Chapter 100: Do You Know How to Curse?

So what if that's the case? Those four words left the Medicine King speechless. Yet after his silence, a surge of boldness welled up within him. Yes, so what if that's the case? Mortals barely live a hundred years, but cultivators can endure for tens of thousands. Whether cultivating or seeking fortune and treasures of heaven and earth, the essence of cultivation is a struggle against heaven and earth. From another perspective, every tribulation and transformation is but a punishment from the heavenly order. Since one is already contending with the heavens and the earth, why bother caring about the shallow opinions of the mundane world?

The Medicine King reached out and patted Xiao Jihan's shoulder, intending to praise his spirit of "My fate is mine, not heaven's," when he heard him say, "Having her protect me is no bad thing."

"This..." The Medicine King withdrew his hand and stroked his beard. "Living off a woman's efforts was once my dream as well."

Xiao Jihan glanced at him and refocused on controlling the spiritual energy and the heat. "When I first met her, I was merely a pseudo-spiritual root of four attributes, and she was a mutated spiritual root, born with a Dao embryo. Whether in fortune or cultivation, I never thought to surpass her, and she never cared for such things."

Hearing this, the Medicine King couldn't help but feel a pang in his teeth. "Just admit it—what she wants is simply you."

Xiao Jihan nodded. "Master speaks the truth."

Medicine King: ...

He looked at Xiao Jihan's face and, suddenly, it seemed only natural that he would possess such confidence.

Recovering from his pang of envy, the Medicine King said in a low voice, "You need not settle on the path of dependency just yet. According to my recent research, your spiritual root is not yet in its complete form."

"To reach Nascent Soul after barely eight years of cultivation—it's beyond my imagining. If your spiritual root matures to its full form, who can say how terrifying your cultivation will become? Though living off a woman is pleasant, if danger arises and you must rely on her protection, it's hardly justified."

The pill was almost ready; Xiao Jihan frowned. "Does Master have a way to temper my spiritual root?"

"There is indeed a way." The Medicine King mused. "You’re fortunate; Snowbone Ginseng, Ice Lotus, Dragon Heart Nine-leaf Ganoderma and other spiritual plants that can refine roots and enhance cultivation are rare treasures that most may never see in their lifetime. For me, though precious, they are not unobtainable."

"Most importantly, though I have left only one soul and one spirit in the mortal realm, even this fragment equals the power of a Great Ascension cultivator. Once you and Yan Shu have fully mastered the inheritance, I will personally refine pills for you, infusing all my cultivation into them. With spiritual plants and my power, prompting your root's transformation will not be difficult. However..."

The pill was complete. Xiao Jihan withdrew his spiritual energy, opened the pill furnace, and gazed at the freshly formed sixth-tier pill, frowning with dissatisfaction. "However, what?"

The Medicine King took the pill, examined it, and casually returned it. "However, to fully temper your spiritual root, one more crucial thing is needed—Heavenly Thunder."

Heavenly Thunder is called tribulation for a reason: if one cannot withstand it, at best their cultivation stagnates, at worst their soul is destroyed. Yet if one survives it, another realm, another vista, awaits. Clearly, Heavenly Thunder can destroy, but it can also create.

The Medicine King looked at him. "I can help you refine the pills; I can give you my cultivation. My soul is bound to return to its place, and what power I lose here can be replenished in the upper realm. But you must be certain: Heavenly Thunder only descends during tribulation. Once you take the pill, there is no turning back."

"Crossing tribulation is fraught with danger. Add in the tempering of your spiritual root, and the next Heavenly Thunder you face will surely be extraordinary. You may not survive it. In truth, living off a woman isn’t so bad."

Xiao Jihan stored the pill in his mustard seed pouch and glanced at the Medicine King. "I never said I would depend on her. Has Master forgotten the original purpose of my cultivation?"

The Medicine King frowned. "Vengeance?"

"Mm." Xiao Jihan's voice was cold. "Some things must be done simply because one is human. I have no hesitation. All of this, I leave to Master."

With that, he said no more and began preparing the next batch of pills. Now able to refine sixth-tier pills, he was already a top-tier alchemist in the cultivation world, yet neither he nor the Medicine King were satisfied with these results. Xiao Jihan knew well: within Medicine King Valley, he lacked for nothing, and with Medicine King’s guidance, he had every advantage. If he could not elevate his pill technique to eighth-tier here, it would be nearly impossible to advance once he left.

Seeing Xiao Jihan immersed again in preparation, the Medicine King pondered a moment, then left to seek out Yan Shu.

He explained Xiao Jihan’s spiritual root situation, then looked at Yan Shu with concern. "I regret mentioning advancement to his root. He is so obsessed with vengeance; if he were not of pure Yang constitution, he would surely be plagued by inner demons."

"Though he need not fear inner demons now, the Heavenly Thunder he will face is no trifling matter. Perhaps you should persuade him?"

Hearing this, Yan Shu recalled the scene when Xiao Jihan faced his Nascent Soul tribulation. It had clearly exceeded the normal scope—when the original host crossed the Divine Transformation tribulation, the thunder was never so fierce. If another tribulation combined with root transformation, she suspected she would be doomed.

Don’t ask why she would be doomed, rather than Xiao Jihan. She had experience, after all. That damned heavenly order would surely force her to block the thunder, and as the male lead, Xiao Jihan possessed an undying aura—only she, the cannon-fodder female side character, would perish.

Yet allowing Xiao Jihan’s evolution was a rare opportunity; to be precise, aside from swallowing and refining her own spiritual root, Medicine King’s proposal was likely his only chance. Heaven’s order was compensating its favored child.

Yan Shu pondered and asked, "Is it truly necessary for tribulation thunder?"

The Medicine King was puzzled. "Besides tribulation thunder, what other thunder is there?"

"That’s not so certain." Yan Shu raised her eyes to him. "Master, do you know another title I have?"

"What title?"

Yan Shu smiled. "Little Thunder Summoner!"

"What kind of ridiculous title is that?"

"Master, do you know how to curse?"

Medicine King: ...

Having often mingled among mortals, the Medicine King indeed knew how to curse, though he hadn’t done so in ten thousand years—his skills were rusty. And he couldn’t fathom why the topic had shifted to cursing.

Yan Shu immediately stepped outside and demonstrated for him what it meant to provoke thunder with a sharp tongue, what it meant to be a little thunder summoner.

She didn’t even need to curse aloud; a few curses at Xiao Jihan in her heart and the thunderclouds gathered instantly.

This display left the Medicine King utterly dumbfounded.