Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 384: Medicine

This Divine Farmer’s Classic was not the same as the one on Earth, though they did share the same name.

In this world of martial arts, with existences having the ability to perceive things on the microscopic level after reaching higher realms of cultivation, the development of medicine far surpassed that of the ancient times on Earth. There were relatively few misconceptions, and there were not any bizarre ideas like using strange medicinal guides.

The book on Earth recorded 365 types of herbs, and due to the passage of time, some errors eventually arose. Here, the book might have well over 3,000 types. Properly studying and memorizing all of this was not something that could be accomplished in a short time. Without relying on the cheats that the Heavenly Tome provided him, it would take a lot of time to learn it thoroughly.

The “master” did not just throw the book at him to have him learn on his own; she still properly took on her role as a master.

Her guiding voice intermittently reached Zhao Changhe’s ears, “Pharmacologists mainly observe the four properties, the five flavors, channel tropism, and the actions of ascending and descending, floating and sinking... The four properties refer to the excesses and deficiencies of yin and yang, focusing on hot, cold, warm, and cool. The five flavors refer to...”[1]

“Medicines are divided into seven emotions: joy, anger, worry, grief, fear, fright, and pensiveness. These are connected to single, enhancement, assistance, suppression, elimination, opposition, and conflict. It is only by harmonizing the seven emotions that they can be properly combined... What’s with that look on your face? I’m not talking about the harmony of yin and yang!”[2]

“No, no, master, please continue,” said Zhao Changhe as he buried his head in the book.

His expression was off, not because he was thinking about the harmony of yin and yang, but because he realized that the essence of the seven emotions in medicine was essentially the chemical reactions between different elements, just different paths leading to the same goal. Unfortunately, he had long since forgotten most of the knowledge he had learned in school, and now he could only rely on cheats to get by.

It felt really embarrassing to him to have ended up like this as a transmigrator.

However, the highly anticipated Heavenly Tome did not disappoint. It indeed reacted to the book.

Originally, the generated scene was picturesque with tall mountains and clear waters, but the flowers and trees were all ordinary species with nothing special about them. As the Divine Farmer’s Classic was integrated, the flowers and plants began to evolve or transform into various medicinal herbs. They became much more vivid and easier to recognize than the abstract illustrations in the book.

Zhao Changhe suspected that when ordinary disciples and students learned about the appearance of herbs from the book, they might fail to recognize them in reality even when they were right before their eyes.

However, the herbs in the space were filtered down from thousands of species to just over a hundred by the Heavenly Tome.

This was because the Heavenly Tome was not concerned about creation, but martial arts—it did not care if these herbs could cure a cold, heatstroke, or an upset stomach. It only focused on the medicinal values of these herbs in relation to healing injuries, increasing internal energy, and strengthening the body. As a result, only species that were seen to be of value were retained.

Additionally, each herb retained by the Heavenly Tome came with floating textual descriptions, more targeted and specific than the introduction or description given by the book. It did not analyze the properties of the herbs but simply told him which formulas they could be used in and their martial arts-related medicinal values.

One example was “Golden Cranesbill, combine with Sheepear Jurinea, Bugleweed, and other herbs before grinding into a paste. The resulting paste has miraculous effects for treating external injuries. The formula is as follows... Additionally, if mixed with red gallbladder powder and heated in a pot with water, the resulting substance can be used to cultivate the Iron Sand Palm external art...”

I should have thought of this earlier. Even before obtaining the second page of the Heavenly Tome, the unsealed gold foil could already analyze the fruit given by Xia Longyuan and tell me that it could lay the foundation for the Blood Asura Body. It was also what brought me to look for the Dragon Elephant Blood Ginseng.

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Now, with the second page of the Heavenly Tome, which focuses on the Dao of nature, it’s more complete, allowing it to reveal more specific details. The limitation is that it only “grows” and analyzes the herbs mentioned in the book. If an herb isn’t listed, it won’t just appear on its own.

