Chapter 116 The Saintly Doctor's Heart

At Nanyan Palace in Wudang Mountain, before the Xuandi Hall, a place revered as the site of Zhenwu the Great's ascension, stands as a paramount location among Wudang Mountain's palaces and temples.

At this moment, the entire Wudang Mountain, along with the heads of various sects, sect masters, and high-ranking Dharma masters, had gathered here, having been studying the *Jiujing Pin Da Ling Shi Jing* (Ultimate Understanding of Great Spiritual Knowledge Sutra) for three days. Ji Xiang's requirement was that they master it before returning to teach it to their respective ordinary disciples.

Incense rose, clouds swirled, and the sounds of examination filled the air.

Yet, some were distracted, deeming the emergence of the human-faced ghost mist insignificant. Countless demons and monsters, unseen since ancient times, had arisen, yet many only raged for a time, vanishing within three to five years into the river of time, leaving behind no waves or records.

"That imperial brat is overly cautious. These mountain wraiths are, at most, gatherings of resentment mixed with miasma. Though they can dissolve souls, there is little to fear. In the past, we have heard of monsters using souls as hosts, but they were easily vanquished by cultivators across the land."

So spoke some, lacking enthusiasm for the *Jiujing Pin Da Ling Shi Jing*, finding the *Wu Ya Tian Shu* (Five Tooth Heavenly Book) more appealing. They chatted about how, if the mountain gate trials could truly be established, with the help of the *Wu Ya Tian Shu*, the issue of spiritual roots could be solved. Then, the competition among sects would no longer be about whose disciples had better cultivation talents, but about whose disciples had better character and morals.

Perhaps they would have to seek out good seedlings for cultivation among those pedantic Confucian scholars.

Just then, a Wudang disciple stationed at the second mountain gate returned with news. He hurried over, stopping outside the Xuandi Hall to call out loudly. Soon, Ji Xiang emerged, asking what was the matter.

"Dao Lord, there are several monsters lingering outside the mountain gate, bringing with them an old mortal, saying that a sleeping sickness has appeared in Xiangyang City. The monsters said that Wudang Mountain sent cultivators to patrol the nearby mountains some time ago, and told the surrounding monsters that if anything strange happened nearby, they should report to Wudang Mountain."

"They also have the token to enter the mountain."

Ji Xiang's eyes flashed, and his expression turned grave. "Then bring those monsters in."

The disciple returned, and soon the seven or eight monsters and the old doctor, Li Jianyuan, were brought before the mountain gate. The monsters held their breath, seeing dozens of great cultivators gathered before the Xuandi Hall, their auras oppressive, causing their hearts to tremble. They lowered their heads and simply walked forward, enduring the intense gazes upon them, until they reached the Xuandi Hall.

The sect masters and heads, upon seeing the old doctor Li Jianyuan being escorted by the monsters, had their eyes light up, and someone suddenly said, "Isn't this the second son of the Li family!"

Li Jianyuan looked towards the old sect master, taking a closer look. Memories flooded his mind, and he was greatly surprised, quickly bowing. "Master Wang!"

"Long time no see!"

The old sect master nodded. "I only recently returned to Wudang. I didn't expect you to return to Xiangyang as well. Is your father well?"

Li Jianyuan shook his head. "My father passed away two years ago! But the *Ben Cao Gang Mu* (Compendium of Materia Medica), after three years, has now been successfully published in Yingtian Prefecture. I returned here in June, having spent two years busy publishing the medical book. I have neglected my medical skills, but now that my father's last wish has been fulfilled, I am resuming my medical practice."

"Master Wang, is Mister Qingqiu not here?"

The old sect master said, "My master has been traveling for many months and has not yet returned."

After a brief exchange of greetings, Ji Xiang, who had been listening to the conversation from the Xuandi Hall, guessed the old man's identity and was surprised. He walked down the corridor from the Xuandi Hall. When the old Sect Master Wang saw Ji Xiang approaching, he stopped talking and yielded to the side of the road.

"Old sir, are you the son of the divine physician, Li Shizhen?"

Li Jianyuan was taken aback by Ji Xiang's attire. He had lived for more than fifty years and had never seen a Daoist priest dressed in black.

