Chapter 76: Evanescent Lotus  

Pika

Zu An was stunned. What rank is this fellow at? From the way he speaks, he seems quite incredible. He must be pretty strong.

However, the matter concerning ‘little Zu An’ was more important at the moment. So, he struggled out of his bed and rummaged through his cupboard. At the bottom of a pile of clothes, he took out a silk dudou. It was the one which he had ‘borrowed’ from Snow’s room the other day.

After Snow’s blatant attempt on his life, he had no qualms giving away her personal possessions to this perverted physician.

Divine Physician Ji was impressed that Zu An still had the strength to get off his bed. “You have quite a special constitution. Despite being so severely injured, you’re still able to move about on your own. It looks like you have managed to fool the entire Chu clan.”

Zu An rolled his eyes. Of course. The bliss I will experience for the rest of my life hinges on this. For that, I would have crawled my way over even if I couldn’t walk.

“Here, I got the thing you wanted. You should be able to treat me now, right?”

Divine Physician Ji casually accepted the dudou, but after taking a closer look, he frowned suddenly. “Whose is this?”

“It’s Qin Wanru’s.” Zu An knew that Divine Physician Ji was no fool. If he were to say that the dudou belonged to Shang Liuyu or whoever Qiu Honglei was, the latter would surely doubt him. After all, there was no way he could have gotten his hands on their personal possessions. The only name he could realistically get away with was Qin Wanru.

I’m sorry, mother-in-law, but for the sake of the happiness of your daughter’s marriage, I’ll have to wrong you this once.

Divine Physician Ji narrowed his eyes doubtfully. “Are you sure you didn’t buy this off the street to fool me?”

Zu An’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his nervousness from showing on his face. He bravely doubled down on the lie. “Look at the material. Do you think that it’s possible to buy such well-made goods off the street so easily?”

Divine Physician Ji carefully examined the dudou before nodding in agreement. “I guess you’re right. The material is of fine quality, and this is indeed something that came from the Chu clan.”

Zu An was shocked into stillness. This fellow can actually tell whether or not a piece of underwear came from the Chu clan? You pervert! Just how many dudous have you stolen from the Chu clan over the years for you to be able to differentiate them from the rest?

“I did what you asked. It’s time for you to fulfill your end of the promise.” Zu An looked at Divine Physician Ji expectantly.

This matter was the overriding concern of his right now.

Divine Physician Ji hugged the dudou to his breast. “I’ve found a way to remove the seal, but I’m still lacking the main medicinal herb.”

Zu An’s face darkened immediately. “Are you toying with me? I’ve already brought you the item you needed, but now you’re telling me that you aren’t ready yet?”

“Do you think that it’s that easy to release the Great Yin-Yang Pulse-Severing Palm? Even with my skills, I still had to look up over a hundred ancient manuals before I managed to find a reliable way to resolve your issue. The formula to forge the Spirit Root Unsealing Pill requires eighty-one rare medicinal herbs, and I’ve already found eighty of them for you. However, the last item on the list is proving particularly difficult to come by,” replied Divine Physician Ji.

In truth, he had exaggerated matters quite a bit. Most of the medicinal herbs were common ones that could be easily bought from the local apothecary. The key to the treatment was actually the formula itself, which fused the essences of these common herbs in an ingenious manner to create something incredible.

He hadn’t expected Zu An to complete his mission so quickly, and being caught off-guard was what drove him to concoct such an elaborate story. However, the part about him lacking the main ingredient was true.

Spirit Root Unsealing Pill?

Zu An’s eyelids twitched at the name. Wow, its name sure is straightforward, huh? “What’s the main ingredient you’re lacking? No matter how much it costs, I’ll buy it for you!”

He had a hundred and fifty thousand silver taels with him at the moment, as well as a promissory note worth seven-and-a-half million silver taels. With such wealth, he could definitely be considered a tycoon.

Yet, Divine Physician Ji shook his head and said, “You won’t be able to buy the herb even if you have the money.”

“What is it called? I don’t believe that there’s anything in the world that can’t be bought with money!” exclaimed Zu An anxiously.

“The herb is called the Evanescent Lotus. It’s said to only flower once every thousand years, and its petals are rumored to possess the ability to raise a person’s cultivation by a whole step. Do you think that something as precious as that can be valued with money?” Divine Physician Ji shot the nouveau-riche Zu An a disdainful look.

“Something like that exists in the world?” Zu An was stunned. “That doesn’t make sense. There should be a difference in the amount of ki needed for a high-rank cultivator to make a breakthrough as compared to a low-rank cultivator, right?”

“That’s what makes it so mystical,” replied Divine Physician Ji. “It seems to possess some sort of supernatural power. The effects of the flower petals don't conform to the established rules. Regardless of whether one is a high-level cultivator or a low-level cultivator, a flower petal can indeed raise one’s cultivation by a whole step.”

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t cultivators keep the flower petal until they’re strong before consuming it? No one would be so foolish as to waste such a precious treasure when they’re still weaker,” asked Zu An.

“What you said isn’t wrong, but the world isn’t always that convenient. Many cultivators die prematurely before reaching their peak, and the items they stockpile often end up benefiting others instead,” said Divine Physician Ji. “It’s a dangerous world we live in, and there are many stumbling blocks along the path of cultivation. What’s most important is still the present.”

Zu An was surprised to hear those words. Is the world really that dangerous?

“Besides, the Evanescent Lotus only flowers for several hours. Once that window is missed, the lotus will wither and lose its miraculous effects. So, anyone who obtains it would always consume it right away instead of saving it for the future,” added Divine Physician Ji.

“Couldn’t you have said that right from the start?” Zu An scoffed disdainfully. “Then where can we find the Evanescent Lotus? Aren’t there merchant associations out there who could get you whatever you needed for the right price?”

