Medicinal Bath and Practical Combat! Steady Improvement!

After returning from Soul Hunting Forest, Lan Tian put the ten Gold Soul Coins into his money box and weighed his next plans in his mind.

He had already tasted the benefits of Whale Glue. A single dose had let him break through from rank twelve to rank thirteen. That kind of efficiency was more than ten times faster than simply training bitterly. Although last time had been his first dose, coupled with the improvement brought by his long period of tempering himself, the strengthening it gave his body was absolutely real.

But the problem was that this stuff could only be found by chance, not sought out.

The piece in the old man's hands on the black market had already been stock that had not sold for three to five years. Whether he could run into a second piece depended entirely on luck. After all, it was not easy to sell.

Still, he did not place all his hopes on Whale Glue.

Although he had spent quite a bit of time soaking himself in the books at Nuoding Library, those books were mainly foundational, and very few discussed medicinal prescriptions or formulas.

He vaguely remembered that some of the materials he had read in his previous life had mentioned that, in this world, certain herbs could be paired together and brewed into medicinal baths. Soaking in them while cultivating could nourish the meridians and help increase soul power.

He could not fully remember the specific formulas, but he had the general direction: medicinal ingredients that gently replenished qi and blood as the main components, herbs that dredged the meridians as support, and then a few medicinal catalysts that could stimulate the body's potential.

It definitely would not be enough to figure it all out on his own, but fortunately, he was fairly well-off now. He could first go around the city's medicine shops, buy whatever medicinal ingredients he could find, then combine them with the scraps of knowledge he had picked up from books and try mixing them.

Early the next morning, he closed the medical clinic's door, hung up a wooden sign that read "Out Today," and went straight to the largest medicinal herb shop in Nuoding City.

The shopkeeper was an old man in his fifties, surnamed Chen. He had spent half his life doing medicinal herb business in Nuoding City, and his shop had everything in stock, from common licorice root and astragalus to rare hundred-year-old lingzhi.

Lan Tian had come a few times before to buy herbs, so he counted as a regular customer.

"Physician Lan, what are you looking for today?" Shopkeeper Chen greeted him with a beaming smile.

"Uncle Chen, I'd like a few medicines."

"Warming and nourishing types, such as angelica, ginseng, sealwort, and fleeceflower root. Then a few that open the channels and activate the collaterals: Sichuan lovage, safflower, and cassia twig. Also, do you have anything like snake slough or dried earthworm?"

Lan Tian took out the list he had written in advance and handed it over.

Shopkeeper Chen took the list and glanced over it, his brows lifting slightly. "This prescription of yours... it's quite a powerful tonic. Angelica, ginseng, sealwort, fleeceflower root—putting these four together makes the medicinal force anything but weak. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to bear it. We do have snake slough and dried earthworm, but those two are rather fierce in nature. Are you planning to use them externally or take them internally?"

"Externally."

"I'm planning to put together a medicinal bath formula for soaking."

Lan Tian did not hide it.

Shopkeeper Chen nodded in realization. "A medicinal bath, eh? That makes sense. But with medicinal baths, the proper arrangement of sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy matters a great deal. If the quantities are off by even a little, the effects can be far weaker. Did you put this formula together yourself?"

"I'll try it first. If it doesn't work, I'll adjust it slowly." Lan Tian smiled.

Shopkeeper Chen did not ask further. He turned and went to the storeroom to gather the medicine for him.

Angelica, ginseng, sealwort, fleeceflower root, Sichuan lovage, safflower, and cassia twig—each was wrapped in a large packet, while the snake slough and dried earthworm were also wrapped separately in oiled paper.

In total, it cost six Gold Soul Coins, which was a little cheaper than Lan Tian had expected.

"If it works well for you, come again next time. I'll keep better stock aside for you," Shopkeeper Chen said, piling the packets on the counter.

"Thanks, Uncle Chen." Lan Tian paid, then carried the various large and small packets back to the medical clinic.

That very afternoon, he tested the medicinal bath formula once.

In the kitchen in the rear courtyard, he set up a large iron pot, boiled a full pot of hot water, and added the medicinal ingredients one after another according to the hazy proportions in his memory.

