Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

The days that followed were unexpectedly peaceful.

True to his word, Zhao Ting sent someone to deliver the Eagle Wolf Guard's waist token and documents a few days later. Xia Dong then officially joined the Eagle Wolf Guard and became a medical officer under the Pingyang County General Banner.

Only after truly stepping into the system of the Great You Dynasty did Xia Dong truly understand the benefits of "having a big tree to lean on".

Not to mention the generous monthly allowance of two low-grade spirit stones and one Qi-cultivating pill that Xia Dong received without fail, the files and documents that the Eagle Wolf Guard made available to them alone made Xia Dong feel that this mission was extremely worthwhile.

As the sharpest weapon of the Great You Dynasty to monitor all extraordinary forces under heaven, the intelligence possessed by the Eagle Wolf Guard far surpasses the stories circulating in the streets.

These materials were all compiled and organized by the officials of the Tongxuan Division in the capital.

The content is also very diverse, ranging from legitimate immortal sects and their cultivation techniques to demons, monsters, and heretics in the deep mountains and forests, all of which are roughly recorded in the records.

Xia Dong thus understood what the "spiritual spring" Zhao Ting had mentioned was.

The so-called spiritual spring is a special pool created by the imperial court's array masters at the confluence of spiritual veins in famous mountains and rivers. They forcibly locked in the spiritual energy using a grand array that seizes the essence of heaven and earth. The spiritual energy in the pool is so dense that it almost solidifies. If a mortal can bathe in it, the power of the array will guide the massive spiritual energy to forcibly cleanse the body, possessing excellent effects in cleansing the marrow and improving the mortal's constitution.

For martial artists who follow the path of martial arts, this spiritual spring is an absolute holy land they dream of, saving them years or even decades of hard work and refinement.

But after reading it, Xia Dong felt little emotional.

The case file clearly states that no matter how miraculous the spiritual spring is, it only targets the physical body, the shell of the body. It cannot fundamentally help mortals improve their "innate qualities," let alone cleanse them of spiritual roots.

The "Changchun Xingqi Jue" follows a transformative path that unifies the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit, directly pointing to the origin of all spirits.

Of course, Xia Dong was also aware that the threshold for his skill was very high.

Not only must cultivators possess the "divine sense" of immortal cultivators, but this divine sense must also be extremely pure, free from any trace of resentment or malevolent energy.

If he hadn't obtained the "Mysterious Yin Scripture" by chance, and hadn't possessed the heaven-defying artifact, the ancient bronze bell, which could refine ghosts into the "Yin Sha Pill" without any impurities, how could a mortal like him have cultivated divine consciousness without spiritual roots?

Xia Dong had completely destroyed the jade slip containing the "Mysterious Yin Scripture". As for the broken Yin-Gathering Banner, he had no intention of selling or using it, lest it expose him.

As for the skeleton at the bottom of the dry well, Xia Dong thought it over again and again, but ultimately decided not to move it. The underground chamber was already engraved with an array to conceal one's aura. If the skeleton were moved rashly, it might trigger some unknown restriction or cause the leakage of Yin energy, which would only bring trouble upon oneself.

……

In the still of the night, in the backyard of Changchun Medical Clinic.

Xia Dong sat cross-legged in the secret chamber at the bottom of the well and took out the monthly allowance he had just received from the Eagle Wolf Guard—two spirit stones and a Qi-Nourishing Pill.

With the two spirit stones Qin Wan sent, he now receives four spirit stones a month.

Xia Dong did not rush to absorb the spirit stones. Instead, he held the Qi-Nourishing Pill, which was the size of a longan and emitted a faint medicinal fragrance, between his fingertips, examined it for a moment, and then swallowed it.

The moment the pill enters the stomach, it is completely different from the gentle, fasting pill that simply maintains a feeling of fullness and provides a long-lasting source of vital energy.

The Peiyuan Pill seemed to transform into an extremely pure and rich source of life, dissolving within the body.

An extremely pure medicinal power, like a warm current in spring, instantly surged into his limbs and bones.

