Mortal: The Path to Immortality

As the two left the Han residence and turned through several wide streets, the familiar scent of medicine grew stronger, like some kind of invisible guidance.

"Senior, that's 'Xinglinzhai' over there," Han Cailing said, pointing to a quaint old-fashioned medical clinic in the distance.

Following the directions, Lu Nanzhu saw a long queue forming in front of the clinic, but the queue was not chaotic.

Besides ordinary people, the group also included some low-level rogue cultivators with disordered auras, all of whom waited respectfully.

Stepping across the threshold, one sees a white-robed monk sitting behind a table inside the hall, taking the pulse of a ragged old woman.

Lu Nanzhu stared intently, his eyes widening slightly. The white-robed cultivator was none other than Elder Xiao of Spirit Beast Mountain—Xiao Suqing.

Xiao Suqing seemed to sense something, looked up and met Lu Nanzhu's gaze. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, which then turned into a gentle smile:

"Lu Nanzhu? What brings you here? I never imagined you'd have successfully established your foundation in just a few years."

"Thanks to Senior Brother Xiao, I've managed to advance in my cultivation level." Lu Nanzhu didn't dare to be presumptuous and bowed respectfully. "Why is Senior Brother practicing medicine here? Shouldn't you be at the sect preparing for your Core Formation ceremony?"

"It's both practicing medicine and preparing for Core Formation." Xiao Suqing wrote a few strokes on the prescription, then said gently without looking up, "Junior Brother, please make yourself at home. I'll catch up with you after I'm done with my work."

Lu Nanzhu stood to one side, quietly observing with his divine sense. He saw a glint in Elder Xiao's eyes, and with a slight movement of his fingertips, several thin, hair-like threads of magical energy seeped into the patient's wrist, groping their way through the disordered meridians.

In a short while, the meridians that had been atrophied due to illness began to expand slowly under the guidance of the magic power, and the patient's breathing became smooth. The patient's pale face instantly regained its rosy color.

"What kind of technique is this? It can actually manipulate the meridians! So subtle..." Lu Nanzhu was secretly amazed.

He turned his head and saw that Han Cailing was also watching intently, her eyes filled with longing and awe.

Seeing the growing crowd waiting outside, Lu Nanzhu simply walked around the counter, found an empty seat next to Xiao Suqing, cleared his throat, and called out:

"I am a disciple of Spirit Beast Mountain. Those of you in the back, please come to me for treatment!"

A commotion immediately broke out among the crowd. The mortals looked at each other in bewilderment, while the few rogue cultivators had even more strange expressions—two Foundation Establishment stage experts were actually working as doctors in this mortal clinic.

Xiao Suqing paused slightly in his hand, tilting his head to tease, "Junior Brother is also proficient in medicine?"

"I wouldn't call myself an expert; I just learned some prescriptions and basic methods of saving lives from my elders at home in my early years."

Lu Nanzhu smiled and answered, then turned his gaze to the somewhat hesitant girl beside him.

"Miss Han, if it's convenient, could you please prepare some prescriptions for me while I'm having my medical consultation?"

"This junior is willing! I will certainly not delay your affairs, senior." Han Cailing's expression brightened.

Elder Xiao nodded with a smile and did not stop him.

In the following hour, Lu Nanzhu used all the knowledge he had acquired in his life. Relying on his extraordinary memory, he used all the medical skills he had learned in the Seven Mysteries Sect and his family.

Although he couldn't directly treat the meridians with special techniques like Xiao Suqing, Lu Nanzhu had the advantage of being knowledgeable and skilled in various treatment methods, so he could always find a suitable solution.

......

"Next." Lu Nanzhu didn't even look up, just lightly traced a line on the table with his fingertip.

A gaunt old man coughed, his breath coming in phlegm. Lu Nanzhu glanced at him with his divine sense, without taking his pulse, and spoke directly:

"Years of hard work have caused stagnation in the lung qi. Miss Han, take three qian of perilla leaves, two qian of pinellia, and one liang of dried tangerine peel, dry them over a fire, and give them to this uncle to take away."

Han Cailing, who was standing nearby, responded crisply. She moved with great efficiency, accurately grabbing the correct amount of medicine and skillfully tying it up with hemp rope. As she handed over the medicine, she carefully instructed the old man on the proper time and temperature for decocting it.

Xiao Suqing sat to the side, his hands never stopping their work, but he would occasionally glance at the commotion around them out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing that Lu Nanzhu's medical skills were quite good and his understanding of mortal medicine was even more thorough, he nodded slightly without leaving a trace, and the appreciation in his eyes grew stronger.

As dusk fell, the long line outside the clinic finally dispersed.

Lu Nanzhu let out a long sigh and rubbed his slightly stiff wrist. Xiao Suqing also gathered the things on the table, turned around and said:

"Junior Brother Lu's superb medical skills have surprised me quite a bit."

