Harvest

This cultivation marketplace outside Linyuan Prefecture lay hidden in the depths of the clouds.

At the marketplace entrance, two guards in blue robes watched with sharp, hawklike eyes.

When Qin Wan presented the token that was neither gold nor jade, the guards' expressions grew solemn. They glanced at Xia Dong, a mortal without the slightest cultivation, but showed no contempt. Instead, they politely stepped aside to let them pass.

The Qixia Immortal Sect had held sway over Linyuan Prefecture for ages. Though the court was now powerful and martial arts were being promoted, forcing the sect to yield ground, its foundations remained unfathomably deep.

The rules inside this marketplace were still ironclad. No matter how turbulent the undercurrents outside, not the slightest disorder could be seen here.

As they entered the marketplace, the scene opened up before them.

Pavilions lined the streets, and cultivators moved to and fro, some negotiating in hushed voices, others resting with their eyes closed.

As Xia Dong walked among them, however, he gradually felt as if thorns were pricking his back.

He had never cultivated an immortal Breath-Concealing Method. The pure qi and blood he had refined to the utmost through mastering the Crane Stance made him look tall and upright to mortals, but to cultivators' keen senses, he was like a blazing furnace in the dead of night—impossible to miss.

Thanks to the secret art of spiritual refinement in the Profound Yin Scripture, Xia Dong's soul was far more sensitive than that of an ordinary martial artist. He could clearly sense several undisguised gazes of greed and covetousness among the seemingly casual glances around him.

Xia Dong lowered his eyes without a change in expression, his steps steady. His hands, tucked into his sleeves, merely tightened slightly. The sense of danger clung to him like a bone-deep parasite, making his desire to grow stronger ever more urgent.

Fortunately, those gazes also noticed Qin Wan. Wariness arose, and they quietly withdrew.

Qin Wan wore the Qixia Immortal Sect's inner-disciple robes, and the hairpin and waist ornament on her person both carried the distinctive aura of magical artifacts from True Person Lone Moon's lineage.

Few cultivators in Linyuan Prefecture dared to provoke True Person Lone Moon.

Xia Dong understood. This was likely the reason True Person Lone Moon had bestowed the token and sent Qin Wan along with him. She had shown him no kindness in words, but her influence sheltered him all the same. The ways of immortals were truly meticulous, leaving no opening at all.

The two wandered around the marketplace for a while. Xia Dong stopped at a shabby stall and traded a Spirit Stone for a jade slip recording common knowledge about the cultivation world, the Cultivation Miscellany.

As they were leaving, Qin Wan spoke gently and negotiated with the stall owner, who impatiently tossed in a mundane ancient book as a free gift—the Evergreen Medical Classic.

In the eyes of cultivators, mortal medicine was nearly worthless. Once a cultivator drew qi into the body, they were naturally free from illness. If mortal friends or family fell sick, a talisman-infused draught or a simple Rejuvenation Art would take care of it.

But cultivators would never lightly waste spiritual power and resources on outsiders.

The path of cultivation was a contest where every inch mattered. Cultivators prized their own resources above all.

A volume of miscellany, a medical classic, and the Dragon-Capturing Technique Qin Wan had given him earlier—these were already a considerable haul for Xia Dong.

Yet what truly made his heart pound with fear came during the rest of their stroll.

Under the pretext of buying medicinal herbs, he made discreet inquiries about pills that could improve the soul. The answer sent a chill through him: such pills were nearly extinct throughout the entire marketplace, even within the Qixia Immortal Sect itself.

The wonders of the soul were profound and unfathomable.

Even in ancient times, secret medicines capable of improving the soul without side effects had been extremely valuable.

A fine layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out across Xia Dong's back. The mountain wind swept over him, chilling him to the bone.

The Bronze Ancient Bell in his mind could so easily refine a Yin Ghost, along with the spiritual energy of its Spirit Stones, into a Yin Evil Pill with no side effects.

If this method were exposed, forget the Qixia Immortal Sect—even the Great You Dynasty Court would surely tear out his soul and refine his spirit without hesitation, all to uncover its secrets.

He had originally been planning to find some wandering ghosts to refine into pills and trade for resources. Now, he ruthlessly snuffed out the idea.

