A late-night visit

"Longevity elixirs are like leeches that come with their roots; if you give the elixir to Venerable Lei, the matter will inevitably be exposed later!"

"With you blocking my way, what do I have to be afraid of!"

"What do you mean, 'I'll protect you'? You don't want me to die once and sever all these connections, do you?"

Li Shaojun believed that matters concerning longevity drugs must be kept strictly confidential. Young people might not care, but the elderly were easily tempted and driven to madness.

If they could really refine longevity pills, that would be fine; at worst, we could refine pills and take medicine together in the future, and I could benefit from it too.

The problem is that none of them have any real skills. If they were locked in a dark room by some powerful cultivator to refine pills, that would be a very serious matter.

Li Shaojun had just revealed his well-thought-out ideas when Zhang Xuezhou completely backed down, having already made a plan to extricate himself.

"I don't want to die right now. Even if you want me to die, I'll have to be capable of dying first," Li Shaojun said, jumping up and down.

"I'm not rushing you to die, what's the hurry?"

Zhang Xuezhou gave a brief reply. Li Shaojun was only happy for a couple of seconds when he suddenly realized that Zhang Xuezhou's agreement was useless; whether he really died or faked his death would have no impact on Zhang Xuezhou.

After Venerable Lei left, he couldn't help but curse Zhang Xuezhou in his heart.

But if Li Shaojun were to show it, he wouldn't have the guts.

In his westward journey to find 'White', he was destined to need Zhang Xuezhou's help for any chance of a turnaround.

The timing of their departure depends on how long 'Bai' can hold off the two Western religious leaders, and also on Li Shaojun's perception of 'Bai'.

"Don't get angry, calm down... Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm going home to sleep!"

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou wave his hand, leap into the air like a whirlwind, accompanied by Rong Tianding, Li Shaojun jumped up and followed.

When Zhang Xuezhou said he was going to sleep, he really was. Li Shaojun followed him for a while, only to see Zhang Xuezhou swaying and drifting towards Chang'an City amidst the wind and waves, at which point he stopped following.

"How did this guy cultivate? I've never seen him seriously cultivate for a single day, yet his cultivation level has also reached the Sole Self Realm!"

As long as a cultivator uses Technique Method, their magical Law Power will manifest their cultivation level.

Li Shaojun had shown off his cultivation level in front of Zhang Xuezhou some time ago, but he was still in a weakened state, while Zhang Xuezhou was already calm and composed.

Li Shaojun felt that Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation was utterly inexplicable; he was sick and hadn't studied diligently, yet he was still more skilled than him.

"Only a Daoist master with a noble heart wouldn't be jealous... Damn it, I'm really upset. How did this guy get to so easily attain the cultivation I worked my butt off to achieve!"

Li Shaojun comforted himself.

The higher Zhang Xuezhou level, the greater his success rate in accomplishing tasks, but the more he tried to comfort himself, the more distressed he became.

Just thinking about all the deaths he'd experienced over the years, the grudges and risks he'd encountered while playing the role of a peerless master in Chang'an City, and comparing it to Zhang Xuezhou's peaceful life of marriage and children, free from trouble, made Li Shaojun feel as if his heart was being stabbed.

"Master Li!"

Rong Tianding landed in Laoshu Hutong, Zhang Xuezhou returned to his residence, and Li Shaojun went back to Yunyi Daoist Temple.

He pressed down on the waves beneath his feet, and a voice came from within the dim light.

"Empress Dowager?"

Inside the main hall, a woman dressed in a plain robe walked slowly and lightly, seemingly without touching the ground.

As she approached Li Shaojun step by step, Li Shaojun finally saw the woman's face clearly.

He couldn't help but be startled. Compared to a real combat expert like the Empress Dowager, Li Shaojun was undoubtedly a fraud.

Li Shaojun rarely interacted with the Empress Dowager; it was one thing for them to never see each other, but any meeting between them was never a good thing.

"The Empress Dowager has come to visit so late at night; what urgent matter brings her here?"

Li Shaojun spoke cautiously, his magical Law Power still surging.

He tried his best to maintain his expert demeanor, while also being prepared to slip away unnoticed.

