65 Looking for the enemy’s trail

Translator: GodBrandy Editor: Kurisu

This was the first time Song Shuhang had seen this space as he only paid attention to the chat logs previously. He had never thought that there would be so many wonderful folders within the group’s space.

These files should contain knowledge that would allow senior cultivators who just ended their closed-door cultivation to quickly assimilate into the modern society. However, looking at these folders, they seemed quite suspicious. To think that an ID card and personal information could all be made up? And that the hidden abilities of Nine Provinces Number One Group had included influence within the mortal world.

"Senior, who is this Scholar Xian Gong?" Song Shuhang pointed towards the last folder and asked curiously. What sort of tragedy was this?

When Medicine Master heard the question, he had a regretful expression. "Ah, that’s a senior with a profound strength.

It should’ve been around two hundreds years ago. Scholar Xian Gong had secretly found a place with no signs of human habitation and started his closed-door cultivation. After a hundred year or so later… while he was enjoying his closed-door cultivation, all of a sudden, something called an atomic bomb landed and exploded where he was in.

How should I say this, it was really extremely dangerous back then! If it wasn’t for the fact that Scholar Xian Gong’s was powerful and there were over one hundred layers of defensive arrays where his closed-door cultivation was taking place, he would have perhaps dropped dead then. Furthermore, even if he managed to keep his life, that senior had to rest for dozens of years before he gradually recovered. Right now, the name atomic bomb is his taboo phrase. Whoever dares to mention it in front of him, he would fall out with them."

Song Shuhang felt that this Senior Xian Gong was definitely someone awesome. To be able to survive the humanity’s ultimate weapon at the present stage—a direct attack of an atomic bomb. He could only offer his bow in silence.

When Medicine Master spoke till here, there was still lingering fear within him as he continued. "Within these dozens of years, the advancement of mortals was too rapid and us cultivators, who frequently have closed-door cultivation for dozens of years, feel somewhat unable to catch up. The fellow daoists who had came out of seclusion recently had to learn quite a lot of everyday knowledge. Furthermore, humans’ reckless abilities are also rapidly growing, and are even getting stronger day by day. It is rumoured that the amount of nuclear weapons around the world is sufficient to extinguish the humanity tens or hundreds of times, isn’t it? I don’t even know if that’s the truth. Anyways, right now there are many seniors worrying that perhaps one day, when they come out of closed-door cultivation, the world would have perished. This is still considered fine—what’s more worrying is, perhaps one day, while they were blissfully cultivating, a few hundred nuclear weapons would suddenly drop from the skies. Wouldn’t they have died without even knowing why?"

It shouldn’t be possible for a few hundred nuclear weapons to drop in a single place? No matter how crazy the human race was, they would not drop that many nuclear weapons in one area. Song Shuhang wanted to say that but he suddenly remembered a unique situation called ‘destroying nuclear weapons’.

He can’t say for sure, maybe a place could really be attacked with numerous nuclear weapons which would be thus destroyed, and then exploded?

"..." at this moment, he truly did not know what sort of expression he should use to face Medicine Master.

He always felt that after meeting fellow daoists within Nine Provinces Number One Group, the cultivators in his imagination were continuously being destroyed. What happened to the image of a great person out of the world, where’s the supposedly graceful immortal cultivator? He didn’t even see the silhouette of one now.

"Found it, it’s this." Just then, after searching for a long time within the group space, Medicine Master managed to pull out a file.

❮Research and Discussion Regarding basic uses of Mental Energy Collation—Scholar Drunken Moon❯

Medicine Master explained, "There’s information you wanted in here, such as using mental energy to look for ambushers and a stalker’s methods. There’s also means for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to allow yourself to be more keen using mental energy, along with a method to increase your senses. It’s quite simple, you can check it out yourself later on and attempt to train it. This file is provided by Scholar Drunken Moon free of charge and there’s no need to pay any price."

As it was all experts within the group, this sort of basic use of mental energy was too low grade for them. Just like Medicine Master who had made public the Simplified Body Tempering Liquid Recipe, people who used it will automatically be indebted to him while those who did not use it could just take a look.

