Become a disciple of Taoist Priest Four Eyes

…

Yin Qiao cupped his hands and glanced over the master and apprentice.

"Looking at the accent, Master Xian and Disciple are not from Guanzhong?"

Xu Junming smiled calmly.

"The three of us, master and disciple, traveled here and saw the prosperity of Chang'an, where dragons and tigers roost, so we decided to stay there again for a while."

"So that's it. The virtuous master and disciple are upright and compassionate. They must be disciples of the great sect?" Yin Qiao asked tentatively.

"Shilang Yin seems to have something in his words?"

"Don't be surprised, Taoist priest. Yin is a doctor of Guanglu under the command of the Tang Dynasty and a minister of the Ministry of Rites. He shoulders the important task of selecting talents for the country. He is a virtuous master and apprentice who has a high level of cultivation. If he is willing to serve as an official, Yin is willing to recommend him to the King of Tang personally."

"His Majesty the King of the Tang Dynasty treats virtuous corporals and values ​​talents. He will definitely reuse virtuous masters and apprentices." Yin Qiao said solemnly.

Xu Junming smiled.

"Thank you for your respect, Mr. Yin. However, my master and apprentice are both outsiders and cannot be bound by the laws of the court, so I'd better forget about being an official."

"Taoist Master, don't refuse in a hurry. If the virtuous masters and disciples do not want to be officials, there are Alchemists' Mansion under the King of Tang. They are all righteous people like Taoist Master who are devoted to pure cultivation and have no intention of becoming officials."

"If you enter the Alchemist's Mansion, all the elixirs and spiritual materials needed for practice will be given by the imperial court. Even the heirs of Taoism can be found by the imperial court on their behalf."

"The cultivation methods and alchemy recipes collected by the imperial court are also available to the Alchemist's Mansion."

“In addition to the above, there are all kinds of benefits.”

With that said, Yin Qiao took out a yellow booklet from his pocket.

"I have written down everything in the Alchemist's Mansion in detail. Wise masters and disciples can read it themselves."

Xu Junming waved his hand, and the book flew into his palm. He flipped through it briefly and put it on the table next to him.

"There is a saying: no merit will be rewarded. There are so many benefits to the Alchemist's Mansion, so the price is not small."

"The real person is too worried. The Alchemist Mansion only needs to assist the local government and punish the demons and ghosts causing trouble. The rest of the time can be spent by itself."

"Understood."

Xu Junming nodded and said, "My master and apprentice will consider it for a few days before replying to Minister Yin."

"Yin Qiao is waiting for the good news of the virtuous master and disciple."

The goal was achieved, and after a brief chat, Yin Qiao left.

After sending him away.

"Master, do we really want to join this Laoshizi Alchemist Mansion?" Sun Shi asked.

"Of course not. Just give him a step down. Later, if you ask Chen Ling to send this book back, just say that we, Xianyun Yehe, are used to it and cannot be restrained."

Sun Shi nodded.

After Yin Qiao left here, he did not go home, but came to a palace outside the central imperial city.

A tall and muscular young man, wearing a navy blue robe and a feather crown, handsome in appearance, with a noble and majestic temperament, walked in from the outside in a hurry.

"See Your Highness."

"Kaishan is coming, sit down quickly."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After the young man sat down, Yin Qiao half sat on the chair.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry for your concern. It's over now."

"I heard that it was a monk named Sun who cured your illness?"

"Exactly. This cultivator's surname is Sun Mingshi, and he is a monkey demon who has become an immortal. Along with him are his master and a disciple named Chen Ling. Now he lives in Ziyingfang. In the yard.”

After nodding slightly.

"The person who can remove the poison from your body must be a powerful person in the Taiyi Realm."

Yin Qiao nodded and said, "I just went to fight for them, but judging from their appearance, I'm afraid they won't join me in the Alchemist Mansion."

Li Shimin sighed.

"I, Li Tang, have few people and few lands. We have enemies on all sides. It is difficult to attract more Taiyi Realm powerful men to join our court."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. Li Gui and Xue Ju are brave and unintelligent people, and they are definitely not our enemies in the Tang Dynasty. When we defeat them in the future, we will take Guanzhong, Hexi, Hedong, and Longyou. Don't worry about the powerful people. I use it in the Tang Dynasty."

Li Shimin nodded.

"Do you remember who poisoned you?"

Yin Qiao shook his head.

"The monks have various tricks. Although I am a military general, I am good at fighting, but not good at magic. However, the person who can hide my spiritual sense and poison me must be a powerful person in the Taiyi realm."

He himself is a middle-grade general, and he can fight even Yuanyang Xuanxian.

To be able to let him get hit silently is only possible with the power of the Taiyi Realm.

"It's a pity that the priests in the Alchemist Mansion are involved in important matters. Otherwise, we could have asked them to take action and find out the mastermind behind this."

After a pause, Li Shimin's eyes lit up.

"Do you think the master and apprentice pair who saved you will help?"

After thinking about the experience of visiting just now, I pondered for a moment.

"I've only seen it once, so I can't be sure."

Li Shimin thought for a moment.

"In this way, I will prepare a few gifts, and you will take me to visit you tomorrow."

"My lord, I obey."

…

The night gradually thickened, and the huge Chang'an City was gradually shrouded in darkness.

Because there are threats from all sides, a curfew is imposed at night.

On the tall drum tower, eighty drums sounded, and the doors of each workshop were closed. Except for the watchmen and patrolling soldiers, the city of Chang'an gradually became quiet.

On the edge of the imperial city, there is a huge mansion, covering an area of ​​hundreds of acres. The interior is dense with palaces, pavilions, springs and waterside pavilions. It has the roughness of the northern landscape and the elegance of the southern gardens.

