Chapter 410 Checking the Patient's Condition

Huo Changming had been carefully observing and discovered that Zhong Danwang, the former top-ranked alchemist of the sixth level, had appeared here. He was kind-hearted, highly skilled in alchemy, and had researched many detoxification methods and treated many serious illnesses. Moreover, for any difficult or complicated disease that interested him, he was often willing to treat the patient first and then let the patient raise the reward...

Moreover, Zhong Danwang is now a seventh-level Danwang. His alchemy skills at the sixth level must have reached their peak, and he has also made considerable progress at the seventh level, possessing a very profound foundation.

If even Zhong Danwang can't do it, then we'll probably have to ask an eighth-level Dan Emperor!

The chances of my elder brother bringing out level eight resources are too small.

so……

Zhong Danwang is probably my mother's only hope now.

No matter what, he was going to give it a try!

·

Qiu Bao sighed and carefully took out a box.

“There’s no reason to come empty-handed; that would be disrespectful.” He gently stroked the box and handed it to Huo Changming. “Take it; use this as a gift for our audience.”

Huo Changming recognized it at a glance and quickly refused, saying, "Grandfather! This is a rare and precious material you use to cultivate your innate secret technique, how can you take this! Let's look for something else!"

How could Qiu Bao bear to part with it?

The Qiu family possesses a secret technique that allows them to choose another technique as their primary skill and then combine the two. This greatly enhances the power of their primary technique, making it practically their life-saving method—hence the term "natal secret technique."

This rare and precious material is the perfect match for that secret technique, only it's a bit too high-level. Once he successfully transforms into a spirit, he can use it. At that time, he will be extremely powerful in the Spirit Transformation realm!

But how could this treasure compare to his only daughter?

Qiu Bao smiled with relief and said, "The gift is too meager. Why should I ask King Zhong Dan for help? Even this Water Condensation Immortal Flower is not enough for King Zhong Dan to enjoy. It is just a token of my appreciation."

Huo Changming understood this principle, but he simply couldn't bring himself to trade his maternal grandfather's future for his mother's life.

Qiu Bao patted Huo Changming on the shoulder and said seriously, "Use it first. It will take me many more years to reach the Spirit Transformation stage. Once your mother is successfully treated, her cultivation level might not regress. Then you can find me another one." Seeing that Huo Changming was still stubbornly gritting his teeth, he patted him harder and sternly said, "What are you being so fussy about? Take it now! Don't expect King Zhong Dan to make you delay your payment!"

Huo Changming was indeed prepared to do everything he could to meet King Zhongdan, willing to offer his own life to beg for the grace of "treatment first, payment later," and willing to sign a repayment deadline... He knew that these were far from enough, but for his mother's sake, he had no choice but to take the gamble.

Now, his maternal grandfather is offering him this resource, which will greatly benefit his cultivation.

Huo Changming felt extremely guilty.

He discussed it with his maternal grandfather because he was worried that his reckless actions would affect him, but now he has still dragged his grandfather down.

My maternal grandfather spoke frankly, and his words seemed to make a lot of sense. In fact, Zhong Danwang was indeed extremely famous and had superb alchemy skills... But no one could guarantee that Zhong Danwang would be able to save my mother this time as well.

If they can't save him... it will be extremely difficult for him and his brother to find resources of the same quality for their maternal grandfather, and it might take a long time.

Seeing Huo Changming's expression, Qiu Bao knew what his grandson was thinking, and felt a sense of comfort.

He chuckled and sighed, “Your mother is my beloved daughter. I raised her, cared for her meticulously, and spent hundreds of years with her. Is she really less valuable than you, the little brats she gave birth to? The resources to save her should have been provided by me, along with your father. It was only to give us a better chance that you brothers were also involved.”

As he spoke, Qiu Bao delivered a final, heavy slap, nearly knocking Huo Changming to the ground.

Huo Changming struggled to stand firm.

Qiu Bao said, "Go at a time that you think is suitable."

Huo Changming lowered his head, suppressing a sob, and said, "Yes, maternal grandfather."