"I wonder to what extent Changxiu has recovered his cultivation?" the Empress Dowager asked solemnly.

"To be honest, in order to thank Fellow Daoist Dou for our acquaintance, I forcibly activated my cultivation while keeping vigil for her, which made it difficult for my physical strength to recover. To this day, Early Stage of the Sole Self Realm, and my strength is less than one-tenth of what it used to be," Li Shaojun said.

"I wonder what you need to restore your cultivation?" the Empress Dowager asked. "I have some excellent elixirs that might be helpful to you!"

"The Great Elixir of True Self cultivation has little effect on me; restoring my cultivation would take at least ten times more than it did to reach the True Self Realm in the first place," Li Shaojun shook his head and said, "I've given up hope of restoring my cultivation!"

"I have three top-grade Law Power Creation Pills and sixty-five high-grade Law Power Creation Pills. I wonder to what extent they can restore you, Daoist?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"This little bit of Creation Pill..."

Li Shaojun pursed his lips, and quickly changed the two fingers he had raised to four.

He mentioned a few Creation Pills, but Li Shaojun had never seen a top-grade or high-grade Creation Pill before.

He entered the Sole Self Realm by relying on the Eight-Step Ascension Pill to boost the power of the low-grade Creation Pill, which allowed him to barely break through the threshold. This also resulted in a period of Kongxu and growing Law Power after he entered the Sole Self Realm. He needed to practice hard every day to accumulate the Law Power of the Sole Self Realm until his body was full before he could stop.

This is also why Li Shaojun was somewhat jealous of Zhang Xuezhou.

Even if we don't mention top-grade Creation Pills, one high-grade Creation Pill or two or three mid-grade Creation Pills would be enough for him to quickly get through this awkward period.

Even though he knew perfectly well that the Empress Dowager's visit with gifts was not a good thing, Li Shaojun couldn't calm down just thinking about the quantity and quality of the Creation Pills. He felt that no matter how high the risk, he had to go all out and take the gamble.

If he has even a slim chance of entering the True Self Realm, the risk of facing 'White' in the future might be extremely low.

Moreover, the Empress Dowager is not the Grand Empress Dowager. Her discussions with the other party are not about health preservation and healing, but may involve cultivation. Li Shaojun may even be able to glean some fortuitous opportunity from the other party.

Just thinking about the case of Tian Fen, Li Shaojun couldn't help but consider following Tian Fen's path.

"What urgent matter brings you, Fellow Daoist Wang? Please tell me, and I'll see if I can handle it!"

Li Shaojun had previously addressed the Empress Dowager with a cold refusal, but now he changed his form of address, which immediately brought a smile to the Empress Dowager's face.

"If you, Daoist priest, are willing to lend a hand, this matter should not be difficult!"

The Empress Dowager's beautiful eyes swept over Li Shaojun's body.

If it weren't for Li Shaojun's solid combat record at Anle Palace, such as slaying the strange body of the Incantation Technique from the Yedie River Holy Land or forcing back the Nine Spirits Primal Sage, the Empress Dowager would have felt that Li Shaojun's strength was indeed insufficient.

Real combat cannot be faked. The Empress Dowager was a master of real combat. She had accompanied Emperor Jing in many competitions and fought against leaders of various schools of thought.

"I want to wage an ambush," the Empress Dowager said. "This ambush will gather many experts from our Great Han Dynasty and military officials, along with hundreds of thousands of troops to assist in the encirclement. As long as the Daoist is willing to lend a hand, these elixirs are all yours. If the Daoist feels it's not enough, I can have more refined!"

"Aren't you telling me to fight alone, but that the imperial court's top experts will all be mobilized?"

Li Shaojun asked in doubt.

When chaos erupted at Anle Palace, factors such as inadequate arrangements of the imperial guards, unsuitable terrain for combat within the palace, internal conflicts and factionalism within the royal family, and a lack of coordination regarding items like the Demon-Revealing Mirror and formations, almost led to one-on-one duels among the top elites.

If that's the case, Li Shaojun felt that this pill would be very troublesome from now on.

When the Empress Dowager explained that setting up an ambush at a specific location would inevitably create a situation where the enemy outnumbered them, Li Shaojun felt he had discovered an opportunity to gain benefits without even trying.