I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 75 King Qi, renowned throughout Luoyang, possesses divine elixirs.
It's...refined?
The middle-aged man suddenly turned around and carefully examined the porcelain vase.

My heart was filled with surprise and doubt.

After a moment, he cupped his hands and respectfully asked, "May I have a look?"

Jiang She handed him the elixir bottle.

The middle-aged man carefully held the item in both hands, gently opened the seal, his heart filled with astonishment and reverence, his movements cautious, for fear of making a mistake.

Then the cork was pulled out.

suddenly--

The mountain breeze stirred, birds flew in, and the pond made a soft sound.

Inside the Taoist temple, everyone suddenly felt a sense of lightness in their bodies and minds, and could vaguely hear the rustling of the wind flowing through the mountains and fields.

Middle-aged people never realized that heaven and earth and man are so closely related.

In my fifty years of spiritual practice, I have never seen such a sight.

The bamboo grove swayed, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

This place is where heaven and earth come to pay homage.

The middle-aged man, distracted, resealed the container. There was no need to look any further, no need to think any more.

If this isn't a top-grade elixir, then what Abbot Taihe Daoist is refining is nothing more than food for pigs and dogs.

Inside the Taoist temple, the Taoist priest and his disciples also sensed the strange phenomenon they had just witnessed.

A gentle breeze arose, making people feel light and refreshed, an indescribable comfort, truly wondrous. They looked at each other, glanced around, and saw that everyone else felt the same way, their hearts filled with even greater astonishment.

Middle-aged people could hear them whispering.

"That was just now..."

"You think so too?"

"Master... could it be that you have refined a divine elixir?"

The official in the scarlet robe of the royal palace stared intently at the abbot who was refining medicine.

The pill is ready.

It was a pale red with a hint of blue, contrasting beautifully with the golden cauldron, and contained only one grain.

The abbot examined it for a while, then took the pill and sealed it away.

Once the elixir is refined, it needs to be placed in a box and stored quietly for nine days to cultivate one's character.

He had also sensed something extraordinary, but... it didn't seem to originate from him; instead, it slightly accelerated the gathering of energy in the pill. Thinking this, the abbot turned and walked out of the pill-making room.

He met the intense gazes of the crowd.

The officials of the Prince's residence raised their hands in greeting, their faces beaming with smiles.

"Congratulations, Abbot!"

In the distance, the Taoist priests also came to their senses and bowed together.

"Congratulations, Abbot!"

The officials in the Prince's residence were refreshed and in high spirits. They had also felt the miraculous power and experienced it firsthand, which made them even more convinced. If Prince Qi were to take this elixir, his health would surely be restored in no time.

The abbot was taken aback.

"This...this pill..."

The official chuckled and asked, "I wonder how many pills the abbot has produced?"

There is only one.

“Even one is good. The abbot has refined this divine pill, which has greatly pleased the king. He will surely recover soon.”

The abbot dared not accept.

"This pill... is just an ordinary pill, not a divine pill."

He was indeed doing very well today, and the elixir was of the highest quality, but to say that it would completely cure the illness and make Prince Qi better... he would never dare to say such a thing.

The official was in high spirits and felt quite comfortable, so he didn't care about the abbot's humility.

He smiled as he walked side by side with the abbot.

"Abbot, please don't be modest. The miraculous event just now was not only felt by me, but also by all the Taoist priests and young disciples in this temple. Haha..."

Whatever the Taoist Master Taihe said, the officials took it as just a humble remark.

Lang laughed and said:
"Abbot, there's no need for you to be modest. I understand everything perfectly well."

The abbot's elixir has been successfully refined.

Jiang She and his group then took their leave.

He noticed the disciple beside him hesitated, seemingly wanting to speak but also reluctant.

Jiang She noticed something amiss and laughed, saying to him, "This is just a small matter; why tell outsiders?"

After today.

The extraordinary phenomena observed by the abbot of Hongdao Temple during his alchemy practice spread throughout the streets and alleys.

Everyone was talking with great interest about the flock of birds that had suddenly flown in, about the strange activity in the pond, and about the feeling of relaxation that had washed away their fatigue.

It wasn't just small vendors who were talking about it; kings, officials, and literati, at gatherings of poetry and wine, were all discussing the miraculous effects of this elixir.

