Chapter 15 Gathering Qi into Fire
"Who exactly are you?" Zhiyan was speaking in full spirt when she suddenly felt a pain on her shoulder, and Ouyang Jin's chiseled, handsome face loomed large before her. His eyes were dark and chilling, filled with doubt.
"Bastard, let go!" Zhiyan's body shivered slightly, and regaining her senses, she scolded furiously. Didn't this man know his own strength? Even if he distrusted her, he didn't have to be so violent.
"Jinjin, stop it, you're hurting Yanyan!" Ouyang Peng's pupils shrank, and a flicker of panic rose on his face, which was gentle beyond compare. He almost roared in irritation.
"Speak, who are you really, and what is your purpose?" Ouyang Jin remained unmoved, his sinister eyes flickering with a manic flame as he pressed her insistently, the force on his hand increasing a notch.
"Ha, who I am... I would like to know as well. Can you tell me?" Zhiyan lifted her head and stepped closer, her eyes emptying with confusion and a voice filled with indescribable melancholy and desolation, "Abandoned by others, scorned by people – who am I really?"
She nearly murmured the last half, despite initiating it to dodge Ouyang Jin's interrogation, but by the end, even she couldn't differentiate whether she was acting or not. For a moment, she felt very sad. In her former life, she was a cast-off. Reborn, she still occupied the body of Ouyang Zhiyan, who had been abandoned. It seemed determined that she'd be forsaken her whole life, never to find happiness!
Her gaze turned despondent, her complexion grew dim, and her frail figure radiated with a thick desolation, as if she had experienced life's vicissitudes and witnessed the many facets of human behavior, losing any enthusiasm and hope for life...
"I'm sorry, I've lost my appetite!" Hiding the emotions in her eyes, Zhiyan said coolly, then turned and left amid their daze. If she had any purpose, it was to leave this place as soon as possible.
Ouyang Jin shuddered, watching her retreating figure with endless regret. The cold, hard handsomeness of his face softened with faint tenderness, and his chest felt as if it were blocked by something, uncomfortably strange. Was he wrong?
For several consecutive days, Zhiyan practiced during the day and concocted elixirs at night. Aside from attending compulsory training sessions, she barely left her room, even having servants deliver meals to her. Ouyang Peng's complexion had been looking terrible for the past two days, filled with anxiety as well as not a small measure of resentment towards Ouyang Jin. A dining table that once seated three now left just the two men staring blankly at each other, and even the servants sensed the subtle tension among them.
In her room, Zhiyan stood with one hand behind her back and the other stretched forward, staring seriously at her delicate index finger. Under the control of her intent, her skin heated up until it was astonishingly hot, and then, to her great anticipation, a faint flame ignited before sputtering out again.
"Almost there, just keep going," Zhiyan encouraged herself, as she watched the flame go out and once more concentrated her focus.
This time, she did not rush to mobilize the Yang Energy within her body but waited patiently. The Yang Energy meandered through her body, circulating back and forth. With each rotation, the energy grew stronger. "Now!" Zhiyan thought, and with a burst of intent, "Whoosh!" A tangerine flame blazed mightily on her tender fingertip, blooming into a dazzling spark.
The flame was gentle and warm, like sunlight spilling across the room, raising a pleasant warmth!
The corners of her mouth curved up, and her delicate, smooth face lit up with a brilliant smile. She reveled in the feel of the flame, as familiar as her own skin, and reached out with her other hand to touch it. The playful flame danced on her fingertips, big and small in turns, as Zhiyan's gaze on it was filled with the joy and tenderness one would have for their own child.
Old Fei had been floating in midair, closely monitoring Zhiyan's condition. At this moment, seeing her successfully gather fire, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed, "Haha, not bad, not bad. Releasing Yang Energy and solidifying it into fire, with this speed, she could break through the Qi Nurturing Stage and reach Foundation Establishment in less than two months!"
Originally, he thought it would take at least half a year to reach Foundation Establishment, but now, it seemed that even two months might be a conservative estimate.
The path of the Demon Doctor and the cultivation of Sages have similarities and differences. In addition to the usual meditative Qi gathering, Sages also focus on physical exercises to enhance muscular strength, resilience, and agility. Demon Doctors, on the other hand, follow different levels of training, starting with Nurturing Qi and then progressing to medicine preparation and herb recognition. Anything related to medical skills is part of their training, which has a wide scope and diverse targets. Most importantly, they can assist Sages in their cultivation. In some sense, a powerful Demon Doctor is definitely an extraordinary Sage, but a powerful Sage might not know even the slightest bit of medicine.
"That's about enough. If I stay any longer, this body will start to mold." Taking a deep breath, Zhiyan started walking outside. What began as a whim to play with flames unexpectedly turned into five days.
During those five days, a message spread wildly outside: a mysterious figure had arrived, and a legendary medicinal liquid had appeared in Jindu. All the powerful families sent people to investigate right away. Upon learning of the elixir's properties, uses, and effects, everyone was shocked!
The emergence of the miraculous medicinal liquid was like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky, causing a huge uproar in the Imperial City of Jindu. Word spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, quickly sweeping across the entire Mainland, while Ouyang Zhiyan, the owner of the elixir, was completely unaware…
Zhiyan left the house without telling anyone and exited the residence. She had originally planned to pick up the goods in three days, but five days had passed. If she didn't go soon, the pharmacy owner and the blacksmith would presumably be anxious!
From afar, she could already see the pharmacy owner, Wang Sheng, standing at the doorway looking out, occasionally stamping his feet in a disappointed and anxious manner. The moment his gaze locked on Zhiyan, his face transformed, radiating an intense joy.
"My lady, you've finally come," greeted Wang Sheng, nearly moved to tears. Heaven knows how he had spent these past two days; had she not appeared, the major families would likely have divided him up.
"Uh, has something happened? Could it be that the herbs were not found?" Zhiyan asked, puzzled and surprised.
"No, no, no, the herbs are plentiful. Come, let's discuss inside," said Wang Sheng, shaking his head repeatedly and almost pushing Zhiyan into the house.
"What could possibly make you so anxious?" Zhiyan asked casually while sipping the tea handed to her by the assistant. As long as there were no issues with the herbs, everything else was secondary.
"Let me be frank, I resold two bottles of the Primordial Essence Liquid you sold me last time. Now the whole Imperial City is going mad over it. Several major families have even traced it back to me, demanding to know where the elixir came from. In my panic, I told them it was left by a mysterious person, but they are still not relenting and have even left deposits insisting on purchasing it. What should I do?" Wang Sheng was slapping his hands in distress, looking at Zhiyan with a face full of sorrow. Right now, all his hopes rested on her.
"I do have more of the medicinal liquid, but not in large quantities. It's impossible to meet so many people's demand." Zhiyan pondered for a moment before speaking; selling the medicinal liquid that day was only to collect Gold Coins, yet she hadn't expected it to cause such a stir. However, this could facilitate earning money. To become a powerful Demon Doctor, one must first amass the capital to buy medicinal materials. Without the most basic supplementary materials, everything else was just wishful thinking.