Divine Level Witch Doctor

In the Jade Workshop, Zhao Yuan lit another stick of Soul-Stabilizing Incense, opened his Storage Ring, and took out the Medicine King Stone Carving.

Throughout the thousands of years of its development, Traditional Chinese Medicine has seen the rise of countless Medicine Kings, the most famous of whom was the great Medical Family physician of the Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao.

The figure carved from the Spirit Medicine Stone was none other than this famous Medicine King!

Zhao Yuan didn’t rush to begin. Instead, he placed his palms together, bowed deeply to the statue of Sun Simiao, and murmured, ”Master Sun, please forgive this junior for the offense I am about to commit.”

After all, Sun Simiao was a senior of the Medical Family and a Great God. One could never be too respectful.

Only after completing this ritual did Zhao Yuan pick up the tools on the table and begin to dismantle the Spirit Medicine Stone, crafting surgical instruments for Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The origins of Traditional Chinese Surgery can be traced back to the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and the earliest surgical instruments were made of stone, known as Gua Sha Stones.

These surgical instruments are described in great detail in the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, which even summarizes sixteen methods for using the Gua Sha Stone. Later, with the development of metallurgy, and due to shortcomings like their fragility, Gua Sha Stones gradually faded from the historical stage, replaced by surgical instruments forged from metal.

However, the various drawbacks of Gua Sha Stones were no issue at all for a Spirit Medicine Stone containing Qi.

Under the influence of Qi, the Spirit Medicine Stone was even harder and sharper than metal, making it perfectly suited for crafting surgical instruments. What’s more, it contained a rich, wondrous medicinal fragrance that had unbelievably powerful effects in stopping bleeding, reducing inflammation, and drawing out pus and infection!

These were advantages that ordinary metal surgical instruments could never hope to match!

An hour passed quickly. After failing several times and wasting quite a bit of the Spirit Medicine Stone, Zhao Yuan finally succeeded in crafting a complete set of surgical instruments for Traditional Chinese Medicine.

”Hooo...”

Zhao Yuan let out a long breath and, looking at the complete set of stone surgical instruments arranged before him, muttered with a shudder, ”I can’t believe how hard it was to make this set of instruments. I was so, so careful, and I even had the boost from the Soul-Stabilizing Incense, yet I still failed that many times. Thank goodness I finally pulled it off, or I would’ve wasted this entire Spirit Medicine Stone.”

A moment later, his spirits lifted, and he began picking up the surgical instruments one by one.

The moment his fingers touched a surgical instrument made from the Spirit Medicine Stone, a strange sensation washed over him—it was as if the tools were an extension of his own body!

Zhao Yuan was certain that when he used this set of surgical instruments, he would be able to wield them as naturally as his own limbs, just like he did with the Golden Nine Needles! ’Even without the Body Pearl,’ he thought, ’I’ll be able to perfectly sense the conditions of the surgical site with these tools alone, allowing me to take the most appropriate action at any given moment.’

On top of that, the surgical instruments came with their own innate hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, and pus-draining effects. It was no exaggeration to call them a surgical Divine Artifact!

Even though Zhao Yuan had seen his fair share of treasures, he couldn’t help but marvel, ”The failures were completely worth it! To create a set of surgical instruments like this... it would be worth it no matter how much Spirit Medicine Stone I used or how much money I spent! It’s just a shame I haven’t learned Traditional Chinese Surgery yet. This Divine Artifact of a toolset will have to wait...”

He hadn’t even finished speaking when he suddenly froze, letting out a surprised ”Eh?”

He had discovered a new book that had suddenly appeared under the medical section of his Information Leaf. A closer look at the title revealed it to be Traditional Chinese Surgery!

”No way! What a coincidence? Talk about speaking of the devil...” Zhao Yuan was ecstatic.

The appearance of Traditional Chinese Surgery not only meant his new surgical instruments could finally be used, but also that he had acquired a brand-new Medical Skill! Once he mastered it, he would no longer be helpless when faced with conditions requiring surgery.

After his excitement subsided, Zhao Yuan began to ponder. ’The appearance of Traditional Chinese Surgery is likely due to a few things. First, I’ve accumulated enough Wish Power and have a fairly deep understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnosis. Second, it was most likely spurred on by this surgical Divine Artifact, causing it to unlock ahead of schedule.’

Regardless, the appearance of Traditional Chinese Surgery was a wonderful development!

A few minutes later, Zhao Yuan reigned in his excitement, placed the surgical Divine Artifact and the remaining Spirit Medicine Stone into his Storage Ring, and then opened the door and left the workshop.

When he arrived in the front hall, he was surprised to find that Shufang Studio had closed for the day. The customers and employees were all gone, leaving only Cheng Yunlong in the shop, carefully cradling the Moonlit Stars Necklace and examining it from every angle.

After greeting him, Zhao Yuan asked, puzzled, ”What’s going on? How come you’ve closed up so early?”

”I had no choice,” Cheng Yunlong said, looking up with a shudder. ”Your necklace caused a massive stir on Antique Street. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people swarmed the shop to get a look at it. I was worried something might happen, so I had to clear everyone out and lock the doors.”

Zhao Yuan had been completely focused on Artifact Creation in the workshop and had no idea what was happening outside. Listening to Cheng Yunlong’s account, he realized that the Moonlit Stars Necklace he’d made had become famous. A picture of it had even been posted online, captivating and enthralling countless people!

Zhao Yuan clicked his tongue in wonder, gaining a new appreciation for the knowledge and skills Wu Peng had left behind. Then, he asked curiously, ”So you’ve been in here for over an hour just holding the necklace and staring at it? Don’t you get tired of looking at it?”

Cheng Yunlong sighed. ”Tired of it? How is that even possible! For a priceless treasure like this, forget an hour—you could have me hold it and stare at it for days, months, or even years, and I’d never get tired of it!”

Though reluctant to part with it, he returned the Moonlit Stars Necklace to Zhao Yuan without a moment’s hesitation.

Zhao Yuan took the necklace and, without so much as a glance, stuffed it into his pocket. In reality, he used the cover of his pocket to move the necklace into his Storage Ring.

The corner of Cheng Yunlong’s mouth twitched as he watched.

’That’s a priceless, one-of-a-kind treasure, and you just casually shove it in your pocket? Are you treating it like loose change?’

At the same time, he also felt a little touched.

’Master Zhao didn’t even check it. What does that mean? It means he has complete trust in me, that he isn’t the least bit worried I might have swapped the priceless treasure for a fake!’

Little did he know that Zhao Yuan could tell with a single glance whether the Moonlit Stars Necklace had been swapped.

Because no matter how convincing a fake was, it couldn’t possibly be Qi Containing, much less have the Array he had personally designed!

”Well, I’m off,” Zhao Yuan said. ”I’ll let you get back to it. Thanks for all your help today.”

Waving a hand, Zhao Yuan turned to leave Shufang Studio.

Cheng Yunlong scrambled to his feet to see him out, his face wreathed in a smile. ”Oh, please, don’t thank me! It was my honor to be of service to Master Zhao. In the future, if there’s anything at all you need, just give the word. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to get it done right!”

He was already thinking about how he could continue to serve Zhao Yuan well in hopes of earning an opportunity to have him craft a custom Jade Artifact.

After leaving Antique Street, Zhao Yuan returned to campus. Instead of heading back to his dorm, however, he made his way to the traditional Chinese medicine garden.

PS: Just got back home from Shanghai, so the update is a little late. Apologies. There will be another chapter shortly!