Chapter 14
I Am the Crown Prince. Why Can’t I Fight for the Throne?
The demonic sects had entered the capital?
Jiang Changsheng was not worried. Instead, he asked, “How powerful is the Ghost-Eyed Evil King in the fiend sects?”
Chen Li answered, “Other than the sect master, there are two vice sect masters in the demonic sect. Below them are the seven evil kings and eighteen envoys. The Ghost-Eyed Evil King is at least one of the top five existences in their sect. When he attacked Longqi Temple, he was imprisoned and his injuries were severe. In fact, his strength was not even half of his peak. Even experts in the martial arts world could not withstand the methods of the prison.”
He was considered in the top five?
Jiang Changsheng began to look forward to the attack of the demonic sect. Of course, he would not let his guard down in the face of the experts from the demonic sect.
He had to give it his all. He could not develop a mentality of slacking off. He had to kill any enemy as soon as possible.
Jiang Changsheng warned himself in his heart and his eyes became firm.
When Chen Li saw the change in his expression, he thought that he was afraid and said, “If you’re worried, you can stay in my Chen family for the time being. No matter how powerful the demonic sect is, they will not dare to attack a minister’s mansion.”
Jiang Changsheng shook his head and said, “Thank you for your kind intentions. For the sake of Longqi Temple, I have to stay. Don’t worry.”
Chen Li stroked his beard and said with a smile, “That’s true. You were able to kill the Ghost-Eyed Evil King four years ago. How strong are you now? Tsk tsk, I can’t imagine.”
Jiang Changsheng responded humbly, and Chen Li began to talk about other topics.
First of all, there was a young prodigy in the martial arts world at the beginning of the year. At the age of sixteen, he had mastered a divine technique and stepped into the peak. Right now, he had become the leader of a sect, and it had been renamed as the Guiyuan Divine Sect!
The Great Jing Dynasty valued martial arts. Naturally, such a young talent would be favored by the aristocrats in the royal court. It was said that more than ten clans had sent people to rope in the Sect Master of the Guiyuan Divine Sect.
Chen Li said with contempt, “In my opinion, you are the real prodigy. Changsheng, any prodigy pales in comparison to you.”
Jiang Changsheng shook his head and laughed. “I don’t want to be a prodigy. I just want to experience peace and quiet on the mountain.”
“Peace and quiet… What a good way to live!”
Ever since Jiang Changsheng had a horsetail whisk in his hands, he felt that this kid had become more and more otherworldly. In fact, he was even more sage-like than Daoist Master Qingxu. If there were young immortals in the world, he would be the example.
As they chatted, Chen Li began to talk nonsense about the state affairs again and ridiculed the Emperor crazily.
Jiang Changsheng even suspected that he wanted to rebel.
Even though Jiang Yuan had mistreated Jiang Changsheng, the world belonged to the Jiang Family. Naturally, Jiang Changsheng would not help others to overthrow his family.
After chatting for an hour, Chen Li bade farewell and left. Before he left, Jiang Changsheng took out a few pieces of paper with various medicinal ingredients written on it. He hoped that Chen Li would help him search for them. Chen Li immediately accepted it and expressed that he would try his best.
Jiang Changsheng prepared to concoct the Beauty Pill and the antidote for the demonic sect’s poison. The Second Prince, Jiang Ming, had given him many medicinal ingredients, but it was far from enough.
The combination of alchemy and the Spring and Autumn Medicine Manual was a perfect match. There were many prescriptions in the book, but not many involved immortal cultivation, including the Beauty Pill.
Jiang Changsheng did not want to live his long life in old age.
Night fell and Jiang Changsheng continued to cultivate.
The White Dragon climbed to the window sill and quietly looked at the moon. Under the moonlight, its snake body emitted a faint fluorescence.
The next day, the two child Daoists whose memories had been tampered with by the Phantom Eye came. Jiang Changsheng felt guilty towards them, so he taught them the Qi Finger.
