Body Dissection

Hundred Herbs Peak also had hot springs.

They lay in a gorge to the south, shaded by maple cherries, directly opposite Hot Spring Cliff on the northern side of Sword-Wielding Mountain, less than ten li apart.

The gorge was narrow, tightly clasped between two mountains.

Inside, fragrant grass carpeted the ground, while nine babbling streams flowed down from the cliffs into the valley, carrying the medicinal potency of different herb fields atop the mountain.

At the bottom of the valley lay a deep pool.

The pool was not large, only seven feet across, yet incomparably deep.

Its water was crystal clear, with no fish within.

A folded rock jutted from its inner wall.

Xiao Ran sat upon the smooth folded rock, soaking in the bottomless pool without risking being submerged.

After all, he had not died from falling from the sky, had not died beneath a tiger's pounce, and had not been scared to death by a Wraith's howl. If he drowned while taking a bath, that would be a real joke.

Now that I'm at Qi Refining, I shouldn't be able to drown, right...

He thought.

The Herbal Bath could not exactly be called comfortable, but it was truly intense.

The nine streams brought nine different kinds of natural medicinal potency, washing over and soaking into his Dantian, giving him the sensation of ice and fire in ninefold heaven.

Chunwa and Qiuchan stood guard nearby. At times they added herbs to the pool; at others, they controlled the water temperature. They looked quite practiced, though they talked a little too much.

"The hot spring at Sword-Wielding Mountain is really huge. Lots of people can bathe together, the air is nice, the view is open, and peach blossoms drift through the air without end."

"This little pool at Hundred Herbs Peak is far too stingy. You can't even do the dog paddle in it. What's the point of having it?"

The hints were wild and relentless.

Xiao Ran sneered.

The luxurious Cloudscape Hot Spring I built for Master is like paradise itself, and you want to dog-paddle in it? Xiao Ran had no interest in humoring the two little brats. He kept watching the Black Ring Group, hoping to see the latest news about his Master.

Unfortunately, no one spoke in it. Even Seen the Vast Sea, No Immortal Compares, whose rune-name was always lit, had gone offline.

They were probably all big shots, busy with plenty of things during the day...

Xiao Ran had never expected that, after transmigrating into the Cultivation World, he would still have to endure the torment of having no one to chat with.

If his Filial Piety Points had not been below one hundred, he would have bound the black ring and gone in to shout.

Where's my Master?

Very soon, the force of the Herbal Bath gradually intensified.

At times, it was like falling into an ice cellar; at times, like bathing in blazing fire; at times, a hundred ants gnawing at his bones; at times, ten thousand arrows piercing his heart...

All kinds of unknown poisons continuously collided, corroded, and fused within his body, attempting to challenge the limits of his flesh.

By chance, his Balanced Five-Elements Endowment physique, combined with the Art of Resonance, might have had low efficiency in absorbing Spiritual Energy, but the limits of his physical body were remarkably high.

As a result, even as all manner of poisons burned him until he wished he were dead, the medicinal potency continued to rise without showing the slightest sign of weakening.

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans fell from his brow, pattering into the water like rain.

Gritting his teeth, he asked the two girls,

"Does it only hurt this much at the beginning... or will it keep hurting this much?"

Chunwa smiled.

"It won't hurt this much forever."

Xiao Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, then that's good."

Qiuchan drove the knife in.

"Because this doesn't count as pain yet."

Xiao Ran:

"..."

The two girls did not understand. They sized up his sturdy figure in the water.

"You're so big, and you're afraid of pain?"

Xiao Ran was not afraid of pain.

But this thing... hurt far more than he had imagined! At first, the two girls did not pay much attention. But after a while, seeing Xiao Ran's expression grow more and more exaggerated, they sensed that something was wrong and found him a Pain Stone.

Inside the Pain Stone was a little insect that was evenly numbed to all kinds of pain. It could fairly accurately measure extreme levels of pain and could withstand up to ten times the pain of childbirth.

Yet the moment it was connected to Xiao Ran's meridians, the insect struggled a few times, then began smoking and died.

The two girls' mouths fell open in shock.

While Xiao Ran was not paying attention, they crunched the insect up.

Since it was roasted already, it could not be wasted.

Sweat streamed over Xiao Ran's entire body. He was close to dehydration, and in the end, unable to endure any longer, he completely sank his consciousness into the black ring, escaping the pain of his body, and soon fell asleep.

Only then did True Person Yinyue arrive at the poolside. She ended the Herbal Bath and sighed with her hands clasped behind her back.

