The Long Journey to Immortality

If these healing monks want to cure someone, it takes two or three days, and they need to perform healing spells three or four times a day to cure the disease.

A cultivator's spiritual power is not limitless. A cultivator who can cast a hundred healing spells a day is considered an outstanding cultivator among ordinary cultivators.

Fifty cultivators could barely manage to heal three or four thousand people a week.

This speed is not as fast as the spread of the plague.

This is why the plague was not resolved even after the cultivators intervened.

However, the other cultivators did not know as much as Han Lu. The Zhengyi Sect and Xuan Yang Valley only thought about sending more people to burn the corpses of the dead and organizing ordinary doctors to find special medicines to treat the plague in a cheaper and more convenient way, instead of thinking about solving the problem at its root, like Han Lu did.

While flying on a sword is not as comfortable as riding a flying horse, it is much faster.

In less than an hour and a half, Han Lu returned to the Zhengyi Sect.

The announcement before the New Year, which Golden Core cultivator was in charge of the plague, clearly stated which Foundation Establishment cultivators would be recruited to support the treatment of patients in the affected areas.

After walking a few more steps within the sect, Han Lu learned that a Golden Core cultivator from the East Mountain Academy was in charge of this matter.

This Golden Core cultivator's Daoist name was "Qingxu Daoren".

Han Lu knew that there was such an elder in Dongshan Academy, and had even met him, but had never had a single word of communication with him.

After hesitating for a moment in front of the Inner Treasury's announcement, Han Lu decided to follow the Inner Treasury's path instead of Piaomiaozi's, seeking an opportunity to meet and communicate with this Golden Core Elder.

In matters of this importance, it is easier to get things done through open channels than through private channels.

Since there was already a task in the internal treasury to collect information about the plague, Han Lu felt there was no need to bother Piaomiaozi and complicate the matter.

Entering the inner palace indicates that one possesses important information about the plague.

Relying on her modest reputation within Dongshan Academy, Han Lu quickly obtained a letter.

"Senior Sister Han, write down the information you know on this paper sword."

"If Elder Qingxu deems the information you have reported important, then someone will lead you to the room where Elder Qingxu is currently working."

"However, Elder Qingxu has been going to the epidemic area quite a bit these past few days, so he might not be in the sect anymore."

"In that case, I'm afraid it might cause some trouble."

The cultivators in the inner treasury knew that although this matter was not as urgent as described in the original text, it was still a top priority for the Zhengyi Sect at present, and they hoped that Han Lu would contact Elder Qingxu as soon as possible.

Following the rules, Han Lu didn't dawdle.

Under the astonished gaze of the inner treasury monk, she casually pulled out a ballpoint pen from her storage bag and wrote a line of words somewhat awkwardly on the rough-edged paper.

After the paper sword was sent out, the two watched it depart, hoping that a reply would soon fly back through the window.

Han Lu was lucky; Elder Qingxu was currently in the sect.

In less than a hundred breaths, another paper sword flew back to the inner treasury of Dongshan Academy.

Upon opening it and seeing Elder Qingxu's handwriting, the cultivator didn't pause for a moment. He immediately led Han Lu, riding a flying magic treasure specially used by the inner treasury, towards the Five Elements Mountain Academy.

In a side room of the Five Elements Mountain Academy, Han Lu met Elder Qingxu, who was already overwhelmed with work due to the plague.

“Han Lu, Piaomiaozi’s outstanding disciple,” Qingxu Daoist indeed recognized Han Lu, “I don’t quite understand what you wrote on the paper sword. Come, explain it to me in detail…”

It turns out that the terms Han Lu used could not be instantly understood by Qingxu Daoist, who had cultivated immortality for over two hundred years, and could not be transformed from old concepts into new ones.

It was only because Qingxu Daoist knew Han Lu that he invited Han Lu, who seemed to be talking nonsense to him.

Ultimately, it all came down to personal connections, which left Han Lu, who was already sitting in front of Qingxu Daoist, feeling quite helpless.

There was nothing Han Lu could do, and she was too lazy to dwell on it anymore; she just wanted to achieve her goal.

She spent some time explaining to Qingxu Daoist a set of disease prevention and control methods from the ancient cultivation secret realm, emphasizing that finding the source of infection and pathogens was no less important than developing effective drugs.

