The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 958 Black Powder

After an incense stick of time, Li Chongshan picked up the wooden hammer and gently knocked the pendulum beside him.

"Boom" a crisp copper humming sound spread.

The two Taoist boys quickly stood up and turned off the fire. In the container inside the alchemy furnace, various priceless precious medicinal materials had melted and turned into a semi-viscous paste. After a round of skilled operation, the porcelain bowl-like container was placed on a tray and brought to Li Chongshan.

After sniffing the smell gently, Li Chongshan nodded slowly and said, "Okay, you can go out now. I will do the next procedure myself."

The real process of making elixirs is not like in the world of immortal heroes, where you can make elixirs directly. A pile of medicinal materials cannot be refined into round particles no matter what. They are first boiled to make them soft and mushy. Then they are dried to become a nearly solid mud.

Finally, they are made into pills by hand using special tools.

This is the simplest finishing procedure, usually completed by a Taoist child. Unexpectedly, this time, the master would do it himself.

The two Taoist children looked at their master in surprise, and one of them said, "Master, you have been working hard for a long time. Why don't you take a rest and leave the rest to us, right?"

"No need to say more, just step back!"

At Li Chongshan's request, the two Taoist boys readily got up and left.

As soon as the two men left, a middle-aged man with an ordinary face and wearing a Taoist robe walked out from the inner room.

The middle-aged man was tall, with light steps and a solemn expression. One could tell at a glance that he was a martial arts expert. He sat down in front of Li Chongshan, took out a paper bag from his arms, and handed it over: "Master, the head of the family has an order, execute it!"

As a Taoist priest trusted by Li Shimin, Li Chongshan was naturally a Taoist with a clean background. He studied under a regular Taoist master and practiced in Chongyang Palace in Zhongnan Mountain. Later, he became the abbot of Taiyi Temple because of his profound Taoist skills.

He is well-known in Zhongnan for his skill in making elixirs that nourish the body.

However, even if a person who practices Taoism can give up the seven emotions and six desires, he cannot completely get rid of the worldly concerns for his family.

Li Chongshan was born in Huayin, and his ancestors were also a branch of the Longxi Li family. He also had a slight blood relationship with the current royal family, but it had long been in decline. Because of this relationship, he was deeply trusted by Li Shimin, and his family not only had his parents and wife, but also several children.

But after he became Li Shimin's personal alchemist, people from aristocratic families came to him. Faced with various threats and inducements from aristocratic families who could influence the fate of a dynasty, Li Chongshan had no choice but to submit to secular power.

He began to tamper with Li Shimin's elixir.

When he first made elixirs for the royal family, Li Chongshan told Li Shimin that there is no elixir of immortality in the world. Even those Taoist masters who have achieved success in practicing Taoism can only live to a hundred years old, and that is the result of leaving behind worldly affairs, staying away from the mundane world, and practicing in peace and quiet among mountains and rivers.

The so-called elixirs are nothing more than medicines that strengthen the body, eliminate diseases and stabilize the mind.

He also advised Li Shimin to take the world as his responsibility and not to indulge in illusions.

Unexpectedly, this persuasion made Li Shimin believe that Li Chongshan was a highly respected and accomplished immortal master, and he became more determined to let Li Chongshan make medicine for him.

Li Chongshan could not resist the temptation of becoming a royal pharmacist, so he prepared several pills for Li Shimin to nourish his body and mind and strengthen his yang. After tasting them, Li Shimin was very excited, which added endless happiness to his private life which was somewhat unsuccessful due to too many concubines.

From then on, I became more dependent on these drugs.

Li Chongshan knew that these medicines could be used occasionally, but the emperor had three thousand beauties in his harem. Even if he had no worries about women, if he indulged in them, his body would be dragged down sooner or later. So he planned to reduce the use of aphrodisiacs and use more tonic medicines.

But who would have thought that the aristocratic families would come to him at this time and ask him to continue to obey the emperor's orders and not make any changes without authorization.

Li Chongshan knew that these nobles had ill intentions towards the emperor, but under the oppression of their powerful forces, he did not have any ill intentions. He just took advantage of human greed and watched the emperor go further and further down the wrong path.

Over the years, things developed just as Li Chongshan had expected.

Even though he had tried his best to reduce the dosage, Li Shimin's health was still declining at a rate visible to the naked eye. At less than fifty, he looked even older than Li Jing, who was nearly seventy years old.

This is a symbol of excessive consumption of physical energy. Everyone around the emperor can see the huge changes in Li Shimin, but due to various concerns, no one dares to say it.

In the past, Li Chongshan could make about 30 pills from one furnace of elixir. If he took one pill every three days, it would last for three months.

Since three years ago, Li Shimin's consumption has been increasing, and it has reached thirty pills a month. Now, a furnace of medicine can only last for more than twenty days, and can't even last a month. Li Chongshan once advised him tactfully.

If the medicine is used in this way, it may not last long.

