Chapter 446: The Dao of Heaven Within the Human Body

Speaking of the arts of Qihuang—the healing arts—it is impossible not to speak of the human body. Though Zhang Xiaohua cultivated the Immortal Dao and tempered his meridians, the truth was that he had never truly had the chance to systematically study the knowledge of the Immortal Dao. In fact, even within the Immortal Dao, most of the research that had been done focused solely on the meridians of the human body; as for the entire human form, there was still no extremely detailed understanding.

Of course, there were countless cultivation methods under the Immortal Dao, as resplendent as the stars across the sky. Many of these were techniques for tempering the body. Yet, just like the methods for refining Qi, these techniques all emphasized how to make the body strong and resilient. They never clearly addressed the roles of organs such as the heart, lungs, and liver, nor how to properly regulate them. Naturally, they also paid no attention to studying the features and illnesses of the ordinary human body.

However, after Zhang Xiaohua engaged in careful study and research, he one day suddenly discovered that the things within the human body felt strikingly familiar. Thinking deeply about it, wasn’t this very familiarity aligned—albeit faintly—with the Heavenly Dao he pondered day and night? With this thought in mind, the more Zhang Xiaohua studied, the more traces of the Heavenly Dao he found hidden within. Could it be that the human body also held a reflection of the Heavenly Dao?

Zhang Xiaohua found it hard to believe.

Yet what shocked him even more was the concept of the Five Elements in the study of the human body, and the theory of Yin and Yang. These weren’t realizations he had arrived at through his own comprehension of the Heavenly Dao, and yet, when he used them to reflect back on the outline of the Heavenly Dao in his mind, he was actually able to find corresponding aspects. In an incredibly short span of time, Zhang Xiaohua’s understanding of the Heavenly Dao reached an entirely new stage, and the technique of the Carefree Heart Sutra likewise advanced by a large margin.

But the truly wondrous developments came later. Once Zhang Xiaohua had gained some foundational knowledge of the Qihuang arts, about twenty-some days later, he began studying acupuncture. Acupuncture involves using the force of needles and stones to stimulate the body’s acupoints and, through the meridians, adjust the internal balance of the body to achieve healing. From this art, Zhang Xiaohua first came to grasp the harmony and regulation inherent in the Heavenly Dao—causing his conception of the Dao to shift from being static and inert to dynamic and living, bringing it closer to its true essence.

Moreover, because illnesses were not limited to the meridians trained through martial cultivation but were distributed throughout the entire human body, the acupoints involved in acupuncture also spanned the whole form. The meridians that could be stimulated far exceeded those reachable through inner strength alone. These things may have had no significance to other martial or Immortal Dao cultivators, but Zhang Xiaohua had, at the time of Zhang Bairen’s birth, obtained a detailed diagram of all the meridians in the human body. Until now, he had been fretting over how to put it into practice and use it to find a path of cultivation. This was perfect—it provided him with a point of breakthrough.

All these things, without exception, pointed Zhang Xiaohua’s cultivation toward a brand new path—one that no one before him had ever trodden. Could he possibly not be wholly absorbed by it?

And so, aside from the first ten days upon entering the Spring Rebirth Valley—during which he earnestly read books on medicinal herbs and observed the planting of such—Zhang Xiaohua spent nearly the entire next forty days immersed in Mu Qingxuan’s Qihuang Hall, studying medicinal theory, researching the human body, practicing acupuncture, assisting in diagnoses through inspection, listening, inquiry, and pulse-taking—all while learning how to treat the ailments of others.

Zhang Xiaohua’s studies were not limited to simply learning how to treat illness. Rather, he approached the transformations of the human body from the perspective of the evolution of the Heavenly Dao. One could even say that he explored illness and suffering from the level of life and death within the Dao of Heaven. Birth, aging, sickness, and death were themselves aspects of the Dao of Life and Death. When one viewed illness through the lens of the Dao of Life and Death, it often became easier to perceive its true nature.

Thus, Zhang Xiaohua was often able to identify the root of an ailment from a deeper level, and then apply acupuncture or medicinal methods drawn from the techniques of Mu Qingxuan and others. His understanding, founded on the evolution and operation of the Heavenly Dao, allowed him to contemplate and address the correction of imbalances within the human body. Not only did this greatly aid his own cultivation, but it also granted him unique insight and methods in the treatment of disease.

In the beginning, Mu Qingxuan had known his master’s expectations and assumed that Zhang Xiaohua would devote his focus to the study of pills. He thought the boy’s time at the Qihuang Hall was merely to gain a rough sense of Spring Rebirth Valley’s situation. However, as Zhang Xiaohua continued his daily study—and improved at a staggering pace—Mu Qingxuan was forced to reconsider his initial assessment and promptly reported the matter to Valley Master Nie.

Valley Master Nie had once said that Zhang Xiaohua’s wish to study the Qihuang arts was born of a compassionate heart. He had merely taken a liking to the boy’s character. In truth, he had not fully supported Zhang Xiaohua’s pursuit of medical studies. He still hoped the youth would dedicate more time to studying alchemy and the art of pill refinement.

But seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s deep devotion, he could not bring himself to obstruct it. Instead, he merely instructed Mu Qingxuan to teach him well. Having received his master’s approval, Mu Qingxuan applied himself even more earnestly. His own disciples were not lacking in diligence or talent, yet compared to Zhang Xiaohua, who had only just begun this field and could already draw inferences and formulate his own unique treatment methods within a matter of days, they were as far apart as clouds and mud.

