The Hundred Herb Hill had hot springs as well.
It was in the valley in the south, where maples and cherry blossoms canopied and faced the hot spring cliff north of the Sword-Wielding Mountain, not even seven kilometers away from each other.
The valley was narrow, hugged by both mountains beside it closely. Grass and herbs flourished in it, and nine brooks were streaming from the cliff to the ravine, bringing with them varied medicinal strength from the different herbal fields at the tops of the mountains.
There was a deep pool at the bottom of the vale.
It was not large, only around three meters wide, but it was incredibly deep.
The water was clear, without any fish, and there was a stack of rocks by the inner wall.
Xiao Ran sat on the smooth stone as he immersed himself in the bottomless pool of water, in case he drowned.
After all, if he did not die by falling from a high altitude, was not attacked by a tiger, or harassed by a Wraith but drowned in a bath instead, it would be hilarious.
He was in the Qi Refining stage now. He should not be able to drown anymore… he thought.
The herbal bath was not exactly comfortable but it was exhilarating.
The nine streams brought nine different natural medicinal potencies that rinsed and soaked his dantian, making him feel hot and cold in intervals.
Chunwa and Qiuchan stayed on the side, occasionally adding herbs to the water and controlling the temperature, their ministrations looking trained. Unfortunately, they had quite a bit to say.
“The hot spring on the Sword-Wielding Mountain is really big. Many people can bathe together. The air is good, the view is panoramic, and peach blossoms fall endlessly.”
“This pool on the Hundred Herb Hill is too small. One can’t even doggy paddle. What’s the use?”
Hints were dropped incessantly.
Xiao Ran smirked.
‘The deluxe cloud-view hot spring I built for Master is like a paradise. Do you think I made it for you to doggy paddle in it?’
Not in the mood to entertain the brats, Xiao Ran kept his attention on the black ring chat to see if he could obtain any news on his master. It was too bad no one was active there. Even ‘Hardly An Immortal After Vicissitudes’, whose name was always glowing, had gone offline.
They were probably all important people with many affairs to attend to during the day…
Never in Xiao Ran’s wildest dreams would he have expected that he’d suffer through the torture of no chatting even after transmigrating to a cultivation world.
If it was not for his DP, which was less than 100, he would definitely have bound the black ring and gone to the chat to shout out, “Where’s my Master?”
Soon, the herbal bath’s potency started having an effect.
Xiao Ran felt like he was dipped in ice and then bathed in flames for a moment. Then, it felt like ants were biting through his bones and arrows were shooting through him a second later…
Various unknown kinds of poison were coursing within him, corroding and blending, trying to challenge the limits of his physical body.
It was a coincidence that his averagely-gifted physique in all Five Elements, in combination with the Art of Resonance, had resulted in an exceptionally high physical body threshold despite the low efficiency of absorbing spiritual energy.
This caused the medicinal strength to increase without showing signs of slowing down even when Xiao Ran was burned to excruciation by all sorts of poison.
Large droplets of sweat fell from his forehead, pitter-pattering like raindrops.
He gritted his teeth while asking the girls, “Does it only hurt this much in the beginning… or will it keep hurting like this?”
Chunwa answered with a smile, “It won’t stay this painful.”
Xiao Ran heaved a relieved sigh. “Oh, that’s good then.”
Qiuchan jabbed. “Because this isn’t considered pain.”
Xiao Ran was speechless.
The girls looked puzzled as they were checking out his healthy build in the water.
“You’re so big in size, yet you’re scared of pain?”
Xiao Ran was not, but this treatment… hurt so much more than he had imagined!
The girls paid him no mind at first, but as time passed and Xiao Ran’s expression looked worse, they found it strange and fetched him a piece of Throb Rock.
There was a tiny insect inside the Throb Rock that was generally numb to all sensations of pain and could be measured to have a higher margin of pain relatively accurately. The highest pain it could take was 10 times more than the pain of a woman in labor.
As a result, the insect struggled a few times once it connected with Xiao Ran’s meridians before it died with a wisp of smoke.
Both girls gaped in shock.
While Xiao Ran was distracted, they ate the insect instantly—better not waste it when it was already barbecued.
Xiao Ran sweated profusely, feeling nearly dehydrated. When he could no longer take it, his mind entered the black ring to escape the physical twinge he was going through and fell asleep swiftly.
It was only then that Yinyue Zhenren came to the pool and stopped the herbal bath, sighing with her hands resting on her back. “This is a dantian with the highest threshold that I’ve ever seen. Yue’er really does have good foresight.”