Even though the Qi Finger was a martial arts technique of the Chen family, Chen Li did not forbid him from spreading it to outsiders.
Just like that, these two little Daoist children often came to visit Jiang Changsheng. Jiang Changsheng even gave them a name. The male child’s name was Wan Li, and the female child’s name was Mingyue.
Another season of autumn arrived.
Due to the Emperor’s departure, the capital became livelier than before. There were more merchants and escort teams coming and going than before. Of course, there were also more crimes.
Recently, Chen Li, who had been on duty in the capital’s government office, felt extremely tired. He was not yet 30 years old, but he felt he was in his forties. This was mainly reflected in his hair. More than half of his hair was white, and his brows were filled with worry.
Jiang Changsheng was worried that he would suddenly die, but he could not persuade him otherwise.
“The Yang Family and the Hong Family are fighting openly and covertly. Each of them is roping in civil and military officials, and they even have experts in the martial arts world. It seems like a dispute is about to break out in the capital. Perhaps they are the ones who lured the demonic sects here and used them as an excuse to take revenge to kill their opponents.”
Chen Li sighed as he was worried.
Jiang Changsheng said, “Then the Chen Family must be careful.”
Chen Li shook his head and said, “The Chen Family did not take sides. Coupled with the fact that the Family Head is the Minister of Revenue, who would dare to touch the six ministers? They would only touch the minions of the various factions.”
Jiang Changsheng felt that it was reasonable and did not remind him again.
This time, Chen Li came mainly to help him deliver medicinal ingredients. There were hundreds of medicinal ingredients, and there were ten sets of each ingredients. A total of two large chests were used to carry them up the mountain. Chen Li had prepared 90% of the prescription he gave, and it could be seen how attentive he was.
After Chen Li explained the undercurrents in the capital, he quickly left.
Jiang Changsheng began to count the medicinal ingredients. The ingredients for the Beauty Pill were complete. As for Daoist Master Qingxu’s antidote, he still had to carefully examine his injuries.
Then, Jiang Changsheng left the room to pay a visit to Daoist Master Qingxu.
Daoist Master Qingxu rarely appeared in public. He had handed over all the important matters to Meng Qiushuang. He had been staying in his quiet courtyard and meditating under the tree. No one knew if he was cultivating or comprehending life.
Jiang Changsheng came to him and bowed. “Master, I have gained some comprehension in medicine and alchemy recently. Are you willing to let me examine your injuries?”
Daoist Master Qingxu did not open his eyes. Instead, he raised his hand and pulled open his sleeves, revealing a terrifying arm. His entire arm had turned black and his worm-like blood vessels had turned purple.
Jiang Changsheng stepped forward and examined it carefully.
Daoist Master Qingxu asked, “Changsheng, do you have any designs for the conversation between Chen Li and you?”
Jiang Changsheng answered, “No. Every time he comes, other than giving gifts, he only talks about some miscellaneous matters. He doesn’t ask any disciples to do anything for him, nor does he ask me to do anything for him.”
Daoist Master Qingxu nodded and continued, “The Chen Family has a complicated background and is not recognized by the various factions in the court. This is also the reason why I allowed him to come into contact with you. However, the Chen Family is a double-edged sword. If you are not careful, you might be brought to the abyss by them.”
“I know that they were officials in the previous dynasty. I know what I am doing.”
“It’s good that you know your limits. I haven’t taught you anything since you were young, but I’m glad to see you now. The two princes have failed to rope you in. It seems like you already have your own thoughts and are not just exploring the truth.”
Daoist Master Qingxu revealed a kind smile.
Jiang Changsheng stared at him and could not help but ask, “Master, can you tell me the story of you and His Majesty?”
Daoist Master Qingxu remained silent.
Even though the conversation between the master and disciple was not completely exposed, they had a tacit understanding.
“Alas, that year, I had yet to become a Daoist Master, and the Emperor was not the Emperor. We were from the same hometown. The city was breached, and our families were massacred. Only he and I escaped. The world only knew that I had contributed to saving the Emperor. Little did they know that before I trained in martial arts, he had always protected me…”
Daoist Master Qingxu opened his eyes and looked at the leaves above his head as he fell into infinite nostalgia.