·

Zhong Cai was refining the pills at hand when he suddenly heard a pill master from the Lingxian Sect knocking on the door, and he raised his eyebrows slightly.

Normally, as long as he closes the door, his fellow alchemists will not disturb him. Even if others come, they will stop them and leave him a quiet environment.

But why is today different?

Zhong Cai then looked at Wu Shaogan.

Wu Shaogan smiled slightly, got up and went to open the door.

The alchemist at the door was not surprised to see Wu Shaogan. He did not enter the door, but said from the doorway, "Wu Douwang, there is a rogue cultivator who has attained enlightenment and wishes to ask Junior Brother Zhong to help his mother."

Wu Shaogan spoke up: "Have you all already gone to see it?"

The alchemist nodded and said, "This young man comes from an ordinary background and now lives with only a few close relatives due to some circumstances. He has been seeking medicine for his mother for decades. Just now, he took out a level seven resource to request an audience. Seeing his sincerity, we also went to see his mother..." As he spoke, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, tinged with regret, "He is at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage and is still quite young. His injuries are very troublesome, so we, his fellow disciples, have taken turns to see him, but we have no solution. That's why we have taken the liberty of coming to inquire whether Junior Brother Zhong is interested?"

·

Qiu Bao's considerations were indeed very reasonable.

It was precisely because of the seventh-level resources offered as a gift that the Lingxian Sect disciples saw Huo Changming's sincerity and were willing to listen to him explain himself. Only then did they become interested in his mother's situation and consider going to see her first.

After all, Zhong Cai is the face of the Lingxian Sect and has a very high status. It's not like just anyone can come and see him or ask him for favors.

These Lingxian Sect disciples thought that if they could help, they would do it directly, saving Junior Brother Zhong the trouble. If they couldn't, they would consult Junior Brother Zhong—although most of them were level four or five alchemists, there were a few level six alchemists among them. Having been influenced by the alchemy power of the Lingxian Sect for many years, they were familiar with many symptoms of level six and seven alchemists.

When I got there, I found that it was indeed a very troublesome condition.

Since that was the case, after examining the matter briefly, many alchemists came to find Zhong Cai.

Of course, it was also because they had already smelled the familiar fragrance of cinnabar.

This proves that Zhong Cai's batch of pills is nearing completion and he is preparing to collect them.

During this stage, even if someone knocks on the door, it will not disturb Zhong Cai.

·

The person speaking at the door is one of the few level six alchemists.

He himself is the Daoist partner of a peak-level genius disciple in the War God Temple. His own level is slightly higher than his Daoist partner's, but if nothing unexpected happens, once they leave the secret realm cave, his Daoist partner will be able to build a palace and reach the same level as him.

The other pairings of level six alchemists were in similar situations.

·

Wu Shaogan nodded and told them to come in first.

The alchemist stepped inside, followed by a thin young boy.

Wu Shaogan didn't even glance at the boy, but sat down next to Zhong Cai and whispered a few words to him.

Zhong Cai turned his head to the side, casting countless pill-gathering spells as he smiled and said, "Senior Brother Sun, I can't get up for the time being, please excuse me."

The sixth-level alchemist, Sun Zhu, also smiled and said, "It was I who brought people to disturb you."

Zhong Cai smiled and said, "My senior brother was worried that I would find it boring to refine pills here, so he specially sent me a special patient to give me a break."

Sun Zhu chuckled, shook his head, and told the boy to sit down as well.

The boy looked very nervous, his body was slightly tense, and he seemed restless.

Zhong Cai comforted him, "Your name is Huo Changming? Young Master Huo, please rest assured. After I accept this pill, I will accompany you to see your mother."

Huo Changming stammered, "Yes, Master Zhong. Thank you for your trouble."

Zhong Cai smiled again.

Seeing that King Zhong Dan was friendly and that even his Daoist partner, King Wu Dou, was not as terrifying as the legends said, Huo Changming felt a little more at ease.