This place was once the residence of Yang Su, a powerful minister during the Kaihuang period. Later, Yang Xuangan rebelled and the Yang family was implicated, so this place became empty.

After Li Yuan captured Chang'an, he granted this place to his fourth son, General Zhenbei, who was in charge of the military of the fifteen counties and Marshal of Taiyuan Road Marching, Qi Gong 'Li Yuanji'.

Next year, when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty is beheaded by Yu Wenhuaji and Li Yuan, who has completely lost his scruples, ascends the throne and proclaims himself emperor, Li Yuanji will be promoted to the title of 'King of Qi'.

In the left courtyard of the heavily guarded Qi Gong's residence, there is a small courtyard shrouded in darkness.

A series of footsteps disrupted the silence in the courtyard.

Under the protection of the generals wearing helmets and armor, a young man wearing a luxurious azure robe and a golden crown strode forward.

This man looked ugly, with a dry and thin face full of pockmarks, a flat nose, a protruding mouth, slender eyes, and two rat whiskers on his lips.

His eyes were sinister, hiding a hint of violence.

When I came to the yard and glanced at the dark room, the ugly young man saluted respectfully.

"Li Yuanji asks to see Mr. Wanyan."

There was silence for a while, but Li Yuanji, who had always been unruly, did not dare to stand up.

"come in."

A hoarse, thick voice came from within the room.

At the same time, a light also came on.

"You guys wait here."

"yes."

After the soldiers responded solemnly, Li Yuanji straightened his robes, opened the door and walked in.

In the empty room, a tall figure wearing a black robe sat cross-legged.

In front of his knees, there is an oil lamp.

The pale yellow light illuminated the entire body.

After turning over and closing the door, Li Yuanji came three feet in front of the man in black robe and prostrated himself on the ground.

"Yuanji pays homage to his mentor."

The man in black robe slowly raised his head, revealing a large face with a lion's nose, a wide mouth, and rough features.

The blue light flashed in the deep eyes, which was strange and mysterious.

"Get up."

"Thank you, mentor."

Li Yuanji stood up and sat aside.

"I've called you here this time to tell you that the golden scorpion poison my master placed on Yin Kaishan has been cured."

"Impossible." Li Yuanji blurted out.

"Do you doubt my master's judgment?"

The voice was cold.

"Disciple doesn't dare. It's just that Chen Hong, who has the ability to remove the poison from the golden scorpion in the Alchemist's Mansion, has been transferred to Jinyang by me. Who else but him can remove the poison from my mentor?" Li Yuanji said quickly.

"That's why I came to you. It's not convenient for me to come forward. You can investigate for me tomorrow to find out who unlocked the golden silkworm poison on Yin Kaishan."

"yes."

"Is there any clue about the 'Yang Gong's Treasure House'?"

"A few days ago, my disciples were browsing ancient Sui classics in Renshou Palace and discovered that Yang Su was fond of Buddha and had donated money to build Wuluo Temple in Zhaoguofang, southeast of Chang'an."

"It took eight years to complete, and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian even went to worship in person. What's strange is that in the first year of Renshou, Wulu Temple was destroyed by a fire, and all the monks died unexpectedly, but none of them escaped."

"So this disciple feels that there is something very suspicious about Wuluo Temple."

The man in black robe pondered for a moment.

"How is Wuluo Temple doing now?"

"Since it was destroyed by fire, the surrounding residents have often heard the sound of chanting sutras at night. It is widely believed that it is the ghosts of the monks who were burned to death. So it has been deserted until now."

The man in black robe nodded.

"well done."

"Thank you Master for the compliment."

He peeked at the master's expression and asked carefully.

"Master, although Yang Su was a powerful official in the Sui Dynasty, his cultivation is far inferior to yours. Even if there is any treasure left behind, is it worth your efforts to find it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yuanji felt an extremely sharp look fall on him.

The stern coercion made his heart tremble, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Don't ask more questions than you should."

The tone was extremely cold.

"Yes, yes, I will never talk too much in the future."

The frozen gaze condensed for a while before slowly dissipating.

"What you have to do now is to first seek refuge with your eldest brother Li Jiancheng. After moving Li Shimin down, you can then get rid of Li Jiancheng and ascend to the throne. You don't need to worry about other things."

"Disciple, obey."

"Let's go back."

"yes."

He stood up quickly, saluted respectfully, and slowly exited the room.

It wasn't until he left the courtyard that Li Yuanji took a deep breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Only then did he realize that the clothes on his back were completely wet.

Staring at the courtyard that was once again plunged into darkness, the fear in my heart gradually disappeared, and the ferocity in his eyes gradually became thicker.

When he was young, he was abandoned by his biological mother Dou because of his ugly appearance. Fortunately, he survived due to the protection of his maid Chen Shanshan.

Even so, he is still the most despised among Li Yuan's disciples.

So he practiced martial arts hard, thinking that one day he would be able to stand out and let his father see him. Unfortunately, due to poor qualifications, he has never been able to compare with Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin and Li Yuanba.

It wasn't until one day that the man hiding in the darkness with an extremely powerful aura came to him, took him under his tutelage, and taught him techniques and elixirs. His cultivation level skyrocketed.

Nowadays, except for the talented third brother Li Yuanba, who was taken under Quanzhen Taoism, no one among the Li clan's disciples, and even among the generals under Li Tang's command, is his opponent.

Even so, when facing his teacher, deep fear still arises from the bottom of my heart.

He hated this feeling, but he had to bear it.

Compared with the eldest brother Li Jiancheng, who is talented and highly valued by his father; and the second brother Li Shimin, who has outstanding military strategy and great military exploits.

If he wants to ascend to the throne one day, he must rely on his master's help.

"We'll wait until I ascend the throne."

Turning his head, he led his soldiers and disappeared into the night of Qi Duke's Mansion.