Doctor Guigu’s nose was even more sensitive than a dog’s. After smelling the medicinal scent, his eyes immediately sparkled with excitement, his expression became animated, and his tone was no longer so monotonous and low.
The Hun Ling Zhi from the Jiuming Realm was the most sacred herb in the deepest part of the underworld, extremely valuable.
The Xue Po San from the Realm of Rakshasa was also a sacred medicinal herb of that realm, its preciousness nearly equal to that of the Hun Ling Zhi.
And the Xu Hun Cao, which grew deep in hell, was even more rare and precious. It was said that consuming even a tiny bit of this herb could significantly enhance one’s soul power.
Doctor Guigu was a ghost physician who walked between the realms of the living and the dead (though he mostly stayed in the world of the living). He was extremely familiar with all kinds of medicinal herbs. He had once visited the Lingbao Pavilion and seen these sacred herbs, but unfortunately, he had been too poor to afford them and could only look and smell. Shui Miao possessed these extremely valuable sacred herbs but didn’t know how to use them to save himself, clearly due to his lack of medical knowledge.
After saying this, Doctor Guigu suddenly realized he had shown too much excitement, which might arouse Shui Miao’s suspicion. So he paused slightly and quickly added in a more neutral tone: “Well, actually, these three herbs are not too bad. If you have them, just give them to me. I can help you prepare the medicine. If you have some more rare herbs, maybe I can even help you make the Hun Ling Da Bu Pill, which could heal your injuries all at once.”
Deception, big deception—he wanted to trick Shui Miao out of his herbs.
Shui Miao, who was sitting in meditation, secretly chuckled at this. This Doctor Guigu was too naive, treating him like a novice cultivator? These herbs were priced at astronomical figures in the Lingbao Pavilion—how could they just be considered “not too bad”? He had just been so excited, and now he was saying this, obviously trying to hide his intentions and swindle Shui Miao’s herbs. This Doctor Guigu, whom Shui Miao had originally thought to be virtuous, turned out to be nothing more than a lecherous ghost doctor. But since he seemed to have some skills, Shui Miao decided to play along for now, extract some useful information, and make a decision later.
As Shui Miao pondered, the pain in his soul body gradually disappeared.
He opened his eyes, stood up, took a long breath, and then asked Doctor Guigu, “Doctor Guigu, exactly where do you live? How long do you expect me to run like this?” His tone had changed—it was no longer polite and cautious but slightly annoyed.
After all, when he was begging for treatment, he had been courteous.
Now that he was healed, why should he still be groveling and let himself be tormented and teased?
Now, Shui Miao even looked down on this Doctor Guigu. Every day sleeping with different women and saying it would take 49 days to heal—this was nothing but a lecherous ghost doctor, a menace that only harmed people.
“Er… Well…”
Doctor Guigu sensed the change in Shui Miao’s tone and felt slightly uneasy. But in order to obtain those rare herbs, he had to endure and instead politely replied with a smile: “Not far, not far at all. Just around the next corner. I run a ghost shop there. On the surface, I sell urns, joss paper, and talismans, but in reality, I am a doctor who treats ghosts.”
“What an interesting profession!”
Shui Miao strode toward the direction Doctor Guigu had indicated, asking as he walked: “You are a ghost soul yourself—how can you run a shop? And if souls come to you for treatment, do they also suffer from headaches, colds, and fevers?” Shui Miao was not conversing with a doctor—he was interrogating a suspect.
“Hehe… This is a long story. I was originally a ghost physician. This skill has been passed down from my ancestors. My son was a reckless young man who committed evil deeds and died at the age of thirty. Now I only have a grandson, about your age. To pass on this skill, I remain in the world of the living. At night, I teach him techniques through dreams. The rest of the time, I treat ghosts and let them bring some fortune to my grandson, which is why I opened the shop. Also… as for ghosts getting sick, you probably don’t know much about it. Ghosts can get sick just like humans. For example, some weak ghosts come out during the day and get sunburned, or some are chased and injured by Taoist priests. And then there are cases like you, injured in fights or feuds—I treat all of them.” On the surface, Doctor Guigu was smiling and chatting, but in his heart, he was cursing: “Little brat, you dare turn on me now? If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have woken up even in your next life.”