Xia Dong dared not be negligent. He closed his eyes tightly and instantly let his consciousness pass through his body.

He separated a wisp of his divine consciousness to envelop the spirit stone on the bed, while simultaneously guiding the spiritual energy from the depths of the dry well to continuously converge into his body; the remaining divine consciousness sank into his body to activate the Everlasting Spring Qi Circulation Technique to refine the medicinal power of the Nourishing Essence Pill.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit—these three treasures of the human body converge in the body during summer and winter in an extremely mysterious and obscure way.

hum.

Xia Dong's heart clenched suddenly, letting out a rumble like muffled thunder.

Immediately afterwards, a wisp of "qi" that was thicker and purer than ever before was forcibly condensed deep within his dantian!

This newly generated "Qi" carries an ancient and mysterious vitality, rapidly flowing along the meridians of summer and winter.

Wherever it goes, those tiny impurities that were originally difficult to expel from the body due to eating grains and meat are quickly washed away and melted away, just like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun.

His progress in mastering the Changchun Qi Circulation Technique has clearly accelerated!

Xia Dong felt an extremely comfortable, tingling sensation throughout her body.

His bones greedily absorbed the vitality brought by this "qi," emitting a faint "crackling" sound.

Enveloped by this innate energy that rivals the creation of heaven and earth, Xia Dong's breathing gradually became faint, as if he had returned to the amniotic fluid in his mother's womb and entered an extremely deep state of "fetal breathing".

His physical body is gradually repairing its innate deficiencies and reshaping its inherent nature.

After an unknown amount of time, a breath of grayish-white turbid air was exhaled from his mouth like a sharp sword. It lingered in the air and did not dissipate until it shot out more than three feet away before slowly dissipating.

Xia Dong clenched his fists, feeling the increasingly solid and smoothly flowing power within his body, and was overjoyed.

"The effects of this Qi-Nourishing Pill are several times better than those of the Grain-Abstaining Pill."

He could clearly feel that the proportion of spiritual energy he retained from heaven and earth had increased slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Xia Dong looked down at the two spirit stones on the bed that had turned into grayish-white powder. "It's a pity that there's only one Qi-Nourishing Pill per month."

Although Xia Dong really wanted more Qi Cultivation Pills, he chose to continue cultivating discreetly. Since he already had spirit stones and Qi Cultivation Pills every month, his cultivation progress was already accelerating, and there was no need to create unnecessary trouble.

...

...

Pingyang County, Eagle Wolf Guard Branch.

Zhao Ting's expression changed drastically after reading the letter from his family.

The letter told him to stop investigating Xia Dong's affairs.

It turns out that Xia Dong's original files had been sealed by the Tongxuan Division, and even the Zhao family could not retrieve them.

In the eyes of the powerful families in the capital, the inability to find out some things is far more terrifying than finding out the truth.

As for the family's attitude towards Xia Dong, the implication was that Zhao Ting should handle it as he saw fit.

Zhao Ting certainly understood the family's intentions. If Xia Dong were to transform from a mudfish into a dragon in the future, the family could also gain Xia Dong's favor through Zhao Ting.

If Xia Dong's situation is too complicated, it's Zhao Ting's own decision and won't involve the family.

"If you don't care, then I won't care either." Zhao Ting couldn't figure out what was going on, so he simply stopped looking for Xia Dong. But it's easy to invite a god in, but hard to send him away, and he couldn't afford to fall out with Xia Dong.

Maintain the relationship, but don't try to get too close.

He didn't report this matter to the centurion, lest it cause trouble.

After thinking it over, Zhao Ting decided to treat Xia Dong as a normal medical officer.

...

...

Before we knew it, another three years had passed.

Xia Dong's medical skills were truly verified within the Eagle Wolf Guard of Pingyang County, proving to be exceptionally good.

Xia Dong's medical skills over the past three years have earned him the reputation of being a divine physician even within the Eagle Wolf Guard.

This was something Zhao Ting had never anticipated.