Healing the Jade-Green Nine-Jointed Bamboo

Early the next morning.

Jiang Baiyu got out of bed and stretched. He had cultivated for half the night before falling fast asleep, yet he woke feeling full of energy.

He also found that his sense of the world seemed sharper. But there was no time to explore it. What mattered now was healing Su Wu.

Old Su had been struck by the Clear Sky Hammer. Its fierce force and the murderous aura of the Slaughter Domain had eaten into his meridians. Fortunately, Old Su knew the Medicine Dao well. He had slowly repaired the damaged meridians and used medicine to keep the murderous aura from erupting inside him.

Jiang Baiyu's task was to use his Martial Soul's unique strengths to gradually purge that aura while replenishing everything Su Wu had lost.

With that in mind, a prescription took shape.

He put aside all other thoughts and sank his awareness into his dantian.

Hum—

A soft green glow emerged. His peerless Martial Soul, the Shennong Cauldron, quietly appeared above a large, rough earthenware vat.

The cauldron looked ancient and weighty, carrying the enduring vitality of the Hundred Herbs. This was his Martial Soul—the Shennong Cauldron.

Jiang Baiyu poured clear mountain spring water into the vat. Then he took out a bracelet and channeled his Soul Power. Spirit Herbs flew from it one after another, dropping into the vat in careful order.

The bracelet was a Soul Tool. When Su Wu had given it to him yesterday, Jiang Baiyu had been stunned by the size of his herb collection—and had roundly condemned the old man for keeping it hidden.

But those herbs also gave Jiang Baiyu greater confidence in the treatment. Each had a purpose, targeting wounds, bruising, or the depletion of blood and vitality.

Nine-Leaf Bone-Healing Grass treated torn flesh and injured bones and tendons, stabilizing the damaged body. It was the primary herb for healing external injuries.

Dew-Gathering Green Reed cooled and protected the flesh, repaired meridians, and kept the murderous aura from breaking through the body.

Meridian-Clearing Grass cleared blocked blood flow and dispersed deep bruising, allowing stagnant blood to circulate again.

Deer Antler Velvet nourished the flesh and encouraged new tissue to grow, greatly shortening the healing time.

Evergreen Vine Core balanced the herbs' harsher properties and gently protected the body's meridians, ensuring the medicine would not damage him.

The precious Spirit Herbs sank into the water. Its clear surface gradually took on a pale green tint, and a sweet medicinal scent drifted out.

Once every herb was in the vat, Jiang Baiyu's gaze sharpened.

The next moment, the Shennong Cauldron released its unique Natal Pill Flame.

It was no scorching blaze, but a gentle, five-colored warmth: the purest Medicine Flame under heaven. It refined medicinal properties without destroying plants or damaging vessels.

The five-colored Pill Flame enveloped the bottom of the ordinary earthenware vat, heating it at a steady simmer.

Brewing medicine over an ordinary fire always lost some of its potency. The Shennong Cauldron's flame instead refined it with care, drawing the essence from deep within every Spirit Herb and harmonizing, purifying, and blending their varied properties.

The water slowly changed from pale green to a clear, lustrous jade. The liquid rolled gently, giving off wisps of steam as rich, pure vitality spread through the air.

Time passed.

Empowered by the Shennong Cauldron, the rare herbs in the vat gradually yielded a concentrated essence. Their medicinal properties blended perfectly, every last bit of their potential brought out.

At a thought from Jiang Baiyu, the image of the Shennong Cauldron above him drew back its flame and slowly sank into his dantian.

"Good lad." Su Wu could not help praising him when the flame went out. He had arrived just as Jiang Baiyu began preparing the medicine, and the boy had not disappointed him. His choice and combination of herbs were those of a master with years of experience. The only flaw was the cost. Every precious herb Jiang Baiyu threw in made his heart ache. "Brat. You've no idea what it costs to run a household," the old man grumbled.

Seeing Su Wu still standing there, Jiang Baiyu could not hold back. "Hurry up! Absorb it while it's hot!"

A healing Medicinal Bath had to be taken hot for the medicine to absorb properly. Old Su had taught him that himself.

At Jiang Baiyu's urging, the old man came to his senses. Of course! Every moment he wasted standing here was medicine going to waste!

He immediately channeled his Soul Power and flew into the vat.

The moment the warm green liquid touched his skin, Su Wu knew it was extraordinary. Heat seeped through his flesh and raced along his meridians into every limb and bone.

Warmth swept through his entire body, inside and out, like winter-frozen earth thawing beneath the sun.

The medicine gently washed through meridians that had been clogged and rigid for years, opening them again. The pure vitality of the Nine-Leaf Bone-Healing Grass and Deer Antler Velvet gradually mended old fractures in his bones.

Worst of all were the hidden injuries left by the Clear Sky Hammer's domineering force and the savage murderous aura of the Slaughter Domain. That brutal power, born of a top-tier assault-type Titled Douluo, had been lodged in his marrow for years, slowly devouring his Martial Soul Origin.

Now, under the cleansing power of the Shennong Cauldron's herbal medicine, the gray murderous aura and the heavy hammer force softened, melted, and broke apart like snow beneath the spring sun. Old injuries buried deep in his flesh and meridians were visibly torn out by the roots.

Su Wu closed his eyes and let out a long breath, releasing the tightness that had weighed on his chest for years. Drawing on the medicine, he began circulating his Soul Power to repair his stiffened meridians.

Seeing the medicine take effect and Su Wu's old injuries begin to yield, Jiang Baiyu narrowed his eyes.

The image of the Shennong Cauldron rose again above the vat. Its Natal Pill Flame descended in wisps, radiating Life Essence as it enveloped Su Wu.

The gentle emerald flame surrounded the vat and seeped into Su Wu's body. Together with the medicine, it refined his flesh from within and without, washed away impurities, and nourished his spirit.

The meridians shattered by the Clear Sky Hammer were fully repaired and renewed. Blood tainted by the Slaughter Domain's murderous aura was purified, while vitality long since exhausted surged back to life. His once-failing blood and energy grew full, vigorous, and strong.

Medicinal light swirled within the vat, brimming with life. As the last of his injuries vanished and his body returned to its prime, the Soul Power that had lain dormant for years suddenly surged. The barrier that had held him back finally cracked and shattered.

A mighty wave of Soul Power burst from the vat. Through the extraordinary benefits of this Shennong Medicinal Bath, Su Wu's cultivation broke past its years-long bottleneck and advanced to a new level!

Level 85 Soul Douluo—he had broken through!

Su Wu's frail aura vanished, replaced by a powerful, steady presence full of life. His Martial Soul appeared: the Nine-Jointed Bamboo. Its substance had turned the color of green jade, and its aura had grown stronger.

After absorbing the medicine's immense power and the Life Essence from Jiang Baiyu's Shennong Cauldron, Su Wu's Martial Soul had evolved into the Jade-Green Nine-Jointed Bamboo.

A thousand sails passed beside the sunken boat; before the ailing tree, ten thousand others bloomed in spring.

After surviving this ordeal, Su Wu's path lay clear. The rank of Titled Douluo was within reach.

Jiang Baiyu watched his grandfather's aura climb higher and higher in the vat, a relieved smile spreading across his face. "Well, old man? I'd say your teaching paid off."