Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Overtreatment
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Yuseong's actions raised doubts in Cheongun Elder first and foremost.
Having heard about Yuseong's detoxification skills as a Murim Alliance elder, and having witnessed them firsthand on the journey here, he couldn't hide his regret when Yuseong removed all the needles.
"Heh heh, the Medical Pavilion Leader who usually resolves everything with a single needle and detoxifies simple poisons without even touching them... Does he really need to use all those needles on the Sect Leader? How serious must it have been..."
When the Demonic Cult had attacked, Yuseong's use of Divine Arts to detoxify a warrior from afar without touching him had briefly become the talk of the town.
Yuseong had brushed it off by saying it was possible only because it was a simple poison.
Cheongun Elder's gaze turned to Yucheon Immortal.
The cold sweat beading on his forehead and his gaunt cheeks looked particularly pitiful.
"Well, it's something like that."
"Can you detoxify it? It doesn't look ordinary."
"Yes, I can detoxify it. But I'll need to concentrate."
"Of course. I'll stand guard for you."
"Thank you. Then, Sect Leader, please lie down here."
"Understood."
"I'll warn you in advance: my detoxification method is unique, so you must trust me completely. Can you do that?"
"Of course. If I don't trust the Medical Pavilion Leader, who should I trust?"
"That's too much..."
Dang Harin's mutter lodged firmly in everyone's ears this time as well.
Yucheon Immortal cleared his throat and spoke.
"I'm ready."
"Then let's begin."
Dang Harin watched with wide-eyed anticipation as Yuseong inserted the needles.
*The One-Needle Divine Physician... I've heard the stories, but can he really detoxify with just needles? Without using any herbs or antidotes—how is that even possible?*
She still wasn't convinced he could do it.
It was utterly impossible by her common sense.
Yuseong picked up a needle and headed toward Yucheon Immortal's head.
"Hup!"
People gasped briefly at the bold motion piercing the Baihui acupoint.
Then needles began piercing his entire body and limbs, over a dozen in total.
Yuseong continued inserting them, avoiding dangerous spots—deep in some places, shallow in others.
Using Divine Power, he precisely gauged the depth, confident he could heal any mistakes immediately, so he added a bit of flair to the display.
*As expected, even I can see it's not something anyone could imitate.*
Dang Harin was renowned as a genius with poisons in the Tang Clan, and she had some knowledge of medicine as well.
She knew full well that inserting needles with such precision as Yuseong was no easy feat.
Not just Dang Harin—all the martial artists with deep knowledge of acupoints watched tensely.
Finally, the last needle was inserted.
The target of the long, intimidating needle—visible painful even to watch—was the left chest.
Where the heart was located.
Unlike the others that only pricked the surface, this long needle plunged deep.
*What? Won't stabbing that deep kill him...?*
However.
Once the long needle embedded in his chest, Yucheon Immortal's expression rapidly relaxed.
"Hm?"
"All done."
As Yuseong removed the needles one by one, Yucheon Immortal hurriedly assumed a cross-legged position and examined his internals.
As time passed, his expression changed moment by moment.
The poison that had tormented him for months had vanished as if washed away.
He searched every corner for traces of it but found none.
He finally realized Yuseong had perfectly detoxified his body.
"The poison is completely gone!"
A smile bloomed on his lips for the first time in ages.
"No other abnormalities?"
"None at all. Thank you, Divine Physician."
A loud voice interrupted the warm exchange between Yuseong and Yucheon Immortal.
"Could I take a look as well, by any chance?"
Dang Harin rushed forward to Yucheon Immortal without waiting for a reply.
"Ahem."
"Heh heh, really..."
Coughs erupted from the Taoist priests here and there.
Even Yucheon Immortal, who couldn't be expected to maintain deep composure in such matters, was the same.
"Ahem, the young lady of the Tang Clan has worked hard in many ways to detoxify me these past months, so she certainly has the qualifications. Go ahead and examine."
Dang Harin channeled internal energy into Yucheon Immortal's outstretched wrist as he averted his gaze.
She probed the area where the poison had once gathered.
*There used to be vicious poison concentrated around this part of the chest... It's really all gone? What kind of miracle is this? I watched from the side and still couldn't grasp it at all.*
Dang Harin's gaze turned to Yuseong.
His expression was as serene as his first impression, but now that serenity looked different.
It seemed like the confidence of overwhelming skill.
*He's amazing... And I heard he's the same age as me...*
A few months ago.
When the neighboring Qingcheng Sect, with roots in Sichuan for hundreds of years, requested help saying Yucheon Immortal had been poisoned by an unknown toxin, the Tang Clan had two opinions.