"Senior brother, you flatter me. These are just some rudimentary methods, nothing compared to your skills," Lu Nanzhu waved his hand.

"Oh?" Xiao Suqing's expression gradually became serious. "Junior Brother, you haven't come here just to help me with the free medical consultations, have you?"

"To be honest, Senior Brother, Nan Zhu does have something I'd like to ask you." Lu Nan Zhu also made his purpose clear, no longer delaying.

"Come with me." To avoid the other people in the clinic, Lu Nanzhu followed Xiao Suqing to an elegant room.

Inside the elegant room, Xiao Suqing sat cross-legged at the table, poured two cups of tea, and handed one to Lu Nanzhu:

"Tell me, what is it?"

Lu Nanzhu took the tea, drank it all in one gulp, and then said:

"Senior brother, have you ever heard of the 'Dragon's Roar Body'?"

"It is self-evident. Those who possess the 'Dragon's Roar Body' are all males who have been mistakenly born as women. The female body is inherently yin, making it difficult to circulate the yang energy continuously generated by the 'Dragon's Roar Body'."

Women with this constitution are weak and sickly from childhood and cannot force themselves to cultivate. If they force themselves to cultivate, they will inevitably die from exhaustion of their meridians.

"What? Do you have relatives or friends with this constitution?" Xiao Suqing explained slowly while sipping his tea.

"Yes, a friend of mine unfortunately has this condition. Therefore, he has come to ask if you, my senior, have any way to cure him?" Lu Nanzhu put down his cup and cupped his hands in greeting.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Suqing frowned slightly, put down his cup, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke:

"This 'Dragon Roar Body' has a special constitution. To subdue the yang energy within the body, one needs an extremely yin and cold treasure."

Such treasures can only be found in the hands of great cultivators; we low-level cultivators probably have no way of obtaining them.

Alternatively, those who possess the "Dragon's Roar Body" could abandon their physical bodies, but this method is far too dangerous.

After saying this, he shook his head again.

After listening to Xiao Suqing's explanation, Lu Nanzhu felt a mix of emotions.

He was pleased that Xiao Suqing's knowledge was indeed extensive, far surpassing that of ordinary cultivators who lived in seclusion; but at the same time, an overwhelming sense of loss welled up in his heart—if even Xiao Suqing did not have a better method, then wouldn't Xin Ruyin still be beyond saving?

Xiao Suqing was perceptive and immediately noticed the sadness in Lu Nanzhu's eyes.

He coughed lightly, then suddenly changed the subject, adding, "However... there are other ways to cure the 'Dragon's Roar Body' besides these dead ends."

Lu Nanzhu's heart skipped a beat. His slightly drooping back straightened instantly, and he sat up straight, listening intently.

Xiao Suqing leisurely picked up the teapot, poured some warm tea into each of their cups, and continued:

"Ultimately, it's because women's meridians are naturally more yin in nature and cannot withstand the impact of that domineering yang energy. Since yang energy is difficult to eradicate, let's try a different approach."

"How about we try a different approach?"

"We only need to find a way to reshape the woman's meridians. In this way, the yang energy can flow normally, and the patient will naturally recover."

"Reconstructing the meridians!" Lu Nanzhu couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. In his limited understanding, the meridians were predetermined by nature, and even damage to them was difficult to repair, let alone reconstruction.

But then he suddenly recalled Xiao Suqing's strange methods of manipulating meridians with silken magic during the free clinic earlier. A thought struck him, and he stopped beating around the bush, lowering his voice to ask:

"Could it be... that Senior Brother is capable of performing this extraordinary technique?"

Xiao Suqing did not answer directly. After hesitating for a moment, he took out a piece of silk paper from his storage bag and slowly spread it out on the table between the two of them:

"Junior Brother Lu, please look at these contents first and try to remember them as much as possible."

Lu Nanzhu stared intently and saw that the silk paper was densely covered with obscure and difficult-to-understand runes and energy circulation routes. The characters were ancient and simple, seemingly the first level of a profound skill.

Xiao Suqing's expression turned serious. He held up three fingers and said:

"If you truly wish to save your friend, simply begging won't suffice. Memorize these mantras, and if you can successfully comprehend them in three years, I will then consider whether to help you."

After memorizing these incantations, Lu Nanzhu opened his eyes and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Xiao Suqing: "Nanzhu understands. I will definitely give my senior brother an explanation in three years."

After saying that, he got up to return to the Han family, but was stopped by Xiao Suqing:

"Take this first. Your friend can get the medicine according to this prescription and take it to stabilize his meridians. He won't be in any danger of death in the short term."

Lu Nanzhu turned around, gratefully accepted the prescription, and then left the elegant room.

After he left, Xiao Suqing sat alone at the table in the elegant room, looked out the window, and murmured to himself:

"I hope I didn't misjudge him."