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As he spoke, he lifted the wooden case and made to leave, as if certain these three newly fledged Qi Refining novices would stop him. Yet... no one actually did!

The scene immediately froze.

"Why are you still standing here?" Bian Chunchou asked coolly, hands tucked into his sleeves.

At that, the Bright Spirit Healer immediately turned back. "Didn't you notice? I'm waiting for you to ask me to stay and continue treating him."

Bian Chunchou laughed wildly with his hands on his hips inside. Fortunately, he had caught Wen Xu-Xu's hand signal earlier. "Oh, we didn't notice. Besides, you just reminded us—we'd rather report this directly to the sect than spend our own Spirit Stones hiring a spirit healer. His symptoms are clearly abnormal, and this happened at the foot of Yonglu Mountain. Yonglu Mountain cannot shirk its responsibility."

Unexpectedly, he had misjudged them. The Bright Spirit Healer looked over the three of them before finally fixing his gaze on blindfolded Wen Xu. "I heard Yonglu Mountain has gained a disciple of the Divine Venerable. Now that I've met you, the reputation is well deserved."

Huh? That was enough for his reputation to be well deserved? Bian Chunchou curled his lip inwardly. Wasn't that line a little too perfunctory?

Wen Xu knew that his blindfold was indeed far too conspicuous. "Healer Ming."

"What?"

"We invited you here to treat the patient, not to examine my eyes." Just then, Wen Xu had sensed the pregnant man on the bed growing weaker. "I thought healers had the hearts of parents."

Healer Ming: ...

"I'll take that as you asking me to stay." With that, Healer Ming carried the wooden case back over. "Quick, that big fellow—yes, the one carrying the saber—hold the patient down! His body has been parasitized. In another two hours, I guarantee that even if a Tribulation Transcendence Realm ancestor came, he wouldn't be able to save him!"

Parasitized? Wasn't he pregnant?!

"What are you standing around for?! Hurry up! I'm only Qi Refining First Layer—I'm weak, all right?"

Only then did the three realize that this Mysterious Physician, who looked so impressive and overbearing, was actually only at Qi Refining First Layer. Wen Xu had accidentally entered the Cloud-Breaking Secret Realm and immediately opened his Qi Sea, advancing to Qi Refining First Layer. Not long after leaving the secret realm, he had reached the Second Layer of Qi Refining.

Advancing through the Qi Refining Stage was simply a matter of absorbing spiritual energy. Once the spiritual energy was sufficient and the Qi Sea opened, advancement naturally followed.

This Mysterious Physician looked twenty-five or twenty-six at least, yet he was at Qi Refining First Layer? Really? Even a cultivator with a Five-Element Spiritual Root couldn't possibly remain without advancing a single realm, could he?

However, Chen Zui's thoughts were simple. He was only briefly surprised before immediately using spiritual power to bind the man's limbs. Seeing this, Healer Ming promptly took out a Replenishing Origin Pill for mortals from his wooden box. Only after feeding it to the patient did he pinch up spiritual needles and drive them with astonishing speed into the patient's major acupoints.

These were a mortal's major acupoints. If there was the slightest mistake, forget saving the man—he would simply be done for.

This alone showed how skilled and bold this spirit healer was.

The instant the spiritual needles fell, the man on the bed abruptly opened his eyes. They were filled with terror and fear. The next moment, he tried to raise his hand and viciously pound his own stomach. Fortunately, he had been bound beforehand, and none of his limbs could break free.

Yet even so, he continued struggling without pause, as if he felt no pain at all. Bian Chunchou saw that his limbs had been rubbed bloody from the struggle, but he was still fighting with all his strength!

If this continued, wouldn't his limbs be strangled right off?!

He had just been about to offer a reminder when he saw—

"His blood—his blood is actually green!" What human had green blood? Was he a demon? Had all three of them misjudged him? That couldn't be, could it?

Human or demon, surely they could tell the difference.

At the same time, Wen Xu keenly caught a grassy, woody scent tinged with blood. The scent was extremely murky, stirring instinctive revulsion. To this day, it was probably the most disgusting smell he had ever encountered.

He couldn't help holding his breath lightly, but the nauseating stench only grew thicker.

Unable to endure it any longer, Wen Xu finally wrapped his nose in spiritual power.

"How is he?"

Seeing that Healer Ming had finally stopped, Bian Chunchou hurriedly asked, "Why does he still look so miserable?"

"I'm a Mysterious Physician, not a miracle doctor. Treating an illness takes time. As for this parasitism, I initially suspect he consumed a Jade-Bone Albizia Tree seed—and someone likely specially processed that seed. It took root and sprouted inside his body, creating the illusion of a woman's pregnancy. In truth, it parasitized his body and continuously sucked away the host's strength. Once the host's strength was completely drained, it could... fall from the vine when the melon ripened."

Bian Chunchou blinked. "Jade-Bone Albizia Tree? Isn't that..."

"That's right. Congratulations, you've run into an Evil Cultivator." The Bright Spirit Healer tore a Cleansing Talisman for himself. "But this Evil Cultivator wasn't quite thorough enough. Otherwise, this man wouldn't have escaped."

Holy hell! An Evil Cultivator! They absolutely had to report this to the sect. The three of them combined might not even be enough to make one dish for the other party.

"As for me, I'm merely a tiny Qi Refining First Layer Mysterious Physician. The most I can do is temporarily put the parasitic seed in his belly into dormancy. As for how to remove it without harming him, I'm afraid you'll need to seek someone more capable."

Saying they needed someone more capable was really just another way of saying they needed the sect to clean up the mess.

After seeing off the Bright Spirit Healer, Bian Chunchou swiftly contacted the senior brothers from Founding Peak in the city. Before long, a senior brother at the Foundation Establishment Realm hurried over.

"Has it been confirmed? It really was an Evil Cultivator? What Evil Cultivator is so bold as to stir up trouble right under Yonglu Mountain's nose?!"

The moment Senior Brother Huang entered, his expression darkened. Clearly, he loathed Evil Cultivators intensely. Once it was confirmed that an Evil Cultivator was indeed behind this, he immediately recorded the details and took charge of the man on the bed with the false pregnancy.

"This happened suddenly, so I haven't yet met Little Martial Granduncle."

Wen Xu: ...That really wasn't necessary.

Senior Brother Huang was not particularly adept at socializing either. Seeing that the three still needed to continue gathering Moonlight Grass, he left with the man and several fellow disciples. From the look of things, they were preparing to wage a great battle against the Evil Cultivator.

"This senior brother really was a whirlwind of action."