Treatment and Visits

After a quarter of an hour, Jiuer had already set up a simple Spirit-Gathering array. Yes, it was exceptionally simple; she merely used silver-sands clay to draw several spirit-gathering talismans on a sheepskin scroll, and then arranged the formation within the room.

Holding a stack of talismans, Jiuer walked to the center of the room, picked up a sheepskin scroll, and began to chant in a low voice:
"Spirit of heaven and earth, gather within the talisman; let this be the array, gather the spirits!"

She tossed the talisman onto the floor, followed by the rest of the talismans from her hand. These talismans transformed into a circular magic array—a large circle on the outermost perimeter, with a smaller circle inside. Qiansheng stepped into the circle and sat down cross-legged. With a gentle forward thrust of the wooden staff in her hand, the floor tiles seemed to split apart instantly, and the staff stood upright and firm.

An incredible scene unfolded. The staff, which had looked like withered wood, suddenly turned vibrant green, sprouting tiny buds that quickly transformed into green leaves. Silver light bloomed from the surrounding talismans; though the sheepskin scrolls shattered, the talismanic runes drawn in silver-sands clay did not dissipate, but instead became branded onto the surrounding floor.

The ambient spiritual Qi of heaven and earth began to converge here. Zhang Shouzhen could feel the fluctuation of this spiritual Qi. Although it was invisible to the naked eye, by activating the Azure Dragon Spirit Eyes, one could see numerous nearly transparent, five-colored mists rolling down from the void and pouring directly into the top of Qiansheng's head.

Qiansheng squinted her eyes slightly, looking thoroughly at ease. Delicate green textures emerged on the wooden staff before her, resembling human meridians in their natural and harmonious appearance.

Zhang Shouzhen knew how to set up this Spirit-Gathering array as well, and generally, any cultivator could do so—or rather, any cultivator who had generated Dharmic power could. Because the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth was currently scarce, it was difficult for Dharmic power to make any inch of progress without external assistance. However, there were many ways to set up a Spirit-Gathering array, and using talismans was the simplest and fastest method, though it was simultaneously the weakest in effect.

Zhang Shouzhen lay on the bed, staring listlessly at the ceiling while Jiuer sat right beside him.

About half an hour later, Zhang Shouzhen's lips had turned pale, and excruciating pain almost caused him to lose consciousness. Qiansheng finally stepped out of the Spirit-Gathering array. Her complexion had improved considerably. Placing one hand on Zhang Shouzhen's body, she began to chant in a low voice:
"Nature's healing sprite, please heed my call, take the pain away..."

Her voice was exceptionally pleasant, sounding less like reciting an incantation and more like a prayer.

Emerald light flashed across Qiansheng's palm, and granular green light particles emerged. These green particles fluttered around Qiansheng before finally merging into Zhang Shouzhen's body one after another.

"Crack!"

A certain collapsed area suddenly returned to normal, and the broken bones within his body were neatly set. Only then did Qiansheng slowly withdraw her palm. Looking utterly exhausted, she didn't say a word, collapsed onto the other bed, and fell fast asleep.

Zhang Shouzhen pressed his ribs; there was not a trace of pain. Jiuer watched in utter astonishment as well. Qiansheng's ability was truly formidable; if she weren't still weak at the moment, she could likely have healed Zhang Shouzhen's injuries with just a flick of her finger. To stay with a mountain spirit meant it would be difficult to even die if one wanted to.

"Jiuer, you should get some rest early too."

Zhang Shouzhen sat up, rubbing his forehead. Seeing that Jiuer obediently listened to him and ran over to the bed to rest, he went to the center of the Spirit-Gathering array and began to cultivate. Before these spirit-gathering talismans faded away, he could not let them go to waste, especially since they were drawn with precious silver-sands clay.

Not until the silver runes carved into the floor gradually faded and the surrounding spiritual Qi of heaven and earth noticeably weakened did Zhang Shouzhen stand up. His Dharmic power had increased by a sliver, though it was still some distance away from the mid-stage of the Daily Journey realm. It seemed that only by cultivating within a blessed land would there be significant results.