This kind of black clothing was more like the kind of clothing worn when worshiping gods, and should not appear as ordinary clothing. Could it be that there was just some kind of ritual for worshiping gods being performed here?

Although he was puzzled, this was not something he should ask, so he quickly said, "This old man is."

"I have come to Wudang Mountain this time seeking help for an important matter..."

He recounted the events that had occurred in Xiangyang City in recent days in detail, as he was a doctor. After listening, Ji Xiang said to the sect masters around him, "Some of you previously felt a lack of interest in promoting the *Jiujing Pin Da Ling Shi Jing* and were unwilling to cultivate it. Now that the ghosts and gods have truly come to greet us, who is willing to go and subdue them?"

At this moment, it was like Hua Xiong frantically provoking them on the opposite side, but Yuan Shao's subordinates could not produce a great general. After all, Guan Yu was not common, while Yu She and Pan Feng were the norm.

If they succeeded in subduing the ghosts and gods, their reputation would naturally increase greatly, but if they failed, they might even sacrifice themselves.

Several sect masters who had previously made sarcastic remarks silently retreated behind the crowd.

In fact, most cultivators had not yet achieved much. They originally thought they could learn slowly in the future, but they did not expect strange events to come so quickly and violently, catching them off guard. Seeing that the cultivators were silent, the old doctor Li Jianyuan almost knelt down to Ji Xiang.

"If we delay for one more day, the people of Xiangyang City will face one more life-threatening danger! I am useless and cannot cure this disease. I beg you all to descend the mountain and save them, for the sake of the people who worship you every day!"

Since he had said so much, even if their skills were not good, they had to try. Immediately, several people stepped forward and, together with Ji Xiang, hurriedly helped the old doctor up, expressing their willingness to go and give it a try.

"We are also willing to go! Wudang Mountain is established here. If we cannot even protect the surrounding towns, we will not be able to continue recruiting disciples here in the future."

"Although we have the art of saving people, it is our fault that we have not been able to cultivate great achievements due to our previous neglect."

More than a dozen people came out, willing to give it a try. Ji Xiang said to Li Jianyuan, "This kind of sleeping sickness, as you diagnosed, is indeed related to the soul. However, the root cause of its onset is not in the physiological imbalances, but in a transformation originating from the soul, like a curse."

"This is indeed not something that medicine can cure."

Ji Xiang felt that it was necessary to return to the graveyard in Taiping Ancient Town again. It had only been a few days, and Xiangyang City, so far away from Taiping Town, had problems. Could it be that the surrounding villages and markets had also experienced a large number of sleeping sickness cases?

With a large number of souls being corrupted, it would be difficult for a dozen or so poorly trained great cultivators to solve this disaster in a short period of time.

For the time being, there were still two ways.

Using the true meaning of the Three Teachings as a furnace, he could once again sacrifice more scriptures to increase the level of the *Jiujing Pin Da Ling Shi Jing* and make it stronger. Although the difficulty of cultivation would increase slightly, the effect would be better.

Second, still based on the true meaning of the Three Teachings, he could sacrifice other high-level scriptures to create a kind of immortal scripture that ordinary people could use to restrain this method of soul transformation.

"I still have some Shangqing classics in my hand. It seems that I have to use them at this time."

Ji Xiang planned to sacrifice those classics he had obtained from the Shangqing Sect. Although it was a little painful, such a large-scale soul replacement, who knew what serious problems would arise if it was not resolved? For the sake of reason, heavenly justice, the duty of humanity, and the identity of a Wudang disciple, he should lend a helping hand. This was not the time to cherish his feathers. Although he was a demon, if even a large number of cultivators did not care about the life and death of mortals, and the demon did not take action, then there would really be no one in the world who would take action.

At this moment, Zhang Sanfeng suddenly jumped out from somewhere, shouting loudly!

"This matter is easy to handle! Hehe, Xiang, Master is here to give you some advice!"

This sudden shout really startled the cultivators!

Immediately, some people were dissatisfied. They did not know Zhang Sanfeng's true identity, and called him Zhang Dayuan.

