Chapter 00164: The Dawn of Cultivation
# The Dawn of Cultivation
Chapter 164
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 164: The Dawn of Cultivation
The other party had a fair complexion, a round face, and a round nose.
He Lingchuan remembered this face; it was indeed the battlefield medic, A Luo.
A Luo glared at Hu Min, "Buying medicine, don't block my way!" Didn't he see he was busy?
"I brought Brother He to find you, asking for a prescription for the Di Liu Jiang!"
A Luo looked at He Lingchuan, his eyes filled with confusion, not knowing who this was.
Clearly, he did not possess the protagonist's halo that made him unforgettable.
Hu Min cleared his throat, "During the Battle of the River Valley, he lost an arm, and I lost a leg. You wrapped us up like zongzi, remember?"
A Luo let out a long "oh": "So it's you!" He reached out and grabbed He Lingchuan's arm, pressing down lightly twice, satisfied, "Good physique, recovering better than him."
He Lingchuan thought to himself that this was not right; that was a fracture.
The saying goes that injuries to muscles and bones take a hundred days to heal.
Even with spiritual medicine, it would be difficult to fully recover in just a couple of months, and Hu Min was a prime example.
He could heal quickly because he lived in reality; after entering a dream, the injuries he sustained in the dream were erased.
A Luo, who was proficient in pharmacology, did not find this strange, likely due to the influence of the Broken Blade.
It seemed this was indeed a dream; perhaps some unreasonable aspects became reasonable.
A Luo looked at Hu Min again, "Is it just him asking for a prescription?"
Hu Min rubbed his hands together, a smile on his face, "If it's convenient, could you also give me one?"
"Not convenient!"
He Lingchuan lightly coughed, "Time is precious; isn't A Luo going out to gather medicine?"
"I'll write prescriptions for both of you, fine!" A Luo looked at Hu Min, "But the materials I refine for Di Liu San are for my own use; you'll have to reimburse me."
He pointed back at his small wooden house, "I'm poor right now, desperately short on money."
"Alright, fine."
Hu Min pouted, "It's just a bit of military merit; I have plenty!"
A Luo let the two of them enter, each taking turns for diagnosis and pulse checking, and finally examining He Lingchuan's true strength operation, before writing a prescription for both.
His writing flowed like a dragon and snake, unlike the illegible scrawl of an ordinary doctor.
He Lingchuan compared the two prescriptions and indeed found several different ingredients.
A Luo quickly finished writing, shoved the prescriptions into their hands, and explained the brewing method for the medicine: "Any container will do, but the most important thing is not to use metal bottles or jars!"
He Lingchuan memorized everything and then handed over a small package containing a couple of mouthfuls of chewing tobacco.
This was indeed a good item for doing favors.
After accepting his token of gratitude, A Luo's expression improved significantly: "You're better at dealing with people than that Hu. Next time you're in pain and short on medicine, you can come find me."
The two of them left, heading back.
Hu Min sighed, "A Luo wasn't like this before. But he's a decent person now; after spending time together, he naturally knows."
He continued, "I saw that tree in your courtyard; its branches extend into the neighbor's yard. Remember to trim the overreaching branches before dark, or if they touch the Di Liu Jiang, it will be hard to define. This happened two years ago; two neighboring families who had been friendly for over ten years ended up fighting over the Di Liu Jiang on the leaves, and one person died while two were injured. The survivors were taken away to do hard labor."
Panlong City doesn't often imprison people because it doesn't welcome anyone living off others.
Once convicted, most criminals are sent to mines, roads, bridges, or logistics for hard labor, while female prisoners are put to work in clothing, farming, or sewing; in any case, they won't be idle.
"Also, try to stay out of the city lately. If Di Liu Jiang falls onto the wasteland, it will definitely provoke beast hordes and monster disturbances; the wilderness is very unsafe."
Hu Min scratched his head, "Last time Di Liu Jiang appeared, a military camp from Xianyou Country, lacking experience, foolishly set up camp on the plain, and ended up being trampled flat by a thousand rampaging wild bulls led by a bull demon, resulting in countless casualties."
He Lingchuan laughed, "How will the Merit Department handle the Di Liu Jiang? Will it also be refined into pills and powders?"
"Starting tonight, the entire city will be under martial law, with designated personnel and laws for collecting Di Liu Jiang inside and outside the city. It is said that last time they obtained a chunk of Di Liu Jiang the size of a fist by the river."
Since the common people were confined to their homes, the government could collect Di Liu Jiang from the streets, squares, markets, and even the entire area of the Chi Pa Plateau at will.
Moreover, the preservation time of Di Liu Jiang is very short, which tests the organization, scheduling, and transportation capabilities.
"They can refine many medicines from Di Liu Jiang, such as those that promote flesh and blood growth, relieve fatigue, and even save lives on the brink of death; there are all sorts of miraculous effects. There's also a type of Qing Yu Gao; taking a pea-sized amount before cultivation can yield effects more than three times greater than normal, but it's too expensive and requires a lot of military merit to exchange for."
He sighed, "I've only taken one; the effect was so good, it's unforgettable for life!"
He Lingchuan looked at him eagerly, "What about the prescription for Qing Yu Gao?"
"None! I'm not a pharmacist!" Hu Min laughed and scolded, "I heard there are no more than three people in this city who can do it, and A Luo can't either."
"Oh."
It wasn't disappointment; it was just life.
"By the way, speaking of free things, I almost forgot something important!" Hu Min straightened his expression, "What foundational cultivation method are you practicing?"
