Chapter 32: Why Not Kick It Back Into the River (Seeking Yue Tickets, Recommendation Tickets!)
Wang Sheng's cultivation always circled back to his foundation in the end.
The greater his Qi-Blood Power, the more swiftly he could transcend the Flipping Illness phase, which meant his need for the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill had grown even greater.
Even with his current rate of consumption, he was barely keeping up.
Left with no choice, Wang Sheng had to extend his Medicinal Plant Cultivation hours to ensure an ample replenishment of his Qi-Blood.
This went on for about ten days.
"Qi Rushing to the Disease: Flipping Illness (75%)
Ba Duan Jin: Breakthrough+3 (25%)
Inner Core Skill (Hundred Days Foundation Establishment): Breakthrough+3 (18%)
Herb Recognition: Breakthrough+2 (75%)
Medicinal Plant Cultivation: Breakthrough+3 (56%)
Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill Making: 3 (13%)
Baji Quan: 8 (25%)
Plum Flower Step: 6 (13%)"
These were Wang Sheng's improvements over the period, with the overall progress still not substantial.
Perhaps due to rolling pills too often, the skill to make Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pills had been unlocked, but for now, aside from making the pills rounder, it had no other use.
The greatest progress, naturally, lay in the advancement of Qi Rushing to the Disease.
Ever since he'd entered the Flipping Illness stage, throughout these ten days, he'd been continuously assailing the disease focal points, having broken through the first three on the seventh day.
However, when he considered assaulting the disease focal point formed by the Martial Artist's plague, he sensed a modicum of danger—not deadly, but an aggravating kind of peril.
Ultimately, he chose to trust his intuition and did not immediately assail the Martial Artist's plague focal point.
Instead, he opted for caution, continuing to bolster his Qi-Blood Power to enhance his chances of success.
It's worth mentioning that under introspection, his blood felt "thicker."
Where before the feeling was barely noticeable, after ten days, the sensation was much clearer; both blood strength and Qi-Blood Power seemed to have grown stronger as a result.
"In past life novels, could a drop of blood being as heavy as a thousand catties be a real possibility?"
A "thicker" blood suggested an increased density within the body.
The same volume of blood naturally was of higher quality the denser it was.
A drop of blood being as heavy as a thousand catties wasn't out of the question.
But—
"Am I not on the path of Immortal Cultivation?"
The Inner Core Skill, undoubtedly, was the path of Immortal Cultivation.
Yet if he continued on this trajectory, he might become a Martial Arts Saint, with overwhelming might to break through all spells, before even becoming an immortal.
Still, he was certain that he was following the path of the Inner Core Skill.
"Could it be because I'm using Qi-Blood Power to replace the 'Qi' originally required by the Inner Core Skill?"
Wang Sheng himself couldn't quite understand it.
The Inner Core Skill, Ba Duan Jin, they weren't actually for cultivation but for well-being.
It was only with the progress bar's help in breaking limits that the Martial Artist Wang Sheng existed today.
Ultimately, Wang Sheng decided not to get to the bottom of it just yet as long as his chosen path remained that of the Inner Core Skill, the small details didn't matter.
The way, as long as it doesn't change, is all that matters!
After all, the later stages of the Inner Core Skill involved tapping into the body's inner elixirs, and having stronger blood and Qi-Blood Power was strictly speaking, beneficial.
Realizing this, Wang Sheng once again threw himself into enhancing his Qi-Blood Power.
Let it all increase, the higher the better!
His days were peaceful, but that wasn't necessarily the case for others.
A major incident had occurred in Qingshan Village today.
A group of children playing by the riverbank had found a man around 30, severely wounded.
Recently educated to inform adults upon encountering strangers, the children notified their families immediately after the discovery.
Poor mountain ranges and fierce waters may breed crafty folks, but influenced by the old Scholar, the villagers of Qingshan Village remained quite simple and honest over the generations.
So, several adults took the man to the only physician in the village, Ji Yang, old man Ji's place.
Old man Ji saw the person, and after a simple check, his face turned green.
If it were him who had come across this man, he would have definitely kicked him into the water and let him go wherever he pleased—just stay away from Qingshan Village.
The reason was simple.
After checking, he realized this person was a Martial Artist.
The characteristics of a Martial Artist, which he had heard about when he was an apprentice, were most noticeable on the skin.
Every Martial Artist had an extremely strong external defense.
Otherwise, the first one to get injured during the use of martial techniques would be themselves.
Old man Ji had confirmed during his checkup that, despite the numerous sword wounds on the man's body, his skin was extremely tough, definitely beyond the reach of an ordinary person.
He was undoubtedly a Martial Artist.
What did a Martial Artist full of sword wounds signify?
It signified huge trouble!
Old man Ji knew very well that if this Martial Artist had enemies, they might very likely pursue him here.
Now he just wanted to throw the man out, but seeing the children still at the doorway and thinking about the consequences if the Martial Artist woke up while being tossed out, he decided—
"Can you help me by going to find Wang Sheng, Brother Wang?"
The children didn't want to go, preferring to watch the excitement, but their adults shooed them off.
The kids didn't understand, but their elders knew very well that Wang Sheng was a Martial Artist, and old man Ji's calling for Wang Sheng meant that the identity of the unconscious man was no simple matter; it meant trouble.
At that moment, they had the same thought as old man Ji—if only they had kicked this person back from where he came.
Who wants to save him, just save him!
Wang Sheng was originally practicing Ba Duan Jin at home when a few kids came over, dragged him away, and said there was big trouble.
He had no choice but to follow the children.
A few minutes later, he stood at old man Ji's doorstep.
"It couldn't be another death due to the Martial Artist plague, could it? Wasn't it said to have little effect on ordinary people?"
Thinking to himself, he entered old man Ji's home.
Old man Ji saw Wang Sheng arrive and visibly breathed a sigh of relief, then spoke to the adults who hadn't yet left, "I'd like to speak with Yun Sheng alone for a moment."
The adults understood, forcibly dragging the children away with them.
"Old man Ji, what's going on?" Wang Sheng asked upon seeing the person lying on the sickbed.
Old man Ji didn't beat around the bush and pointed directly at the man, saying, "See this? This person, those kids found him by the river. A Martial Artist, severely wounded!"
Wang Sheng frowned and said, "You're planning to treat him? Old man Ji, you should know the trouble with his situation even better than I do, right?"
After a moment of hesitation, he continued, "How about we just throw him back where he came from?"
Martial Artist + severely wounded = trouble!
Wang Sheng didn't want to deal with these problems.
Old man Ji was somewhat shocked. Although he harbored the same thought, Wang Sheng stating it so bluntly was somewhat startling.
Could it be they were truly of one village?
Right, since the man wasn't from their village, there was no need for sympathy.
With Wang Sheng speaking out, he no longer needed to keep his own thoughts hidden.
"It's just that I'm afraid he might suddenly wake up and I wouldn't be able to restrain him!"
"I'll do it, then!"
Saying that, Wang Sheng went to move the Martial Artist lying on the bed.
The Martial Artist on the bed started to panic.
He couldn't understand—had the village folks already become so unsympathetic?
How could he naturally wake up? Online waiting, very urgent!