Chapter 154: Double Blessings Arrive Together

Old Yi leaned against a tree. He and Lu Zhe had parted ways about an hour ago. Seeing the sun dipping slightly toward the west, he still could not catch sight of Lu Zhe. A short while later, there was still no sign of him. Just as he was growing restless and preparing to go look for Lu Zhe, a limping figure resembling an old man came walking from the west. Old Yi was momentarily startled, then peered closely, only to discover that the person walking toward him was none other than the one he had been anxiously awaiting—Lu Zhe!

Lu Zhe staggered like a tottering old man because his wounds, though not fatal, were certainly not light. In his haste, he had completely forgotten to bring any medicinal pills for healing, leaving him with no choice but to make do by wrapping himself in white cloth. He had intended to push through and stagger to the rendezvous point, where he would ask Old Yi for some healing medicine. Yet every time he moved, his wounds tore open anew—tearing open with every single step. Leaving aside the agony, the real problem was that he had already suffered excessive blood loss. If this continued, he would perish on the road long before reaching the meeting place.

Lu Zhe felt his vision beginning to blur, but he felt no fear, having experienced such ordeals before. The torment endured while refining the Extreme Mountain Fire Sunflower made the present pain pale into utter insignificance. Step by step, he dragged himself toward the rendezvous spot. Just as his wounds tore open yet again, he finally reached his limit, intending to sit down for a moment of rest before resuming his journey. Right as he was about to collapse onto the ground, a strong arm caught him.

"Master?" Lu Zhe cried out in surprise upon seeing the familiar face before him.

Old Yi helped Lu Zhe sit down and ordered him to take off his outer garment. Lu Zhe complied, revealing the white cloth used for binding. Old Yi peeled away the layers of cloth one by one, but just as he was about to remove the innermost layer, Lu Zhe suddenly grabbed Old Yi's hand and said, "Master, don't peel it off anymore; it's no use. The cloth has already stuck to my wounds."

Old Yi drew a pair of small scissors and a jade bottle from his tunic. Opening the bottle, he poured some of the liquid inside onto the scissors and warned, "This is going to sting a bit, bear with it." Lu Zhe nodded, and Old Yi began using the small scissors to clip away the white cloth clinging to Lu Zhe's wounds. The moment the scissors touched his flesh, Lu Zhe gasped sharply, gritting his teeth as he said, "Master, the stuff you just poured on the scissors was wine!"

Old Yi nodded and replied, "Indeed. Didn't you smell it?" As he spoke, he snipped an opening in the cloth covering Lu Zhe's wound, then bit by bit tore away the blood-soaked fabric.

Lowering his head, Old Yi closely inspected the wound. At a glance, he could tell it had been inflicted by a blade or sword weapon, for the gash was straight, narrow, and long, with the flesh inside completely smooth and un-everted—a feat achievable only by extremely sharp edged weapons.

Old Yi drew another piece of white cloth from his tunic, poured medicinal wine from the bottle onto it, and began cleaning the wound.

Every time Old Yi's cloth touched his injury, Lu Zhe shuddered violently and gasped. After enduring over a dozen such gasps, Old Yi finally finished cleaning the wound.

Once the blood stains around the area were wiped away, a fine slit appeared near the left side of Lu Zhe's waist and abdomen, looking precisely like a thin thread.

Extracting medicine from his tunic while closely examining the wound, Old Yi remarked, "It seems that person's swordsmanship is formidable indeed."

Lu Zhe nodded and said, "Naturally, his sword qi was terrifying. If I hadn't paralyzed him with Numbing Powder, I probably wouldn't have made it back alive. Oh, by the way, Master, why didn't the Numbing Powder you taught me work?"

"Hmm? Why didn't it work?" Old Yi asked, pulling a small blue bottle and a thick piece of gauze from his robes.

"You once said that Numbing Powder could incapacitate formidable Spirit Monarchs, so why couldn't it even take down a mere Greater Spirit Master?" Lu Zhe grumbled, pouring out his grievances.

Old Yi poured the medicinal liquid from the blue bottle onto the gauze and pressed it against Lu Zhe's wound. While wrapping the white cloth around him, he answered, "The Numbing Powder I mentioned that can incapacitate Spirit Monarchs is somewhat different from the version I taught you. I will explain it to you slowly another time."

Touching the newly wrapped bandages, Lu Zhe let out a long sigh of relief, feeling much more comfortable now. Old Yi produced a small bronze medicinal pill from his robes and handed it to him, saying it would quicken his recovery whether taken internally or applied externally.

Lu Zhe swallowed the pill, picked his outer garment up from the ground, but after a second glance decided to change into a different one, as the garment was soaked in blood and riddled with numerous tears. He casually discarded the clothing, retrieved a fresh set from his storage ring to put on, and handed a yellow storage ring to Old Yi.

Accepting the yellow ring, Old Yi asked, "What are you giving me this storage ring for?"

While dressing, Lu Zhe explained, "This belongs to the arrogant young master who tried to rob us of the Superior White Qi Fruit. I didn't kill him, but this ring has a soul imprint engraved upon it, so I can't extract the Superior White Qi Fruit inside. Master, is there a way for you to erase the soul imprint on this?"

Old Yi inspected the yellow storage ring and smiled. "Quite high-grade, but it's child's play to me." He gripped the ring tightly in his right hand, whereupon a yellow radiance burst from his palm. After the flash subsided, Old Yi opened his hand; the yellow ring lay tranquil and undisturbed in his palm, looking precisely as it had moments before.

