Chapter 46
The moment Gongyi Tianheng came to the doorway, he saw his little pharmacist's excited face. As Gu Zuo bounded over, Tianheng couldn't help startling slightly.
Although his little pharmacist's expressions were very abundant, the times they were so excitable were still very rare.
What happened?
Gu Zuo rushed outside and discovered that he was excessively emotional. Once he stopped, he lowered his voice and said: “Young master Tianheng, I know how to practice the Spirit Piercing Awl!”
Tianheng's eyes flashed: “Oh?”
He started walking with Gu Zuo as he talked, entering their two-person room.
Dragon One and Dragon Two kept watch outside.
After the room's door closed, no one could hear what happened inside.
Gongyi Tianheng sat down and asked: “Can Ah Zuo tell me the details?”
It went without saying that Gu Zuo planned to do just this. Without any hesitation, he immediately talked about the course of events concerning his own practice and the current situation of his psychic power. He explained everything in full detail without missing anything.
After he listened, his interest was piqued and he pondered deeply.
For the sake of his rubbish body, he deeply researched the continent's martial artist cultivations. Previously when he couldn't cultivate, he made modifications to cultivation methods. Once he met Gu Zuo, he discovered that pharmacists like that didn't seem to be as simple as he thought. Naturally, this generated a huge amount of interest.
Only, it was unfortunate that even though Gu Zuo didn't withhold anything from him, Tianheng was not a pharmacist in the end. He didn't possess medical beads and was incapable of studying things related exclusively to pharmacists. He could understand what was written about the Spirit Piercing Awl, but he could never figure out the context or enter a state of self-study.
Now that he had listened to Gu Zuo's words, he developed some speculation.
A pharmacist's medical beads could've possibly been the reason why they couldn't practice a martial artist's martial skills. However, pharmacists had their own technical skills that utilized psychic power. Similarly, they certainly had their own attack capabilities. Besides, their ability to refine medicine complemented each other… It looked like it was absolutely incorrect to say that pharmacists didn't have any abilities to defend themselves. Rather, those kinds of pharmacist skills had already died out.
However, Gongyi Tianheng wasn't completely convinced of this conjecture.
Because Gu Zuo's Spirit Piercing Awl was obtained through that so-called system, there was also a possibility that Gu Zuo, with a system that recognized a host, could study it while other pharmacists were incapable. Or maybe Gu Zuo met certain conditions, and these conditions weren't the system but something else…
Still, no matter how many theories he had, it was currently impossible to verify them.
More importantly, while Gongyi Tianheng had a heavy penchant for gambling, he was extremely prudent.
This was certainly a new discovery that could undermine the whole continent. He couldn't simply let other pharmacists attempt it.
One could know a person for a long time without knowing their true nature. Once there was an attempt, whether it was a success, failure, or some other possibility, the consequences were not currently within his control.
And he wouldn't rashly meddle with things he couldn't control.
After thinking it over, Gongyi Tianheng gently said: “Since it's like this, Ah Zuo can keep refining medicinal pills to collect medicinal qi as before. Ah Zuo doesn't need to worry about the required herbs. I'll certainly do my best to get them for you.”
Gu Zuo's face warmed up a bit. He clenched his fist and tried to restrain a sentence: “…The medicinal pills I refine will all belong to young master Tianheng!”
There wasn't a better patron than Gongyi Tianheng in the whole world…
Even if there were, he felt that his patron was the one most suited to him!
This matter didn't waste too much of the two's time. Since Tianheng knew that this Spirit Piercing Awl was useful, under an increased pique of interest, he still spent some time researching. In addition, he also told Gu Zuo to wait until the amounts of acc.u.mulated gelatinous psychic power met the lowest requirements for the Spirit Piercing Awl. Then he could make an attempt at using other methods of controlling them either through self-discipline or strengthening his powers of self-control. Moreover, there were still many functions of psychic powers that made him want to figure out to avoid harming the body.
Gu Zuo understood Gongyi Tianheng's words of wisdom and he naturally did as he was told. Dozens of days pa.s.sed until finally he could use the technique to shape his psychic power. He didn't hesitate to make another attempt!
This time, Gu Zuo was pleasantly surprised.
This was because he discovered that if his thoughts were sufficiently powerful, he could extract psychic power and make it enter another person's body! Although this required that the other person didn't use their true qi to interfere, it could be used to examine his patron's health without a problem!
In fact, Gongyi Tianheng also cooperated. Now that Gu Zuo grasped nearly all of the ins and outs of this thing, the follow-up care for the Tiandu Body would depend on him. What secrets could it still be hiding?
Gongyi Tianheng automatically allowed Gu Zuo's psychic power to enter him. The faintest and most sensitive conditions within Tianheng were reported back to Gu Zuo.
The results were also clear and easy to see.
After a period of time, Gu Zuo gave his patron several examinations every day. For example, he examined him before and after practicing martial arts or using his cultivation method. He examined him after eating medicinal cuisines or soaking in medicinal decoctions, as well as before going to sleep… And the medicinal cuisines that had been one meal a day became several meals a day.
In short, whenever Gongyi Tianheng found himself hungry, tired, or in a poor state, he would immediately get Gu Zuo's medicinal cuisine delivery.
…He never experienced this kind of meticulous care even when he was at his weakest.
Meanwhile, Tianheng's physical body grew more powerful, the general circ.u.mstances of his meridians stabilized, and his own strength steadily rose.
And as for Gu Zuo?