This time he had wasted quite a few talismans and would have to start making them again, especially since the time to depart for the Three Realms Market was drawing near.

In the middle of the night, Qing Yutong returned. Her white lab coat was filthy, covered in mud, and her expression looked rather haggard.

"Young Master, rest assured, that corpse demon will not dare to come again for a short while."

Having said that, Qing Yutong left the place very briskly. Zhang Shouzhen had no sleepiness in him at all, so he left the room and headed to the inpatient department; he needed to check on how his senior martial brother was doing.

Jiang Litian's ward was quite special, containing only a single bed, and the temperature inside was unusually low. The moment he stepped in, he felt a wave of biting cold.

There were no extra furnishings in the room. Jiang Litian was wearing only a pair of shorts, lying flat on the hospital bed, except that his body was densely covered with acupuncture needles. Beneath these needles were eerie shades of green—likely the demonic Qi sealed by the silver needles, which looked rather frightening. The green demonic Qi on Jiang Litian's face had already receded, but his complexion remained deathly pale, and he still appeared unconscious.

Zhang Shouzhen sat beside him and murmured softly, "Senior Brother, I will definitely find the Sun Poria, and I will surely purge the demonic Qi from your body."

Jiang Litian's eyelids twitched a few times before he slowly opened his eyes. Looking listlessly at Zhang Shouzhen, he said, "You're finally here? I thought you guys had left me to fend for myself and abandoned me entirely. Would you abandon me just like that old man did?"

"Senior Brother, you jest. As long as you have a single breath left, I will save you. I've managed to get a token for the Three Realms Market; the Sun Poria will definitely be found there. If it can't be found, it doesn't matter either—I will go to Prajna Temple and beg for a sarira to restrain the demonic Qi in your body."

Zhang Shouzhen smiled faintly, suddenly feeling that Jiang Litian was acting somewhat childish.

Jiang Litian's expression turned somewhat complex. He pursed his lips before finally speaking, "That damned Feng Fuxian, we must make him pay for these medical expenses. By the way, you must be careful when you go to the Three Realms Market. I've heard that all sorts of demons, ghosts, and monsters are there, and quite a few vicious scoundrels are hiding among them. Even if they don't give you trouble inside the Three Realms Market, you must guard against their sneak attacks after you come out."

Zhang Shouzhen nodded. "Don't worry, Senior Brother, I'll be careful. You should get some good rest now."

With that, Zhang Shouzhen stood up and prepared to leave. But the moment he rose, Jiang Litian suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist: "Shouzhen, the Sun Poria is not so easy to find. If it puts you in danger, then don't go. Although the wolf demon's demonic Qi has invaded my body, it's not so easy to consume my mind. I've endured for so many years, I don't care about this demonic Qi anymore. Even if I turn into a half-human, half-demon, as long as you all don't despise me, I will definitely never do anything to harm your lives."

"Senior Brother, don't talk such dejecting nonsense. Rest obediently. After Master died, you are my family; helping each other among family members is only right."

Zhang Shouzhen patted his hand and spoke with deep earnestness. Jiang Litian withdrew his hand and nodded quietly. Until Zhang Shouzhen walked out, Jiang Litian suddenly sat up, his complexion flushed, and a vast aura emanated from his body. Staring in the direction where Zhang Shouzhen had left, he suddenly spoke:

"Junior Brother, if Senior Brother ever deceived you, you wouldn't blame me, would you? Heh, to think I would actually call a junior 'Junior Brother', how laughable. Yet this little fellow is actually willing to risk his life for this physique and go to the Three Realms Market to find the Sun Poria—truly affectionate and righteous. So be it, since you haven't cultivated the Heavenly Book yet anyway, and the fragments of the Investiture of the Gods haven't been fully gathered... Though adding the seven fragments from the main family, we can manage to make eleven. I must quickly find the last piece as well; otherwise, when the great calamity begins, even the main family will find it difficult to withstand the catastrophe of destruction."

Having said this, his complexion returned to a deathly pale, and he slowly lay back down on the bed, a bizarre smile emerging on his face.