Mortal World Tribulation

Hua Chunning frowned slightly upon hearing this.

This was the Mortal World Turbid Qi the sect master had spoken of. It was most capable of hindering cultivation and defiling one's Dao heart.

Only someone like the sect master, born with a peculiar fate and Outside the Calculations, could avoid it.

She had been accumulating her Spring Manifestation quite smoothly, and success was in sight, yet an unexpected complication had arisen.

Hua Chunning thought for a moment and asked, "How many patients are there in total?"

"Around a million nationwide." Duanmu Ren did know the approximate figures. "In the surrounding counties and cities alone, there should be a hundred thousand."

Hua Chunning was astonished. "That many?!"

If there were only hundreds or thousands, she might have been able to find the time to treat them.

But with such a vast number, never mind the delay to accumulating her Manifestation, she didn't even have nearly enough pills. She wanted to help, but was powerless to do so.

Hua Chunning pondered for a moment, then made her decision. "I'm at a critical stage in my cultivation and can't spare the effort for anything else."

"Send more people to the sub-courtyard. Don't let worldly affairs disturb my cultivation."

A troubled look appeared on Duanmu Ren's face.

Many of those patients could be considered invincible.

Never mind him, even the provincial authorities could only placate and accommodate them, then hold the local authorities accountable and demand that the patients be brought back and properly settled as soon as possible.

"Rest assured, Fairy." In the end, Duanmu Ren gritted his teeth and said, "I'll do my best."

The Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard had already made a name for itself.

Not only did it have carefully tended seas of flowers in every color, it also had a park NPC who looked like a fairy descended to earth.

Some people even used aerial drone footage to claim with absolute certainty that the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard's design and layout secretly conformed to some wondrous formation, with the miraculous effects of prolonging life, curing illness, and dispelling misfortune.

Naturally, people scoffed at such claims.

After all, it was simply too absurd that a major coal-producing county, shrouded in smog with PM2.5 levels off the charts just a few years ago, would now dare to use air quality as a gimmick to promote a tourist resort.

But the internet was a place where fish and dragons mingled.

And there really were some rather arcane theories about the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard's layout.

Quite a few people believed the claims and went to see for themselves. Afterward, they posted videos saying they really could breathe more easily there and so on, drawing another round of ridicule.

That changed when someone filmed numerous miners with pneumoconiosis going to the provincial capital to petition the authorities, causing an immediate sensation.

The most compelling evidence was internal documentation from the provincial hospital: several veteran miners from Stone Ridge County with pneumoconiosis really had recovered after undergoing some unverified treatment!

That so-called unverified treatment was none other than the diagnosis and treatment the beautiful internet-famous NPC from the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard had provided in the countryside a year ago, and there was video evidence!

Even more explosive was the fact that when these patients sought treatment, not only did the beautiful NPC refuse them, but Stone Ridge County also sent people to block and drive them away.

By then, no one remembered the risks of practicing medicine without a license.

Many people posted videos mocking her: "Wasn't she supposed to be beautiful and kind-hearted? Why is she standing by and watching people die now?!"

The Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and Hua Chunning had attracted so much attention before that they had long since aroused resentment and dissatisfaction in many people.

Making gods and tearing them down were eternal themes of the internet.

In no time, public opinion of the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard and Hua Chunning underwent a complete reversal.

The Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard.

Hua Chunning had already begun condensing the [Awakening of Insects] Manifestation.

Awakening of Insects was when spring thunder rumbled and the myriad insects emerged.

That thunder was [Arousing Thunder].

At this time, Yang Qi was beginning to rise, while Yin Qi had yet to fully recede. Yang was weak, and Yin was strong.

Thus, this thunder served to [awaken]. It was the first sound of heaven and earth, commanding all things to return to life.

The first pentad of Awakening of Insects was called [Peach Blossoms First Bloom], meaning the peach blossoms were just beginning to open.

Hua meant flower.

