Chaotic World Book
Chapter 393 - 384 Pharmacy

Chapter 393: Chapter 384 Pharmacy

This "Shennong’s Materia Medica" is not the one from Earth, but it shares the same name.

In a world of Martial Arts, where one can introspectively observe the minutest details, medical development would far exceed the level of the normal ancient times; misconceptions would be relatively few, and there would be no need for groundless tonics based on shape or bizarre medicinal guides.

The Earth version records three hundred and sixty-five medicinal substances, and due to its ancient origins, it does contain some errors, whereas here, it’s feared that not even three thousand types would be the limit.

To memorize and study this thoroughly would truly not be a feat that could be accomplished in a short period without resorting to a "Heavenly Book" cheat; one could not expect to learn it properly otherwise.

Master didn’t just throw it at him to learn on his own; he still maintained the proper "Master" attitude.

The intermittent guiding voice permeated into Zhao Changhe’s ears: "The essence of pharmacology includes the Four Qi, Five Flavors, Meridian Tropism, and the Ascending and Descending, Sinking and Floating... The Four Qi refer to the abundance and decline of Yin and Yang, the change of cold and heat; the Five Flavors..."

"Medicines are categorized into seven emotions, which are the actions of acting alone, mutually needing, mutually making, mutually fearing, mutually loathing, mutually opposing, and mutually killing. Only when these seven emotions are harmoniously combined can they be formulated together... What kind of expression is that? I am not talking about the Harmony of Yin and Yang!"

"No, no, Master, please continue," Zhao Changhe lowered his head to flip through the book.

His expression was off not because Tang Wanju was imagining something about the Harmony of Yin and Yang, but because he thought that the essence of the seven emotions in combination was akin to the chemical reactions of different elements, a case of converging paths. Unfortunately, the knowledge from his schooling had mostly been returned to his teachers, leaving him to live like this only with the aid of cheats...

For a transmigrator to end up in such a state was indeed a disgrace.

As for the much-anticipated Heavenly Book, it did not disappoint him, for it truly responded.

Although the original VR reality was replete with clear mountains and rivers, the flowers and trees were just ordinary species, nothing special. But as it connected with this "Shennong’s Materia Medica," the botanicals inside began evolving into the forms of various medicinal herbs, vividly alive, far easier to recognize than the abstract patterns in the book.

Zhao Changhe was quite skeptical that if an ordinary apprentice were to learn about the appearance of medicinal materials from a book, he would fail to recognize them when faced with the real thing...

Yet, from the thousands of herbs that evolved, only a hundred or so remained.

Because the Heavenly Book wasn’t related to Creation, it pertained to Martial Arts—it didn’t care whether these medicines could cure a cold, heatstroke, or an upset stomach; it only cared about their medicinal value for healing injuries, increasing Inner Strength, and Body Refining, which is why only the relevant types were retained, making them fewer in number.

At the same time, each of the remaining medicinal herbs was accompanied by floating text explaining their uses, more targeted and specialized than the descriptions in the books, not analyzing their properties but telling you what formulas they fit into and their Martial Arts value.

For instance: "Golden Crane Herb, when ground into a paste with White Ox Gall and Scattered Blood Clotting Grass, can heal external injuries miraculously, the proportions are as follows... Furthermore, if combined with Red Gall Sand and mixed with water in a pot to heat and fuse, the sand can be used to refine the External Skill of Iron Sand Palm, the proportions are..."

He should have realized this earlier; even before he acquired the second page of the Heavenly Book, the unsealed gilt paper had already analyzed the fruit Xia Longyuan gave him for its use in laying the foundation for the Blood Shura Body and had guided him towards the subsequent requirement of Dragon Elephant Blood Ginseng. It was already part of the "Body Refining Martial Arts analysis" phase.

Now, with the second page of the Heavenly Book — the Law of Nature — complementing it, its completeness had increased, allowing it to demonstrate more tangible things... The drawback is that it only "grows" and analyzes the medicines written in the book; it doesn’t spontaneously generate those not mentioned.

Regrettably, after examining each of the hundred-plus types, none seemed to match the condition of Tang Wanju.

Zhao Changhe stealthily touched his ring, moving the "Mountain and River Atlas" from the corner and placing it on top of the two pages of the Heavenly Book.

This recorded even more rare items, not only medicines and ores... but actually also people. Of course, people wouldn’t appear here, but the variety of things among the mountains and rivers increased even more, an array of bizarre items.

"Jun Heaven Blood Jade, a rare find indeed, contains pure Blood Qi within; when refined and extracted, and mixed with Sharp Blade Grass, it can be boiled into Body Refining Water, a step in the evolution for the Blood Shura Body."

The "Mountain and River Atlas" records: Jun Heaven Blood Jade, produced in the Spirit Clan Mountain, is extremely rare.

Zhao Changhe: "..."

This clan seemed familiar.

Forget it, let’s not look at this now. The matter at hand is Tang Wanju’s illness.

After observing for a while, Zhao Changhe finally found something relevant: "Transformed Lotus, when compounded with Bodhi Fruit, can be refined into an Elixir that marvellously heals damaged meridians and can even rejoin those nearly severed. If taken by someone with intact meridians, it can expand and strengthen their resilience. It can truly be considered a Holy Medicine for nurturing the meridians."

It turned out to be effective for his own condition as well... Ever since he had expanded his meridians a bit in the Xuanwu Secret Realm, improving them to just a bit below an average person’s foundation, Zhao Changhe hadn’t paid much attention to this aspect— it was sufficient for him.

But his current level of Cultivation might not require much, making it enough; however, at higher levels of Cultivation, the current state of his meridians would inevitably become an obstacle again.