Jiang Changsheng listened attentively, wanting to understand what kind of person Jiang Yuan was.
In Daoist Master Qingxu’s story, Jiang Yuan was brave and loyal. In the face of desperate situations, he dared to take a gamble. He was also a charming person. No matter where he went, he would always obtain a group of loyal followers. After obtaining the support of the Yang Family, Jiang Yuan completely rose to power.
However, when Jiang Yuan founded the country and claimed the throne, he changed.
“That day, he stood on the Heavenly Arena in the palace and looked down at the officials, generals, and vast army below. It was as if he was looking down at all living beings, displaying the domineering aura of an emperor. I noticed the change in his expression among the crowd. He had changed. His expression changed from pride and joy to worry and fear. At that time, I knew that Jiang Yuan was not around anymore. Instead, it was replaced by Emperor Yuan who wanted to be higher than the sky.”
“Since ancient times, the Emperor has always been lonely, and this trait has also appeared in the current Emperor. His vision is not the current state, and his expectations for the prince are not ordinary father-son relationship. What he wants is the world, and what he really wants is ten thousand years of longevity.”
When Daoist Master Qingxu said that, his tone revealed strong admiration.
Jiang Changsheng understood what he meant.
The old priest was speaking up for Jiang Yuan!
Speaking of which, Jiang Changsheng had only met Jiang Yuan once in his eighteen years of life, but he had never really interacted with him.
Daoist Master Qingxu shook his head and said with a smile, “Everyone wants to be an emperor, but who knows how difficult it is to be an emperor. My disciple, if you were an emperor, what kind of emperor would you be?”
Jiang Changsheng shook his head and smiled. “I don’t know how to be an emperor, and I don’t want to be one.”
Daoist Master Qingxu gave him a meaningful look.
After the story was told and Jiang Changsheng had finished his examination, he stood up and bade farewell.
Daoist Master Qingxu watched him leave as if he wanted to see through his inner thoughts.
Jiang Changsheng smiled with his back facing Daoist Master Qingxu.
Emperor?
It was indeed fascinating!
I am the crown prince, so why can’t I fight for the throne?
That crazy idea in Jiang Changsheng’s heart began to sprout.
Jiang Yuan had thousands of reasons and stances, but none of them could fool him!
“Since you can deceive the world, I’ll come too. Let’s see whose methods are better.”
Jiang Changsheng thought silently.
The third level of the Dao Technique could easily kill a peerless expert. No matter what, the fourth level could fight to a draw with a Heaven Arrival realm expert. As he had never seen a true Heaven Arrival realm expert, Jiang Changsheng had to overestimate his opponent.
When I reach the fifth floor, I will go to the Sky Reaching Palace!
…
During the summer and autumn period when they were socializing, the capital was suddenly desolate. The cause was a plague. The limbs of those who contracted the plague were weak and their temperament became irritable. If they were to argue with someone, it was easy for their internal organs to rupture and they would die in pain.
The illness broke out very quickly. During this period of time, Jiang Changsheng was busy refining the Beauty Pill and Daoist Master Qingxu’s antidote and was not out from seclusion. It was not until Qing Ku told him that he knew that a plague had struck.
Longqi Temple had closed its doors and no longer accepted guests.
Jiang Changsheng did not think much of it. It was fine as long as he survived. He even started to look forward to the survival reward after the plague.
On this day, he finally developed three Beauty Pills. He consumed one and from then on, his youth would last forever, maintaining the appearance of an eighteen-year-old for a long time.
He did not know how long the effect of the Beauty Pill would last. In any case, if his appearance started to change, he would just consume another Beauty Pill.
The antidote for Daoist Master Qingxu was rather troublesome. According to the Spring and Autumn Medical Manual’s prescription, he was currently lacking a medicinal ingredient. However, he was not in a hurry as he still had three years.