Gu Zuo was a bit embarrassed. Actually, he hadn’t taken Hu Chang’an’s pulse in its entirety. Rather, he had sensed the feedback of the symptoms. After thinking about the medicines normally used to treat these symptoms and verifying it through a blood test, he made a determination… However, if it was said that he had made a diagnosis, then that wasn’t quite correct.
Hence, he just said: “It was just deduced from many factors…”
But despite Gu Zuo’s modest behavior right now, the degree of trust the three Hu Clan siblings had in Gu Zuo had risen rapidly. Even Hu Chang’an, who had taken all kinds of medicine, could tell that this level of strength was extraordinary.
Hu Changfeng’s face reddened, and he stammeringly apologized: “Back then, I…”
Gu Zuo blinked his eyes as he looked at the young boy, and reached out a hand to ruffle his hair. After that, he suddenly recalled something, and his body stiffened a little.
Hu Changfeng didn’t expect that Gu Zuo would do this, but his heart also relaxed.
Off to the side, Hu Changbi inquired with a delicate voice: “Big Brother Ah Zuo, from listening to your tone, does this diagnosis have any problems?”
When these words were uttered, Hu Chang’an and Hu Changfeng also reacted.
The tone of Gu Zuo’s question just then seemed to treat this diagnosis with disapproval.
If it was before, the three Hu Clan siblings would’ve certainly trusted that honorable pharmacist more, but now that they discovered Gu Zuo’s prowess, they also wanted to hear Gu Zuo’s opinion.
If the previous diagnosis was truly mistaken, was the actual situation worse…or better?
Hu Chang’an quelled his heart: “Brother Ah Zuo, there’s no harm in speaking the results of your diagnosis.”
Gu Zuo looked at them, and slowly started talking: “Brother Chang’an’s situation appears to be bone rotting disease, but in actuality, there are subtle differences. The biggest characteristic of bone rotting disease is that, due to certain unknown causes, the bone pearls that a martial artist produces are innately faulty and aren’t capable of storing enough true qi. Moreover, the bone pearls are unstable. In a moment of carelessness, the condensed bone pearls will easily crumble.”
Hu Chang’an nodded his head: “The senior who previously diagnosed me said this, too. I’ve been practicing martial arts since I was a child, but when I condensed my first bone pearl, I wasn’t able to store true qi to the fullest extent. And since the first one couldn’t store it well, it naturally inhibited the condensation of the second bone pearl. Later on, through diagnosis and treatment, I started taking some specific medicinal pills. This gradually stabilized my bone pearls, and allowed me to continue practicing martial arts.
“Only, the pressure on my bone pearls increases with each passing year. If I stop taking the medicine, I won’t be able to store true qi, so I have no choice but to keep taking medicine. I’ve heard that, for this type of illness, one can only treat the symptoms and not the root cause. But if I can smoothly become an Immortal Realm and generate a qi ocean, then this illness will go away without any medicine needed.”
However, getting better without taking medicine was actually a joke.
This type of bone rotting disease was basically incurable. Granted that one temporarily suppressed the collapse of the bone pearls during the early stages of the treatment, the more time that passed, the less effective the medicinal power became. Even if he reached peak Xiantian, those fragile bone pearls wouldn’t be able to smoothly transform into a qi ocean&#k2026; Under normal circumstances, a martial artist who had this type of illness would perish during the breakthrough process!
From ancient times till now, an Immortal Realm recovering completely from bone rotting disease was the most ideal situation. It was just a legend. And apart from this legend, no one had ever heard of a single living example.
As the rightful, eldest son, not only wasn’t Hu Chang’an a pharmacist, he was also diagnosed with this illness. As one could well imagine, the pressure on him was immense. To guarantee his position, his parents, who had died untimely deaths, had directly concealed his true condition. And to the outside world, they only said that his aptitudes were average. This was done to hide the fact that most of his true qi couldn’t be stored and that his realm advancements were slow. Reaching the present day, his younger siblings were born one after another. It was just in the past two years that his parents had unexpectedly died, leaving behind the three of them. Hu Chang’an bore the burden, and naturally worked even harder.
