23: Chapter 23 is a bit risqué~

Thump!

The old man landed on the ground, his face flushed red. He looked up, but mist obscured the view, making it impossible to see just how high the sinkhole was.

"Time is running out."

The old man shook his head with a bitter smile. He was already at the end of his rope; having taken medicinal pills to forcibly stimulate the last bit of vitality in his body, it was merely a temporary surge of energy before death, and he could not live for another day.

Coming down here had consumed even more of his strength, shortening his final moments.

He had wanted to see the environment where the Medical Immortal lived in seclusion, but given his current state, he had better go straight to look at the Medical Immortal's legacy.

"It is worthy of being the Medical Immortal's place of seclusion."

The old man sighed with emotion. After entering the sinkhole, he felt his heavy body lighten considerably, and his heart could not help but calm down. This place was a rare and spiritually blessed land in the world.

If ordinary people lived here, they would surely have long lives and good physical and mental health. If a martial artist practiced here, they would achieve twice the result with half the effort.

"If I had found this place earlier, even without obtaining the Medical Immortal's legacy, I might have been able to live a few more days."

The old man murmured, feeling regret. His cloudy eyes flickered as he saw the wooden house in the sinkhole.

"The residence of the Medical Immortal in his twilight years."

The old man was excited, his pace quickening significantly. Upon arriving at the wooden house, he noticed the tidy courtyard.

"This must be tended to by the holy beast Mo Yun, which the Medical Immortal adopted in his later years."

The old man knew a lot. The Medical Immortal had already become famous throughout the world over four hundred years ago, at which point he was already sixty years old. Two hundred years ago, the Medical Immortal was aging, but he consumed a holy lotus to return to his prime. One hundred years ago, the Medical Immortal grew old and went into seclusion, ignoring the affairs of the martial arts world.

The world originally thought the Medical Immortal had passed away, but thirty years ago, a plague broke out in the Kun Kingdom, spreading across the entire country in a very short time, leaving the common people displaced.

The Medical Immortal, who had already entered his twilight years, came out of seclusion once again, accompanied by a spirit beast named Mo Yun that resembled both a leopard and a tiger.

The spirit beast Mo Yun climbed mountains when it encountered mountains and crossed water when it encountered water, traveling ten thousand miles a day, traversing three great nations to arrive at the Kun Kingdom. The Medical Immortal disregarded his frail body to treat the plague and was revered by the world!

The spirit beast following the Medical Immortal was also honored by their Kun Kingdom as the Guardian Holy Beast.

After the plague, on the way back, the Medical Immortal was attacked by members of the Demonic Sect and died. The holy beast Mo Yun carried the Medical Immortal's remains away.

Everyone knows that the Medical Immortal lived for at least five hundred years. The reason for this, besides his near-immortal medical skills, was the heaven-defying immortal medicine in his hands: the holy lotus.

The holy lotus is an immortal medicine. After the flower blooms, consuming the holy lotus flower can allow a person to regain their youth, defy heaven and change their fate, and become a once-in-a-century martial arts genius.

The holy lotus flower is a supreme treasure coveted by the martial arts world and people everywhere. Everyone knows that the holy lotus seed is in the hands of the Medical Immortal.

Thirty years ago, when the Medical Immortal came out into the world to treat the plague, he carried the holy lotus seed to deal with difficulties. As it turned out, the Medical Immortal's medical skills were heaven-defying, and in the end, he did not even need to use the holy lotus seed.

Thirty years ago, the Demonic Sect attacked the Medical Immortal precisely for this holy lotus seed. They failed in the end, and the holy beast Mo Yun disappeared with the Medical Immortal's remains and the holy lotus seed, with no trace of them left.

Twenty years ago, the Demonic Sect leader did not have much time left. Unwilling to accept his fate, the Demonic Sect leader chose to attack the Medical Immortal Valley. The Medical Immortal Valley was destroyed, and the world learned that the Medical Immortal had spent his later years in seclusion in a sinkhole.

But no one knew exactly where it was. In the end, the holy lotus became a legend that the martial arts world lamented.

Until a year ago, when the Medical Immortal's mount, the holy beast Mo Yun, reappeared, shaking the entire martial arts world.

This was the spirit beast that accompanied the Medical Immortal in his later years and knew the location of his seclusion. What did that represent?

The Medical Immortal's god-like medical skills, as well as the holy lotus, which was said to rejuvenate one and restore youth.

All major sects and dynasties mobilized in full force. Sect-guarding Grandmasters and even Grandmasters re-emerged to capture the holy beast and find the Medical Immortal's legacy.

