Chapter 113: Divine Physician Saintly Hands
According to Fu Qingyun's experience, the normal speed of breaking through a barrier required more than one attempt. Some people even needed thousands of attempts to break through the barrier and succeed.
Calculating the star positions was one thing; breaking through the barrier was another.
Breaking through the Five Luminaries required impacting the barrier with vital energy again and again, opening a crack, gradually expanding it, and finally completely shattering the barrier so that it could not heal. Only then could it be considered a successful breakthrough.
For Qin Mu to break through the barrier right after she left was extremely rare.
"Unless..."
Fu Qingyun's heart skipped a beat. Unless Qin Mu's vital energy cultivation was exceptionally abundant, only then could he succeed in one attempt.
"Young Master, let's simply touch palms with pure vital energy."
Seeing his confusion, Fu Qingyun quickly smiled and said, "I will close off my other divine hideaways, keeping only the Fetal Hideaway and the Five Luminaries, just to test how deep your cultivation truly is."
Qin Mu nodded. Their palms touched, and their vital energy erupted simultaneously. Fu Qingyun let out a muffled groan. The wind whistled past her ears, the scenery before her eyes constantly shifting. Her entire body flew backward, crashing through several buildings and walls with a series of bangs before finally stopping, embedded in a wall.
She extricated herself from the wall, covered in dust, and looked up. She was about forty zhang away from Qin Mu, with several buildings and walls between them, each bearing a human-shaped hole. She could see Qin Mu from where she stood, and she felt a lingering fear.
She had used her Five Luminaries realm, merely colliding vital energy with Qin Mu, yet the gap was so vast. It left her somewhat disheartened.
A blow—truly a tremendous blow!
But she quickly regained her composure, thinking, "He is, after all, the young leader of our Holy Religion. It's only natural for him to have such cultivation. Besides, during the competition at the Crippled Village, he had already dealt me a severe blow."
Qin Mu quickly approached. Fu Qingyun smiled and said, "I'm fine. Your vital energy is indeed exceptionally abundant. The Patriarch and Madam did not misjudge you. There is still a day and a half before the Imperial Academy opens. It would be better for you to stabilize your realm."
Qin Mu agreed. Having successfully broken through the Five Luminaries, his divine hideaway had opened, and some new changes were occurring within his body. He had yet to examine them.
Fu Qingyun glanced around and smiled bitterly. Ever since Qin Mu arrived at her place, the Listening Rain Pavilion had suffered. Either the pavilion was smashed, or several buildings had holes knocked through them.
"After all, he is the young leader. Wherever he goes, he tears things down. Fortunately, in two days, he won't be here anymore; he'll be tearing down the Imperial Academy. Well, at least the Patriarch will have to deal with it. I can relax..."
Unaware that she was hoping he would go tear down the Imperial Academy, Qin Mu returned to his room. The young man sat down quietly, his consciousness entering the Five Luminaries Divine Hideaway. Within the hideaway was a starry sky, with five great stars shining brightly. Beyond that was only profound darkness.
"The Five Luminaries Divine Hideaway is completely different from the Fetal Hideaway Divine Hideaway."
Qin Mu was surprised. His Overlord Body Three-Pellet Art did not have a cultivation method for the Five Luminaries Divine Hideaway, which troubled him.
He had seen the cultivation diagrams for the Overlord Body Three-Pellet Art in the Central Suppression Palace. Only the first two diagrams were complete; the third was fragmentary. Qin Mu tried to recall that incomplete diagram. It did indeed have five stars, but besides the five stars, there were also five deities, each with their own patterns and vital energy circulation paths.
However, most of the diagram had been damaged, and the specific circulation paths were blurry.
Qin Mu steadied his mind. His consciousness drifted, the starry sky cold and distant. He intended to drift toward one of the stars.
But as his consciousness flew, that star seemed to fly as well, maintaining the same distance from him.
Qin Mu frowned. He tried flying toward other stars, but they also moved with him, preventing him from getting close.
"What's going on?"
He paused, wanting to see if there were five deities on those stars as depicted in the cultivation diagram. Unable to fly up, he had to give up.
His consciousness remained in the Five Luminaries Divine Hideaway as he activated the Overlord Body Three-Pellet Art. As he did, a wondrous change occurred within the hideaway. One of the stars, a fiery red one, suddenly began to tremble. Then, a beam of fiery red light shot straight from that star, landing on his consciousness with a hum.
Qin Mu immediately felt his consciousness filled with blazing, fiery energy. That energy was actually altering the structure of his consciousness, giving it a form!
Under the guidance of the flame, his consciousness grew legs, arms, and a head. In a short moment, his consciousness merged with that peculiar energy, becoming a strange being with a human face, an ox's body, and two legs!
Qin Mu was stunned. He looked down and saw that his body was a massive, fiery red ox, with an ox tail growing from his rear. The front was bare, except for a tuft of long hair at the tip of the tail.
Qin Mu flicked his ox tail, and it slapped against his plump ox rump, stinging with pain.
His two legs were ox hooves, thick and powerful, as thick as elephant legs, but his calves were very slender, and his feet were ox hooves.