What lay ahead of Hu Chang’an wasn’t only a death that crept closer by the day, but also trouble that plagued both inside and outside the clan. In fact, the person who diagnosed him was the profound-level pharmacist who was on the verge of dying — Their Grand Elder. All of Hu Chang’an’s pills were refined by this elder who forcefully spat his heart’s blood doing so… Although it was only human-level medicinal pills and the damage to him was small, it required the Grand Elder to spend a lot of energy.
Once the Grand Elder passed away, Hu Chang’an would have to stop taking medicine, and it would be even harder on his body.
With such a short period of time and so many dangers, Hu Chang’an sometimes wondered whether he could still smoothly watch his brother and sister grow up.
It had to be said that Hu Changbi and Hu Changfeng both knew about Hu Chang’an’s condition. As a result, this boy and girl, who both possessed medicinal beads, strived to learn the methods of medicine refinement to cure their big brother with their own capabilities one day.
Speaking of which, while it was true to say that recovering without any medicine was a joke, not a single person among the three Hu Clan siblings found it funny.
Gu Zuo continued to talk: “But if it really was bone rotting disease, Brother Chang’an would’ve been able to practice martial arts and store true qi normally after the early-stage treatments of that senior.”
Hu Chang’an knew this. He furrowed his brows, and asked: “We all thought that this was within the reasonable range of any pathological changes. Could it be that it isn’t?”
Gu Zuo shook his head: “Even if it’s only treating the symptoms, it can also temporarily allow the bone pearls to become sturdy. And when the bone pearls are sturdy, true qi can enter them normally. The reason why one must take medicinal pills every day when treating bone rotting disease is because one uses the pills to construct the medicinal power that makes the bone pearls sturdy. But since the medicinal power is present, it’s impossible for a situation to appear where only a portion of the true qi can be stored. Rather, all of it ought to be stored. Therefore, because this symptom is incorrect, Brother Chang’an simply doesn’t have bone rotting disease.”
Hu Chang’an’s heart suddenly lurched: “In that case, I’ve been—”
Gu Zuo smiled placatingly: “There’s no need to worry. It isn’t a bad thing.”
The gazes of the three Hu Clan siblings locked onto Gu Zuo.
Hu Changfeng: “What is it?”
Gu Zuo said: “It’s a special constitution. The Myriad Leaking Body.”
Hu Chang’an slowly ruminated over this name. The Myriad Leaking Body… Ten-thousand leaks.
Ah, no matter how he parsed it, he felt that this name was inauspicious.
Hu Chang’an’s expression became respectful: “Brother Ah Zuo, I’d like to hear the details.”
Gu Zuo could empathize with the three siblings’ feelings. He didn’t keep them in suspense, and immediately said: “The Myriad Leaking Body really is easy to confuse with bone rotting disease. Or it should be said that bone rotting disease is actually an incomplete Myriad Leaking Body. Because the body is defective, there’s no way to break through to the Immortal Realm. Because the body is unawakened, the functions of this special constitution haven’t appeared.”
Hu Changbi’s charming face gladdened: “Since big brother has this kind of constitution, are his future prospects very good? Since this isn’t an illness, can he also become a genius-level personage?”
Gu Zuo hurriedly said: “A genuine Myriad Leaking Body naturally has marvelous abilities, but if it isn’t properly provided for during its initial stages, the Myriad Leaking Body is equivalent to a crippled body. At that time, it’ll be no different from having bone rotting disease.”
Hu Changbi’s appearance turned deathly pale: “Then, then… What about my big brother? Big Brother Ah Zuo, just now, you said that big brother’s previous diagnosis was wrong. Can we still turn this around now?”
Hu Chang’an’s face was strewn with thin rivulets of sweat. In his eyes, there was terror and apprehension.
