Three Years

In the days that followed, things were unexpectedly peaceful.

Zhao Ting kept his word. Within a few days, he sent someone to deliver an Eagle-Wolf Guard waist token and official documents. Xia Dong officially joined the Eagle-Wolf Guard without a hitch, becoming a physician under the Flag-Bearer of Pingyang County.

Only after truly stepping into the Great You Dynasty's official system did Xia Dong appreciate firsthand the benefits of having a powerful backer.

Never mind the generous monthly allowance of two Low-Grade Spirit Stones and one Foundation Building Pill, paid without fail; just the case files and records the Eagle-Wolf Guard made available to its members were enough to make Xia Dong feel that this assignment had been worth every bit of effort.

As the Great You Dynasty's blade for monitoring supernatural forces throughout the realm, the Eagle-Wolf Guard possessed intelligence far beyond anything found in the stories circulating among the common folk.

These materials had all been compiled and organized personally by the officials of the Bureau of Profound Mysteries in the capital.

Their contents were also incredibly varied. From orthodox immortal sects and schools, and the characteristics of their cultivation methods, to monsters, demons, and heretical outsiders deep in the mountains and forests, the case files contained rough accounts of them all.

This was how Xia Dong finally understood what Zhao Ting had meant by "Spirit Spring."

A Spirit Spring was a special pool created by the court's formation masters. At the convergence points of spiritual veins in famous mountains and great rivers, they used an array that seized the workings of heaven and earth to forcibly lock in spiritual energy. The spiritual energy in the pool was so dense that it nearly condensed into physical form. If a mortal could bathe in it, the array's power would guide the vast spiritual energy to forcibly scour their body, producing excellent effects in cleansing the marrow, purifying the bones, and improving their mortal Root Bone.

For martial artists who walked the path of martial cultivation, a Spirit Spring was an unparalleled sacred place beyond their wildest dreams. It could spare them years, even more than a decade, of painstaking tempering.

But after Xia Dong finished reading, his heart remained largely unmoved.

The case files made it clear: no matter how miraculous a Spirit Spring was, it only targeted the "body"—the vessel. It could not fundamentally improve a mortal's "spiritual aptitude," much less cleanse away their impurities and bring forth a Spirit Root.

The Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art followed a path of transformation that united the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit, pointing straight to the source of all living things.

Of course, Xia Dong also knew that the requirements for cultivating this art were extremely high.

The cultivator needed not only the "spiritual sense" of an immortal cultivator, but also a spiritual sense that was utterly pure, untouched by even the slightest trace of resentment or Killing Intent.

If he hadn't fortuitously obtained the Profound Yin Scripture, and had the heaven-defying Bronze Ancient Bell to refine ghosts into "Yin Evil Pills" without a trace of impurity, how could a mortal like him have developed spiritual sense without a Spirit Root?

Xia Dong had completely destroyed the jade slip containing the Profound Yin Scripture. As for the broken Yin Gathering Banner, he had no intention of selling it or using it, lest he expose himself.

As for the skeleton at the bottom of the Withered Well, Xia Dong had thought it over again and again but ultimately decided not to touch it. The underground chamber already had an array carved into it to conceal its aura. If he moved the skeleton recklessly, he might trigger some unknown restriction or cause the Yin Evil Qi to leak out, bringing trouble down on himself.

Late at night, in the back courtyard of Changchun Medical Hall.

Xia Dong sat cross-legged in the Well-Bottom Secret Chamber and took out the monthly allowance he had just received from the Eagle-Wolf Guard: two Spirit Stones and one Foundation Building Pill.

Including the two Qin Wan sent him, he now received four Spirit Stones each month.

Xia Dong didn't rush to absorb the Spirit Stones. Instead, he pinched the Foundation Building Pill, about the size of a longan and wafting a faint medicinal fragrance, between his fingers. After inspecting it for a moment, he tilted his head back and swallowed it.

The moment the pill entered his stomach, it was completely different from the gentle Bigu Pill, which merely kept hunger at bay and provided a steady supply of vital energy.

The Foundation Building Pill seemed to transform into an exceptionally rich source of life, dissolving within him.