Although he was still very anxious about his mother's illness—his anxiety had intensified when several sixth-level alchemists from the Lingxian Sect said they were powerless to help—he was truly comforted when he saw King Zhong Dan and his composure.

I hope Zhong Danwang can succeed.

Even if he has to work hard to repay the debt for hundreds or thousands of years to come, he will be willing to do so.

I hope my mother can survive... As long as she survives, anything will be fine.

·

Before long, all the hand seals transformed into clusters of light, striking the entire alchemy furnace.

The alchemy furnace shook gently, and the sound of the pills colliding inside was particularly violent, like a storm. However, because the furnace was too sturdy, the sound could not be fully transmitted. This muffled sound inside was even more frightening.

Half an hour later, Zhong Cai finished his final incantation.

There was no more sound from the furnace. Zhong Cai walked over, opened the furnace lid, and took out three pills.

Huo Changming watched from the side, secretly clicking his tongue in amazement, his heart pounding with excitement.

As expected of King Zhong Dan! He's reached full strength in his cultivation!

Although his cultivation level was not high enough, his living environment was not bad, and he had good eyesight. He could recognize that these pills were one top-grade and two high-grade pills.

He had never seen such high quality before.

For some reason, even more hope welled up in Huo Changming's heart.

·

Time seemed to pass quickly, yet also slowly. In the brief moment that Huo Changming was distracted, Zhong Cai carefully put away the pills.

It seems that other alchemists had given instructions, so no cultivators at the Palace Establishment stage came to buy pills this time.

Zhong Cai stood up and, without delay, said briskly, "Let's go see the patient."

Huo Changming quickly regained his senses, stood up and bowed, saying, "King Zhongdan, please." He still had some sense after all, and quickly added, "King Wudou, please."

Whether or not he invites the other alchemists who helped him... that's not up to him; it depends on whether King Zhong is willing to reveal his alchemy skills.

But then Zhong Cai said to Sun Zhu, "Senior Brother Sun, if you don't mind, would you like to come along? And tell us what the other senior brothers and sisters think."

Sun Zhu was naturally willing.

He never wanted to miss a single one of Zhong Cai's diagnoses or elixirs, as long as the other party allowed him to observe.

·

And so, Zhong Wufu, Huo Changming, Sun Zhu, and two other level-six alchemists all came to Qiu Bao's flying boat.

Qiu Bao stood at the bow of the boat, welcoming the crowd with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

After everyone arrived, he quickly said, "Welcome, everyone, please come in."

Zhong Cai smiled at him and said gently, "Thank you for leading the way, Elder Qiu."

Qiu Bao breathed a sigh of relief when he saw how polite he was.

Just as the rumors said, but since the other party was friendly, they still had to treat them with respect.

·

The group entered the cabin one after another and arrived at one of the enclosed small cabins.

As soon as the door was opened, an aura of decay filled the air, making one feel sorrowful.

The alchemists quickly composed themselves and dispelled the feeling.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan walked in side by side.

Wu Shaogan stood directly on the right side against the wall, not interfering with the other alchemists' actions, and was ready to step in and protect his Acai at any moment if needed.

Zhong Cai went directly to the bedside and began to observe the patient.

The other alchemists followed obediently, remaining silent, and observed the situation once again.

Qiu Bao and Huo Changming were both surprised that Zhong Danwang had entered such a state immediately upon arrival. However, while they were astonished, they were mostly delighted, thinking to themselves—truly worthy of being called Zhong Danwang, so devoted to the Dao of Alchemy. His current abilities must be closely related to his piety.

For some reason, both the grandfather and grandson felt much more at ease.

They dared not make a sound and carefully moved to the other side of the wall.

Here, if Zhong Cai needs to ask them anything, she can find them immediately; if not, they won't bother Zhong Cai who is busy.

·

Zhong Cai examined the woman on the bed and said, "I need to use my profound energy to probe into this lady's body and examine her physical condition and the state of her primordial spirit."

Qiu Bao said in a deep voice, "King Zhong Dan, please feel free to do as you please."

Once Zhong Cai obtained the patient's parents' permission, she had no further concerns.

