Chapter Four: Within the Medicine Valley

The Ghost Doctor looked with pity at the naked child in his arms, casually picking up the tattered clothes from the ground and wrapping them around him. “Alas!” He then glanced up and softly whistled. With a faint buzzing, a dozen or so remaining venomous ants trembled as they flew over and quickly disappeared into the sleeve of the Ghost Doctor.

“What a shame.” The Ghost Doctor had painstakingly bred these hundred or so corpse-poison ants. The terror of these ants was evident from the manifestation of the Yin Sha poison: even a top-tier expert at the peak of the Qi transformation realm, if bitten by one of these little creatures, would bleed uncontrollably as the deadly toxin spread. “Forget it, saving this boy’s life comes first.”

The Ghost Doctor was genuinely distressed. The corpse-poison ant was almost a legendary creature, known from ancient great wars; a single bite meant certain death by blood loss, and the corpse would rot without doubt. According to ancient texts, the corpse-poison ant ranked ninth among the most ferocious strange insects and beasts, but due to its extreme danger, it was gradually exterminated.

The Ghost Doctor had come across this strange insect by chance while searching for herbs. This ant had a fondness for various spiritual herbs, one of which was the Corpse Grass—a key ingredient in the potion used to process corpses with Yin Sha poison. Fortunately, the Ghost Doctor recognized the insect and happened to find it during its spawning season, thus acquiring it.

He had hoped that this batch of venomous insects, cultivated through secret methods, could one day serve as a means of life preservation. Unexpectedly, before they had matured, most had already perished. The Ghost Doctor frowned in frustration. Had these insects reached adulthood, today’s situation might have ended quite differently.

With a light sweep, the Ghost Doctor slipped away, blending into the low-lying thicket.

...

The Herb Valley.

Nestled between towering cliffs on two sides, this valley, though shadowed, brimmed with vitality. Its perilous terrain had claimed many animals who lost their footing, and over time, this had enriched the soil, making it unusually fertile.

Halfway up the cliff face, a naturally formed broad platform stretched out. Carved into the mountain at the platform’s edge was a cave dwelling—this was the very place where Tong Jin had once sneaked to steal the Spirit Fruit. The entrance was small, but the stone walls were smooth, adorned with bas-reliefs of the Buddha’s patterns, exuding an ancient aura that was clearly the work of many years.

At this moment, inside the cave, Tong Jin lay on a stone bed, still unconscious.

...

Life is unpredictable. The last time he came here, it was to steal the immortal fruit; now, less than three days later, his return found him in such a dire state. Just a few days ago, Tong Jin had infuriated the Ghost Doctor to the point of gnashing his teeth, yet now the Ghost Doctor was here, tenderly nursing him back to health.

With a “gulp,” the Ghost Doctor poured medicinal broth from a wooden spoon into a slender bamboo tube, then approached the bed, pried open Tong Jin’s mouth, and carefully let the medicine flow in slowly.

After feeding the broth, the Ghost Doctor grasped Tong Jin’s wrist, channeling a strand of true energy gently into his body.

“Huh?” The Ghost Doctor frowned deeply. He found Tong Jin’s body utterly empty—there was not even the faintest trace of true energy. His dantian and meridians were riddled with holes, as if he had never cultivated at all. “Strange,” the Ghost Doctor muttered, recalling that he had previously sparred with Tong Jin, and it was impossible for him to be in such a condition.

Retracting his true energy, the Ghost Doctor moved to a bookshelf in the cave and muttered to himself, “Could it be the work of that demon?” He shook his head in doubt. He once mistakenly believed that Yin Sha poison had drained Tong Jin’s internal power, but that was impossible—no martial art in this world could directly siphon another’s internal energy; at least, the Ghost Doctor had never even heard of such a thing.

Suddenly, a thought flashed before his eyes, and his body trembled. “Yang San Gong Po!” The breaking of Yang San Gong—the dispersal of cultivated energy—was among the cruelest afflictions. Any cultivator, through arduous trials and sheer will, could achieve some measure of success. Some techniques required the practitioner to maintain their virgin state; breaking this taboo would shatter the technique’s power. Cultivators, resolute in their will, would never foolishly destroy their own cultivation, yet Tong Jin’s case was different—he had lost his Yang San state unintentionally, unknowingly, a tragic rarity.

“Sigh, at least I saved his life,” the Ghost Doctor sighed softly, wondering how this child would face the future upon awakening. Then he left the cave.

It was not that the Ghost Doctor had given up on Tong Jin’s recovery, but the loss of Yang San and the resulting energy dispersal were incurable. Having preserved Tong Jin’s life was already a debt repaid.

On the stone bed, Tong Jin remained motionless, showing no sign of waking. His breathing was shallow, his face still handsome yet extraordinarily pale. His black hair spread across the pillow, while his mouth twitched occasionally, causing his brows to furrow slightly.

With a faint buzzing, a large ant, three to four times the size of the corpse-poison ants that had fought the Yin Sha earlier, flew into the cave, circled once, and gently landed on Tong Jin’s pale neck. The large venomous ant did not hesitate and bit down.

Tong Jin shivered in his coma but did not awaken. Blood trickled down his neck, staining the gray blanket beneath with dark bloodstains. Though unconscious, his body clearly still sensed pain. His brows knitted tightly, and his teeth clenched and trembled.

...

Tong Jin was unaware of the world outside. His consciousness dwelled perpetually in darkness, immersed in a black pool where evenI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.