Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Return of the Divine Doctor
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As if their meeting had just concluded, the sect leader and the elders approached Mu-heun. The sect leader spoke with a benevolent smile.
“The Divine Doctor of Sichuan has raised a fine disciple.”
“Haha, you flatter me.”
“Flattery? Not at all. To react so swiftly to such a sudden crisis... any physician in the world would be utterly astonished to hear of it.”
“Haha, I merely fulfilled my duty as a physician.”
A few more pleasantries were exchanged. Then, as if deciding the formalities were over, the sect leader's expression turned serious as he spoke.
“As the Sect Leader of Kunlun, on behalf of all the disciples and physicians of our sect, I offer you our deepest gratitude once more.”
‘He hasn’t changed a bit, this man.’
The Sect Leader of Kunlun, Un Hyeon-jong. His martial prowess wasn't particularly outstanding compared to Pae-seon or the two Cloud Dragons. However, he was a man who always dedicated his all for the sake of Kunlun.
A man who prioritized the Kunlun Sect and its people above pride, worldly fame, or money. That was why, despite being surpassed by many masters in skill, he had become the sect leader with everyone's acknowledgment.
“That being said... would it be possible for you to examine another patient with your medical skills? We will compensate you handsomely.”
“I understand.”
“You agree without even hearing about the compensation?”
“A person's life comes first, does it not? We can discuss compensation after the patient is cured.”
“...The Divine Doctor has truly raised a remarkable physician. Once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Though he spoke calmly, the Kunlun sect leader and elders couldn't help but be impressed. Even if he was the disciple of the Divine Doctor of Sichuan, he was still a mere physician who hadn't learned martial arts. Yet, he stood before supreme masters without a hint of intimidation or fear, speaking his mind freely.
There had only ever been one other physician like that.
The Divine Doctor of Sichuan and the Mad Doctor, Baek Jung-hyeok.
Mu-heun's past life.
***
Guided by the sect leader and elders, Mu-heun arrived at a manor some distance from the center of the Kunlun Sect's grounds. In the middle of the manor, which was guarded by dozens of Kunlun martial artists, stood an open-air pavilion. Two men were seated there in the lotus position.
The martial artists guarding the manor saw the sect leader and elders, rushed over to bow deeply, and then cleared a path.
And so, I stepped into the pavilion within the manor and, along with the Kunlun Sect's high-ranking elders, faced the two Cloud Dragons.
“So these two are the other patients.”
“That is correct. Would you be able to take a look at them?”
The sect leader asked with a worried expression, and I readily replied.
“Of course.”
The two great Cloud Dragons of Kunlun.
The Serene Immortal, Ok Cheon-woo.
The Wind and Cloud Immortal, Yeo Wi-cheon.
The two men sat with their eyes closed in the lotus position, so silent they seemed like corpses.
I immediately began to check the pulses of the two Cloud Dragons and search for the cause.
“They are channeling all their internal energy to suppress the poison, leaving them unable to move or speak. Having been in this state for so long, they must not have eaten properly for months.”
“...You can tell all that just by looking?”
“Yes. As a result, they've suffered severe damage to their muscles and meridians from malnutrition. It wouldn't be surprising if they died at any moment.”
“...But! The physicians from the Sichuan Tang Clan said their condition would improve if they continued to take the medicine they provided. Are you saying that's not true?”
“Is the medicine from the Sichuan Tang Clan, by any chance, a tonic made from ground cordyceps?”
“H-How did you know...!?”
“I can smell the scent of cordyceps on them. However, I can assure you, such a method only temporarily boosts their energy to delay the poison's spread. It does not solve the root problem at all.”
“...!”
“At first, they might have been able to eat and manage their energy while suppressing the poison, but their condition, far from improving, has steadily worsened. Am I not correct?”
“That is indeed the case.”
“And now, they likely cannot even open their eyes or eat. They're using every last bit of their energy to fight the poison. In this state, they wouldn't be able to consume the medicine from the Tang Clan either.”
