“Turning stones into gold?” Mei Qing obviously found it hard to accept. “Isn’t this some kind of trickery, like switching things secretly?”
Liu Ye shook his head. “You didn’t witness the actual scene back then. The prince specifically pointed at a strange stone in a landscape bonsai on the shelf and asked him to transform it. The stone turned into gold, and its luster was unmistakable. Yet it retained the original peculiar shape of the stone—something no ordinary trick could achieve.”
Mei Qing still found it hard to believe. “Even if there were such a method of transmutation, it surely wouldn’t be accomplished in an instant. Besides, from what I know, even if one could transform ordinary iron or stone into gold or silver, the cost involved would far exceed the value of the resulting metal.”
Liu Ye nodded. “That’s true. At the time, I wasn’t very knowledgeable about alchemy or external alchemical practices, so I couldn’t detect anything suspicious. Moreover, we soon forgot about the incident afterward and didn’t pursue any further investigation.”
“If it were true,” Mei Qing thought cynically, “you could have simply asked him to transform a few more stones to confirm. I wonder how he’d manage if he had to produce several thousand jin of gold—no mere illusionist could afford such a price.”
Liu Ye replied, “Actually, we did ask him back then. But the Taoist Maoyang said that the process consumed immense spiritual energy, and that he needed an entire year to recover before attempting it again. To be honest, we didn’t think much of it at the time. If we had known better, we could have simply cut open the gold piece to check—it might have been nothing more than a thin layer of gold foil conjured up by magic.”
Mei Qing nodded thoughtfully. Indeed, Liu Ye’s suggestion was the most plausible explanation.
“But back then, we were all truly awed. Even I felt that Taoist Maoyang’s abilities were quite impressive. As for the prince, he was even more convinced. He immediately invited that fellow into the mansion as a spiritual teacher and started learning the Dao and practicing techniques under him.”
After the prince had practiced for some time, I continued observing him secretly. The cultivation techniques taught by Taoist Maoyang weren’t especially profound, yet they weren’t completely incorrect either. However, this individual seemed to emphasize external alchemy, concentrating primarily on the consumption of cinnabar and mercury.
Upon hearing this, Mei Qing couldn’t help but softly exclaim, “Oh.” Liu Ye smiled and continued, “Actually, consuming dan is indeed a legitimate cultivation path, one of the three ancient Daoist traditions. However, over time, many harmful and misleading practices emerged, causing authentic dan techniques to fall into disrepute. The dan tradition transmitted by Taoist Maoyang passed through my scrutiny. While not exceptionally profound, it was far superior to ordinary external dan methods.”
Mei Qing had limited knowledge about Dan Dao (Alchemy). Generally speaking, Dan Dao was divided into two categories: herbal and mineral. The mineral-based Dan Dao was considered more orthodox. Within mineral Dan Dao, there were two branches: refining external elixirs and consuming single mineral substances. Common herbal Dan Dao usually involved rare medicinal herbs like celestial lingzhi mushrooms, five kinds of Pei, eight kinds of Fu, etc. Mineral Dan Dao included substances like cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, stone fat, and stalactite.
Herbal alchemy was difficult because the highest quality herbs were exceedingly rare. Everyone understood that thousand-year-old ginseng or polygonum multiflorum roots were precious treasures; however, such valuables were beyond monetary worth—only those with immense fortune could even hope to obtain them. As for mineral alchemy, apart from the scarcity of high-grade minerals, it also required specialized refining techniques, which were exclusively transmitted within genuine cultivation sects.
Liu Ye shook his head and continued, “Since the Tang Dynasty, the art of external alchemy (Dan Dao) has gradually been lost. Nowadays, very few people specialize in it. Even within the authentic Maoshan sect, no one practices Dan Dao anymore. Only Lingbao Geyao, inheriting the legacy of Ge Xianweng, still preserves some techniques for refining external alchemical pills. At that time, Taoist Maoyang spoke convincingly about Dan Dao, and the pills he produced radiated genuine spiritual energy, so we were somewhat convinced of his authenticity.”
“Oh?” Mei Qing asked curiously, “So this Taoist Maoyang actually produced elixirs?”
Liu Ye nodded. “Indeed. Although he didn’t allow us to watch during the refining process, after the pill was completed, I personally saw it. It was unlike any ordinary pill in the world. Tested on volunteers, it indeed proved to be an excellent pill for strengthening one’s foundation and cultivating spiritual energy.”
Hearing this, Mei Qing couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing. Compared to the arduous and tedious traditional cultivation methods, Dan Dao indeed had its advantages. However, upon reflection, he realized that the current emperor—formerly the Prince of Xian and the biological father of the prince—was not known for possessing any extraordinary cultivation abilities. Therefore, the effects of Dan Dao must have involved some uncertainties.
Liu Ye continued with a bitter smile, “It wasn’t until a year later that I started noticing something wrong. The elixir pills didn’t seem to help the prince much in strengthening his foundation. Instead, he began to show signs of excessive yang energy, and his personality gradually changed. Since I practiced dual cultivation techniques, I was particularly sensitive to such changes. I felt that the prince’s condition was very similar to the side effects of elixir pills used in bedroom techniques.”
