ATPnovel Chapter 671 A cultivator arrived. Hu Zhu Chi.
Chapter 671 A cultivator arrived. Hu Zhu Chi.
That evening, Chen Fan was brushing Grey Mane's fur in front of the tent when a figure staggered over from a distance.
It was a young man, who looked to be no more than twenty years old. He was wearing a dark leather robe commonly seen on grassland Gu cultivators, with a few crude insect patterns embroidered on the robe.
His face was sallow, his steps were unsteady, and he coughed violently every few steps, with a trace of blood still clinging to the corner of his mouth.
With a cultivation level of nine in Qi Refining, he had a deep wound on his left arm that exposed bone. The edges of the wound were a strange dark green, and a faint stench of decay wafted in the wind.
It smelled quite similar to the Gu poison that Batu used back then, only more than ten times stronger.
Chen Fan glanced at it briefly before looking away and continuing to brush the gray mane. But the young Gu cultivator walked straight towards him, stopped three steps in front of him, and knelt down with a thud.
"Senior, please save my life." The young Gu cultivator's voice was hoarse and weak, yet it carried an indescribable certainty.
Chen Fan paused for a moment, then slowly turned around, his gaze falling on the young Gu cultivator.
Greymane snorted, seemingly quite displeased with the stranger's intrusion, and swished its tail before strolling to the other side of the stable.
"Who are you?" Chen Fan's voice was calm and indifferent. "I'm just a shepherd, not some senior. If you need medical treatment, go sit in the tent, I'll come after I've finished grooming the horse."
The young Gu cultivator raised his head, his bloodshot eyes staring straight at Chen Fan.
His gaze held no doubt, no probing, only an almost obstinate certainty.
He lowered his voice, speaking in a volume only the two of them could hear: "I am Huzhu Chi, a disciple of a small Gu-cultivation tribe in the north. I am afflicted with the Green Line Gu poison, which can only be temporarily suppressed by sealing the meridians with spiritual power. Before coming here, I had visited three tribes seeking medical help, but none could cure me. However, just now, I met an old herdsman outside the tribe. He said that two months ago, the tribe's chief was bitten by a poisonous snake, and his entire body turned black and purple. A quiet stranger from another village saved him with a few herbs. I asked about the stranger's appearance, senior. That's not an injury that can be cured with herbs. That's Gu poison. A person who can cure Gu poison with herbs cannot be an ordinary person."
Chen Fan remained silent for a moment.
He underestimated this minor Gu cultivator in the Qi Refining stage.
Ordinary people couldn't see the intricacies behind the acupuncture that night, but cultivators were different.
Even cultivators at the Qi Refining stage can sense the faint traces left by the sealing of spiritual energy into their meridians.
He looked down into Huzhuchi's stubborn eyes, eyes devoid of calculation, filled only with the dying man's yearning for life.
He didn't say much, just rinsed the brush in the bucket of water, turned and walked towards the tent, leaving only two words: "Come in."
Hu Zhuchi staggered to his feet and followed Chen Fan into the tent.
The tent was still simply furnished with sheepskin blankets, a low table, and a few pottery jars.
Chen Fan gestured for Hu Zhuchi to lie down on the sheepskin blanket, then tore open the sleeve of his left arm, revealing a deep wound that exposed bone.
The wound was dark green, and the skin and flesh at the edges had been corroded and turned black by the Gu poison. A thin green line spread from the wound along the meridians toward the heart, much like the Gu poison he had seen before.
The green-line gu poison was more potent than the snake gu poison. If Hu Zhuchi hadn't barely suppressed it with his meager spiritual power at the Qi Refining stage, the gu poison would have already invaded his heart meridian.
Chen Fan's expression remained unchanged. With a flick of his right hand, several fine gold needles, as thin as hair, appeared at his fingertips.
He used his divine sense to lock onto every path of the spread of the Gu poison in Huzhu Chi's body, and used his pinpointing technique to precisely block all the meridian nodes leading to the heart.
Three golden needles silently pierced Hu Zhuchi's chest, lower abdomen, and thigh, the needle tips precisely sealing the three most viciously spreading Gu lines.
At the same time, he made a hand seal with his left hand, and a very subtle spiritual energy flowed along the needle handle into Huzhu Chi's meridians, peeling away the Gu poison remaining on the inner wall of the meridians layer by layer.
Hu Zhuchi felt a cool, water-like power surge into his body, and the burning sensation that had caused him unbearable pain was slowly subsiding.
The terrifying green line on his left arm receded visibly from his heart toward the wound, and wherever it passed, the festering flesh began to regrow a healthy red color.
He stared wide-eyed at Chen Fan's technique, his eyes filled with shock.
Although he was only a Qi Refining stage cultivator, he was still a Gu cultivator. Someone who could so easily neutralize the Green Line Gu poison must have a cultivation level of at least Core Formation stage.
"Senior..." Hu Zhu Chi spoke in a trembling voice.
"Don't speak," Chen Fan said calmly.
Fifteen minutes later, all the poison was forced to the wound.
Chen Fan used a golden needle to puncture the spot where the poison was most concentrated, and dark green poison gushed out, staining the white cloth under the wound dark green.
After the poisoned blood had drained away, he crushed several herbs that he had prepared beforehand and applied them to the wound, then bandaged it properly with clean cloth strips.
After doing all this, he raised his head and looked at Huzhuchi: "Your life is saved. Rest for half an hour until your blood and energy have recovered before you leave."
Hu Zhuchi sat up from the sheepskin blanket and moved his left arm.
Although the wound was still throbbing, the burning sensation that had made him feel like he was dying had completely disappeared, replaced by a long-lost sense of relief.
He stared blankly at his arm, then suddenly turned over and knelt down in front of Chen Fan, kowtowing three times.
"I will never forget your great kindness, senior! I humbly request to become your apprentice and learn medical skills and detoxification methods, so that I may save lives and heal the mortals on the grasslands who have no money to seek out Gu cultivators!"
Chen Fan looked at him without saying a word.
Those calm, still eyes held no emotion; they were simply scrutinizing the young man before them.
Hujuchi felt uncomfortable under his gaze, but he forced himself not to lower his head.
After a long silence, Chen Fan withdrew his gaze and asked calmly, "How did you acquire this Gu poison?"
Hujuchi paused for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "A few days ago, my small tribe was conscripted to fight against the Zhao Kingdom's border army in the south. I didn't want to go, so I was slapped by the tribe's Gu cultivator elder and poisoned with Green Thread Gu. The elder said that if I could find the antidote within seven days, I would be lucky and wouldn't have to go to war; if I couldn't find it, I would die out there, which would save us from wasting food."
After listening, Chen Fan remained silent for a moment.
He had seen those arrogant and domineering grassland Gu cultivators at the Hundred Sects Conference, and he had also heard news of the war between the Zhao Kingdom and the grasslands in the Agula tribe.
Unexpectedly, this war has spread to the lowest level of Qi Refining stage Gu cultivators, even forcing a young man in his early twenties into a desperate situation.
"Senior, I know my cultivation is too low and I am unworthy to be your disciple. But I am sincere. I no longer want to learn those harmful Gu techniques; I only want to learn how to heal and save lives." Hu Zhu Chi knelt on the ground, his voice trembling. "Please, senior, take me in."