Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 7 007: The Harvest of the Grand Event, Birds and Fish
As dusk settled, thousands of lotus lanterns floated on the surface of the Zhuque River.

On the large painted boat, melodious music filled the air as many high-ranking officials and nobles seeking immortality gathered, clinking glasses and discussing the past and present.

"Ah, if it weren't for Qin Shi Huang burning books and burying scholars alive back then, destroying many secret manuals on cultivation and alchemy, who knows, today our Seeking Immortality Gathering would be a gathering of immortals, a grand event in the heavens, haha."

"While there is some connection, the main reason is that the environment has changed. We don't know exactly what happened during the Ming Dynasty."

Zhao Wuji was a low-key person. He sat in the corner, listening to these old topics. Qin Shi Huang's burning of books and burying of scholars alive was criticized almost every year.

He also observed the high-ranking officials and dignitaries who had arrived around him.

At this moment, sitting in the central seat of the painted boat was Bu Ruozhi, the Minister of Justice, whose official rank was even higher than that of his future father-in-law, Nan Tao.

Sitting next to him was Liu Jianzheng, an acquaintance and a fourth-rank official.

"The battle on the border of Yun Kingdom... was fought in a rather strange way."

Bu Ruozhi toyed with his wine glass and talked about interesting stories from the border. "The Yunlin Army clearly had the upper hand, but coincidentally, the four White Bone Kings of the White Bone Path appeared there with many disciples and saved the Tiger Army of Yu Kingdom."

“Lord Bu, in my opinion, the White Bone Path will not act without self-interest.”

A merchant guild leader sitting opposite him laughed and said, "They crossed the river at night and took away the wounded soldiers from both countries to turn into skeleton puppets. Such underhanded tricks are vicious and ruthless, and they certainly have ill intentions."

"Fortunately, our Xuan Kingdom has kept a low profile and avoided war all these years."

"Indeed, indeed. His Majesty may have already studied the path of immortality with Grand Preceptor Fang. Otherwise, how could the Qian Kingdom, which has been eyeing us covetously for so many years, be so quiet?"

"However, it is said that the Supreme Cult madman who suddenly appeared a few days ago has been captured by Commander-in-Chief Lin in conjunction with Eunuch Lin. These people..."

At this point, the atmosphere fell silent, and Bu Ruozhi frowned slightly.

An elderly man with a long beard immediately changed the subject, “This matter should not be inquired about casually. Ah, Doctor Zhao, I have an ancient book from the late Han Dynasty, which was obtained from the southern barbarian lands of the Yu Kingdom.”

If you can give me a bottle of Golden Spear Fiery Pill, haha, this ancient book is yours!

The old man spotted Zhao Wuji in the corner and immediately pulled him out to start a conversation.

Zhao Wuji took the old man's ancient book, pretended to casually flip through it, and then handed it back to him, saying with a smile, "Minister Wu, I am not interested in this book. If you have any ancient books by alchemists from the Han Dynasty, I might take a look."

This Wu Sicheng was a seventh-rank official in charge of agriculture, and he wasn't afraid of offending anyone.

He glanced at the so-called ancient book casually, and it failed to trigger the Nine Yin Nine Yang Pearl; it was clearly fake.

However, this also led the event into the exchange of ancient books.

Apart from the ancient books collected by the royal family and some top powers from dangerous and secret places, the vast majority of other ancient books circulating in the market are unlikely to contain any real methods of cultivating immortality.

For example, the Huangting Neijing Jing that Nan Zhixia gave to Zhao Wuji only recorded some fragments of breathing and essence-preserving methods, belonging to the category of rudimentary qi cultivation, which is inferior to some powerful martial arts.

Therefore, the Imperial Observatory allowed the grand gatherings for exchanging ancient books, such as the Seeking Immortality Gathering, to proceed without any interference.

If someone does manage to collect important ancient books, they can simply collect them and present them to the emperor.

However, Zhao Wuji was no ordinary person.

Many ancient books that are useless to ordinary people, when he reads them, may trigger the earthly evil techniques within the Nine Yin Nine Yang Pearl.

At this point, as Liu Jianzheng took out an ancient book to set an example, others also took out their own collected ancient books and artifacts to exchange and trade.

Zhao Wuji browsed around with great interest.

No valuable ancient books have been found so far.

However, he discovered several ancient artifacts containing the yin and yang energies.

For example, the armor parts of Tang Dynasty generals unearthed from ancient battlefields are stained with the general's blood and are full of yang energy.

For example, a burial pearl unearthed from some ancient tomb is filled with malevolent energy.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to appreciate the product, Zhao Wuji quietly absorbed it.

These artifacts from different dynasties are all quite valuable.

Although he had come into contact with some in the past, almost all of them contained little to no yin or yang energy.

According to Zhao Wuji's observations, only things with a deep bond with living beings can retain their yin and yang energies through the tempering of time.

For example, after a person dies, there is a chance that the corpse will generate Yin energy in a place with strong Yin energy.

The blood of the strong and the strong liquor may, over time, give rise to yang energy.

The sun and moon are not without yin and yang energy, but it seems that due to their great distance or other reasons, the yin and yang energy they can provide is extremely weak and difficult to accumulate.

Zhao Wuji speculated that the Yin-Yang energy required for the first Yin-Yang Pearl had a deep connection with living beings.

Perhaps the second Yin-Yang Bead will be able to absorb even more Yin-Yang energy.

After completing one rotation, the Yin energy within the Yin Pearl rose to 1166 strands, an increase of 24 strands.

The yang energy within the Yang Pearl rose to 346 strands, an increase of 5 strands.

It was truly a fruitful experience.