A common man was not guilty, but the jade he carried was a crime.

Until he had absolute strength, the secret of the Yin Evil Pill had to rot in his gut.

The mountain path by the marketplace exit was deserted.

"Big Brother Xia, I must return to the sect and report back to my master. I'll take my leave here," Qin Wan said softly, stopping in her tracks.

"Take care on your way, Wan'er." Xia Dong cupped his hands and watched her graceful figure disappear at the end of the cloud-shrouded stone steps.

After withdrawing his gaze, Xia Dong stood alone in the mountain wind, a clear path of concealment gradually taking shape in his mind.

No matter how powerful martial arts became, one's lifespan would not exceed a hundred years. Immortality remained beyond reach.

If he truly wished to set foot on the Great Dao of Immortality, he had no choice but to carve out a different path.

The Evergreen Medical Classic weighed slightly against his sleeve.

"Open a medical clinic."

That was what he planned to do next.

A skilled doctor capable of treating martial artists' internal injuries and chronic ailments would be a rare figure in Linyuan Prefecture, one whom every faction would welcome as an honored guest.

He wanted to treat not only mortals, but also to lay plans for the world of immortals.

If one day he could use the Bronze Ancient Bell's deductions to create a medical art that treated damage to cultivators' meridians and souls, he could befriend cultivators openly and even take the opportunity to probe and unravel the fundamental secrets of cultivation techniques.

Enter the game through medicine, protect himself through martial arts—and perhaps he could fulfill his wish to seek the Great Dao of Immortality.

Moonlight flowed over Pingyang County.

The shadow of the jujube tree fell across the little courtyard's blue bricks, lending it a particular stillness.

Xia Dong lit the tiny green lamp in the room and laid out the Evergreen Medical Classic he had brought back from the marketplace beside the Dragon-Capturing Technique Qin Wan had found for him, spreading them across the rough wooden table.

After returning, he did not hurry to practice. Instead, he first opened the yellowed medical classic.

Its opening passage was brief, discussing the properties of herbs and the relations of generation and restraint among the five viscera and six bowels. As Xia Dong read closely, he found that this mortal medical text had much in common with the principles of Chinese medicine he knew from his previous life. Yet in the finer details, it contained deeper secrets about the circulation of martial artists' qi and blood, as well as the human body's meridians and vital points.

Looking at the detailed meridian diagrams in the book, Xia Dong could not help feeling a stir in his heart.

In ancient times, the medical arts of his previous life had also advanced through the continual investigation of things and pursuit of knowledge. In that vast chronicle of history, a divine physician had even left behind the astonishing feat of "splitting the skull with an axe and scraping poison from the bone," a technique almost akin to modern medicine. Alas, the Central Plains later fell, and foreign barbarians took control, brutally breaking the spine of Chinese civilization.

Once the chain of transmission had been broken, later generations' medicine gradually lost the courage to investigate the mysteries of the human body, step by step sinking into the quagmire of mystification and charlatanry.

"If those who seek the Dao lose the courage to pursue what is real, all that remains is a heap of hollow shells filled with ghosts and spirits." Xia Dong murmured, his fingertip passing over the rough page.

He composed himself and stopped dwelling on the rise and fall of his previous life, focusing all his attention on the two books before him.

The Evergreen Medical Classic in his left hand, the Dragon-Capturing Technique in his right.

One taught him to follow the seasons and harmonize the five viscera; the other sought to seize the great dragon of the spine and lock down the qi and blood throughout the body.

He studied by lamplight until the middle of the night, when a thought suddenly stirred in Xia Dong's mind.

He closed his eyes. The pure qi and blood forged by the Crane Stance flowed slowly through the life-gate points described in the medical classic. Then, following the Dragon-Capturing Technique, he abruptly locked his qi and blood fast along his spine.

One released, one contained; one gave life, one brought death.

Xia Dong's eyes snapped open. A flash of understanding gleamed in his shadowed eyes.

Medicine and martial arts shared the same source.

Techniques for killing could be born from the knowledge of healing, while the art of healing could also be used to master the body.

Perhaps the path of cultivating medicine and martial arts together could open up a new world for him on his quest for immortality.