Medicine Master spoke once again. "If you are unsure of anything, feel free to head over and ask me. I will be arranging the pill refining room in the morning before having time in the afternoon. At that time, I just happen to require you to assist me in experimenting with the Body Tempering Liquid Recipe."

"Thank you, Senior." Song Shuhang replied and then he saw the name of the author, ‘Scholar Drunken Moon’. "Speaking of which, the name Scholar Drunken Moon feels very familiar."

He vaguely remember that this was a senior who frequently appeared in the group chat, but why was he constantly unable to remember him?

"Haha, you don’t have to take it to heart regarding Scholar Drunken Moon. If one day you can finally remember him, you will regard him as Drunken Moon Sage Monarch."

"Sage Monarch? Is that some sort of realm?" Song Shuhang questioned. He knew that the first part of some of the seniors’ dao names was related to their cultivation realm. For example, the group’s main administrator True Monarch Yellow Mountain, vice-administrator Venerable Seventh True Virtue, and Soft Feather’s father who was called Venerable Spirit Butterfly. 

"That’s the realm of what I can only look up to, but don’t know if I will have the chance to reach it. Showing divinity in front of the masses, the Eighth Stage Profound Sage. This is also a realm Venerables within the group seek." Medicine Master laughed out loud. "That realm’s still quite far for you, don’t think about it too much."

Song Shuhang nodded and looked at the time. It was already 6:37 AM, and he should be preparing to attend morning classes.

Before he left, he inquired about another issue. "Oh right, Senior, I would like to ask, are there any advantages of having real combat experience for me right now? After having a fight with someone yesterday, although we had only exchanged two moves, I felt that my understanding towards ❮Basic Buddhist Fist Technique❯ seemed to have increased during the process."

"Actual combat experience can indeed deepen your understanding of Fist Techniques. It’s similar to how people who only read books can only talk about military tactics on paper. By studying and applying it, real combat experience can bring about several advantages for you. If you have the time, try to have more fights." Medicine Master said in an approving manner.

"Thank you, Senior, then I shall get going!" Song Shuhang waved his hands.

When he walked to the entrance, he then again remembered another question and turned back while embarrassingly inquiring, "Erm, Senior, I have one last question. After being inflicted with your poison, will they need to buy any medicinal ingredients that can be purchased in common traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy?"

Medicine Master asked. "Are you thinking of using this trail to find the poisoned assassin? Since that assassin had been poisoned, he should be dead by now, though."

"However, that assassin seems to have comrades. If I’m his comrade and knew that he died due to poison, I would definitely guard against this poison and prepare a method to detoxify it. Preparedness averts peril!" Song Shuhang thought and replied. "If I’m able to find this comrade, perhaps I have a chance to follow the vine to get to the melon and find the mastermind. Furthermore, there’s a chance that this comrade would be the mastermind too!"

"To be able to calmly and attentively analyze the situation when encountering an incident is a good habit. Keep it up." Medicine Master smiled. While speaking, he retrieved a piece of paper and a pen and swiftly wrote down several medicinal names.

"As long as the other party is a cultivator that has knowledge of medicine and poison, after they are in contact with this ‘toxic poison’, they will at the very least attempt to gather these four medicinal ingredients. Of course, in actual fact, these four medicinal ingredients are of no use." Medicine Master proudly spoke.

His proud work was not that easy to counter. The medicinal ingredients the other party would think of were a pitfall he laid in the open. Two of these ingredients would instead cause the poison to grow in strength.

"Furthermore, these four medicinal ingredients aren’t commonly found. I doubt more than a few pharmacies in this entire Jiangnan District will have them in stock. This will also make it more convenient for you to search for the person who bought these. If the other party did indeed purchase these medicinal ingredients, they will definitely leave clues behind." Medicine Master added on.

"Thank you, Senior." Song Shuhang took the piece of paper.

In a situation where he did not know where to begin searching, at least he had this clue. Next, he would have to firmly hold onto this clue and search for the mastermind.

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