There was nothing to be done if he mistakenly believed that stuff the entire time, but Gu Zuo had given him hope. He wasn’t originally afflicted with an incurable disease. On the contrary, his future outlook was boundless. If he was given this hope and it was changed into despair, that feeling of despair would plunge him into the abyss!
Fortunately, Gu Zuo wasn’t that sort of pervert who liked to toy with people’s hearts.
It went without saying that, if he made a diagnosis and discovered that the Myriad Leaking Body had failed to awaken and had turned into bone rotting disease, why on earth would he intentionally bring this up? Wasn’t that just looking for trouble? Of course, because it wasn’t the worst outcome and the situation could be salvaged, he raised the subject!
The three Hu Clan siblings were deeply concerned and their emotions were in an upheaval. The atmosphere was so tense, one could cut it with a knife.
Hence, Gu Zuo simply said: “Don’t worry. Although the early stages were diagnosed mistakenly, due to the relationship between bone rotting disease and the Myriad Leaking Body, methods that treat the symptoms and not the root cause will only delay the awakening of the Myriad Leaking Body. This won’t cause the awakening to fail!”
Hearing these words, those three Hu Clan siblings all breathed sighs of relief, and slightly laid down their worries.
This time around, Hu Chang’an stepped forward and bowed: “Brother Ah Zuo, please help me.”
At once, Gu Zuo spoke: “You saved my life before, and later on, we’ve become friends. Is there still any need to ask? Of course, I’ll certainly help you.”
The three Hu Clan siblings exchanged glances, and their faces wore smiling expressions.
Hu Chang’an asked: “Then, what do I need to do now?”
Gu Zuo thought about it: “No matter what, stop taking medicine for three days and allow me to take your pulses. During these three days, I’ll be able to determine the latest circumstances of the Myriad Leaking Body through the changes in your bone pearls. Afterwards, I’ll write up a proposal on how to advance the awakening process of the Myriad Leaking Body…”
Following this, he brandished his brush to write down numerous medicinal ingredients, and handed the list over to Hu Chang’an: “These are the required ingredients. The more, the better.”
Hu Chang’an took it, and the other two siblings moved closer. They were very curious.
A lengthy stream of characters were written on that list. There were many strange and unorthodox medicinal ingredients. However, as direct descendants of an aristocratic family of pharmacists, their foundations allowed them to recognize the ingredients.
It was just that, from this, they could see Gu Zuo’s profound erudition even more clearly.
After this, Hu Changbi hurriedly took the list, and left to prepare the medicinal ingredients.
In the courtyard, Hu Changfeng lifted his head to look at Gu Zuo: “Big Brother Ah Zuo, what’s so special about the Myriad Leaking Body?”
Gu Zuo considered his wording, and said: “In the early stages, the symptoms are almost the same as bone rotting disease. However, the biggest characteristic of a person with this type of constitution is that, whenever they condense bone pearls, the pearls will have many tiny holes. After true qi is poured into them, there won’t be any way to store the qi, and it will always ‘leak’ out. If one can’t find the proper method of awakening, then it’ll be the same as bone rotting disease, and they won’t be able to break through to the Immortal Realm. They’ll either die during the breakthrough, or they’ll die never having achieved their goal.”
Gu Zuo carefully explained: “But as for the biggest feature of the Myriad Leaking Body… It’s said that, although martial artists with the Myriad Leaking Body have difficulties in realm advancement prior to the Immortal Realm, the true qi that leaks out doesn’t actually disappear. Rather, it fuses into the martial artist’s flesh or into locations even more hidden within the body. Once a martial artist smoothly becomes an Immortal Realm, the Myriad Leaking Body successfully awakens. As such, an Immortal Realm martial artist’s qi ocean will present itself as a whirling funnel. Every time one draws out their profound qi while fighting, that profound qi’s eruptive might will be several to a dozen times stronger than that of anyone at equivalent realms!”
The pure strength of a matured Myriad Leaking Body was unimaginable!
T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
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