However, the holy beast Mo Yun traveled ten thousand miles a day. Its speed was so fast that even the Grandmaster Wujiang, known as the fastest in the world, sighed that he could not keep up.

In the end, under the siege of ten Grandmasters, the holy beast Mo Yun escaped with injuries and disappeared into the Tianduan Mountains.

The Tianduan Mountains are mysterious, extraordinary, and vast. Trying to find the Medical Immortal's place of seclusion within them was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

The martial arts world quieted down, but there were still those who were unwilling to give up and continued searching in the Tianduan Mountains. He was one of them. He was already over one hundred and fifty years old this year and did not have much time left to live.

He entered the Tianduan Mountains for one last gamble: either die in the mountains or find the holy lotus seed and renew his youth.

"What a pity~ What a pity~"

The old man sighed in sorrow. After searching bitterly for a year, he had finally found the Medical Immortal's place of seclusion, but he was already at the end of his rope. Even if he obtained the holy lotus seed, it was just a seed; it needed to be planted and wait for it to bloom.

He could no longer hold on.

This feeling—if he were young, he would really curse Heaven for being unfair.

Now, he had no time to curse. The old man walked into the house, immediately drawn to the three wooden boxes on the bamboo bed in the bedroom.

The old man stepped forward and opened one of them—the box filled with animal skins and bamboo slips.

"These are the Medical Immortal's wonderful prescriptions for saving the world. Wonderful! Wonderful! I never expected they could be used this way. Wonderful! And there are so many medicinal pills to increase internal energy. If the major sects knew about this, they would definitely obtain them at any cost!"

The old man was excited. This contained the prescriptions the Medical Immortal used while traveling the martial arts world to treat various difficult and miscellaneous illnesses. Almost all the strange poisons of the world and incurable diseases of the world had treatment methods here.

Besides these, there were also various medicinal pills to assist in martial arts training. If these were to leak out, the entire martial arts world would go crazy!

"Although I could not regain my youth, I have fulfilled my life's wish."

A smile appeared on the old man's face. The Medical Immortal's legacy was the pursuit of all medical practitioners. To be able to see it before he died, his life could be considered without regrets.

Finally, the old man opened the wooden book, and what was engraved on it were all small figures.

This was exactly the set of cultivation techniques that Lu Hu had seen before.

"The Everlasting Creation Ageless Art. This is the cultivation technique created by the Medical Immortal senior. It is indeed profound and unfathomable. To have lived for five hundred years, this technique must have played an indispensable role!"

After reading it, the old man carefully closed the box. His wish had been fulfilled, and in an instant, his vitality and spirit dropped significantly.

While he could still move, the old man opened another wooden box, which was full of porcelain bottles, half of which were empty.

"I suppose the holy beast Mo Yun consumed them."

The old man opened one of them and smelled the medicinal efficacy. "Worthy of being the Medical Immortal. He could refine even ordinary Great Restoration Pills to such a degree. I am far inferior!"

"This third box, I suppose, must contain the holy lotus seed?"

The old man did not consume the medicinal pills; he knew his own condition could not be cured by ordinary medicine.

He looked at the third box and sighed deeply. Although he could not use it, who wouldn't want to take a look at such a sacred object?

"Empty?"

After opening it, the old man saw the brocade cloth at the bottom. He flipped it a couple of times but did not see the seed.

"Did the holy beast Mo Yun take it out and plant it?"

The old man closed the box and looked outside the house.

"I smelled a strange fragrance when I arrived, but I was in such a hurry to see the Medical Immortal's legacy that I didn't check. Could it be the holy lotus?"

The old man walked out of the wooden house, trembling as he walked outward. He hadn't gone far before he was attracted by a touch of green.

"It really is... the holy lotus!"

The old man's movements quickened. Looking at the green leaves on the ground that had just sprouted not long ago, the old man was excited but kept shaking his head.

"It is indeed a sacred object. Even here, one can feel that boundless vitality!"

"It is a pity that the holy lotus is a lotus; it cannot be planted in dry soil."

What excited him was finally seeing the legendary holy lotus; what was regrettable was that the holy beast Mo Yun had planted it wrong.

The holy lotus is a lotus, and it is picky about its growing environment. It needs sunlight and an environment with sufficient water sources.

Most importantly, the holy lotus is a sacred medicine that requires the essence of all things to be watered with before it can grow. Planted so casually, it would be difficult for the holy lotus to bloom.

The old man took a water bag from his bosom. It did not contain water, but rather juice extracted from thousands of fresh medicinal herbs, including century-old Ginseng, Tianshan snow lotus, century-old cordyceps...

