Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 87 She Likes

Liu Sijun held his breath and slowly poured his spiritual energy into the alchemy furnace, controlling the heat.

In the past, when refining pills, Li Qing mostly helped control the fire. He had a fire spirit root, and because they worked together day and night and cooperated well, Liu Sijun could focus all his spiritual sense on observing the pill furnace.

Now she needs to learn to take control of the overall situation herself.

As the refining process progressed, the medicinal power within the furnace surged, and the fragrance filled the entire palace.

The Empress's eyes were fixed on the alchemy furnace, her hands gripping the armrests of the throne with tension beneath her sleeves: If Liu Sijun really succeeds in refining the longevity pill, how much longer will His Majesty's lifespan be?
Her gaze fell on the eldest prince, Bei Chenhan.

He, on the other hand, kept his eyes fixed on Liu Sijun, his eyes full of novelty and surprise.

The Empress felt even more suffocated.

She sent a telepathic message to Bei Chenhan: "Han'er, what are you doing?"

Bei Chenhan was engrossed in watching when his mother's voice suddenly boomed in his mind. He lowered his head guiltily, no longer daring to look openly.

Gu Changzhou put down his wine glass and looked past Liu Sijun's profile at Bei Chenhan.

Today, Marquis Molin wore a dark red cross-collar robe, revealing a silver-white collar underneath. His left shoulder was embroidered with large orchid leaves in gold thread, and half of his hair was tied up and secured with a purple-gold crown. The crown was openwork with star patterns, making him look noble and extraordinary.

Just then, Liu Sijun's spiritual power suddenly became unstable, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Gu Changzhou's sharp eyes shot towards the Empress on the phoenix throne.

Beneath the wide embroidered robe, his right hand spread out with five fingers pointing downwards, gathering spiritual energy in his palm before slowly pushing it forward.

The Empress was overjoyed, but before she could rejoice for long, Liu Sijun steadied his spiritual power, and the light in the alchemy furnace shone brightly. It was as if a clear chime could be heard from inside the furnace, and the lid opened automatically. Two crystal-clear pills, exuding a rich medicinal fragrance, rose into the air and fell into the jade plate that had been prepared in advance.

"It's done!"

Someone shouted, and the banquet erupted in applause. The officials knelt down to congratulate His Majesty: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! With this elixir, Your Majesty will surely enjoy longevity and the prosperity of the nation."

The Empress, unwilling to rise, also knelt down to offer her congratulations.

Bei Chenyao laughed and stood up, personally taking the pill: "Alchemist Liu has indeed lived up to my expectations, reward him!"

What should we reward them with?

As a reward, Liu Sijun was granted a month of cultivation in the sacred land.

He then looked at the Empress with icy eyes: "Empress, there are many things to do in the harem. You should focus on managing them and not worry about trivial matters. It's best to avoid going to the Yangshou Palace."

The Empress clenched her handkerchief, her smile stiffening: "Your Majesty's teachings will be followed."

Now that we've refined the Longevity Pill, even if His Majesty is unwell, with the Longevity Pill keeping him healthy, he won't be in any immediate danger!

She turned her head slightly and looked at Liu Sijun, who was standing straight in the center of the hall, with a cold smile.

That damned Liu Sijun, she actually tricked her.

Since they cannot be used for my own purposes, I should just follow the example of Master Wu and return to Yougu Palace as soon as possible.

After the palace banquet ended, Liu Sijun left the main hall immediately without hesitation.

The entire city of Zhongzhou was filled with joy. Not only at the foot of the mountain, but also in the palace, fireworks could be heard from time to time. These were ordinary things, but today everyone was playing with them with a special kind of anticipation.

Liu Sijun was holding the gold medal and preparing to leave the palace to celebrate the New Year with her master, Li Qing, but she stopped halfway there.

Forget it.

This action has offended the Empress, and he must understand that he was just going through the motions a few days ago. He needs to be more careful with his words and actions in the palace from now on.

Just as she was about to turn back to Yangshou Palace, Gu Changzhou appeared silently behind her without her noticing.

"What are you doing here, Lord Marquis?"

