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As he spoke, he picked up the wooden case and made to leave, as though he had them dead to rights—surely these three greenhorn Qi Refining novices would stop him. Yet... no one actually tried to keep him!

The scene froze for a moment.

"Why haven't you left yet?" Bian Chunchou asked coolly, his hands tucked into his sleeves.

Hearing that, Physician Ming immediately turned back around. "Didn't you notice? I'm waiting for you to ask me to stay and keep treating him."

Bian Chunchou threw his hands to his hips and roared with laughter inwardly. Good thing he had caught Wen Xu's gesture with his sharp eyes just now. "Oh, we didn't notice. Besides, you just reminded us—rather than paying Spirit Stones out of our own pockets to hire a spirit physician, we might as well report this directly to the sect. His symptoms are clearly abnormal, and since this happened at the foot of Yonglu Mountain, Yonglu Mountain cannot shirk its responsibility."

Unexpectedly, he had misjudged them. Physician Ming looked the three of them over, his gaze finally landing on the blindfolded Wen Xu. "I heard Yonglu Mountain has gained a disciple of a Divine Venerable. Now that I've met him today, the reputation is indeed well deserved."

Huh? That was already "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 distinctive. "Physician Ming."

"What?"

"We invited you here to treat the patient, not to examine my eyes." Just then, Wen Xu had sensed that the pregnant man on the bed was growing weaker. "I thought a healer's heart was that of a parent."

Physician Ming: ...

"I'll take that as you asking me to stay." Having said that, Physician Ming turned back again with his wooden case. "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 couldn't be saved!"

Parasitized? Wasn't he pregnant?!

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

Only then did the three realize that this mystic physician, who looked so mighty and imposing, was actually only at the First Layer of Qi Refining. Wen Xu had accidentally entered the Cloud-Breaking Secret Realm and directly opened his Qi Sea, advancing to the First Layer of Qi Refining. 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 followed as naturally as water flowing downhill.

This mystic physician looked to be twenty-five or twenty-six. First Layer of Qi Refining? Was that for real? Even a cultivator with a Five-Element Spiritual Root should not have remained stuck at the same realm without advancing at all, right?

But Chen Zui was simple-minded. After a brief moment of surprise, he immediately bound the man's limbs with spiritual power. Seeing this, Physician Ming promptly took out a Replenishing Origin Pill meant for mortals from the wooden box. After feeding it to the patient, he pinched up a spirit needle and drove it with lightning speed into the major acupoints across the patient's body.

These were a mortal's major acupoints. If there were the slightest error, not only would the man fail to be saved—he might simply croak on the spot.

That alone showed how superbly skilled and bold this spirit physician was.

The moment the spirit needles went in, the man on the bed abruptly flew open his eyes. They were filled with fear and terror. The next instant, he tried to raise his hand and pound viciously at his own stomach. Fortunately, he had been restrained beforehand, and none of his limbs could break free.

Yet even so, he continued struggling without pause, as though he felt no pain at all. Bian Chunchou saw that the man's limbs had been rubbed bloody, but he still fought desperately!

At this rate, wouldn't all four limbs be strangled clean through?!

He had just wanted to offer a reminder when he saw—

"His blood—his blood is actually green!" How could a person's blood be green? Could he be a demon? Had all three of them misjudged him? That couldn't be possible, could it?

Human or demon, they should at least be able to tell the difference.

At the same time, Wen Xu sharply caught the scent of vegetation mixed with blood. That vegetal scent was murky and foul, stirring instinctive revulsion. To date, it was probably the most disgusting smell he had ever encountered.

He could not help holding his breath lightly, but the nauseating stench only grew thicker and stronger.

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

"How is he?"

When Physician Ming finally stopped, Bian Chunchou hurriedly asked, "Why does he still look like he's in so much pain?"

"I'm a mystic physician, not a miracle worker. Treating an illness takes time, doesn't it? As for this parasitism, I initially suspect that he swallowed a Jade-Bone Albizia Tree seed. And that seed was likely specially prepared by someone. It took root and sprouted inside his body, creating the illusion of a woman's pregnancy. In truth, it parasitizes the body and continuously sucks away the host's strength. Once the host's strength has been drained dry, it can then... fall from the vine, ripe and ready."

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

"That's right. Congratulations—you've run into an evil cultivator." Physician Ming tore a cleansing talisman for himself. "But this evil cultivator wasn't quite thorough enough. Otherwise, this man would never have escaped."

Holy shit! An evil cultivator! They absolutely had to report this to the sect. The three of them combined might not even be enough to fill one plate for the other party.

"As for me, I'm just a tiny mystic physician at the First Layer of Qi Refining. The most I can do is temporarily put the parasitic seed in his belly to sleep. As for how to remove it without harming him, you'll likely need to seek someone more capable."

Saying they needed someone more capable was really just another way of saying they needed the sect to take responsibility.

After seeing Physician Ming off, Bian Chunchou quickly contacted a senior brother from Founding Peak in the city. Before long, a Foundation Establishment Realm senior brother arrived in a rush.

"Are you sure? It really is an evil cultivator? What sort of evil cultivator has such nerve, daring to make trouble right under Yonglu Mountain's nose?!"

The moment Senior Brother Huang entered, his face darkened. Clearly, he loathed evil cultivators intensely. After confirming that an evil cultivator truly was behind this, he immediately recorded the situation and took over care of the falsely pregnant man on the bed.

"This happened suddenly. We have yet to meet Little Martial Granduncle."

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

Senior Brother Huang was not particularly good at socializing either. Seeing that the three still needed to continue picking Moonlight Grass, he left with the patient and several fellow disciples. From the look of it, they were preparing to have a grand fight with the evil cultivator.

"This senior brother is truly a whirlwind of action."