“Can you truly tell all that from just a brief look? Are you certain the Tang Clan's method is wrong?”
“Yes. I can tell at a glance.”
I stated it with absolute certainty.
This was because I had diagnosed their conditions with complete accuracy. The reason I could do so was that my method was more than simple observation or pulse-taking.
I had sent the Myriad Fragrance into their skin, noses, mouths, and ears to identify the nature of the poisons. There were dozens of types, but the core poisons were these.
‘Heart-Piercing Intestine-Rending Poison, Primal Yin Penetrating Poison, Blood Serpent Poison, Essence-Devouring Silkworm Poison, Rotting Corpse Blood Poison, Myriad Soul Ruin, Heavenly Prison Poison... they used all sorts of vile concoctions.’
Once I had accurately diagnosed the poisons, the method to neutralize them naturally became clear. And that method did not involve cordyceps.
The sect leader recalled how I had instantly cured the poisoned disciples. He then spoke in a low tone.
“Do you have something in mind?”
“There are over seven different poisons. We must begin treatment immediately.”
“T-Treatment is possible? And you identified over seven poisons instantly?”
“When I was studying under my master, he was preparing a grand technique called the Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation. It was the ultimate technique, capable of curing any poison and healing any illness. I used the fragrances he was researching at the time to identify the poisons and ailments.”
“S-Such a thing...”
“Furthermore, the power to heal identified illnesses with fragrance... As his disciple, I have inherited that Myriad Fragrance.”
“...!”
In truth, it was a story that defied conventional logic, but the Kunlun sect leader and elders were overjoyed by my words. Such is the nature of hope blossoming in the midst of despair for humans.
“I will begin the treatment now.”
“W-We're counting on you, Physician.”
I began to draw a formation centered on where the two Cloud Dragons sat in their meditative postures. This was the first Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation I had ever initiated.
***
I looked at the Cloud Dragons, sitting in the lotus position awaiting their deaths, and thought.
‘Normally, it would be impossible to cure those afflicted with such poisons in a short amount of time.’
Even if I stayed in Kunlun and dedicated myself solely to treating these two, it would still take at least a year. But I didn't have that kind of time.
In that case, there was only one path I could take. I would manifest the great work of my past life, right here and now.
The Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation, drawn with the two Cloud Dragons at its center. The first line I drew was a large, wide circle. Then, I marked five points at equal intervals along its circumference.
From each point, I drew lines to other points, drawing two uniform lines from each vertex. The shape resembled a star.
The five points of the star-shaped lines touched the large, round circle. At these points of contact, I drew five more circles.
Next, I began to inscribe a formation incantation into each circle.
‘The essence of the Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation lies in capturing the principles of nature with fragrance. Contain and hold nature within the formation; twisting those principles comes after.’
The forms of all things change from moment to moment. Just as water meets cold to become hard ice, or meets fire to vanish into the air as steam.
A ripe fruit may burst with sweet juice, but within it lies a seed.
When eaten by an animal, the sweet and sour juice is consumed, but the seed remains intact and falls to the earth.
And...
Soon, it meets water and soil, sprouting once more.
Just as the sprout that breaks free from the seed grows into a tree, and the tree sprouts many leaves, absorbs sunlight, grows, and bears dozens of fruits again.
Nature may seem like a collection of individual entities, but it is one and the same, the whole.
Humans only process nature.
Like a blacksmith heating iron with scorching flames and hammering it, shaping the different forms of iron to be useful. Like the shaped iron finally being forged into a sharp weapon.
I refined the energies of the Five Elements in my dantian—water, earth, wood, fire, and wind. It was like a blacksmith tempering steel, transforming the Myriad Fragrance to suit its purpose.
Just as water becomes gas and metal becomes liquid, the properties of the Five Elements made the Myriad Fragrance infinitely versatile.
‘With the Myriad Fragrance, recreate the poisons I've identified in the Cloud Dragons.’