"This is the Dantian with the highest limit I have ever seen. Yue'er truly has a keen eye."

Was he really that impressive? Chunwa suddenly said, "Senior Uncle seemed to say that when we grow up, he wants us to be his wives..."

"What a pity that humans and beasts are separated."

True Person Yinyue smiled and shook her head without saying anything.

When Xiao Ran woke, he was on a bed.

More precisely, he lay upon a smooth stone table that alternated between icy cold and blazing heat.

As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw the inner ceiling of the Bamboo House.

Beside the stone table, True Person Yinyue wore a thin pale-purple gauze robe. Her sleeves were very short, exposing her fair, slender jade-like arms. It looked somewhat like a dudou, yet carried an airy immortal grace.

Her hands formed spell seals over Xiao Ran's body.

Her elegant yet alluring face was filled with solemnity and gravity. The Blossom Crimson Mark on her brow, originally dim, flickered with blood-red light that seized the soul beneath the illumination of her spell seals.

Before her right eye, she wore a Spirit-Sense Amplifying Stone Lens resembling spectacles. Her eye reflected the thirst for knowledge and exploration that a biologist had toward the miracles of life.

Xiao Ran feared this kind of scientist the most! Seeing that Xiao Ran had awakened, True Person Yinyue was slightly startled. She hurriedly adjusted her clothing and said,

"I gave you Anesthetic and placed a Vertigo Seal on you. How are you still awake?"

Xiao Ran could hardly say that he had remained conscious because his mind had been immersed in the Black Ring Group, nor could he mention some constitutional reason, lest this woman become even more excited.

"Senior Uncle is too beautiful. This disciple could not bear to fall asleep, so I took a few more looks."

True Person Yinyue smiled and shook her head. A faint flush colored her gentle face as she once again drew her collar closed.

"Then why not remain at Hundred Herbs Peak and learn alchemy from me?"

Xiao Ran said seriously, "Senior Uncle may be beautiful, but my heart will forever belong to Master."

True Person Yinyue sighed softly. "At least you have some conscience. Yue'er has been lazy for so many years, yet she actually went to Withered Sea Pool of her own accord for the first time."

Xiao Ran did not ask about Master going to Withered Sea Pool. He merely said,

"Please rest assured, Senior Uncle. This disciple will not let Master down."

True Person Yinyue said with no small amount of resentment, "And don't let me down either."

Xiao Ran froze, his face turning dark.

"Huh?"

True Person Yinyue said, "Don't waste your talent for Farming. Come to Hundred Herbs Peak in your spare time, and I'll teach you some methods of high-level alchemy. With your talent, perhaps... one day, you may even be able to turn a Wraith into a living person."

Are you telling me how to do things? Xiao Ran clearly sensed that True Person Yinyue had abruptly cut herself off and swapped in some casually invented excuse to brush the matter aside.

Something suddenly occurred to him.

Master had once said that she was afflicted by illness, and had also said that she was not as strong as he imagined.

Could Master truly be ill? Xiao Ran kept this in mind.

"Yes, Senior Uncle."

Having completed her spell seals, True Person Yinyue prepared to perform a Body Dissection on Xiao Ran and reminded him, "Though you have the ability to remain awake, I suggest you sleep anyway. What comes next will be even more stimulating than you imagine. I'm afraid you won't be able to take it."

"I can take it."

His words were tough, but inwardly, Xiao Ran forced himself to fall asleep quickly.

Yet at a time like this, the more he wanted to sleep, the more impossible it became.

In his hazy state, he felt something enter his body.

At times icy cold, at times scorching hot, it was like countless dense feelers scratching the outer wall of his Dantian, stimulating every meridian throughout his limbs and bones...

Xiao Ran abruptly opened his eyes.

Lowering his gaze, his eyes instantly froze.

True Person Yinyue's right arm had actually reached into his body from beneath his navel, personally performing a Body Dissection on his Dantian and spiritual meridians.

Body Dissection, Body Dissection—are you dissecting me with your body? Because his entire body had been given high-grade Anesthetic, he had long since lost all sensation of pain. There was only a faint chill, heat, and tingling...

Looking down, the skin on his lower abdomen was completely unscathed.

Was it spatial magic?

Just as Xiao Ran was puzzled, his spine went numb. His Soul Meridian was suddenly severed, and he immediately fainted.

The following day, at midnight.

A line of bloodstained footprints appeared amid the herb fields of Hundred Herbs Peak.

Lingzhou Yue returned beneath the moon, carrying a jug in one hand and a sword in the other.