In the cultivation novels he had read in his previous life, there would always be some mysterious merchant association that could acquire anything as long as you had the money. These mysterious merchant associations would often be incredibly powerful, and were not beholden to any other power.

“There are indeed such merchant associations,” replied Divine Physician Ji. However, he shook his head and continued, “The problem is that the Evanescent Lotus is simply too rare. It only flowers once in a thousand years. Even I have only read about it in old records. I haven’t seen it in person before. It’s highly unlikely that merchant associations would have them either.”

Zu An’s brow furrowed immediately. “Wait a moment. You’ve never seen it before? Then how do you know that the treatment will work? Is this a scam? Are you trying to get me to find the Evanescent Lotus for you so that you can use it to raise your cultivation?”

Divine Physician Ji flew into a fit of rage. “Go out into the streets and ask around then! I, Ji Dengtu, am the very hallmark of professionalism. Do I look like the kind of person who would do something like that?”

The image of Divine Physician Ji secretly flipping through an erotic magazine came straight to mind, and he nodded subconsciously in response. “You do.”

Divine Physician Ji sputtered, choked with anger. In the end, he turned his head away with an indignant sniff. “I wouldn’t have bothered with treating you if Xiaoxi hadn’t begged me to help you! I’ll be frank with you, the Spirit Root Unsealing Pill is something I came up with after browsing through countless old records. I might have never seen the Evanescent Lotus in person, but there are others who have. Combining the notes they had left behind with my sharp intuition for medicine was what helped me come up with the formula.”

“In other words, this pill hasn’t been proven to work yet?” asked Zu An sharply.

Divine Physician Ji was really fuming this time around. “You have no trust in my medicinal skills? If that’s the case, you should find someone else whom you trust instead!”

Then, he turned around and stormed off.

Zu An lurched forward to grab his arm and apologized sheepishly. “It was just a passing remark. Divine Physician Ji, why would I ever doubt you? Here, I’ve prepared a small gift for you. Please quell your anger.”

He secretly slipped the older man a small booklet.

“What’s this?” Divine Physician Ji shot a disdainful glance at the booklet, not bothering to hide his indifference.

Zu An gave him a secretive smile and nudged him lightly. “Just take a look.”

Ever since he’d seen Divine Physician Ji getting bought by an erotic magazine, he had prepared one of his own just in case. There was no harm in getting close to Divine Physician Ji, especially since his expertise was needed to treat ‘little Zu An’.

Divine Physician Ji disinterestedly flipped the booklet open, and was greeted with these words written on the first page: Everyone has their own misfortunes...

It seemed perfectly bland, but as he read on, his breathing began to hasten. He swiftly kept the booklet into his robes. It’s too wasteful to read good material like this early in the day. I’ll take my time to slowly appreciate it later at night.

“You’re quite a talented one, lad!” Divine Physician Ji patted Zu An shoulders with an approving nod.

Zu An sighed in relief and chuckled gleefully inside. You’re already impressed with just this much? Hah! You’ll be floored by the huge collection I have stored in my mind right now. People in this world really lack good entertainment.

“Where did you manage to get such good stuff?” asked Divine Physician Ji secretively.

“I heard it from a traveling monk.” Zu An dared not claim credit for it. He’d have to hide his face in public if word ever got out that he had written such stuff down.

“That monk sure is...” Divine Physician Ji bobbed his head in awe. I guess monks haven’t been spending their days meditating in vain after all. I sure have underestimated them. “For a moment, I thought that you were the one who wrote this story. I would have been truly impressed if you were able to write such an exciting story despite your equipment being nonfunctional.”

Zu An’s face darkened. If not for the fact that I still need you to treat my affliction, I’d have made sure to squeeze every single Rage point out of your miserable body!

“If the Evanescent Lotus is really as rare as you say, wouldn’t that mean my case is hopeless?” Zu An felt his heart falling into the abyss of despair.

“There’s no need to be so glum. Since you’ve offered me something good, I’ll give you a clue.” Ji Dengtu stroked his beard leisurely, putting on the air of an expert.

“Yes, I’d be deeply grateful if you could offer me some guidance.” Zu An almost couldn’t stand his own subservient attitude.

“I recently heard rumors that a stalk of Evanescent Lotus has been found in the Ursae Dungeon. Whether you’ll be able to lay your hands on it or not, would depend on your own capability,” replied Ji Dengtu.

“Ursae Dungeon?” Zu An was dumbfounded. He had no idea what that was.

Ji Dengtu frowned. “Aren’t you from Brightmoon Academy? Why don’t you know about it?”

“Am I supposed to know everything just because I’m from Brightmoon Academy? I only enrolled there two days ago!” Zu An retorted hotly.

Ji Dengtu admitted that what Zu An said made sense. “As you can imagine, there are many formidable cultivators out in the world. Over time, they have conquered new lands and expanded human territories. However, the world is vast, and there are still many secrets that we have yet to uncover.

“Dungeons can be found in every prefecture. No one knows where these dungeons came from, but their existence has been traced back to the oldest human records. It’s almost as if they have been there since the creation of the world.” There was an expectant look in Ji Dengtu’s eyes as he spoke.

“Rumor has it that these dungeons are small worlds created by ancient deities. Some of these small worlds look just like our world. However, there are also those which are fraught with danger but also contain possible rewards.”

Zu An nodded. Basically, they’re the same as the dungeons in games, right?

“Over time, most of these dungeons fell under the control of the royal court, and the court now uses them to nurture new batches of loyal cultivators. In other words, only the students of official cultivator academies have the right to enter these dungeons,” Ji Dengtu concluded.