Something Was Always Missing

"Your Majesty, what exactly did Zhuang Zhu convey to you that made you willing to offer 100,000 taels of gold and the Li Qi Pill Formula?"

"That imperial edict declared that the Han dynasty was the supreme ruler of the world, wielding the power of life and death to control the fate of the realm; those in danger hoped for peace, and those in chaos sought order!"

In the King of Huainan in Shouchun City, Queen Liao Tu helped the King of Huainan of King of Huainan undress and then whispered questions about what was bothering him.

The King of Huainan frowned before repeating what Zhuang Zhu had briefly conveyed.

"This..."

"He is using the legacy of His Majesty the Great Ancestor to declare his legitimacy to me!"

The King of Huainan's face turned ashen.

If the King of Huainan were one of those reckless brutes who only knew how to shout for war and kill, he would have killed Zhuang Zhu with a single sword stroke, and if he could not tolerate the threat, he would have directly raised his banner in rebellion.

But the King of Huainan did not want Great Han that would suffer heavy losses on both sides.

The Great Han Dynasty, inherited through bloodshed, was bound to crumble. Even if the King of King of Huainan won, he would most likely be a ruler who brought about the downfall of his kingdom.

Moreover, with the Red Empyrean Sword hanging overhead, the King of Huainan had no confidence in ensuring his safety.

He was someone who had witnessed the killing of the Prince of Liang. It was a sword strike that came without any reason; there was no way to dodge it, and one's body could not withstand it. He vanished into thin air with a single blow.

"Are you spending so much money to appease His Majesty?" Liao Tu asked.

"Zhuang Zhu said that the court is short of money and food, and directly asked me for money and food to support the court's army. If I don't give it, I will be going against His Majesty's orders, I will be considered to have rebellious intentions, and if I don't give it, we will have to fight each other," said the King of Huainan.

"Zhuang Zhu's words are outrageous!"

"He won't get away with this. We have quite a few people in the Great Han Dynasty; this time we're absolutely going to bring him down!"

"That..."

"Your Majesty is too young, too naive, and too prone to acting impulsively!"

The King of Huainan sighed deeply.

If it were during Emperor Jing's reign, the King of Huainan believed that for the sake of the overall situation and the stability of the Great Han Dynasty, Emperor Jing would be more inclined to engage in infighting and constantly eliminate allies, rather than taking the initiative to act openly.

However, the King of Huainan was indeed unsure about the new emperor's personality.

From the current perspective, the other party is arrogant, self-centered, and even appears to be autocratic.

The new emperor inherited the Red Empyrean Sword and was no longer restrained by the Empress Dowager. When all the officials opposed sending troops to Minyue, the enemy insisted on going their own way and directly launched an army of 100,000.

Even during the reign of the Empress Dowager, when she sent troops, she would prefer to draw on the elite troops and then supplement them with the military strength of various local prefectures and vassal states. Never before had she directly drawn more than 100,000 troops from the Southern and Northern armies to suppress the rebellion like this.

The King of Huainan was indeed worried that his rash resistance would invite direct retaliation.

Even if the probability of such a thing happening is only two or three out of ten, he doesn't want a conflict right now.

This is far from his current peak; he possesses the power of magic gold, and with careful management over several years, he can amass countless riches, weapons, and armor.

Money can move mountains; he can not only use it to buy up the resources of various states, but he can also buy people's hearts.

No one dislikes money, and his reach extends to all sorts of places, including the imperial court in Chang'an City, the Southern Army, the Northern Army, and the garrison troops in the northern regions.

Everything just needs a little time.

The King of Huainan only regretted that Shu Jin had arrived too late; if he had arrived ten years earlier, he would not have had to endure such humiliation.

"Money is one thing, but isn't it too generous to send Liqi Pill Formula as military rations?" Liao Tu worriedly said, "Although Liqi has potential problems, it can serve as top-quality military rations in emergencies. Your Majesty receiving Liqi might bring trouble!"

"There are countless miraculous Pill Formula in the world, yet I've seen very few people achieve great things based on Pill Formula," the King of Huainan waved his hand and said, "I changed Li Qi's name to Tofu, and Ling'er spread rumors in Chang'an City. Even if I swear that Li Qi's formula is miraculous, whether His Majesty believes me or the rumors is another matter entirely. Moreover, the common people are a foolish group who would rather believe rumors than the facts. The ultimate fate of him taking this Pill Formula is to put it in the armory!"

"Your Majesty's choice of the name 'Tofu' is truly a brilliant move," Liao Tu praised.

"It was mainly because Ling'er cooperated well in Chang'an City, allowing the rumors to spread rapidly. Even if His Majesty realized the drawbacks afterward and wanted to change the name, it was too late," said the King of Huainan. "How many people in this world dare to eat food with the word 'rotten' in their name!"

