After a while, Zhao Youliang finally realized what was happening. He didn't say anything, but simply bowed deeply to the head of the Bai family.

This time, Bai Wuwei did not stop him and readily accepted Zhao Youliang's bow.

He knew that if he didn't accept, the other person would feel even more guilty.

Over time, this can easily lead to "inner demons" that hinder one's spiritual practice.

To clarify, the inner demons here don't refer to becoming a villain like in movies and TV shows, but rather to a lack of clarity in one's thoughts, constantly dwelling on a certain thing, object, or person.

This is the main reason why most practitioners choose to stay away from worldly affairs and try their best not to get involved in karma.

Regardless of love, hate, passion, madness, or any other emotion, they can all eventually form "inner demons," or what is known as "attachment."

Bai Wuwei was a true great physician, so he naturally understood the principles involved and knew how to avoid such situations.

......

To Zhao Youliang's surprise, alchemy was not as complicated as he had imagined, nor did it require three to five years of refining.

There is no "tribulation of lightning" when the elixir is refined.

In just half a day, the Bai family patriarch refined the Blood Spirit Mushroom with several other precious herbs into thirty-six ruby-like pills.

The pills were a translucent, bright red that shimmered in the sunlight; they were practically works of art.

Of course, Bai Wuwei provided Zhao Youliang with those precious auxiliary medicinal materials free of charge, which moved Zhao Youliang even more.

I am deeply grateful and cannot express my thanks!

Therefore, Zhao Youliang did not say any words of gratitude, but simply kept all the kindness in his heart.

At the same time, he took out half of the pills and insisted on giving them to the head of the Bai family.

This time, the Bai family patriarch did not refuse, but only accepted one pill.

"This medicine is precious; if it is found to be effective for a patient with the right symptoms, it can bring them back from the brink of death."

"I, Bai, humbly accept one pill, in case of emergency."

Look, gentlemen: this is a true physician.

He didn't accept such precious elixirs for himself, but to save them for treating illnesses and saving lives.

Having done all of the above, the Bai family patriarch picked up his medicine chest and took his leave.

They headed straight for the city where Zhao Youliang's father lived.

Zhao Youliang bowed deeply in the direction Bai Wuwei had left, until the Bai family patriarch's figure completely disappeared from sight.

Meanwhile, the big yellow dog in its den was also kneeling and bowing incessantly to Bai Wuwei's back.

It wasn't enough to just kowtow to Bai Wuwei's back; the big yellow dog, who knew how to behave... well, the dog, crawled out of its kennel and immediately "led" Zhao Youliang to the side room where the immortals were worshipped, where it knelt and bowed repeatedly to the ancestral tablets.

The two extra memorial tablets were placed there by Zhao Youliang after he returned from the City God Temple.

They are inscribed with "City Goddess" and "Old Immortal of the Bai Family".

These two memorial tablets were placed together with the memorial tablet of the head of the Hui family, second only to Hu San Taiye and Hei Mama.

After paying respects to the memorial tablet, Zhao Youliang was shocked to discover that the urn containing the ashes he had brought back was missing.

He wanted to ask what was going on, but unfortunately all the immortals were still asleep and recovering from their injuries, and did not respond to Zhao Youliang.

Left with no other option, Zhao Youliang could only wait for the immortals to "wake up" before asking them.

He took out his phone to call his adoptive father and told him that he had invited a miracle doctor to treat him, while walking towards the coffin shop.

Having experienced hardships since childhood, Zhao has never been afraid of suffering.

You could even say he endured every kind of hardship just to survive.

Now, Zhao Youliang is only thinking about seizing the time to learn more skills, protect himself, and protect those who are good to him.

At this point in the story, some readers will surely ask: How come Zhao Youliang's cultivation involves learning to make coffins?

Shouldn't one find a place to meditate and cultivate, absorbing the vital energy of heaven and earth, and the essence of the sun and moon?

The above statement is not wrong, but it is only a part of cultivation, not the whole.

True spiritual practice is exactly what it sounds like: cultivation and practice.

Regarding this point, Mr. Dong Qichang, the Hermit of Xiangguang in the Ming Dynasty, gave a clear explanation long ago, which is a sentence that everyone is very familiar with.

"Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles."

Reading ten thousand books is "cultivation," and traveling ten thousand miles is "travel."

Only when knowledge and action are in harmony can one truly cultivate oneself.

In fact, all truths in this world are interconnected, and ancient sages have long ago told us this through different means.

It's just that we, the later generations, are too restless and have failed to grasp the deeper meaning.

If someone were truly foolish enough to do what's depicted in movies and TV shows—obtain a so-called secret manual, then retreat to a cave and meditate for a hundred years or more—it would be absurd.

That is definitely not spiritual practice.

If this were actually done, I believe there are only two possible outcomes:

One reason is that they are so hungry they can't stand it anymore, or they have diarrhea from the icy ground, and they run out cursing and swearing.

If you run too slowly, you'll poop in your pants, and it'll smell awful.

Another possibility is that they starve to death in the cave or are eaten by passing wild beasts.

There is absolutely no third possibility.

If someone were to boast to you, dear readers, that he has been in seclusion for decades and is now invincible,

Then you can confidently slap him hard across the face.

I guarantee he can't beat you, and if you do, he'll most likely call the police and try to extort money from you...

Getting back to the main point:

Just as Zhao Youliang was focused on his cultivation, Li Mao walked in with a face full of admiration.

He plopped down and asked the question.

"Quantum, Quantum, can you predict the future?"

"Knowing that someone in our town is going to die soon, and that it will be an entire family, we've been working hard to make so many coffins these past few days."

"Are they just waiting for them to die so they can sell them for money?"

Zhao Youliang: "......"

"Xiao Li, am I really that wicked?"

"I have no idea which other family has died."

"The Qiao family at the east end of town, one of the five major local families."

Li Mao answered while curiously examining the coffin Zhao Youliang had made.

"That guy who fawns over Guo Zhengde every day!"

"Oh, oh, oh!" Zhao Youliang had a very deep impression of this guy surnamed Qiao.

There's no other reason than that old bastard is a real scoundrel, the kind who's utterly shameless!

In order to curry favor with Guo Zhengde, he resorted to any means necessary and was utterly shameless!

Zhao Youliang even suspected that if Guo Zhengde pointed to the dog poop on the ground and said it was sweet, the old man would immediately taste it.

Then, with a look of excitement, he said, "Hey, it really is sweet!"

......

"Li Mao, do you know how his whole family died?"

After hearing Zhao Youliang's question, Xiao Li pretended to be mysterious.

“Quantum, you’ve come to the right person to ask me about this. Asking other people won’t really give you the answer.”

"Because they were worried about causing panic, the town told the public that it was carbon monoxide poisoning."

"It should actually be a murder case; the police have already arrived!"

"Don't be fooled by their plainclothes clothes, I know one of the young men."