On the square.
After finally getting everyone to stop their flattery,
Jiang Yuechu then turned slightly and pointed at Lu Changfeng and the others.
"This is the Young Lord of the Lu Family from Qifeng Ridge, Lu Changfeng... I have invited him here this time to assist our Great Tang in cultivating the Golden Body Technique."
Hm?
Hearing this,
the Emperor's eyes suddenly lit up.
His gaze toward Lu Changfeng, which had been tinged with scrutiny and hostility, changed in an instant.
"So it is Young Lord Lu!"
The Emperor strode forward, grabbed Lu Changfeng's hand, and shook it vigorously.
His Face was filled with an extremely sincere smile.
"I have heard of your great name for a long time, a long time indeed!"
"Young Lord Lu has traveled ten thousand miles to assist our Great Tang. I shall keep this kindness engraved in my heart!"
This level of enthusiasm
left Lu Changfeng somewhat dazed.
He had clearly felt a strange hostility from this person just moments ago... How could his expression change so quickly?
He could only awkwardly but politely withdraw his hand and cupped his fists in salute.
"Your Majesty overstates it."
"I am merely following my father's orders to come and contribute what little I can."
"As for this person, he is Zhou Xuan, a member of the Pill Cauldron Sect."
Jiang Yuechu spoke again, pointing at the thin Man wearing a bamboo hat.
"I have promised them a few things. In the future, the Pill Cauldron Sect will enter the Great Tang and assist us in the path of Alchemy."
As these words fell,
the Great Tang officials, who had just recovered from their shock, were stunned once more.
The Great Tang naturally had Alchemists of its own.
However, most of those Alchemists serving in the Inner Court or traveling the Jianghu were not high in Realm, and their formulas were ordinary.
The Medicinal Pills they refined were only effective for Martial Artists below the Mountain Gazing Realm.
Once one reached the Mountain Gazing Realm, the medicinal power became insufficient.
Not to mention the Lamp-Lighting Realm... Therefore,
the Great Tang did not actually place much importance on Medicinal Pills.
While everyone was still speculating,
Thirteen Wu, who was sitting on the stone steps in front of the palace scratching his feet, paused his movements slightly.
He lifted his eyelids, a hint of surprise showing in his cloudy eyes as they landed on the Man in the bamboo hat.
"Pill Cauldron Sect? Does it have any connection to the Lanshan Pill Sect founded by Qi Nanke back then?"
Hearing this, Zhou Xuan's body jolted.
He instinctively lifted a corner of his bamboo hat, revealing a Face full of astonishment.
"Senior... knows of the Lanshan Pill Sect?"
Even Wang Ziyu looked at the old Daoist with a Face full of suspicion and surprise.
He only knew that the Pill Cauldron Sect had been famous for a period of time... but he did not know its specific origin or Foundation.
Seeing everyone looking at him,
Thirteen Wu put his foot back into his shoe and explained casually, "The Lanshan Pill Sect was a great Sect tens of thousands of years ago. At its peak, it had tens of thousands of Alchemists under its banner, spread across the Eastern Region."
"At that time, let alone ordinary forces, even the Twenty-Five Orthodox Lineages had to be somewhat polite when meeting an Alchemist from the Lanshan Pill Sect."
"Even some old monsters in Grotto-Heavens had to watch their expressions if they wanted to obtain a furnace of pills."
As soon as these words were spoken,
a chorus of sharp intakes of breath sounded from the surroundings.
By now, they were no longer completely in the dark.
After the old Daoist's previous explanation, they already knew what the Twenty-Five Orthodox Lineages represented.
Those were truly unattainable, Immortal-like figures.
And this so-called Lanshan Pill Sect could actually make such beings act politely?
"Unfortunately, a tree that stands taller than the forest will be destroyed by the wind."
Thirteen Wu sighed.
"The momentum of a great Sect eventually drew the dissatisfaction of certain Dao Lineages."
"Coupled with internal rifts, after flourishing for a time, it fell apart."
"I heard that later, several of Qi Nanke's True Disciples left with remnant manuals, and one of those lineages founded the Pill Cauldron Sect."
At this point, the Old Daoist Priest's eyes held a hint of lament.
"However, it's also strange... the Pill Cauldron Sect was somewhat famous a few hundred years ago."
"But later, it seemed to evaporate from the world, completely vanishing without a trace."
"I didn't expect that today, in this remote backwater, I would encounter a descendant of that lineage."
Hearing this,
Zhou Xuan's expression grew more bitter, his lips twitching.
How could they not vanish?
The entire Sect of over three thousand people had been captured to serve as laborers in the dark.
He sighed deeply in his heart, not daring to speak more of his bitterness in front of outsiders.
As for the Great Tang Emperor and his officials,
their gaze toward Zhou Xuan had already transformed from confusion into burning fervor.
Although they didn't understand the intricacies or exactly how impressive it was,
the words 'even Grotto-Heavens had to be polite' were sufficient.
A bearded general finally couldn't suppress the restlessness in his heart; he stepped forward and rubbed his hands together.
This Man was a straightforward fellow.
Since he didn't understand... he would just ask!
He first shot a disdainful look at those civil officials who hesitated to speak for the sake of saving Face, then turned and asked, "Since your Sect's Alchemy is so powerful, I wonder if you can refine that kind of... divine medicine that allows one to break through directly to the Mountain Gazing Realm after eating it?"
As soon as these words came out,
the surrounding crowd, which had been whispering, instantly fell silent.
For them,
the Mountain Gazing Realm
was a natural chasm in the path of martial arts.
Countless brilliant talents spent their entire lives merely wandering around the foot of the mountain.
If they could cross it with just one pill... the thought was simply unimaginable.
Being stared at by so many predatory eyes, Zhou Xuan felt uncomfortable and instinctively shrank back.
He looked at the hopeful general, then at the calm Jiang Yuechu.
His expression became somewhat strange.
"This..."
Zhou Xuan hesitated for a moment, appearing as if it were difficult to speak.
Seeing him like this, the general's heart chilled, and the light in his eyes dimmed instantly.
"What? You can't refine it?"
It made sense.
Such a divine medicine... how could it possibly be refined?
"Not so."
Zhou Xuan shook his head and said honestly, "Medicinal Pills for breaking through to Mountain Gazing naturally exist."
"While I wouldn't dare say my Pill Cauldron Sect is number one in the world, the Pill Formulas for directly breaking through to the Mountain Gazing Realm that have been passed down number at least a dozen or so."
"Whether it's the Mountain-Breaking Pill, the Scene-Transforming Pill, or the even more overbearing Nine-Direction Ten-Turn Pill, they can all help a Mortal forcibly break through the barrier and ascend to Mountain Gazing."
"..."
As soon as these words were spoken,
everyone's mouths hung wide open.
Many even had their tongues hanging out.
A... a dozen or so?
Listen!
F*cking listen to that!
Are those even human words?
The Guanshan Martial Venerable, who were revered as Immortal-like figures in the Great Tang, sounded like crops in a field in this Man's mouth, as if they could just grow with a bit of fertilizer.
"It's just..."
Zhou Xuan's tone shifted, a look of difficulty appearing on his Face.
This transition brought everyone's hearts to their throats.
The young Emperor could no longer be bothered with the Young Lord of the Lu family.
He strode to Zhou Xuan and asked urgently, "Just what?"
"Sir, please speak freely! Is it that the required medicinal ingredients are too rare? Or is the refining process difficult?"
"As long as you speak, even if I have to exhaust the entire nation's resources, I will find them for you!"