Chapter 384 - Treating Wounds, Making Talismans!
Chapter 384: Treating Wounds, Making Talismans!
The total area of Mansion Number One was four thousand eight hundred square meters, of which, the mansion itself spanned around one thousand three hundred square meters. A two-story complex, the mansion was measured at about forty meters in length, thirty meters in breadth, and ten meters in height.
The largest space in the first story was definitely the living room, which spanned around four hundred square meters. Apart from that, the mansion housed a spacious kitchen, a brightly lit dining hall, a luxurious washroom, a study, a gym, and several guest rooms.
Ling Yun’s study and gym flanked the mansion’s living room and were located respectively on the south-western and south-eastern corners of the first story. Measuring at about one hundred square meters, the study was considered huge. The gym was even bigger, with an area exceeding two hundred square meters.
Instead of situating it on the first story of the mansion, an indoor swimming pool had been installed in the south-eastern corner of the second story and was facing the sun. As the pool was located directly above the gym, there was a staircase linking the two spaces.
The swimming pool was of considerable size at nearly two hundred square meters — it measured at around fifteen meters in length and ten meters in breadth. It could comfortably accommodate ten swimmers simultaneously.
The mansion had been solely designed for its owner to relax and enjoy himself amidst his tiring schedule.
Just imagine, its inhabitants would be able to work out in the gym for an hour or two after waking up in the morning. Drenched with perspiration, he could then proceed to the pool on the second story for a leisurely swim. What a delight that would be!
Of course, if the indoor pool was considered to be too small as a matter of personal taste, one could venture outdoors to a gourd-shaped swimming pool which measured at around four hundred square meters. With its size, the pool was virtually a small lake capturing the reflections of the surrounding vegetation, blue skies, and white clouds. A person could swim to his heart’s content in such a pool.
Apart from the kitchen, dining hall, study, gym, and washroom, there were also several guest rooms on the first story. The guest rooms were of varying sizes, but even the smallest of them stood at fifty square meters and was elegantly furnished.
It was evident that the mansion’s designer had been thoroughly considerate of the inhabitants’ needs. After all, the buyer who could afford the mansion’s million-yuan price tag — as well as the friends or guests who would be staying at its premises — were certainly not ordinary folk.
On the second story of the mansion, the entire set of guest rooms were virtually secondary master bedrooms apart from the main master bedroom, which was the largest of them all and designated for the owner. The rooms could perform the dual function as a home for Ling Yun’s family, as well as an accommodation for his guests — it was entirely up to Ling Yun to purpose them.
The entire mansion had a flawless water management system, central air-conditioning, and a ground heating system. It was designed in a rustic style that was a favorite of the Chinese people.
This design was simple and original, unrestrained and casual. It adhered to the principle of returning to nature and satisfied one’s psychological need to rediscover his original innocence.
It focused on giving the mansion’s inhabitants a first-hand domestic experience of what it was like to work and rest in tranquility according to the sun’s pattern of movement.
The sunshine, green grass, and freshness of dew were palpable in the minimalistic decor and simple atmosphere of the mansion.
Actually, due to the vast size of the mansion as well as insufficient time given by Ling Yun, Tang Meng only had five days to search for an interior design company before the mansion had been sealed off. Hence, the mansion’s decor was still rough around the edges, and many of its details still needed to be refined.
Despite the situation, Ling Yun had brought Cui Lao to view the mansion, and the latter was extremely pleased with it.
The windows and carpets exuded a distinguished air, the furnishings and lighting gave a sense of comfort mingled with luxury, and the floral and tapestry arrangements were romantic and heart-warming. The mansion’s interior decor had been perfectly integrated with the rustic style of its exterior, giving its viewers a sense of natural tranquility.
“Hmm… not bad, not bad at all!” Ling Yun swept his gaze across the living room and nodded his head in satisfaction before turning to call Tang Meng over.
