Chapter 28, Entering the Subtle Realm of Medicine

Translator: StarReader

Su Chen helped out in the kitchen of Pharmacist Li Kui, and also boiled body-tempering herbs for Wang Fugui and Li Jiao many times, so he knew the art of boiling medicine. Unlike ordinary people, the boiling method of body tempering herbs was not strictly kept secret.

Su Chen put the three low-grade herbs into the pot, added water, and boiled for an hour. After a long period of boiling, the water was almost evaporated and finally concentrated into a bowl of dark brown medicine soup.

Su Chen concocted this small strengthening formula for a good reason. He saw his three injuries and their severity, ensuring accurate diagnosis. Many martial figures and inexperienced herbalists struggled with pinpointing illnesses, often guessing blindly. Su Chen’s ability surpasses even senior pharmacists. He selected three suitable herbs to treat each injury, ensuring they didn’t clash. He used only low-level herbs, without relying on others’ formulas. Testing the formula several times would reveal its effectiveness. Repeated use was safe, and he had no fear of adverse effects.

Even more so, he had complete control over the dosages in his own strengthening formulas. For example, if there was a more severe blockage in his vessels, he would increase both the grade and dosage of blood vine in the formula. If it wasn’t as serious, he would reduce its quantity accordingly. This approach truly allowed him to tailor treatments precisely to individual needs, ensuring the perfect remedy.

While at Medicine King Estate, Su Chen had stumbled upon an old medicinal text in their library. It outlined three distinct levels of herbal expertise for martial pharmacists:

Common herbalism referred to knowing only a few formulas but failing to accurately diagnose a patient’s condition, leading to frequent mistakes by rigidly applying the same formula to different ailments. Such practitioners did more harm than good.

Intermediate herbalism was about familiarizing oneself with many formulas and being capable of diagnosing basic illnesses, though occasional errors still occurred.

The experienced level meant mastery of most common and even rare formulas, with a strong ability to diagnose complex and difficult cases, resulting in very few misdiagnoses. However, they strictly adhered to established formulas when preparing herbs, never deviating. This was because altering a formula—even slightly—could lead to drastic changes in potency that they couldn’t control.

Above these three levels lay the most miraculous innate herbalism.

A pharmacist who had reached such a level of mastery in medicine understood all physical pain and illnesses within a patient’s body. They adjusted the dosage with ease, crafting it to perfectly suit the individual’s needs and thereby achieve nearly perfect medicinal effects.

This extraordinary level, which countless pharmacists and herbalists across the martial world had longed for throughout their lives but never attained, was nothing short of a miracle.

Su Chen once read in a medical text about the distinctions between them. He had always imagined how wonderful it would be to learn such skills himself—if even just to master the most basic level of them all.

During one of his stints helping out in the kitchen, Su Chen overheard Li Kui chatting with Wang Fugui. In a tone filled with envy, Li Kui mentioned that within the Wu Region’s thirteen counties across the martial realm, there was only one individual who had achieved this level of precision and mastery in medicine.

That person was none other than Sun Baihong, the head of the Medicine King Group. He was so highly revered by those within the Wu Region’s martial circles that he was respectfully referred to as Medicine King Sun.

Sun Baihong’s ability to reach this level of precision in medicine wasn’t due to any deeper understanding or more extensive research into the art of herbs compared to other senior pharmacists. The most straightforward reason for his achievement was that he was one of only seven or eight Grandmaster Stage martial artists within the Wu Region. Decades ago, he had already reached the Upper Dantian, possessing an extraordinary perception.

After reaching the Grandmaster Stage in martial arts, Sun Baihong’s medicine skills surged. He mastered this level of precision in medicine, setting him apart from the other senior pharmacists within the Medicine King Group. In doing so, he became the most skilled healer in the thirteen counties of the Wu Region, earning his place as the respected Medicine King Sun.

Other pharmacists in the Medicine King Group, even those with decades of experience like Pharmacist Li Kui, remained at the senior level and could not attain this advanced, in-depth realm of medical arts. This was because they couldn’t ‘see’ the subtle injuries and illnesses within the body; they could only make vague judgments about the general condition.

It could be said that mastering the in-depth realm of medical arts was akin to reaching the pinnacle of medicine, a supremely honorable achievement that pharmacists longed for. However, Su Chen already possessed this extraordinary perception at a master level and wouldn’t waste it; he immediately put it to use in his medical practices.

He attempted to create formulas based on his own body’s condition, which was why he looked within beforehand.

In the shack, Su Chen brewed a decoction for internal use and also prepared a large wooden tub of bathwater using Purple Silk Fruit to scald and heal his skin and muscles from external injuries.

Su Chen downed the entire bowl of medicinal soup and stripped off his errand disciple clothing, stepping into the large wooden tub filled with purple herbal concoction. Almost immediately, his skin turned red from the heat, and his body began to feel increasingly warm.

He faintly sensed a weak medicinal force within him, spreading through his bloodstream as it slowly circulated. The herbs he had consumed were from the cheapest and weakest formula for strengthening the body, using herbs with only one year of growth. The effects were barely perceptible to an average person.

However, Su Chen’s perception was exceptional, allowing him to detect even the faintest traces of the medicinal properties at work.

“No wonder almost no one likes to use low-grade herbs. The tempering is too weak, almost equivalent to wasting them. Next time, I’ll add three or two doses, and the effect will be almost the same as a normal herb concoction!” he thought to himself.

For other practitioners, this formula was practically useless. For Su Chen, however, even this weak medicinal power was sufficient.

Su Chen soaked himself in the scalding hot water, surrounded by a mist of steam curling around his body. He silently mobilized his martial arts, precisely guiding the weak medicinal power to his injuries. The faint blood vine energy coursing through his body broke up the small clotted blood vessels throughout his system.

Wherever the medicine penetrated, the muscles relaxed and alleviated their soreness and swelling under the influence of the nine fragrance grass. His worn tendons were repaired by the black yam’s nourishing properties, while the blood vine invigorated his blood flow, bringing his body back to peak condition.

Every vein felt incredibly refreshed, with no stagnation whatsoever in his bloodstream.

This rudimentary treatment was enough to heal the minor injuries lingering within him, without wasting any excess power from the medicine. It meant that he achieved nearly the same effect using just a couple of coppers’ worth of herbs as others might with ten times the amount.

Over the next months, Su Chen would test various herbs on himself every four or five days, after finishing his martial arts cultivation, to determine their effects on strengthening and healing the body. By constantly experimenting, his skill in medicine advanced at an astonishing rate, as did his understanding of different plants.

Moreover, the progress of cultivating vitality and blood in his Lower Dantian became increasingly evident. Thanks to the herbs’ strengthening and healing properties, the accumulation of injuries and illnesses within his body decreased. As a result, the time he could spend cultivating greatly increased—from two hours to an impressive five.

His schedule grew tight, with little time left for chores or cultivating. Managing the ten acres of herb garden was no longer monotonous; instead, it had become a source of focus and purpose.