"Dr. Zhao, don't just look at it, bring out some of the ancient books you've collected so we can broaden our horizons."

At this moment, a middle-aged man patted the wine jar on the table in front of him and laughed, "Although I don't have any ancient books or artifacts here, I do have ancient wine passed down from the ancient Yelang Kingdom. This is a 60-year-old Qinghualang aged in a cave cellar. Don't you also like strong liquor?"

"Oh?" Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up, and he moved closer. "Let me see."

It is true that aged spirits contain yang energy.

Even if the quantity is small, at least there is some.

He used to collect spirits, but good spirits are expensive and cost a lot of money.

He leaned closer to the wine jar and sniffed through the seal. His Yang Pearl in his sea of ​​consciousness was already agitated, indicating that this jar of Qinghualang was indeed a fine wine containing Yang energy.

“Lord Mo, I have an ancient book called ‘The Chronicles of Fengdu’ that I can exchange for this jar of Qinghualang.”

Zhao Wuji looked at the middle-aged man and bowed.

Once the yang energy in the wine is absorbed, it will quickly turn into turbid wine, which can be detected by the changes in the wine's aroma. Zhao Wuji did not absorb any more of it secretly.

"Hahaha, I'm not interested in ancient books. This wine of mine comes from the left bank of the Chishui River in the ancient Yelang Kingdom. I only exchange it for good wine."

The middle-aged Master Mo shook his head and said, "Or, Divine Physician Zhao, could you bestow upon me three Golden Spear Fiery Pills?"

Mentioning the Golden Spear Fiery Pill, the others around also gathered around with interest.

Some people said they would be willing to make a deal if Zhao Wuji were to offer the Golden Spear and Fiery Pill.

"Lord Bu, you often say that you have a cold ailment in your knees. Why not invite Physician Zhao to give you acupuncture treatment?"

Not far away, Liu Jianzheng smiled and said to Bu Ruozhi, the Minister of Justice, "I was invaded by cold a while ago, and it was Physician Zhao who cured me with acupuncture."

"Oh?" Bu Ruozhi was surprised. He looked at Zhao Wuji, who was surrounded by a crowd not far away, and nodded. "I have also heard of Zhao Jinzhen. Is it really effective to dispel cold with acupuncture?"

"Indeed! Lord Bu, you may well give it a try." Supervisor Liu stroked his beard and smiled.

Bu Ruozhi seemed to be thinking about something, and nodded slightly. "If he can cure my knee pain, I have another matter I would like to ask him for help with."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianzheng whispered to Li Nianwei, a star official standing beside him, and asked her to invite Zhao Wuji. Li Nianwei's eyes lit up and she immediately turned around to invite him.

"Lord Bu has invited me to perform acupuncture to dispel the cold?"

Zhao Wuji glanced at Li Nianwei in surprise.

Seeing the girl meet his gaze, he nodded shyly in agreement, and immediately looked at Bu Ruozhi, who was sitting in the center of the table not far away.

Seeing that Supervisor Liu was raising his glass to him, he immediately understood and stepped closer.

This Bu Ruozhi is the Minister of Justice, in charge of judicial and criminal matters, and holds the ironclad laws and regulations. It's good to have a good relationship with him.

On the opposite bank of the river, in a private room in an attic.

A woman with eyebrows like distant spring mountains and eyes like brimming autumn waters gazed at the lively scene of the painted boats on the river, pursed her thin lips, and shook her head inwardly.

The grand celebrations of the powerful and wealthy within the city, filled with song and dance, seemed worlds apart from the huddled straw mats of the displaced people outside the city, as if separated by nine layers of palaces.

But she knew the truth.

The emperor, obsessed with seeking immortality, the imperial advisor who had already taken control of the situation, and the wicked empress hiding in the harem were all ruthless, using the nation's resources to support their immortality.

She and her father were hiding in the capital, also plotting important matters within the sect.

The people I always feel guilty towards are Zhao Wuji and Nantai, who were kept in the dark and may even be implicated in the future.

Nantai was, after all, his half-brother.

Zhao Wuji, however, was an outsider involved, and therefore felt even more indebted.

She used to be very averse to the existence of marriage contracts, feeling that even if her father owed Zhao Tianlang a debt of gratitude for saving his life, it should have nothing to do with her.

But as she learned more about the inside story and spent more time with Zhao Wuji, especially in recent years, she saw changes in him and her heart began to waver.

Seeking immortality, practicing alchemy, curing diseases, and saving lives are not necessarily bad things.

At least it's clear that Zhao Wuji is genuinely searching for and treating patients, and has aspirations and ambitions, rather than just feigning compliance to curry favor with the emperor.

However, this world is already in its degenerate age, and resources are scarce.

Even those with true wisdom and spirituality, unless they are at the very top, will find it difficult to attain enlightenment.

Therefore, the two were like birds in flight and fish in swimming, not from the same world.

However, even if one enters the path of immortality in the future, one can spend a long life to send off an interesting old friend, just like a bird skimming the surface of a lake and encountering a fish or dragonfly skimming the water.

This can be considered a purification of the heart and soul in the mortal world.

"I was invited to the Immortal Seeking Gathering, and I took a look. Most of those here are just pretending to seek immortality; perhaps you are the only one who is truly seeking it."

She placed her delicate hand on the cool necklace around her neck, feeling the slight vibration emanating from the magical artifact. She put on a pale pink veil, lifted her skirt with one hand, and turned to leisurely descend the stairs.

Seeking immortality may seem appealing, but what do people know? Immortals cannot be obtained through seeking; true immortality comes from being alone on a mountain. Only the capable can stand alone atop the mountain!

(End of this chapter)