However, Li Shimin had become dependent on drugs to stay awake and could not do without them. He had put all future crises behind him.

Seeing the medicine bag taken out by the person in front of him, Li Chongshan's pupils shrank and his face changed drastically: "Mr. Cui, what is this?" The middle-aged man was called Cui Yuanqi, a representative of the Qinghe Cui family.

Li Chongshan knew that Cui Yuanqi not only represented the Qinghe Cui family, but also represented a huge force of many clans.

A few years ago, his grandson was drafted into the army and sent to Liaodong to guard the border.

Li Chongshan was worried about his grandson's safety. Just when he casually mentioned it, his grandson was transferred back from the front line and appointed as a captain of Zhechoufu in a county in Hedong. From then on, Li Chongshan knew that the other party was not someone he could offend.

Cui Yuanqi's face turned cold: "Master, you just need to mix some medicinal powder into the pills, don't ask any other questions."

Seeing the other party's firm expression and unquestionable eyes, Li Chongshan had no choice but to agree: "Okay, but you have to know that this is for the emperor to take. If something unexpected happens, none of us can afford it."

"You can't afford it, not us."

Cui Yuanqi smiled coldly: "Do you think you can choose? Do it now, I want to watch you put these powders in."

So, under Cui Yuanqi's personal supervision, Li Chongshan opened the medicine bag and sprinkled the black powder on the freshly prepared, still steaming mud paste. As the medicine stick gently stirred, the black powder quickly disappeared into the dark brown mud.

Afterwards, the two of them started to roll the medicinal mud into long strips, placed them on a wooden pill-rolling template on the side, and gently pushed and pulled them back and forth. When they separated them, pills of uniform size and soft glossy surface were born.

'Boom dong dong'

Not long after he finished, the Taoist boy knocked on the door and said, "Master, is there someone from the palace here to get the medicine?"

"Master, hand them over to the messenger from the palace and don't reveal any flaws." Cui Yuanqi gave the instructions, stood up with a bang, and hid in the inner room swiftly.

Li Chongshan shivered a little nervously, his heart was in a panic, and there was a slight tremor in his tone: "You ask Eunuch Wang to drink tea in the front hall. Wait for a moment, the medicine has been prepared, and I will go there right away."

Li Chongshan hurriedly put more than thirty pills into a snow-white porcelain bowl.

After half a cup of tea, he tidied his appearance, packed his luggage, and came to the front hall, where he met Wang De who was waiting anxiously.

"Oh, my Taoist Priest Li!"

Wang De urged: "Is the medicine ready? The emperor is waiting, we dare not delay."

"Infinite Heavenly Lord!"

Li Chongshan performed a Taoist bow like an immortal, suppressing his inner nervousness and anxiety, and said with a slightly stiff expression: "How dare I delay the emperor's affairs? All the supplies for this month have been prepared."

After saying this, the Taoist boy waved his whisk and respectfully handed over the porcelain cup.

Wang De hurriedly and carefully took it, placed it in a brocade box held by a young eunuch, locked it, put the key in his arms, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang De was so focused on the pills that he didn't notice Li Zhong's slight unnaturalness.

He said to Li Chongshan, "Master Li, the emperor said that now one pot of medicine can't even last a month. We see that the emperor's consumption is increasing, so you should prepare more, preferably two pots a month."

Li Chongshan looked embarrassed: "Father-in-law, it's not difficult to make medicine, but the main thing is that the medicinal materials are hard to find. Among them, the thousand-year-old ginseng and the more than 800-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, as well as several rare medicinal materials produced in Zhongnan Mountain that are shrouded in clouds and fog all year round, are even rarer in quantity."

"Come on, you don't have to tell us this?"

Wang De said impatiently: "These medicine-making matters have nothing to do with our family. We don't know anything and only want medicine. If you can't get it out when the emperor needs it, and you blame us, I'm afraid none of us can take the responsibility."

Li Chongshan always felt that this furnace of medicine might cause a big problem, so he pretended to be embarrassed and said casually: "In this case, I have no choice but to go and visit those fellow disciples to see if they have any stock?"

"It's up to you. As long as it doesn't affect the emperor's taking medicine, everything else is allowed!" Wang De didn't take it to heart. Li Chongshan has been making medicine for Li Shimin for eight or nine years. From the strict surveillance at the beginning to the habit later.

They trust each other so much that they have completely let down their guard.

Li Chongshan's freedom has not been restricted in recent years. He can enter and leave the Daming Palace at will, go to Mount Zhongnan to collect herbs and visit friends, and exchange experiences with his colleagues.

As soon as Wang De left, Li Chongshan prepared to pack up and leave.

Unexpectedly, Cui Yuanqi appeared again and stopped him, saying in a serious tone: "Master, don't be afraid. This is not poison. It's just that I added a little more of Epimedium and Golden Rosaceae. For ordinary people, it's not a bad thing. On the contrary, it has a great aphrodisiac effect."

(End of this chapter)