"Besides tofu, there doesn't seem to be any other food in the world with the word 'rotten' in its name?" Liao Tu asked doubtfully.

"Hahaha, precisely because there wasn't one, His Majesty didn't guard against my naming of this thing and described it as tofu. Once the rumors spread, it would be too late for him to change his mind!"

The King of Huainan chuckled twice, a rare occurrence for him.

Although he suffered a huge loss, the new emperor didn't gain much either.

Those who took his gold would return it through various trade means, but those who took the tofu Pill Formula had little room for maneuver, and the new emperor ultimately gained nothing.

The various power struggles involved were extremely subtle, and the only thing the King of Huainan lacked was time.

He only hoped that things wouldn't fall into chaos before he had fully grown his strength.

Liu Ling has managed Chang'an City quite well, and sooner or later he will have the opportunity to eliminate the Red Empyrean Sword, this major threat.

If both are done simultaneously, the Great Han Dynasty will fall into his hands, and the King of Huainan will no longer have to live in fear.

"Since Your Majesty is so confident, why do you still have worries?" Liao Tu asked.

"I am worried about the Great Han Dynasty," the King of Huainan sighed.

"This..."

Liao Tu was about to say that the emperor wasn't worried but the eunuch was, wasn't the King of Huainan worrying too much about the future, already so concerned about the Great Han Dynasty before even ascending the throne?

"During his investigation, the Shadow unexpectedly encountered a sorcerer from the Xiong State and obtained a spell from him," said the King of Huainan.

What kind of technique?

"This technique is called the Yang Soul Incarnation Technique," said the King of Huainan. "With in-depth cultivation, one can obtain an avatar outside the body, capable of hiding and concealing itself while still casting spells normally. Even if the avatar is hundreds or thousands of miles away from the original body, it is no problem!"

"Isn't this the same method used by the Xiong State sorcerers who attacked the imperial palace in Chang'an City?" Liao Tu exclaimed in surprise.

"Not bad," said the King of Huainan.

"Your Majesty's acquisition of this technique is truly a blessing from heaven. With the aid of this technique, what in this world cannot be accomplished? Why is Your Majesty so anxious?" Liao Tu said.

"The cultivators of the Xiong State have possessed this technique for ten years," the King of Huainan said, his lips twitching. "How can we possibly catch up? Especially since mastering this technique requires a vast amount of Creation Pills, which even Huainan alone cannot sustain!"

"Our Huainan region is a land of outstanding people and abundant resources. Wuzhu Mountain has been refining elixirs year-round, accumulating tens of thousands of pills in stock, enough to support 30,000 guest ministers. How could it be difficult to bear?" Liao Tu exclaimed in surprise.

"I've seen the Yang Soul Incarnation Technique. Once you reach the Divine Ability Realm, the subsequent cultivation isn't difficult. However, mastering this technique requires a huge number of Creation Pills. You need to take three pills a day to cultivate, and it will take a year to achieve even a minor success," said the King of Huainan. "If you can persevere, you can achieve great things in three years and transcend the mortal realm in ten!"

"Ten years?"

Liao Tu's expression changed.

Taking three Creation Pills is a minor matter for the Huainan Kingdom, since a first-class guest minister in the Huainan Kingdom receives one Creation Pill per month.

However, a year-long undertaking is a major event, involving thousands of Creation Pills, while a three- or ten-year undertaking would be incredibly costly.

And this is merely what a cultivator needs to reach the pinnacle of their cultivation.

"Isn't there any other way?" Liao Tu asked.

"It either needs to be a secret place rich in Spiritual Qi, or it needs spirit jade, or it needs a high-grade, top-quality Creation Pill, or... the catalyst for the Creation Pill Formula must be changed!"

Excellent secret locations are hard to find, not to mention spiritual jade. Top-grade Creation Pills are highly effective, one pill is equivalent to three high-grade Creation Pills, ten mid-grade Creation Pills, and dozens of low-grade Creation Pills. Their assistance to cultivation techniques is far beyond what can be described by quantity.

However, achieving either one is extremely difficult.

The first two are almost impossible to achieve, and only a handful of alchemy schools are capable of refining the Supreme Creation Pill, so the yield is not stable.

The most troublesome thing is the recipe for the Pill Formula of creation.

Even though the Huainan Kingdom possesses an unlimited amount of magical gold that can be exchanged for various medicinal herbs, the demon core, the catalyst for the Creation Pill, cannot be obtained in unlimited quantities.

This means that the King of Huainan, despite his efforts to accumulate Creation Elixir through resource accumulation, has reached an insurmountable hurdle.

If the Pill Formula of Creation cannot be improved, it will be almost impossible for the King of Huainan to lead his ministers in practicing the art, and he will also face the embarrassment of being attacked by the sorcerers of the Xiong State in the future.

I've gained everything, but something always seems to be missing.

It's not hard to understand why the King of Huainan so depressed.