She stopped thinking about that matter and began to carefully examine this almost miraculous “Medicine God Bell.”

Shu Tiantian guessed that the Medicine God Bell could only be opened after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, which was why she had never discovered any clues over the years.

The Medicine God Bell was actually more like a library equipped with an alchemy room and a resting area. Because only the first level had been unlocked, there was only a single room, and the number of books that could be stored was relatively small—just one modest wooden bookshelf.

But do not underestimate this antique, elegant little bookshelf—Ling Ruoshui relied on these very collections to successfully become the Mary Sue of the novel.

Technique archives are the foundation of every sect’s existence, yet Tianji Sect is a sword cultivation sect, and the number of pill formulas and medical cultivation texts in its collection is extremely limited. Thus, most of Ling Ruoshui’s pill formulas came from the Medicine God Bell.

The number of pill formulas here is considerable, and each one is a premium—every single one is of Profound rank or above. Any single Heaven rank pill formula, if taken outside, would cause an uproar, yet there are three Heaven rank pill formulas here!

It was precisely by relying on these rare pill formulas that Ling Ruoshui who originally had poor foundations and average talent—became a renowned great medical cultivator in the cultivation world. With these unique pill formulas, every time Ling Ruoshui refined pills, she drew eager pursuit, and she even gathered several powerful cultivators as backers by relying on those Heaven rank formulas.

This seemingly ordinary Medicine God Bell was in fact like a richly stocked treasure vault.

In this life, Shu Tiantian already showed some signs of becoming an alchemy maniac, immersing herself in pill refinement every day to the point that her cultivation had been slow to improve. Even she, who had seen many fine things, had never heard of these pills. Hugging the books with great enthusiasm, Shu Tiantian gnawed through them for a while before reluctantly letting go, because now she had something even more important to do—

Every cultivator must choose one natal cultivation method to practice. Unless something unexpected happens, they will never switch to another in this lifetime.

And Tianji Sect is a prestigious sect, so naturally it would not allow disciples to recklessly practice cultivation methods. Cultivators of Tianji Sect can only choose the method they will practice after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

The importance of cultivation methods needs no explanation. Shu Tiantian’s cultivation had been low before, but now she had also reached the time when she could practice a cultivation method that belonged to her.

Heaven rank cultivation methods are things that can only be encountered by chance and not sought after. Tianji Sect has only two, and both are exclusively for sword cultivators. Thus, in the novel, Ling Ruoshui also found her cultivation method inside the Medicine God Bell.

The cultivation method Ling Ruoshui used in the novel was called Spring Breeze Turns to Rain, a Heaven rank method for water spiritual roots. Shu Tiantian only glanced at it before turning to flip through the others—this cultivation method was powerful, but Shu Tiantian had never forced herself to take things that did not suit her.

Shu Tiantian was very certain that since the Medicine God Bell was left to her by her parents, there must definitely be a cultivation method inside that suited her. Unfortunately, after searching for a long time, she did not find any new method.

She felt a little depressed and turned to look at the only copy of Spring Breeze Turns to Rain, thinking—could it be that she really had to use the same one as Ling Ruoshui?

However, the moment her fingers touched Spring Breeze Turns to Rain, the antique cultivation manual emitted a faint glow. A warm light wrapped around Shu Tiantian’s fingers, and the gentle power gave her a sense of familiarity. Yet before Shu Tiantian had time to think about it, she discovered that Spring Breeze Turns to Rain had already rapidly faded in color, transforming into an entirely new cultivation method.

—Withered Wood Meets Spring.

Shu Tiantian could be certain that in the novel, Ling Ruoshui had never encountered anything like this. Spring Breeze Turns to Rain had remained Spring Breeze Turns to Rain until the end. The idea that a Heaven rank cultivation method could conceal another within it was something Shu Tiantian had never even heard of.

Thinking of that gentle power just now, Shu Tiantian quickly realized that this was probably something her parents had specially left for her. That gentle power was very likely an illusion they had set—only when she touched it would it transform into Withered Wood Meets Spring.

Shu Tiantian soon realized that this Heaven rank cultivation method was probably very extraordinary. But when she opened it and looked carefully, she was also a bit stunned.

