Chapter 1307: One Chance
The Golden Bat Giant Python’s body was enormous, extending a head as large as a palace to look down at Zhang Ruochen and Qing Mo below. Beneath its bat-like wings, two sharp claws were raised, emitting a chilling gleam.
“Hold on.”
An aged voice rang out.
The Golden Bat Giant Python actually stopped, refraining from continuing its attack on Zhang Ruochen and Qing Mo.
A stooped old man walked out from the golden poisonous mist, clad in a faded cloth robe. His face was covered in wrinkles, the hair on top of his head completely gone, while the remaining hair was braided into small plaits.
Gu Songzi’s eye sockets were deeply sunken, his eyeballs only the size of soybeans. Reaching out a hand, he took the yellow ancient jade from Zhang Ruochen’s grasp from over ten zhang away.
After staring at it for a while, Gu Songzi seemed to recall something and let out a cold snort: “So it’s him you’re talking about. Hmph, what did he send you to me for?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “To be honest, junior has suffered severe injuries, with all three meridians in my body shattered. Drunkard said that perhaps senior could heal my wounds.”
Gu Songzi had a very bad temper and sneered, “With all three meridians shattered, you’re nothing but a cripple. Why bother treating it?”
“How dare you speak like that, old man…”
Qing Mo was somewhat angry and wanted to continue, but Zhang Ruochen stopped her.
Since he was asking for help, he naturally had to keep his posture as low as possible. Besides, Zhang Ruochen had already mentally prepared himself—old monsters like Gu Songzi, who had lived in seclusion for hundreds of years, were never easy to get along with.
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands and said, “Since even senior’s medical skills cannot reconnect the three meridians, then junior will have to find another way elsewhere.”
“Haha, kid, you’re too naive. If even I can’t reconnect the three meridians, then I’m afraid no one in the world has that ability,” Gu Songzi said, stroking his beard with an air of arrogance.
Hope stirred in Zhang Ruochen’s heart, and a hint of joy appeared on his face. “So, senior can help me reconnect the three meridians?”
Gu Songzi didn’t answer Zhang Ruochen directly, only sneering, “Even if I have the ability, why should I help you?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Drunkard said that you and he are sworn brothers…”
Gu Songzi interrupted him, “Didn’t he make it clear to you? We were indeed sworn brothers once. But now… hmph, do you think he dares to come see me in person?”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart sank, feeling as if he had been set up by Drunkard.
Gu Songzi said, “If it were anyone else who dared to barge into my secluded dwelling, they would already be a dead man by now. However, I am not an unfeeling person. In consideration of my past friendship with Drunkard, I can still give you a chance.”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “What chance?”
“Immortal Mechanism Mountain was once the site of the Immortal Mechanism Sect, the overlord of the Northern Domain during the Middle Ages. The sect was famous throughout the world for alchemy, cultivating countless rare sacred medicines. Although the calamity at the end of the Middle Ages destroyed the Immortal Mechanism Sect, not all of those sacred medicines were wiped out. A few of them have even survived to this day,” Gu Songzi said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Sacred medicines that have survived from the Middle Ages to the present?”
Gu Songzi nodded, a burning light in his eyes.
Generally speaking, a sacred medicine that has grown for ten thousand years is considered mature, possessing extraordinary medicinal power. From the end of the Middle Ages to now, over a hundred thousand years have passed. If a few sacred medicines have truly survived from that era to the present, their value would be immeasurable, enough to drive saint-level beings into a frenzy of competition.
“If you can help me pick one, then I will certainly help you reconnect your three meridians,” Gu Songzi said.
Gu Songzi had stayed on Immortal Mechanism Mountain for hundreds of years without being able to pick a single hundred-thousand-year sacred medicine. This showed that those few hundred-thousand-year sacred medicines must be growing in extremely dangerous places, or there were other unknown reasons.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t immediately agree. His eyes flickered as he said, “If even senior’s strength can’t pick them, how could junior possibly have that ability?”
Gu Songzi shook his head. “My spiritual power is indeed decent, but my main focus is on alchemical inscription patterns. In terms of combat strength, I might not even be a match for that little girl beside you. To pick a hundred-thousand-year sacred medicine, one needs great strength and extraordinary luck to succeed.”
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then said, “As long as senior keeps his word, junior is willing to give it a try.”
Gu Songzi was somewhat displeased. “Hmph! Do you think someone of my status would bother deceiving a junior with only fifty-third-level spiritual power?”
His spiritual power had already reached the fifty-third level, and yet he was still looked down upon?
If someone else had said this, Zhang Ruochen would have thought them too arrogant. But coming from a Sacred Alchemy Master, it was somewhat acceptable.
Because to become a Sacred Alchemy Master, one’s spiritual power must at least reach the fifty-fifth level.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart stirred, and he asked, “What exactly is senior’s identity?”
“Drunkard didn’t even tell you who I am?”