Angelica and ginseng formed the base, sealwort and fleeceflower root followed, Sichuan lovage, safflower, and cassia twig were used to open the channels and activate the collaterals, and finally, he added a small handful of snake slough. That was the key ingredient he could think of for guiding the medicinal force into the meridians.

He brought it to a boil over high heat, then turned it down to a low flame and simmered it slowly.

About half an hour later, the entire kitchen was filled with a rich herbal fragrance. The brown medicinal decoction churned in the pot, with a thin layer of oily sheen floating on the surface.

Lan Tian poured the medicinal decoction into a large wooden tub, mixed in cool water until it reached a suitable temperature, then took off his clothes and soaked himself in it.

The medicinal force wrapped around his entire body almost instantly.

The warm medicinal liquid seeped through his pores into his skin, then penetrated his muscles and bones. The meridians throughout his body felt as though they were being slowly washed by a gentle power, a tingling numbness spreading from his limbs to his torso.

He closed his eyes and circulated his soul power inside the wooden tub, cultivating in coordination with the medicine's penetration.

An hour later, the medicinal bath's temperature had dropped. He climbed out of the tub, dried himself, and sensed the effects.

His meridians were indeed smoother than usual, and the resistance when circulating soul power had lessened slightly. But the medicinal force was limited. After all, these were only ordinary-year herbs. They could not let him achieve everything in a single leap like hundred-year Whale Glue had.

However, if he could keep soaking every day, the accumulated effect over time should still be considerable.

He recorded how this formula had felt, made slight adjustments to the medicinal ingredient ratios, and prepared to try again tomorrow.

Over the next few days, he divided his daytime into three parts: seeing patients in the morning, going to the outskirts of Soul Hunting Forest in the afternoon to gather herbs and practice actual combat, then returning at night to soak in a medicinal bath and meditate.

He entered Soul Hunting Forest more and more frequently.

He was already very familiar with the outer region. He knew where there were big trees that could provide shade, where there were streams for supplies, and what types of medicinal herbs were hidden in which patches of grass.

Every time he went in, he deliberately moved a little deeper. It was not to hunt soul beasts, but to train his practical combat ability.

Ordinary ten-year soul beasts were the best opponents.

That afternoon, he encountered a Wind Wolf at the edge of a dense forest.

It was a ten-year Wind Wolf, about the size of an adult hound, with gray-black fur. Its yellowish eyes stared fixedly at him as it lowered its body and slowly closed in, a low whine rumbling in its throat.

Lan Tian did not draw his blade, nor did he summon Blue Silver Grass.

He merely lowered his center of gravity slightly, clenched his fists, and prepared for close-quarters combat.

Seeing that he did not retreat, the Wind Wolf stopped probing as well. It abruptly kicked off the ground and pounced at him.

It was not slow. Its sharp claws tore through the air as they went straight for his throat.

Lan Tian turned sideways to avoid them, and at the same time, his right fist blasted out, striking the Wind Wolf squarely in the ribs.

A dull impact rang out. The Wind Wolf was sent flying sideways by the punch, rolling twice across the ground before it flipped over and scrambled back up, letting out a pained hiss.

But the soul beast's ferocity had been stirred up. It shook its head, lowered its body again, and the whine in its throat turned into a threatening growl.

Lan Tian did not pursue. He simply stood where he was, arms slightly spread, signaling that his opponent could keep coming.

The Wind Wolf pounced again, faster and more vicious this time, claws and fangs attacking him at once.

Lan Tian shifted his footwork, dodging twice in a row to avoid his vitals. His left hand grabbed the Wind Wolf's foreleg and yanked hard, pulling its center of gravity off balance, while his right elbow came smashing down with the motion, striking the Wind Wolf hard on the spine.

There was a soft crack.

The Wind Wolf collapsed to the ground with a mournful cry. It struggled twice, but could not get back up.

Lan Tian crouched down and took a look. The Wind Wolf's spine had been cracked by his elbow strike, but fortunately, it had not broken. It should recover after some time.

He himself was injured as well, though they were all superficial wounds.

In this world, there was no such thing as rabies.

As a yellow soul ring rose, his first soul skill, Endless Life, activated. His wounds visibly stopped bleeding at speed, repaired themselves, and in the end, not even a scar was left behind.