As the name suggests, Withered Wood Meets Spring means that if a cultivator practices this method to the highest level, they can bring withered wood back to spring—return from death to life.

Even without advancing in cultivation, the early stages of the method were already powerful enough—Withered Wood Meets Spring can heal vitality and stimulate the growth of spiritual herbs. Not to mention anything else—just the ability to cultivate high-grade spiritual herbs during pill refinement alone would be enough to drive countless medical cultivators mad with desire.

Shu Tiantian’s gaze lingered on the words “stimulate vitality” for a moment, and she naturally thought of the half-year agreement with that great devil. Her eyes immediately lit up.

The Scarlet Flame Flower was formed from the great devil’s blood, and after blooming for two hours, it would turn to ashes. It was easy to associate this with “the exhaustion of vitality.”

A cultivator’s body is tempered by heavenly lightning. Situations like bleeding or severed limbs would not pose a fatal threat to them—but the loss of vitality is irreversible.

For example, rare spiritual herbs all possess vitality. Once their vitality is completely depleted, the herbs turn entirely into ashes. When cultivators fall during tribulation, it is often because they are gravely injured by heavenly lightning, their vitality drained away, and they disperse between heaven and earth.

A cultivation method capable of restoring vitality was simply unheard of, unseen in the cultivation world. If such a treasure were to fall into circulation, it would likely drive everyone mad with desire.

No cultivator is unafraid of the loss of vitality. Cultivators, too, face the sorrow of life and death.

There are those whose cultivation never breaks through, who can only watch as their lifespan reaches its end, their vitality slowly worn away; there are those who fail tribulations, who are poisoned or injured, their vitality consumed… If those cultivators who could only wait for death knew that someone could reverse fate and replenish vitality, then what?

Shu Tiantian also belatedly realized that the cultivation method in her hands was very likely the most precious item in the entire Medicine God Bell. Even if there were other valuable pill formulas inside, combined they might still not be as precious as this Withered Wood Meets Spring!

For scientists, the most important thing is the pursuit of truth; for sword cultivators, the most important thing is the great Dao of unity between person and sword; but for medical cultivators, it is the saving of lives. They take rescuing the dying and healing the wounded as their lifelong duty, and their Dao is also a path founded on “benevolence.” This is far more complex and difficult than the Dao of other cultivators.

Shu Tiantian had been enlightened by her grandfather since childhood. The very first thing her grandfather taught her to recognize was not her own name, but the great characters “to practice medicine to save the world”. This was also the greatest Dao of Shu Tiantian, both in her previous life and this one. It was precisely because of her unwavering commitment to this ideal that in this life, on the broad path of medical cultivation, Shu Tiantian had displayed astonishing strength and talent far beyond what her age would suggest.

In truth, the descent of such a heaven-defying cultivation method as Withered Wood Meets Spring might not be a good thing at all—like Pandora’s box. Shu Tiantian believed that if it had not been absolutely necessary, her parents in this life would never have lightly left such a cultivation method—both righteous and sinister—for her.

She understood well the terrifying nature of this method. If cultivated to the highest level, it could bring the dead back to life. That would be completely defying heaven itself. Whoever wielded such power would even possess the ability to manipulate yin and yang. If abused, it would truly be a disaster for the mortal world.

But Shu Tiantian would not. She had inherited from her grandfather the medical Dao passed down through thousands of years of Huaxia tradition. She had long established her own principles for how to live, and she was confident she would never misuse it.

Yet Shu Tiantian suddenly found herself harboring doubts about her own origins—under what kind of circumstances would her parents rather leave such a cultivation method, both righteous and sinister, to their daughter?

Were they not afraid she might misuse it? Not afraid that once she cultivated to a certain realm, she might rely on this power to revive the dead and harm the world? After all, if Shu Tiantian had merely been an immature child, she might truly have been tempted.

Or perhaps… there was something whose existence made a pair of parents willing to leave their daughter with such terrifying power, just so she would have a few more trump cards?

Shu Tiantian could not figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it. She always felt that as she gradually unlocked the Medicine God Bell, perhaps her parents would leave behind a few words for her.

But Shu Tiantian could not help but sigh.

