Rejuvenation Technique: Minor Accomplishment.
Looking at the notation on the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, Zhou Wuji felt quite pleased.
Investing the destiny patterns of two men had raised the Rejuvenation Technique from Entry Level to Minor Accomplishment.
Clearly, the Rejuvenation Technique was far inferior to the Xiaoxiang Sword Technique.
Even so, without the empowerment of the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, he might not have managed to cultivate the Rejuvenation Technique to Minor Accomplishment in an entire lifetime.
After all, human energy was limited. Even if one practiced the Rejuvenation Technique for one shichen a day, the actual time spent cultivating over an entire year would only amount to a single month.
Yet the primordial profound spirit bestowed by the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment allowed him to cultivate for long stretches without distraction.
This mode of cultivation was truly marvelous; despite spanning extended periods, it brought no fatigue, allowing him to maintain an intensely focused state of cultivation throughout.
Every time Zhou Wuji used the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, he could not help but marvel at its wonders. It truly was the Daoist sect's foremost divine instrument of slaughter!
As powerful and miraculous as the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment was, its precepts and taboos were strict. His master had been bound by those very restrictions, which had kept him from ever achieving great breakthroughs.
The reason Zhou Wuji could advance so swiftly was that he could bypass the constraints of those precepts.
Otherwise, setting up an altar just for prayers and sacrificial offerings would consume untold time and money.
Erecting an altar was bound by numerous rules and rituals; one could not simply set one up at whim.
Zhou Wuji felt that he and the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment were simply a match made in heaven, reaping every benefit while dodging every pitfall.
The more he thought about it, the more delighted he became, looking at the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment with ever-growing fond appreciation.
There were still eight destiny patterns left upon the pages, all wretched fates under two liang...
Even if he poured all of them into the Rejuvenation Technique, it wouldn't be enough to level it up.
Using them to advance the Golden Light Art felt like a waste.
Zhou Wuji decided to keep them for now. A wretched life was still a life; he couldn't let them go to waste.
Having busied himself for half the night, Zhou Wuji was also feeling a bit tired.
He wanted to wash up and rest, but there was no hot water to be found on the boat. Just as he thought of making do, he saw Li Xin hurrying over.
"Daoist Priest, Li Qiang's condition is terrible. Please, would you take a look at him?" Li Xin bowed and cupped his hands repeatedly as he spoke, his manner exceptionally sincere and humble.
Li Xin had just spent a long time helping clean up the deserters' corpses.
Fourteen fully armored deserters in all, every one of them slain by a sword through the throat. Though he knew no martial arts himself, he possessed enough worldly experience to recognize that such swordsmanship was terrifyingly formidable.
In the past, his courtesy toward Zhou Wuji had merely been a polite show out of respect for Daoist Yiyuan, coupled with his slick nature and desire to offend no one.
After this battle, Li Xin's opinion of Zhou Wuji had completely transformed.
This young Daoist, whom everyone had deemed incompetent, possessed frightful true capability. What was even more terrifying was how deep the man's thoughts ran—he possessed immense skill yet kept it hidden.
After slaughtering a whole band of deserters, he showed no smug bragging, nor any fear or unease; from beginning to end, he was as tranquil as still water.
Li Xin had met plenty of important figures in his time, but when it came to shrewd reserve, this young man truly ranked among the very best.
Confronting such a terrifying expert, Li Xin felt not merely respect, but dread from the depths of his heart.
"Oh, let me have a look."
Zhou Wuji had just mastered the Rejuvenation Technique and was eager to find someone to test it on.
Hearing that Zhou Wuji was willing to help, Li Xin's face immediately lit up with joy, and he bowed repeatedly. Not daring to chatter, he led Zhou Wuji ashore.
The burly Li Qiang lay beneath a tree sheltered from the wind. A bamboo mat was spread over the ground, and a thin quilt covered him.
Beside him, a lit campfire flickered. Li Qiang's eyes were clamped shut, his face ghastly pale, and his whole body trembled and twitched faintly—his situation looked exceedingly grim.
Several clerks gathered around, anxiety written all over their faces.
Earlier, they had abandoned Li Qiang in panic only because they were scared out of their wits; in truth, they all had good relations with him.
Seeing Li Qiang in such dire straits, they were all desperately worried for him.
Even if someone hadn't gotten along with him in ordinary times, they wouldn't let it show on their faces now.
Zhou Wuji stepped close and saw that Li Qiang's lips were dark purple and his breathing feeble.
Peeling back the quilt, he saw that the arrow in Li Qiang's shoulder had already been removed. The wound had been dressed with medicine and bandaged, but dark, foul blood had already seeped through the cloth wrapping.