"Zhang Dayuan! This is a time when we are hurriedly doing important things. As a master, you should not set an example for your disciples, but instead you are screaming and yelling, without the slightest bit of a cultivator's immortal demeanor!"

"Unbecoming!"

Zhang Sanfeng, sloppy and untidy, laughed and cursed twice. "The Imperial Daoist Academy belongs to Wudang Mountain, Taihe Mountain, the Forbidden Palace, and Xuandi Hall, but not to your individual sects! What does my sloppiness have to do with you? When did the people of Taoism have to be as particular about propriety as the people of Confucianism?"

"It is natural to be inaction, cultivating one's own nature, not cultivating those beautiful clothes on your bodies!"

As Zhang Sanfeng walked over, he grabbed a few gorgeously dressed sect masters and dirtied their beautiful clothes, causing those sect masters' faces to darken, but they did not dare to argue with Zhang Dayuan.

Lei Taiyun, the abbot of Tongwei Temple, was still very powerful. Although he was not here now, if he came back and knew that they were confronting Zhang Dayuan, he would definitely bring the Five Thunder Charms and paste a few on the doors of each family.

During the Spring Festival two years ago, Lei Taiyun painted Five Thunder Charms on the couplets in front of several families' doors. The sky was filled with thunder and lightning during the New Year, and the peach wood charms had an excellent effect of instantly killing not only ghosts and monsters, but also people.

More than one sect was rectified, and since then, Lei Taiyun's Five Thunder couplets have been known throughout Wudang Mountain.

"What does Master have to teach me?"

Ji Xiang humbly asked for advice, and Zhang Sanfeng stroked his beard, then whispered in his ear.

"You fool, isn't there a powerful classic right in front of you! And it's unique in the world! You can let this Li family doctor use the original manuscript of the *Ben Cao Gang Mu* to help you."

Ji Xiang was taken aback and was a little embarrassed. "Master, although I am rogue, I can't do such a thing."

"Robbing the classics of the White Lotus Sect is a matter of course, but robbing the *Ben Cao Gang Mu* violates my principles of justice as a demon."

Zhang Sanfeng scolded in a low voice, "Bullshit! Who told you to rob it, this is called borrowing, understand?"

Ji Xiang said, "If I borrow it, I won't be able to return it! Even though the *Ben Cao Gang Mu* has already been published, the original manuscript is very precious."

Zhang Sanfeng shook his head greatly. "You are confused at this time! Li Shizhen is a famous divine doctor. Although his original manuscript is precious, if it can save the lives of thousands of people, he would be happy even if you tear up the original manuscript and burn it to ashes!"

"So you, a foolish demon disciple, only know the preciousness of scriptures, you are a demon lord from heaven, how would you know the firm heart of us mortals to cure diseases and save people? A doctor has a benevolent heart! In the face of life and death, you do not understand benevolence and righteousness. If you do not understand benevolence and righteousness, and only use the value of things and their loss as a standard for measuring whether to do something or not, then you are no different from those wolves-hearted and dog-lunged cultivators in Lishanhe."

"As a demon, you should understand that with this mentality, you cannot conduct a demon test on others."

Ji Xiang was silent, as if enlightened, and said apologetically, "Master is right to teach me."

Zhang Sanfeng patted Ji Xiang and whispered, "Remember that justice and benevolence cannot be separated. And you don't have to worry, there are three copies of the original *Ben Cao Gang Mu*! Each one is unique!"

"The *Ben Cao Gang Mu* that Li Shizhen sent to the capital, hoping to be printed, is the fourth complete version... the printed copy, which is the result of combining these three first drafts and rewriting it!"

"Wait for me, I will bring you some classics from Tongwei Temple.... But our Yinxian Sect's true spells are all taught orally, and there are not many powerful classics in writing."

As he spoke, Zhang Sanfeng ran away, turning into a cloud of mist and leaving.

Ji Xiang was stunned, and then immediately told Li Jianyuan about this request. Sure enough, the old doctor did not hesitate.

"If just using three original manuscripts can save thousands of people, this is simply a great thing! If there is anything else I need to pay, even if it is the medical books passed down from my family, please feel free to ask."