Just this one bag was worth a fortune! It was also the nutrient he had prepared for after he found the holy lotus seed.

"Anyway, I don't have much time left. Let my decaying body become nutrients for the holy lotus."

The old man sprinkled the nutrients and dug a pit two meters away from the holy lotus. As a Medical Daoist Grandmaster, he had consumed countless precious medicinal herbs, and his own body was a great treasure of medicine. Only by letting the holy lotus take root in him could it grow, bloom, and bear seeds.

The old man dug a half-deep pit and then continued digging toward the holy lotus. After reaching directly beneath the holy lotus, the old man lay down in it.

His body was now directly below the roots of the holy lotus. Having poured that bag of nutrients, the holy lotus would grow rapidly. Before long, its roots would be able to touch him and absorb the nutrients from his body.

The old man circulated his remaining internal energy to bury the pit he had dug. He took a deep breath, feeling the fragrance of the soil above.

"Worthy of being the holy lotus; even the soil has become so extraordinary."

The old man sighed with emotion. He had come out to pursue the holy lotus to live another life, but in the end, he fulfilled the holy lotus with his own body. A person's life is truly unpredictable.

The old man closed his eyes, waiting for death to arrive.

...

[Poison Spirit Body: 1%]

Lu Hu looked at the progress of the Poison Spirit Body, which had stopped increasing, and gave up the idea of continuing to squeeze the King Cobra.

It was useless. Now his constitution completely ignored the King Cobra's toxin. If he wanted to make further progress, he would likely need a poisonous creature even more toxic than the King Cobra.

In a world where spiritual energy was so thin, how many things could be more poisonous than the King Cobra?

It was enough!

"Awoo~" (I haven't absorbed today's spiritual energy yet.)

Lu Hu stood up, crawled into the sinkhole, practiced for half an hour, and absorbed the spiritual energy in the sinkhole completely.

He went to check on the spiritual herbs again and finally came to the green lotus.

"Huh?" Lu Hu was surprised. The green lotus, which had been motionless since it sprouted, was exceptionally active today.

Although he didn't know why, it was a good thing.

Lu Hu walked to the green lotus, lifted his hind leg, splosh~~

A thick stream of water continuously poured onto the roots of the green lotus. He had drunk a bit too much water these past two days, and Lu Hu's water source was plentiful and long-lasting. As Lu Hu twisted and swayed, a large amount of water soaked through the soft soil and slowly fell onto the old man underground.

"Is... is it raining?" Feeling the wetness on his body, the old man, who was weak and about to lose consciousness, woke up again.

"Rain... good!" The old man continued to drift into sleep; the rain watering it would be more beneficial for the holy lotus's growth.

Until the water seeped to the corner of his mouth. "Why does this rain... taste a bit pungent?"

The old man was puzzled. Suddenly, his eyes widened in anger. "No, this is urine!"

The old man was furious. How dare someone urinate on the holy lotus!?

He wanted to break out of the ground, but thinking of the holy lotus above, the old man dared not use force. He avoided the holy lotus and carefully dug upward, the soil having been soaked by urine and filled with a pungent smell.

"Awoo?" Lu Hu watched the bulging ground, also curious. What kind of thing was underneath?

Bang! The ground burst open, and a muddy head poked out. The muddy head opened its mouth. "Bastard! How dare you!"

What was this muddy head babbling about? Lu Hu couldn't understand. Looking at this muddy head, Lu Hu couldn't decide for a moment whether it was a human or a ground monster that had become sentient!

After thinking about it, Lu Hu stood up and aimed his tiger penis at the muddy head, splosh!

The stream of water poured onto the old man's head, quickly washing away the mud.

?

The old man was stunned, frozen there, unable to recover for a long time.

Until Lu Hu finished urinating and tilted his head to look at the old man, confirming that this was a human!

Where did he come from? To think he hadn't been discovered by General Hei and Tiger Dad.

The old man also sobered up. He pulled his hand out from underground and pointed at Lu Hu, trembling all over with anger, unable to speak.

"Awoo!" (Many animals wish they could be covered in this King's urine, and you're actually disgusted by it!)

"Awoo~" (Get aside, stay away from this King's treasure!)

Lu Hu moved forward, pulled the old man out of the ground with one paw, threw him far away, and then filled the soil for his green lotus.

The old man, who had been thrown into the distance, wanted to curse, but after seeing the tiger's actions, he suddenly stopped. This tiger seemed to be taking care of the holy lotus.