I Have Medicine

Chapter 611 - (Feng Xueqin) Star-Fixing Compass

After returning, Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng still had many things to attend to.

For instance, they needed to study the information on the Fire Cavern obtained from Lei Pengfei and Duan Yunbeng to devise countermeasures; Gu Zuo had to prepare for the grand lectures he gave every seven days; he needed to refine various pills suited for different scenarios; and he had to quickly absorb the Azure Silk Fire he got from Duan Yunbeng to merge it into his dandian’s lotus platform…

The next half-month passed in a flurry of activity.

In those short two weeks, Gongyi Tianheng focused primarily on tempering his innate spirit weapon, with little increase in his cultivation realm or inner energy. Gu Zuo, however, successfully merged the Azure Silk Fire. To his astonishment, the moment the fourth type of the Heterogeneous Fire merged and the lotus petal turned a pale azure, it released an incredibly powerful backflow of energy. This instantly filled and expanded Gu Zuo’s dandian, causing him to break through several levels in a row—his inner energy cultivation jumped from the early-mid Atomic Realm straight to the Peak of the Atomic Realm!

This change left Gu Zuo in an excellent mood, though he also gained a vague realization.

Upon learning this, Gongyi Tianheng said, “Since your dandian contains a lotus platform, your cultivation realm likely shares a deep connection with it. The more fires you have, the faster you progress. This trip to the Fire Cavern has now become an absolute necessity.”

The lotus platform had appeared long ago, and it was clear they needed to collect heterogeneous fires. However, because Gu Zuo already had three types in his possession—sufficient for both pharmacy and combat—he hadn’t been in a rush to hunt for more, usually only keeping an ear out for information. But it now seemed those three fires only supported his cultivation up to the early-mid Atomic Realm. Beyond that, even with his diligent practice and constant consumption of Bu Qi Pills, his progress had been sluggish.

In reality, the strength of any genius is not gained by staying home and practicing by the book. Although Gu Zuo was not a martial artist, he was an extremely unique pharmacist; naturally, he could not afford to be complacent.

Now that he had obtained a new wisp of heterogeneous fire and absorbed it, he finally understood the reason.

As it turned out, he had to ignite and fill all thirty-six lotus seeds on the lotus platform to allow his realm to advance without bottlenecks!

This was likely an effect brought about by the Yao Tian Xin Method. For confirmation, Gu Zuo specifically went to ask Ling Su.

Ling Su explained that this technique yielded different results for different pharmacists with the Medicine Heaven Sacred Body. Back then, her master’s dandian didn’t manifest a lotus platform, but rather a different kind of “phenomenon.”

Ultimately, Gu Zuo would have to figure out the specifics on his own—just as different Tiandu Bodies functioned uniquely. Fortunately, Gu Zuo was used to seeing Gongyi Tianheng’s self-reliant efforts and didn’t mind the challenge.

In short, the primary task now was to collect as many heterogeneous fires as possible and merge them into the lotus platform to shatter all bottlenecks!

With this in mind, Gu Zuo and his big brother waited peacefully for the appointed day.

Seven days later, after finishing a lecture, Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng arrived on time at the pre-arranged location—a secret tavern within a large marketplace outside the Longque Academy. Many people used this place to discuss clandestine affairs. It was indeed highly secretive; even Cosmic Realm martial artists would meet here temporarily, confident the tavern would never leak their identities.

However, the prices were exorbitant. If the members of this group weren’t all financially powerful, they would have struggled to afford such a private room.

Once Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng entered through a secret door, they saw those who had already been waiting.

Lei Pengfei greeted them with a smile: “Rest assured, Junior Brothers. In this place, even a world-class powerhouse of the Lesser Emperor Realm cannot break the restrictive formations to eavesdrop on our conversation without causing a massive commotion.”

If there was a massive commotion, they could simply stop talking immediately, so they didn’t fear being overheard.

Gu Zuo smiled. “Big Brother and I naturally trust our Senior Brothers and Senior Sister.”

As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the only woman in the room. she was clad in snow-white soft armor with a frost-colored longsword strapped to her back. Her long hair hung loose, and aside from a single bracer on her forearm, she wore no jewelry. Despite her bare face, she possessed an indescribable aura—cold, elegant, and beautiful.

This woman was Feng Xueqin.

Among the “Ten Heirs of Longque,” the gender ratio was skewed seven-to-three in favor of men, and previously, the few women had ranked lower. But with Feng Xueqin’s rise, she became the only female in the top five. This was also her performance immediately after her “evolution”; given more time for dedicated cultivation, she might even advance further.

Gu Zuo had seen many exceptional young women in this world, and Feng Xueqin was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding. In his eyes, the only ones who could compare to her in temperament were Dantai Lianxing and Huang Ji… ‘No, wait.’

He shook the thought away. Huang Ji was his Senior Brother, not a girl. It should be only Dantai Lianxing. Gu Zuo felt that even his future sister-in-law Ling Ziwei and the Heavenly Heart Body Xishuang Yun were still missing “something.”

