53: Medicine Man (Part 1)

His consciousness sank into the boundless darkness once more, returning to the Reincarnation Space.

Images of his past life tore at him repeatedly, finally freezing on the scene where Yun Xi turned into spiritual light and lunged toward him.

Endless regret filled his consciousness.

If... if only he could have been stronger... if only his Aptitude could have been higher... A cold, mechanical voice interrupted his thoughts.

[Reincarnation Mark assessment in progress...]

[In this life, your name was Chi Yun. You were a prince of the Diyuan Dynasty but also an abandoned waste hostage. No one knew that you actually possessed the rare Pure Yuan Dao Body. With your extraordinary mind and the power of your Dao Body, you rose to prominence in the Xuan Yuan Dynasty's academy. Using the Silver Gate code name "Yun," you navigated the turmoil of the Xuan Yuan Dynasty and successfully faked your identity to "escape." By a stroke of Luck, he obtained the Legacy of the Three Yuan Realm Expert, Qianshan Daoist, joined the Qianshan Sect, and became a candidate for the position of Young Sect Master. After a hundred years of bitter Cultivation, he finally became a Heavenly Spirit Realm expert. However, while exploring a Three Origins Realm Secret Realm, he was pursued by a Guiyi Realm remnant Soul, eventually damaging his Foundation and leaving him with little Lifespan. As his Lifespan ran out, he attempted a forced Breakthrough, which ultimately failed, and both he and his Dao Companion perished.]

[Comprehensive Evaluation: Mystic Grade, Eight Stars]

[Reincarnation Points Obtained: 4000]

Chi Yun's Divine Soul showed not a single ripple.

He had grown accustomed to the cold rules of Reincarnation.

In this life, he decided to allocate his points primarily to Aptitude.

"Allocate points."

[Aptitude: 3000]

[family background: 100]

[Comprehension Ability: 500]

[Luck: 400]

He threw almost all his points into Aptitude. The experiences of his previous life had taught him that in the face of absolute power, all backgrounds and schemes were fragile... Sharp pain!

A sharp pain, as if his Soul were being torn apart alive, jolted him awake from the Chaos.

He found himself soaking in a giant wooden tub. The liquid inside was scalding and viscous, like boiling lava. Millions of steel needles seemed to be piercing his body from all directions, drilling frantically and grinding into his bone marrow.

Even with the resilient Divine Soul he had developed through several lives of Reincarnation, this inhuman agony made him grit his teeth until they nearly shattered, letting out a suppressed groan.

"Yun'er, hold on!"

An aged voice rang in his ears.

"This medicinal bath is extraordinary; it's refined from many rare and precious medicines. After a few more medicinal bath baptisms, your Physique will undergo an ultimate sublimation!"

Si Yun endured the intense pain and struggled to lift his head.

Fifteen years of memories flooded in like a tide, merging with his vast Soul memories.

In this life, his name was Si Yun.

The old man before him was the Master who had raised him for fifteen years, a Pill King named Cang Yu.

A gentle smile hung on the old man's face, his eyes full of encouragement.

But from the depths of those cloudy eyes, Si Yun caught a fleeting glimpse of greed.

It was the look of someone gazing at a rare treasure, about to swallow it whole.

Si Yun's heart sank abruptly.

Having lived many lives, his mind was incredibly deep. Through the old man's fleeting greed just now,

he understood that this medicinal bath was definitely not that simple.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when the medicinal power finally subsided slightly, he was finally allowed to get out of the tub.

After he dressed, the old man looked him over with satisfaction, gave a few instructions to "rest well," and then turned to leave.

Si Yun returned to his room alone, immediately sat cross-legged, and performed an internal inspection of his body.

He could feel that under the tempering of the medicinal bath, his body was emitting a faint precious glow, filled with an indescribable vitality.

The three thousand points in Aptitude had indeed not been wasted.

When his Divine Sense sank into his body and saw the true nature of this physical form, even with his Heart-Nature, he couldn't help but gasp.

Heavenly Elixir Precious Body!

This was an extremely rare Physique. One born with it was a natural Alchemist, possessing an instinctive affinity and control over various Spirit Medicines in the world.

More importantly, its Cultivation Aptitude was not inferior to any Dao Body at all!

Under the nurturing of so many years of medicinal baths, his Meridians were incredibly strong.

The Cultivation speed of this body was likely even higher than that of the Pure Yuan Dao Body from his previous life.

However, this pleasant surprise didn't last long before it was replaced by a bone-chilling cold.

He began to frantically search through the memories of these fifteen years.

In this life, he had been reincarnated in the Southern Region, also known as Nanjiang.

Fifteen years ago, while still in swaddling clothes, he was discovered by the Pill King, Cang Yu, and taken in as a closed-door Disciple.

Pill King was the supreme honor among Alchemists.

A Pill King also meant that their strength was comparable to a Heavenly Spirit Realm expert.

However, in these fifteen years, Cang Yu had never taught him any Cultivation Technique, nor had he imparted even a bit of Alchemy technique.

The only thing he did was to have Si Yun soak in this agonizing medicinal bath every once in a while.

The reason given was that his Heavenly Elixir Precious Body was naturally flawed and had to be completed using this method.

But under Si Yun's internal inspection, he could see clearly.

His precious body was flawless; there were no defects at all!

A lie.

A lie that had lasted for fifteen years.

Si Yun's back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

A thought emerged uncontrollably from the depths of his mind.

Senior Brother... actually, he had a Senior Brother whose natural talent was also quite impressive.

But six years ago, that Senior Brother suddenly disappeared.

At that time, Si Yun was still young. When he asked, his Master Cang Yu's answer was that the Senior Brother missed home and had returned to his Family.

But thinking back now, Si Yun only felt his skin crawl.

He clearly remembered that his Senior Brother had gone out together with their Master.

But only the Master returned.

And the Master, who was originally senile and looked like he had one foot in the grave, had become energetic and full of vitality since returning that time, as if he had consumed some peerless precious medicine that extended his life.

Most likely... that Senior Brother was the Master's "precious medicine"!

This conjecture made Si Yun feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

This old fogey had no good intentions when he took him as a Disciple!

Time passed quickly, and three months went by.

Si Yun was once again forced by the old man to undergo a medicinal bath.

This time, relying on his powerful Divine Soul that far surpassed ordinary people, he carefully distinguished every tiny change within the medicinal power.

The medicinal bath was indeed nourishing his precious body, making his Physical Body increasingly strong.

But he keenly noticed that within this massive medicinal power, there was an extremely subtle force mixed in. Like water dripping through stone, it was silently and invisibly wearing away his Divine Soul power.

Possession!

Si Yun understood everything in an instant.

This old dog wanted to use his precious body as a perfect vessel for Possession.

When the time was ripe, he would wipe out Si Yun's Divine Soul and occupy this shell!

No, he absolutely could not sit and wait for death!

After this medicinal bath ended, Cang Yu seemed to be in a good mood. He told Si Yun that he would be going out for a while to search for several rare medicinal ingredients.

Si Yun lowered his head and respectfully complied.

The moment Cang Yu turned to leave, an unprecedented light erupted in his eyes.

The Opportunity had come.