"Soul Entangling Grass, when augmented with Yunyang Leaf, can nourish and repair soul damage, fortifying the Spirit Platform... however, injuries to the Divine Soul cannot be healed by medicine alone, they can only be supported, the fundamental solution lies in the Rejuvenation Technique."

This was it.

From meridians to soul damage, Tang Wanju had found auxiliary healing substances.

The current problem was that these items were scattered across various Secret Realms, impossible to pinpoint where exactly... but at least there was a direction now.

Of course, for a situation affecting the Divine Soul, medicines could only assist, which he was prepared for; no matter what, medicine is digested by the body and at most, it could fortify the body part where the Divine Soul resided, but it could not do much for the intangible Divine Soul itself.

Indeed, even nourishing the meridians worked this way; the combination of medicine and healing was the true path to recovery... He was learning about these not specifically to search for medicines but rather to understand the Rejuvenation Technique; after all, no medicine could compare to its efficacy, for it represented a Magic Law.

While pondering, a sudden pain struck his ear.

Zhao Changhe bared his teeth and turned his head, while Tang Wanzhuang held his ear emotionlessly at the side, "Were you even listening? What did I just say? Repeat it."

Zhao Changhe said, "The solitary do not need assistance; those who are interdependent cannot do without their kind; those who serve, aid me; those who are feared, are controlled by others; those who kill, are the poison of others; those who are hateful, rob me of my capabilities; and those who are in opposition, cannot coexist. These seven emotions, considered together, indicate that it is good to use those who are interdependent and those who serve, and to avoid using those who are hateful and in opposition. If there is a need to use poison and control, then those who are feared and those who kill may be used, otherwise they should not be."

Tang Wanzhuang’s eyes widened in surprise. She had clearly seen him daydreaming, and he did not react when she waved her hand in front of his eyes, but somehow, he was actually able to repeat what she had just said...

Zhao Changhe also realized that he was getting a bit skilled at multitasking; this must be the result of his Divine Soul thriving after accessing the Secret Treasure...

He didn’t voice this thought and said with an equally expressionless face, "I think you’re just looking for an excuse to tug on my ear."

"Well..." Tang Wanzhuang stiffened her neck, "Can’t a master tug on her disciple’s ear?"

Even though she said that, she finally let go of his ear, a bit embarrassed.

Zhao Changhe couldn’t help but laugh and cry, "Continue with the lesson, I’m starting to get a feeling..."

"What feeling?"

"Learning these things is truly useful for mastering the Rejuvenation Technique. I had absolutely no understanding of medicine and healing before. How could I rejuvenate anything? Even if I could heal some injuries, I did it without knowing why... Now that you’ve explained the principles of medicine and healing to me, I feel like I do understand a bit, and I sense that the Rejuvenation Technique could really make a breakthrough."

Tang Wanzhuang’s cheeks turned a little red.

He had made progress with the Rejuvenation Technique, but how was it being used?

She didn’t mention this, and gently pushed another book toward him, "Look at the examples in this book, such as mutual necessity, where two medicines work together, like Angelica and White Peony... Mutual fear is using one medicine to suppress the main medicine’s potency, making the effect mild and manageable, for example..."

In the pavilion, the man and woman sat extremely close together, leaning over the table to look at the book, while the woman’s delicate fingers pointed at the characters and instructed softly; the man followed her guidance, memorizing as they went. Unintentionally, their heads almost bumped into each other.

Bao Qin stopped playing the qin and watched them with a cold shoulder.

Here you claim to be master and disciple... My lady never got this intimate when teaching me music.

The sky gradually darkened, and the words in the book became unclear.

Tang Wanzhuang snapped out of it, suddenly calling out, "Bao Qin, Bao Qin~"

Bao Qin responded, "Here."

"Go inside and light the lamp. Master Zhao and I shall study at night... um, we need to make haste, that’s all."

"Alright, alright, I know that’s how it is." Bao Qin entered the house with a resigned air, and after a short while, the light inside the house shone brightly.

However, once the lamp was lit, Tang Wanzhuang had a change of heart.

Only upon seeing the ambiguous light did she remember it really wasn’t proper for two people to hide inside the house.

She turned her head away, feigning indifference, "Never mind, I’m tired. You may return tomorrow."

Zhao Changhe watched her act haughty, his throat involuntarily twitched.

He had just treated her at noon, and in theory, there was no need for another treatment today, yet he still deliberately said, "Um, how about a treatment before sleep, for a good rest... I also want to test if the Rejuvenation Technique really has improved."

Tang Wanzhuang turned her head away without speaking, but she didn’t refuse.

It’s not like it’s the first or second time anyway, if you want to test the Rejuvenation Technique, just get on with it...

Zhao Changhe, plucking up courage, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and leaned down to kiss her.

He felt her shoulder stiffen, and Zhao Changhe’s heart beat a nervous drum, not daring to overstep, truly putting to test the slight improvements in the Rejuvenation Technique.

All the while, Tang Wanzhuang was being kissed but stared straight at him with wide-open eyes, leaving Zhao Changhe completely befuddled.

What’s wrong? The Rejuvenation Technique has indeed improved a little... You don’t think that just by learning some medical knowledge, I’ve made a sudden leap in progress, do you? I may be using auxiliary tools, but it’s not some overpowered hack.

Honestly, it had simply been an excuse all along; what Rejuvenation Technique to test? I just wanted to kiss you.

Deciding to go for broke, he carelessly extended his tongue.

Tang Wanzhuang closed her eyes in satisfaction.

————

PS: Sorry for being late again... I had insomnia last night, it was unbearable; I didn’t eat even after working on the draft from noon till now--