Unfortunately, after looking through over a hundred herbs, none of them seem suitable for Wanzhuang’s situation.

Zhao Changhe quietly touched his ring and repositioned the Atlas of Mountains and Rivers next to the pages of the Heavenly Tome.

This atlas contained recorded various rare items, including herbs and minerals, and even people. Although people did not appear in the space of the Heavenly Tome, the natural landscape revealed more items, ranging from the common to the bizarre.

“Heavenly Blood Jade, a rare item containing pure blood qi. Extract and refine it with Sharp Blade Grass to create a body-tempering solution, aiding in the advancement to the next stage of the Blood Asura Body.”

The Atlas of Mountains and Rivers noted that Heavenly Blood Jade was produced in the mountains of the Spirit Tribe and was extremely rare.

Zhao Changhe: “...”

This tribe sounds familiar. Uh... Never mind that now; the priority right now is Tang Wanzhuang’s condition.

After looking through it for some time, Zhao Changhe finally found something relevant: “Transformative Lotus, combine with Bodhi Fruit and refine into a pill. The resulting pill has miraculous effects for repairing damaged meridians, even reconnecting those on the verge of breaking. For those with intact meridians, it can expand them and enhance their resilience. The pill is considered a holy medicine for meridian therapy.”

Unexpectedly, it was also effective for his own condition. Since expanding his meridians in the Black Tortoise Secret Realm, improving them to just slightly below average, Zhao Changhe had not focused much on them, as he found them to be sufficient.

Currently, his cultivation may not demand much more, but as he advanced, his current meridians would inevitably become a hindrance once more.

“Spirit-Weaving Grass, combined with Solaris Nimbus Leaves, can nourish damaged souls and fortify the spiritual platform... However, soul injuries cannot be fully treated by medicine alone; this can only serve as an aid. The fundamental treatment lies in the Rejuvenation Art.”

This is it.

Tang Wanzhuang now had potential auxiliary treatments for both her damaged meridians and soul.

The challenge now was that these materials were scattered across secret realms, making them hard to locate. Nevertheless, at least he now had a direction.

Of course, the medications could only provide auxiliary support for the soul. This was inevitable, as no matter how potent, medications were ultimately processed by the body and could only fortify the physical parts that house the soul. They could not directly impact the intangible soul itself.

In fact, even when it came to nourishing the meridians, the true effectiveness came from the combination of medicine and healing techniques. Zhao Changhe was learning about herbs primarily to understand the Rejuvenation Art better, not just to find the herbs. Once he mastered the Rejuvenation Art, it would surpass any medicine remedy due to its nature as a fundamental law.

As he was pondering, his ear suddenly hurt.

Zhao Changhe winced and turned his head. He saw Tang Wanzhuang standing next to him, expressionless, tugging at his ear. “Are you listening? What did I say just now? Repeat it.”

Zhao Changhe recited. “Single refers to not requiring assistance; enhancement refers to mutual enhancement; assistance refers to the support of another; suppression refers to restraints on one another; elimination involves toxicity; opposition refers to the cancellation of effectiveness; conflict refers to the severe side effects after a harmful combination. These seven emotions must be understood together. Enhancement and assistance are preferred, opposition and conflict are to be avoided. To control poisons, use suppression and elimination, otherwise, avoid using those emotions.”

Tang Wanzhuang’s eyes widened in surprise. She had clearly seen him zoning out just now, and she had even waved her palm in front of his face without getting a reaction, yet he was actually able to accurately repeat her words.

It seems that my ability to multitask has improved with the advancement of my soul after I unlocked the Profound Mysteries... It’s probably because the blind woman is like a computer with multiple CPU cores that she’s able to process and observe multiple things simultaneously.

He did not mention any of this and kept a straight face. “I think you’re just looking for an excuse to pull my ear”

“Well...” Tang Wanzhuang, slightly flustered, said, “Can’t a master pull her student’s ear?”