If word spread that she could prolong vitality, she would inevitably be forced to extend others’ lives. To save herself, she might be compelled to save those who deserved death. Once there was a first time, there would be a second. Endless troubles would follow. Once it spread, Withered Wood Meets Spring, like the Heavenly Yin Body, would bring fatal danger to Shu Tiantian.

So when Shu Tiantian looked at Withered Wood Meets Spring, although she felt surprise, she did not develop much greed. Instead, she quickly realized that she needed to hide this cultivation method as thoroughly as possible.

Before she possessed sufficient strength, Shu Tiantian decided to focus on preserving her life first. At the very least, she would cloak herself in countless identities!

Shu Tiantian was a pragmatic child. After her eyes were briefly dazzled by countless bright futures, she quickly regained her clarity. Her first reaction was that there was hope for fulfilling the half-year agreement—her head would not need to be relocated for the time being!

The great devil was obviously suffering from the loss of vitality.

Shu Tiantian knew that both the great devil and his dragon had suffered severe injuries, bleeding without stop, transforming into that vast field of Scarlet Flame Flowers that bloomed one after another.

Thinking of that endless field of Scarlet Flame Flowers, the vitality that had originally existed in the bodies of that person and dragon must have been abundant to a terrifying degree. From this, one could infer that person’s cultivation… Shu Tiantian suddenly realized that the great devil now was severely injured and had lost a thousand years of vitality—what if he had not lost it?

It was known that the highest cultivation level in the cultivation world was Chixiao at the late stage of the Deity Transformation realm, yet he was clearly not the great devil’s match. It was only that the great devil had been sealed within the Void Abyss… then what about the great devil at the height of his power?

Shu Tiantian’s scalp went numb. She suddenly realized that she seemed to have provoked someone truly extraordinary.

Thinking back to her only two encounters with the future world-destroying great devil, Shu Tiantian felt terrified just recalling them.

Yet, to be fair, this great devil had saved her twice and had not treated her badly.

Even if this person killed without restraint and was a thorough villain, Shu Tiantian was not someone who failed to recognize kindness. Moreover, after learning of her physique, he chose to let her go. No matter the reason, counting these instances, the great devil had in fact shown her favor.

Of course, when she thought of what would happen if she failed to fulfill the half-year agreement—being skewered into a candied hawthorn skewer by a single sword—her gaze toward Withered Wood Meets Spring instantly filled with hope—

Mother, whether I live or die depends entirely on you!

Shu Tiantian knew very well that even if Immortal Lord Chixiao himself came to take her away, it probably would not be difficult for the great devil to skewer her. After all, if Chixiao could stop the great devil, would he later be able to destroy the world?

When she spoke the half-year agreement back then to save her life, there had already been no turning back.

Shu Tiantian’s cultivation had been advancing by leaps and bounds, and she had just reached the optimal time to learn a cultivation method. Naturally, she did not want to waste time. She immediately sat cross-legged on the small couch inside the Medicine God Bell and tried cultivating according to the methods described in this seemingly profound cultivation manual.

Withered Wood Meets Spring truly lived up to its name. Shu Tiantian merely circulated wood spiritual energy according to its method for three cycles, and her spirit was invigorated. Her entire body became as fresh and plump as a radish that had been soaked thoroughly in water.

It was also thanks to this cultivation method that Shu Tiantian finally discovered traces of repair in her meridians. Even her dantian seemed as if it had once been scorched by fierce flames and then restored.

How could Shu Tiantian know that her meridians had already been forcibly repaired once by a certain dragon? She only felt that her meridians were like socks sewn by a mother with poor needlework—crooked and uneven, with no sense of beauty at all. In some places there were even holes, with spiritual energy whooshing out.

While feeling puzzled, she tried using the method of Withered Wood Meets Spring to mend them a little. Who would have thought that after only a few stitches, she was already exhausted, sweating profusely.

However, Shu Tiantian gradually discovered that each time she used Withered Wood Meets Spring to complete a section of mending, although she was tired to death, the circulation of spiritual energy became faster, and her control over Withered Wood Meets Spring grew more precise.

At once, she stopped rushing to do anything else and honestly began stitching herself up.