Heart-Piercing Intestine-Rending Poison, Primal Yin Penetrating Poison, Blood Serpent Poison, Essence-Devouring Silkworm Poison, Rotting Corpse Blood Poison, Myriad Soul Ruin, Heavenly Prison Poison.
What Pae-seon, the Kunlun elders, and Sect Leader Un Hyeon-jong saw was a complex formation, from which rose mists of different energies and colors. These strange mists coalesced into one, swirling like a waterspout.
In the current situation, no one, not even Pae-seon, could see Mu-heun and the two Cloud Dragons inside the formation.
Just then, an elder asked.
“Is this... I-Is this really going to be alright?”
To which, Un Ja-yang replied.
“Wouldn't it be better to take a gamble than to let the two Cloud Dragons wither away and die?”
“W-Well, that's true.”
“Then let's just watch.”
“...”
The sect leader had declared to everyone that he would bet on even the slimmest of chances rather than do nothing, and all the onlookers fell silent.
Mu-heun formed a sword seal with his fingers and began to slowly conduct the Myriad Fragrance and the laws of the Five Elements.
“Examine how far the poisons have spread within the two Cloud Dragons' bodies and what effects they are having.”
What looked like a milky mist was actually a torrent of multicolored fragrances pouring towards the two Cloud Dragons. They moved through the bodies, relaying information to Mu-heun moment by moment.
Mu-heun rapidly processed the information obtained through the Myriad Fragrance.
He gauged where the poison began and ended, what to remove first, and what to leave untouched. He assessed the level at which he could minimize damage to their blood vessels and internal organs.
He also determined the amount of hydration and nutrients that needed to be replenished.
After completing all these calculations, he interlocked the energy of the Five Elements with the Myriad Fragrance, raising the formation's power to its maximum and amplifying the strength of the fragrances.
“Vaporize the poisons remaining inside the two Cloud Dragons and draw them out!”
Once again, the five-colored fragrances and the energy of the Five Elements entered the bodies of the two Cloud Dragons, vaporized the seven poisons that had been eating away at them, and pulled them out.
The poison exiting their mouths and noses was like a purple toxic mist, but the moment it emerged, other Myriad Fragrances consumed and eliminated it.
“Replenish their fluids and nutrients, restore their blood vessels, and let their blood and qi flow!”
Having expelled the poisons, the two Cloud Dragons seemed to lose consciousness, their lotus positions breaking as they started to fall backward.
Just then, the energy of the Five Elements and the Myriad Fragrance rushed into them, creating a great surge that caused their bodies to levitate in the air.
Then, the Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation took on the role of a healing formation, beginning to restore the two Cloud Dragons' bodies and infuse them with energy.
A whirlwind of energy and countless fragrances enveloped the two Cloud Dragons, while Mu-heun maintained the sword seal, concentrating.
And so, a quarter of an hour passed.
Color returned to the bodies of the two levitating Cloud Dragons, and a healthy flesh tone began to spread across their faces.
“Now, lower them down gently.”
Like the touch of a mother holding her child, a breeze of Myriad Fragrance gently laid the two Cloud Dragons on the ground. Soon after, the Myriad Fragrance and the energy of the Five Elements within the formation flowed back into Mu-heun, and the mist obscuring their vision completely dissipated.
“L-Look! The mist is clearing!”
“...!”
By now, all of Kunlun's high-ranking elders had gathered.
“I will go first.”
Pae-seon said, and everyone nodded.
Pae-seon leaped through the air and approached Mu-heun.
“How is it...? Is there any improvement?”
Hearing Pae-seon's words, I maintained a blank, emotionless expression. Then, I sent him a telepathic message that only he could hear.
[Improvement? How dare you speak such words before one of the three great Divine Doctors of the Central Plains?]
“Th-Then!”
Only then did I raise my head, a faint smile on my lips, and speak loudly enough for all the elders gathered in the manor to hear.
“All the poisons have been neutralized. They are completely cured.”
Hearing this, everyone in the manor was dumbfounded by the unbelievable situation, so stunned with joy they were speechless.
“Ehhhh?”