His sense of smell was keen now, and from such close proximity, he faintly caught a foul, rancid stench coming from the wound.
"There's poison on the arrow."
Zhou Wuji understood immediately. The arrow wound alone wasn't fatal; the real trouble was that the arrowhead was filthy, likely soaked in nightsoil or something foul.
Full of worry, Li Xin asked, "Does Daoist Priest have a way?"
"I'll give it a try."
Zhou Wuji had them unwrap the bandages to expose the wound beneath, then ordered someone to wash away the golden sore powder with clear water.
There was no time to boil water for disinfection now.
Gazing at the purplish, swollen, blackened wound, he drew his sword and twirled the blade to slice away the rotting flesh from the surface on both sides.
Li Qiang had suffered a through-and-through wound. Only because Zhou Wuji's swordsmanship had attained Minor Accomplishment could he control the blade to whirl inside the wound, scraping away the rot without harming tendon or bone.
This was excruciatingly painful; even in his stupor, Li Qiang bolted his eyes open and screamed in agony.
Zhou Wuji wasn't tormenting Li Qiang on purpose; the necrotized flesh had to be removed.
Suffering a bit of pain was far better than dying!
Chanting an incantation under his breath, a cluster of cyan light flared at Zhou Wuji's fingertips and settled squarely onto the wound on Li Qiang's shoulder.
The cool, gentle spiritual light swiftly suppressed the intense agony, and Li Qiang's contorted expression gradually relaxed.
In the past, when Zhou Wuji was injured during martial training, his master would also treat his external wounds with the Rejuvenation Technique.
He was thoroughly familiar with the Rejuvenation Technique. By his estimate, his master's mastery of the Rejuvenation Technique was merely at the Proficient level.
A Rejuvenation Technique at Minor Accomplishment was vastly superior to his master's.
Severe as Li Qiang's injury was, two casts of the Rejuvenation Technique were enough to staunch the bleeding and dispel the poison.
Sure enough, the bleeding stopped immediately. Li Qiang's complexion noticeably improved as well.
Zhou Wuji then gave Li Qiang an inedia pill to take with warm water.
The inedia pill was compounded from various spiritual herbs; while it lacked healing properties, it allowed a person to rapidly recover their vitality.
Finally, Zhou Wuji had them apply medicine again and bandage Li Qiang up.
By now, Li Qiang looked far better. He knew full well that Zhou Wuji had saved his life once more.
Disregarding Zhou Wuji's attempts to stop him, Li Qiang knelt and kowtowed with the support of the others, thanking Zhou Wuji for saving his life.
"We are all fellow townsfolk, there's no need for this," Zhou Wuji demurred politely, raising a hand in a supportive gesture, carrying the very image of an approachable Daoist blessed with a benevolent heart.
Li Qiang still kowtowed several times, thanking him profusely. Li Xin and the others also crowded around Zhou Wuji, showering him with praises.
Things like "miraculous hands and a benevolent heart" or "a living immortal who delivers the world and saves lives." The men lacked education, so they just cycled through the few flattering phrases they knew.
Zhou Wuji spoke modestly. Although they had no fresh words to offer, their sincere attitude made the praise immensely gratifying to him.
Knowing that Zhou Wuji wished to wash up and rest, Li Xin quickly arranged for someone to boil hot water for him and had others wash his Daoist robe and hang it on a tree branch.
Zhou Wuji slept soundly until dawn. Seeing him rise, Li Xin hastily brought over the Daoist robe.
The night wind had been swift, and overnight the robe had dried completely. Only faint traces of bloodstains lingered on the fabric, barely noticeable unless one inspected it closely.
Zhou Wuji was quite satisfied. Wearing only undergarments was fine aboard the boat, but stepping ashore like that would have been far too awkward.
Standing at his side, Li Xin ventured cautiously, "Daoist Priest, how do you intend to dispose of the deserters' armor and weapons?"
The deserters were detestable, but their armor, bows, arrows, and weapons were worth a pretty penny.
Especially the full iron lamellar suits, which even bore demon-breaking runes. A set of heavy armor like that fetched nearly a hundred taels on the market.
Trading heavy armor was a grave crime, and one could not purchase such heavy armor on the open market anyway.
Li Xin was deeply tempted by the armor and weapons, but he dared not act rashly; Zhou Wuji had to have the final say on how to handle them.
One glance at Li Xin's expression and Zhou Wuji understood: the merchant wanted the goods. He said, "Handle them as you see fit, as long as the price is right..."
Hearing Zhou Wuji mention money, Li Xin was not alarmed but overjoyed. What merchants feared most was people who refused to talk money; as long as money was on the table, everything was negotiable...
Chapter 13