The Healer Demands Payment!

“But haven’t you left Xue Clan?” Su Junmo frowned, “You can wait for us in Ruyi Inn.”

“Su Junmo, you should have known something about the Apricot Forest and the Grand Tournament barrier.” Xue Jinwen said straightforwardly, “I used to be very curious about why you are willing to associate with Feng Alliance and Xue Clan. After all, as a Demon Realm’s envoy and the future head of the white fox clan, any major sects in Three Thousand Worlds cannot wait to befriend you.”

“In the current Three Thousand World, medical cultivation no longer has its past glory. Sword cultivation is acknowledged as the strongest cultivation path.” Xue Jinwen’s eyes flickered, “So why do you attach such importance to Feng Alliance?” Instead of questioning, Xue Jinwen was more like talking to herself. Without waiting for Su Junmo’s answer, she continued muttering: “Later, I accidentally found out that you seemed to be interested in the Apricot Forest Holy Land. I guess that you also know that Feng Alliance can open the barrier more than once every ten years.”

“Led by Feng Alliance, there are a total of twelve medical sects from the entire four realms that, for thousands of years, have been able to enter the Grand Tournament barrier three times per ten years. They all know for what purpose the barrier was created, but tacitly keep it secret among themselves.” Xue Jinwen lightly twirled her hair again. “Two thousand years ago, Three Thousand Worlds suffered another catastrophe. Two large medical sects in Southern Realm and Eastern Realm…you should have heard about it, too. Those two sects were once as powerful as Xue Clan, but in the end, they were destroyed so tragically.”

“Yes.” Su Junmo said in a heavy voice. His expression changed slightly. Of course he had heard about it. Because of the catastrophe, the devil race’s reputation for being bloodthirsty and cruel spread throughout the three realms, shocking the other two races. Following that, the relationship between Demon Realm and Three Thousand Realm further eased. This was also a reason why Su Junmo was able to come and go freely in Three Thousand Worlds and was even regarded as a guest of honor by many sects.

“Those two sects were large. Counting up and down, there were at least thousands of disciples altogether. One of the sects even had a powerhouse in the Comprehending Perfection stage1, but none of them survived. Life perished, and their inheritance was cut off. The news of these atrocities spread in the entire Three Thousand Worlds, sprouting deep hatred and resentment, and also fear.”

“We medical cultivator…” Xue Jinwen sighed softly, “…can save the dying and healing the wounded. Countless lives were saved in our hands, but we are too weak to protect ourselves.”

Su Junmo listened in silence.

“But it was recorded in the clan archive that this was not the case in the ancient times, tens of thousands of years ago. Medical cultivators of the past were able to contend against sword cultivators and spell cultivators. Not only could they save people, but they could also bring harm, at least more than enough to protect themselves. Our predecessors were not yet reduced into powerless cultivators who could only be slaughtered by others.” Xue Jinwen slowly narrated. “Ever since the tragedy, Medical Society Alliance reformed themselves.”

Su Junmo’s expression changed slightly, and his eyes became sharper.

“You guessed it?” Xue Jinwen was keen. She saw the change in Su Junmo’s expression and smiled slightly: “Yes. They give all the medical cultivators a chance to enter the Grand Tournament barrier once in ten years, regardless of whether they are part of that twelve — no, it is now only ten — founding medical sects. Whether it is a disciple of small sects or a casual cultivator, they all have the same chance to enter, as long as they can prove their ability.”

“It took the twelve sects thousands of years trying, yet they were unable to break the secret of the barrier and pass all the tests. However, the two medical sects’ tragic destruction scared them so much that they couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Everyone was reluctant to share such an opportunity with others. After all, the Apricot Forest is the medical holy land passed down since ancient times. It is said that this land contains the last will of a great ancient powerhouse, designed to test a suitable candidate to become her heir. Once passing the tests, the heir will not only inherit her medical knowledge, but can also learn powerful attack methods used by ancient medical cultivators.” Xue Jinwen slowly continued: “However, after such a long time passed, the heir has yet to appear. Despite producing many talented disciples every ten years, no one has ever passed all the tests inside the Grand Tournament barrier. Meanwhile, sword cultivators and spell cultivators are getting even stronger, enabling them to venture into various dangerous places and gradually discover many lost inheritances.”

“Even refinery cultivators also discovered an ancient inheritance out of a sudden and gradually began to revitalize.” Xue Jinwen looked at Su Junmo and slowly raised her eyebrows: “Your Demon Realm has always been full of talented cultivators, just like trees inside a forest. The current Demon Monarch is also rumored to be a rare genius, even in the white tiger clan. As for Devil Realm….” Xue Jinwen sighed softly: “They are eager to make a move. Coveting the vast territory and abundant resources in Three Thousand Worlds, they are always looking for opportunities to invade.”

“Even my father and other leaders of the ten sects have started to become anxious. They plan to relinquish another one of the remaining two chances, leaving only one chance in their monopoly. After all, even refinery cultivators have begun to revitalize, so everyone becomes optimistic. They all hope that once someone passed all the tests and gained the inheritance of that legendary predecessor, then the entire medical society will rise again, just like the refinery cultivators.”

Xue Jinwen’s voice was soft and relaxed, not at all sounding like she was exposing the secret of her clan. However, although it was said to be secret, in fact, quite a number of people knew about it. The twelve medical sects spread throughout the four realms. Even though two of the sects had been completely destroyed, there were still a handful of long-standing medical clans like Xue Clan, who had been existing for thousands of years. Compared to the small sects, disciples of these clans and sects naturally knew more about the history of medical cultivation.

Xue Jinwen raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair on her cheek behind her ear: “Meng Qiqi has passed all the Grand Tournament tests, and the process was even witnessed by practically the entire medical cultivators of Three Thousand Worlds. Even though she refused to become Senior Lin Yan’s disciple, she was recognized as her friend.” She looked at Su Junmo and said softly: “I guess my father is planning to marry Meng Qiqi to my eldest brother.”

“What?!” Su Junmo didn’t expect it at all and blurted out in shock.

“My brother Xue Chengxuan, he…” Seeing the shock in Su Junmo’s face, a trace of sadness flashed in Xue Jinwen’s eyes, but she quickly composed herself and continued: “It’s not that I am boasting, but he is indeed a rare genius among this generation of medical cultivators. He is the future head of the Xue Clan and also a strong candidate for the future Feng Alliance leader. He is handsome and kind, and also a perfect Daoist couple yearned by many female cultivators.”

“What I want to say is…now that we know Meng Qiqi is in danger, maybe we can ask Feng Alliance for help.” Xue Jinwen said, “My brother even gave her his blood moon. Even without Father’s intention, he wouldn’t just sit still when she is in danger.” She paused for a moment. “I wouldn’t mention this if Meng Qiqi hadn’t fallen into Starfallen Sea. But with our current manpower…”

Xue Jinwen didn’t finish her words, but Su Junmo understood what she meant. In fact, he still had a very strong troop to mobilize, but that was the secret guards personally trained by the Lord himself. Although the Lord seemed to favor Meng Qi a little, Su Junmo didn’t dare to call the shots without authorization and deploy them to find Meng Qi, who was a mere Golden Core cultivator.

What to do?

It was rare for Su Junmo to be so conflicted. Xue Jinwen said so much, obviously not only to explain to him why she wanted to seek help from Xue Clan. What she actually hinted was…