“I see!”
Shui Miao nodded, then blinked and said, “Doctor Guigu, according to what you said, all I need to do is bring some fortune to your grandson, right? If that’s the case, then name your price.”
“Er! No, no money…”
Doctor Guigu naturally didn’t want money. What he wanted were herbs—those herbs were worth more to him than his own grandson. Before he could finish, Shui Miao interrupted: “This… this is too much! You’re too noble! Since you are so humble, I must repay you. Better today than tomorrow—I’ll give your grandson a sum of money right now.”
“…”
Doctor Guigu was speechless, both amused and embarrassed.
Before Doctor Guigu could think of a response, Shui Miao continued: “Oh, by the way, Doctor Guigu, you mentioned something about protecting the dantian earlier. Why don’t you tell me about it? And maybe name a price.” Shui Miao was avoiding the topic of Doctor Guigu treating him and shifting the conversation to the key point.
How to protect the dantian and the soul—this was what Shui Miao truly wanted to know.
Upon hearing this, Doctor Guigu’s heart stirred, and he quickly replied: “This issue is quite complex. Souls are very mysterious. We cannot view them with a static perspective. According to my ancestral experience and my own research on souls, I have found that although souls are ethereal, they are also real, existing between reality and nothingness, similar to limbs and skin in the living body—less important parts. For the soul, the most important parts are the dantian and the brain. The dantian stores yin energy, and the brain is the center of consciousness—these two are the most crucial. Unlike the physical body, where a severed limb stays severed and cannot regrow, parts of the soul that are not important can regrow if there is yin energy present. The stronger the yin energy, the faster the soul regenerates. Therefore, the two most important parts of the soul are the brain and the dantian.”
“Wow, Doctor Guigu, your research is really insightful!” Shui Miao sarcastically remarked, realizing that this Doctor Guigu was nothing but a big fraud!
Doctor Guigu didn’t catch the sarcasm in Shui Miao’s tone. He smiled slightly and waved his hand: “That’s nothing. The most important part is my research on the dantian and the realm of consciousness. I discovered that the dantian and the realm are interconnected…”
“I figured that out too.” Shui Miao couldn’t bear to listen anymore—this was common knowledge, wasn’t it?
Doctor Guigu was slightly taken aback, realizing that he had been too boring. Shui Miao was a cultivator, not some clueless new ghost. So, he got straight to the point: “Humans have three souls—the Tian Hun (Heavenly Soul), Di Hun (Earthly Soul), and Ming Hun (Life Soul). Heaven is above, life is in the middle, and earth is below. When the three souls unite as one, plus the seven po (corporeal souls), one becomes a complete person. After death, the po disperse and the hun separate. The po vanish completely, while the hun leave but still exist. The Tian Hun can enter the celestial realm, and the Di Hun can enter the underworld. For cultivators, to grow stronger, there are only two paths: one is to ascend to immortality through tribulation, using the power of lightning to unify the three souls. Once the three souls are united, the spiritual energy in the dantian spreads throughout the body, capable of gathering and dispersing, manifesting as a physical form or leaving part of the soul in a life talisman for rebirth, eliminating the danger of being killed with one strike. The other method I discovered combines the cultivation techniques of great sages from the underworld: merging the dantian and the realm into one, reaching a special state known as the ‘Dual Emptiness Realm.'”
“The Dual Emptiness Realm? How do you explain that?”
Shui Miao realized that this Doctor Guigu had been talking nonsense again and was only now getting to the point.
“Well…” Doctor Guigu stroked his beard, smiling proudly, “We’ve arrived at the shop. Let’s go inside first, take out some herbs to look at, and then I’ll explain it to you. Merging the realm and the dantian is no easy task—it must be taught gradually. Don’t rush, don’t rush at all! Haha…”
“Old fox!”
Shui Miao inwardly cursed, realizing that this old man was quite cunning. He would have to be extra cautious in dealing with him from now on.
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