In the secluded room, a pill furnace was placed on a high platform. As the blue flames continued to burn around the pill wall, white gas gradually began to spurt out from the top of the furnace.
"No...that's not the case..."
The blue flame extinguished instantly, and the surging air around the alchemy furnace slowly calmed down.
Yuan Tiangang retracted his palm, clasped it behind his back, and paced back and forth in front of the alchemy furnace.
"This elixir of life is supplemented by a perfect elixir, so why is it so difficult to practice it!"
"Three hundred years have passed, but no solution has been found... If you were here, would there be another effect?"
He was silent for a long time, and finally looked at the alchemy furnace on the stage, turned his hands into palms, and opened the lid of the furnace.
A vague and faint fragrance instantly spread out from the alchemy furnace and floated in the room.
Yuan Tiangang stepped forward, lowered his head and looked into the furnace, only to see a blood-red pill that was already shapeless among the countless residues inside.
He stretched out his hand and sucked it in, and the elixir immediately adhered to his palm. Yuan Tiangang pinched it with his fingers and held it in front of his eyes, staring at it for a long time.
After a while, he made a hoarse voice.
"Wouldn't it be wonderful for you and I, the monarch and my ministers, to join hands together to create a prosperous and immortal world for a thousand years?"
"No, no, you can't stand this handsome behavior. What would have happened if you had taken this thing three hundred years ago..."
After sighing for a long time, Yuan Tiangang put the broken pill back into a square box made of jade. When he hurriedly opened the lid of the box, he could see another pill of the same color inside.
Picking up the iron mask and hat beside him, Yuan Tiangang covered his face again, and then paced back and forth, talking to himself.
"According to ancient books, the elixir of immortality needs to be green in color, and its fragrance can stretch for ten miles. It can bring the dead to life and extend the life of the living for thousands of years... I spent half a century searching for the medicinal ingredients for the formula, and then spent nearly ten years refining it... but I can only practice these three defective products. Even if there is immortality, the skin must be completely destroyed, and the yin needs to be supplemented with yang to maintain the secret method of immortality... It is no wonder that Li Shimin did not take this elixir in the first place."
Finally, he snorted heavily and walked out of the secluded room.
"Congratulations to the commander on his release from seclusion."
As the stone door moved to both sides, Shi Yao, who had been waiting outside for many days, bowed and said with a smile: "Commander, will you gain anything from this retreat?"
"The method of immortality is difficult to find. I spent a long time on it, but I still failed."
Shi Yao was stunned at first, and then hesitantly said: "Since ancient times, many immortal masters have been looking for immortality, but only the commander-in-chief can achieve it, no matter how successful he is..."
Yuan Tiangang chuckled lightly and walked out with his hands behind his hands.
"Look for a few thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum. I still have a few ancient methods that you can try."
Shi Yao followed him and just said so respectfully.
The two of them walked outside without saying anything more. Just as Shi Yao was deep in thought, Yuan Tiangang's hoarse voice suddenly sounded in his ears.
"You have passed your sixtieth year this year, right?"
Shi Yao was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "I never thought that the commander-in-chief would actually remember my age..."
She looked at Yuan Tiangang's back in front of her, thought about it carefully, and then said with a smile: "It was actually thirty years ago when I lurked into the Xuanming Sect on the order of the commander-in-chief."
It seemed as if she was thinking about a long time ago, and the smile on her face became brighter.
"Yuan thought back to the time when I first met the Marshal, in the old capital of Chang'an. My mother led me at that time. I seemed to be thirteen years old? Do you still remember that I had some skills and was still working in front of the Marshal... …”
"The commander-in-chief didn't reprimand me at that time. He just asked my mother to take me back to practice my temper."
Shi Yao chuckled a few times, and the two walked through the deep corridor together. Before seeing the bright color in the sky, she was recalling the past in a soft voice.
Yuan Tiangang always put his hands behind his back and walked silently in front, without looking back or interrupting.
Maybe Shi Yao would think that behind that terrifying iron mask, there would be a smile...
"Thank you for your hard work these years."
Just before walking out of the corridor of the secret room, Yuan Tiangang finally stopped, put his hands behind his hands and spoke.
Shi Yao chuckled lightly: "For the commander-in-chief, for the bad guys, for the Tang Dynasty, I am willing to do this."
"There will be no bad people from now on... Now that the emperor is strong and you are determined to establish another government office, you must do it faithfully."
Yuan Tiangang did not hesitate and continued: "After finding Ganoderma lucidum this time, you will also leave the Hidden Soldier Valley."
Shi Yao said hurriedly: "I am willing to serve the commander for the rest of my life!"
Yuan Tiangang laughed, but did not answer and walked out.
He has seen too many people in his life. There have been too many partings.
After the death of his best friend Li Chunfeng, he no longer cared about the life or death of others.
"While I am in seclusion, where is the emperor?"
After the two left the deep corridor, Shi Yao became respectful again. When he heard Yuan Tiangang's questions, he immediately replied: "In the middle of last month, the emperor conquered Zezhou and used the strategy of Jingxiang, Zhu Wen's chief adviser. Thirty thousand people from the Yan-Jin Mobei coalition were trapped and killed. At the end of the month, Luzhou was besieged, and Li Keyong could not escape the battle."
"At the end of May, Mobei occupied Youzhou. At the same time, Sanqianyuan reported that Mobei had captured hundreds of firearms from Tang army scouts. Zhao Siwen, the general of Mobei, plundered hundreds of famous craftsmen from the Central Plains and went to Youzhou to supervise the making of firearms day and night. "
Yuan Tiangang suddenly turned around and said in a deep voice: "Is it effective?"
"...the people of Mobei spare no expense and craftsmanship. Generally speaking, it has some effect."
Yuan Tiangang pondered for a moment and then said: "The barbarians in Mobei have such knowledge."
Shi Yao was a little hesitant. After hesitating for a long time, he asked confusedly: "I have a doubt, I hope the commander can solve it."
"Speak directly."
"Li Keyong is very ambitious. He did not hesitate to lead Mobei to go south to destroy people's livelihood and resist the emperor's unification of Hebei. He has started the war and destroyed countless foundations in Hebei. He can't lose it. He is really cunning. And the Queen of Mobei, why doesn't the commander take action once and for all? His killing caused the Mobei of Jin to collapse instantly, clearing the way for the emperor?"
Yuan Tiangang laughed loudly, moved forward with his hands behind his back, and then said in a deep voice until he was in front of the jade railing: "Those who have established themselves as emperors since ancient times have been excellent in martial arts. In the past, Emperor Taizong defeated Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou, conquered Wang Shichong, and defeated Dou Jiande. He is so illustrious and powerful that he commands the world, and all his officers and men will follow him, but all those who have different intentions will surrender. Even with the changes in Xuanwu, Gaozu had to pass on the throne to Taizong, why? It is because of his power."
"You are a hero if you kill ten thousand people. If you kill nine million, you are a hero among heroes. The emperor is conquering Hebei and expelling Mobei. I want the heads of the people he kills to be rolling and the people in the world to be scared!"
He turned around and looked at Shi Yao, who was a little shocked, and said in a deep voice: "Only then can you become an emperor."
Shi Yao was silent for a moment, then crossed his arms and bowed to each other: "What the commander-in-chief did for the Tang Dynasty, and what he did for the emperor, are all due to painstaking efforts."
Yuan Tiangang sneered, but did not look at her, but looked north with his hands behind his hands.
"But the Mobei people want to peek at the artifact, but I have no choice but to take action."
"Any craftsman who comes into contact with firearms in Mobei will die."
