of her tongue. "Don't chew, swallow it down with rootless water."

As the rainwater from the gourd was poured into Bai Lingmiao's mouth, she seemed to choke and began to cough violently. Seeing this, Li Huowang patted her back repeatedly. Neither of them noticed a golden swastika flash across Bai Lingmiao's chest.

When Bai Lingmiao finally managed to catch her breath a little, she said with a troubled frown, "Brother Li, what was that? How come..."

At that moment, Bai Lingmiao suddenly froze. She realized that she could see things again.

To be precise, it wasn't so much seeing as it was feeling their presence.

Table, chairs, Li Sui, even the two short trees outside in the courtyard could be distinctly felt.

This feeling was truly unique, as if everything around was clearly imprinted in her own heart.

"Brother Li?"

Bai Lingmiao looked at the odd blob of matter in front of her with some confusion; it was completely different from everything else.

It seemed to be a person, but it would appear and disappear intermittently, and it was accompanied by violent shaking.

Not only that, but there were also some shadows around it, sometimes condensing together, sometimes separating apart.