"The family inheritance breathing technique, called 'Guiding Technique.'"
"Isn't it a systematic cultivation outline?"
"No." This was also the most frustrating part for He Lingchuan, "It's just the most basic bit of mental method."
The He family didn't pass down many good things; this mental method was practiced by the three He family members, especially the original body, who practiced the most diligently, yet no special abilities emerged.
The upper limit was a bit low.
"That's good, that's great! You're very clean!" Hu Min patted him and laughed, "The Pengcheng Office we just visited is right across from the Tizhen Office, which specializes in various divine abilities and techniques!"
He Lingchuan was overjoyed: "Really?"
The Broken Blade was indeed considerate; he was worried about having no way to cultivate, and it came to offer warmth.
"The official promoted foundational mental methods have five types. You go to the Tizhen Office, and there will be dedicated personnel to test you and recommend methods."
Hu Min pointed out, "Foundational mental methods are open to all residents of Panlong City, with free teaching and guidance. Other types of divine abilities and cultivation techniques can only be exchanged for with merit."
"By the way, the Tizhen Office will also periodically invite experts and great beings to impart teachings; there are various types, and most do not charge entrance fees, so don't miss out."
He Lingchuan's eyes sparkled: wasn't this a lecture by famous masters, and it was public welfare! Moreover, given Panlong City's character, it was unlikely they would be shoddy; the invited experts must have substantial knowledge.
He couldn't wait to rush out and head straight to the Tizhen Office.
However, as the two discussed this, the sun had already tilted significantly to the west.
Tonight there would be a curfew, and this place was far from the official office.
Hu Min still had to go gather medicine, so they couldn't stay longer.
"Do you want me to help you prepare another batch of medicinal materials?"
"No need!" He Lingchuan had earned thirty taels of silver today, so he generously hired a carriage to take him home.
Returning to his wooden house, He Lingchuan flopped onto the bed, "Puh," kicking up a lot of dust.
The bed was very hard, creaking with every turn, and He Lingchuan could still smell a faint musty odor—this place hadn't been lived in for a long time.
But he felt surprisingly joyful and relaxed.
In the legendary city, he actually had a home now.
From now on, he had a foothold.
The future was promising.
As he closed his eyes to rest, he suddenly remembered the three lines of verse the old turtle demon had given him.
One of them, "Exploring the real within the void," could it be referring to the Panlong Dream?
The Broken Blade wouldn't drag him into the dream for no reason; perhaps he could find a way to break the deadlock and save his life here?
He needed to take these dreams more seriously and pay more attention.
￥￥￥￥￥
This time, no one disturbed him, and He Lingchuan woke up on his own.
Looking at the spacious bedroom, he couldn't help but sigh.
This was returning to reality; the Broken Blade hadn't let him stay in the dream until dark.
At the same time, he remembered that he had entered the dream of Panlong City after taking Di Liu Jiang and adjusting his breathing.
He Lingchuan pulled out the Broken Blade from under his pillow and stroked it, saying, "Why did you suddenly pull me into a dream? Is it because of the Di Liu Jiang?"
The military had just encountered the once-in-decades Di Liu Jiang, and the dream city had also adapted related content for him; too many coincidences could be called man-made.
The Broken Blade, of course, remained silent, offering no response.
However, as He Lingchuan looked down, he happened to see the divine bone chain pendant around his neck flash red light twice.
Last time he woke up from the dream city, this thing was also glowing.
He recalled that the military and civilians in the dream city always seemed to glance at his chest first before showing kindness, and there were even petty thieves wanting to steal the divine bone.
Could it be that this thing had become his pass in the dream city?
He Lingchuan was lost in thought for a moment before suddenly slapping his forehead: "Ah, how could I forget the most important thing!"
He adjusted his clothes and left the village, riding straight to Shuanghe Town.
At this time, the sky was almost dark.
He had spent three hours adjusting his breathing after taking the Di Liu Jiang, and the guard at the gate was somewhat surprised: "Even the eldest young master is working this hard? The second young master only took a couple of hours."
His companion chuckled, "Maybe the eldest young master fell asleep."
……
As the moon rose above the willow treetops, He Lingchuan finally returned to the village.
The whole family had already eaten dinner and, like most people, had gone to bed, with only a few patrolling soldiers wandering around the village.
He Lingchuan exchanged a few passwords before returning to his residence instead of using his face for entry, indicating that the guards were still quite strict.
He didn't go directly back to his room but went to the kitchen to start a fire, while also cleaning a small earthen jar, adding some rootless water taken from the eaves, a full two pounds of honey, and all the remaining Di Liu Jiang he had.
Then, he added the five medicinal materials he had bought from Shuanghe Town.
These medicinal materials were hard to come by; although they weren't rare, their prices were five to ten times that of Black Water City.
Months had passed since the Battle of Wailing Ridge, and although trade had returned a bit of life to the war-torn Shuanghe Town, local livelihoods were still suffering, with significant shortages of basic supplies like food and medicine.
He had run around all the pharmacies and couldn't even gather five ordinary medicinal materials.
The last two medicinal materials were bought by him through the pharmacy owner from passing merchants, and the price was certainly not cheap.
Although it took some time, these medicinal materials had been processed in the shop; what needed to be powdered was powdered, and what needed peeling was peeled.
He poured everything in and stirred it all together, then took out a turtle pearl and a piece of toad fat, crushed them, and added them in as well.
(End of Chapter)