Should they send an elder with excellent detoxification skills and some status, or the young—but historically genius-level with poisons—Dang Harin?
They chose the former.
They couldn't send the wild and irreverent Dang Harin to assist the leader of a Taoist sect.
But when the elder failed and returned, and Qingcheng Sect requested aid from the Murim Alliance, the Tang Clan suffered a blow to their pride.
The Tang Clan Patriarch called Dang Harin and spoke gently.
*-Harin, you know well that our Tang Clan is the best in the world with poisons.*
*-Why bring that up now? Don't tell me the elder failed at Qingcheng Sect?*
*-Ahem...*
*-See? That's what I said. I told you I wanted to go. Why ignore me and...*
The Patriarch wanted to tell her to look at herself, but for the sake of the clan's pride, he didn't mention it.
*-I'm sorry about that. The poison afflicting Yucheon Immortal seems more formidable than expected. So, what do you think? Do you still want to go?*
*-Of course. You know I always want to research new poisons. An unknown one? I'm already excited!*
*-But there's a condition. Dress a bit more properly and mind your speech—*
*-Stop! That's up to me. I like myself like this, so send me or don't—Dad decides. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm busy with my current research.*
When Dang Harin pouted and turned away, the Patriarch had no choice but to send her to Qingcheng Sect as she was.
The poison afflicting Yucheon Immortal was a vicious one she'd never seen before.
Without being a Transformation Realm expert, he couldn't have endured it this long.
Dang Harin spent her time at Qingcheng Sect researching detoxification methods, even skimping on sleep.
Finally, after ten days of examination, she identified the key poisonous herb for the unknown toxin.
Surprisingly, it wasn't a medicinal herb but a toxic one that held the key.
Having found the main poisonous herb, all that remained was identifying a few auxiliary medicinal herbs to make it function as an antidote.
With existing research records, producing the actual antidote was just days away.
But then.
This Divine Physician had detoxified the poison—instantly with just needles—that had stumped her for ten days.
He'd also immediately detoxified the Dao King's poison...
For the first time, she felt defeat.
Along with it, anticipation.
***
True to its Taoist roots, Qingcheng Sect was frugal.
But for the first time in ages, a grand banquet was held.
To celebrate the sect leader rising after months of suffering, and to entertain the Murim Alliance guests.
"Heh heh, with such esteemed guests, it would be proper to hold a lavish feast for three days and nights, but it's a shame you must head to the Tang Clan of Sichuan soon."
"No, this is more than enough. We'll eat well."
Regret dripped from Yucheon Immortal's voice.
Excluding Dang Harin herself, no one else knew she'd nearly found the antidote, so Yucheon Immortal believed he'd have died without Yuseong.
He soon left to greet the other guests.
"The Medical Pavilion Leader's greatest skill is probably detoxification. I've never seen him detoxify the Sect Leader with such caution before."
Cheongun Elder, ever eager to speak up, was regaling the crowd.
Thanks to him, the Qingcheng Sect members believed Yucheon Immortal's condition had been more severe than any Yuseong had treated before, swelling their gratitude.
By putting on a brief show for Dang Harin's sake, he'd reaped even greater rewards.
*I can't use it often, but occasional overtreatment like this has its merits.*
The Murim Alliance had promised ample compensation too, so the trip to Qingcheng Sect had splendidly achieved its goals.
It hadn't been long since acquiring Swiftness, but the next skill seemed on the verge of unlocking.
Thanks to that, the seats where people sat were all filled with warmth.
However.
Yuseong's seat was anything but.
"Divine Physician, does that mean there's no poison your Divine Arts—which you created—can't detoxify?"
Dang Harin, stuck right next to Yuseong, leaned in uncomfortably close and asked.
"I haven't tested every poison, but theoretically, yes. That said, Miss Dang, could you back up a little... Ahem."
No sooner had Yuseong spoken.
"Miss Dang, the Medical Pavilion Leader told you to back off. How can a daughter of a prestigious family be so careless?"
The woman who had been glaring from across the table with displeasure spoke in a cold voice.
The beauty with faint blue-tinted hair and clear eyes—her once soft gaze now resembled the sharp Murim Alliance Chief Strategist more than ever.
If Dang Harin had simply backed off obediently, there wouldn't have been any issue.
"What did I even do? And what, does being from a prestigious family mean I have to act a certain way? You're not much older, acting like an old fogey."
Her mutter carried clearly once again.
*Cough.*
[Healing]
Yuseong, slightly choked, used self-heal.