“Find a guest room for me and Cui Lao…” Since his purchase of Mansion Number One, Ling Yun had only been circling between the living room and kitchen; he wasn’t as familiar with the premises as Tang Meng was.
After leading Ling Yun and Cui Lao to a guest room, Tang Meng tactfully withdrew from their presence to watch Tie Xiaohu collect blood from the big black hound.
“It seems that you haven’t had such a rough time after all, considering that you’ve had the means to live in such a good mansion…” After entering the mansion, Cui Lao had constantly been surveying his surroundings and waited until Tang Meng had left before teasing Ling Yun.
Ling Yun gave a dismissive laugh. “Cui Lao must be joking, it’s only a dwelling place. No matter how huge the house is, the sleeping quarters are only three feet wide. Truth be told, I bought this place primarily for cultivation and to avoid any disturbances.”
While Ling Yun was speaking, Cui Lao had been gazing at his eyes and discovered his expression to be placid, calm, and full of leisurely ease. It lacked the arrogance of a man who had struck a windfall, as well as the wild indulgence of a rich man’s son. Cui Lao silently approved of his demeanor.
Ling Yun was still planning to make some talismans. Due to a pressing deadline, he quickly went straight to the point and asked, “Cui Lao, if I have judged correctly, you sustained serious internal injuries a long time ago which damaged your energy center and meridians. Even though your injuries have completely healed after an extended period of careful recuperation, the damaged energy center and meridians have become an underlying danger for you and greatly affect your cultivation, right?
“La… lad, which sect are you from? My hidden injury could be easily concealed from an ordinary Xiantian expert, so how did you manage to notice it?” The shocked Cui Lao needed to know.
“The Immortal Physician Sect!” Ling Yun replied without hesitation. He had already decided to give that answer regardless of who the questioner was.
“I’ve heard of the Miracle Physician Valley, but the Immortal Physician Sect…” Cui Lao frowned, and despite a long deliberation over the matter, he hadn’t managed to recall such a sect.
When Ling Yun saw Cui Lao’s contemplative expression, he was unable to control his laughter. “Cui Lao, as I still need to prepare some things this afternoon, may I treat your injuries first?”
“But this is a hidden injury that has plagued me for nearly twenty years, you…” Though there was a hint of hesitation in Cui Lao’s expression, his eyes conveyed anxious expectation.
Cui Lao wasn’t afraid that Ling Yun couldn’t heal him; after all, his hidden injury had been plaguing him for eighteen years. During that period, he had already exhausted all means of recovery. Although it was no longer fatal, it had affected his cultivation and prevented him from advancing to the Xiantian realm. With regard to that, Cui Lao had already accepted his destiny.
Moreover, Ling Lie had saved Cui Lao’s life, and since Ling Yun was Ling Lie’s grandson and a descendant of the Ling Family, Cui Lao wouldn’t be aggrieved even if Ling Yun exacerbated his condition or even killed him in the course of treatment.
Instead, Cui Lao’s anxiousness had arisen at the possibility that Ling Yun would be able to heal the hidden injuries of prominent members in his family, such as Ling Lie and Ling Xiao!
This was especially applicable to Ling Yun’s father, Ling Xiao. As the third master of the family, Ling Xiao was gifted and would be able to make significant progress in his cultivation if his hidden injuries were completely healed. Wouldn’t he be quickly reinstated to his former glory then?
At the thought of that, Cui Lao was trembling with excitement. He sensed that Ling Yun was his family’s only hope of being restored to their former glory.
Ling Yun gave Cui Lao a puzzled look before laughing. “Since I was able to notice it, I’m confident about healing you. However, a one-off treatment is impossible given the period of your injury. It will require about half a month to heal completely…”
Cui Lao was overjoyed at the news and nodded his head excitedly. “Good! What should I do now?”
Ling Yun smiled gently. “You only need to remove your upper garment and sit in the usual meditative pose to regulate your energy.”