After several dozen days of study, Mu Qingxuan gradually came to realize that for ordinary illnesses, Zhang Xiaohua’s methods were not all that different from those of others. Yet when it came to certain difficult or obscure conditions—ailments that left both him and his disciples at a loss—Zhang Xiaohua would often have a viable approach. Sometimes, he could even identify acupoints previously unknown to Mu Qingxuan that proved helpful in treatment. Naturally, his dosage of medicinal prescriptions and his skill with acupuncture still revealed some inexperience, but such things came with practice and time. In due course, those flaws would naturally resolve themselves.

“A genius, truly a genius,” Mu Qingxuan would exclaim each time he met with Valley Master Nie, always following with a question: “Master, is it that once martial skill reaches a certain level, it allows one to understand other disciplines as well? Can it even make one excel in the healing arts?”

Valley Master Nie could only smile wryly. While it was true that deep cultivation often granted a profound understanding of meridians and acupoints, providing a great advantage in learning medicine, that alone was hardly enough to create a divine healer! More importantly, medicine was considered a lesser art, not the foundation of Spring Rebirth Valley. What he truly wanted Zhang Xiaohua to learn was alchemy—the art of refining pills!

Thus, on a certain day two months later, with the weather having grown warm and the early morning sun just beginning to rise, Zhang Xiaohua had already completed a round of the Big Dipper Divine Fist and was hurrying off to the Qihuang Hall to serve as a temporary physician-in-training, when Valley Master Nie personally came knocking at his door.

Seeing that Zhang Xiaohua was about to head out again, Valley Master Nie asked: “Nephew Ren, I’ve heard you’ve been studying quite diligently during this time. This old man did not wish to disturb you—please forgive the intrusion.”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “Uncle Nie is too courteous. You had Miss Nie lay bare the foundation of Spring Rebirth Valley before me—how could I feel anything but gratitude? How could I possibly bear any resentment?”

Valley Master Nie replied: “That’s good to hear. It’s just that I’ve heard, as of late, that Nephew Ren has been wholly immersed in the study of medicine. I wonder—how have your studies gone?”

At the mention of medical arts, a look of satisfaction appeared on Zhang Xiaohua’s face. He said: “Speaking of that, I must once again thank Uncle Nie for permitting such wondrous techniques to be passed down to me.”

“Wondrous techniques?” Valley Master Nie’s lips curled into a faint smile. “They’re but subtle skills. Only someone like you, who had never seen them before, would call them wondrous. Just ask the people at the Qihuang Hall—how many of them would describe it as wondrous?”

After spending time there, Zhang Xiaohua naturally understood how the others at the Qihuang Hall viewed such things. Unfortunately, he was unable to explain what made the medical arts so extraordinary in his eyes, so he simply smiled and said: “It seems this junior has overestimated its value. But I still believe that with medical skill, one can cure all the ills of the world. That, too, holds some merit.”

“Sigh… The people of the martial world live with blades pressed to their throats. Wounds from battle and broken limbs are all too common. Even if medical arts could heal all the common folk in the land, for a place like Spring Rebirth Valley, it amounts to little more than a pleasant reputation.”

Valley Master Nie gave a bitter smile.

Indeed, though a good reputation was pleasant, it held no weight in terms of true standing within the martial world. Zhang Xiaohua understood well, and did not blame him for his indifference.

Then Zhang Xiaohua asked, “But I wonder—what matter does Valley Master Nie have with me today? If there’s nothing urgent, this junior still wishes to return to Senior Brother Mu for further study.”

Seeing this, Valley Master Nie could only get straight to the point. Frowning, he said: “Nephew Ren, we agreed at the beginning that you were to study the art of alchemy in earnest and learn extensively about the cultivation of herbs. Only then could you meet the requirements to pose as a medicine attendant of the Incense-Spreading Sect and infiltrate it. But now… now you’re wholly absorbed in medical arts—isn’t that neglecting your proper duties? If you were to be exposed at the Incense-Spreading Transmission Sect, wouldn’t it be a disaster for both yourself and others?”

Zhang Xiaohua immediately understood Valley Master Nie’s intention and smiled as he replied: “Uncle Nie need not worry. The herbal texts and alchemical manuals Miss Nie brought me—I’ve already read through most of them. You may recall that I had some prior knowledge before all this. In fact, I began with the herbology and alchemy texts Miss Nie provided. However, since alchemy pertains to internal cultivation, I haven’t dared attempt anything without your permission. As for herbal knowledge—I believe I’ve learned quite a bit already. I now wish to test what I’ve learned. As the saying goes, ‘True knowledge comes from practice.’ So I’ve dedicated most of my time to studying medicine.”

“Moreover, through studying medical arts, I’ve come to realize…” At this point, Zhang Xiaohua’s tone carried a hint of regret. “I’ve found that medical skills are truly wondrous—no less profound than the art of alchemy.”

But Valley Master Nie remained unconvinced. He himself had spent many years immersed in the medical arts and believed his understanding far surpassed Zhang Xiaohua’s. So he continued: “Then, Nephew Ren, how much longer do you think you’ll need to study at the Qihuang Hall?”

“This…” Zhang Xiaohua pondered for a moment before saying, “The medical arts are broad and profound—their mysteries cannot be mastered in a short time. However, I’ve already completed the foundational studies. From here on, it’s mostly a matter of accumulating experience. With continued practice, I believe I can grasp it fully.”

Valley Master Nie was somewhat skeptical. “Is that your own impression, or is it something Qingxuan said?”

“Senior Brother Mu mentioned it to me a few days ago.” Zhang Xiaohua replied without hesitation.

“Mm, very well then. Nephew Ren, you may continue studying at the Qihuang Hall for the next few days. But in your spare time, you must also spend more effort reading alchemical texts. After a few more days, I’ll take you to see the true core of Spring Rebirth Valley—and let you witness how alchemy is truly done!”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua was overjoyed and quickly responded: “That would be wonderful. This junior shall follow Uncle Nie’s arrangements to the letter.”