Again, a dark golden glow shimmered in the blood. “Myriad Corpse Silkworm!” Li Che exclaimed in shock, “It’s the Myriad Corpse Silkworm again! This… something’s really wrong here!”
Meng Qi skillfully soaked her hand in the medicinal concoction and started extracting the thin silk from the person’s body with familiar movements. Within moments, she had neatly gathered and stored the cocoon, then asked, “What’s wrong with him?”
“His spiritual sea is in chaos,” Li Che responded, looking away from the wound. “His aura is rampaging through his spiritual sea like a raging storm.” He slightly tilted his head, his brows furrowing lightly. “It’s as if he’s interrupted during cultivation, leading to qi deviation.”
Meng Qi nodded and pressed her fingers on the man’s forehead. “Hmm.” She quickly withdrew her fingers, gently pressing her left hand with her right fingertips.
“How is it?” Li Che asked.
“Not qi deviation,” Meng Qi took a deep breath, “He’s poisoned.” Her tone was certain as she helped the Duankong Sect disciple sit up and gently lifted his eyelid. Under the sunlight, the disciple’s eyes were blurred with bloodshot, yet they could glimpse dark green strands beneath.
“Indeed!” Li Che’s expression turned serious. He took out his trusted silver needle and gently probed the disciple’s eye. “This is…” He withdrew the needle and slightly lowered his head, “Gu poison!”1
Medical cultivators from the Southern Realm were exceptionally familiar with gu poison. Home to the largest jungles and swamps in Three Thousand Worlds, the Southern Realm was no stranger to the huge variants of venomous creatures, which thrived in such environments. In fact, there were even sects that specialized in breeding venomous insects.
“It smells like decay from leaves accumulated over a hundred years, this is…” Li Che brought the needle closer and took a quick sniff, frowning. He then took another look at the Duankong Sect disciple’s eyes, seemingly hesitant, “Green lines in the eyes, and the turbulence in the spiritual sea…” As his words fell, Li Che pressed his fingers on the man’s forehead again, and the chaos in the spiritual sea instantly calmed down, as if the previous storm had never existed. Aside from being unconscious, the disciple’s spiritual sea was as calm as a lake, showing no signs of injury.
Li Che’s eyebrows suddenly furrowed, and he looked up to meet Meng Qi’s gaze. “Withering Bloom Gu!” they both exclaimed simultaneously.
“What is Withering Bloom Gu?” All this while, Qiao Ran stood behind Meng Qi, his sword ready. He showed no concern for the unconscious fellow Duankong Sect disciple, instead remaining vigilant about the surroundings. Due to his master’s influence, their lineage had always been somewhat seclusive even within the same sect, keeping some distance from other disciples. Moreover, the relationship between the third martial uncle and his own master, Ling Ji, was not harmonious, so their relations with the disciples of the third martial uncle were barely there.
Compared to the unconscious disciple, Qiao Ran was clearly more concerned about Meng Qi’s safety. They were relatively safe behind the city wall, shielded by it, and with the other cultivators too engrossed in their battle frenzy, not many noticed Meng Qi and Li Che. Still, Qiao Ran remained vigilant, his natal sword vibrated softly next to him, ready to strike at any threat.
“Withering Bloom Gu…” Li Che’s voice trembled slightly, “This… this…”
“Withering Bloom Gu is one of the legendary seven deadly gu poisons,” Meng Qi took over, her tone indifferent and calm, “They can only happen naturally in swamps infested with poisonous creatures. Underneath layers of decaying leaves that have accumulated for centuries, in a hidden microcosm unseen to naked eyes, poisonous insects fight and devour each other for survival, the losers being consumed by the victors.”
“The ultimate victor, however, laden with countless toxins, will eventually die alone in the swamp, and its body, preserved by the decaying leaves, remains undecayed for a millennium. A hundred years later, this victor’s body is retrieved, its poison extracted, and then crafted into a gu, which is this Withering Bloom Gu.” Meng Qi spoke calmly: “I have only read about it in books. Nowadays, with many more sects than in ancient times, it’s not so easy to find a thousand-year-old indestructible corpse of a gu king, so I have never seen anyone afflicted by this gu.”
“Exactly,” Li Che nodded gravely, “The Canglang Academy is situated beside a swamp, which served as the daily practice field for the disciples. Most swamps in the Southern Realm are in a similar situation, so I’ve only read about this gu in sect records, but never actually seen one.”