A stream of incredibly pure medicinal power surged instantly through his limbs and bones, like a warm current on a spring day.

Xia Dong didn't dare slacken his attention. He closed his eyes, and his spiritual sense immediately extended beyond his body.

He split off a strand of spiritual sense to envelop the Spirit Stones on the bed, while guiding the spiritual energy deep within the Withered Well to gather endlessly into his body. The rest of his spiritual sense sank within him, spurring the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art to refine the Foundation Building Pill's medicinal power.

Essence, qi, and spirit—the three treasures of the human body—converged within Xia Dong along a trajectory both profoundly mysterious and abstruse.

Buzz.

Xia Dong's heart suddenly contracted, releasing a rumble like muffled thunder.

Immediately afterward, a wisp of azure, misty "qi"—more robust and pure than any he had produced before—was forcibly condensed deep in his dantian!

This newborn "qi" carried an ancient, mysterious vitality as it raced through Xia Dong's meridians.

Everywhere it passed, the tiny impurities that had accumulated within his body from eating grains and meat, and were difficult to expel, melted away like snow beneath the blazing sun.

His progress in the Evergreen Qi-Circulation Art had clearly accelerated!

Xia Dong felt an intensely soothing, tingling sensation throughout his body.

His bones greedily absorbed the vitality carried by this "qi," making faint cracking sounds.

Wrapped in this Innate Qi, which had seized the workings of heaven and earth, Xia Dong's breathing gradually grew faint, almost nonexistent. It was as though he had returned to the amniotic fluid of his mother's womb, entering a profound state of "embryonic breathing."

His body was slowly repairing its innate deficiencies and reshaping its own spiritual aptitude.

After an unknown length of time, a mouthful of gray-white turbid qi shot from his mouth like a sharp sword. It hung in the air without dispersing and traveled more than three feet before slowly fading.

Xia Dong clenched his fists and felt the power within him growing ever more solid and obedient to his will. He was overjoyed.

"This Foundation Building Pill is several times more effective than the Bigu Pill."

He could clearly feel that the proportion of spiritual energy he retained from the world had increased, however imperceptibly.

Xia Dong looked down at the two Spirit Stones on the bed, now reduced to gray-white powder. "It's just a shame I only get one Foundation Building Pill each month."

Though Xia Dong very much wanted to obtain more Foundation Building Pills, he still chose to keep a low profile and continue cultivating. He already had Spirit Stones and a Foundation Building Pill each month, which had sped up his progress. There was no need to invite trouble.

At the Eagle-Wolf Guard branch in Pingyang County.

Zhao Ting finished reading a letter from his family, and his expression shifted.

The letter told him to stop investigating Xia Dong.

As it turned out, Xia Dong's original dossier had already been sealed by the Bureau of Profound Mysteries. Even the Zhao Family couldn't access it.

To the great families in the capital, there were things more frightening than an undiscovered truth: not being able to find anything at all.

As for the family's attitude toward Xia Dong, they left it to Zhao Ting to decide.

Zhao Ting understood what his family meant. If Xia Dong ever became a dragon from a loach, the family could use Zhao Ting to earn his favor.

If the matter surrounding Xia Dong proved too serious, then Zhao Ting would have acted on his own initiative, and the family wouldn't be implicated.

"If you're not getting involved, then neither am I." Unable to fathom Xia Dong's background, Zhao Ting simply stopped looking into him. But it was easier to invite a god in than send one away; he couldn't afford to fall out with Xia Dong, either.

He would maintain their relationship without deliberately growing closer.

He didn't report the matter to the Centurion, either, lest he stir up trouble.

After weighing it over, Zhao Ting decided he would simply treat Xia Dong as an ordinary physician.

Before long, another three years had passed.

Xia Dong's medical skills had been thoroughly proven within the Pingyang County Flag-Bearer's Eagle-Wolf Guard. They weren't merely good by ordinary standards—they were exceptional.

Over the past three years, Xia Dong had displayed medical skills that earned him a reputation as a miracle doctor even within the Eagle-Wolf Guard.

This was something Zhao Ting had truly never expected.