He was that amazing? Chunwa suddenly said, “Junior Uncle said that he wants us to be his wives when we grow up, I think…”
“Too bad humans and beasts aren’t meant to be.”
Yinyue Zhenren shook her head with a smile and said nothing.
…
When Xiao Ran woke up, he was on a bed.
To be more precise, he was lying on a smooth platform made of rock that was interspersed with iciness and fiery warmth.
When he slowly opened his eyes, the inside of a bamboo roof greeted his sight.
Sitting beside his bed, Yinyue Zhenren was wearing light chiffon in a faint violet color with very short sleeves, revealing her fair and slim arms. The top looked a little like a cropped top but had an ethereal vibe.
Both her hands were making magic seals on Xiao Ran’s body.
Her gentle and alluring face was solemn and serious, while the dim red mark of the flower on her forehead now glowed intimidatingly crimson under the reflection of the magic seals.
There was a piece of divine sense enhancement glass that was akin to eyeglasses in front of her right eye. Her refracted gaze flowed with the thirst for knowledge, craving for exploration like a biologist interested in life’s miracles.
This was the type of scientist that Xiao Ran was the most afraid of!
Upon seeing that Xiao Ran had woken up, Yinyue Zhenren was slightly taken aback. She hurriedly checked her clothes and said, “I’ve given you anesthetic and fainting seals. Why are you still awake?”
It was not like Xiao Ran could tell her that he could keep himself conscious because his mind was in the black ring chat, or due to his body quality or something, if the woman got more excited.
“Senior Uncle’s too pretty. This disciple is reluctant to fall asleep, so I’m taking a few more glances.”
Yinyue Zhenren shook her head in amusement, a light blush appearing on her gentle features before she pulled on her clothes once more.
“Why don’t you stay on the Hundred Herb Hill and learn about herb refinement with me?”
Xiao Ran answered seriously, “Senior Uncle is pretty, but my heart belongs to Master eternally.”
Yinyue Zhenren let out a soft sigh and said, “I’ll view that as you having a conscience. At least you’re worth Yue’er taking the initiative for the first time to go to the Withered Sea after staying idle for so many years.”
Xiao Ran did not ask about his master’s trip to the Withered Sea. Instead, he said, “Don’t worry, Senior Uncle. This disciple won’t let Master down.”
Yinyue Zhenren hummed begrudgingly. “Well, don’t you let me down either.”
Xiao Ran’s face fell in surprise.
“Huh?”
Yinyue Zhenren replied, “Don’t waste your talent by farming. Come to the Hundred Herb Hill when you’re free. I’ll teach you some high-tier methods to refine medicine. With your talent, perhaps… you could turn Wraiths into living people one day. Who knows…”
‘Are you trying to teach me something here?’
It was obvious to Xiao Ran that Yinyue Zhenren held her tongue abruptly and switched to a lousy excuse to gloss things over.
He suddenly remembered something.
His master had mentioned that she was ill and she was not as strong as he imagined.
Was his master truly sick?
Xiao Ran made a mental note.
“Yes, Senior Uncle.”
After completing the magic seal, Yinyue Zhenren was ready to dissect Xiao Ran and thus reminded him, “Although you have the capability to stay awake, I suggest that you sleep. What will be happening next is far more exciting than you could imagine. I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it.”
“I can take it.”
Speaking stubbornly, Xiao Ran forced himself to fall asleep quickly in his mind. However, the more he wanted to sleep, the more he was unable to at a moment like this.
Blearily, he felt something entering his body.
It was icy at times, boiling hot at times, like tightly-packed tendrils tickling the outer wall of his dantian and rousing each meridian in his limbs and body…
Xiao Ran’s eyes flew open at once.
When he looked down, his gaze froze.
Yinyue Zhenren’s right arm had actually gone into his body through a spot under his navel, and she was personally dissecting his dantian and spiritual meridians.
The irony of dissecting his body with her body was not lost on him…
Since he was doused in high-tier anesthetic, Xiao Ran could no longer feel pain. There was only faint coolness, heat, and numbness…
He took another glance, noting that the skin on his abdomen had stayed intact.
Was it spatial magic?
While Xiao Ran wondered, his spine gave a tingle and the spiritual meridian of his spirit was abruptly severed, making him faint in the blink of an eye.
…
The next day at midnight, there was a row of bloody footprints in the medicine field of the Hundred Herb Hill.
Lingzhou Yue held her pot of wine and sword as she came back, her back facing the moon.