“Then how do you know he is affected by Withering Bloom Gu?” Qiao Ran couldn’t resist asking.
Meng Qi and Li Che simultaneously looked up at Qiao Ran, their eyes filled with confusion: “The symptoms are recorded in books,” they said in unison. Meng Qi paused, then explained, “Your senior brother’s spiritual sea is currently very erratic; one moment it’s stormy, the next as calm as still water. The wall of his spiritual sea is now extremely fragile as if they would crumble at the slightest touch. The green strands in his eyes and the stonelike rigidity of his flesh and blood… these are all symptoms of the Withering Bloom Gu.”
“…” After a pause, Qiao Ran asked again: “What will happen if this continues…”
“He will become a living dead,” Meng Qi stated. “‘Withering Bloom’ means that although he is alive, when his spiritual aura flares, his spiritual sea seems very prosperous, like a blooming flower. But he is in a coma, his muscles and blood vessels are rigid, barely maintaining a breath, his body withering.”
“That’s where the name comes from,” Li Che took over, “withering and blooming—as if he’s alive, but also as if he’s already dead.” He sighed softly, then leaned in to discuss quietly with Meng Qi, “I’ve only read about Withering Bloom Gu in books, but those books didn’t mention any cure or treatment method.”
“I know,” Meng Qi nodded. “The toxicity of the poison king is too complex, making it hard to detoxify.”
“Now that we’re in the Ten Absolutes Mountain…” Li Che looked around helplessly, “I wish we could consult with the elders in the sect.”
“I’ll go call Fellow Daoist Xue,” Meng Qi suddenly stood up. “The Feng Alliance has inherited an ancient legacy; they might have a method.”
“Junior Sister,” After calling Meng Qi that several times, Qiao Ran became more comfortable with the address, immediately following her, “I’ll go with you.”
Meng Qi nodded, knowing that relying on herself alone, she might not even reach Xue Chengxuan before being swallowed in the chaos. The two didn’t waste time and quickly sprinted towards the top of the city walls. Previously, to treat the injured, Meng Qi and Li Che had retreated to a corner of the wall. Just around the corner, lights from slashing swords and myriad spells flashed brilliantly, along with the dazzling light of powerful artifacts in use.
“There.” Meng Qi’s gaze shifted when she spotted Xue Chengxuan, clad in blue, amidst the crowd.
“Let’s go.” Qiao Ran estimated the distance and flicked his fingers to control his sword. As the current strongest disciple of the Duankong Sect and a notable figure among the Western Realm sword cultivators, his ability spoke for himself. His natal sword swiftly sliced through the air, forcing several cultivators to dodge its sharp edge.
“Yes,” Meng Qi darted through the gap Qiao Ran had created. Her movements were light and swift, her footsteps rapid, with a handful of spirit stones clutched in her left hand. The battle-crazed cultivators, taken by surprise by Qiao Ran’s sword attack, hadn’t reacted before Meng Qi had already effortlessly passed through the battlefield.
“Fellow Daoist Xue,” she arrived by Xue Chengxuan’s side in no time. At that moment, Xue Chengxuan was locked in a fierce battle with a spell cultivator. Qiao Ran landed beside her, his fingers controlling his sword to strike forward. With a clanging sound, his narrow and thin long sword moved so swiftly like an afterimage, tapping the opponent’s natal weapon twelve times. Qiao Ran’s movements were so fast that the twelve taps nearly sounded as one to the ears of Meng Qi and others, like a long echo.
Meng Qi glanced at his natal sword and suddenly said, “Fellow Daoist Qiao, the last two strikes…”
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Translator’s note:
The Healer Demands Payment will soon enter hiatus in 2-3 months, meaning I will continue to translate the title as new raws come out, but it will no longer have fixed, twice-per-week releases, nor will it have extra/sponsored releases or advanced chapters. A few weeks after that, Daughter of the Dao and Devil Venerable will also enter hiatus.
Currently, I am in need of two replacement novels, and while I am about to lock in one title, I still haven’t found a suitable title for the second one… if you have a novel you want me to translate, give suggestions in the comments! Note that I am only translating female-oriented Chinese novels (no BL, no GL, no male protagonist). I am also unable to translate novels with e-sport or online game settings (too much slang T_T) and I personally don’t want to translate novels with tragedy/sad endings (I’m okay reading one, but translating a novel means I will have to live with the story and characters for 2-3 years… so I want them to have a happy end.)
Waiting for your suggestion 😉
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