Watching the Mountain

Chapter 331: Chapter 191: Inspiration

”Senior Brother Chen, your Cultivation... what happened?”

Filled with confusion, Xu Ran approached Chen Minghe and Qing Li and asked.

Chen Minghe saw Xu Ran’s concerned expression, grinned, and replied, ”Junior Brother, there’s no need to worry. I did this to myself.”

”Huh?” Xu Ran exclaimed in disbelief. He stared at Chen Minghe, stunned. ”You did it to yourself? Senior Brother Chen, you crippled your own Cultivation? Why?”

”Well...” Chen Minghe pondered for a moment before slowly replying, ”For a more authentic experience.”

After they went to the Mortal World, Chen Minghe and Qing Li discovered a plague whose symptoms were remarkably similar to the illness that now afflicted Cultivators due to the world’s current malady.

After discovering the plague, they couldn’t find any medical texts about it. There were no records of it in Hao Miaomiao’s medical books, either.

Although Chen Minghe and Qing Li had studied Hao Miaomiao’s medical books for a long time, their aptitude for the medical arts was average. They relied mostly on rote memorization and the experience they had accumulated over years of practice.

They could only treat illnesses using existing prescriptions, or at most, make minor innovations based on established formulas.

They couldn’t achieve the same integrated understanding as a true physician like Hao Miaomiao. She could face a completely new disease, and after understanding its symptoms, calmly create a new prescription based on the principles of the Medical Dao. She could even establish entirely new medical theories from scratch.

The plague’s symptoms were just too similar to those of the current malady afflicting the world. Unwilling to let the opportunity pass, and with no other options, Qing Li suggested that she should get infected herself. She thought that by experiencing it firsthand, she might be able to find a cure.

However, there was a problem. As Cultivators with Cultivation protecting their bodies, they were immune to the diseases of the Mortal World.

Qing Li then proposed sealing her Cultivation. But even with her Cultivation sealed, her fundamental constitution as a cultivator remained. Even if sealed to the absolute limit, she still couldn’t be infected.

Seeing this, Chen Minghe crippled his own Cultivation. As he had hoped, he was then infected with the plague. In the days that followed, while he personally experienced the symptoms, it was as if he had an epiphany. He suddenly gained an integrated understanding of the medical arts that had previously eluded him. He successfully created a prescription and cured the plague.

After this experience, over the next decade or so, Chen Minghe had Qing Li guide him through the Mortal World to experience over a hundred plagues. He frequently used his own body to test the illnesses, personally enduring several hundred different diseases in that time.

Fortunately, he had Qing Li by his side, using all sorts of Spiritual Objects to nurse his body. Otherwise, after testing hundreds of diseases, his body would have collapsed long ago.

Even so, after more than a decade, his body could no longer take the strain. He stopped his work and returned to the Sect, planning to organize his experiences from the Mortal World and add them as a supplement to Hao Miaomiao’s medical books.

”This...” After hearing Chen Minghe’s story, Xu Ran stared at him, his expression complex. After a long moment, he sighed, his voice tinged with sorrow as he spoke:

”Senior Brother Chen, why go to such lengths? You only recently broke through to the Core Formation Stage. You had an ample lifespan and a long life ahead of you. Was it worth it?”

Xu Ran’s initial impression of Chen Minghe had been of a sly old timer, someone just coasting by and waiting to gain seniority. But later, he seemed to have turned over a new leaf, becoming a completely different person. He had become open-minded and easygoing, no longer obsessed with worldly possessions, and had developed a spirit of self-sacrifice.

But even so, Chen Minghe’s latest actions had still shaken him to the core. He never imagined the man would go this far.

Hearing Xu Ran’s words, Chen Minghe waved his hand and said:

”You’re mistaken, Junior Brother. In reality, I don’t have much of my lifespan left.”

”Oh?” Xu Ran gave him a slightly surprised look.

Seeing his reaction, Chen Minghe chuckled. ”Have you forgotten, Junior Brother? I achieved my Golden Core through the path of the Flying Immortal Stream. The lifespan of a normal Golden Core Stage cultivator is twelve hundred years, but a Golden Core from the Flying Immortal Stream only grants around eight hundred.”

Xu Ran followed up, ”Even so, at your age of over five hundred, you should still have more than two hundred years left. That’s two or three lifetimes for a mortal.”

Chen Minghe waved his hand and chuckled. ”I believe I’ve told you before, Junior Brother. I already had old injuries that had shortened my lifespan. On top of that, when I achieved Core Formation, I forced the advancement, which cost me even more of my lifespan.”

He shook his head slightly, his expression philosophical as he said:

”In truth, my lifespan would probably only last until I was around six hundred. That’s far less than a normal Core Formation Stage cultivator. Even if I hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway. I’d rather follow my heart and do something I find meaningful.”

Xu Ran watched Chen Minghe silently. ’His words sound reasonable, but it’s a basic instinct for any living being to cling to life. Everyone wants to live even a little longer. Forget a hundred years—most would fight for even one extra day.’

”Are you curious why I did this, Junior Brother?” Chen Minghe asked, watching Xu Ran’s reaction.

Xu Ran nodded.

Chen Minghe smiled faintly, his expression frank as he said, ”I did it for fame.”

Xu Ran let out a soft sound of surprise and glanced at him, taken aback. It wasn’t the answer that surprised him, but Chen Minghe’s candor.

Seeing this, Chen Minghe smiled again, then said, ”Junior Brother, do you know why I had that sudden awakening and changed my ways back then?”