Hua Chunning had a faint feeling that this pentad suited her very well.

The second pentad of Awakening of Insects was [Orioles Sing].

Canggeng was an ancient name for the oriole.

Orioles sang melodiously from the branches, their clear, pleasant voices speaking on behalf of spring.

The third pentad of Awakening of Insects was [Hawks Transform into Doves].

At this time, hawks grew fewer while turtledoves became more numerous, signifying the changing of the seasons and the transformation and birth of species.

Standing beneath the peach blossoms, Hua Chunning was indeed a picture of "a lovely face and peach blossoms reflecting each other's rosy glow."

Several orioles also landed on Hua Chunning's shoulders, singing melodiously.

The scene was one of a woman lovelier than flowers, in harmony with nature.

Half a month ago, the video's comment section would inevitably have been flooded with screen-licking praise.

Now, however, it was full of "a heart like snakes and scorpions, standing by while people die."

Hua Chunning's die-hard fan, who went by the nickname "Young Master Zhao (fell into the water while watching the fairy instead of the road edition)," had also changed his nickname and hidden his old videos, for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

Duanmu Ren knew full well the power of public opinion and acted as though facing a formidable enemy.

Hua Chunning, however, paid it no mind.

As for Li Jiabao, he already felt as though the sky was about to fall.

He had only just experienced a month of life as a man above others. Was he about to be beaten back into his original form already?!

Li Jiabao was, after all, only a puppet out front. He had no ability whatsoever to persuade Duanmu Ren or Hua Chunning to change their minds, so he could only repeatedly urge his good brother Hu Shihao, who moved in both legitimate and criminal circles, to send more security guards over and make sure the Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard's safety and order were maintained.

Hu Shihao had no choice but to transfer all his underlings from his other businesses over, secretly praying that nothing would happen. Otherwise, he would surely be one of those thrown out as a scapegoat.

Hua Chunning continued condensing her Manifestation as usual, believing that the opinions and reputation circulating among the Grotto-Heaven's mortals would not affect her State of Mind.

"Why won't you save them?!"

A middle-aged woman was photographing the peach blossoms. Seeing Hua Chunning playing with several orioles, she suddenly spoke up. "Since you can save one, why won't you save the others too?!"

"They're so pitiful!"

"They've suffered and toiled all their lives, and now that they're old, they still have to endure the torment of illness!"

"I asked Doubao about the symptoms of pneumoconiosis, and I couldn't stop crying when I read them!"

The more the middle-aged woman spoke, the more agitated she became. Her eyes were already brimming with tears as she accused Hua Chunning, "And you still have the heart to play with birds and admire flowers! You're so beautiful, but I never imagined your heart was black!"

Hua Chunning turned around in surprise.

The orioles were also startled away, flying to the branches of the peach tree and chirping noisily.

"Stop!"

In the distance, several of Hu Shihao's underlings were chasing an old man.

The old man was gaunt and pale, coughing repeatedly. When he spotted Hua Chunning from afar, his eyes lit up and he shouted, "Help! Treat my illness!"

The underlings of Hu Shihao were no fools either. They only dared to follow close behind and would never have dared to lay a hand on him to stop him.

If someone died, they really wouldn't be able to explain themselves.

The middle-aged woman who had been accusing Hua Chunning stopped crying and hurried over to support the old man, but still remembered to turn back and urge her on. "What are you standing there for? Hurry over and treat him!"

But distracted as she was, not only did she fail to support the old man, she collided with him instead, knocking him to the ground.

The old man couldn't catch his breath and, before their eyes, actually breathed his last.

Everyone was dumbstruck.

The middle-aged woman was even more stunned. She scrambled up from the ground and took a look. Unwilling under any circumstances to bear the guilt of having knocked the old man to his death, she darted her eyes, took out her phone, and began recording a video, wailing to high heaven, "They're beating people! The Supreme Mystery Sub-Courtyard beat a patient seeking treatment to death!"