I Have Medicine

Chapter 618 - (Farewell to Feng Xueqin) Pressure, Immense Pressure!

Ahead of the lightning-attribute cultivation site lay another mountain gorge.

Violent gales danced through the center of the gorge, sandwiched between two razor-sharp peaks. The mountain springs gurgling through the gorge were actually an aggregation of a strange energy; looking closely, one could see this energy constantly rising and rapidly transforming into those fierce winds.

Such a scene was truly rare.

Gu Zuo abruptly released his psyche power, cautiously scanning the gorge. Upon closer inspection, he immediately discovered that tracing the “mountain spring” to its source revealed a hazy, misty mass slowly releasing the “spring water.” The energy contained within this mass was of a ferocity he had never seen before—if drawn out, while it might not quite bring about the end of the world, it would undoubtedly annihilate every one of them without the slightest issue.

However, Gu Zuo wasn’t overly worried. Although the power was violent, it was stably restrained by another peculiar force, allowing it to slowly release the “spring water” within. Meanwhile, after the chaotic mountain storms finished their rampage, they were absorbed by this object from the other end, forming a perfectly balanced cycle.

Gu Zuo understood instantly. He explained his discovery to Duan Yunbeng, Feng Xueqin, and his Big Brother, adding: “As long as we don’t deliberately provoke it, we should be fine. This place should be Senior Sister Feng’s opportunity.”

Feng Xueqin was the pride of the Binghe Feng family, and the Wind Dragon bloodline flowed through her veins. Although the Feng family primarily carried the Wind Dragon bloodline, in ancient times, they had intermarried with families possessing the Snow Phoenix bloodline. Most descendants only inherited one or the other, or had both with one being dominant; they would usually wash away one bloodline to let the other flourish.

This proud daughter’s aptitude was extraordinary, and her Wind Dragon bloodline was very rich. However, for some reason, her Snow Phoenix bloodline was also quite strong. Even though the Wind Dragon bloodline held the upper hand, the Snow Phoenix bloodline would often interfere, affecting her cultivation. Even more regrettable was that because the difference in concentration between the two was only about ten percent, it was incredibly difficult to wash one away!

…A normal person “washing” their bloodline meant using the primary one to suppress and then discard the weaker one, then absorbing the remnants to improve themselves. The smaller the difference between bloodlines, the greater the backlash. One mistake could lead to the primary bloodline being contaminated by the secondary, resulting in both being ruined.

Back then, Feng Xueqin faced exactly this awkward situation. Fortunately, her comprehension was extremely high and the early-stage interference wasn’t too severe, allowing her to maintain her title as a genius and gain a pivotal position in her family.

But this position was precarious. If she wasn’t cautious enough, she would instantly fall from grace. Her resources and cultivation would drop significantly, and in the world of martial arts, a single slow step leads to every step being slow.

The Feng family gave her a chance and looked for a solution, but this support had a deadline. If the problem wasn’t truly solved, someone more capable would eventually take her place. This was something Feng Xueqin could not tolerate. Her willpower was incredibly resilient; in a top-tier circle dominated mostly by male geniuses, she had risen through sheer hard work to become a formidable member.

Since discarding a bloodline was a life-or-death gamble anyway, after scouring countless ancient texts and meditating for days, she made a different decision.

The Snow Dragon Pill shares the same attribute as the Snow Phoenix and the same origin as the Wind Dragon. Using it as a bridge, she could deepen the Snow Phoenix bloodline power and allow it to communicate constantly with the Wind Dragon bloodline, eventually reaching a state of “Dragon and Phoenix Prosperity” (a bloodline balance). She even found a secret technique to act as a vessel for both; if she succeeded, her bloodlines would be perfectly balanced!

However…

Using the Snow Dragon Pill to achieve this was extremely difficult and dangerous. But Feng Xueqin refused to be inferior to anyone. Since it was dangerous either way, why not keep both bloodlines and become the only person in the Feng family to achieve such a feat? If she succeeded, her great perseverance and aptitude would be highly valued. As long as she could step into the Noble Realm and prove this method worked, her status in the family would reach a whole new level!

Unfortunately, the formula for the Profound-Level Snow Dragon Pill was rare, and the ingredients even rarer. Even when both were available, the success rate for pharmacists was incredibly low. Feng Xueqin had worked for years and possessed fewer than five such pills. She believed her bloodline could still support rapid breakthroughs for now and her lifespan was long; she could take her time to gather enough.

