All Show and No Substance

"How about it?"

"Not good!"

At Taiqing Temple, Li Shaojun, as usual, performed the ritual of having a child perform a sacrifice for Laozi, the founder of Daoism.

These things are nothing more than boasting that their sincerity brought about their wishes, and now they've come to fulfill their vows.

His rich attire drew envy from the worshippers, and when Li Shaojun made his offerings, many more followed suit.

This is similar to how large amounts of money spent on live streaming tipping can drive Little Jin of money spent.

Everyone's money went out, but Li Shaojun's money went back into his own pocket.

After creating a festive atmosphere, the Daoist priest in charge of the temple said he was willing to bestow spiritual water upon Zheng Youcai (Li Shaojun's pseudonym) for protection, and also pointed out that Zhang Xuezhou, being sincere, could also receive the spiritual water's blessing.

The two entered the inner hall amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the worshippers.

After pushing open the back door and turning around, you enter the inner rooms of the Daoist temple.

After Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun exchanged instructions, the matter progressed very smoothly.

Although Li Shaojun looked disgusted, Zhang Xuezhou knew very well that the other party was interested.

If Li Shaojun truly had no interest, the other party would definitely change the subject.

The reason Li Shaojun hasn't guaranteed to accept the offer right now is primarily because he's assessing the risks.

"You must understand that His Majesty is still quite old and his experience is limited," Zhang Xuezhou advised. "Once his horizons broaden, it will be much harder for you to establish connections with Chang'an City!"

"His limited perspective... it's a good thing that he lacks perspective," Li Shaojun said, scratching his head. "But he still has parents; surely they wouldn't have such a poor perspective?"

"You're obviously ignorant," Zhang Xuezhou said. "His Majesty doesn't need to report to his superiors when making friends."

"But I don't know how to make this Life-Creating Pill you mentioned," Li Shaojun said with difficulty. "I've heard of this pill, but I have absolutely no idea how to refine it!"

"So what can you do?" Zhang Xuezhou, slightly disappointed.

"I'll be able to concoct some Soul-Guiding Powder and Soul-Stealing Powder..."

"What the heck?"

"You know, in my line of work, I have to pull off some tricks, otherwise people wouldn't come to the Daoist temple to fulfill their vows. The Yin Soul Powder I concoct can attract Yin Souls, and the Soul-Stealing Powder can make evil ghosts' souls fly away and their spirits scatter. This combination makes for a fantastic performance, and these two medicines are inexpensive to produce. I've never lost money using them!"

Li Shaojun is skilled in alchemy, but he refines elixirs made from metals and minerals, not the herbal elixirs that Zhang Xuezhou is good at.

The elixir of metal and stone is not an internal medicine, but an external medicine. This includes some hemostatic powders, which are also considered external elixirs.

"You don't know much," Zhang Xuezhou complained.

"That's why I hesitated a bit," Li Shaojun said. "If we get caught, it won't be easy for me to escape from Chang'an City!"

"I remember you used to carry a basket and gather herbs on Mount Tai, but I never imagined you were all show and no substance. You've really disappointed me!"

"That's my disguise tool. If I run into a celestial being, I can't exactly say I came to Mount Tai to climb the mountain and enjoy the scenery!"

"You only realize how little you have when you need it," Li Shaojun thought, his heart pounding with anxiety as he considered the various conveniences of the imperial pharmacy that Zhang Xuezhou had mentioned.

He couldn't concoct medicinal pills, but the imperial pharmacy had hundreds of years' worth of medicinal herbs, which would bring considerable medicinal effects even if taken directly.

If he could secretly take some out, he could ask someone to refine pills for him.

"I need to learn some alchemy techniques temporarily!"

Regardless of whether he was good at it or not, Li Shaojun felt that as long as he could get by, the matter was more than half successful.

Taking advantage of the new emperor's youth and gullibility, he figured he should deceive him as much as possible, so that he wouldn't be unable to deceive him when he grew up.