Not only that, but the light from the Fire Luminary Star continued to converge, forming two fierce, clawed fire dragons beneath his feet!
Fire God!
Qin Mu's heart leaped. He had seen similar statues in the temples of Inlaid Dragon City. The people of the Great Ruins worshipped such forms as the Fire God.
But the energy flowing from the Fire Luminary Star was not strong. The body formed by his consciousness was merely a faint shadow.
"Could this be the Fire Luminary Divine Hideaway within the Five Luminaries? Then what about the other luminaries..."
Just as he thought this, another star, a sky-blue one, began to tremble. A water-blue beam shot down from that star, landing on his "body" with a hum!
At the same time, the other three stars, each a different color, trembled and shot down beams of light, landing on him one after another.
Qin Mu let out a muffled groan. The Fire God form immediately began to collapse and disintegrate, while other forms began to emerge. However, the energy from these five stars was completely different in nature. Not only were they different, but they also suppressed and conflicted with each other, clashing within his consciousness, annihilating one another!
Boom!
A violent explosion echoed. Qin Mu's consciousness within the Five Luminaries Divine Hideaway was obliterated in the blast. His vision went black, and he passed out.
When he woke up, he found himself lying in bed. Hu Ling'er was using a warm, wet towel on his forehead. His head ached like a watermelon smashed on the ground, threatening to split apart.
Several girls stood before the bed, their faces filled with concern.
"Young Master seems to have suffered a Qi deviation. Fortunately, Ling'er discovered it in time and called us."
Fu Qingyun's face showed worry as she said, "Young Master, I've ordered medicine to be prepared. It will be ready soon. But for the opening of the academy in two days, I'm afraid you won't be able to go. A Qi deviation requires ten or more days of recuperation..."
Outside the door, two girls were decocting medicine. The scent of herbs wafted in. Qin Mu struggled to sit up, sniffed the medicinal aroma, and said, "I've injured my consciousness and damaged my spirit. The medicine you're brewing is somewhat appropriate, but it's missing one ingredient: Pond Aconite. Add two qian of Pond Aconite leaves... Help me up. I'll brew it myself."
Fu Qingyun was surprised. Could this young leader also know alchemy?
She was skeptical but ordered a nearby girl to fetch the herb. She helped Qin Mu up, but found his consciousness weak and difficult to move. So she had the medicine furnace and fire brought in.
Qin Mu endured the headache, activated his vital energy, lifted the medicine furnace, and gently shook it. The furnace landed, but the water and herbs inside floated in the air, supported by his vital energy. The girl who had fetched the herb returned and quickly added the Pond Aconite.
Qin Mu's techniques shifted unpredictably. After a moment, he blended all the medicinal properties. With a gentle flick, the dregs automatically fell from the water, the moisture evaporated, leaving only a few red pills.
Qin Mu swallowed the pills and activated their power. The headache gradually eased, though occasional tearing pains remained. He said, "I'll brew another dose tomorrow morning, and I'll be fully recovered."
The girls in the room were amazed. Qin Mu's alchemy techniques were truly masterful, ever-changing, dazzling to watch.
A Qi deviation was no small matter. Could this medicine really be so effective as to heal him in half a day?
"Without further cultivation methods, it seems I cannot train the Five Luminaries Divine Hideaway or convert the power within the hideaway into my own cultivation."
Qin Mu regained his strength, stood up, and smiled. "I was too greedy and reckless. I apologize for causing you sisters to worry."
"Young Master is skilled in medicine. Have you ever studied gynecology?" a girl suddenly asked.
Qin Mu replied, "As long as it pertains to the medical arts, I have some understanding."
The girl blushed slightly and said, "I have some uterine pain. I wonder if the Young Master..."
Qin Mu took her pulse and smiled. "A minor issue. Just an imbalance of internal Qi and some uterine cold. I'll prescribe a remedy for you."
Another girl quickly stepped forward with brush and ink. Qin Mu wrote a prescription and said, "This is a Warming Uterus Pill. Take it and regulate your internal Qi, and it will be cured at the root."
The girls in the room brightened. The zither girl blushed and whispered, "Young Master, I also have some minor issues..."
"Young Master, please take a look at me too!"
"Young Master, my menstrual cycle is irregular..."
...
Fu Qingyun was overwhelmed. She shouted, "The Young Master has just suffered a Qi deviation and hasn't recovered yet! Stop your nonsense and let him rest!"
Qin Mu smiled and said, "It's fine. I can't cultivate while recovering from the Qi deviation, so I might as well rest and help the sisters in the courtyard adjust their health. It won't take much effort. Besides, I've been eating and living here at Sister Yun's place, receiving your care. How could I not repay you?"
The girls were overjoyed and lined up. Qin Mu examined them one by one and prescribed various remedies. The pipa girl noticed Fu Qingyun still in the room and laughed, "Sister, why are you still here?"
Fu Qingyun sneered. After a moment, she stepped forward, extended her hand, and said through gritted teeth in a low voice, "Young Master, although my cultivation is profound, my body has some issues. In the past few months, my Red Dragon has been unbalanced, sometimes coming and sometimes not..."