He explained further to Mei Qing, “There are indeed alchemical techniques used in bedroom practices. Although I had never seen them myself, I had heard of them, and the prince’s symptoms matched exactly. Later, I secretly asked the prince about it, but he insisted that the golden alchemy taught by the Maoshan immortal was based on alchemical cultivation. When cultivated deeply, it could enable one to master talismans, artifact forging, exorcism, and ghost hunting. The bedroom dual cultivation techniques were merely a part of it.”
At that time, I felt something was amiss. How could a single cultivation technique confer mastery over all things? But the prince had already become deeply engrossed in it. He rarely went out anymore, grew increasingly distant from us, and spent all his time refining pills in his room, disregarding every word of my advice. Later, I became suspicious and secretly sought out Lu Zhong, arranging for people to investigate the prince’s activities in his quarters. What we uncovered was even more shocking.
Normally, the prince of a王府 would have designated attendants to guide him in matters of intimacy. Since the establishment of the thirteen dragon rituals, specific maids were assigned to accompany the prince and help guide him into adulthood. However, because the prince was in mourning for the late王爷, these arrangements had been temporarily postponed. Later on, the princess, worried that three years of mourning might negatively affect the prince’s future, specially assigned two experienced maids to his quarters at the end of the previous year. The prince was around fourteen or fifteen years old—precisely the age when boys begin to explore intimacy. We should have been more concerned about him indulging too much and damaging his health. Yet the information we gathered was shocking: the prince completely ignored the maids, behaving like a monk who had renounced all desires.
“Our path of cultivation differs from Buddhist practices—we do not advocate complete celibacy. Eventually, I could no longer endure it and directly asked the prince about this matter. He replied that this was the great Dao transmitted by Taoist Maoyang—not complete abstinence, but cautious preservation of one’s essence, not to be recklessly squandered. Only when the timing was right and the proper level of refinement had been achieved could one engage in bedroom techniques.”
“When I heard that, although I felt it was somewhat extreme, I still accepted it as a possible explanation. Seeing that the prince was growing impatient, I didn’t pursue the matter further. Around that time, it was already the end of the fifteenth year of Zhengde. After the New Year, it would become the sixteenth year, when something strange suddenly occurred at the Prince’s mansion—the treasury was repeatedly robbed. The thief was peculiar: each time, they stole only the highest quality medicinal herbs required for cultivating elixirs. They stole one item each day, never missing a single day. Initially, no one noticed. But one day, the herb urgently needed by the prince for his elixir was stolen, which enraged him. He ordered Lu Zhong to investigate, and that’s how I learned about the situation.”
Although the王府treasury was not as heavily guarded as the锦衣卫armory, it still constituted a restricted area protected by multiple layers of guards. It was not a place ordinary thieves could hope to enter. Nevertheless, despite Lu Zhong enhancing security measures and watching closely, the thefts continued. No one could figure out how the thief managed to pull it off. Every day, another herb disappeared—always just one item. Later, Lu Zhong personally took charge of guarding the storeroom where the丹药were kept. The door remained locked and the boxes undisturbed, yet items still vanished into thin air.
At this point, I also felt that something was wrong. I suspected that something unusual was happening. I personally kept watch on the Wangfu at night, but everything seemed normal—there were no abnormal spiritual fluctuations. Could it be that a high-level cultivator had targeted the Wangfu? But if so, why not steal everything at once, rather than stealing just one item each day?
“I discussed this with A Bi, and she suggested it might not be a high-level cultivator. If someone were truly that powerful, they wouldn’t waste time on such trivial thefts. It was more likely someone from a minor sect or someone using a special magical artifact that could conceal spiritual fluctuations.”
“At that time, A Bi’s grandmother didn’t like me much, so we couldn’t meet often. We had to sneak out to see each other. The next day, A Bi gave me a strange little mirror, saying it could be used to detect spiritual energy and locate demons. She told me to use it at night to check for anything unusual.”
That night, I alone guarded the treasury, reciting the spell and using the mirror to lock down all directions, waiting to see what strange phenomenon would appear. Sure enough, around midnight, the mirror began to glow, and I saw five little ghosts squeezing through the crack in the treasury door. When Mei Qing heard this, he was greatly shocked: “The Five Ghosts Transportation Technique!”
“Exactly,” Liu Ye nodded. “It was indeed the Five Ghosts Transportation Technique. Mei Qing, have you heard of this technique before?”
Mei Qing’s heart was in turmoil. He had a vague feeling that there was something deeper behind the Five Ghosts Transportation Technique. He had once seen Bi Zhen encounter this technique before—Bi Zhen had broken the Five Ghosts, which led to a chain of events and changed their relationship. However, since Bi Zhen had a poor relationship with Lu Bing, he had never told anyone about it, keeping it a secret between them.
Now, as Liu Ye spoke about the past of his parents, he found that someone had also used the Five Ghosts Transportation Technique. This made Mei Qing feel deeply suspicious.
“I’ve heard of it,” Mei Qing replied evasively. “Is this technique known to very few people?”
“The Five Ghosts Transportation Technique is known to many, but few have actually seen it. As for those who practice it, they’re as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns,” Liu Ye said, looking at Mei Qing with some surprise. He couldn’t help but suspect Mei Qing’s reaction just now.
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