Ji Xiang asked, "Aren't you sorry to lose thousands of years of scriptures in one morning?"

Li Jianyuan said anxiously, "They are just some yellow paper and rotten grass, how can they be compared with human lives! Medical skills are used to save people, and books are just carriers for recording this art of saving people. If they are left unused, then what is the difference between them and waste paper?"

"Please, immortal, descend the mountain and return to my humble house to fetch the books."

"Okay, don't worry, I will do my best."

Clouds descended from Wudang Mountain, and many cultivators went to Xiangyang City ahead of time, while Ji Xiang followed Li Jianyuan to obtain three original manuscripts of the *Ben Cao Gang Mu*. The manuscripts were thick and layered on top of each other. After all, people at this time used ink instead of printers to write. There was a limit to the number of clear words that could be written on a piece of paper within a fixed format using a brush.

An astonishing power of vows permeated the three original manuscripts, which even ordinary people could feel. Li Jianyuan said that these three manuscripts were all written by Li Shizhen with painstaking effort. When he usually organized them, he could also feel that these three original manuscripts seemed to be filled with his father's spirit, and being in the same environment for a long time could make his old body feel lighter.

At the same time, Li Jianyuan also contributed more medical books, including those he had written himself.

Ji Xiang was not stingy either and contributed a few valuable Shangqing classics.

There are not two ways under the heavens, and the saints do not have two minds.

The true meaning of the Three Teachings began to operate, and Ji Xiang placed his hand on one of the stacks of original manuscripts of the *Ben Cao Gang Mu*. Immediately afterwards, the words on the other medical books disappeared rapidly. A huge power of vows gathered, and in an instant, the entire room burst out with vast immortal light!

And at this moment, the Inner Vision Divine Tablet fluctuated, as if it sensed the large amount of transmitted vows.

The true meaning of the Three Teachings was completed!

The state of this scripture's birth was even more powerful than the *Jiujing Pin Da Ling Shi Jing*!

The golden light and the light green accompanying glow, as if they were about to turn into gold stone and divine jade, changed from invisible light into substance, looking like they had the texture of real gold and jade!

"Fifth Grade Immortal Scripture, High Grade!"

Ji Xiang was shocked as he looked at the transformed original manuscript.

It took thirty evil classics from the White Lotus Sect, plus fifty annotated ancient scriptures to create a Sixth Grade! And this kind of world-saving classic that truly possessed great vows and could be passed down, just a few volumes of which, and which were medical books rather than cultivation scriptures, could actually create a Fifth Grade High Grade immortal scripture!

As for the Shangqing classics that he gave, as well as the Tongwei classics that Zhang Sanfeng brought, although they were also very valuable, it was absolutely impossible for them to create a Fifth Grade immortal scripture. Those were just additions.

The current situation... You must know that the *Dao Ji Jing* (Dao Machine Classic), *Tian Xia Dong Shen Jing* (World Cave Divine Classic), and *Wu Ya Tian Shu* (Five Tooth Heavenly Book) in his hands were all only Fifth Grade immortal scriptures!

Moreover, much of the content of this immortal scripture was upgraded from ordinary medical skills, which surprised Ji Xiang greatly. This was the first time he had seen a large amount of extra content being born in the immortal scriptures he created.

As for this soul transformation, the method given in this immortal scripture was different from the *Jiujing Pin Da Ling Shi Jing*. Compared with the latter's simple and crude method, this immortal scripture gave a slow and harmonious treatment method, and the essence was in this.

If the *Jiujing Pin Da Ling Shi Jing* was a violent surgical amputation, then this immortal scripture was a therapeutic guide for internal nourishment and medicine.

In the treatment method it described, after taking the medicinal soup boiled from the listed herbs, coupled with the curse-breaking talisman water written with specific words, using it as a guide, it could solidify those transformed and rotten souls. Then, the person's own soul would re-swallow that part of the solidified soul. The person in a coma would wake up quickly, but there would be a period of weakness for about one to two months.

*"Ying Shi Ji Jiu Fang Shi Wu Bu"* (Fifteen Sections of Emergency First Aid Formulas for the World)

"Ordinary people can also learn it, and it can solve all kinds of harm below immortals!"