He slightly raised his hand, pinched Qiu Li's wrist pulse point, sent a wisp of profound energy into it, and then sent his soul thoughts into her primordial soul to examine her Dao Palace.

After examining Qiu Li, Zhong Cai used various hand seals to release a large amount of faint medicinal fragrance, enveloping her.

And so they repeatedly checked using various methods.

Sun Zhu and the others watched Zhong Cai's actions intently, finding them incredibly profound. They tried to glean some understanding from them, but the rapid changes in his methods meant that before they could even grasp the first one, the second and third would follow in quick succession.

Fortunately, these sixth-level alchemists quickly discovered that although they couldn't comprehend everything, they seemed to find one or two methods that resonated with them, so they simply focused on comprehending those.

Sure enough, I gradually made some progress.

·

About half an hour later, Zhong Cai stopped and ceased his investigation.

The Qiu Bao grandfather and grandson stared intently at Zhong Cai, waiting for him to speak.

Zhong Cai organized his thoughts and said, "From the initial stage of building a palace to the stage of spiritual transformation, the first step is to forge a cauldron with precious light. When the cauldron has a vague outline, it has already reached the stage of spiritual transformation. Next, you only need to continue to absorb the energy of heaven and earth and use precious light to solidify the cauldron, and then you can try to split your soul."

Almost everyone present knew about these cultivation processes—except for Huo Changming, whose cultivation level was too low and no one had explained them to him in such detail.

Zhong Cai continued, "The reason why Madam Qiu failed to transform into a spirit was because when the outline of the cauldron was about to be formed, an external force interfered and directly shattered the outline, causing the precious light to scatter and making it impossible to take shape again."

·

Since they could not take shape, these precious lights were no longer docile, but became extremely violent, crashing everywhere.

Although the Dao Palace was already very strong at the peak of its construction, the continuous impact of the treasure light would cause the Dao Palace's defenses to be continuously disintegrated from the inside until it was finally destroyed.

At the same time, when the treasure light raged within the Dao Palace, it would also collide with the accompanying treasures within the Xuanli vortex.

After all, the cauldron and the accompanying treasure were both within the vortex of profound energy, which meant they were "neighbors". The first target of the dissipation of the treasure light was actually the accompanying treasure, and then the Dao Palace itself, which had already formed a physical entity.

The accompanying treasure is naturally incredibly powerful, but the treasure light itself is also extremely mysterious. Even if it cannot destroy the accompanying treasure, when the treasure light shrouds the accompanying treasure in strands, the primordial soul fused with the accompanying treasure will encounter great danger at this moment... being corroded little by little.

Due to these multiple reasons, Qiu Li fell into a coma, and her internal environment was unable to protect itself, causing her to weaken day by day.

The reason why her condition is getting worse and worse, and she is showing signs of dying, is because her primordial soul has been seriously corroded, and the inner wall of her Dao Palace is also in a state of disrepair.

If the Dao Palace hadn't been so tenaciously supporting her, those precious lights would have rushed into her body and caused destruction if the Dao Palace had broken!

By then, both the physical body and the primordial spirit will be damaged, and there may truly be no hope of saving them.

·

Zhong Cai explained in detail the reasons she had discovered.

Qiu Bao and his son Huo Changming were terrified as they listened, feeling that the problem was far too serious and a sense of fear arose in their hearts.

Several level-six alchemists nodded in agreement upon hearing this, but still had some doubts.

Sun Zhu pondered for a moment and said, "Junior Brother Zhong, when the treasure light destroyed Madam Qiu's body and soul, it seemed a bit too fast."

The other two alchemists nodded again.

Logically speaking, even if one is disturbed during a breakthrough and fails to transform into a spirit, if one can take a pill in time, the precious light overflowing from the collapsed cauldron can be eliminated. In fact, it is possible to preserve the strength of the Palace Building stage and prevent the precious light from destroying the Dao Palace to such an extent.

In the two stages of building the palace and transforming the spirit, what is truly fatal is not the failure to form the cauldron, but the splitting of the soul.