"Done," Old Yi said with a smile, looking at the ring in his palm.

Lu Zhe took the yellow storage ring from Old Yi's palm, stared at it closely, then removed the white storage ring from his little finger and replaced it with the yellow one. Finding it a perfect fit, he said happily, "Ah, this is wonderful! I'll gladly keep this. I remember Elder Ye once saying that yellow storage rings are two tiers higher than white ones."

Old Yi chuckled and said, "Enough nonsense. Quickly imprint your soul and take out the Superior White Qi Fruit; time waits for no one."

Lu Zhe slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Look at me, almost forgetting the main business." His spiritual sense pierced through his arm into the yellow ring, where he engraved his own soul imprint before retrieving the Superior White Qi Fruit from within.

"Is this the one?" Lu Zhe asked, cradling an apple-sized white fruit in his left hand.

Old Yi took the white fruit, examined it carefully, and even brought it beneath his nose to sniff it. "Indeed, top-tier quality," he affirmed.

"Then let us hurry and refine the Lesser Spirit Pattern Pill!" Lu Zhe said impatiently.

Reaching out, Old Yi tapped him on the forehead and scolded, "What are you rushing for? We are still lacking one medicinal ingredient."

Looking enlightened, Lu Zhe said, "Ah, I almost forgot—we still need the Crimson-Purple Orchid Grass. Where are we supposed to find that?"

Old Yi fell into deep contemplation as well. After pondering for a moment, he said, "I have no idea where to find Crimson-Purple Orchid Grass either. After all, an herb of this grade is exceptionally rare."

Lu Zhe thought for a moment before suddenly crying out, "Oh no, I completely forgot!"

Old Yi asked, "Forgot what?"

"I have the Crimson-Purple Orchid Grass!" Lu Zhe said excitedly.

"Where on earth would you get Crimson-Purple Orchid Grass?" Old Yi retorted skeptically.

Extending his left hand and pointing directly at the yellow storage ring on his little finger, Lu Zhe beamed with excitement. "Right here!"

"Then why aren't you taking it out immediately?!" Old Yi shouted in excitement as well.

Hastily, Lu Zhe drew the Crimson-Purple Orchid Grass from the yellow storage ring—an herb interwoven with hues of purple and crimson.

Old Yi hurriedly snatched the Crimson-Purple Orchid Grass, sniffed it, weighed it in his hand, and rejoiced, "Without a doubt, it is Crimson-Purple Orchid Grass, and judging by its color and luster, top quality at that!"

"Haha, we've struck gold!" Lu Zhe stroked the storage ring on his little finger with an affectionate expression.

"Now that all the ingredients have been gathered, there is no time to lose. Let us refine the pill at once!" Lu Zhe said jubilantly. Yet no sooner had he spoken than he was suddenly overcome by a wave of dizziness and a spinning world, causing him to collapse flat onto the ground.

Old Yi hurried forward to inspect him, finding Lu Zhe's complexion as pale as frost. Checking his pulse and examining his pupils, he pulled a red medicinal bottle from his storage ring, poured out a bean-sized red pill, and fed it to Lu Zhe.

After swallowing the red pill, Lu Zhe's complexion improved markedly. Seeing the color return slightly to his face, Old Yi let out a breath of relief and muttered, "This kid truly has nine lives. If he had lost even a fraction more blood, even I would have been powerless to save him." With that, he hoisted Lu Zhe onto his back and walked deeper into the forest. On the far side of the woods lay a vast expanse of towering, layered mountain peaks.

...

The moment Lu Zhe opened his eyes, he was greeted by a blue sky and drifting white clouds. Startled at first, he sat up and realized he was resting on a flat boulder, covered by a woolen blanket.

Old Yi was sitting near a small stream at the front of the boulder, fishing. True to form, he was fishing without any bait, meaning he had not caught a single fish.

Lu Zhe looked down at his waist; the bandages covering his wound had been replaced with fresh ones, the medicine renewed, and the pain had subsided significantly. Rolling off the boulder, he walked over to Old Yi and said, "Master."

Turning his head slightly, Old Yi asked, "How is the wound?"

"Much better."

"Good. How is your spiritual power recovering?" Old Yi inquired.

Lu Zhe hurriedly checked his spirit core, only to find it completely parched. "My spiritual energy is completely exhausted."

"Then what are you waiting for? Why aren't you going to recover your spiritual power? Do you no longer wish to refine the Lesser Spirit Pattern Pill?" Old Yi asked flatly.

Lu Zhe nodded and turned to walk back toward the boulder, but Old Yi's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Drink the fish soup before you recover your spiritual power."

Startled, Lu Zhe spun around and noticed a bowl sitting beside Old Yi. He walked over, picked it up, took a sip, and asked in utter astonishment, "Master, is this fish soup?"

"Indeed, it is fish soup," Old Yi replied.

"Then where is the fish?" Lu Zhe demanded, pushing the bowl toward Old Yi.

Aside from a few leafy greens, there was not a single trace of anything else in the bowl.

Shaking his fishing rod, Old Yi answered, "The fish simply refused to bite, so you'll just have to make do with this."

"You—" Rendered completely speechless by Old Yi's shamelessness, Lu Zhe could only shake his head, gulp down the clear broth, wipe his mouth, and return to the boulder. Crossing his legs, he gathered his concentration and began recovering his spiritual energy.

Old Yi remained seated at the stream, continuing to fish while fish swam leisurely through the water and birds soared across the sky.