But what was that “something”?

Puzzled, Gu Zuo sent a transmission message to Gongyi Tianheng.

Gongyi Tianheng let out a soft chuckle in Gu Zuo’s mind.

[Ah Zuo, what they lack is simply the “conceit” of a genius.]

Conceit usually wasn’t a positive word, but when applied to a genius, it could be described as an unshakable confidence unique to them.

Absolute belief in oneself, unswerving.

And when a genius turns that absolute belief into reality, it is no longer conceit, but a powerful confidence that far exceeds the ordinary. In other words, it was an indestructible will of self-belief.

Upon seeing Gu Zuo, Feng Xueqin also stood up. Her voice was as cold and elegant as her appearance, yet very pleasant to the ear: “Junior Brother Gu, Junior Brother Gongyi.”

Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng greeted her in return: “Senior Sister Feng.”

After everyone had exchanged greetings, they sat down. None of them were the type to dawdle, and they quickly began discussing the next steps.

With a flick of her slender hand, a disk-like object appeared in Feng Xueqin’s palm. It was covered in extremely profound patterns and emitted a strange aura. Gu Zuo recognized the patterns as inscriptions, but since his proficiency in inscriptions was nearly zero, he couldn’t identify them. He could only tell from the aura that this disc was extraordinary.

Feng Xueqin said, “This is a Star-Fixing Compass.”

Lei Pengfei followed up with an explanation: “The Star-Fixing Compass is an extremely rare artifact and a family heirloom of Senior Sister Feng. Its function is as follows: wherever we go, we can use it to set a ‘star mark.’ After that, no matter where we are, as long as we have this compass and inject inner energy, we can quickly teleport back to that mark.”

Duan Yunbeng added, “Junior Brothers, rest assured. We have tested this item; it is completely safe.”

Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng exchanged a glance. Both understood that this thing was essentially a portable, miniature teleportation array. As long as there was a star mark, they could go wherever they pleased. It seemed to have a similar function to Gu Zuo’s Void-Breaking Shuttle.

But to think an artifact could do this? Gongyi Tianheng pondered to himself. It seemed his Uncle Zhao’s foundations would surely be incredibly deep once he reached the end of his cultivation. Gu Zuo had the same thought. The more powerful his father became, the more his and Big Brother’s own foundations would deepen. This filled him with joy—it was always better for those supporting each other to be as strong as possible. Moreover, once his father grew powerful, Gu Zuo wouldn’t have to worry about his safety as often as before.

Gongyi Tianheng had many thoughts, but throughout his interactions with these people, he left the handling entirely to Gu Zuo to give him experience. He never once interrupted.

Thus, Gu Zuo asked, “Do you all intend to set off from here?”

Lei Pengfei replied, “Correct. A star mark has already been set here. When we return, the Star-Fixing Compass will follow the mark and teleport us directly back to this spot.”

Gu Zuo was a bit curious: “This place cannot be breached even by Lesser Emperor Realm powerhouses. Will it really be okay for the Star-Fixing Compass to teleport us inside?”

Lei Pengfei smiled. “Once we entered this place, an inscription seal was placed upon us. I have rented this room for ten days. During these ten days, the seal will exist. When the Star-Fixing Compass teleports us back, as long as the seal is still there, we won’t be attacked by the restrictions here.”

Gu Zuo understood. So that was how it worked—it was quite a discreet method.

Lei Pengfei and Duan Yunbeng shared the same sentiment. After all, that Fire Cavern was a rare ancient training ground that no one else had discovered. They wanted to go in and reap the benefits to improve themselves and had no desire to let anyone else find out. After so many years, who knew if the energy inside had dissipated or how much they could actually gain? Ultimately, the more people there were, the less they would get.

They had discovered this place by chance during a training trip and had attempted to enter once before, but were forced to leave because it was too difficult. Duan Yunbeng obtaining the Heterogeneous Fire had actually been a fluke; it was unlikely such a stroke of luck would happen again.

By their judgment, Gu Zuo’s presence was indispensable, and they suspected Gu Zuo wouldn’t be willing to go without Gongyi Tianheng. After much deliberation, the three decided to add the two of them—which was the absolute limit. Fortunately, Gongyi Tianheng’s strength was indeed impressive and he was a person well worth befriending; otherwise, no matter how much they needed Gu Zuo, they wouldn’t have brought a “drag” along.

Gongyi Tianheng naturally understood their perspective. This kind of experience was fresh and, in his eyes, quite interesting.

Since time was of the essence, Feng Xueqin saw they were done talking and said coldly, “Let’s go. The sooner the better.”

Lei Pengfei and the others smiled at each other and stood up. Feng Xueqin brought out the Star-Fixing Compass and had the four men each drop a bead of fresh blood onto it. Then, she abruptly surged her inner energy into the device!

A flash of white light erupted from the Star-Fixing Compass, enveloping all five of them. In the next instant, they vanished.