The people in the Taoist temple that day became the strongest evidence.

Hongdao Temple was famous throughout Luoyang. ...

……

The abbot handed out the elixir, his mind unsettled.

The official in the Prince's residence personally experienced the subtlety of the situation, and he dismissed everything as mere modesty. He immediately reported to Prince Qi that the door gift had already been delivered. He couldn't explain himself to the people in Prince Qi's residence; he was utterly unable to defend himself.

evening.

After hearing his disciple's explanation, the abbot couldn't help but ask:
"Did that person really say that?"

The disciple recalled, "They seemed to have great respect for that Jiang Langjun, addressing him as either 'senior' or 'sir'."

"Then Young Master Jiang asked Senior Qingyun if it was possible to gather some kind of energy from heaven and earth, without using metals or herbs, and what the effects of the resulting elixir would be."

"Pure Qi?"

"Yes, that's what they say."

The abbot couldn't help but ask, "And then?"

"Senior Qingyun then said—"

"This elixir can prolong life, cure the sick, awaken the intelligence of wild beasts, and lead mortals onto the path of cultivation... However, Senior Qingyun does not know how to refine it, nor how to gather the pure energy, what kind of cauldron to use, or what kind of fire to control."

He said he would come to witness it after it was completed.

Abbot: "And then?"

"Then Jiang Langjun said that he had succeeded in refining it."

Inside, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Seeing that the abbot remained silent for a long time, the disciple asked, "...Master?"

Night was falling, and the room was dimly lit. The disciple lit a candle. The candlelight flickered weakly before the two. The abbot's expression shifted, and after a long while, he slowly spoke:
"Don't be ignorant of manners; you must not address Jiang Langjun directly from now on."

"He should be called an immortal."

"Do you understand?"

The disciple was taken aback.

The abbot has a long-standing relationship with Yunmeng Mountain, and has never shown such respect to the cultivators of Yunmeng Mountain. So, who is that...?

The disciple dared not think any further.

In an instant, all sorts of thoughts arose in my mind, one after another popping up like a gourd being pressed down and another floating up.

The abbot asked, "Do you know where that person lives?"

The disciple shook his head.

The abbot sighed, and seeing his disciples' minds wandering, he offered a word of advice:
Do exactly what Master Jiang tells you. Don't tell anyone else about this, lest you disturb the Master's cultivation.

The disciple agreed and then asked another question.

"At King Nagi's place..."

The pills refined by the master are not divine pills. If Prince Qi takes them and does not see any improvement or recovery, then...

The abbot stroked his beard.

After thinking it over, he realized he had no other choice. He hardened his heart and said, "At worst, I'll just hide away."

……

……

A few days later, Jiang She sat on the boat.

The banks are lined with peach blossoms and willows, and the flowers are in full bloom.

Fishermen sang work songs as they rowed their passenger boats under an ancient bridge. The river rippled gently, carriages and horses flowed across the bridge, and boats crisscrossed beneath it.

A touch of sunset glows in the sky, and a bright moon rises above the willow branches.

Several people sat in the boat, with a few dishes on the table: a plate of fish soup and several small side dishes. Although it was cloudy wine, they enjoyed drinking it.

Boats glide on emerald waves, people wander through a painting.

Li Bai said, "This is wonderful."

Danqiu Sheng agreed: "Sir, you know how to find a place."

Jiang She, holding a wine cup, leaned back on the armchair and had already drunk two cups.

He heard the fisherman recounting the legendary elixir in Luoyang with great interest, and he merely smiled and said it was good. He didn't imply that the abbot's elixir was actually ordinary, nor did he intend to boast.

Li Bai savored it in his heart.

As night deepened, the lights on the boat began to twinkle behind Jiang She.

A magnificent official ship sailed past directly in front of them, lavishly decorated with curtains and glittering with jewels. The people on board were dressed in fine clothes, enjoying wine in the breeze.

Someone, drunk, said, "It's a pity that Prince Qi himself didn't take that divine elixir."

The scholar beside him was interested.

"Why?"

The voice was much lowered, and Jiang She could hear that the man was covering his face with a wine cup, and his voice sounded drunk.

"It has been offered to the sage."

(End of this chapter)