Qiu Li's situation shouldn't have been like this.

Of course, some cultivators might not be able to afford such pills that can quickly adjust their bodies after a failure, which could cause such trouble. But Qiu Li herself shouldn't be in that situation—after all, she has had many fortuitous encounters. According to Huo Changming, her mother was quite wealthy back then, so she had made careful preparations.

Moreover, when the alchemists were examining the items, they felt that there was something they had overlooked, or something they simply couldn't find... or perhaps they just had a premonition about it.

If only one alchemist felt this way, it might just be overthinking, but all three level-six alchemists had similar feelings during their examinations.

This is undoubtedly a reminder to alchemists that there are other issues involved!

However, they were at a loss because of their lack of ability.

·

Upon hearing Sun Zhu's words and observing the reactions of the other two alchemists, Zhong Cai smiled and said, "Indeed, it's much faster." He continued, "It must be related to Madam Qiu's past extraordinary encounter. She must have ingested or refined something back then, leaving residual medicinal power in her body, which caused the unexpected effects during the Spirit Transformation process."

Sun Zhu hurriedly asked, "What could it be?"

Zhong Cai looked at the grandfather and grandson and said, "You'll have to ask Elder Qiu and Young Master Huo about that."

Qiu Bao had been listening attentively to the analysis of Zhong Cai and the other alchemists, and upon hearing this, he immediately frowned and pondered.

The same applies to Huo Changming.

Unfortunately, the grandfather and grandson racked their brains but still couldn't come up with a solution.

Even close relatives wouldn't ask about the specifics when Qiu Li got the opportunity.

So they didn't even know what kind of rare and precious materials Qiu Li had used, or what changes she had undergone, that caused her to fail in her breakthrough and not even have time to take pills to heal her injuries.

Given Qiu Li's personality, she shouldn't have used something that was truly harmful to her health so rashly...

After a long silence, Qiu Bao smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know."

Huo Changming also shook his head.

Zhong Cai didn't blame them, but said, "Then we can only search slowly."

Qiu Bao and Huo Changming immediately tensed up.

"Then, what about my daughter?"

"Is it too late? My mother..."

Zhong Cai smiled and said, "It's impossible to cure Madam Qiu immediately, but it's possible to stop her from continuing to decline." He thought for a moment, took out a small bottle, and said, "Hundred Flower Refined Milk is mild in nature and naturally formed. This is a rare substance, but it can preserve life. As long as Madam Qiu takes a drop, she can keep her breath. And her primordial spirit is damaged... there is also Soul Condensing Dew to stabilize it."

Qiu Bao and Huo Changming were both delighted upon hearing this.

Zhong Cai said, "Whether or not to use Hundred Flower Condensed Milk and Soul-Gathering Dew depends on your plans."

Upon hearing this, the grandfather and grandson were startled again.

They realized something—the consultation fee hadn't been discussed at all!

Everything needed for treatment must be paid for by the patient's family.

The grandfather and granddaughter certainly wanted to use all the best resources available to treat Qiu Li, but it seemed they couldn't afford the consultation fee.

Both of them broke out in a cold sweat.

Oh no! I'm afraid I'll offend King Zhong Dan! If King Zhong Dan gets angry, he might directly...

Huo Changming dared not conceal the truth and quickly said, "King Zhong Dan, my family and I certainly wish to use this item, but our resources are meager, and we cannot raise enough money in a short time. I wonder if you could grant us some time..."

Zhong Cai knew early on that this family couldn't afford the medical fees; he had encountered similar situations many times in the past. Now, however, he had forgotten to mention it to them beforehand.

As a result, it frightened people.

Zhong Cai said, "You can pay it back slowly."

Qiu Bao and Huo Changming were immediately filled with gratitude upon hearing this.

Huo Changming solemnly said, "Please rest assured, King Zhongdan, my brother is currently working hard in the cave. Once he comes out, if he has any gains, he will send them over immediately. If... we will also work together to collect the reward as soon as possible."

Zhong Cai nodded casually: "Okay."