Chapter Forty-Three: Qingling’s Stubbornness

Although cultivators were seen as lofty immortals in the eyes of ordinary people, they themselves were well aware that their only superiority lay in their longer lifespans. Longer, yes, but still finite. Typically, a cultivator who reached the Core Formation stage could extend their life by about two hundred years, while one at the Nascent Soul stage gained about five hundred years. Only by breaking through to the Spirit Severing stage would the lifespan increase by roughly a thousand years.

Ghost Venom Master had lingered at the late Nascent Soul stage for centuries. Seeing his end approaching and unable to break through, he had steeled his heart, ready to risk his life to rebuild Lei Yan’s meridians. But now things were different. The merged Nine Dragons Stone possessed purer and more potent energy than before. With it, not only could he break through to the Spirit Severing stage, but he could also ensure Lei Yan’s survival during the meridian reconstruction.

“This is wonderful! Truly wonderful!” No one wished for death—cultivators least of all. Overcome with emotion, Ghost Venom Master called out, tears welling in his eyes. With a flick of his right hand, the merged Nine Dragons Stone seemed to obey his command, slowly drifting into his palm.

Lei Yan had no idea why Ghost Venom Master was so ecstatic. What concerned him now were the three golden beams of light that had shot out when the stones merged. He was certain those golden rays were the characters contained within the three stones.

“What would happen if all eight characters were gathered?” His mind wandered with possibilities as he continued searching for the three gold plates among the rubble. Lifting a large stone, his eyes brightened—there, atop a smaller stone before him, lay the three plates. With a forceful pull, he dislodged them from where they’d been buried deep in the rock.

Lei Yan had never considered keeping these gold plates for himself. He took them straight to Ghost Venom Master. “Grandmaster, each of the eight Nine Dragons Stones held one of these gold plates. Now we have all eight! And the previous five seem to resonate with each other. Could you see what’s going on?”

Ghost Venom Master, still immersed in sensing the energy within the Nine Dragons Stone, was momentarily taken aback by Lei Yan’s words. The contents of the stones could hardly be so simple. He turned to examine the three plates in Lei Yan’s hand. “No trace of energy at all!” He scrutinized them repeatedly but could not discern their nature, frowning. “Take out the other five gold plates too.”

As soon as Lei Yan retrieved the five plates from his magical artifact, the three in Ghost Venom Master’s hand began trembling violently, as though drawn by a powerful force. He loosened his grip, and the three plates shot towards Lei Yan with a sharp whistle.

The moment the three plates joined the other five, they began to twist and shift. With practiced ease, Lei Yan fitted them together, forming a complete golden Eight Trigrams before their eyes, from which waves of energy rippled back and forth.

A strong beam of light shot from the central hole of the trigrams, projecting several lines of bold text in midair: “The third realm of the Medicine Sutra, the Realm of Transformation. Ever-changing, borrowing all things in heaven and earth for one’s use. All things beneath heaven can become medicine…”

“The third realm of the Medicine Sutra! Who would have thought the third realm was hidden within the Nine Dragons Stones!” Ghost Venom Master gazed at the words in the air, his voice trembling with excitement. This day had brought too many fortunes: not only the means to prolong his life, but also the explanation for the third realm of the Medicine Sutra. With this guidance, he felt as though a beacon had appeared amidst a vast, dark sea—he would surely grasp its meaning in time. Without such guidance, even a thousand years of groping in the dark might yield nothing.

“All things can become medicine?” Lei Yan stared at the words, a glimmer of insight stirring within him. He immediately sat cross-legged, pondering deeply. “The reason something is called medicine is because of its medicinal properties. But how could other objects possess such properties? For example, a common stone has no medicinal qualities—how could it become medicine? Unless…” A bold conjecture flashed through Lei Yan’s mind: by using spiritual power to alter the nature of all things, one could imbue even the most ordinary object with medicinal properties. In that way, truly, all things could become medicine.

He sighed helplessly—without spiritual power, how could he test his theory?

“Gather your things! I’ll reconstruct your meridians now. With this Nine Dragons Stone, there should be no problem,” Ghost Venom Master said with a laugh.

Although Lei Yan now knew his meridians could be restored, the reality of it was still hard to believe. It took him a moment to respond, but the gloom that had hung over him from his inability to test his ideas quickly vanished.

*****

In the front courtyard of the Ghost Venom Sect, dozens of cultivators still lay sprawled on the ground. After a deafening crash, the middle-aged man in the black cloak atop the platform stirred slightly, then slowly opened his eyes. His first reaction was to inspect his clothing. Though tattered, it was at least intact—he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Lei Yan, is it? I will remember you!” Recalling his near humiliation during the contest, Yuan He seethed with anger, gritting his teeth.

“Get up, all of you!” Yuan He kicked the burly man lying beside him.

The burly man, still unconscious, jerked awake at the kick, instinctively leaping to his feet and throwing a punch at Yuan He. But when he saw who it was, his fist halted abruptly in midair.

“Master!” he cried, cold sweat breaking out as he realized how close his fist was to Yuan He. He quickly withdrew his hand, thinking, “If that blow had landed, with his narrow-mindedness, I’d be lucky to escape with my life.”

“This time, that old Ghost Venom Master has no more excuses!” Yuan He spat, forming a hand seal. A flying sword shot out from within him. “I’ll return to the sect and report this. You, get all these useless fools up! They’re an embarrassment to our Medicine Sect!”

*****

Not far from the Ghost Venom Sect lay Venom King Valley, a place teeming with poisonous insects and serpents, thick with miasma that reached the sky. Even flocks of birds passing overhead would be felled by the toxic air. Atop a mound that resembled a grave stood a small wooden hut. Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the air from within.

Jinghui, not far from the hut, sighed inwardly. “What must come, will come in the end.”

After a long while, the door creaked open. Qingling emerged, dressed in a blue short dress that barely covered her knees, her face smeared with strange powders that lent her a bewitching air. Tracks of tears by her eyes made it clear she had just wept.

At the sight of her attire, Jinghui knew trouble was afoot—she had worn this outfit only twice before. The first time was when he had forced her to bathe in poison wine, and she endured the pain in this dress; the second was when her pet Fireworm died. Clearly, this time she had suffered a severe blow during the contest.

“Ling’er, are you alright?” Jinghui asked with concern.

She walked to his side, her voice gentle. “Master, I’m fine. Didn’t you say that if Lei Yan could poison me, you would give me to him? I’ve thought it over—maybe following him isn’t so bad after all.”

Though her words were soft, the killing intent in her eyes did not escape Jinghui. He sighed helplessly. “Ling’er, I only said that in passing. You don’t need to take it so seriously.”

“But I must. Since master said it, I will obey,” she replied, her eyes reddening as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Jinghui knew this stubborn girl all too well. Once she set her mind to something, not even death would sway her—just as when he first forced her to make poison. She would have rather died, and only agreed when he offered her the Fireworm as a trade.

“Very well. Since you’ve decided, I won’t force you otherwise. But have you really thought this through?” Jinghui asked helplessly.

She nodded softly, saying nothing more.