Cui Lao followed Ling Yun’s instructions, removing his upper garment and sitting cross-legged on the bed. Then, he closed his eyes and began to regulate his energy.
Ling Yun took out nine golden needles and commenced the procedure using the Nine Needles of the Spiritual Pivot. He used the technique nine times and dispensed eighty-one needles in total. Each time he dispensed a needle, it injected a shot of spiritual energy into Cui Lao’s body.
The acupoints, meridians, and energy center were neither organs nor a network in the human body. They weren’t discoverable through clinical anatomy.
If one were to insist on a concrete analogy of the phenomenon, the Qi within a practitioner’s body could be likened to water, and the acupoints would be the entrance to a well. As the water flows through a well, it takes the shape of a set channel, the meridian network. As for the energy center, it was the most important and largest well where the entire network of Principal Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians converge.
Due to his hidden injuries, several acupoints and meridians had withered in Cui Lao’s body, and his energy center was unable to expand. As a result, only a limited amount of spiritual energy could pass through the withered meridian network or reside in his energy center. No matter how well-cultivated Cui Lao was, he was constrained by the limited amount of energy, and his efforts towards breaking through to the Xiantian realm were futile.
Currently, Ling Yun was relying on the miraculous Nine Needles of the Spiritual Pivot technique — coupled with his own spiritual energy — to reverse the damage inflicted on Cui Lao’s energy center, acupoints, and meridians!
Of course, if he was fortunate and had a robust constitution, Cui Lao had a chance of advancing directly to the Xiantian realm after undergoing Ling Yun’s treatment.
The whole process had lasted an hour, and Ling Yun had dispensed the final needle. He whispered to Cui Lao, who had shut his eyes in meditation, “Cui Lao, this round of treatment has the strongest effect. If you still intend to sit here in cultivation, I’ll come to remove the needles after that, and you’ll be able to stand.”
As he didn’t require Cui Lao to reply, Ling Yun left the guest room instantly and returned to the living room.
“Phew… The peak of Houtian Realm Level Nine is simply too scary, I nearly didn’t have enough spiritual energy for that!” Ling Yun exclaimed inwardly as he sat on the sofa and began to absorb more spiritual energy.
Although Ling Yun possessed a vast amount of spiritual energy, he had depleted 90% of it in the course of treating Cui Lao.
“Tie Xiaohu, have you bought the talisman paper and medicinal herbs according to my instructions?” Ling Yun asked Tie Xiaohu after recovering 30% of his spiritual energy.
Before descending into the crater the previous Sunday, Ling Yun had manufactured thousands of talismans in a single sitting. As a result, he had practically used up the yellow paper, cinnabar, and superior medicinal herbs, which were essential materials for the making of talismans. Ling Yun then ordered Tie Xiaohu to purchase them in bulk.
Tie Xiaohu chuckled. “I had already bought them on Monday — they’re in the storeroom!”
Ling Yun asked Tie Xiaohu to bring those items out for his production of new talismans and began to prepare the ink.
The three of them were kept busy until 3:30pm, and it was only then that Ling Yun began to write on the first talisman.
Right now, he could only use an ordinary writing brush made with wolf bristles. As there weren’t any wounds to treat at the moment, Ling Yun realized that he wouldn’t be able to test the efficacy of the Healing Talismans and decided to draw the pattern for Fire Talismans instead.
With a few strokes of his brush, Ling Yun had completed the first Fire Talisman and flew out of the mansion with it. At the same time, he took out a Fire Talisman from his Spatial ring, which had been drawn using the Emperor Brush.
Holding both talismans in each of his hands, Ling Yun tossed them outwards and summoned in his heart. “Come!”
With a resounding noise, two fireballs were rolling and ablaze!
“F*ck… this…”
Ling Yun stared in shock at the fireball from the Fire Talisman that he had just drawn out; he was beside himself with excitement!