After confirming that Qingxu Daoist understood the reasons behind her actions, Han Lu revealed her discoveries in the mountain village, pointing out a key aspect of the Southern Dynasty's plague prevention and control problem.

With Han Lu's previous explanation, Qingxu Daoist, who had lived for over two hundred years, naturally realized the importance of the information Han Lu provided.

Finally, in addition to suggesting the "culling" of birds that could spread the plague instead of the pathogen, Han Lu also provided "scientific means" such as isolation to effectively alleviate the spread of the plague.

The series of suggestions were refreshing to Qingxu Daoist. He disregarded his status and immediately picked up a jade tablet to record all of Han Lu's "golden words of wisdom".

In addition to the facts that have already been investigated, Han Lu also proposed a hypothesis.

“Elder Qingxu, I suspect that the real source of the plague is in the Northern Dynasty. The plague came to the Southern Dynasty with these migratory birds that flew south to the warmer southwest region of the Southern Dynasty.”

Han Lu's conjecture was somewhat bold, but given the series of highly feasible suggestions she had made before, Qingxu Daoist's trust in Han Lu had reached its peak.

"Although there was no plague in the Northern Dynasty, your hypothesis is not impossible."

"Alright then, Han Lu, if you're willing, continue the investigation and eradicate the source of the plague once and for all."

"If you encounter any trouble during this time, just ask me for help."

Master Qingxu generously made the promise.

He had a feeling that the heavy burden that had fallen on his shoulders might be relieved by Han Lu's intervention, becoming a turning point for his rise to prominence in the sect.

Chapter 485 Doctors and Monks

True to her word, Han Lu offered another token and wrote a letter of introduction even before leaving Elder Qingxu.

These two items would allow Han Lu to more easily gain the trust of the Zhengyi Sect cultivators "serving" in the epidemic area, thereby obtaining manpower assistance.

With Elder Qingxu being so generous, Han Lu naturally had no intention of refusing.

She knew very well that this plague could not be solved by her alone; it required the concerted efforts of many cultivators.

At most, she can only serve as a role model.

After all, even if no more mortals are infected with the plague in the near future, there are still nearly 70,000 to 80,000 people who are sick and waiting for treatment. Han Lu alone cannot save them all.

In addition, Elder Qingxu promised to promote the many methods for preventing and controlling the plague introduced by Han Lu to the outside world, so as to reduce human-to-human transmission as much as possible and limit the further spread of the plague.

However, there are not many methods that can be promoted at this stage, and only isolation can be implemented immediately.

After all, most people in the epidemic area already have a vague concept of isolation, and removing Xiaowen and her grandfather from the mountain village is a practice similar to isolation.

Now, all the monks and local officials need to do is raise their voices and mobilize resources, and it is believed that a large number of temporary houses will soon be built for the patients.

The efficiency of cultivators who can cast spells in construction is in no way slower than that of large construction machinery.

Perhaps because Han Lu's help opened up his mind, Elder Qingxu, who had been thinking about how to solve the plague, also came up with many methods to suppress the further development of the plague, which may or may not be right. He enthusiastically exchanged ideas with Han Lu, who had only a smattering of knowledge.

Faced with Elder Qingxu's initiative to share and seek advice, Han Lu, who had thoroughly explained all her prepared thoughts and ideas, found herself at a loss for words.

She could only respond improvisationally, occasionally offering a few words of reply, secretly admiring the Golden Core cultivator for being worthy of the title.

In this way, he pulled Han Lu aside and discussed the matter for another fifteen minutes in his "temporary office." Elder Qingxu's jade tablets contained many more good ideas that, in their view, were effective in suppressing the epidemic.

In less than half an hour, the plague had made such progress, and Elder Qingxu was in high spirits.

If Han Lu hadn't been in a hurry to find Wen Erya and seek help from the power of a mortal emperor, Elder Qingxu would have thought of keeping Han Lu a little longer to see if the two could come up with some more effective solutions.

Although everything was still just on paper and empty talk, Elder Qingxu sent out a paper sword before Han Lu left, instructing the inner treasury to "recharge" Han Lu, a disciple of the Zhengyi Sect who had made significant contributions to the fight against the epidemic, with contribution points.

Han Lu didn't care about these things, but she could still sense from these details that Elder Qingxu wanted to express his gratitude to her.