Despite her words, she let go, feeling embarrassed.

Zhao Changhe chuckled, “Continue with the lesson, I’m starting to feel something...”

“Feel what?”

“Learning these things is indeed helping me have a better grasp of the Rejuvenation Art. Without understanding medicine and pharmacology, how could I properly rejuvenate anyone? Even if I did manage to heal something, I would not understand why... After listening to your explanations, I feel like I’m genuinely starting to understand the process of rejuvenation. I can feel that my mastery of the Rejuvenation Art will really improve significantly.”

Tang Wanzhuang’s face reddened slightly

His mastery is improving? Won’t he still use it the same way?

She did not say this aloud, instead gently pushing another book toward him. “Look at the examples in this book. For example, enhancement is when two herbs work together, such as Angelica and White Peony Root... Suppression is when one herb suppresses the intensity of the main herb, making its effect more gentle and usable, such as...”

In the pavilion, the two sat very close, their heads almost touching as they read the book together. Tang Wanzhuang’s delicate hand pointed out words in the book while softly explaining, and Zhao Changhe listened intently, committing her words to his memory.

Baoqin, no longer playing her instrument, stood by with crossed arms and a cold gaze.

You call this a master-disciple relationship? Young Miss, you never sat this close to me when you taught me to read sheet music!

As the sky gradually darkened, the words in the book became harder and harder to see.

Tang Wanzhuang, snapping out of her trance, suddenly called out, “Baoqin, Baoqin~”

Baoqin responded, “I’m here.”

“Go inside and light the lamps. Zhao Changhe and I are reading... We need to make the most of our time.”

“Alright, alright, I get it,” replied Baoqin, walking dejectedly inside. After a moment, the room was illuminated by the light of the lamps.

Seeing the lamps cast a romantic glow, Tang Wanzhuang realized how inappropriate it would be for the two of them to be left alone in the room.

She turned her head, pretended to be indifferent. “You know what, I’m tired. Come back tomorrow.”

Zhao Changhe, seeing her proud demeanor, could not help but gulp nervously.

They had just had a treatment session at noon, so they theoretically did not need another today, but he still made the suggestion, “Um, should we have a treatment session before bed to help you rest? It will also let me see if my mastery of the Rejuvenation Art has improved.”

Tang Wanzhuang turned her head away, not speaking but not refusing either.

Anyway, it’s not the first or second time... if he wants to test out the Rejuvenation Art, then I guess he could test it out quickly...

Gathering his courage, Zhao Changhe put an arm around her shoulders and leaned in for a kiss.

Feeling her shoulders tense, Zhao Changhe felt a bit uneasy, not daring to be too frivolous. He genuinely tested the improvements to the Rejuvenation Art based on his recent learnings.

Meanwhile, Tang Wanzhuang, being kissed, opened her eyes and stared at him, making Zhao Changhe feel even more confused.

Hm? I mean, the Rejuvenation Art has indeed improved a bit... But you can’t possibly expect some huge leap in mastery just from learning some basic medical knowledge and pharmacology. It’s an auxiliary tool, not some miraculous cheat.

To be honest, I’m just using the Rejuvenation Art as an excuse. I just want to kiss you.

Resolving his mind, he pushed forward and slipped his tongue into the kiss.

Tang Wanzhuang closed her eyes, satisfied.

1. These are all theories of traditional Chinese medicine, aka TCM. The five flavors refer to sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, and salty, with each referring to different effects of certain medicine. Channel tropism refers to the selective therapeutic effects of a drug on a certain part of the body. Ascending and descending, floating and sinking refers to four different effects of drugs on the body: upward, downward, outward, and inward. It is relative to the tendency exhibited by the disease/illness. ☜

2. The seven emotions actually refer to different administering methods for medicine, such as requiring only a single type of medicine to treat a single disease with a single condition when it comes to “single,” and so on. ☜