But perhaps a genius truly possesses extraordinary fortune. She later encountered Gu Zuo’s worldwide bounty, allowing her to trade for several Flawless Snow Dragon Pills, enabling her to achieve “Dragon and Phoenix Prosperity” in one go! From then on, her two bloodlines could transform into each other, absorbing wind energy while strengthening snow energy through her secret technique, and vice versa. Her cultivation speed increased several times over!

But simultaneously, her consumption of resources also increased significantly.

Now, Feng Xueqin’s participation in this exploration—and her lack of objection to Gu Zuo taking all the medicinal materials—was largely to repay Gu Zuo. His Snow Dragon Pills had drastically shortened her progress and, because they were flawless, left almost no side effects. One must know, the earlier a martial artist improves their talent, the more they can convert it into potential and foundation, allowing them to lead the pack in the later stages of the Martial Dao!

Therefore, Gu Zuo was right. This area of violent gales was perfectly suited for Feng Xueqin’s cultivation…

With Lei Pengfei’s previous departure as a precedent, there wasn’t much need for discussion. They would brave the gorge together to get the herbs for Gu Zuo, then Feng Xueqin would stay behind to cultivate. If Gu Zuo encountered danger or specific herbs he wanted later, he could return to find them, and they would help him together.

Given such a guarantee, Gu Zuo highly appreciated the character of Feng Xueqin and the others—their commitment to promises and their moral bottom line despite their high status. He decided in his heart that these families—or rather, these individuals—were worthy of being allies.

Then, Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng shared a glance, and together with the other two, they charged into the gorge!

The entire process took several hours. Gu Zuo didn’t find plants or fruits here, but rather a type of Wind-Marrow Crystal. It could be used for pills or spiritual weapons, but since Gu Zuo possessed many formulas for it, taking them all was no problem.

However, after consulting with Gongyi Tianheng, Gu Zuo set aside twenty percent, giving ten percent each to Feng Xueqin and Duan Yunbeng. Since Lei Pengfei wasn’t there, he naturally didn’t get a share.

Seeing this, Feng Xueqin and Duan Yunbeng’s favor toward the two increased further—they felt that being willing to share such heavy treasures was a sign of friendship and great character.

Afterward, Feng Xueqin stayed behind, while Duan Yunbeng, Gu Zuo, and Gongyi Tianheng moved on.

There were very few cultivation sites suitable for Duan Yunbeng because he possessed the Yin-Yang Constitution. He was naturally attuned to Yin and Yang Qi, which were extremely rare energies. The fact that he could manifest these two energies to kill enemies showed he had already achieved some success with his unique constitution.

It was hard to say if this ancient site contained a Yin-Yang cultivation spot. Such energy was not common even in ancient times—at least, it was much rarer than wind, thunder, or snow attributes.

Duan Yunbeng wasn’t in a hurry. He knew his required energy was harder to find. Coming to this ancient site was merely for a sliver of hope; if he found nothing, accompanying Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng wasn’t a loss.

Thus, the trio soon passed through cultivation sites for water, gold, and wood attributes, obtaining a large amount of herbs. For items that were both herbs and had other uses, Gu Zuo took eighty percent and gave the rest to Duan Yunbeng. For things completely unrelated to medicine, Duan Yunbeng and Gongyi Tianheng split them equally.

After traveling like this for two or three days, their harvest was immense. Even though Duan Yunbeng only took the smaller share, the benefits were extraordinary. Furthermore, because Gu Zuo was in a great mood from the herbs, he promised Duan Yunbeng “priority purchasing rights” and even offered to give him a few especially rare pills for free. All of this kept Duan Yunbeng in good spirits. Even if this trip proved fruitless for his own cultivation, it would greatly increase his foundation.

On this day, the three were traveling as usual, hacking through the thorns.

Ahead of them was what appeared to be a perfectly ordinary earthen mountain. But the moment they drew near, they suddenly felt an incredibly terrifying force of gravity pressing down from above. Almost instantly, all three were pinned to the ground!

Gu Zuo felt a dull pain in his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this, Gongyi Tianheng’s aura surged. In an instant, a power like a towering mountain or a deep abyss formed around him! This power didn’t allow him to adapt to the pressure immediately, but it did allow him to move within it. He lunged toward Gu Zuo at top speed and covered the boy’s body with his own!

At that moment, Gongyi Tianheng also let out a muffled groan.

With the two of them overlapping, the pressure they faced actually doubled compared to before! As a result, even though Tianheng had been able to move a moment ago, he now couldn’t help but be pressed tightly against Gu Zuo…

Meanwhile, Duan Yunbeng, who couldn’t turn his head but happened to be facing their direction: “…”