Not long after returning to Zhengyimen, Han Lu had to set off again for the safety of the people in the epidemic area.

This time, her destination is the capital of the Southern Dynasty. She is going to find Princess Wen Er Ya, the thirteenth princess, and ask her to rely on the power of the imperial court and the government to resolve the increasingly tense epidemic from another perspective.

After all, there are far more mortals than cultivators, and this plague only infects mortals and does not harm cultivators. In the end, we still have to rely on the power of mortals to solve this sudden minor disaster.

Han Lu was able to use her connections within the Zhengyi Sect to meet Elder Qingxu.

However, although she had traveled with Wen Erya in the capital of the Southern Dynasty, she was not a familiar face there. Even though she was a cultivator of the Zhengyi Sect, she still had to abide by the rules and regulations of this place.

Not to mention, the atmosphere in the capital has become tense due to the spread of the epidemic.

Fortunately, Wen Erya was cultivating at her home outside the capital, otherwise Han Lu would have made a wasted trip.

Knowing Han Lu's purpose, Wen Erya was a little surprised, but considering that Han Lu had been to the ancient cultivation secret realm and Han Lu's usual attitude towards the mortal world, Wen Erya felt that it was reasonable for Han Lu to delay her own cultivation and travel back and forth for this matter.

During her few days in the capital, Wen Erya learned a lot about the epidemic area. She took the lead in introducing the work to Han Lu. She did not know that Han Lu had already made some progress in her investigation. She just thought that her junior sister was concerned about this matter and wanted to work with her to help with it.

Han Lu didn't mind hearing more about the specific situation in the areas most severely affected by the plague. After all, she only had a glimpse of the whole picture and needed to listen and observe more to refine and verify her conjecture.

Cultivation sects like Zhengyi Sect and Xuanyang Valley relied on the power of cultivators to solve the epidemic, while the Southern Dynasty government relied on doctors to do this job.

Compared to the monks who have the ability to heal the wounded, the work of the doctors who were transferred from various places to the plague-stricken areas was much more difficult.

Leaving aside the lack of manpower and supplies, there is still no practical and effective way to treat the plague.

One hundred doctors staying in the epidemic area may be using twenty methods they believe to be correct to treat the plague.

According to Wen Erya, the Imperial Hospital has been in a flurry of activity these past few days, with the imperial physicians summarizing the treatment methods used by doctors from various regions who have traveled to the epidemic areas. They are trying to find the most effective methods before the discovery of special herbs and decoctions, and then spread them.

However, because Wen Erya had been to the ancient cultivation secret realm and had come into contact with those technological drugs, she naturally scoffed at the medical methods of the Central Plains doctors, and even thought that some doctors' methods of treating and saving lives were more like killing or aiding and abetting evil.

Han Lu listened with great interest and asked a few questions. Wen Erya had no choice but to share with Han Lu some treatment methods that she had heard about when she was concerned about this matter.

"There are many methods, but according to the statistics of several imperial physicians, only a few are effective."

"A doctor from the Northern Dynasty cured twenty patients he had treated by brewing a decoction with herbs he had brought from the Northern Dynasty."

"However, these patients have all received treatment using the monks' magical techniques."

"However, many other doctors who used this herb were helpless against the plague."

"Therefore, it is questionable whether this herb is a specific treatment for the plague."

Lacking experimental methods, the imperial physicians in the capital of the Southern Dynasty, though highly skilled among doctors, could only conduct limited analysis based on data and cases sent back from the "front lines."

Unless several plague patients are treated solely with this herb without receiving any help from monks, the effectiveness of this herb can not be truly confirmed.

The next few words calmed Han Lu's excited heart.

"It doesn't sound like a good idea," Han Lu said with a hint of doubt. "Are the other methods too extreme?"

Wen Erya nodded. "Yes, this method is the closest to the treatment of previous plagues. Other methods are more like so-called folk remedies."

"A doctor punctured all the purple blisters to treat the infection."

"It's unclear how many people were cured, but most of the doctors who did this contracted the plague."

"There are also bloodletting therapy and using poison to fight poison."

"Many people were not cured, and while the patients did not die from the plague, many were killed by the doctors."

"And to make them drink the urine of patients cured by monks, really..."