"Wait for you."

Liu Sijun: "Today is New Year's Day. The palace banquet ended early. Why is the Marquis waiting for me instead of returning to the manor to celebrate the New Year with the old lady?"

Gu Changzhou's face showed a hint of dejection. Liu Sijun knew he had spoken carelessly.

Although I only stayed at the Marquis's residence for one night, I witnessed firsthand how tense the relationship between the mother and son was.

"sorry."

Gu Changzhou took two steps forward, walking in front of Liu Sijun: "There's nothing to apologize for. This is how things have always been between us."

Liu Sijun paused, but couldn't resist her curiosity: "Isn't she your biological mother? How come..."

"What's so strange about that? You and your father are biological father and daughter."

Ah...this
"In that case, we are in the same boat."

Gu Changzhou looked up and happened to see a fleeting look of loneliness in Liu Sijun's eyes. A thought struck him: "Today we are both alone. I know a mysterious place. How about I take you to see it? Let's keep vigil together for the New Year."

"Okay, let's go take a look."

At this moment, Liu Sijun misses his master and Li Qing.

Unable to reunite with family, and feeling lonely and isolated, I agreed.

Seeing that she agreed, Gu Changzhou's expression became focused. He chanted an incantation and quickly formed a complex hand seal. The incantation transformed into runes that shimmered with blue light in the air. As he poured in his spiritual power, the runes became brighter and brighter. The spiritual power under his feet also began to surge, and circles of light blue light rippled out like water, instantly enveloping the two figures.

Immediately afterwards, the two figures disappeared from the spot as if they had entered the void.

Liu Sijun was amazed by Gu Changzhou's powerful spiritual energy, which allowed him to create a teleportation array in such a short time.

Although she didn't know how far he could teleport, it was something that a Golden Core cultivator couldn't do. She felt that Gu Changzhou's cultivation was probably on par with her master's.

He will only be twenty-six years old after the New Year.

That's perverted.

Gu Changzhou had no idea that Liu Sijun was teasing him like that.

In the blink of an eye, the two appeared at the entrance to a secret realm, which was shrouded by a faint spiritual energy barrier.

"Is this a secret realm?"

"Yes. I discovered this secret realm by chance, and it took me quite a bit of effort to find a way to enter it."

As he spoke, he once again unleashed his spiritual power, his hands constantly shifting through hand gestures, forming a series of hand seals. These hand seals transformed into threads of spiritual energy, precisely wrapping around the runes on the light screen. As if summoned, the runes slowly dispersed, creating a passage within, which faintly emitted a multicolored light—a truly wondrous sight.

While others were celebrating the New Year, they came to the secret realm.

That's pretty good.

However, she likes it!

"Let's go, stay close to me." Gu Changzhou turned back and gave a word of advice before stepping into the secret realm first, with Liu Sijun quickly following behind.

The moment she stepped into the passage, she felt a gentle spiritual energy wash over her, as if it were softly caressing her entire body, making every pore open up and feel incredibly comfortable.

Upon entering the secret realm, Liu Sijun was utterly astonished by the sight before him.

This place seems like a fairyland forgotten by time. Colorful spiritual clouds float in the sky, constantly changing shape. Sometimes they transform into soaring spiritual birds, and sometimes they gather into blooming spiritual flowers. Each spiritual cloud emits a soft spiritual light, which falls to the ground, making the grass underfoot shimmer with starlight, like a carpet of broken diamonds.

That meadow was no ordinary thing; every blade of grass was imbued with wisps of spiritual energy. A gentle touch would allow one to feel the spiritual energy flow into the body through the fingertips, nourishing the meridians and instantly making one feel refreshed.

"My lord, the spiritual energy here is even more concentrated than that of the secluded valley palace."

"Yes, as long as I'm in Zhongzhou City, I'll come here to cultivate. It's definitely more efficient."

Liu Sijun looked at Gu Changzhou. His cultivation level was so high, partly because of his extraordinary talent, and partly because of this place.

Liu Sijun: "I wonder which place has more spiritual energy, this one or the royal holy land?"