Gu Songzi was slightly surprised, then quickly reacted and laughed. “Did he also not tell you who he is?”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “A gentleman’s friendship is as light as water—why need to know so much? Senior doesn’t know who I am either.”
Gu Songzi clearly had no interest in Zhang Ruochen’s identity and only sneered, “Gentleman? Bullshit gentleman. He’s nothing but a cowardly turtle afraid of trouble.”
Then he added, “To be honest, with your strength, there’s almost no chance of picking a hundred-thousand-year sacred medicine. I’m only letting you try on a whim.”
After saying this, Gu Songzi flew to the top of the Golden Bat Giant Python’s head and headed deeper into the forest without looking back. “Young man, it’s not too late to back out now.”
Qing Mo whispered, “Master, that old man is definitely afraid of something and doesn’t dare to act himself. That’s why he’s using us to pick it. Don’t fall for his trick.”
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward and followed, saying, “I have no other choice. Even if there’s only a glimmer of hope, I must do my utmost to seize it. Time is running out for me.”
“What do you mean?” Qing Mo asked curiously.
“Nothing.”
Some things were always hidden deep in Zhang Ruochen’s heart, and he didn’t want to speak of them.
In his Qi Sea, the Cosmic Divine Wood Map had cracked two more fissures.
If the Cosmic Divine Wood Map completely shattered before his physical body recovered, then with his current condition, he wouldn’t be able to bear the weight of the Qiankun Realm.
If he couldn’t bear it, he would die.
The threat of death was urgent, so Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn’t let go of any opportunity. Of course, he wouldn’t tell Qing Mo or Huang Yanchen about these hidden circumstances.
After a long pause, Zhang Ruochen said, “Gu Songzi and I are nothing but strangers; there’s no friendship between us. If I don’t pay some price, why would he help me reconnect my three meridians?”
“What if we help him pick a hundred-thousand-year sacred medicine, and he goes back on his word?” Qing Mo asked.
“Then that’s his problem. If he’s not a man of his word, I won’t need to be polite to him anymore,” Zhang Ruochen said. He had his own principles—clear in gratitude and resentment.
He had always preferred to solve his own problems without troubling others. But when truly forced, he would also use his connections to ask powerful figures for help.
If Zhang Ruochen was willing to speak up, dealing with a Gu Songzi would be no trouble at all.
Zhang Ruochen asked Qing Mo, “You are a Qing Mo Sacred Vine that has grown for over forty thousand years, able to take human form with such powerful cultivation. Could a hundred-thousand-year sacred medicine also take human form and be even stronger?”
“Hard to say.”
Qing Mo shook her head. “The cultivation and transformation of plant-type beings involve many uncertain factors. Generally speaking, a sacred medicine that has grown for ten thousand years can initially develop intelligence. If guided by humans and taught cultivation techniques, it can embark on the path of cultivation and gradually grow stronger. Only after reaching a certain level of strength can it cultivate a human body.”
“Of course, aside from some special plant beings, most plants cultivate extremely slowly. Cultivating for tens of thousands of years might not match a human’s cultivation of a few hundred years.”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Your cultivation speed doesn’t seem slow.”
“It’s only after I cultivated a human body that my speed became fast. Before, when I was still a vine sprout, my cultivation speed was terribly slow—I could barely feel myself growing stronger,” Qing Mo said, pouting with some frustration.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Do all plants become fast after cultivating a human body?”
“Not necessarily. I’m just special, different from other plants,” Qing Mo said.
Zhang Ruochen wanted to learn more about plant-type beings and continued, “After obtaining cultivation techniques, roughly how many years does a plant need to cultivate a human form?”
“That’s also uncertain. Some plants are smarter and can cultivate a human body in a few decades. Others are dumber and might not succeed even after a hundred thousand years. The princess once said I’m one of the dumber ones, just lucky to have gotten ahead of other plants,” Qing Mo said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. “So, even if a sacred medicine develops intelligence, if no human guides it or teaches it cultivation techniques, then no matter how long it grows, it’s nothing to fear?”
“That should be the case,” Qing Mo nodded.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t ask further. Even if he continued, Qing Mo probably couldn’t provide much more valuable information.
The Golden Bat Giant Python walked until it reached the edge of a lake, then stopped. It lowered its head to the ground, and Gu Songzi climbed down from its head, gazing at an island in the middle of the lake.
“This lake is called Fate Lake. The island at its center is called No-Fate Island. During the Middle Ages, a figure of great renown lived on the island, known as No-Fate Great Saint. You may not have heard his name, but on the alchemist’s list of fame, No-Fate Great Saint ranked in the top three. Countless alchemists regard him as their ancestor, calling him Medicine Saint and Alchemy Ancestor, bowing to his stone statue daily. The world-shaking Transformation Saint Pill was personally researched and developed by him.”
Gu Songzi’s eyes were somewhat dazed, showing reverence, but when he looked at the island in the lake, there was also a hint of wariness.