The medicines he refined every day weren't only the qi generating pills and rejuvenation pills, he was still researching even more prescriptions to start preparing — One could say that no matter if the work was refining medicine or attending to his patron, it all went smoothly. Everything was very harmonious.
It was just that after he “took his patron's pulse” today, he discovered something that made him want to jump with fright.
The corner of Gu Zuo's mouth curled as he stared, dumbstruck, at his patron.
His patron's courage… Previously, was he still underestimating it…
A Meridian Condensing third stage martial artist could open seventy two earthly fiend acupoints. c.u.mulatively, this was Houtian ninth stage perfect-grade, and one could “attack” the Xiantian realm at the right time. It was like this since ancient times.
However, the human body didn't only have thirty six heavenly spirit acupoints and seventy two earthly fiend acupoints, numbering one hundred and eight. There were still hundreds of acupoints located inside and out that had never been opened previously.
But Gu Zuo clearly discovered that his patron opened an acupoint within the Three Yang Foot Meridians [1]. He had condensed a bone pearl in that acupoint!
That's right. It was precisely the Tiandu Body's hundred unblocked acupoints. These hundred acupoints were the one hundred and eight heavenly spirit and earthly fiend acupoints, but the others still had blockages. Merely, they were far from the serious blockages of common martial artists and opening them wasn't as difficult either. However, despite not being difficult, he couldn't be so reckless!
Gu Zuo was speechless.
Wasn't his patron a little too…unconstrained?
Gongyi Tianheng saw Gu Zuo's hard-pressed expression, and couldn't help smiling: “Ah Zuo, why such a miserable look? I only altered the cultivation method. I feel that this one's more suitable.”
Gu Zuo heard this and straightened his expression: “The cultivation method young master Tianheng created has this kind of requirement?”
Tianheng slightly muttered to himself, saying: “Correct. After I reached Meridian Condensing third stage, I still felt that I was far from achieving perfection. If I tried to initiate Xiantian, then it was very likely I could fail. After I made several attempts, I found that another acupoint was very easy to open. Once it opened and I refined the Xiantian qi within my meridians, the qi was too powerful and it was hard for my meridians to support it. Usually, it was dispelled through my acupoints and was really quite a waste. But just as I changed my mind, a bone pearl was condensed in that newly opened acupoint and the outflowing Xiantian qi being refined was stored within…”
Gu Zuo understood: “Then later, young master wants to condense even more bone pearls?”
Tianheng nodded: “The heavenly spirit and earthly fiend acupoints total one hundred and eight. I feel the internalized true qi flowing towards six directions. There seems to be six cycles, and these six together serve one large cycle… In this realm, I'm afraid that I'd have to condense five sets of acupoints, totaling five hundred forty bone pearls.”
Gu Zuo felt like lightning had struck his forehead.
Five hundred forty bone pearls? Was he being teased?
Wait, that's not right. Currently, his patron had only condensed seventy two earthly fiend acupoints. If there were six sets of acupoints, then there should've been a difference of five sets with seventy two times five. That's three hundred sixty acupoints! How did the heavenly spirit acupoints correspond to the calculated hundred eighty?
Gongyi Tianheng saw through Gu Zuo's questions, and said while smiling: “Because this can be considered indulging in fantasy, the other acupoints actually serve as Houtian acupoints. Therefore, once I condense all the bone pearls in this realm, and after I've finally gotten to the Xiantian realm, I just need to condense the thirty six Xiantian bone pearls.” [2]
Gu Zuo practically wanted to lie flat on the ground.
So that was to say, his patron still had five hundred thirty nine remaining, right? …Thinking about this left him blinded.
Gongyi Tianheng's gaze brimmed with expectation: “So, is Ah Zuo willing to help me?”
Gu Zuo said dispiritedly: “I'm willing…”
Fine. His patron was ambitious. He was unwilling, but also willing! He just wouldn't think about the difficulties and so on. Still, he thought that once his patron succeeded, his strength would frighten the world and make ghosts and G.o.ds weep!
In response, Tianheng's brows rose slightly: “Later on, I'll still need Ah Zuo to work hard.”
Gu Zuo lit a candle for himself in his heart. After that, he once again shined with vitality: “Rest a.s.sured, young master Tianheng! There's still several months, I'll certainly do my best!”
Tianheng's expression softened: “I'll also do my best.”
Under such a d.a.m.nable mission issued by his dear patron, Gu Zuo wanted to hurry and claw at a wall [3].
After carefully thinking about it, he felt that this matter wasn't too rotten… For example, it was just like the problem of how his patron's meridians were too weak. The meridians were connected by the acupoints. After they were filled with enough bone pearls, whenever large amounts of natural qi entered the meridians, it could be immediately absorbed in these bone pearls. On the contrary, it would decrease the impact on the meridians. Moreover, if the meridians were damaged by this overflow, the small rupture would be braced by the bone pearls. The repairs would also be easier!
Then, as his patron currently wanted to condense so many bone pearls, the acupoints of his whole body would be in a state of hunger. One might as well stop his patron from absorbing natural qi and just directly stuff him full of qi generating pills!
In any case, he could refine this thing very easily…
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[1] 足三阳经 - Zu san yang jing, a group of three meridians belonging to the Twelve Principle Meridians. They are primarily located from the foot through the torso to the head.
[2] Five sets of seventy two earthly fiend acupoints and thirty six heavenly spirit acupoints equals five hundred forty acupoints. The final sixth set isn't in the calculated five hundred forty. I think.
[3] 挠墙 - Nao qiang, an expression meaning to feel dejected, helpless, or suppressed.
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