"You'd better learn some real skills," Zhang Xuezhou advised. "The Imperial Medical Academy isn't a place you can just fool around with; fake tricks won't get you through!"

"Knew!"

Li Shaojun waved his hand, indicating that he would work hard and would not just do a perfunctory job.

This kind of thing involves huge profits, so it's worth his full effort.

Just thinking about how he had gone through so much trouble to find the best medicines, while the imperial pharmacy contained hundreds of years old herbs that could be grabbed at any moment, filled Li Shaojun with barely suppressed excitement.

It was rare for the new emperor to extend such an invitation, so Li Shaojun naturally had to accept, though a little risk was unavoidable.

Even if things go wrong, he still has Zhang Xuezhou to back him up. Li Shaojun refused to believe that Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't help him if he got into trouble.

He had a plan in mind and decided to work hard to make as much money as possible when he could.

"Our Daoist school is proficient in both internal and external alchemy. There are very few schools in the world that can surpass our Daoist school. Let me tell you, my alchemy skills are not just for show. As long as I study diligently and you can provide the materials for practice, I will definitely learn very quickly," Li Shaojun said.

"Cut!"

Zhang Xuezhou made a comment.

The Yin Yang Nine Heavens Sect has two major pitfalls: one is formations, and the other is alchemy. Both of these pitfalls are extremely expensive, and it is difficult to master them without the support of a school of thought.

Zou Bugui relied on the Pill Furnace inherited from the Nine Heavens Sect, which was like having someone sharpen your axe while you're chopping wood, and he also understood the profit-making relationships of selling various pills. It was through these conveniences that he was able to push the art of alchemy to an extremely high level.

It's normal that Li Shaojun's alchemy skills are not up to par, and Zhang Xuezhou's alchemy skills over the years are also just average.

Without sufficient medicinal resources, they lack opportunities to practice. They can't even refine low-level pills well, let alone high-level or top-level pills.

Moreover, even now, Zhang Xuezhou doesn't even own Law Treasure or a Pill Furnace.

"You need to acquire a good alchemy treasure; that will at least make people think you're very capable," Zhang Xuezhou advised.

"I know that, I do this all the time, how could I not know?" Li Shaojun pointed to his nouveau riche-style gold-embroidered robe and said, "I'll definitely get a good Pill Furnace, something decent enough to shut up 80% of the people who complain!"

"Do you have it?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"No!"

Li Shaojun responded very quickly, his eyes darting around, clearly plotting something wicked.

"I've heard that the Yin-Yang School has a Water and Fire Pill Furnace, and that the school's leader is said to be dead," Li Shaojun whispered. "Do you have any information about that?"

"Yes, that Pill Furnace is in the secret realm of the Xieluosi River Holy Land!"

When Zhang Xuezhou saw that Li Shaojun was setting his sights on his school of thought, he couldn't help but feel both annoyed and amused.

"Then let's try another one. Their medical traditions are long and rich..."

They didn't!

"The Suspended Gourd Sect..."

"Zheng Wukong is very poor; the Pill Furnace he uses is of very low quality!"

Li Shaojun named several companies in succession. He stared wide-eyed at Zhang Xuezhou, feeling that the information Zhang Xuezhou provided was too direct, and the result was already out before anything was done.

"How do you know?" Li Shaojun Qi Ingestion, unconvinced. "Are you so sure? What makes you so sure? Have you seen it? Have you searched their sect thoroughly? Have you subjected them to torture? Or have you already obtained it?"

"The Yin-Yang School is my sect, and the other two are my neighbors. What else do you want to ask?" Zhang Xuezhou said speechlessly.

"Then let's look for the next one!"

The one from the Xieluosi River Holy Land was unobtainable, and the other two were not available.

No amount of reasoning could overcome the advantage of proximity. Zhang Xuezhou's proximity was a bit too much, as he was associated with a bunch of schools of thought specializing in alchemy, leaving Li Shaojun speechless.